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itpemod · 9 months ago

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It's late September and that means #ITPE sign-ups are OPEN 🎉🎉🎉 Links will be at the end, so please read through the post as we have a lot of new information/procedures this year!

This is the FOURTEENTH year of the exchange, but the FIRST year we will be hosting it on Tumblr, which was far and away the winner in our platform move survey. Happily, this means we get to keep our acronym and branding!

What is #ITPE?

#ITPE is a low-pressure, no-minimums podfic exchange that originated on Twitter. We are now on Tumblr because of Twitter’s…everything, since it was bought by the Muskrat. Everything–sign-ups, communication, assignment/gift distribution–used to be run entirely on Twitter, but as the exchange has grown, we’ve incorporated other platforms to help make our lives as mods easier. Consequently, sign-ups will be on AO3 and submissions of your finished gifts (when it comes time for them) will be via Google form. Otherwise all communication, including announcements, questions, assignment and gift delivery, will be conducted over Tumblr and instant messaging.

Who are the mods?

Our mod line-up is @blackestglass (blackglass) & @knight-tracer, with flowersforgraves assisting on the backend with data management.

What is the schedule?

The dates for #ITPE 2024 are:

Sign-ups: SEPTEMBER 21 - SEPTEMBER 29

Assignments go out: No later than OCTOBER 8

Projects due: DECEMBER 17

Distribution: DECEMBER 24

So long as it's still September 29 somewhere in the world, you can still sign-up.

How do I sign up?

We are continuing to run sign-ups through AO3 (without a nominations process, so just write in your fandoms). We are asking for a minimum of 3 unique fandoms and if you want to sign-up to give or receive more than 20 fandoms, pick your TOP 20 for the AO3 and put the rest in your Dear Podficcer Letter. If you have less than 20 fandoms, we encourage you to list all of your primary and secondary fandoms in the sign up form so we have options for matching!

Note: We consider certain RPF fandoms as “umbrella” fandoms. We know we have K-Pop podficcers and sports RPF podficcers who often sign up for our exchange. Individual K-Pop bands and individual sports/sports teams do not count as “unique” fandoms (so for instance, only listing SHINee, BTS, and A-Teez would not count as having 3 unique fandoms for sign-up purposes; for our purposes, they would all fall under the K-Pop umbrella). In addition to listing your favorite bands/sports/teams in the fandom field, we do ask you to help us out for matching by thinking of at least 2 other fandoms which you might be happy to give and receive in. The RPF podficcing pool is small and we try not to repeat matches within a 5-year period, so giving us more fandom options will help us find you a match.

What is a Dear Podficcer letter?

Your Dear Podficcer letter should include stuff like squicks, triggers, ship and trope preferences, and anything else you think we & your gift giver should know regarding your fandom tastes. Letters are mandatory. They don't have to be long! But if you have extremely specific tastes, it’s better that you let us know upfront in your letter so that we can ensure that you receive a gift you’re happy with. Please don’t worry about seeming “difficult”! We want you to love the gift you receive! Also, do feel free to request your small, obscure fandoms! Just help us out by also including some more popular or “mainstream” fandoms among your options.

If you’re still uncertain what a letter should look like, here are some examples from 2020: blackglass’s 2020 letter & knight_tracer’s 2020 letter. You can also check out linked letters in the “Requests Summary” on AO3 to see what other people’s letters look like!

Letters should be hosted on a publicly viewable platform, such as on Dreamwidth, tumblr, carrd, GDrive, Dropbox, etc.

Please put your Tumblr and AO3 handles (if they don’t already match) in your Dear Podficcer letter. For our sake, ideally somewhere in the title field. Toss a coin to your mod team.

Also please be kind to your mods & avoid using smushnames or cute fandom ship names in your letter. We're not always in your fandom & sometimes people will use different names to refer to the same pairing & we mistakenly believe you're requesting different pairings (see: the Zimbits/JackBitty/etc. debacle of 2020). Using Char A/Char B(/Char C) would help us out a lot! You don't have to use AO3 levels of disambiguation – just provide us with enough information to figure out who the characters involved in the ship are.

If you have specific tastes in what you want to RECEIVE in a fandom, but you’re willing to CREATE outside of those preferences (for instance, wanting to receive podfic about a specific pairing, but willing to podfic for other pairings in a fandom), please indicate that in your letter! If you want to offer or receive fandoms that aren’t currently on the AO3, or you’re one of those gutsy people that is willing to offer and create in ��any fandom”, message this account and we’ll make sure it’s all recorded.

In addition, if you’re an adventurous listener who is open to RECEIVING podfic for “any fandom” please ALSO message us so that we’re aware! We still need a minimum of 3 fandoms for your sign up so that it can go through.

If you have any DNWs (“do not wants”) that you don’t want to post publicly in a letter, concerns about matching, or anything else you’d like to privately let the mods know, there’s a section in the sign up this year that you can fill out. Or you can send us a message!

How should we be communicating with you over Tumblr? We will primarily be using the instant messaging function. Therefore you will need a Tumblr account to sign up, because that’s where all communication and assignment/gift delivery will take place. It’s totally fine to use a placeholder account you only use for this exchange. (We do recommend adding a userpic, filling out your bio, and maybe reblogging a few posts so that you don’t seem like a bot.) All participants should be following the mod account, especially if you have restricted settings so that only people you follow can message you. The instant messaging system, unlike the ask system, allows us to maintain a record of our communications, and is the best way to share information you want to keep private between us or have extended conversations. You may use asks if you have a one-off question or questions you don’t mind getting public answers to.

(Notifications for new Tumblr messages can be finicky so try to check out the messaging tab semi-regularly throughout the duration of the exchange instead of relying on the blue dot to let you know there’s a new message.)

In an attempt to avoid tripping spam filters and hitting the Tumblr limit on sending messages to new people, we are asking you to help us out by sending us an instant message to let us know you’ve signed up, rather than us trying to reach out to dozens upon dozens of people (prime spambot behavior)!

What happens if you get marked as spam?

If we get shadowbanned/tossed in potential spambot purgatory, the mods will reach out to you from our personal accounts/mod sideblogs or via email. During the sign up period, we will reach out to you via messaging to ask you for a reliable email address to reach you at in case all of our attempts to not get flagged as spam fail.

If we are marked as spam, we’ll still be able to post on our own blog and we should still appear on your dash, but we won’t be appearing in the tags most likely, which is another reason why it’s important for you to be following us!

How does matching work? How will I get my assignment?

The mods do hand-matching, meaning rather than just letting the AO3 algorithm run and make arbitrary matches based on fandom, we read all your letters and try to match you with someone with similar tastes and interests. We’ll only be relying on the AO3 algorithm to help us spot tricky matches.

Another of the ways Tumblr combats spam is to shadowban anyone sending multiple similarly worded messages. We’re going to make an attempt to deliver extremely pared down assignment messages so that we’re mostly sending unique information. If we do get marked as spam, as mentioned earlier, we may reach out to you on sideblogs or via email.

What kind and how many gifts should I make? Do you really mean “no minimums”?

Yes, ITPE gifts have NO LENGTH MINIMUMS. Make something as big or as small as you want to commit to! We truly do mean it. This is meant to be a low pressure exchange! Accordingly, please set your expectations that you may receive a short gift. In the past, we have had participants who’ve been extremely generous and made a prolific amount of gifts for their giftee, but they are outliers and there is certainly no expectation that anyone else should strive to those heights.

I have more questions about making gifts!

We’re sure you do, but we’re not there yet! We will update this FAQ with more information about submitting gifts and treats once assignments go out, so check back!

I’m ready to sign up! What are the next steps? 1. Fill out the sign up form on AO3 here.

2. Follow us @itpemod if you haven’t yet!

3. Send us a message over the chat letting us know you’ve signed up!

4. Optional (but encouraged if you want to talk to people!): join the Tumblr Podfic Community to participate in the friending/following meme!

5. Optional: Track/follow the #itpe or #informal tumblr podfic exchange tags!

#itpe #informal tumblr podfic exchange #faq

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innuendostudios · 1 year ago

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by a wide margin the weirdest video essay I've ever release: List of Songs that Represent "Smart Music" Ranked from Most to Least Appropriate to Put in a Video Essay

this video is sponsored by Nebula, where you can watch ad-free and (sometimes, slightly) better edited versions of my videos for 40% off an annual subscription. just follow this link.

as a quick note: YouTube has already demonetized this video, as two different corporations are claiming copyright on recordings they do not own the copyright to - both are Creative Commons recordings of public domain music, that, in one case, YouTube has misidentified as a different recording, and, in the other, YouTube has the music in its database as under copyright despite it being having been released under CC BY-SA 3.0. I am disputing these false claims and will (hopefully) get whatever money I am owed, but, for now, YouTube is not paying me a dime for this.

so it would be a bigger help than usual if you would either watch the video on Nebula or back me on Patreon.

thanks. transcript below the cut!

List of Songs That Represent “Smart Music” Ranked From Most To Least Appropriate To Put In A Video Essay (And Presented In Drill Bit Order).

1. Clair de Lune, Debussy

This has been top dog ever since the teaser for Godzilla: King of the Monsters, and cemented its position against challengers with a showcase in Everything Everywhere All at Once. Said film could have been the shark-jumping moment where the song was irretrievably lost to irony, given directors Kwan and Scheinert (Daniels)’s style mercilessly marries the aesthetics of prestige and shitpost. Yes, despite its silliness, EEAAO is achingly sincere, but could the general public be trusted to recognize that? But then it won Best Picture, so apparently yes! Beautiful, delicate, to score a film or video with Clair de Lune signals a desire to be seen not only as an intellectual, but as an aesthete. The song could lose potency if the Clair de Lune sequence were parodied enough, but how does one parody EEAAO???

9. Gymnopedie No. 1, Satie

I fear we must, as a society, and as a community of video essayists, move on from Gymnopedie No. 1. It held the title longer than, I think, any champion previous, and for that it deserves merit. But its time is over. It is, like the phrase “mad dated,” mad dated. It is saying “lmao” out loud. Did you know the original screenplay for 2005 film The Island specifically stated that, in the weird culty enclave in which the film opens, Gymnopedie No. 1 must be playing over the loudspeaker? I don’t think Michael Bay followed that directive (I’m not rewatching the movie to find out), but that is how long this was the “Smart Music” song - since 5 months after YouTube launched. If you must - absolutely must - put Satie in a video essay, use Gnossienne No. 1, though it too is on its way to passe. At this point I’m prepared to say Vexations or GTFO.

2. Ave Maria, Schubert/Liszt

Nothing was certain after Satie vacated the throne, and for a while it seemed we might have a Starks vs. Baratheons situation between Schubert and Debussy. Following several appearances in pretentious YouTube videos, the Ave Maria made its strongest showing yet by scoring the opening scene of the grimdarkest Batman film so far, an entire twenty days before getting fully Lannister’d by Everything Everywhere All at Once. Unbowed, unbent, and unbroken, still she nips at the heels of the king, and may yet take his place. No one else poses a comparable threat. Hers is a curious strategy, being a religious, Christmas, and even classic Disney standard now repurposed as “Smart Music;” she gets a big boost every December, but can she take the top spot before this cyclical exposure nudges her back into a prior niche?

8. Moonlight Sonata, Beethoven

If you were in a film program in the mid-2000s, you are sick to death of Moonlight Sonata. Also if you were in a music class where you were asked to determine a song’s time signature by ear - how am I supposed to tell the difference between waltz time and 4/4 with all triplets without the sheet music in front of me? To say scoring a video with Moonlight Sonata is a hack move - you’d have to be a hack to not already know! This was the soundtrack to the blind cave salamander level of Earthworm Jim 2, there’s no coming back from that! I mean, the association with Tallarico Studios alone… It’s done. Roll over, Beethoven.

3. Cello Suite No. 1 (Prelude), Bach

This one is firmly-rooted. It is not going anywhere, both in the sense that nothing could soon push it off the list but it’s hard to imagine rising any higher. It is just slightly too beautiful, too expressive, too legato to fall into the stiffness of Habanera or the pomposity of a De Beers ad, but just close enough to them in tone to always read as a hipper alternative. So you’ll never be overexposed, but never go that long without hearing the Yo-Yo Ma version. And so here it stays, third on the podium, solid bronze, the waterbender, the Plup; with you as always is Prelude to Cello Suite No. 1. (Frankly surprised it took us this long to get to Johann, but don’t worry - he’ll be Bach.)

7. Air on the G String, Bach/Wilhelmj

Told ya. It’s not that she isn’t a beautiful piece of music, and it’s not that she already had her time. In truth, she never got her flowers. Inasmuch as she had a run, it was squished between the omnipresences of Beethoven and Satie. You’ll still hear from her now and then; she crops up, like a lucky penny. And you’ll smile, every time, but you know the stars in your eyes are not present joy, but nostalgia. A fondness for what was and what could’ve been - what should have been. Why - why couldn’t this have had the legs of Gymnopedie? I mean, even the Fucking Champs version - could that have made a run? Could TikTok pick up on it? But comes the day you have to accept - if it was gonna happen, it would’ve happened by now. Air on the G String grows weary; let her rest.

4. Duo des Fleurs, Delibes

Bit of a dark horse, this one. Didn’t exactly come out of nowhere - it’s been here the whole time - but you didn’t see it coming! It’s like that time I went snorkeling, and I wondered, “Where are the fish?” I was told there would be tropical fish, but all I saw was blue. Then I caught one flitting by my head and, as soon my eyes registered the shape, I realized they were everywhere! I just hadn’t taken them in. This is the one that makes you ask, where did I hear that before? Was this the one at the end of Margaret? No! How did it go? How do I hum dyads? But then it shows up and, oh yeah, that’s the one! The really pretty one. I knew it’d come around again. Has staying power, could make a run for the top if it sees an opening, but seemingly content, for now, to dance around the periphery, appreciated when heard if only half-remembered the next day.

6. Prelude in E Minor Op. 28 No. 4, Chopin

The bottom end of acceptability. Anything lower, you must avoid. But you can use Prelude in E. It is a risk, and it takes skill. But you can use Prelude in E. It is not for the faint of heart. This is the ending of Fez we’re talking about here. This is that one TED Talk about how everyone loves classical music they just don’t know it yet. This was all over Anatomy of a Fall. Are you sure you wouldn’t prefer something lighter? Nocturne in E-flat [Op. 9 No. 2] is very nice. Prelude has just enough penetration that some people are going to recognize it, and enough clout that those who do are going to expect things of the person who puts it in a video essay. You can’t just throw this under a rant about The Snyder Cut. But you can - with care, with effort, and with grace - use Prelude in E.

5. Spiegel im Spiegel, Part

We are not ready for Spiegel im Spiegel. The rare “Smart Music” that is, rather than classical, contemporary minimalist. This is - I have been led to believe - all over the film festival circuit. It is the go-to for aspiring arthouse directors. So I assume it is only a matter of time until it reaches general cultural awareness. But we - the YouTube video essay community - are not, at this point in time, pretentious enough to pull off Spiegel im Spiegel. This is not a statement on the song: it is a lovely, sparse, and unpretentious piece of music, which is why pretentious people are drawn to it. And we are not there yet. But I believe in us.

POSTSCRIPTUM

The List of Songs that Represent “Smart Music” is not ranked by quality; they are all, as a baseline, masterpieces. They are ordered, instead, by their possession of antipodal qualities. Beethoven’s Fifth may be a beautiful piece but it’s too well-known - to the casual listener, it reads only as “classical music.” Vltava is a beautiful piece, but it’s not recognizable enough - to most, it will read only as “music.” Pachelbel’s Canon works in too many contexts. Mozart’s Lacrimosa no longer works in any context but “Shit’s About To Go Off.” The Song that Represents “Smart Music” must balance these humors: suggestive, but not too specific; recognizable, but not overfamiliar. The kind of thing one imagines cultured people listen to, and fancies oneself cultured for having noticed it. Just popular enough to signify obscurity to a large number of people.

This impossibility of being both popular and obscure is what keeps the list in motion. Many songs drift back into obscurity before reaching the top, but, once in the primary position, a song begins its slow procession to overexposure. And when, at last, it is too popular to be niche, it does not slip to number 2; it plummets to the bottom, as did Icarus.

Due to this slow but constant movement, new songs will, at intervals, join the ranks, taking the place of those that became gauche. And if, dear listener, you were aiming to trendset, to score your next whatever-it-is-you-do with the newest Song to Represent “Smart Music,” and were I a gambling man… Bach’s Prelude in C. And I’ll tell you why: it appears in the Netflix series Bodies alongside Chopin (#6), mirroring Satie’s dual appearance in The Queen’s Gambit (#9); its arpeggiated structure makes it usable in scenarios similar to the Cello Suite (#3) (Johann did love him some broken chords); and it forms the basis of the Gounod version of Ave Maria, if you would like a Cool Person’s Alternative to Schubert (#2). You may feel I’m playing too safe, but I tell you truly: this song is due. But if I can impart one piece of wisdom let it be this: whatever you do, whoever you are, you cannot use Fur Elise. You cannot. You can’t do it. It can’t be allowed. Don’t fu-

#video essay #Youtube

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deathnguts · 1 year ago

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I see a bunch of people discussing what they think Regulus’ birthday and therefore zodiac sign are but I’m here to not contribute at all to that and instead give you a birthday headcanon of mine that isn’t about dates (this is with trans regulus in mind, I should mention)

Regulus was given the middle name Arcturus despite it being masculine, literally his grandfathers name, because they share the same birthday. I imagine they wouldn’t have celebrated Regulus’ birthday at all if it wasn’t, but it was so his grandfather feels the need to make that a big deal and all about him by extension. He proclaims Regulus to be his favorite grandchild, he showers him with attention on the day, when he was small enough he would hold him all night and show everyone his ‘favorite gift.’ Though this is sweet in concept, it’s all self serving.

Arcturus is the family patriarch, the one who passed the lordship down to Orion. He was the original black family member to have his oldest son (Alphard) run off on him. I feel he’s so outwardly proud of regulus for something completely out of his control just because he doesn’t like Sirius, again for something completely out of his control. Since day one Arcturus believed the next oldest boy in the family would run off like Alphard did, and he was right. So he felt he should make Sirius feel guilty for his eventual betrayal before he even committed it by liking his brother (sister, at the time) more. And this was also a spit in the face to Cygnus’ children because Arcturus had made it such a big whiny deal when Cygnus and Druella only bore girls. He claimed they were a waste of the title of Black and that women, especially in such abundance with three of them, were merely holding them back with all the useless work put into raising them just to be married off. (He was probably born in the 1910s or earlier, i can’t imagine he likes women that much.) So every year he takes an extra shine to show his least favorite granddaughters that they’re lesser to this one for no reason other than this one is more like him.

This all puts a certain resentment against regulus, especially on that day. Even Sirius, who at the time loved his brother so much he would have killed for him if needed, couldn’t stand to be around him without getting snippy. And Arcturus knows this, it’s why he does it. Every parent on this family is quick to realize how easy it is to pit the children against one another to further keep them under your thumb, he was very insistent on that when raising his own. He views regulus as a scapegoat to continue his favorite game. Get Sirius and Narcissa to resent regulus for being the favorite when they try so hard. Get Cygnus to resent Orion for simply baring a better ‘daughter’ when he tried so hard. Get everyone in the family so desperate to please and willing to try so hard to make it happen so surely they won’t make silly mistakes like displeasing him.

And then this leads to a few strange connections being made despite the rivalries. On Arcturus’ birthday (never is it referred to as Regulus’) you can catch Walburga and Sirius getting along, for they share a certain anger. Walburga bore regulus, why isn’t she getting praise like Orion is? Sirius is older than regulus, why isn’t he cherished the way regulus is? And then on the flip side, you can catch famously aloof and distant father Orion approving of his child. Arcturus is his father who Orion has done plenty to try and please, with taking up lordship when Alphard left and that, so I imagine seeing his child be a source of a pride is a source of pride for him.

It’s at these parties that regulus learns from a pat on the head from his father who never even looks at him that bringing pride to the family feels good. It’s at these parties Sirius learns that bringing pride to the family is circumstantial and impossible.

Anyway I don’t imagine the black brothers enjoy celebrating their birthdays all that much.

#I know y’all don’t like when I post about the black brothers but I had to try #the family drama goes crazy #the black brothers #sirius and regulus #black brothers #sirius orion black #sirius black #regulus arcturus black #regulus black #arcturus black #orion black #walburga black #the black family #the most ancient and noble house of black #trans regulus

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how-to-train-your-pomni · 4 months ago

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Y'all Answered and I Listened! Here it is, the Moment We've All Been Waiting For!

(Slight Warning: Because This AU Actually Has a Couple Dark Implications, I'll Mention Now That Caine is NOT a Good Guy Here. At All. He is the LITERAL DEFINITION of "Bad Guy"; A.KA. He Says/Threatens to do Some F[!^$&#]ed Up S[!^$&].)

Caine: So, I think we've both noticed that Pomni’s been acting... out of character, lately. Any idea why that is?

Jax: Why are you asking me? I'm not her dad or guard dog. *Under His Breath* Those titles go to Kinger.

Caine: Mhm... Well then, I suppose that, since you don't know; my most sneaky, elusive, up-to-date-about-everything little superstar! I'll just leave it be!

Jax, skeptically: Really? YOU are gonna drop something you're curious about? *Scoffs* Not buying it. C'mon, out with it. What're ya gonna do?

Caine: *Sighs Dramatically* Since you're so insistent on knowing-

Jax: All I did was ask.

Caine: I'll tell you! *Swings His Cane Around Once* I don't like Pomni, Jax. Or, I at least don't like this version of her.

Jax: Yeah, pretty sure we all gathered that.

Caine: Right! And, as you know, I'm not allowed to "rid the Circus* of a cast member just because I don’t like them! *Laughs Forcefully For Just a Second* So, the next best thing would be to accrue a reason!

Jax: Wait, go back to the "ridding the Circus" bit.

Caine, Ignoring Jax: I've noticed that Pomni’s gained some weight. Excessive weight, if I might add.

Jax: Gentlemanly.

Caine: *Rolls His Eyes as Best as He Can Manage* As if you have any place to talk. ANYWAY! Along with that, I've noticed other odd behaviors; ones I was originally content with deeming the fault of her... Abstraction.

Jax: And those behaviors would be...?

Caine: Odd cravings, mood swings, hormonal imbalances-

Jax: Wait, you can monitor-

Caine: All things, as I've studied, are associated with one thing. *Voice Losing Its Happy Edge* Pregnancy.

Jax, slightly nervous: Uh-huh...

Caine: Now, Jax; you're my friend. And as my friend I'm hoping you'll be open and honest with me.

Jax: Yeah, sure. Whatever.

Caine: Good. So, tell me, is Pomni pregnant?

Jax: Not saying yes, but what if, hypothetically speaking, she was?

Caine: Then I'd have no choice but to terminate the baby!

Jax: WHAT?!

Caine: Now Jax, we both know Abstractions are dangerous. They're mindless beasts with no moral compass or functioning brain.

Jax: You're aware Pomni’s only partially Abstracted, right? You haven't missed that? The fact that she's still lucid and can recognize us all?

Caine: Even still, letting her have this... spawn... could put everyone at risk! The stresses of childbirth could very well kill her, and we wouldn't want that!

Jax: We wouldn't?

Caine: *Chuckles* Oh, Jax; I may not constantly be around, but I can still see things you think I can't. What you've done is adorable, truly. Getting... acquainted with Pomni’s body in such intimate ways, luring her into a false relationship, making her think you care! Your deceit truly brings tears of joy to my eyes. Even still, a baby with your mixed code could be monstrous! Who knows what the thing would look like!

Jax: Uh-huh. And who's to say the kid won't be normal?

Caine: ...I'll let you think on it. If you truly believe this spawn is worth the time, effort, and risk, I'll let her keep it. If not... I'll personally find a way to rip open her stomach and tear the mistake in half.

Jax, genuinely shocked: *Gulps Audibly* Uh... y-yeah, okay. I'll... I'll do that. Think.

Caine, regaining his happy demeanor: Good choice, my boy! Now, I think you've been hidden from your peers long enough! Let's get you back to the Circus, shall we? *Snaps*

Jax: *Wakes Up and Sits Up With a Gasp* It wasn't real. It wasn't real, it wasn't real, it wasn't real. Pomni’s okay. Everything's fine.

Caine: *From Somewhere Deep in Jax’s Mind* Don't take too long, Jax. You know I don't like to wait.

Jax: Oh, my God...

It's real

#The Amazing Digital Circus #TADC #TADC AU #Partial Abstraction AU #TADC Caine #TADC Jax #I MAY Have Played Around With the “Jax is a Sentient NPC/is Working With Caine” Theory #As I've Stated Before: Jax Isn't a “Good” Guy #But He Still Has Decent Morals #He's a Bad Dad Who at Least Wants His Kid to Survive #And Caine is... a Lot #No Other Way I Want to Describe Him

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nicolerichiesdiary · 3 months ago

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i literally have no memory of writing this but i have to put it somewhere

why would you name a direwolf khaleesi??

monumentally stupid for an amalgamation of reasons:

- ‘Khaleesi’ is not a name, it is a title given to the wife of a Khal/ruler over Dothraki tribes in the Dothraki culture. Same reason why everyone who calls Daenerys ‘Khaleesi’ as if it’s her name are either dumb as shit or watched one episode of the show and never ventured further.

- The title and language that ‘Khaleesi’ derives from is on the literal opposite side of the world than where the direwolves originated, which was the North.

- Daenerys’ role as a Khaleesi is short-lived and is not a defining aspect of her character’s culture or heritage whatsoever. She is a Targaryen and the Mother of Dragons first and foremost.

- Even if her name was Khaleesi or if they named the direwolf Daenerys, her character or anything surrounding her has LITERALLY no ties to direwolf symbolism or even the region that they dwell in. She barely even interacts with the Starks and certainly doesn’t interact with any kind of wolf or direwolf.

- If they wanted to make a reference to GOT it would have made more sense to name it after a Stark, since it’s like, the SYMBOL OF THEIR ENTIRE HOUSE.

- It would have made even more sense to name it after a Stark child, as each of them receives a direwolf pet at the beginning of the series.

- It would have made even MORE sense to name it after one of the, uh, idk… DIREWOLVES that they get??? am i smoking fucking crack???? Four beautiful names are open and available: Lady, Nymeria, Summer, Ghost, hell I would have even taken Shaggydog. To top it off most of the names in GOT are female, correlating to the direwolf they named Khaleesi being the only female wolf they revived. WASTED POTENTIAL

- From the pics I’ve seen it looks like the wolves the scientists revived were all white, so it would have made the most most sense to name at least one of them after Ghost, the albino direwolf that belongs to Jon Snow.

- This was obviously supposed to be a reference to GOT/ASOIAF on the part of the scientists, so if that was the case why would they choose a name that literally makes zero sense if they knew the first thing about the fictional world? rage bait??

- okay, okay, maybe that fuck ass scientist named the wolf Khaleesi because it has white hair just like the Targaryens awww so cute. so WHY NAME IT KHALEESI AND NOT DAENERYS. THE TARGARYENS ARE UNIQUE FOR THEIR SILVER HAIR WHICH BASICALLY MOST OF THE ENTIRE REST OF THE WORLD DOES NOT HAVE, ESPECIALLY NOT THE DOTHRAKI PEOPLE WHO ARE DARK-HAIRED/DARK-SKINNED WHICH IS BASICALLY THE OPPOSITE OF HOW DAENERYS LOOKS.

- And finally. The other two direwolves revived were two males who were named Romulus and Remus, a clear reference to Roman mythology. So the scientists were like “Aha a theme! Romulus, Remus, and…. idk, Khaleesi? sure.” ?????????? like yeah just change the theme for the last wolf randomly. they couldn’t have named it after a female figure from Ancient Roman mythology as well?

- way too tired to do the math rn but i’m fairly sure that accounts of real direwolves existing are dated back to like 12,000 years ago or smth… which i don’t think is the same time period as when Ancient Rome existed. could be wrong tho idk. either way it’s more likely that direwolves had more significance in relation to Vikings or some shit, not Romans who, as far as i know, didn’t hold these animals with any kind of importance or symbolism.

- The cultural/historical elements of ASOIAF are not tied in any way to Ancient Rome?? Sure there was probably some inspiration but GOT seems to borrow much more from Medieval historical elements than from Ancient Rome, which are two completely different time periods.

- And most of all the ASOIAF/GOT universe is…. FICTIONAL? The names Romulus and Remus are based on Roman myth-ology, sure, but mythology was a real historical aspect of Ancient Rome that is documented to have been a collection of real beliefs held by the Romans themselves. Martin’s universe was an entirely fictional FANTASY realm existing only within the pages of a book series released in the mid-1990’s, and a TV show that came out in the early-2010s.

- If they really wanted to make a GOT reference that bad they could have named the female wolf Lady, Nymeria, Summer, or Ghost. If they wanted a cohesive theme for all the wolves they could have gone with Bran (as he’s arguably the most significant and definitely the most powerful Stark, and he can also, like… warg into Summer and literally BE a direwolf, and i also think i remember him being referred to as a Little Wolf or something at some point in the books or movies, not sure tho), Jon Snow (leave in Snow, because it’s white like the wolves, and his connection and importance with Ghost/The Stark House are major story beats), and name the female wolf Arya or Sansa (probably would be more fitting to name her Arya, as she’s scrappy and wild like a ANIMAL and she had a longer/more significant relationship with Nymeria than Sansa had with Lady).

- just personal opinion, but Khaleesi just isn’t a very fitting name for a wolf i feel like wolves’ names should be something more Northern/Nordic sounding as that’s where they originate. Khaleesi sounds like a good name for a cat or a bird, something more sleek or tropical.

- call me when you revive a dragon, THEN i’ll let you name it Daenerys, or after one of her dragons, NOT fucking Khaleesi.

there’s probably more reasons that i can’t think of rn because it’s 4:00 AM and i am delirious type shit type deal.

18 notes · View notes

chcrryade · 1 month ago

Text

posted by justbcmb⠀⠀⸻⠀⠀January 3rd, 2O25.

[PICTURED: ‘TRACK 05’—LEFT, YIJUN, GOGO, & HASUN—RIGHT]. This isn’t exactly how I was planning to come back, but when an opportunity falls into my lap, I’m not one to just turn away. Fans are pretty used to the fairly large gaps between CHERRYADE comebacks by now, even if they aren’t particularly happy with it, and so I’m proud to announce that their third full album (and sixth release overall) ‘BROKEN GLASS’ is now out—only, not really. An individual from JAGUAR got in touch recently (which, woah? Scary to think they keep up with people like me..) and gave me a rundown that read something along the lines of this: preparations for the album (which was slated to release later this month) have abruptly stopped, and they’re not putting it out at all, now. They didn’t tell me why, but they did dump a load of files into my inbox and called it a day. So I guess I’m a leaker now. Not that anyone apart from the people that read this will know about it at all. Let’s keep it a secret.

I might not be any sort of music critic, but I am kind of a JAGUAR aficionado. As in, I’ve been here a while. I have a photo with JUST4U from when I was thirteen and attending their debut showcase to prove it. I’m not about to analyse how they layered which vocals over what drum beats, but I can at least make some general comments about my thoughts on the tracks as a whole and how I think people would’ve taken ‘BROKEN GLASS’ if it was actually released to the public later this month as was originally intended. I’ll add in a few of the notes that were included on each track, too—an insight into what the members (and producers, I’m sure) themselves thought of them. The notes in question were colour-coded for convenience (and a little bit of fun), but that’s about it. Not that I don’t think it’s a little obvious as to who’s saying what in some places. Email addresses were also removed, as well as any names within the emails themselves giving clues as to who sent or received them—to save their own skin or grant the members & staff a little more privacy, I’m not sure. Maybe one of them has an embarrassing username they can’t change. But anyway—so it begins.

Named ‘HORRIBLE’ in its MP3 format, but also referred to as ‘TRACK01,’ ‘STICKER,’ and ‘THE FLUTE SONG’ in various notes and emails surrounding it, the first of nine tracks is a wild ride from start to finish. It sets the tone as a clear breakaway from the mainly safe-sounding (in most cases, although of course there’s a few that stick out here and there) sound they’ve been sticking with throughout their career, and opens the door (or it would have, at least) to what the rest of the album entails. Even if it’s.. Different, it still strikes me as distinctly them. Which is always the intention for any music group, I think—to keep that golden thread running through everything, to keep that brand identity that makes the people come back time and time again. Not that they can come back to this, at least not officially, but I like to think there would’ve been SODA BOMBS out there defending this track with their lives, however many death threats they had to make or IP addresses they had to leak to do it. The seven themselves didn’t seem all that taken with it, if the name of the file itself wasn’t any indication, but there were a couple that it appeared to grow on over time. For a title track (because, really, what else could it be?), I think it would’ve come bursting out the gate in an explosion of colour that everyone surely expects of them by now—loud and unforgiving, bright and headache-inducing. Maybe they’d give Gogo a leopard to stroke in the MV, or something. We can only imagine.

NOTES ON ‘TRACK01:’ ‘STICKER.’ DATED FROM 05/08/24—17/09/24.

I hate this. I hate this so much. I’m not singing this. Tough shit. Put your back into it! Open that diaphragm!

that flute sounds better than jaehee wow. never an old joke with you.

i like it i dont care!!!!!!!!!! That makes one of us.

OK, I’ve had enough. It’s done. If anyone writes anything else about this ever again I’m gonna do something drastic. Kiss goodbye to your watermelon ice, or whatever.

EMAILS EXCHANGED BETWEEN.. WELL, I DON’T KNOW. 13/08/24 & 15/08/24.

⠀⠀RE: The Flute Song. Please. Take me off of it. Scrub my name off of it completely. I’ll tell the fans I was really sick or something. I’ll deal with all the hate trains myself if you want. Maybe there won’t even be any hate trains because nobody likes it and they’ll be happy I wasn’t on it. Who knows. Regards, ███.

⠀⠀RE: To All Whom It May Concern. You’re all singing the song! With love from your favourite ██, ████.

The second out of the nine given to me is a lot more.. Palatable? Would that be the word for it? In other words, it’s the classic CHERRYADE sound. Electronic, easily danceable, reminiscent of what we’ve heard in the past—and, more importantly of all, with far less flute. Some would argue it’s the far better choice for a title track than ‘STICKER,’ and to that I’ll say.. Nothing. I like the first track, personally, and I think making a statement is better at catching people’s attention (good or bad—because, as is surely known inside and out by every person working under JAGUAR, “all publicity is good publicity”) than something that, to put it plainly, they feel like they’ve heard somewhere, somehow, before. It’s still good, and I like it a lot, but I think it works best where it is. Like something you’ve known for a while coming to greet you after the rollercoaster ride of the opener. But even if it’s semi-familiar, the catchy chorus still distances itself a little from all that’s come in the past, and the ever-moving instrumental keeps the pace that ‘STICKER’ set (although, again, while the former was unforgiving, relentless, forcing you to keep it on until it stopped, this is more of a steady ride that you could probably jump out of with minor injuries). Referred to otherwise as ‘BUMP&LOVE,’ the reception from the members was pretty much positive across the board, with only a few notes being made (and even they were complimentary).

NOTES ON ‘TRACK02:’ ‘BUMP&LOVE.’ DATED FROM 07/07/2024.

five stars for my favourite ★★★ that’s three stars thank you

Alas, in case you thought ‘TRACK02’ would be leading the return into safer territory, ‘TRACK03’—otherwise referred to as ‘SCARED’ or ‘MIX FROM HELL’—flips that notion on its head from the opening notes. It's tinny, and, uh.. Wobbly? Like the sound laminated paper makes when you wave it around. I think that’s the best way to describe the sound ever-present in the background. But hey, at least it’s not a flute (sorry, I’ll stop with that now). Just like ‘STICKER’ did, ‘TRACK03’ makes it clear that this new sound, this new direction, is (or, would be) here to stay—for this album, at least, because if the people made it clear that if this type of sound stayed, they wouldn’t be, then I’m sure JAGUAR would’ve been quick to change their tune. Or maybe not, actually? God only knows what goes on in the heads of both the Ae Seungdae and his number one yes-man Oh Jitae. Maybe they would’ve decided that they didn’t care what the public thought, and carried CHERRYADE’s career into a noisy end. Again, we can only speculate. The track is almost taunting in its lyricism, demanding listeners to ‘tell me why you really scared now’ all while that relentless backing track plays on, and on, and on. It disappears momentarily in places, but what replaces it is a just-as-strange chiming. Still, I like it. The members seemed to think the same thing, or maybe they just didn’t bother writing down how much they hated it after what they’d expressed their abject hatred of ‘TRACK01’ and were forced to sing it anyway. The producers (Daejin and Joosun) were the ones who seemed to be duking it out for this one, going back-and-forth continually about the track until their discourse abruptly stopped. Perhaps they fought it out hand-to-hand.

NOTES ON ‘TRACK03:’ ‘SCARED.’ DATED FROM 09/08/24—13/09/24.

Who the hell mixed this. You liked it yesterday??! People change.

Beat so bad I started pinching myself to make sure it wasn’t a dream. Oh my god. We get it.

Had to come back and check. But no.. It’s really still here. SHUT UP!!!!!

EMAILS EXCHANGED BETWEEN.. I STILL DON’T KNOW. 16/09/24.

⠀⠀RE: Respectfully—are we for real? Who let him make that? And you seriously greenlit it? When we get driven into homelessness, I hope you know it’s all your fault. And his. Especially his. The last one grew on me, I could handle it, but this is something else.

⠀⠀RE: RE: Respectfully—are we for real? I mean, it’s not like you’re singing it. Just let him have his fun. I think you’ll live.

‘TRACK04,’ also called ‘ROMEO,’ is sort of a doozy. The instrumental is still a little different from the albums and mini-albums of the past, but it falls in line with ‘BUMP&LOVE’ in that it’s not too out there. It’s positively yearning in its lyricism, much more of an emotional track than the three it's preceded by—and that makes it stand out like a sore thumb, except it does sort of fit at the same time. A clash of the old and the new and something entirely different, ‘ROMEO’ is definitely one that I’m sure many would have liked, or at least inspired many (many) ‘who hurt you??!’ tweets from SODA BOMBS after listening. Lamenting over a lover lost, while simultaneously attempting to move past it (the repeating ‘let it all go’ throughout), I’m sure it might strike a few chords with people somewhere. This new direction was generally accepted by the members, no major qualms held over it, but there was a little bit of poking fun at whoever wrote it. Naming no names, but it’s fairly obvious who was doing the prodding, even if the defense against said prodding was believable enough for me to buy it. Again, quite a strike above in terms of what most of the other songs hold within both their instrumentals and the stories told over them, but I still like it. Every album has that one song that fits, but doesn’t at the same time. It’s good enough to look past the not-really lapse in cohesiveness—because, really, with the always-brash, ever-chaotic image that CHERRYADE have curated over the years, does being cohesive even matter?

NOTES ON ‘TRACK04:’ ‘ROMEO.’ DATED FROM 20/09/24—02/10/24.

who asked you to bring your love life into this? ? I’m not. Ever heard of telling a story?

Layer BG vocals. DY? He could hit it if he tried.

Do that stupid dance for me. LDC wasn’t even that hot in that movie.

Called by no other name other than ‘TRACK05,’ (unless you count simply ‘05,’ as it was referred to here and there when they were mentioning it in passing) this one is another stand-out from the rest—but not because it doesn’t fit with the out-there sound the rest of the album is (was) clearly culminating by now. With fairly stripped-back lyrics (although they’re still just as flirty and fun as what’s almost expected of the group by now), the focus here is really what’s going on behind them—the poppy, striking, instrumental that loops perfectly front-to-back is the main player with ‘05.’ The vocals are pitched slightly up throughout, not enough to make them sound childish or whiny, but enough to fit the music it’s building on. Quoting one of the notes left on this track exactly—‘no notes.’ This was a pretty surefire hit with all of them, nothing but praise heaped upon it. Although not as centre-stage as a title track or even the song that would’ve been promoted on the music shows, ‘TRACK05’ would have been (for me, at least) one of those magic B-sides you want to keep to yourself and tuck into as many playlists as you can justify it fitting alongside. In some ways, it sounds older—but not in a dated way, just something that feels like it came long, long before any of the others. And it did! Kind of, anyway. Apparently it was a redo of one of Joosun’s old demos he dug back up from when he was just starting out both as a producer and at JAGUAR. The more you know.

NOTES ON ‘TRACK05:’ ‘05.’ DATED FROM 01/06/24—03/06/24.

i hate to say it, but wow. Are you sure your fingers aren’t bleeding after all that praise?

No notes! None! Release it to the world—now!!

Coming right back to the heavy-hitters, ‘TRACK06’ (aptly named ‘ANTHEMS’ in an email) is spinning the same tale musically as most of its predecessors. While with previous tracks it was on some occasions a one-or-the-other combination, ‘ANTHEMS’ has both the lyrics and the instrumental work together to spin a story about missing the nightlife scene they’ve all been seen within over the years of being active—a throwback to night out at the club, a party where the bass is so loud you feel like it's thrumming in your veins. It’s somewhat yearning in a way ‘ROMEO’ was, although it’s not particularly for any sort of lover—it’s more for a feeling, a place, a drink or two in hand. As much as the music and the colour and the infighting, CHERRYADE is also known for the long stretches of time between albums where they’re just.. Not doing anything. The period between ‘TASTE TEST’ and ‘SWEET (SOUR)’ springs to mind immediately, the group unofficially but very obviously put on hold after the mess that was the JUST4U reunion (oh, to be a fly on the wall when that was happening..). A few have gone on record or hinted on social media that it was a challenging time for them (Doyeon especially, admitting in quite a heartfelt Instagram post that it took a while for him to pick himself back up off the ground during the year away from the idol life, as exhausting as it surely is—which is why I suspect he was involved in this track, as well as maybe Jalen; what with the yearning for the club scene). This was something I’m guessing spoke to the group as a whole, as there’s no complaints to be heard. Liked all-around, even if there was some apprehension on whether or not to include it in the project.

NOTES ON ‘TRACK06:’ ‘ANTHEMS.’ DATED FROM 28/08/24—06/09/24.

Give me that drunk cigarette! Is that a compliment?

i think i shed a tear… we all saw you shedding tears.

EMAILS EXCHANGED.. WHY AM I STILL SAYING THAT? 01/09/24.

⠀⠀RE: ‘ANTHEMS’—is it a goer? ███ seems to think so, I know that much (he won’t stop going on about it), but I just wanted to check. This is definitely going on there, right? I mean.. It’s the best out of all of them, in my opinion. Especially after the shit show that N03 is. And ███, if you thumbs-down react to this, I’m gonna set your alarm for 5:30. Anyway—this could be the title track, if you ask me.

⠀⠀RE: RE: ‘ANTHEMS’—is it a goer? Did you seriously just ask if it was a goer? ████’s been playing it all week, it’s driving me insane. I never thought I’d get sick of ██’s voice, but if I hear it any more then I just might. It’s definitely going on there.

Circling right back around to the likes of ‘BUMP&LOVE’ and ‘SCARED,’ ‘TRACK07’ is.. I wouldn’t say classic, but definitely more of the conventional CHERRYADE sound than the last three tracks before it (although, of course, the dramatic change in instrumental from verse to pre-chorus rings true with the new direction the sound has been taking thus far, with an up-and-down drum beat alongside their vocals). Referred to otherwise as ‘CRUSH,’ I think it’s prime promoted B-side material (like a glad reprieve for those who wouldn’t have been the biggest fans of ‘STICKER,’ what with their softer vocals and generally less relentless sound). I like it, and it appears most of the members did too, even if they did make fun of the drop and the producer who put it together (I’m pointing the finger at Daejin, after his hand in ‘SCARED’). I know I said that a group like CHERRYADE aren’t really the ones who are all that bothered about crafting every album as a perfectly-cohesive project that loops well from start-to-finish, tells a story that has a beginning, middle, and end, but personally I think that the back-and-forth between the more out-there (‘STICKER,’ ‘ROMEO,’ ‘TRACK05,’) and the more things-you’re-used-to (‘BUMP&LOVE,’ and now ‘CRUSH’) is semi-connected in of itself. It’s here, and then it’s there. It’s what you’re used to and then a slap in the face—and then a soothing hand to guide you back to the things you know, before that hand then shoves you off a cliff again. I just.. I like it. To be honest, it sucks that this is never going to see the official light of day, but I’m also grateful it fell into my hands. A catch-22 sort of situation, maybe?

NOTES ON ‘TRACK07:’ ‘CRUSH.’ DATED FROM 19/08/24—27/08/24.

CRUSH. Alright. I get that. What’s with the construction work in the background? Took the words right out of my mouth.

there isn’t gonna be some really stupid choreo to go along with this, right?? you couldn’t dance it anyway you are literally not funny.

I’m seriously gonna lock you out of the studio. What the hell is this? When the fans love it I’m gonna follow you around to laugh in your face all day!

With sounds somewhat calling back to ‘SCARED’ (which I’m sure Joosun loved), ‘TRACK08’—otherwise called ‘CHAIN’—is quite a rap-line heavy song, which I like. The vocalists still pull their weight and more, though, especially with the high-note later on (which I think is Hasun? Crazy work!), and it all comes together in something that is both very much different from their previous work, but a very enjoyable ride anyway. It’s.. Sort of ‘STICKER’ reminiscent, but it sounds a little rawer, a little more unpolished—which, make no mistake, I like a lot. Another one I’m betting SODA BOMBS would be doing their utmost to defend, fighting tirelessly against the ‘useless noise music’ allegations with a lot of creatively-worded threats and the like. Lyrically, they’re as confident as they have been in the past and have been earlier in the album, spouting lines such as ‘rhythm, beat, melody, we make you so crazy’—which is undoubtedly true, although whether you want to take ‘crazy’ positively or negatively is really up to you. Reactions in terms of the members were a mixed bag (also similar to ‘STICKER,’ although the like-it-to-hate-it ratio wasn’t nearly as awful as it was for the title track), and for once Joosun wasn’t the one doing the dunking on the production. There was a little toss-up over email between this and ‘CRUSH’ as to which should be the promoted B-side, but ultimately ‘CRUSH’ won out—maybe they thought two songs full of noise that wasn’t as easily-listenable as it had been in the past would’ve been too much. Although, personally, I would’ve enjoyed it.

NOTES ON ‘TRACK08:’ ‘CHAIN.’ DATED FROM 15/09/24—02/010/24.

We can’t keep letting him get away with this. Honestly? I like it. FINALLY!

five MORE stars for my favourite ★★★★★ thank you ◡̈

I guess anything’s better than the flute. I don’t really think they’re as bad as you all keep saying they are. Your leader’s spoken! His words are final! They’re both good!

EMAILS EXCHANGED—25/09/24 & 27/09/24.

⠀⠀RE: Coin Toss! Chain or Crush? That is the question! But I think I better leave this one to the experts—which ‘C’ should be the ‘B’? Well, I guess they’re all ‘B’s.. Let me know! But don’t keep me waiting too long. Time’s-a-ticking, and all that. With love from your favourite ██, ████.

⠀⠀RE: CRUSH. I think we’ll go with the latter. Chain can be the surprise not-Sticker, or something. We don’t need to scare off all of the fans at once—that can wait until after they’ve listened to the whole album.

Last of the tracks given to me, we have ‘TRACK09’—or rather, ‘WHERE’S YOUR HEAD AT?’—and.. It’s definitely earned its place here on the ‘BROKEN GLASS’ album. Persistent, ear-ringing, and just as unyielding as the likes of ‘STICKER’ and ‘CHAIN,’ it’s certainly one that sticks in your head long after the first listen, and that’s not just because of the hounding instrumental (which I’m 99% sure is a Joosun concoction)—a neverending siren following you for the majority of the track, pitched up and down but still there and unwilling to leave you alone. Lyrically it’s much more simple for the most part, until the second verse, wherein you get hit with the line ‘you have now found yourself trapped in the incomprehensible maze.’ Which, uh.. A little bleak? The members seemed to think so too, if the commentary had anything to say about it. It does invoke the sort of mindlessness feeling you might get after staring at all things CHERRYADE for too long, though.. Too much colour, all that noise, everything everywhere all of the time with no time given for a chance to catch your breath. But still—some people like that, me included. Coming back once more to that theme of cohesiveness, I like that ‘WHERE’S YOUR HEAD AT?’ leaves you right back where you began the album with ‘STICKER.’ Loud, unforgiving, a final shot to the chest right next to where the first one hit you. And again, even if it’s so different to what they’ve done before, I still feel like it’s them. The golden thread in their case is more of a multicoloured one, covered in sugar and sour to the taste, but I honestly think it still runs unbroken throughout the nine tracks of ‘BROKEN GLASS.’

NOTES ON ‘TRACK09:’ ‘WHERE’S YOUR HEAD AT?’ DATED FROM 18/11/24—01/12/24.

That random line? Who wanted to get existential? Existential, my ass. He probably got that shit from a wannabe profound indie movie. It’s a bit of a brainworm, though. Where’s your head at!!!

my new alarm.. Not when your room’s right next to mine, it isn’t.

Anyway, that’s it for the music side. I’m not entirely sure if there was intended to be a tenth track, seeing as they’ve had full albums where one is just a shorter intro rather than an actual song before, but as the nine-song-long project it is currently (and I guess it’ll stay as.. Forever?) I like it. It works. Would’ve worked, for me, if it was ever put out officially. The other big thing I was given were visions. Not actual ones, because I’m not quite sure how that would work over email, but moodboard-type things on what the intended styling and general look for the era was going to be, presumably put together by the likes of Son Sebin (the head stylist) and, of course, Choi Eunhee (JAGUAR’s creative director). They’re both, like ‘BROKEN GLASS’ musically, the same but different to how all of their previous eras looked before. It’s still colourful (that’s the one thing I’m sure CHERRYADE will never go without), still very much filled with charms and trinkets and accessories, but there are also a few elements that stand out to me as being something fairly new. Again, I’m more than glad I was the one to receive all of this, but I still wish we could’ve actually seen it in action. Maybe some talented editors could have a go at pasting the outfits onto their fansite music show photos from past eras.

In terms of colours, going off of the reference sheet, it both calls back to ‘SWEET (SOUR)’ in some places, and moves forward in others. It looks darker, for the most part, a clear shift in direction to fully cement this as a new era. Screens, cities, blurry figures, a glittering makeup palette—someone’s on the move, someone’s headed for a night out at a club where they play music so harsh you go home with your ears ringing, but you’re already planning to head back again next weekend. Close-ups and duo shots, it looks to get a lot more up close and personal, like you’re squeezed for space right next to them in the apartment bathroom, all trying to add those final touches to your hair or glitter to your cheeks; pressing those coloured contacts in before somebody else grabs you by the arm and yanks you outside and pushes you into the taxi waiting in the night. They’re no strangers to the clubbing feel of their concepts, referenced or implied multiple times throughout their past eras, and so again I think this links back to the golden thread—flashing back to the old, but at the same time passing you a flask on the car ride to the new. There were no notes included from the members on this, but there were a few excerpts from Eunhee on what her intentions were for the project and how it should look, taken from what was called her ‘Q1 2025 Project Book.’ How they dug that up, I don’t know—and don’t want to know. All I hope is that it was all very above-board (although.. I doubt it).

Q1 2025 Project Book⸻Broken Glass Photoshooting Ref. Sheet.

Shot mainly on black. Just to give it a bit of an edge—but don’t lean too far into that word, because turning around and trying to sell them as wannabe gangsters when people have seen them dancing in pastel overalls and tanghulu headbands is never going to work. It should still be fun, still be poppy, still be colourful and in-your-face, but just with an added something. It’s a new era now, so it should reflect that. Shove back the purple a little, maybe push forward the pinks, yellows? More dynamic posing, couple and group them up and get in closer—you’re part of the group, dancing alongside them in some stupid club. Nowhere near indie sleaze, but it’s still the party scene. Eyeshadow, glitter, smudged lipstick, whatever. They’ve got the features, and they need to be used. Eyes and mouths on screens, bubblegum popping, lollipop sticks hanging out of their mouths—although at this point I doubt a cigarette would do much damage to their public image anyway, so it could be tried. Sets could be fun, but runs the risk of making it a little overcrowded. The backseat of a car, a bathroom, somewhere with mirrors, but that’s it. Save the actual club set for the music video, or something.

Styling for this era seemed quite free, but I think that’s just because the notes I was given were quite early-stage—more of throwing ideas at a wall and seeing which ones stuck rather than a set list of designers, accessories, materials (although leather looks to be a fairly prominent notion), etc. Eunhee’s passage seems to reflect that, too, but even if it’s nothing what the intended final project was to look like, I still like the initial visions put together. It’s still colourful, of course, and still includes some elements of accessorising that CHERRYADE have been seen to don many a time in the past (such as large and very decorated acrylic nails, which would’ve been very fun to see them wearing), but it also leans away from that somewhat to focus on something simpler. Maybe they thought that if they’d be performing ‘STICKER,’ then parading the members around in hordes of necklaces and backpacks and flip-phones and the like would be a little too much for the viewer to take in at one time (which, to be honest, makes sense). There are also elements of duos in the styling reference sheet, so maybe they were intending to have a few of them match outfits on stage on a few occasions, which would’ve been fun to see in terms of who they paired who with (especially if they tried to make Yijun and Jaehee do a couple look. I can only imagine the scathing looks the former would be giving Sebin as she showed it off backstage).

Q1 2025 Project Book⸻Broken Glass Styling Ref. Sheet.

EARLY VERSION. More of an intended springboard than anything concrete. But, to be honest, I’m almost tempted to say ‘free reign’ and see where that lands us. It’s not like you have a dress code for a night out in the city. Leaning into the pink again could be fun, as well as bringing out some fur or animal skin (Minhui would be all over it). Not looking to go too big on accessories, either, but that’s more for an attempt at realism—do you really wanna wear tons of necklaces and dangly keychains when you’re gonna be dancing all night to some bad EDM remix of an old Top 40 hit? We could play it more androgynous—I have some nail sets that could be tried out if we made them promise not to try and poke each other’s eyes out with them, and I found one of Yeseul’s old FEELING SWEET outfits the other day.. We’ll see. Their hair can be dyed bioluminescent for all I care, as long as it’s fun—extensions, spikes, all of that. Eyewear? I don’t know anyone who wears sunglasses in the club, but maybe we can throw realism out of the window for that one. Need to send this over to Sumi for revisions.

And.. Well. With that, this marks the end of all I was given about ‘BROKEN GLASS,’ the album that never was. I still have no clue why it was scrapped (boredom on the part of Seungdae? A particularly bad fight?) but if anything comes through, I’ll be sure to let you know. Or maybe the news will break to everyone, and we’ll all find out together. I’m obviously still not thrilled about however long the months of inactivity will continue to stretch, as well as the fact that we won’t get to see this album play out officially, but I am still happy that this little piece of gold (or.. I don’t know, this little rock of popping candy, if you want to keep up with the sweet theme) fell into my lap via that JAGUAR staff member. I hope I’m still small enough to fly under the radar of their.. Bigger fishes in the pond, because I don’t really want to get served with any kind of lawsuit or threat on my life (I’m not saying it's likely, but who knows. What if they set Yijun on me?). I’m simply sharing what was given to me to my modest little following, no harm done. Call it word of mouth, except I have a little more insider intel than the last person who’s just leaned over to crudely whisper into your ear. Anyway, I guess this is goodbye from me. See you in the next one—if I make it out alive.

#⠀⁺ ⋆ ✶ ⠀SUGARHOLiC SELTZER⠀⠀⸻⠀⠀development.#THEIR SLANDER DOES NOT REFLECT ME!!!!!!!!! i love all of these songs trust #kpop oc #fictional kpop group #fictional idol community #idol oc #fictional idol group

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phantomdialogue · 4 months ago

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˗ˏˋ. ݁₊ ✶ ˖ 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐲𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐲 𝐚𝐥𝐢 𝐡𝐚𝐳𝐞𝐥𝐰𝐨𝐨𝐝 - 𝟒.𝟓/𝟓 ☆ . ݁ ˖ˎˊ˗

premise: olive smith has made plenty of questionable decisions over the years, most notably her newest one which involved kissing a man in the hall of the biology lab who turned out to be dr. adam carlsen, renowned scientist and token “asshole” of the biology department. she’s trying to help set her friend up with her ex when adam suggests fake dating in order to solve both of their many problems. what she’s both painfully and blissfully unaware of is how many new problems this agreement could create… such as falling in love with the man she’s fake dating.

couple(s): adam carlsen and olive smith

tropes: fake dating, age gap, grad student x teacher, miscommunication, friends to lovers, grumpy x sunshine

content warnings: some discussion of grief, sexual harassment

review below!

review:

ALI HAZELWOOD YOU GOT ME AGAIN. i’m fairly certain that she can not write a couple that i don’t at least enjoy if not fall head over heels for. this was so good and i understand why people love it so much now. will i ever get over that it’s lowkey star wars fan fiction? no. will i ignore that fact still to fall deeply madly in love with adam carlsen? yes 1000 times over.

having read this after reading deep end, it’s so interesting to see how much her writing has grown and what hasn’t changed and it just further reminds me why she’s one of my auto buy authors now. her writing just works. even when it can get clunky in some areas of a few books, it still works and keeps you going. i highly doubt i could ever dnf something of hers because i just love her writing so much that even when i want to bash the characters over the head (which did happen a few times in this book, both lovingly and unlovingly), i don’t want to put it down ever.

adam carlsen… what a man. where is my 34 year old grumpy science boyfriend? i need him in my room now. i am jack smith turner’s number one fan but damn adam is high on the book boyfriend ranking for the ali hazelwood boys and for the year as a whole. he’s just so wonderfully written and he works so perfectly with olive. speaking of olive, i wanted to hit her with a frying pan over the head a few times, but i still think she may be one of my favorite ali hazelwood girls. she works so well with adam and their relationship and love for each other really makes up for the bits of her that drove me crazy.

in the end, it’s another classic ali hazelwood that i will likely end up rereading because it’s just so good and so perfectly her. all hail the stem romance queen!!!

my ratings:

characters - 4 ☆ - memorable, multilayered, strong relationships, relatable

plot - 4.75 ☆ - addictive, cliched, predictable but satisfying, satisfying conclusion, steady pacing

setting - 4 ☆ - bland/generic, realistic, fits the story

writing style - 4.5 ☆ - easy to read, funny, original, witty

favorite quotes (some spoilers here, of course, but minimal):

“Have you considered getting a real girlfriend?” His eyebrow lifted. “Have you considered getting a real date?”

Just dark brown wood and a metal plaque that read: Adam J. Carlsen, Ph.D. Maybe the J stood for “Jackass.”

“Is the sunscreen going in the Title IX complaint?” His mouth twitched. “Right on the first page. Nonconsensual sunblock application.” “Oh, come on. I saved you from basal cell carcinoma.” “Groped under SPF pretense.”

“ ‘Carry yourself with the confidence of a mediocre white man.’ ”

The casual domesticity of it—the thought that his day and hers would end in the same place, at the same time—soothed her like a slow caress down her spine.

You can fall in love: someone will catch you.

For looking at her like she was the beginning and end of his every thought.

#⊹₊ ⋆ᯓ★ book review #book review #bookblr #review #the love hypothesis #the love hypothesis ali hazelwood #ali hazelwood

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regularhill · 1 year ago

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What don’t you like about the remake? I gotta know

anon i fear you are going to open pandora's box with this question.

since it was revealed in 2022, i will say that my very passionate, fiery, and searing hatred for its very existence has definitely simmered, and what i hold now in my heart for it is a very... cautious disdain.

i'll do my best to break it down for you.

PART ONE: BOOBER TEAM LOL

so... for starters, bloober team, the developers behind the remake, has had something of a muddied history with riding off the coat tails of games past, airlifting concepts from them wholesale, and layers of fear was no different in that respect. there's also the can of worms that is their survival horror title "the medium", which is basically bloober's silent hill 2 before the sh2 remake.

spoilers for the medium, but what can be gleaned from it thematically deeply concerns me as a sh2 fan, i.e. the notion that a victim of csa is simply too far gone and either the player character has to kill her or herself with the adage "you cannot save everyone". not to mention the fact that said victim's abuser was framed in a far more sympathetic light than she was, framing his predatory behavior as a monster controlling him from the inside. it's disgusting and insensitive, simply put.

this theme of "if you're mentally ill or suffer from trauma, you're beyond help and simply better off dead" also appears in their blair witch game, which is... great. from jump, i have had less than favorable opinions on bloober team, not for the quality of their visuals or their gameplay, but what stories they're most interested in telling, and how they go about telling them, exactly.

now, to blanket state that every single person on bloober team are hacks and frauds and don't have a shred of integrity telling the stories that they do would simply be ignorant and incorrect. i wholeheartedly believe that there are individuals working on the sh2 remake right now who want it to be the best that it can be and Very Much Want It To Be Good. it's a shame that these individuals who don't have much in way of creative control are getting thrown under the bus, too.

i can, however, maintain that opinion while also finding their backlog of games prior to the upcoming remake very disconcerting and have that inform my overall level of distrust in their integrity wholesale.

PART TWO: PRESS X TO CRY

i don't think there's anything that makes me more miffed than thinking about when the first remake trailer dropped.

so, we see our friend jim rush into the bathroom, seemingly out of breath, and wash his hands in the sink. we then get a shot of those hands, trembling with fear. he then takes thumb to palm, rubbing circles into them, presumably as a means to soothe himself. we then get him looking into the mirror, seemingly confused and out of place. he touches his face, much like he does in the original.

now, i understand that the notion of jim's emotionality has been a hotly debated topic. some people like it. some people don't. and i'm one of those people who doesn't. at least in this particular vein. in the original sh2, the cold open we get with james slowly approaching the mirror, shrouded in shadow, running his hand over his face as if he doesn't think he's real immediately sets the tone. we don't know who this man is or why he's here. as far as we know, he's just a random guy looking for somebody. namely: We Do Not Know He's Guilty Of Anything.

jim, however, is OOZING of guilt. he literally washes his hands, for christ's sake. anxiously washing his hands of his deed. the fact that it's more obvious that he's a guilty man from the start rather than further re-contextualizing his behavior throughout the narrative and to the reveal is a very classic blooberism.

bloober has a very bad habit of being... heavy-handed when it wants to implicate. saying what something is without saying it outright. this can be found in the most recent release date trailer, where angela desperately tells james that "[she'll] be good for him" ('him' being her sexually abusive dad, of course) in a scene which looks like she's in front of the giant mirror. in the original, it's apparent that Something's happened to her, but we're not sure what until the abstract daddy boss fight later in the game where she says "or you could just force me. beat me up like he always did."

it's not that sh2 wasn't ever blunt or heavy-handed with its storytelling, of course, but it's a matter of when it's appropriate to forego subtlety. eddie, for example, doesn't make vague allusions to or sugarcoat the abuse that he experienced as a fat person, and that's fitting! being candidly violent and more outward in contrast to angela who for the most part is very withdrawn and meek works very well. sometimes, being blunt is the best course of action for optimal characterization/narrative progression.

also, on the topic of jim... i call him jim simply because he does not read as james to me. he's a new individual that's operating within a james-like role; he's just... simply a different person. he's very, very gritty, and VERY visibly neurotic. to me, he's very much anxiety tunnel-visioning: hyperfocused on one thing that everything else seems to fall by the wayside.

i never got the implication that he was dissociating like the original james is, of which i think is a core trait of his, and probably informs a lot of why i do not read jim as james. this is a very take it or leave it kind of opinion, and it's not that i feel super negatively about jim's characterization, either. it's just... idk i don't think screaming and crying while falling to your knees is a very james thing to do. james fell to his knees silently after he screamed, comparatively. shrug.

it's like... james is a herding dog and jim is a sighthound. same animal, different kind.

and then there's maria. but i wrote a whole post on that already, so you can read that here. people have also written numerous think pieces about why her redesign is so nothingburger, too, so i'm not the only one who thinks this way, either.

angela in the remake is alright. i have my gripes, but she's okay. what concerns me the most is the VERY PERTINENT lack of eddie. he has been very notably absent throughout this whole song and dance, and it's getting fucking ridiculous. WHERE IS HE BLOOBER. I KILL ANOTHER HOSTAGE THE LONGER YOU KEEP HIM FROM US.

PART THREE: CONCLUSION, AKA NEVER TRUST A COMPANY WITH YOUR HAPPINESS

all and all, i don't have very high hopes for the sh2 remake, not because it doesn't look good, play good, etc.; the way that a game plays, and even more so how a game looks doesn't matter to me so much as how the narrative is executed. the remake, photorealistically, looks great! the environments are very rich. that's all well and good.

but, again, looks alone cannot sway me. it's nothing that i haven't already seen before done by games past. i'm not excited for a sh2 that looks like a re2r or a re4r, simply put. there was a style developed within the limitations of what the ps2 could handle, and with the massive upscale in technology and photorealism above all else, it's undoubtedly lost. while a matter of taste, of course, i just find myself very straight-faced looking at what teasers we have of the remake. i'm not amazed, nor am i amused! it's as simple as that.

and also, we should mention that at the helm of it all, konami has been milking the silent hill franchise for all it's fucking worth. maybe the members of bloober team are trying to genuinely make a good game for once, but konami wants that money at the end of the day, if the spectacular failures of games past, as well as silent hill themed experiences such as ascension are anything to go by.

also also, this remake is never gonna satisfy every single sh2 fan. that's just the truth of the matter. i think some people are really gonna love it and some are really gonna hate it. realistically, i'll be very meh on it. i can find some things to like about, but that's really it. if i'm cherry-picking things i enjoy about something i'm largely reticent on, i wouldn't call that enthusiasm in the slightest. would you?

anyways, thank you for reading. i hope these answers suffice and satisfy.

#anonymous #answered asks #stormy shouts #enough of a shoutfest to warrant that tag #silent hill 2 #silent hill 2 remake #sh2 remake

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vae1bixy · 1 year ago

Text

Opie Winston x OC {Josie Bethe Teller]

Title - Partner in crime

Wordcount - 3.8k

Summary - Everybody has a secret that she doesn't tell anyone. Something dark and twisted or something more easier then that. A small embarrassed secret. But in Josie's life hers was a little more darker then a simple doll obsession.

A/n - This is my first time writing for SOA. Or for doing one of these with an original character. WARNING This contains death and abuse.

Josie Beth wasn’t a push over.

You couldn’t be where she grew up. If you acted weak you lost respect. Or at least any respect that could potentially be given. She learned from a very young age. That if you’re not strong you don’t get respect. You don’t cry, you don’t let yourself be hit or verbally berated. You fight back. Even if it costed you.

She was just sixteen years old, just in the junior year of high school. When she was even there. She was either suspended or expelled. At that time she had begun dating this guy. They were inseparable. He was a straight A student. A guy that never got into trouble. The complete opposite of her. It was almost funny.

Especially when he turned out how he did. Her boyfriend Sam. He wasn’t a guy who yelled or berated her. He was a bit of a nerd. Could go hours and hours talking about some new video game or sci fi show or movie. Anything he loved space and everything that came with it.

So when he began yelling at her and distancing himself. She didn’t worry too much. At least not anything bad. She didn’t halt at it. She knew something must have happened for him to switch his personality so sudden. They had been together for two years. Known each other for three. And he had never done anything of the sort. He was a pretty sweet and kind guy.

That’s when she began to think maybe he had a bad day. A bad week, a bad month. Maybe it was all the stress his parents put on him to get good grades to be the best. But then the arguments began to shift to just him yelling at her. Then one day it changed. He slapped her face. And her eyes widened when he did it. So did he. Like he was surprised he even did it. Like he didn’t expect he would go so far. And neither did she.

Holding up a hand to cover her cheek. Her brows furrowed and she slapped him back. But this time it was harder. Sure enough to leave a print on his cheek. He held his jaw with eyes widened like he couldn’t believe she hit him back. “What’s going on with you Sam?” She asked, sounding hurt. A small frown appeared on her lips. Her cheek didn’t hurt so much just her pride.

“I don’t know” He answered with a shake of his head.

Then he looked like began to get scared. Eyes widening and he grasped for her hand and she watched him. As he held up her hand and pressed small kisses to it looking up at her with puppy eyes. “Please don’t leave me i’m so sorry” He said pleadingly. “I’m so sorry” He repeated.

Josie bit the inside of her cheek as she watched him. She knew she should have broken it off right there. But some part of her wanted to forget it happened. He was apologizing; he knew what he did wrong. And she just loved him too much to leave him. So oblivious she began to speak back up. “It’s not alright” She said slowly.

And his eyes widened further. His grip tightened just a bit on her hand. Like he was afraid she was going to tug away. “But don’t do it again,” She said strongly. Eyes narrowing at him.

It was like a light flickered. He began grinning and let go of her hand to bring her into a hug and hold the back of her head. “I won't, I promise sweetie,” Sam said before he placed a kiss on her. Not giving her time to shut her eyes. Josie began to frown deeper but closed her eyes and allowed herself to be pulled away.

But that was a lie. It got better for a bit. The arguing stopped and the yelling stopped. All traces that he ever hit her were gone. The bruising on her cheek faded within days. But that didn’t mean no one questioned her. The guy’s even her mother. Jax and Opie well all of them were convinced it was Sam.

She only told them she got in a little fight with a girl at school but she won. And that was the end of it. It wasn’t unusual for her to get into fights anyways. For her to come home with a black eye or bleeding lip. Sometimes her mother swore she got into more fights than the club. That she went out looking for them.

And honestly sometimes she did.

Then the arguing started again. Fight about nothing and fights about major things. Usually Sam began the fight and Josie was just twisted up alongside it. “You’re always together” He began one day. But it wasn’t the only time the argument was brought up. Sam didn’t used to be a jealous person. He believed she respected her. He even used to hang around the house when Opie or any of the guys were there.

That’s another reason she couldn’t help fathom why he was doing it. He had to know they would kill him if she wanted them to. All she had to do was tell them. Actually she could ask them. Ask them without explaining and he would be dead within minutes. They could beat him into a pulp. Shoot him. Burn him. Anything they so felt like.

“There’s nothing going on with Opie '' She screamed back.

Anger climbing up her spine. Fists clenching at her sides. So hard her nails were digging into her palms. She promised herself she wouldn’t seep so far and hit her partner no matter if they were a woman or man. She didn’t want to be in a relationship like that. And she sure as hell didn’t want to be with someone who would treat her that way.

Lately she had been questioning whether or not she even wanted to be in a relationship with him. He wasn’t the same person he used to be. He was more angry. Slowly it was like pieces of what made him his own personality were disappearing, cracking and falling off of him over time.

“I see the way he looks at you” He spewed into her face. Hitting the air like he was trying to enforce what he was yelling. He hadn’t ever hit her since the first and last time. It had been three months since. Three months but it didn’t leave her mind. Sometimes she would lie in bed. Sometimes he would kiss her and she wondered when the next time he was going to blow up.

Josie wiped at her eyes a sigh falling from her lips. She was so tired so tired of this same argument. He hadn’t been there but an hour. And right after Jax and Opie had left her house he began yelling at her. The same thing he always did. That her and Opie spent too much time together. That he was afraid they were going to cheat on him. That he was just so insecure he had to take it out on her.

“He’s just a friend, I don't know what the hell is going on with you,” She screamed. It’s not like she could control how much Opie came over. He was her brother's best friend. And lived right beside them. And he was hers as well. She would never drop a friendship over a guy or girl.

Next thing she knew it. He stepped forward and instead of the palm of his hand his knuckles were coming into contact with her eyes. Hitting her in the corner of her right eye. “Don’t talk to me like that” he said darkly. Before he dropped his hand.

Josie touched her brow and there was a bit of blood on her fingertips. She looked at him before she turned away. Heading straight to the door. No one else was home. But if she called her brother she knew he would be right there. “That’s it” She said as she walked away. She was done. She was through with him.

“Josie” Sam called out then once more but a little harsher.

She opened the door and was about to leave but he grabbed her wrist and pulled her back. The door is still open. “Don’t go” he whispered. A small twisted smile lighting his face up. As he tried to cradle her hip with his other hand. Trapping her against him.

She wasn’t sure what happened but at that moment it was like she saw red. She reached down and grabbed the freshy new revolver she was gifted off of her desk. And shot him. At least that’s what she thinks happened. She just saw red. Heard nothing. Not until everything was coming back to her. The red leaving and the world returning.

And there on the floor of her bedroom was her boyfriend, his eyes wide and a bullet hole in his forehead. She dropped the gun and fell beside him. “I’m so sorry” Josie hiccuped. Her hand running through his hair. She whispered apologetics until finally she wiped at her eyes and stood up.

She grabbed her phone, shaky fingers touching the keypad in memorization. She didn’t call her mother. She didn’t call her older brother or even their father’s best friend Clay the man who ran the club. Josie wasn’t exactly sure why she even did call him. When the ringing stopped a tired voice answered.

“Hello” He said through a yawn.

“I need your help” She whispered. Soft sniffles filtering through the phone.

In that moment it was almost like those words pulled him back into the living. Like all traces of sleep were washed from him. “On my way” He said hard. Before she could hear shuffling on the other end. Like he was getting up. Then he ended the call shutting it off.

But he was there in a matter of a minute. They did live next door after all. He didn’t even knock on the door. Just walked straight into the house like he lived there. “Josie” Opie called out looking around the living room. Checking out the room waiting for any sign of her. But everything seemed normal. But he knew he wasn’t hallucinating; it sounded like she was crying over the phone. And Josie never cried. At least around him.

“In here” She called out.

He followed her voice down the hall and stopped at her room. The door was shut. And there was a stop sign on the door. Like that was meant to stop any sort of trespasser from entering. “I’m coming in” He said, like a warning. One he had learned very quickly to do years ago.

Whatever he expected was definitely not what he walked in on. There on the floor was her boyfriend right on his back. Blood was flowing from his head and created a puddle on her floor. And she was just sitting on her bed sheets. Specs of blood on her hands and printing onto the handle of her gun. The gun that was hanging loosely in her hand.

“Jesus” He said as he took his beanie off and wiped at his hair. Stress is already pulling onto his face.

Sure he was ‘in the club’ but not really. He was just a prospect. He was a new guy. Even if he had grown up in the club. He saw shit nobody saw. Heard things nobody heard. But so have she they all grew up there. But this he had never seen a dead body before. At least this fresh. Not when the blood was still flowing out of them.

“I had to” She said like she was stripped away from whatever thoughts she was having. Tears falling from her eyes and sobs rocketing through her. Deep and throaty sobs. She didn’t want to. She didn’t want to kill him. But secretly deep inside of her she knew she did. She wanted him to feel what she felt.

Opie was stepping over the body and to Josie before he knew it. Taking the gun easily with one hand and setting it onto the mattress. While he crouched down eye to eye level with her. “Hey hey it’s okay” He said as he brushed a hand over her cheek brushing the tears away. Wiping bits of blood as he did.

“I’m sure it wasn’t really your fault” He said, causing her to laugh a bit. Everything was her fault. Especially this. A man, well a boy was dead because of her. Even if she thought he deserved it. Even if she secretly didn’t feel guilty for it. Someone was dead. Someone who had a bright future. Maybe even getting out of Charming unlike her.

After a minute he went to stand up. “We have to call your brother and mom” He said decisively. Jax would kill him if he didn’t call him. He’d kill him for taking so long to call. He loved his sister more than anything. Even more than Gemma and the club. And if the asshole on the floor was still alive he would be dead again.

“No you can't, they'll just be disappointed in me” She said as she grabbed ahold of his wrist and stopped him from moving any further. He looked down at her hand but she still didn’t let go.

Opie frowned at her unsure of how to help. He wasn’t equipped for this. To comfort someone and over kill another person. But he had a big feeling the guy deserved it. “They didn’t like the guy anyways” He said, trying to joke. Still in front of her line of sight and blocking off most of Sam’s dead body except for his legs.

“I’m serious Opie” She said, shaking her head tears rolling back down her cheeks. Even if she was the one who did it. She was feeling the lost of him. Of her boy friend. Or ex at this time.

He tapped a hand to her head and petted it. As he began to think of how he was going to cover a murder. Sure he thought about it before. Heard the other’s talk. But this would be his first time. “We’re going to figure this out” He said comfortingly. As tears dipped further down her cheeks.

Opie went back home and grabbed his father’s car keys. It wasn't’ hard he wasn’t home to find out and with this time of hour he probably wouldn't be back until the next day. But they would have to be quick before Gemma or Jax got back.

He pulled the old truck out of the driveway and to her and backed the tailgate up to the doorway. Before he got out, shutting the door and checking to make sure no one was outside before he went back into the house this time he didn’t waste the energy to knock. And they rolled the boy into her carpet.

He got the front end of the body and she got the rear end. Opie wasn’t super strong. He was more height than muscle. But he could lift a good seventy pounds. Less than half of what the boy weighed. He walked backwards her in front and they barely lifted him up to the tailgate. Even with it down.

“Where are we going to hide him?” She questioned. Crossing her arms over her chest. The blood beginning to dry and stick to her arms.

He raised the tell gate up before he turned to look at her. His eyebrows are raised even in the night light. “I’m going to find a place… you just stay here and clean the blood up” He said struggling a bit to find the words. Before he began to walk back to the driver side door.

“Hell no im coming” She said, following back towards him.

“Josie,” He quipped.

But she shrugged a bit. A less annoyed expression disappearing and a more upset one coming back. Small drops of blood on her right cheek shining in the lamp against the wall of her house. “I killed him, I might as well follow through,” She said, nodding a bit. It was only right. Somehow it would make her feel better.

Sighing he opened the door and gestured to the other side. “Alright, we'll get in” He ordered. She wasted no time but to shut the door. They were silent on the way there. Nothing but the small buzz of the radio and the thud of Sam’s body in the back of the truck when Opie hit the brake too hard.

They drove for what felt like hours. Passing by building restaurants, homes, even a police car. Before they arrived at the destination. He began to pull into a wooded area where trails lead into it. Showing that it wasn’t completely deserted. They came there to party before. All of them well all the teenagers getting together and going out to the woods to party smoke drink fuck. Anything.

“Are you sure this is a good place to leave him?” She questioned worriedly. Looking around but the emptiness of the woods was all she saw. As she walked to follow him out of the truck.

Opie looked back at her his hands on the tailgate and pulling it downwards. “Do you have a better idea?” He questioned leaving no heat in it. But she just nodded. He grabbed a hole of Sam’s hand and pulled the body closer so she could reach. She grabbed a hold of his feet and made a face of small huffs coming from her as she lugged him in wards of the woods.

“Right here” He said through bated breaths. They both dropped the body and it hit a thud onto the ground at the same time.

“Wait here” He ordered giving her one more glance before disappearing the way they came. Josie waited in the woods. Her arms holding herself as she tried to look anywhere but the dead body and the darkness the woods provided. She never liked the darkness of the woods. But maybe it was partly because of the night she just had. Just when she beginning to get antsy and about to leave to find Opie.

She heard footsteps. And he was coming back into her sight. But fuel in his hands. “We need to get some sticks” He said. She nodded a bit and began to grab some around them. Him doing as so. Lifting big sticks up hurriedly and dropping them around the body.

“You never asked why I did it?” She said quietly.

He wasn’t dense he saw the bruise growing around her eyes. The blood in her eyebrow. He knew what happened. Opie had never liked Same. But neither did Jax and Gemma and really everybody. But Opie didn’t dislike him for there reasons. He wasn’t sure he just had a bad feeling about the guy. And apparently he was right.

“Should i?” Opie questioned glancing at the side of her face a bit.

She just chuckled a bit before she stood up. A pile of limbs in her left hand and pointed to her eyebrow where blood was drying up. The growing bruise on her face. “He hit me,” She said like she found it funny.

“And you’re laughing?” He questioned confusedly. Dropping the limbs onto the body a little extra harder than really needed. One thing about the club was that they didn’t believe in abusing women or children. They might do all kinds of other shit that wasn’t morally good. But they had a fine line of morally good and wrongs.

She shook her head dropping the limbs before she fell into laughter again. Her hands on her knees as Opie watched confused. Finally she stood up wiping at the tears on her face, a grin still in place. And small giggles falling out of her mouth. “I don’t know, I just think it’s ironic,” She said.

He nodded slowly. Maybe he thought she was losing her mind. Josie was kind of scared that she did. She wasn’t exactly a saint. But she never thought she could be capable of killing another person. And someone she loved so much. Someone she imagined growing older with. “This should be enough,” He finally said.

She nodded a bit. And he poured the fuel over his body and into the sticks. She watched fascinatedly holding onto her body tighter with her arms before he pulled a lighter out of his jeans. But instead of lighting it he handed it over to her. Josie took it carefully, watching him with wide eyes.

“You’re honors” He mumbled a bit.

“Thanks” She whispered a bit before she leaned down crouching.

Josie thought about saying some words. Saying how he deserved what he got that she wished he got worse. That she hated him. Maybe the opposite, maybe that she loved him and that she was sorry. Maybe tell him how she felt. But she didn’t do either; she leaned out and lit the branches. Slowly the fire spread from the limbs and the leaves and into the carpet.

Standing back up by Opie. She could only imagine how he looked now. His cheeks she used to kiss red. The skin coming off until it was a bloody mess. His short dark hair that she used to run her fingers through burning until it fell off. Opie wrapped an arm around her and brought her to his side hugging her a bit.

It was then the decision they both made finally came to light. Like they were suddenly realizing. They couldn’t tell a soul. At least not any more. Either of them could do time for it. Even Opie for helping her. Neither of them would say a word of it. Without a single word spoken they just knew. She knew she made the right decision.

Maybe she was more of a Teller then she thought.

Josie stripped her sweater then her shorts and dropped it into the fire watching as the flames took that too. Until she was just standing in a long t-shirt then barely touched her knees. They stood there watching as the fire burnt through the body. Stayed there for another hour. Sitting on the ground watching. Just to make sure the body did decompensate.

Before they got up and went home. Opie pulled into his driveway and then walked back. As they finished cleaning up the spot on her floor board. Scrubbing it with boiling hot water and soap. On her hands and knees. Opie went home an hour after through her window when he heard the sound of a motorcycle pulling up.

#sons of anarchy #opie winston #jax teller #Teller oc #Josie Beth Teller #short one shot #short #Opie winston x oc #Younger sister of Jax

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germawife · 8 days ago

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hi tumblr. i have a couple of introspective hetalia rambles i've written up and refined and i decided that, actually, i really like sharing my thoughts so you guys get them too! under the cut is a remake of a piece i wrote when my friend asked me about whether there was a follow-up to the events of buon san valentino or not! i would highly recommend reading at least the final chapter (linked) of the manga strips for the valentine's day event, as it ends differently than the manga version.

here is a link to my other piece about the way i interpret prussia's grief and processing of losing the holy roman empire and gaining germany out of the german unification! it goes hand-in-hand with this piece, i'd recommend reading it if you like this one!

Given Austria’s previous position as Veneziano’s boss, he would very quickly pick up on the most likely description that Germany would offer up- his vision of gifting heaps of flowers to a young girl in a servant’s dress with a peculiar little curl, not unlike Veneziano’s- and make his own connections from there. Now... how he’d process the implications of Germany reliving memories from the perspective of the late Holy Rome is its own beast. I don’t believe that he would’ve ever made the connection between Germany and Holy Rome otherwise- sure, the nations themselves are historically related and there are quite a few similarities to be drawn between the two as their own people, but he was under the impression that Holy Rome had died on the battlefield during the Thirty Years’ War. Prussia had kept the truth of his little brother’s last days tucked close to his chest, likely to preserve the dying empire’s peace.

— ( ★ ) —

After the events of Buon San Valentino, I believe that, realistically, Germany would seek out answers concerning the hazy flashback he’d experienced during the climax of his disastrous date with Veneziano. To clarify, I’m not of the belief that Germany would immediately assume it was a memory that’s relevant to his past- which is why he would seek out external insight. Because of the way he’s shown to have sought out his cousin’s advice and insight throughout the entirety of the Valentine’s Day arc, it’s very likely that Germany would go to Austria about his predicament first and foremost.

Austria wouldn’t be equipped to explain everything to Germany- not when he, himself, has no idea what the full picture looks like anymore. So, naturally, he’d send his cousin off to question Prussia. The ex-nation had been the one to rise to the occasion when the nation of Germany was officially born, claiming the title of the young boy’s caretaker... so, he definitely knew more than he’d ever let anyone else in on.

Now, this is where it’s important to expand upon some of Prussia’s key traits as an older brother, both to Holy Rome and to Germany. He has shown, multiple times, that he tries to bear the weight of serious and troubling matters on his own to protect his brother(s). As previously stated, he takes Holy Rome in on his own and keeps this a secret- clearly to protect his baby brother. Later on, after Prussia loses his status as his own individual nation, he begins to lose the sped-up regeneration that strong and healthy nations are gifted with. He keeps this a secret from Germany- when he’s bitten by one of their dogs, the bite fails to heal, even after a weeks worth of time. He writes this off as if the bite is brand new, brushing Germany’s concerns off and redirecting his attention to unrelated matters.

Prussia, despite the persona he puts on, is an extremely protective sibling. When he reads stories from the original German publication of Grimm’s Fairy Tales to Holy Rome and is questioned about the more grim and overall mature themes presented within the stories, Prussia (rather unceremoniously) brushes Holy Rome’s inquiries off and changes the subject.

In general, Prussia tends to underestimate the mental fortitude of his kin. I believe that he’s deathly afraid of ruining Germany by sharing everything he’s been bottling up- especially the truth of the connection between Holy Rome’s death and Germany’s birth. This would be a lot for Germany to process and subsequently cope with- so, it seems most likely that Prussia would brush his brother off when approached about his (unknowingly) relived memory.

Without Prussia’s help, I don’t think Germany will ever be able to uncover the truth. Nobody else has all of the pieces to the puzzle, and that’s very intentional on Prussia’s part. He’d carry that weight himself- Germany had forged his own identity and relationships in this new life of his, he shouldn’t have to worry himself over memories of a lifetime he’d already been forced to leave behind.

#hetalia #hws germany #hws prussia #hws austria #hws holy roman empire #ludwig beilschmidt #gilbert beilschmidt #roderich edelstein #gerita #holytalia #i think these are all the applicable tags to use... i'd link my own (char) tag but i actually did not very prominently talk about myself! s #discussion and/or additional introspection is always welcomed i love to chat!!#txt

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cruel-as-sin · 5 months ago

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get to know your mutuals

thank you so much @flowersforbucky for tagging me!

what’s the origin of your blog title? it’s two of my favorite taylor swift songs put together! cruel summer (my all time favorite song ever) + guilty as sin? (one of my favs from ttpd) = cruel-as-sin aka cas!

favorite fandoms? i only write for x-men right now but some of my other fandoms include star wars, marvel, critical role, six of crows/shadow and bone, genshin impact (don’t look at me), once upon a time, anything hugh jackman is in, and taylor swift!

favorite color? blue! specifically a darker blue but im not picky

favorite game? on the basis of it being top tier i have to say minecraft, but also- jedi fallen order and jedi survivor, starfield, skyrim, genshin impact, and a way out

song stuck in your head? disease by lady gaga

weirdest habit/trait? i talk too much. get me going and i will not stop. i talk to myself all the time too

hobbies? writing of course, reading when i find the energy (which is not often), video games!! dnd (as a player and a dm), tv and movies, music, editing, and i’ve been trying to get into some more artsy stuff lately as well

if you work, what’s your profession? i’m a full time college student majoring in creative writing- but on breaks, i work as an office assistant at a university

if you could have any job, what would it be? a fantasy author! (shocking i know)

something you’re good at? supporting others- i try really hard to be there for the people i care about. buying them treats to make them feel better, seeking out videos that i think will make them smile, being a shoulder to cry on, taking care of tasks for them, etc

something you’re bad at? anything requiring physical strength/exertion. you’ve got the wrong guy

something you love? the beauty of life. making someone smile, laughter, babies/newborn animals, watching different species connect with one another, nature, gently falling snow… i could go on

something you could talk about for hours? anything, and i mean anything. i am a serial yapper and everyone who knows me is a victim of this. please ask about my life i will never shut up about anything

something you hate? oh god so many things. i mean the obvious in todays society but more specific to me, people who are insincere. if you’re a hater just say that, don’t be fucking fake about it, don’t act like someone you’re not. pisses me off fr. oh and also loud people. i’m talking like no respect for others, banging on doors for shits and giggles, yelling and screaming while throwing parties, blasting music… all that stuff. that loud ass car won’t make your dick any bigger

something you collect? mementos! ticket stubs, receipts, little drawings, notes my friends and i passed back and forth during class, cards, letters, etc :)

what’s your love language? big fan of all of them but quality time is my number one

favorite movie/show? logan is my fav x-men movie but x1 is my comfort film for sure, tv show would probably be the mandalorian

favorite food? pasta is my go to, but i go CRAZY for some chicken and rice

favorite animal? cats :3

are you musical? yes! i’ve played guitar and ukulele for a few years now, and i also sing!

what were you like as a child? autistic. and no i am not exaggerating.. i spent a lot of time playing by myself as opposed to with others, had very few friends, and got bullied for seemingly no reason bc i was the weird kid 😭

favorite subject in school? english (no surprises here)

least favorite subject in school? math. no question

what’s your best character trait? loyalty. i am ride or die for the people i care about and i will go to WAR to defend them

worst character trait? i’m a chronic procrastinator… like, it’s BAD y’all. i’ve vowed to never have planned release dates for my chapters/fics for this exact reason

if you could time travel, who would you like to meet? david bowie! absolute icon

no pressure tags: @logansbaby @dilfverines @wlwloverwrites @thinkinonsense and anyone else who wants to join in!

#cas personal

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insomniamamma · 5 months ago

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Get to know your moots! Thank you @fromthedeskoftheraven and thank you for reccing my Ezra stories 🖤

What's the origin of your blog title? Honestly? It’s a pretty accurate description of my time here. I love my fictional spacemen while experiencing hot flashes and unprecedented levels of existential dread.

OTP(s) + Shipname: John Chricton/Aeryn Sun, Jack O’Neill/Sam Carter, Kara Thrace/Leoben Conoy (Karaben), Chrisjen Avasarala /Bobbie Draper, Gwen Cooper/Captain Jack Harkness (Gwack), Sherlock Holmes/Molly Hooper (Sherlolly) Frankie Morales/Benny Miller (Fishben)

Favourite colour: Purple and dark green

Favourite game: Dominion. This is a table top deck building game. The mechanics are real simple, but there are so many combinations of cards that you can repeat play it forever and still have a great time. The hubby’s cousins got real into Dominion for a few years and at every family gathering there would be at least four Dominion games going at any one time.

Song stuck in your head: “If It’s True” from Hadestown

Weirdest habit/trait? Before I start my car I have to switch my foot between the gas and break pedal several times so I can be sure which one I’m touching.

Hobbies: Cooking, art, writing, tabletop games, amateur cosplay, crochet, sewing.

If you work, what's your profession? I am a finisher in a shop that builds store displays. Which means I am a jack of all trades. I can run a CNC router, three different kinds of large format printers, vinyl plotters. But sometimes I get to cast things in resin and foam, and sometimes I get to build LED lightboxes, which are my favorite. You wire it all together and that shit lights up. It’s satisfying.

If you could have any job you wish, what would it be? Honestly? Probably an electrician. I’m seriously considering trying to get myself certified. I enjoy the work. And I could probably make some decent money.

Something you're good at: Working with my hands. Cooking. Singing. Writing stories.

Something you're bad at: Math.

Something you love: Cheetahs.

Something you could talk about for hours off the cuff: Star Wars, Prospect, The Apollo program, the Challenger disaster, plane crashes, a whole bunch of medical stuff that would squick any normal person out. Cooking methods. Hadestown.

Something you hate: Cruelty for it’s own sake.

Something you collect: Cookbooks, cool rocks, Pedro Pascal ephemera, metal lunchboxes.

Something you forget: Dates and days of the week.

What's your love language? Acts of service. I might not be able to talk about my emotions but I will cook you a nice meal and make sure you’re wearing a coat when you go out in the cold.

Favourite movie/show: Prospect/Farscape Favourite food: I love Mexican food. Favourite animal: Cats. They are God’s most unhinged creations. They have egos the size of Jupiter and they only weigh ten pounds and they love so hard that they vibrate about it.

What were you like as a child? I was weird like it was my job. Let’s put it this way, I got diagnosed with ADHD in the early 80s when people thought that only boys could have ADHD. I was bullied pretty relentlessly. If I could have spent all my time drawing and ignoring the world I would have been happy.

Favourite subject at school? Biology and art. And AP psychology. Least favorite subject? Math and gym. (I don't even need to change Adira's answers) (I don’t need to change Raven or Adira’s answers.)

What's your best character trait? Loyalty. Work ethic. What's your worst character trait? My inability to articulate my feelings. I hold that shit in until I explode.

If you could change any detail of your day right now what would it be? I’d like the knot brewing in my neck to go fuck itself.

If you could travel in time who would you like to meet? Jesus. I know that’s cliched as shit but I would love to hear first hand what he said versus the crazy ass version of Chistianity that dominates right now.

Recommend one of your favourite fanfics (spread the love!): I am going to recommend Compulsion by @iamskyereads. This is an incredible story that feels like a genuine extension of the events of the movie. It's really fucking good.

if you see this consider yourself tagged ❤️

#tag games #get to know your moots

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elvenbeard · 2 years ago

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I was at Phantom Liberty Tour Cologne and this is how it went!

Img: A screen showing Johnny Silverhand with tickets to the Phantom Liberty Tour Cologne and the title "Phantom Liberty Tour - 25. August 2023 Köln"

The following is 100% an expression of my personal views! I experienced the Phantom Liberty Tour event in Cologne as overall extremely positive, I had been very hyped about it in the weeks and days before, and CDPR did not disappoint me in any way shape or form with what they put together! For transparency, I didn’t have to pay for anything beyond my own travel costs and accommodation, everything else was included solely in my application for the event being accepted.

This post is intended as a way to give a glimpse into the experience to everyone who couldn’t go or whose application wasn’t accepted -and I just wanted to share my thoughts xD It was a very small and exclusive event with very limited tickets, and I still feel super priviliged to have been able to go there. I’m aiming to share my experience with everyone reading this now and give you at least a little peek behind the scenes of it all!

We didn’t have to sign any NDAs or such, we only weren’t allowed to take pics/videos or make audio recordings of the showcased gameplay!

If you’re also going to one of the upcoming events in your respective countries, maybe wait reading this until you’ve been there to not ruin any potential surprises! And also, if you don’t wanna be spoilered about anything Phantom Liberty as such, meaning, the actual game and story, but still wanna know about what the event was like: I will put a warning onto sections that contain spoilers for the gameplay, so you can skip those!

How me and my sibling even got invited in the first place

I only learned about this event more or less on accident when my sibling sent me a screenshot of an Instagram post about it XD So, big props to them for giving us both this chance! XD That was back in May, the post said “tell us why we should invite you to the PL tour in Cologne” in its sign-up form. I did, and then waited patiently to maybe hear back from them. Originally, after sending my submission, I received a reply saying that “if you’re invited, we (CDPR organizer team) will get back to you until August 4th “. In my submission I wrote something along the lines of that I’m relatively new to the game and fandom, but it quickly evolved into my new favourite video game and unlocked so much creativity for me, so that I’m making my own mods for it now, create art, and write. My sibling was a fan of the first hour, preordered the Collector’s Edition for PS4 back then, and now we can both simultaneously get hyped for Phantom Liberty. It would be an amazing opportunity if we could also attend this event together!

When I hadn’t heard back by then I accepted that I hadn’t been selected, was a bit sad, but it was alright. But then, a few days later while I was at work, I got an email with the headline “Hey Choomba” and I was like wtf? So, turns out, due to the insane amount of submissions they pushed back the notification day about a week. Around 1,500 people sent applications that the organizers all looked at individually, and only around 250 guests plus team members and special guests were actually present that night. I didn’t know about the delay in response, because I’m not active on social media beyond Tumblr… lemme tell you though, that was such a nice surprise, and I was super happy and would’ve been none the wiser had I not been picked xD

Due to the shorter timeframe though it was now a little harder to find a hotel still, as the PL Tour took place during Gamescom week. So, half of Gaming Europe was already in Cologne for that convention and hotels were scarce. On the one hand, it obviously made sense they put the date this weekend, so the devs already in Cologne anyway could swing by with ease. On the other hand, if you were, like me, definitely not from Cologne or the general area, a little more prep time ahead would’ve been nice.

Still though, my sibling and I still found a somewhat reasonable hotel and drove to Cologne in the early morning hours of August 25th!

Img: The door to the venue with a bright red "Phantom Liberty Tour" banner above the entrance

(cont. below the cut, long post with many pics, beware!)

The Venue, the Queue, the Delay, the Tickets

The sole information we had in advance was an address, to bring our ID cards as they’d make sure we are on the guest list and are 18+ years old. The event would start at 6pm and last until 12am. It said that "cosplays are very much appreciated" so I went in casual cosplay as Vince, because why the hell not XD But that was it in terms of what we knew about what was going to happen.

At around 5.20 p.m. we were at the location given to us via E-Mail. Parking was eh, but alright, we found a space close by, and as we drove past the venue, they were just in process of setting up their flag and banner. So yay, we’re in the right place! :D

Img: The black CDPR flag above the entrance :3

I was so fucking hyped, I couldn’t last in the car a second longer, so we just joined the queue and waited despite the occasional rain shower. We got talking a little bit with the people around us, there were some fellow modders, everyone was wearing some kind of merch, there were lots of fantastic cosplayers, too! Miles Tost, CDPR level design, was there and briefly talked to us all waiting patiently. Then we were informed that sadly there would be a little bit of a delay. I think at around 6.30 or so the queue finally started moving and at around 7 my sibling and I were inside the venue :D The reason of the delay is and was unclear, we learned later though that the guy responsible for the organization had set up something like this for the first time iirc, and therefore I’ll happily forgive the slight delay. Overall, the night was fantastic and I sure as hell couldn’t have done it better!

After checking our IDs, the lovely people by the entrance handed us our numbered tickets! One of the staff then asked us if we’d already played Phantom Liberty at Gamescom, which we hadn’t, so we also received one of those yellow plastic throwaway bracelets. Those who had already played it got a red one. The reasoning here was that they only had a small play area upstairs, so not everyone would be getting a chance to play the demo of the game, and people who hadn’t seen it yet would be preferred, to keep things fair. During the night some people with yellow bracelets would then be randomly approached by a member of the team and invited upstairs with a “mystery ticket”. I sadly didn’t get to play the game myself, neither my sibling, but we still got to see the gameplay anyway :3 We’ll get to that in a minute.

Img: Mine and my sibling's tickets, front and backside respectively; the bottom text on the backside says "be careful not to damage this section as you may still need it over the course of the night!", both tickets feature prominent circuit board and barcode designs

CDPR also invited us to free drinks with little tokens, and there was a broad selection of non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages at a small bar! I would’ve loved for there to be something like a Johnny Silverhand or Jackie Welles to order, but I guess it wasn’t the Afterlife after all. Still though, free drinks, even if generic, pretty cool :D

Activities within the Venue

While we were queuing outside still, we’d also heard about various activities that had been offered at the Warsaw station of the tour, and those were different from what we could do in Cologne!

After receiving our tickets and everything we were free to explore the location for a bit, as the actual show wouldn’t start until 8pm (originally 7 pm but well… delays :D).

There was the main floor with a big, convention center style setup with rows of chairs and some bar tables. There was the huge screen, the bar, and a really cool netrunner chair for taking pictures that the cosplayers rightfully loved :D On the left side were also a small Xbox play area where you could test out some Xbox game pass games XD The event had tons of sponsors contributing something cool.

Img: The main area of the venue right before the show begins, an industrial-style interior with bright red and white lights, and many people looking at a big screen at the wall featuring Johnny and a welcome text in German and English respectively

Next door was a little secluded area for a podcast to be recorded later during the night, as well as a booth where visitors could record video messages for the devs (I missed my chance here and that’s what I regret most about not doing during that night ;A; but I think/hope a lot of others present seized the opportunity to send some love to Poland for this amazing game and team <3).

Img: A small square room with four high-end gaming PC stations sponsored by NVIDIA; the screens are currently showing the main menu screen of Cyberpunk 2077 - can I just take one of these home with me please?

Then there was the upstairs area with the gaming corner, as well as another little recording studio set up by an independent German filmmaker team who were documenting the development of Phantom Liberty! We could’ve also contributed to that, if we had wished to, but I preferred to stay behind the camera this time around xD Looking forward to watching the documentary though once it’s out!

Img: a Netrunner chair replica surrounded by screens and gadgets

There was also an outdoors courtyard area serving as a chillout zone with food (vegetarian options available) and a really cool live medieval folk band playing songs from the Witcher OST :D The various walls on the inside were decorated with photos showcasing German cosplayers and works of fan artists, and those of them who were there that night were allowed to take their photos home as a little extra special keepsake!

Community Love

The community love was so, so real and despite being comparatively new to the game and fandom still I felt super at home and comfortable and welcome. Kind of like, “I’m in the right place”, if that makes sense XD

Speaking of community… while we were still outside in the queue my sibling pointed out to me that there was a Kerry cosplayer in the line behind us, and lemme tell you, I was fucking hyped and made it my mission to greet them over the course of the evening xD I’ve been to a few smaller, less gaming-focused cons this year and there were few Cyberpunk cosplayers, no Kerry so far, so this was my chance!

Turns out, the Kerry in question was none other than fantastic @ophani (you can follow her on Instagram as well and check out what she’s working on atm!) who had been one of the first Cyberpunk people I’d ever followed on tumblr after becoming more involved in the fandom xD So yeah, the fanboy moment was even more real once I’d realized that. Also, there with her, amongst others, was @korribancosplay (also on Instagram!! Go check out his fantastic work <3) who actually recognized me first for being there looking sorta like Vince. He recognized that specific V with that hair and tattoos from my art xD I was like whaaaah! Honestly, that was my highlight of the night hands down in regards to meeting fellow fans :D Again, big shoutout to you two for the lovely conversation and everything, we’ll definitely stay in touch, and I hope I can venture over to NRW again in the future to meet up! xD

Img: Left, ophani as Kerry Eurodyne in his 2023 appearance <3, right, korribancosplay as Goro Takemura - I wish I'd brought a proper camera, blurry phone pics that I tried to somehow save through editing ftw :D

There were a lot of other amazing cosplayers, accompanying the two mentioned, and others as well that I didn’t all get to talk to but yeah… it was amazing seeing them all regardless and the love everyone poured into their costumes! Really got me hyped about getting back into cosplaying as well!

Let the Show Begin

But then it was finally 8pm and everyone gathered in the main showcase area.

None other than male V’s German VA Björn Schalla opened the show with a little speech (“I guess I don’t have to say who’s speaking right now”). That already sealed the deal for me in terms of “okay yeah, CDPR not playing games (figuratively), this is gonna be an amazing night if literal fucking Voice-of-V is here as a special guest”.

Then the German community managers joined for a little introduction and walkthrough of the schedule, as well as all the devs and CDPR team members present for the night came on stage to kick off the event officially with a big selfie. Shame on me for not really knowing who exactly everyone was, I’m too new and not as well versed in the who-is-who yet, but there were some very big names that people got super excited about so o.o

Img: Left, Björn Schalla aka German voice of male V, giving a little introduction speech reading out loud some randomly picked names from the guest list; right, the CDPR team and devs at the venue on stage together

Pretty much immediately afterwards, Miles Tost came back on stage, and we got to experience about an hour of gameplay of Phantom Liberty! If you don’t want spoilers for the expansion, skip the next section until the “Spoilers end here” line! I will try not to take too much away, but I want to give an honest and thorough review of what I’ve seen!

SPOILERS START HERE

The Game Showcase – Public Demo

The way this worked was, Miles stood on the front stage and narrated through the gameplay shown on the big screen, while the German community manager (iirc) Ryan played the game following a predetermined route I assume. He very strictly showed specific features, locations, and took a few very specific dialogue choices, always omitting the blue optional ones and just going with one of the generic yellow ones. The V in the demo was a male corpo, and Ryan never chose any of the plentily available Corpo dialogue options (and I’m very thankful for that, so we as players get to explore those ourselves somewhere further down the line :3).

Miles mentioned that the build shown to us was around three months old, and the first half hour of the game we saw revolved around Songbird guiding V through Dogtown prior to Myers’ plane crashing. They showed some minor NPCs running shops, the new Ripperdoc interface, and so on and so forth. I liked the new Ripperdoc animation but would’ve loved it to be even more expansive than it was in that build XD It was more a “sits down, selects cyberware to buy, then sits back up again after a short black screen, wiggles briefly then ventures forth” moment. Not comparable to the first scene with Viktor, when V gets their optics installed in the main game, but it still adds a little immersion!

V was also wearing very funky purple tights (the same level of tightness as a netrunner suit, but textured sort of like crocodile leather? I have a mighty need for them), and very sporty white sneakers that I also didn’t recognize from the main game. Everyone in the room very much loved his extravagant fashion sense XDD

So far so good, V walks through Dogtown a bit more and has some fun banter with Songbird who is not there physically, but also not quite on the phone… Then the president crashes into Dogtown kind of how it was shown in one of the trailers, and V has to go and save her, obviously, fighting Kurt Hansens forces! Up until this point of getting to and saving Myers from the wreckage was part of the publicly available demo that could also be tested at Gamescom and that I think was also showcased in recent dev streams.

The Game Showcase – Extended Demo

BUT THEN we got to a screen that said “extended demo unlocked” and got to experience some more, so far unseen content!

There was a bit of a time skip, V now traveling with President Myers and trying to get her to safety. Then we quickly got to a scene I had been kind of anxious about: V having to take an oath to become a special agent working for the NUSA. Thankfully though: you didn’t actually have to take the oath as shown in the trailer, and I was relieved, because being forced to do that that would’ve ended the expansion for my V then and there XD You still get to work for Myers though, and then V actually ventured out to find Solomon Reed! :O

We got to see quite a bit more of Dogtown, which is much bigger than I had assumed o.o Like, big buildings, proper streets, etc. etc. - not massive, but also not small! It seemed to sort of seamlessly blend into Pacifica, maybe… But in the showcase we didn’t venture far enough to the limits of the area to really be able to tell how exactly it is integrated into the world. Also, no visuals on the new Badlands areas or anything beyond this little story mission, but I think for a showcase like this that would’ve been too much! Mr. Hands called about a gig though that he maybe shouldn’t have, interrupting Miles' speech a little XD I don’t recall the exact details, but it sounded like a "SOS: Merc needed" type gig. I’m super excited about that, too, there's tons to do in this area!

They also showed the new phone interface, as well as the completely reworked skill trees, which is something @darcidarlin asked me about!

For the phone interface I’m so so thankful! It was so much bigger and organized, much easier to handle and read.

About the skill trees I’m super torn in a way… they’re different and simpler now, but sometimes simpler isn’t necessarily better imo. I’m used to my current build and skills, I like the attributes, and I don’t really see yet how my old playstyle is gonna translate into this new version. Basically, what they did (or at least how it seemed to me) was replace the attributes with "Skills". There is a "Relic" skill, an "Edgerunner" skill, and so forth, at least I saw nothing labelled "Cool", "Strength", "Tech" in the way I'm used to, but the glimpse we got was too short and superficial to really get a good idea of the new menu layout and contents.

The combat they showcased looked very fun, but it was all very centered around hands-on fighting, guns, swords, heavy cyberware. They showed very little stealth and no hacking/tech, and me being a predominantly stealth/hacking/tech player I was a bit “meh” and beginning to wonder if I’ll still have fun with what’s to come in the same way I do now. They kinda quickly flicked through the skill trees and I almost had the impression they completely remodelled Tech into a Cyberware skillset now, with armor fully tied to cyberware as well… I really don’t know XD Right now I can do a tech-heavy build without getting chromed up to my teeth, and I’d like to keep it that way… But I’m not sure if it’ll still work out like this in 2.0. Not much info on Cyberpsychosis either, only that again, with Tech perks, you can increase your threshold in terms of how much chrome V can stuff into their body before suffering an "overload". My low-on-chrome but otherwise tech-loving V is crying a little bit about this change XD

But yeah, this build was 3 months old. And my impression of the skills way waaaay to brief, so it's likely I'm getting upset about nothing XD Specifically for getting a closer look at combat and skills I would’ve needed to test the game out myself, so take everything about this with a big grain of salt!

Next up Ryan made a savegame and they showed the reworked police system a bit. Calling his vehicle in the middle of Dogtown was hilariously difficult, as it kept glitching and crashing into some parked cars the AI just didn’t seem to recognize, always ending up lying on its roof xD Miles joked “Oh no, some glitches just persist no matter what we do… but I bet your car can’t do this!”

Once Ryan had finally managed to get into his car though he started shooting. When you commit crimes in Dogtown, the NCPD will actually not come after your ass, but instead Kurt Hansen’s Barghest, which is neat! They are similarly equipped and will put up a bit of a fight for sure. There is now basically a 5-star system like I know it from GTA, and as soon as you reach 5, MaxTac will show up and whoop your ass. And man, they did not mess around XD MaxTac is not unbeatable, V put up quite the fight and managed to take down a couple of them, but in the end he got overwhelmed and taken down xD It did take a considerable amount of effort and destruction and killing though to even get to five stars, so much so that both Miles and Ryan were getting a bit desperate about it taking so long. So yeah, you really kinda have to put some actual effort into even getting MaxTac’s attention was my impression, and I do like that a lot to keep it balanced!

After this little demonstration of the police system, V went on to find Solomon Reed and damn, the first encounter with him is so fucking cool… I will not spoiler it here, because yeah. Wait and see! I really loved it, Spy-Thriller vibes over 9000, they definitely hit the mark on that XD

There is also so so so so much lovely new banter with Johnny. He was very present throughout this second part of the demo and had a lot to say on his past as a soldier, which I was really hoping for!! So, I’m definitely looking forward to seeing how deep it’s gonna get and even more so how it’s gonna end o.o

So much though to the gameplay I saw and my impression on it! There are more details I can share on request, so hmu via DM or ask if you wanna know more! There definitely were a lot of little choices in dialogues, and there seem to be a lot of choices that you can mess up that then have consequences, too :o High risk, high reward vibes, fitting for the high stakes this story seems to have.

One other random sidenote: the music is insanely beautiful o.o There was a new sort of action-packed background track for finding President Myers in Dogtown. And at the end of the demo there was another new song playing that was sort of… “dreamy, but in a dreadful way” sounding? A female vocalist, no actual lyrics, electronic music with similar vibes to the “V” main menu song, but quieter and calmer and sadder. My sibling found it annoying after a while XD But I really enjoyed it, and I kind feel like it could’ve been Songbird’s theme!

I got a question by @cheapcheapfaker about updated character models and animations that kinda fit into this section of the post! So… sadly I cannot answer it for sure because we only got to see the expansion characters and never ventured out of Dogtown (and I didn’t get to play the game myself to test out if it would’ve been possible to go and meet somebody else). What I can say is, I personally didn’t notice much of an update of Johnny’s appearance or facial animations at all actually. I know others did in regard to the same build of the game I got to see. There was no opportunity to ask, and a lot of questions that went sort of deeper into the territory of technical or story stuff, Miles wasn’t allowed to answer at that point. I think they played the game on the highest graphics settings, too, with path tracing on, which was also was something I’m not used to seeing with my rig. Johnny looked somewhat different to me actually, but not in an improved or updated way, more in a higher/different settings way.

What was confirmed during the Q&A though that followed on a different topic later (I made a post about it here already), was that they did go back and fix some voice lines in the main game that turned out weird in the German dub. And I read somewhere else before that “no system was untouched” for making Update 2.0, so maybe the other characters also received some minor updates and final polish. But nothing concrete sadly that was said or came up during my experience of the evening!

SPOILERS END HERE

Meet and Greet with German V

After the showcase of the game was over and some people had received mystery tickets to test Phantom Liberty on their own time, the crowd dispersed across the venue for a variety of activities. I tried to get into the “leave a message to the devs” booth, but it was occupied quite permanently, so I went back and then sat and waited for the Q&A, because that was super-duper down my alley, and I wouldn’t have wanted to miss it. In the podcast room next door some devs had come together to talk a bit more about the expansion as such, too, including Miles.

I had to gather all the fucking courage in my body, and I think being sorta sleep deprived and pumped full of adrenaline helped, but before the Q&A started, I went up to Björn to ask for an autograph and we very briefly talked. I got to tell him that I loved the way he played V so so much, lol XD I wasn’t very coherent, but he was very kind and funny, super chill guy!

Img: My ticket now signed "Für Elven, von 'V'" and Björn Schalla's autograph - need to get a fancy frame for it asap xD

I’m so glad that after the Q&A, of which you can find the detailed content in this separate post I made already, I went up again to get a pic done with him and Localization Director Mikolaj! :D So yes, this was definitely my personal highlight of the evening’s program, maybe even more so than seeing the new exclusive gameplay!

Img: Left, the Q&A with Björn and Mikolaj, right, Mikolaj and me and Björn XD

Raffle and Goodies

Towards the end of the night the live band that had been playing outside joined us in the main room (because, of course, the neighbors had complained about the noise… the peak Germany experience, the organizers got threatened with “we’re gonna call the cops if you continue playing music outside after 10 pm” x’D). But like this those of us who had been mostly inside watching the show at this point also got to experience the music a bit, which was very nice!

We were getting close to the end of the night already, and then people with goodie bags started walking in from all corners :O So I ventured forth once more to score one, but I think there definitely was enough for all, and at the end of this post I’m gonna show you what was inside :3

Img: Me holding my roughly letter-format sized Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty paper goodie bag :3

The last item on the agenda was called “Quiz and Raffle”, due to the delayed start of the night though they decided to skip the quiz, or rather, do a quick run of some of the questions they had prepared. It was all something like “What was the name of the character that X called to take over his shift?” or “What was the sign above the location V had to go to during X section of the gig?”, so nothing super hard. You just had to pay a little bit of attention during the game showcase. But yeah, the quiz was skipped and instead the raffle prizes were handed out a bit more freely and damn… there was a lot o.o Displate had gifted a super limited edition illuminated poster, as well as several of their tarot card metal posters. There were gaming keyboards, custom Cyberpunk themed PC cases, some leftovers from the Gear store, figurines, and so on and so forth. Some of the bigger prices were given out via random number generator, where our individual ticket numbers were important again, others were just handed out a bit more freely.

Ryan: “Damn, I have so many gaming mice left, what am I gonna do now…” Random Audience member: “Can I have one?” Ryan: “Sure! :D” *hands them a mouse*

Img: Ryan and Carolin of the German Community Management team at the end of the event with some closing words on stage

This part of the night was honestly just very lighthearted and funny, and I really felt entertained from start to finish XD There were no boring moments or situations where I was like “urgh, I wish we could just continue now” because even during the breaks I talked to people or was still recovering from a previous encounter or experience XD

The End of the Event

The event then ended pretty much on time a short while after midnight, some people had left a bit early to catch their trains, some lingered a little while longer. Lemme tell you, I didn’t wanna leave, I just wanted to move in and live with all these people forever in an amazing little Cyberpunk bubble. But I was also running on like 3 hours of sleep at that point, was extremely overwhelmed with so many positive experiences and impressions, and so we then left after taking some final snaps here and there and walking through the venue once more.

Img: The exit of the venue late at night with the Phantom Liberty Tour Banner now glowing

10/10 would go again, it was a blast, and I wouldn’t have minded for it to go on another six hours xD Not that I managed to sleep much anyway that night, because my brain was still going BRRR from all the impressions and conversations and encounters (still is to a degree right now, but I’m slowly getting calmer again xDD)

The Goodie Bag

Finally back at the hotel I got a proper look at the goodie bag!! All of this was also included in us just *being* there, like, whaaat...

Img: an overview of a variety of items featured in the goodie bag!

The goodies everyone got: a t-shirt with the Barghest logo in front and the Phantom Liberty Tour locations on the back. It was available in a lot of different sizes that you could ask for quite easily, and I hope there was one available for everyone and every body!

Img: A bright red, VERY WRINKLED t-shirt with a graffiti-style Barghest logo on its front in orange, and a white and orange print with the Phantom Liberty Tour locations on the back

The shirt is 100% cotton and made in Poland, but it smelled really really bad, coming out of a plastic bag XDD Not gonna put that on before it goes through the wash. But the quality seems very decent, and the color and print are really nice ;A; Could wear this casually under a shirt or zipper hoodie without anyone even being able to tell it’s gaming merch, and I love me a versatile piece like that!!

Then there was a Phantom Liberty themed sticker sheet with a nice rainbow holo effect :3 Some factions, some people and places, some more generic stickers. It’s very pretty and I think I might actually just frame it together with my signed ticket XD

Img: A holographic Phantom Liberty themed sticker sheet including faction and Night City logos amongst others

What I really really really loved though were these two Cologne-unique pieces: another sticker and a patch :O These seem to be 100% exclusives to the Cologne event, and I figure you can get something similar at the other events as well! Will treasure these like hell <3

Img: A blue and orange fabric patch and a holographic black and white sticker showing the same design: Phantom Tour Cologne below a stylized moth

And finally, everyone got a little mystery bag within their mystery bag, containing one of 6 keyboard cap thingies (don’t even know wtf they’re called but they’re cute XD). They were modelled after the various ingame factions, even including Barghest I believe! :O You can swap them out with any key on a mechanical gaming keyboard. I got Maelstrom, my sibling had the Mox :D So you could’ve definitely swapped with someone else for your fave faction, but I was actually quite pleased with Maelstrom :3

Img: Two small keyboard key replacer thingies... I don't know what to call them. One is red, featuring the head of a maelstromer on top, the other is blue, featuring the pink skull-head with bob haircut and bow of the Mox

So yes… that was my Phantom Liberty Tour experience! I apologize for the insanely long post, but I do hope you enjoyed reading it!

I tried to keep it somewhat concise and coherent and could definitely go more into detail about the gameplay elements we saw, the venue, the people there, and so on and so forth. So, don’t hesitate to hit me up with your questions :D And obviously, thanks so much for reading to the very end <3

#cyberpunk 2077 #cp2077 #cyberpunk phantom liberty #phantom liberty #phantom liberty tour #phantom liberty spoilers #elven attends phantom liberty tour posting

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douglysium · 1 year ago

Text

Episode 15 TMP Quick Thoughts

Housekeeping and Prologue

Hello, this is Douglysium and you might not know me as that guy who wrote over 100 pages of analysis on the Eye (which can be read on Tumblr here (https://douglysium.tumblr.com/post/735599414228484097/the-relationships-between-the-dread-powers-the) or Google Docs here (The Relationships Between the Dread Powers: The Eye- Knowledge is Fear and Ignorance is Bliss)) or as that guy who wrote an article on the Extinction (which can be read on Tumblr here(https://douglysium.tumblr.com/post/717929126195003392/what-would-avatars-of-the-extinction-be-like-a) and Google Docs here(What would Avatars of the Extinction be like?: A TMA Speculation)). Suffice to say I might be a bit of a TMA fan. Also, spoilers for TMP up until episode 10. You can read my ramblings on the last episode here (Episode 14 TMP Quick Thoughts).

However, Protocol offers a very unique opportunity and experience for me because I didn’t actually get into TMA until after it was over and I binged all of it. So this is my first time experiencing something even remotely similar to what the original TMA fans probably experienced when waiting for each episode week by week and slowly having to put everything together with the limited information they had. So I decided to throw my hat into the ring since this might be my only chance to do something similar. However, I’m working on some longer form TMA content so I can’t spend as much time on these articles giving a bunch of super detailed thoughts. I will try to keep these short and that inevitably might mean some could have questions about why I think or predict certain things and in those cases I would probably recommend you read at least some of the two articles I mentioned above to get a better idea of where I’m coming from. This also means I won’t be giving you a play-by-play of every single thing that happens in the episode so I encourage you to listen to or read them yourselves and feel free to comment if you feel something is important.

These reviews are probably going to end up focusing mostly on the Entities and their manifestations as they are what I have thought about the most and spent the most time interpreting and there’s been a lot of… interesting theories floating around about how the Entities are manifesting that I want to go over.

Finally, I’m just going to say it right now, spoiler warning for all of The Magnus Archives. I know that Jon and co said one could start with Protocol and be fine, and while that’s probably true, media like this tends to be made in conversation with or take into consideration what came before it in the irl chronology in order to connect them. While I’m sure you could skip The Magnus Archives, I don't really see the point of skipping over it when we are already getting characters from TMA showing up in TMP in Protocol. So to me it’s pretty clear that if we want to understand the full picture of TMP and all the things it is trying to say then we can’t just try to pretend TMA doesn’t exist or scrub it away. Just because you could understand what’s happening without the context in broad strokes doesn’t mean you're getting all the nuances.

These articles are meant to be quick and short so sorry if there’s typos and if I don’t address every possible question or possibility. I don’t want to repeat myself too much in this series outside of the prologue so be sure to skim some of my other articles.

Episode 15 “Well Run”

So the transcripts have an error. While the document title matches the name of the episode on the youtube channel, etc. the transcripts themselves say Episode 15 “Good Show.”

Weird, but probably just an error. Either this was the episode's original name, and it was changed, or some other episode was originally in the slot for the 15th entry (stuff can move around a lot in development). Anyway let’s dive in.

We start the episode from the perspective of a CCTV in the breakroom at night. Sam asks Celia on a second date by showing off some theater tickets he bought for “The Pillowman.” Celia laughs, much to Sam’s confusion, and sarcastically says it’s a “very romantic choice.” Sam says he doesn’t know a lot about the story but Celia does decide to go anyway “If only to see your face.” I haven’t seen Pillowman but according to the Wikipedia summary “It tells the tale of Katurian, a fiction writer living in a police state, who is interrogated about the gruesome content of his short stories and their similarities to a number of bizarre child murders occurring in his town.” So Celia’s reaction is understandable and it goes to show that Sam should have asked around a bit more. It’ll be an odd date for sure, but I’m very curious to see their reactions considering that Sam and Celia’s job right now is literally to sit around listening to scary stories. Although, they know Pillowman isn’t real so it might not be that big of a deal.

Alice enters the room, seemingly to Sam’s dismay or exasperation considering the sighing, and offers them a chance to come to the performance of her younger brother’s band. Sam wonders if it’s Dredgerman but Alice corrects him by saying “Don’t be daft, they’re taking a break before their tour! No, it’s “Penny for the Well” actually” and Sam wonders how many bands Luke is in (so Luke is part of multiple bands at the same time). Sam asking about Dredgerman is actually a bit of foreshadowing for the person Alice encounters later. The person in question keeps speaking of the deep water and drowning, similar to some of the stuff Gordon was saying in a previous episode, and a dredger is “a barge or other vessel designed for dredging harbors or other bodies of water”, to dredge is to “clean out the bed of (a harbor, river, or other area of water) by scooping out mud, weeds, and rubbish with a dredge.” / “an apparatus for bringing up objects or mud from a river or seabed by scooping or dragging.” and a dredgeman (no R here) is “one who is in charge of the operation of a dredge used to mine metal-bearing sands from the bottom of a body of water.” So there’s a lot of specific water imagery going on here. “Penny for the Well” also arguably ties into this theme since a well is “a shaft sunk into the ground to obtain water, oil, or gas.” Pennies are often thrown into wells and fountains for the sake of wishes and stuff but there are also stories of people falling into wells. So you could argue there’s still a theme of drowning or deep water being laid here too.

Alice says “Let’s just say that this revolutionary indie ensemble, which may or may not also include my incredibly talented younger brother, is playing The Gladstone Arms at ten thirty tomorrow evening and you are both on the guest list. You’re welcome.” but Celia says she has to go take care of Jack (the babysitter can’t stay late enough for her to go to the performance) and the revelation that Celia has a human baby seems to catch Alice off guard. Considering Alice’s reaction to Celia last episode, it’s interesting that she invited both Alice and Sam to the event and doesn’t seem to say Sam shouldn’t go on his date with Celia (just that they can swing by afterwards). It’s possible she wants to keep an eye on them or doesn’t want to piss off Sam but it’s interesting that Alice is actually taken aback by Celia’s baby. Maybe Alice herself isn’t really a baby person. It’s possible she’s just surprised Sam is dating someone with a baby or she just genuinely didn’t realize and is surprised / awkward. Sam comments “(standing) And you say I’m clueless.”

In case you’re wondering what a gladstone is: “a suitcase with flexible sides on a rigid frame that opens flat into two equal compartments. called also gladstone bag.” Gladstone also seems to be a person: “William Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS (/ˈɡlædstən/ GLAD-stən; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-consecutive terms (the most of any British prime minister) beginning in 1868 and ending in 1894. He also served as Chancellor of the Exchequer four times, for over 12 years.” I also saw some, potentially questionable, sources saying that a gladstone can refer to a Prime Minister who’s served four years but maybe take that with a grain of salt coming from me. Since Protocol does seem to have a big emphasis on the government it wouldn’t surprise me if using the name of a politician is somehow going to end up being some sort of reference or foreshadowing for later.

At this point we are privy to 3 of the bands Luke has played for: Bullets for Saint Sebastian, Penny for the Well, and Dredgerman

We move to the statement of the episode. It’s in the form of a voicemail being delivered by someone to “The Sentinel tip-off hotline.” The bot on the other end says:

“If you are calling with information that you believe merits investigation for the public interest, please leave a message with as much detail as possible along with your name and number.

If you wish to remain anonymous, please instead leave a three word code at the start of your message that we can use to identify future calls or correspondence from you.

This voicemail is monitored by dedicated staff that are obliged to report serious crimes to local law enforcement if there is risk of imminent harm to anyone. Please speak after the tone. To end the recording, simply hang up. ”

The person giving the statement of this case is referred to as the “Caterer” in the transcripts and they are clearly in a rush since they say they can’t go to the police and start telling the story without leaving in sort of three word code or identity for future calls. The Caterer even says that they don’t know how much time they have left.

They begin to explain that they work as a caterer at a business they own. They tend to handle really high-end private functions: “We get called in for the really high-end stuff. The kind of event where the guest list is so rich that you’ve never even heard of them. There’s a big difference between “extravagance” and “elegance.” We sell the latter.” However, the Caterer’s company isn’t very big. In fact, it only has 6 permanent staff if you include the Caterer themselves (so there were 5 other permanent staff the Caterer worked with). Of course, the company did “...hire in fixed-term waiting staff and other contractors but even so…” But it becomes clear that something bad happened to the other permanent employees. For the sake of clarity, a caterer is “a person or company providing food and drink at a social event or other gathering.”

The Caterer’s company “...got the call a couple of months ago for a fairly small event at Wychwood Hall in the Cotswold’s. Apparently, they had a family shoot and wanted us to prepare the game. Normally that would be pheasant or partridge and we’d just swap it for stuff we prepared off-site since no one could ever tell the difference, but they were really explicit about it being larger game and wanting to know who’s kill they were eating. That meant a lot more prep time and equipment but they insisted and at this level you don’t get to tell the client no, just how much extra it will cost.” So immediately, we have some themes reminiscent of an Entity like The Hunt but it’s still pretty early on in the statement and Entities can overlap all the time so let’s keep reading.

The company “...set up the cooking gazebo during the early afternoon in the rear gardens on the butler’s instruction. The house itself was a massive sprawling Elizabethan thing with pristine flowerbeds and prim lawns that ran right up to the surrounding woodland. It wasn’t usual to be given center stage like that but I figured the client fancied themself a foodie and wanted to see the prep. Thankfully we brought the flashy gear, just in case. Normally you’d expect the shoot to have already been well underway by the time we arrived but people were only just arriving in their tinted Range Rovers and Rolls.” The Caterer notes that normally, the shoot / hunt would already be happening but by the time the Caterer’s crew arrived everyone else was just arriving. It would make sense that normally the shoot would already be taking place since the Caterer is just supposed to cook whatever is caught and it doesn’t make a lot of sense to have them just waiting around while you try to kill the game animal. However, this is actually foreshadowing since we later learn that the Caterer and their crew are what’s supposed to be hunted. The Caterer even mentions “Another hour passed with a couple more cars trickling in, but still no one had set out. Instead, I could see them through the leaded windows, just watching us work ” So the people are watching their prey (the caterers).

Eventually, the Caterer had the house staff fetch the butler to let him know “that unless he knew something I didn’t there was going to be a distinct lack of venison for tonight’s venison medallions. He just gave me this look, told me to “prepare” and then headed back inside. Obviously that pissed me right off but what can you do? They’d paid for the day so we just hunkered down and looked busy.” It’s possible that what the butler is saying has a double meaning. They shouldn’t just be preparing food but the caterers themselves should prepare to fight each other and be hunted. This is alluded to later when “the matriarch” asks the Caterer if they are prepared.

Speaking of which, the sun begins to set and all the hunters and dogs begin to come out of their vehicles. In front of them is someone the Caterer describes as a “matriarch.” “I don’t know how else to describe her. This big, imposing, like some Roman statue brought to life and given a gun. I kept thinking of my army days cooking for the top brass. She had the same eyes, like they didn’t see people any more just “assets” and “resistance.” And if that wasn’t enough, she had this huge custom rifle over her shoulder, like an antique elephant gun or something. There was no way it was UK legal, the thing looked like it could take out a jeep, never mind a stag! And it wasn’t gilded or anything, it was dull and plain looking despite its massive size and you just knew that this was a gun for killing with, not showing off.” I think it’s interesting that the Caterer has some sort of military background. There’s an obvious commentary about the military complex but often when the Entities show up they do so to specific people or at specific times that are advantageous. This is to say that the Entities often have thematic reasons for why or who they are manifesting around at a specific time and I don’t think the fact that a person with military trauma was picked is purely coincidental.

The Caterer says that the matriarch reeked with power and “...when she spoke they all listened. She had the guns all line up facing us with their dogs at heel and then they all just stood there watching the sun set as their staff and security all headed back into the house leaving us alone with them. That was when I knew something was really wrong. The woman stepped forward with her dogs by her side and faced me with this bright and wide smile splitting her face under her electric blue eyes and gunmetal-grey hair. Then she just locked eyes with me and began to carefully load the rifle without looking, punctuating each word with another cartridge. “Are you prepared?” she asked quietly.” This calls back to what I was just saying about the butler. I think what the butler was saying had a double meaning or was vague enough to be misinterpreted as referring purely to the food being prepared.

The Caterer answers with ““As we can be” I replied. “but-“” and then the woman silences them by raising a hand to their mouth. “it was as though she had slapped a gag in my mouth. I couldn’t even think of disobeying her, the words just died in my throat.” She returns to her group of hunters with her dogs flanking her and they are unable to make out the faces of any of the other people due to the dazzling light of the sunset. Then she stood tall and proud and said with just the tiniest hint of anticipation: “Let’s begin then shall we?” As one, the hunters raised their rifles as one and levelled them at us as we stood transfixed under our gazebo. Theres a very specific feeling you get when you’re staring down a barrel at close range. First the world gets very sharp and bright, then the horizon sort of shrinks around you till it’s no wider than the dark hole aiming straight at you. It had been a long time since I’d felt like that, but it was still so familiar. Too familiar. The woman hadn’t raised her own weapon, instead she called as though directing a firing squad: “Hunt.”” The caterers don’t immediately understand what’s happening so the simply sit in still silence until the Caterer realizes that the matriarch is talking to them and not her hunters. “After seconds that felt like hours the woman seemed to grow impatient. Finally, she sighed and repeated: “Hunt” before shouldering her rifle, sighting and then pulling the trigger without hesitation.”

One of the other caterers, Steven, falls to the ground dead (having been shot). “Without lowering the rifle, she chambered another round and re-sighted, this time at me. She smiled greedily then pumped her eyebrows just once, playfully. “Hunt!”” This time the Caterer understands what she wants: “Without taking my eyes from her I reached out and gently closed my hand around the handle of the clever in front of me. It shone, pristine and unblemished, ready for its bloody work. Then slowly, so slowly, I raised it overhead, bracing myself for what followed. The woman grinned widely, her finger caressing the trigger, then I brought my hand down sharply, smashing the cleaver into the face of Marcus, our Saucier. He couldn’t even cry out as it cleft deep into the base of his neck, his arterial blood gushing out and down into the overly-hot pot, releasing a plume of acrid iron smelling steam.” The other caterers run as the Caterer pulls the knife from Marcus and turns to them.

“The party ate well that night. All told, it didn't take long, maybe a half hour at most? None of them got far. I caught Debra as she tried to hide up in a tree. Fair play to her, almost made it up there despite being in her fifties. Mira tripped over a rabbit hole in the darkness, I think she tried to beg, but I couldn’t make out the words. The only one who gave me any real trouble was Boris. He was a big guy, nearly six five, and that’s a hell of a size difference, even with my training. But it wasn’t enough. I had killed before, and he hadn’t. He hesitated, and that was that.” As the Caterer packs up the woman shakes their hand and compliments them “Then the butler handed me a thick brown envelope. It was full of cash and a note written in elegant cursive with just one word: “Run”.” They ran and say that they cannot stay anywhere for long, they can’t stop moving. “I keep hearing dogs barking and I don't know if it's just some pet or… I thought about handing myself in to the police, but that just feels like trapping myself in a dead end.”

The Caterer explains that they resolve to leave the country but as they explain their plan-

The car window shatters inwards from a sudden loud gunshot. The CATERER is wetly silenced.

Someone approaches, reloading an enormous rifle with growling dogs in tow.

They stop then yank open the car door.

LADY MOWBRAY

“Well run dearie. Well run…”

The line goes dead.

If we view this through the lens of Smirke’s 14 (plus the Extinction) the most obvious Entity here would be The Hunt. This case shares many similarities with plenty of The Hunt’s manifestations in TMA. For example, being hunted by colleagues or people you know in a death game type set up (such as in MAG 112 (Thrill of the Chase) with the Murder Club and the domain Trevor was stuck in with all the metaphorical witch hunts and people constantly turning on each other. Mowbray’s dogs are probably some sort of hunting dog and the Caterer is being chased / hunted by Mowbray herself like an animal on top of hearing the barking of dogs. Daisy from TMA has also been compared to a sort of metaphorical dog. Which makes sense if you consider the overlap between police and hunting dogs meant to pursue targets. Plus, in MAG 31 (First Hunt) we get “As I looked at him, the strangest thing popped into my head. Have you ever read The Duchess of Malfi? I had to study it for my O-Levels, many years ago. Dreadful play, as I remember, the worst sort of old revenge tragedy, all incest and murder and madness. But there’s a line that stays with me, a doctor diagnosing the Duchess’ brother with lycanthropy. As I recall it goes, “Once met the duke, ‘bout midnight in a lane behind St. Mark’s church, with the leg of a man upon his shoulder. Said he was a wolf. Only difference was, a wolf’s skin is hairy on the outside, his on the inside”. Looking at this thing that wanted to kill me, it’s the only way it’s the only description that feels right.” and Jon refers to the strange hunter in the statement as a “wolfman.” So The Hunt is not stranger to canines and it tends to lean towards more animalistic imagery.

The case also has some themes that parallel The Slaughter (with the violence and military background), The Web (the Caterer feeling physically unable to disobey Mowbray’s command. Although, this could just be due to the fear and massive guns), The Eye (with the fear of being found or someone knowing where you are), The Dark (with the hunt taking place at night and one of the caterers tripping over a hole in the darkness), The Flesh (with all the food imagery and the caterers are in the place of a game animal (which is meant to be caught and cooked)), and The End (with the fear of being killed).

Some people might wonder why I usually bother going through some of the other possible Entities or parallels like this (especially since if we are to assume Smirke’s 14 is still at all applicable this is the most Hunt hunts to ever Hunt. For one, it’s supposed to be a reminder that the Entities aren’t completely distinct and exist on a vague spectrum at best. All the Entities constantly bleed and overlap each other so trying to perfectly and neatly box them tends to be unhelpful and it’s very rare that only one emotional fear is present. I also do this to help try to keep my mind open. Like I said, Entities bleed into each other all the time and this can sometimes make it hard to pick apart (if at all). Sometimes I get so pigeonholed into the possibility of a single specific Entity I kind of lose sight of other possibilities or Entities. For example, while I think this case screams the Hunt there is a very good argument for something like The Slaughter here. Assuming Smirke’s 14 are even still relevant anyway.

As the line dies Celia is clearly disturbed and we hear Lady Mowbray herself say “Fascinating.” Yeah, she’s in the office now with her dogs and it was very trippy listening to this for the first time. Celia is startled by her appearance. Once again, I have to wonder if Mowbray was quiet or if the cases sort of draw people in. In TMA the statements could have strange effects, for example some characters would find it difficult to stop reading statements once they started and may sort of space out. The statements are also noted as being stressful or taxing for some people to read / listen to. However, this could also just as easily be because Celia was listening to a horrifying first hand account.

CELIA jumps up with a cry and turns to find Lady Mowbray and her dogs

standing right behind her. The dogs growl threateningly.

LADY MOWBRAY CONT.

“Sit.”

CELIA

“Excuse me?”

LADY MOWBRAY

“I was talking to the boys.”

The dogs sit. They are not fur babies, they are what turns up when

someone says “release the hounds”. (Yes this is actually in the official transcripts you can go check)

The transcripts also say “MOWBRAY sniffs her as though she were a particularly odd vintage.” and it describes Mowbray as stalking while she asks Celia for her name. So Mowbray is acting like a dog or animal sizing up some prey and comparing Celia to a vintage suggests that Mowbray sees her in the same way one might see a fine wine. Something to be savored and consumed. I think it’s interesting that Celia actually refuses to give Mowbray her name by simply saying “I didn’t.” upon being asked “What did you say your name was dear?” This isn’t the first time names have seemed important. In episode 10 (Saturday Night), as Gwen delivers the letter to Mr. Bonzo, Nigel says “Mr Bonzo meet… I didn’t actually get your name. Probably for the best.” and “The name, the address – tell him where to go.” This implies that names might have some sort of importance when it comes to how Externals find or pick their targets. The OIAR is also connected to the government so it may also have to do with the government being able to pull up a file or something using someone’s name.

Celia is definitely holding it together pretty well and Mowbray remarks on her high levels of bravery. As I went over in episode 7 “Give and Take” (TMP Quick Thoughts 7) Celia is heavily implied to have some connection to the TMA universe and know a suspicious amount about the Entities. She even shares the name of a character that shows up in TMA, specifically a member of Melanie and Georgie’s cult. With this in mind, Mowbray’s commentary on Celia’s bravery is interesting. Firstly, Mowbray’s dogs get aggressive when Celia was startled by Mowbray. It could be that they are just getting excited but if Mowbray and / or her dogs are some sort of Avatar or connected to a Power it could be that both her and her dogs are reacting to, and looking for, fear. Since Celia knows this she could be hiding or dampening her fear as a form of protection. The more fear someone has or shows the more tempting they are for the Entities to torment. Lena even says “But he didn’t, which means you’ve passed the first part of your probation. Congratulations. Did you scream?” and “You should. It really helps one cope with the more affronting aspects of the job. And they usually like it.”

Not showing fear isn’t guaranteed to keep you safe but in TMA a character named Fiona Law managed to survive many encounters due to her propensity to pass out. As detailed in MAG 167 (Curiosity): “Of course, retreat is not always possible in such a line of business, and when that proved to be the case, there was a single trait which Fiona possessed that saw her surviving encounters which had killed far braver souls than her: Because when she was pushed to the very limits of her terror, Fiona Law would faint. And while there are those things in the dark that would kill you as you slept, most get no real delight from it, unless you are awake enough to know what is happening. And so, through cowardice and unconsciousness, Fiona had survived an entire generation of Archivist. And even stranger, when Angus Stacey died and she had the chance to walk away, she decided to remain.” So while a lack of fear isn’t guaranteed to protect you it does help. Also, both names and outward displays of fear seem important in Protocol.

Gwen comes in to collect Mowbray and as she leaves she tells Celia “Catch you next time, dearie.” to which Celia says “No, you won’t.” Celia probably knows that Mowbray may be being a bit more literal when she promises to catch someone later. Gwen offers her refreshments but Mowbray declines, explaining that she ate recently. There’s kind of an implication that Mowbray ate one or more of the caterers, and probably the one that was giving this episode’s case. Mowbray also says “That’s me yes. I presume you’re Gwendolyn Bouchard?” when Gwen asks for her. It could simply be that Mowbray was told who Gwen was beforehand but I wonder if the other Externals have been told about Gwen, especially since, based on the comment I brought up from Lena earlier, they seem to enjoy scaring people like the Externals Liaisons.

Mowbray also asks “Bouchard… You wouldn’t be of the Cheshire Bouchard’s would you?” but the scene ends before we hear Gwen’s full response. Considering the implication from Lena that Gwen’s family has a ton of money (so much so that Gwen blackmailing her for money seems silly) and Mowbray is clearly very rich I wonder if Mowbray has had an encounter or connection with the Bouchard family. As for who Cheshire is, I have no idea. I wouldn’t be surprised if they turn out to be yet another person in TMA with too much money and time on their hands though.

As the scene closes the transcripts say “CELIA exhales shakily before turning back to the computer.” implying that she was suppressing her fear or at least not showing them. Mowbray said “interesting” when Celia finished listening to the case and I have to wonder what Mowbray was referring to. Was she referring to the computer itself, the information in the case she’s in, or even Celia herself? Additionally, she’s probably one of the OIAR’s externals. In the case she’s wielding a large gun that’s described as “this huge custom rifle over her shoulder, like an antique elephant gun or something. There was no way it was UK legal, the thing looked like it could take out a jeep, never mind a stag!” It’s possible she just owns this gun illegally but I wonder if the OIAR or some other faction supplied her with the gun.

I also have to wonder how many of the externals get their victims assigned to them by the OIAR and if so how many? Is it all of their victims or just some of them? The possibility of a target being in this episode is interesting since Bonzo’s target also seemed like they were wealthy or had a decent amount of money at the expensive club in episode 12 (Getting Off). Wealth and money seem like another noticeable theme in Protocol so far.

We cut to Alice at the performance of “Penny for the Well” as it comes to a close. She talks with Luke and it turns out that while Luke’s music was supposed to be a chill side gig it’s been really picking up. Luke also says “You joke but the managers already added seven more cities to the Dredgerman tour.” Alice also mentions Glastonbury and a quick google search tells me that it’s just a really big festival with all kinds of stuff (like music performances). So when Alices says “Hello? Yes? Is that Glastonbury? Why yes, we DO have a minute…” she is joking about Luke being invited to a massive event. Luke asks about Sam and Alice says he couldn’t make it. Luke says “Shame he couldn’t make it tonight” and Luke and Alice continue to hang out and drink. I think it’s interesting that Luke and Sam seem to have a possible friendship or acquaintance.

We then cut to a tape recorder again and get “A tape recorder CLICKS, distantly a body shuffles in an alley off the main road.” The body is of some sort of victim talking and muttering. They keep talking about things like how they are trying to breathe and how they are being dragged below the line of sea and sky. So it sounds like they are talking about drowning and they are also having trouble breathing as they gasp for air. Alice is heading home, and the transcripts state that she is still buzzing from the show (she’s slightly intoxicated). Alice runs into this seemingly drowning woman and the victim grabs her in some sort of panic or desperation leading to a small altercation as Alice throws the victim off. Alice begins to panic and call 999 for an ambulance as the victim appears to choke and gasp for air.

As Alice explains the situation she mentions “Yeah there’s someone I don’t know if they’ve OD’d but they’re going into a fit or something.” The victim then seemingly dies, or at least stops breathing, but the transcripts clarify that she dies from an impossible amount of water coming out of her lungs, and Alice starts performing CPR. As she panics the transcripts say “She sees the tape recorder next to the body and picks it up.” This implies that the tape recorder was on the strange drowning woman and it could be an Entity such as The Web trying to get the tape recorder where it needs to go or even give it to Alice. It could even have to do with the ERROR that escaped the Institute’s ruins in episode 10 (Saturday Night) since that situation was also being recorded via tape recorder. Maybe ERROR even saw it and picked it up at some point. However, as “The victim starts to speak again, quietly, bubbling up through the water and out of dead lips.” Alice panics, drops the tape recorder, and flees the scene, leaving what the transcripts describe as a dead woman behind as the deceased person’s voice trails off and the episode ends.

It’s kind of hard to understand what the victim is saying the entire time so here’s the transcripts of the entire speech awkwardly stitched together: “- the second time is up I try to grasp the air and fill my lungs that burn and rattle full. I can’t, there’s so much air but none inside as I go down again the cold surrounds and drags me down, the blue the black the weight of all the sodden fates awaiting me below the line of sea and sky. I kick, I lunge I flail towards the brightened blue and break above the third and final time. I know I'm spent there is no more within me save the salt spun death that reaches down my throat and spasms in my chest that cannot breathe inside me i'm done the water is... is... dark Deeper… Deeper… Down among the dead and swollen flesh so pale within this lightless place where eyes are open cloudy white and all the water pushes down upon a lifeless form that sinks and sinks down to the bottom that is not there no sandy grave below the swell no rest among the coral and the depths I feared so much but reached up and over land to claim me still.”

The force this victim is talking about is probably the same force that Gordon was talking about in episode 11 (Marked). I’ll refer to this Entity as “The Deep” like many other fans for now. In Episode 11 Gordon says, among other things, “I saw them hanging around the office when I was waiting. Waiting so long just to see it, just to know what’s in the water. And they took it. They think they’re smart, but I saw them I know where they’re staying and if they think they deserve it they’re wrong. It belongs to the deep. I’m going to go get it and I’m going to find it and if they try and stop me I swear the ocean will claim us all. I can taste the salt and spray. It’s waiting in the water.” So there’s a lot of the same imagery here, plus the earlier mentioned parallels with Dredgerman’s name.

Some people are arguing that The Deep is a completely new Entity of some sort but I would argue that what we have seen of The Deep fits in line pretty comfortably with The Buried. The Buried also has a strong association with water in the form of deep water, drowning, and suffocation (which seems to be happening to this woman). Gordon angrily says that the body Ink5 obtains belongs to the deep (which sounds similar to The Buried’s connection to burying bodies or making sure they aren’t dug up). In fact, some of The Buried’s many other names is “Choke”, “Too Close I Cannot Breathe” and “Forever Deep Below.” Forever Deep Below is especially an interesting name since the woman mutters “...the blue the black the weight of all the sodden fates awaiting me below the line of sea and sky…” So something deep below the horizon of the sea and sky. All the names I mentioned fit pretty well with what the woman seems to be affected by, she is literally choking and struggling to breathe as water fills her lungs. Even something like “The Deep” sounds like it could be right at home as one of The Buried’s names. The Buried ultimately revolves around the fear of not having enough space, whether that be from literally being stuck in a small space, metaphorically lacking wiggleroom, or not having enough space in something like your lungs to breathe. So being trapped deep underwater or underground first with The Buried as a motif. It’s also important to remember that the Entities are no stranger to having multiple names or titles. For example, there is The Eye and The Beholding but these both refer to the same Entity. I would actually be a little surprised if all the characters referred to the Entities with the exact same set of names even if Smirke’s 14 does end up being still in use by the OIAR or other people.

Some people might argue The Vast because it also has an association with the deep ocean, and Simon even tries to use this association for a ritual, but it’s important to remember that Entities can overlap in both fear and manifestation and it’s not always what they manifest as but why. When The Vast manifests as the ocean or bodies of water it usually does so to capture the fear in regards to the immense size of such bodies but when The Buried does this it usually has to do with suffocation and drowning (like what we see now). Obviously, these can overlap since something large can easily smother or crush you but hopefully you get my point, and remember even often opposing Entities are connected and bleed into each other.

Conclusion

Previously I hoped that the next external Gwen got to see would be someone who can talk and give some actual questions / answers and it looks like I could be getting my wish depending on how this goes. Although, whether Mowbray is an external is still technically up in the air and maybe she’s just been brought on but I think it’s safe to assume that her being an external is likely. I wonder if she knows anything if at all.

I’m also beginning to wonder if ERROR is somehow connected to the tapes and what it’s plan / goal is. Alice expressed fear of travelling alone previously ever since leaving the Institute’s ruins but despite seemingly being alone before and after running into the woman there is no sign of ERROR appearing to attack or anything.

If you want the categorization of the case the transcripts list it with-

CAT1RB-6451-22062023-22032024

Hunt (aristocratic) -/- compulsion

Incident Elements:

- Graphic Violence/Murder

- Futility

- Being Hunted

- Classism

- Dehumanisation

- Hostile work environment

- drowning

- Mentions of: blades, guns, military service

- SFX: Gunfire, loud music, suffocation

Archive for my other thoughts: TMP Quick Thoughts Archive

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