#everybody's designs are so fun and interesting i can't help it

[wb-hollowstorm]

i drew a few @mommyclan cats then added some funky lighting for funsies (i promise i'll start posting other stuff i swear)

characters and their owners under the cut :]

Magicman - @xxc00l-k1dzxx

Cometcove - @pumpkinnkidd

Onioneyes - @cicadagaze

Lynxnip - @sophswritingthings

[teardrop-scales]

Macaque x Reader headcannons 🌙🎭

A.N: Okay, I'm not dead, hooray! I just lost motivation for LMK. This is just an exception because my bestie really loves Macaque, so this is my gift for her; PLEASE NOTE THAT REQUESTS ARE STILL CLOSED. Also, my bestie is the author of the art (@kiss-my-ass-2137 - that's her blog btw). One more thing: please beware that my Macaque may be ooc as hell. Also note that the reader is based on my bestie, so this is quite specific and may not be everyone's cup of tea. Not proofread.

I can see him calling you 'plum', 'babe', 'gem' or 'sweetheart' often. However, contrary to Wukong, he also quite often calls you by your name. To him your name sounds pretty and he likes using it just as much as he likes nicknaming you.

He adores how social and outgoing you are. Sometimes Macaque just can't understand how you manage to get along with practically everybody, but that is one of the traits that made him fall in love with you.

He makes sure that you always have VIP seats and access to each of his shadow plays.

Like Wukong, Macaque is also a flirt, but he's a lot more suave and suggestive than Monkey King.

He tries not to get jealous each time you give someone else your attention and have fun with someone else. However Macaque is a pretty jealous person, so most likely he will just stand brooding in the corner, maybe sometimes let a small smile of adoration at seeing you socialize so easily.

But thanks to that, Macaque always feels like the most special person on the planet each time you give him your undivided attention.

By the way, congrats for making this man fall for you. He has a lot of trust issues and is usually pretty closed off underneath that flirty and sassy exterior. So making Macaque fall in love with you is by no means an easy task.

You have to be patient with him; give him some time to open up and try not to rush him. It may take some for him until he becomes comfortable enough to do all the lovey-dovey things that couples do, especially with touch. But he's trying, I promise you.

He may not look like he is, but he is attentive and caring.

He wants to know everything about your interests and hobbies, no matter what they are. Macaque wants to know all about the things that make you happy.

You have a favorite movie or cartoon or whatever? Great, he'll watch it.

You play games or video games? Well, I don't really see him as a big fan of that, but... He once saw you play Genshin Impact. You mentioned that game to Macaque a few times before, but this was the first time he'd seed you actually play it. The graphics and designs of the characters mesmerized him + he knew you loved it so he decided to give it a try.

You helped him a bit in the early stages, but surprisingly or not, Macaque got the hang of it pretty quickly. Like a natural.

He loves this game (I think both Wukong and Macaque would love genshin, but for different reasons probaly). Especially lore, character's stories and the plot. Don't get him wrong, the fights are cool, but Mac is a theatre kid. Of course he's going to focus on and like the plot more, especially since genshin is quite well thought out and interesting in that aspect.

Macaque will also gladly watch all your favorite shows and movies with you. He loves how passionate you are about them.

He likes going out for dates, but because of his sensitive hearing, he prefers more quiet places, or dates around nature or something like this.

He will roll his eyes if you throw any suggestive jokes at him, sometimes if he's in a good mood he may retort with one of his own. That also applies to normal jokes and general banter.

Macaque will also immediately offer to deal with any person who wrongs you or makes you upset. But knowing Macaque, that wouldn't end well, so please stop him from that. Tell him that you appreciate it but don't let him find that person.

What's that? You ride on horses? Well, consider him impressed a bit. He won't try it himself no matter how hard you try to convince him, but as long as there's not many people around and he's free at the time, he'll watch you do it. He may even use his shadow portals to save you from falling off a horse; he'll create a portal to shorten your landing.

Also, he'll often use his powers to suddenly appear beside you without warning. He likes to sneak up behind you and say 'boo' or something like that. He'll chuckle if he manages to surprise you.

But he won't use his shadow portals to teleport you to him without warning you first or your permission. He actually respects you and knows that you may be doing something important and that you have other matters to attend to.

Like I've mentioned, he has sensitive hearing. And while he can control that so he doesn't suffocate as much in daily life, he'll be grateful and will appreciate it if you watch the tone and volume of your voice when around him. He'll say it's not necessary, but on the inside he'll love you forever for being so considerate.

May not be a big fan of cuddling at first. He'll allow it but he'll be very stiff at first and only over time Macaque will get used to it and will start to enjoy cuddling with you.

He knows what kind of effect his voice has on you. And he'll use that knowledge to his advantage, often teasing you by speaking right into your ear with a low, almost husky tone or chuckling smoothly right by your ear.

Like I said before, this man probably has severe trust and abandonment issues. But that will only make him even more dedicated to you. He wouldn't want you to feel like he used to feel deep inside before he met you.

Overall, I think Macaque would be a very good and dedicated boyfriend if you give him time and show him that he can trust you.

[keikakudom]

I'm invested with your RR AU!! Love their designs!!

I have a question regarding Charlie. We know that she doesn't trust Vox fully but does she think she can still redeem Vox? Does Charlie push Vox to try her therapy sessions or she's just neutral with him and lets him do whatever he wants?

Oh, this is such a fun question! Thank you for the kind words and asking this question!

Of course - Charlie still thinks everybody can be redeemed, with enough elbow grease. Her faithful, if not banal, hotelier with asshole tendencies is no exception!

She knows Vox has no interest in redemption, isn't required to do anything aside from his resort/hotel duties, and is usually very busy, so Charlie tries not to push too much and annoy him....but. She does ask him every now and then on very important activities that she tried her very best on designing. Not to mention it would just be very helpful for Charlie's study in redemption to know the opinion(and unravel the psyche) of the super-duper powerful and evil overlord she works alongside at her disposal!

Aaaanyway. Most of the time, Vox declines. He has better things to do and wants to stay in Hell, after all.

(Unless Charlie makes a face like this. Because c'mon it's Vox, even he surely can't be that cruel!! /j)

But if he's having a shitty day, doesn't want to deal with the bajillion urgent tasks that need his attention, and the conditions are just right....he might agree. Once in a blue moon. Vox says he's there just to "supervise" the process, because he needs to make sure there's actually progress being done on his "product". Redemption exercise or not, sometimes he likes to tag along as a de-stressor, even if he doesn't participate himself.

Additionally, Vox in general has a hard time saying 'no' to Charlie. The success of his great plan rides on winning Charlie's trust and favor. Very people-pleaser of him.

And, because apparently I can't go a post related to this AU without mentioning them:

Vox isn't really able to "do whatever he wants" because he wants to be in Charlie's good graces. This results in him being very sus and overall fake as hell around Charlie/in general, always covering up what he might be working on at the moment. When I mean Vox took over all the managerial aspects of the resort-- I mean it. It's totally hands-off for Charlie, and in many ways, she's ignorant to what sinister things might be happening in her very resort. Welp. And by "sinister things", I mean the Vees. Yes, they're involved in supporting the resort too! In a very underground way. Cordyceps....

[og-danny-dorito]

[ DANNY'S TUTORIALS: BOTTLECAP PIN ]

Hi there!! I'm gonna teach you how to make a bottlecap pin since I've gotten a lot of questions about where I got mine from baby punks and others who just find them cool! I've found that a lot of people buy their pins online from companies that overprice and over-process their designs, and often times steal them from smaller businesses. Punk has been gentrified over the years, so this tutorial acts as a way to reconnect to the roots of DIY fashion made by people with limited resources and time. This is a great way to show your interests, pride in your community, and pretty much anything else you want even if you don't have a penchant for traditional art. Don't worry about it looking good, just try to have fun! At the end of the day, the shittier the job, the more punk it is.

[ Step Count : 6 ]

Here's what you're gonna need! (optional materials have a star next to them instead of a regular point):

-> hot glue gun (in replacement of pliers)

-> safety pin

-> bottlecap (unbent, preferably a twist off)

-> can tab

✮ pencil/pen

✮ sandpaper

✮ paint & paintbrush/posca pens

✮ regular Elmer's glue

STEP 1:

Gather your all of your materials and place them on your workspace. I'm going to paint mine, so I got the sandpaper, paintbrush, and paints as extra materials.

STEP 2:

If you're not going to paint yours, go ahead and skip to step 3. Otherwise, get your sandpaper and your bottlecap, then sand down the surface (A). Paint your base, draw a design with the pencil/pen, and fill it in with your paints/posca pens (B)! After I'm done painting I'll usually seal it in regular Elmer's glue to make sure it doesn't get messed up anytime soon (C). I chose a little green skull since the person I'm gifting this too likes and spooky stuff and green is their favorite color :]

[ Also sorry for the change of scenery, I had to finish at the library cause I was studying. Visiting, donating, and helping your local library is Punk As Fuck. ]

STEP 3:

What you're going to do now is set your bottlecap aside, and take out your can tab. I have joint problems and I can't use pliers, so I bend it over the edge of a table by holding it half over the edge and pushing down to bend the metal. But try not to bend it too much so your safety pin stays in place!

STEP 4:

Okay, here comes the tricky part. Like I said, I have joint issues, so I can't use pliers because they hurt my hands. Instead I'm going to set aside my now bent can tab and bring back my bottle cap, then flip it over. Place 2 hefty drops of hot glue on the bottom and top of the pin, then get your safety pin and open it so you can place it on the back horizontally.

STEP 5:

Now, place your bent can tab on the back of the pin and over the open safety pin, pressing it into the hot glue drops and letting it dry for a little bit (A). If you like, you can also put two more drops of hot glue on the tops of the bent can tab for extra security (B). I also put some hot glue in the middle of the tab's opening for extra security on the safety pin. Please pardon the absolute dogshit photo quality it wasn't cooperating for some reason LMAO

STEP 6 [FINAL]:

Wait for it to dry, then you're all done!! Your very own bottlecap pin. You can attach this to bags, jackets, shirts, pants, and pretty much any material that a safety pin can glide through.

Here's the finished product, as presented by my friend D at the library (everybody say thank you D for modeling)!!

[ -> Next (coming soon:]) ]

[paluimbel]

One of the fun things about being a system is that sometimes you can get absolutely wild internal government structures that would in no way work in the outerworld.

Based on the geography of our headspace and the way we run things, I can only really describe our system's political structure as a communist city-state governed by an anarchical beurocracy.

The communist part is kinda obvious– none of us really own anything individually, either in-headspace or out of it. We've got a lot of control over headspace, so if someone wants something, they can manifest it themselves. Out of headspace, we've got a few sentimental items that sort of belong to specific headmates (me and Elsie's ring, for example), but there isn't any formal designation for who owns what most of the time.

As for the city state bit, our headspace is centered around a walled city, with various (scientifically impossible) biomes and smaller outposts in the surrounding areas. Technically the city only really has the population of like, a hamlet, but that's based on incomplete census records and doesn't really seem to impact the architectural style or density of the settlement.

As for the "anarchical beurocracy" part, basically that means we've sort of got a government, but everybody has equal power and as long as you can draft up a sufficiently formal sounding document you can do whatever the hell you want. For example, say two headmates want to get married. They wouldn't need an officiant, just basically write up a paper saying they were married, seal it (we use seals not signatures, mostly because we have the stuff for it and it feels more formal,) and there you go.

Needless to say, this gives rise to a wide variety of chaotic political/regulatory bodies, including:

The Encyclopædia Committee- Started out as a volunteer-run committee to make an encyclopædia of stuff in our system to help explain it to other people, ended up as a group of volunteer social workers. We conduct censuses, contact headmates who haven't been seen in a while, set up transport to places the rail line doesn’t have a station, sort out minor custody disputes, etc. Joe is technically the leader/founder, but he spends most of his time with the research division, so usually his second in command's in charge. It seems to be sort of connected to the University, mostly because Joe decided it should be.

The Archaeology Department- A couple of block men in an appartment with the words "Archaeology Dept." spray-painted on the door. Mostly dedicated to recording in-world culture, geography, and history.

Ghosthall- Fictive Commune! I live here. Basically infinite rooms, run by Ime, mostly because he got around to building it first, so now he's usually the one to add stuff. The name comes from slightly complicated in-world culture/language stuff.

The University- A bunch of people seem to sort of work here but honestly it's mostly a resource hub. Elias has an office and seems to have some sort of leadership role, but literally none of us know what he actually does, including him. Cleo is convinced he's secretly living in the walls.

The Train System- Run by literally ONE GUY living in the tunnels. Basically a fast travel system.

The Pantheon- Fictives of deities from our main worldbuilding/writing playground. Weaver mostly acts through passive influence on chosen "champions," while Cedar seems to have final say on who has custody of Adaline (youngest headmate), though they do take advice from the Encyclopædia Committee.

House Nusthèrrùn- Group of people who decided they're a family. Mostly notable because it serves as a way for a few more active headmates to advocate for the interests of a few less active headmates. There are a couple groups like this in-headspace, including Ghosthall, to an extent. We can't have everyone in front at once arguing for their own interests; there are more than 50 of us total and front capacity maxes out near 10; so grouping up makes it easier for a smaller group (usually consisting of whoever's available representing all the groups they're a part of) to make decisions.

House Odyssey- Similar to House Nusthèrrùn but also sort of acts as a secondary resource hub alongside the University.

All Faith's- Local church. Done in gothic cathedral style because it looks neat, but generally functions as a place for anyone to do any spiritual stuff they want to. Also serves as a meeting place (the basement has a fooseball table). Nobody really runs it, but a couple people do live there, so they'd probably get the most say if something happened. (By live there, I mean that Pip lives in the bell tower because she likes high places, Radcliff sleeps in a tent in the graveyard because he's friends with her, and a couple fictives who were undead in source have claimed graves and set up shop.)

Oceanic Domain- We have no clue what goes on there. No one but Lizzie's been there, and when the Encyclopædia Committee asked her about it she got a bit cagey. Because of headspace amnesia, even she doesn't remember what goes on there when she's fronting, so we are completely in the dark.

Camp- There's a summer camp just outside the city walls. Not sure how it's run, not sure who lives there. This is currently under investigation by the Encyclopædia Committee.

The Hospital- I run this one! Basically it's a big building where people can go if they're upset or overwhelmed and need some time to cool down. Despite the name, it's basically a big, dimly lit room with lots of pillows and blankets and plushies.

The City Guard- Consists of literally one guy. Mostly considers the system's physical safety his priority.

The Phoenix- Air pirates! Basically funtions sorta like Houses Odyssey and Nusthèrrùn but they see themselves more as a crew than a family unit.

PUDP- Same as above but union?

I'm pretty sure the people living in the Grayhill district have set up some sort of homeowner's association-type-thing but it's pretty informal and mostly functions as a social group/loose coalition, similar to the above two.

There are a couple other University Committees dedicated to group projects, such as the aforementioned worldbuilding and writing playground, fanfiction, etc.

[risu5waffles]

Sombre and sTENtorious Came the Call

Welp, maybe our last go around for one of these, so let's do it right.

Cute enough early effort from brett169. It's got all those early LBP hallmarks, but you can see the creator is stretching to do something big wiv it. There are a lot of little secrets and scorebubble caches, and i do always love to see those. Unfortunately, it's ultimately broken in LBP3. i don't know quite what it is, but Collected Object enemies from LBP1 are never treated well in 3, and even before we get to the one blocking our path, we pass by enemies that look like they've shaken themselves apart before we got there. It's not even something wonky about being in a community level, like the creators have mucked wiv the objects or something; the Redcoat enemies in the PotC DLC get up to some really weird shenanigans. Come to think of it, if i'm remembering right there's a set of chattery teeth in the DC DLC that's bugged in a way that'll keep you from getting 100% prizes there.

This one was sure a little bit of a lot and no lie. Edgy little murder/mayhem platformer, but at least is its own thing, and not another Friday the 13th knockoff. i'd be lying if i said the level was all that good, but it has its moments. The paintball rain was a fun, old-school effect; and it was kind of... cute's not the word, but the way you can choose to put that guy out of his misery (and get a prize!) or torture him more was definitely something. The whole level is definitely something for sure.

Oh my gosh, this level. This level here? This was so freaking cool it's actually kind of silly. chronos had mentioned on stream that the rotating level thing was a bit of a trend in LBP1 for a hot minute, but i don't remember playing any that committed to the bit as hard as this one. You've got mazes. You've got traps. There are all sorts of mechanisms to help you navigate. There's that neat little contraption you ride, when you grab it, it puts out bumpers to stay in place so you can control when you fall? And all that's before you get to the surface of the planet, all the buildings up there, and you parkour(ish) to get up to the Moon, and ride a shooting star to the scoreboard? Like, what the actual fuck, tho'? How do you make something that goes this damn hard and is this damn cool?

We talked about this one a lot last time, and i don't know that i have more in the tank for it now, but i still think it's really good, even for its flaws.

We talked about this one a few weeks back, when we covered Librarian's Mansion 2, and it's still as charming as it was then. i really, really wish i'd had the chance to play through some of the levels introduced here, i imagine they were pretty fun. i got the chance to talk a bit wiv Goof-master, and they seem a pretty nice kid. Very excited to create. i hope whatever their future looks like, they don't lose that spark. To be honest, most everybody i've met through doing reviews has been pretty cool. i've been inordinately lucky in that.

This is just a little giveaway level i found, tho' i don't remember why i found it. i already had a mostly complete logic bit set. Ended up working out for the best, tho'; i didn't have the old Global lighting and water logic bits, because i never used them in a level, but damn if they don't look fine. It's one thing i always appreciated about LBP1 logic, since there was a stronger possibility the pieces would be visible in level, Mm went through the design effort to make sure they would look nice as objects, the logic pieces from LBP2 on are all very readable when you have them in a chip, and that is really important, but they almost always stand out like a sore thumb when you see them in a level.

It's cute and everything, and i bet it was fun wiv a friend; but if you lose your bike, you're just fucked, and that's no fun. Honestly tho', i'm way more interested in the creator. lust-for-1985? What does that mean? What does that even mean?!

i can't rag on this level too hard, and honestly it's a good example of why we shouldn't just go and tee off on someone 'cause we don't click wiv what they've made. POBFISH's bio tells us they've got MS, and (at time of writing) were having a time of it. Also, interesting and appreciated, they updated the bio wivout erasing the previous bits, so we see them start at 44yo, to 45, a jump to 50 and expecting 51. That kind of sits wiv you a bit. When did they write that. Did they make it to 51? Did they stop updating because they stopped playing because they were done wiv the game, or because they were done? The level is... i hope they had a good time making it and playing it wiv their friends. i didn't have a bad time wiv it; the fish-vehicle-thing was a hoot. But there really wasn't much in there besides that. Well, it's not in me to throw shade here.

The gameplay here isn't too much to write home about; i feel like it struggles to maintain momentum, and there are bits that just don't parse super well visually. But dang if i didn't love the environment. Excellent use of extra layers and depth of field in the cameras to give the feeling that it's really expansive. Lots of movement, and decorations. Very solid choices in materials. Just all around nice to spend time in, and that's worth admission alone.

i appreciate this one, but i just can't bring myself to like it. The pace is just all over the map, and the timing on the hazards feels just tight enough to rack up a lot of needless deaths. It's got a lot going on, and it feels like it stays pretty true its theme, but at the end of the day, it really wasn't much fun.

-------------------------------------------

And that's that. Still thinking of how i want to handle the DLC review bits, but unless Sumo gets the servers back up, that'll be our last TENspot. i'll be honest wiv you, but it's melancholy as heck.

Thanks everyone for all the support for this Archive project. And just for everything up til now. You've made a major impact on my life, and i could never repay you for it. Keep yourselves safe, and remember that you're loved.

[queen-mihai]

Hi I know that this may seem out of place. But at what point in your life did you begin to feel stable/adult. I often times have conflicted my feelings of gender discomfort or writing with these beliefs. Because of this I have abandoned myself to a point where a stranger now lives in my body. Have these thoughts ever bothered you?

Hmm🤔

This is an interesting question. I suppose it's rather gradual. And there's never a feeling really of being "there".

You always feel kinda like you're faking it in a way. People really are telling the truth that nobody knows what they're doing. Everybody's making it up as they go along

And one thing that we all eventually find is that no one can do this alone. I work as an engineer. I work in the field with machines that don't move, meaning I have to go to it instead of it coming to me.

That means that I not only have to be an expert at math and designing and troubleshooting, but also logistics. I need to figure out schedules and times and make phone calls so people know who I am and what I'm doing and if it's going to affect them.

But like that didn't happen suddenly all at once. The reason jobs measure *years* of experience, is that it genuinely takes *years* to get used to the type of things adults have to do just getting around.

My boss doesn't want to have to come pick me up to bring me to work. The regional manager I work for would suffer if every time I ran into a problem I came asking him what to do. I wouldn't have gotten this job if I hadn't been doing the stuff I do here for years already. But I didn't start by doing this much. I started in my career just kind of accepting assignments that needed to be traveled for. They might have come once every 6 months in my early career. But I jumped at them because I wanted to get out of the office and I thought that part of the job was fun.

Eventually employers got used to that idea and they sent me out more. "Oh Mihai will take care of that. She loves driving around. And with her doing that, we can have some of the other engineers do something else"

Eventually that grew into enough that I could add it to my resume and really take it on as part of whatever job I got next. Etc etc etc until the job I have now doesn't HAVE an office; I'm pretty much forced to demand a company vehicle, and I spend practically half my life living in hotels.

Regarding feeling stable, that's more a job of meditating and feeling good about being *you*.

I don't feel like the world is stable. I don't feel like people's opinions of me are stable. The political, corporate, financial, and climate world is unstable. But I know who I am, and how I make decisions. I know I'm always going to be honest about how I feel, if I am proud of my work or if I made mistakes, and I'll always try to communicate. I know I work really best alone, but I love being around people. I know I'm a leader and people tend to do what I do, so I try to do the right thing always. That's what makes me feel stable. I'm stable in myself, no matter how unstable the world is around me. And that consistency of personhood provides an anchor from which other people can latch on and help find themselves too. (Because you're not me, but you can use me to find what similarities and differences there are between us, and thus, paint a clearer picture of your own personal image)

I don't know how much I can help with the "abandoning yourself" part.

Part of what hurt me previously was being involved in a very destructive relationship. Once I left that relationship, it became much easier to construct *me*. Maybe that's not what you have going on, but it may be worthwhile to take a look at your environment and see if there's something making you feel like you can't grow into the person you want to be.

In any case I wish you well. And I hope you find your place. What I can say is that there's no finish line; there's no race; there's not even a path. There's just decisions you make every day. They're all important and none of them are important. But what IS important is that you see that you're not waiting to start your story. You're in the middle of it right now. Please know that you are loved, and very cool, and I especially appreciate you for sending such an interesting ask 🥰

Peace ✌️ ❤️

[kapi-tanka]

If you don't do commissions what artistic work you do? I want to get an art related job too but I don't really know how and where to start :(

oh well. i'm sorry but honestly i don't think i can help much since my experience is very specific to russian-speaking communities plus i'm very lucky in terms of upbringing. my mom's an editor and my dad worked as a designer for a long time. they passively taught me a lot of stuff and kind of presented me to my first clients back in the day, plus i've always had to do small things for their own projects too. at this point i just know a bunch of other editors, authors and designers who recommend me to people they know. sometimes new people find my behance portfolio and contact me. i also read a bunch of chats/pages where people post art/design vacancies. but connections were my bread and butter the whole time. i don't even have an art degree, only word of mouth and skill and uhh i also can't say i recommend my field?? i mostly do vector stuff and, to put it lightly, it's boring. the most fun stuff i did was children's book illustration/children's and pedagogical periodics but i feel like it's an overpopulated field in russia and they rarely pay well my current job is okay, though it's very tech and business oriented. their current theme is autopiloted aircrafts lmao. very fun objects to draw, you have no idea, anon. the "best" part is that i have to understand the principles of all the stuff i draw about to depict them properly and to convey the basic concept behind them. i'm not an expert by all means but somehow i end up working on such projects (the worst time was when i had to make infographics on nanotubes and carbon, etc., it was very stressful and scientists weren't great at explaining stuff to dumbasses regular people like me lol). but in my experience this field isn't as crowded as children's illustration since not as many artists want to draw shit like. geodesic drones. i've also had my fair share of corporate vector art. was relatively easy for me (i'm good at adjusting to company artstyles and i like drawing people) but it didn't feel right (imagine drawing APPEALING and ENGAGING pictures on taxes in singapore plus you're an anti-capitalist plus everybody in art community hates how it looks and you just kinda have an existential crisis every single time you draw a smiling dude in a suit)

so yeah. i do lots of labor i don't really enjoy/want to do and i kinda got used to it by adding stuff i find appealing to my work illustrations (such as people, interesting compositions, fun details), BUT i hope you'll find something that suits you personally and something that will bring you joy. good luck!!! (my work doesn't suck 24/7 though, i just tried not to sugar-coat it)

[byebyelemonpie]

byebyelemonpie's august 2023 recommendations

Wow, my picks for this month are very weak, because I didn't watch any movie that stood up to me as much as previous months, and I've really liked only one series from the few ones I've finished.

My august top 5 movies:

Seriously. These movies are so mid that I don't even want to mention some of them in my top 5. Most movies I've seen from this month are rated 3.5 stars on letterboxd, and that's mostly because of great animation or great cinematography.

Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003, dir: McG) [Rewatch after more than a decade] I had rewatched the first one recently and found it worse than I remembered, but this one was actually awesome. I very much enjoyed watching it, with its action scenes, its plot twists, and its Badass Girls Doing Stuff! It's just a very fun film, and I loved rediscovering it. -

Atonement (2007, dir: Joe Wright) [Rewatch after 9 years] I actually decided to rewatch this movie because the first time I saw it, I didn't like it at all. I get why, though: it doesn't have the best ending that 18 year old me would have loved, but 27 year old me now understands the nuances and the storytelling. I think the way it's told might be a little confusing at first, but it's interesting to see the different points of view and the lies of the person who tells the story rather than what actually happened. And my goodness, the green dress cinematography and the sound design are amazing. -

Trainspotting (1996, dir: Danny Boyle) [Rewatched after seven years] I don't even know if I liked this movie. I might have even hated it at times. I surely thought that the narrator talked way too much, but the story required it and it wouldn't be it without his redundant monologues. Every character is awful, but you can't help to root for them at least a bit: they are in misery, and it doesn't matter if they've created it for themselves or if society had a big part in that creation. What I really loved though, was the originality in depicting those abstract sequences that showed the state the characters were in when they were abusing substances: the editing was all over the place. I also watched T2 for the first time, but I personally didn't find it as good as the first one. -

Red, White and Royal Blue (2023, dir: Matthew López) [First time watch] This was fun! Definitely funnier than I expected, never having read the book before. I think the first act and a half were very fast and fun to follow, while the second half of the movie was at the same time too long with a very fast ending. I thought it was quite cute, though. -

Elemental (2023, dir: Peter Sohn) [First time watch] Listen, I love Pixar and I've loved Pixar for a long time. That's why I can say with my whole heart that they can do better than this! Of course, this wasn't terrible: I enjoyed it very much and it had my attention the whole time, but I know Pixar can and has done better movies even decades ago. The story is quite nice, maybe not the most original overall, but Pixar had never made a rom-com as far as I remember, so I'll let that slide. It's fun to see how "perfect" the elements look, of course! They're beautiful! They way they interact with each other and with other elements is very clever and well animated. I know that Pixar has strived to animate realistic things since its beginnings, but this is a fictional land with abstract characters! Shouldn't the animation, or even better, the character design be a little less "perfect"? And I'm not saying it should lack talent: I'm saying it should gain more feeling, rather. And I know that this studio can do that, if even more recently we look at things like Luca or Red, even.

The fact is that this same month I also watched for the first time Atlantis: The Lost Empire, which is a Disney film from that era of Disney that made great movies, and that had amazing animation, and the character design varied from character to character, highlighting everybody's personalities from even the smallest details. I didn't put it on the top 5 list because unfortunately I watched it while doing something else and now I don't remember much of it and that's on me, but I think it can have this small shout out anyway.

Favourite series in august:

Be My Favorite (Thailand, 2023) [First time watch] This was such a cute drama, started as a light show about a boy using time travel to make a girl like him, and evolved into a deep, quite philosophical story revolving around fixed points in time, fate, fighting for what's important even if things won't change immediately, queer rights, and making a boy like him instead. Probably one of my favourite series from this year: I enjoyed its fairytale vibes and its storytelling. It's quite difficult to write a story with several parallel universes starting up from different time travels, but I think the writers of this show managed to keep it easy to understand and fun to follow.

[byebyelemonpie's 2023 recs]

[justdancekid]

Don't get drunk when you're in love - A JD fanfiction

Series: Just Dance 2023 Edition

Characters: Brezziana (Physical) and Mihaly (Rather Be)

Rating: T

Type: Alcohol, Drunken Confessions, Fluff

The Danceverse 5 have a well deserved celebration after the battle, Mihaly was just siting down, but Brezziana sat down beside them and confesses something interesting to them

"ATTENTION ALL DANCERS!!! THIS IS A CELEBRATION!!!" Wanderlust said in his diety-esq voice to kick off the party!

Everybody was having fun. Liv and Blake drank themselves silly and was dancing till they drop

Jack Rose was singing his heart and soul out

Sara is having fun, dancing and singing like nobody watching, which she makes sure nobody was

Everybody else was either dancing, drinking, or both

At least, that's what Mihaly studied around the Party. As a shaman, Mihaly doesn't allow themselves to drink, which make them the Perfect designated driver. So, whenever the Danceverse 5 holds a party like this, they just sit down at a table.

"HEEEEEEYYYYYYY!!!!!" A familiar, albeit, slurred voice rang to their ears. They turned around and saw Brezziana coming towards them and sat down beside them

"I don't know if you could tell, Sara. But, I'm kinda tipsy right now." Brezziana said to Mihaly, thinking their Sara.

Heh, Tipsy is an understatement. One more drink and you might pass out. Mihaly thought

"This party's amazing! They have drinks, hic everyone's having fun, And, it's a great time! Which is good for everyone, since the battle hic with Night Swan might've have taken a toll on people" Mihaly was surprised that even in her drunken state, she could still retain the fact thatt she could go on and on whenever she gets excited about things

"Sorry, sorry. I forgot you're not Mihaly, they always let me go on about the silly stuff I like. That's why I've always loved them"

That last sentence made Mihaly freeze. They always loved Brezziana, but, they've never thought that she returned those feelings.

"Welp, since I've already said it. Yeah, I love Mihaly. They're so nice and pretty. And, they've always helped me. And, I know they like me back, but I think they're shy about it. And, I don't wanna scare them about it, so promise me you wouldn't tell them."

Mihaly hesitated, not knowing what to say or do. Should they tell her that she was talking to them, or should they promise her that they wouldn't tell anybody. This decision was harrowing. But, ultimately, they decided

"Yes. I promise"

"Good hic thanks" Brezziana slurred

Brezziana left to dance and drink some more. Leaving Mihaly to basically walk on air to the news that they have gotten.

Wow! I can't believe it..........She loves me

[charlesemersonwinchesteriii]

For dating game: Donna Noble for a non Mash option from something I'm pretty sure I've seen you reblog stuff from, BJ, and Klinger

I can't believe I got 2 Donnas for this game and neither were the MASH one haha. And yes I AM a Doctor Who fan but like with Twin Peaks I'm only a shallow fake one because I only feel really passionate about RTD era :( sowwy again. I'm 0 for 2 today. But at least I didn't skip MASH s1-3 AND I didn't skip the 9th Doctor AND I read Laura's diary + Dale Cooper's tapes. So now everyone has to give me a little headpat and forgive me and say they're not mad at me thank you <3

Donna Noble

I couldn’t handle Donna QwQ I couldn’t match her energy it’s very sad :( I feel like I would do the exact opposite of what the Doctor did for her in terms of bringing out her most amazing qualities. And I do really try to highlight and praise the qualities of people in my life!! I just don’t know if I could help her reach her full potential. Which sounds like one of those weird therapy-talk approaches to relationships but unfortunately sometimes when you really admire someone you actually do start thinking about things like “am I supporting her journey effectively” and all that. But this is just a date right so it can just be a casual thing. I feel like Donna is someone with whom I could straight up be like Hey so I was never socialized properly and your last relationship ended comically terribly so do you want to like try practicing dating with each other? I think it could be fun! And then eventually she could move on to find happiness with Mr. Temple :)  

Wait actually sorry quick tangent if Donna doesn’t remember the Doctor what does she think happened to her fiance from way back when. Does she. Does she remember the giant alien spider or. Hang on--

BJ Hunnicutt

BJ Hunnicutt is the human equivalent of Disneyland. Everybody in the entire nation is absolutely obsessively feral over it it’s sooo beautiful it’s sooo fun you just HAVE to experience it it’s a quintessential expression of the American dream blah blah blah. But I will never attend this overpriced (constantly borrowing money) and overcrowded (too much competition from the rest of Mashblr) theme park. I do not care for its fastpass system (willingness to cheat on his partner) or its uninspiring coaster design (anger issues), and I am further offended to hear of the constant introduction of cost-cutting measures that harm visitor experience (growth of mustache). Not even the prospect of purchasing a fully functioning Cogsworth clock (chance to join the Punnihawk polycule) is enough to tempt me. It’s not happening. I am going to Dollywood (Maxwell Klinger).

Maxie my beautiful girl Maxie whomst is so very adored by me

My wife my kitten my sweet snuggly wuggly good time gal. My Dollywood. Know that I love and adore Maxwell for eternity <3

BUT. I must love her from afar because I couldn’t in good conscience waste her time when I figure there must be a more compatible match out there, ya know? Like, I know hardly anything about baseball and I wear the same clothes every day and I don’t eat red meat so I can’t even share those beloved hotdogs. Max deserves the Best as I’m sure we all agree, and we know he wants a serious long term partnership. I want the same thing, so I know that such a lifelong, committed relationship should be with someone who finds themself more easily compatible with Max’s tastes and interests.  

On an unrelated note, Charles sure seemed to get super into baseball in War For All Seasons, huh? :) And we know he cares a lot about his clothes, as we see him hiring a personal tailor at least once! :) And he was surprisingly eager to get to share in Max’s hotdog delivery in The Grim Reaper, too! :) So many random fun facts in this world \^w^/

[maneaterwithtail]

I I just finished handyman saito and I honestly have to admit yeah I've been demigrating in East Ohio when it doesn't necessarily Eminem itself communicate all the ways you can play with the idea stranger in the savings land is practically an architype of a story for a d*** reason as portal fantasy

Before The first few episodes are remarkably quarky and surprivately they're cynical without necessarily feeling that mean spirit

I think I can't believe I like the king

And they have an interesting young girl meets all dude pair that's also remarkably interesting and enough itself particularly when we later find out our specialty and experiences as a result I've left her with a prosthetic

The entire saga against the ninja and how that all built up on itself

If anything I like the fact that it has a sort of easy going nature on good VS evil not in the sense that evil doesn't matter so much as good is so incredibly satisfying that having a little of it in everybody makes everyone happy

Add in the reasonable authority figures as well as the vizier and the king and it's kind of fun

Also this feels the first and a long time where I've noticed ghost and goblin references and either design or aspect and it's not associated strictly with villains or people were supposed to think are bad

Overall a very fun bit and yes there is modest of LGB elements as well

Seriously citeho has game he's not he's pulling in the dudes as well and everyone has Sparks of character.

The sense that these are The sense that these are all 21° or another unconventional people who are experiencing a second chance due to circumstance and they actually address whether or not he's going to go home and what that would mean for him

It isn't rising of the shield hero but when I can pair it to something like RE: monster I just can't help but feel like it really makes use of the premise in circumstances it's put it's hero inside of

In addition to it I feel it has the right use of a cheat skill in this case a master of few trades but from a more advanced civilization and even then he's both learning and appreciating different things

The fact that it goes with ideas like what do you do with a wizard who's gotten so old that dementia has set in

Or the Or the economics of being around one dungeon that's starting to run dry and of course when Wizards get so powerful that they are in fact able to tap into other worlds what that means for both themselves and loved ones

I like I like that at cycles between sagas and vignettes

The cast The cast is robust but simple enough that you always have to write dad we can explore different ways

And yes some really bad a** action scenes that have hard to them even if they're not necessarily the best of the best are still really good and almost allHave the right amount of dramatic writing

[the-firebird69]

This is the kind of jacket we're going to sell not the exact jacket but it's a rider jacket and has accessories on it and some don't recognize it or something even doesn't know what it all is but it works it's a it's a very functional jacket. It has hard stuff on the inside and it has a kidney belt and more it also has a Harley-Davidson emblem and ours is going to be an eagle but it won't look like this and it will look more like the dollar so it will be interesting to people and wings out spread and it looking one way and it is real eagle that's what it means and it's a symbol it's not supposed to mean go do stuff and it will have our bike name on it and all of it will be simple people know pretty quickly pretty soon it's a great idea and today is a good day to do it it's Prince spheggetti day he says. They need to step up cuz situation is a standard of living it's too low and we need to get things to do and this company is going to be one of them and we're all agreeing to it cuz we're all American money except that I immediately and he says you're kidding and I know what he means but that's my bike is a 450 CC and I'm helping to build the trike no we have the trike we're just renaming it and we're free outfitting it and changing the fairings and the tanks and everything will be looking different it's going to be great this is so much fun our people have a version and yeah Uriel and Goddess Wife they have aversion, it's kind of like the original light bike and it's the same or less mechanics and the engine is very nice but that's what they help design each of us has a piece Frank Castle hardcastle they designed almost 100% one of the choppers and two newcomb Blockbuster design almost 100% the other chopper and we're changing a little does it takes kind of small and make it more functional and people going to buy them like madness they're so inexpensive they're putting them out in the magazines now and not the Chinese websites now I'm going to have shops and stores and hard not kicker 5150 never really picked up but this will and we're going to do this all over the world and yeah we're looking for people who want to be dealers right now

Thor Freya

I want to be a dealer how do I do that

Bja

Well you would have to find the company and to do that you'd have to find a bike online and then call in and say you wanted to be a dealer and we know you're serious. And we know you have orders in and we do understand what you're saying you want to claim the bike as a staple for your people

Thor Freya

I'm going to do that now right now

Bja

We're going to do it now too you know you build a bike for those cheap you make a lot of them and you're changing up the design and the original design is decent but the frame is going to be beefier and the engines and the tanks will be larger it's going to be more functional so we want to make an hour because it's American and we're going to use it and it's cheaper you can't buy these Harleys take forever to mk and yeah hell is to be for my higher ups but these will be for everybody we don't have time to make all these bikes and they're made wonderfully they handle very well and I see it's going to come out today and their website says coming out today and they're probably in Topeka Kansas. He just threw that in there. These guys are smiling because it's not something from Indiana so they're laughing because they couldn't do what it is people going there right now. They might have a shop there they have the eagle design mb. He said that the characters might be there and in the office type thing sort of it's like a shop and with just the insignia in the memorabilia a little bit of it so you take your chances of signing up. And we're buying up all the Hard knock kicker 5150 we need them and we're going to compare and War

Mac

That changes the frame a little and make it a little beefier it's pretty beefy already it's a solid frame but we're making a beefier because we're taking out the 125s and the 250s and we're making it Enduro they will have a 250 and dirt bikes the 125 the 250 is very fast and that's why and we're going to have a couple other bikes but really this is what's going on. Did you make a conversion kit for the 450cc regular Street and that's to go to a light cycle and we're going to sell the light cycle as part of accessories it's a light cycle conversion kit and it's going to have the American eagle logo and the American eagle insignia on it before it gets to anybody it's really going to be a class operation

Frank Castle hardcastle

I love it already that idea I could help make sure it gets done because it makes it real fast and I want the thing to have a certain look to it like made in USA and that's going to be on our literature all of it and it's not from recycled material too

Hera

Good

Zues

Ok ok he thought awesome lol said good for me yum yum ok he's nice

Hera good ok good

This thing so it's very good and we like it and we're going to be at the shop and then have our mustaches, and we know you have one but we see what you mean, you one of my kids and you'll see what they're useful for and it's one thing and we understand that still might do it anyways. We're going to have a good time so we understand what you're saying this is the shop and this is who We are and where people when somebody we have a big company and people want dealerships and we want to open dealerships they have buildings already and he says it's fine because you can do a quick facelift and then like a phased renovation cuz I hated they just you don't want to close it you know a face renovation and the real phases and it'll work for us because you don't want to shut it down and start it and it's kind of gross and you don't have storage facility so you just store themselves where and you wheeling in and out while you're renovating and the one side it's really not a bad deal lots of have that aspect and we're going to put the sign out there right away and people love it cuz Harley-Davidson changed away from the eagle this is perfect it's so cool

Frank Castle

I'm here too and we're doing a job but boy this is going to be a lot of fun it's like a break from everything and it's up to unify everybody and it is a symbol that we're going to carry and use

Hardcastle

We do recognize that it's our symbol and it is America and it is what we're all about and they're going to regret ever doing the stuff to us and yeah I'm feeling it I'm feeling my salt

Duke Nukem

When this together and we're having a great time and it's going to be so much fun we'll put together a whole package of marketing and sales and sales approach and how to get it here and over there and start here and it's a smart thing he says and she does too and we're going to sell off all the Hard knock kicker 5150 and start producing these right away oh and we'll keep some parts we have to and we also make sure that we reward people who've been working for us cuz people who are Max and others other races are working for us or not okay and we're going to tell them what's going on with the company cuz they're worried and the regular folk and we're going to switch it over they're already pretty happy about it and we're going to retain them and it's something to be said because it's important a lot of people worry about it

Blockbuster

The computer is being mean I'm listed twice but I do have more to say we have this whole package ready and this whole program and shops and store designs and specifically Hard knock kicker 5150 shops and stores that never went up ever globally they never was one of them built and he's upset because he told people to build them and we couldn't because Max wouldn't let them be built and they didn't tell him is a proof of theorem that they're interfering a lot and we know what he meant and he's trying to get them to be civilized and organized and have a place of their own and from a rebel and they didn't allow it they seem to be into this motorcycle and into making it their own they want to make dealerships now we have a lot of these places built and they're sitting somewhere we need to put them in because they're going to be destroyed if we don't within days so inviting you to our shop those who want to come in and we're telling you where it is and you don't have to come in person either but we do have a shop we do need to start the wheels rolling. And we have dealership ideas where we have about 200 for each applicant in their 10 applicants so far that are built. That's in the United States other places probably about to 300 and they're the roadside saloon and shop ideas and campground ideas we even have all the campground huts I call them huts there sheds or cabins is what he calls them and Frank Castle hardcastle calls him cabins and Hera and Thor Freya and Blockbuster. Now John Cena is getting involved and he is wondering what the hell. Is idea for a motorcycle company from China didn't take off too much and I'm going to use the Chinese motorcycle name we had all that stuff ready, and John Cena fell down and people didn't like the idea of his name or the concept or anything so I'm sending it before all those bikes we built tons of them and they're not part of this company but they're nice and they work and it's another model and it's going to be incorporated to one of our companies it's a good idea. We're moving out on this idea and it is awesome there's a lot of people interested in this lover are people they said it's about time. And everybody wants to be American and that's what's going on too. So I'm getting our stuff together and yeah those warlock are pouring into the middle faster than you can spit then go in there so fast you think it was the Great lakes emptying out in the ocean pouring in it's just the same fact it's just intense and incredible there's so many of them it's fascinating. And they'll be out soon the pit is what we're calling it and where get a test out of saloon restaurant called the pit and separate from the motorcycle company he says be like one of the old Hard knock kicker 5150s we had a couple up I'm going to change those into the pit they're actually in the Midwest and people know where they are and because the company is going out of business we have to change it anyways and it's kind of a pit they're kind of dives and he wants to sell the cheap beer there and take everything else out it's going on right now and people are lining up there to get there and so we're going to sell the large it's like two gallons or something 3 gallons and we sell it there and you can fill it up and take off and until the beers out cuz we still have a lot of it left and probably won't have to brew anymore now we will it'll start switching it over no we have to go full bore this idea. I'm putting it together and I'm going to head it up and yeah a lot of hard knock kicker and 5150 have arrived and we're sending them off now with their growlers tell them what the beer bottles and was sell them if we have them left or if we can get them we stop production but we have a bunch of them left

Duke Nukem

This is awesome this is what it's all about and we're going to find that beer company and switch it over and change the recipe but this is the best I got my own bike and he made an ornament based on the bike being the top and it is the top and there's a cruiser that's the one and it's mine and I designed it and it builds in the frame again and changing it up a little bit so it looks like a cruiser but still handles like a bike people love it it's going to be awesome it's like our own bikes company the 250 Enduro is good and we might keep some Street versions at 250 because they are as fast as a 450 or 400 and he's right too they are very fast and light and a lot of people buy them I'm going to put it back that way we don't want to be Harley and be stuck in the mud

Thor Freya

Good

Olympus

[dash-n-step]

A long post but something I just really find interesting from a gameplay perspective about that snowgrave route is that it's literally impossible to bumble your way into completion. Which is kind of obvious considering how nobody knew about it for almost a whole day, and the very specific areas and items you need to collect but just... consider that, right?

Like sure maybe you find Noelle's ice skill to be useful, and you might backtrack a bit so you can see what she says about stuff, you might even think you're genuinely helping since the end of the battles do say "Noelle has become stronger".

But then comes the multiple layers of dialogue choices:

The ferris wheel is almost harmless, maybe you just like the idea of Kris and Noelle hanging out again. Childhood friends and all that, even if the second insistence sounds rather forceful, it's not completely out of nowhere.

There's the dating shoes dialogue, which is like, alright maybe you REALLY like the idea of Kris and Noelle hanging together, everybody's got their preferences and this choice is in a normal playthrough as well.

Then you immediately get to the ring that "strangely" costs precisely one dollar more than your total money

Though hey, benefit of the doubt, the item does make Noelle stronger and maybe by saying "Get It" enough times the guy will lower the price or a wacky dollar will show up out of nowhere.

Until Noelle freezes the guy to steal it.

At this point you have to realize something is wrong, but hey, EVEN MORE benefit of the doubt, maybe you think things are going alright.

Until you head straight to the lightning puzzle.

There's very little leeway to justify what comes next: Noelle holds the button for Kris and then quietly considers stepping off and letting them fry. Even if you somehow bumbled your way to this point you either call out how weird she's getting or condone it as an innocent impulsive thought.

And if you do let that slide, the music from this point immediately shifts and now the enemies are actively running away, and you have to search them out in a large map, car puzzles noticeably frozen over as well.

But hey EVEN MORE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT, maybe you just really like the battle system and want to get stronger.

So I think the first true "oh this player has to know what they're doing" point is when you get to the second mouse puzzle.

All this time, with a bit of imagination, an isolated player could theoretically believe they've been building Noelle's confidence or even her relationship with Kris considering their past. However in that case, someone accidentally getting to this point would choose "Let's solve this puzzle together", and immediately you're back on track for the normal path, music's back everything's wacky and fun.

It's only by choosing the other option, multiple times, Proceed - Proceed - Proceed - Proceed, as Noelle gets backed into an electric wall, is the player stripped of that plausible deniability. You have to know that you're going down a bizarre route, and that there's very little comfort along the way.

And even then the game gives you a few breaks:

You have to go back a long way to get the ring from Spamton

You have to equip it despite the strange debuffs of actually hurting Noelle while she has it

You have to get into the fight with Berdly (again while not choosing the option that you've simply been protecting her from him, or even people like him)

You have to pressure her to use a spell she clearly doesn't feel comfortable even acknowledging on her own classmate with the one word effect: Fatal

At which point you're truly locked in with the choices you've made.

And I just think from a game design perspective where often you have to consider what the most unfamiliar player might do, it lets you deliver certain punches well.

To an extent you can't blame someone for misinterpreting certain gameplay options, it's almost like not knowing whether a game has fall damage and then a game calls you out for a poorly calculated leap of faith. But when you've designed it so there's only one way, a hard way, to do something, you can properly lay on how much of what is happening is entirely on the player.

What also fascinates me is that this is only Chapter 2, we have no idea how this plays out for the rest of the game, how if in some messed up way choices like these actually lead to better circumstances later on or if there are dire consequences to making these choices, despite the advertised "one ending".

[numberonetribble]

I got Control on Thursday, beat it on Friday and wow! What a daringly fun and innovative game? It's story is vague but holds together really well. It's like "Welcome to Nightvale" but everybody is in on it.

Here are some thoughts:

Love the assist features, normally scary/shooter games stress me out that I brute force my way through it. But you can turn on aim assist, instant one-shot kills, immortality and adjust the refill meter speed. Once you pick up all the abilities the game is just so much fun to run and explore in.

The Oldest House does this reality shift at the start of the game in a really clever way, which implies that it'll do it for the whole game and since everybody talks about it. But bc a constantly shifting map would be frustrating, the designed each area in a way that, you don't get lost persay, but it tricks your brain into thinking the area shifted. So many, "Hey wait wasn't that, wait no. Where was the, oh right here!" moments. (Or I can't read the maps very well)

There are a couple of things that aren't fully explained, or they're in a collectable file you have to pick up and read. Obviously since I finished the game in under 24 hours I might have missed something. But there are things that straight up aren't explained between characters, things happen, everybody is upset and I'm sitting there like, "Why are we crying?"

Watch the credits. Do not skip. Do not exit game to look at trophies.

The DLC is interesting, but again bc so much of the lore is in reading format, I missed a bunch. We get Jesse's every thought, if she thought something when she picked up something interesting it'd be helpful. The Foundation DLC ending didn't sit well with me, and I thought the second DLC would address it but instead it was:

"Why is Alan Wake in my video game?" I've never played Alan Wake, never will, and this DLC had a lot of fun bits to it but narratively it was just a big long ad for Alan Wake 2. That's fine but I was genuinely disappointed.

I love Control, I love being in the map and exploring everything and double backing to check everything again, I love the NPCs despite they barely being there. I love the gun, this is the first time I tried it different weapon types in a game and ran through mostly with one I wouldn't use in other games. The puzzles are easy but interesting. The only time I had to look something up on my phone it's because the button prompt was too small to see, or I did the actions right but the game didn't recognize it. I didn't want to leave the game I wish more games were like it. I think I would play the RE games if they had assist mode like Control.

Where did Darling go? Will he reappear in Control 2? The Hiss hasn't been dealt with entirely yet. Will there be more levels in Control 2? I feel like the game got cut in half. Even with the dlcs, it's only narratively half way done.

[thegothicviking]

As re-entering a link from herzeleid.com never seem to work (??) I usually copy and paste the actual text. Remember a transcription of Flake chatting with fans that I posted from early 00'? Before this Paul had a similar if not the same chat. I have already too long post in tumblr now so it will be broken down in 2 parts!

PAUL CHAT WITH FANS part I

Transcribed by Jeremy Williams

Taken from Rammstein.com chat

October 26 , 2005

_____________________________

Mod: Hello to you all. Thanks for coming out. Paul will be here in just a few minutes. And then we're going to get started.

Paul: Let's go!

niti: +++

Mod: Sorry, there was a technical problem. But the chat will start soon.

niti: +++

**atomrt: how do you chose the sounds for each song because all of them fit perfectly?**

Paul: Thanks a lot! Sometimes that works out well, sometimes not so well.+++

**maria: Your album covers have always sparked a lot of controversy. Which cover is your favourite and why?**

Paul: The cover for Sehnsucht was the most dramatic in my opinion.+++

**Benzramm: What was coming out of the fake penis during the live act "Bück Dich"? **

Paul: That was water with Ouzo to make it milky.+++

**Beurgueur: Good evening, Have you ever thought to write a metal-opera based on rammstein’ story?**

Paul: Hopefully not. We have enough theater elements already.+++

**MafiUndomiel: I was at River Plate Stadium in Argentina, 1999, when you toured with KISS. You did almost surpassed KISS music and show with your impact, and many people was really impressed. I still remember the silence during Du Hast, as Till was singing the refrain. What do you remember of Argentina, of this show? **

Paul: Yeah, that was unbelievable. It's a shame that we can't play in South America this time. Flake was seriously ill.+++

**MafiUndomiel: Did Till write Te Quiero Puta on his own, or had some kind of external help? I know it's not very complicated, nor elaborated in the lyrics, but it's not easy to put two or three sentences together if you don't know the language... believe me! I'm still trying with German!**

Paul: He had some help from his girlfriend and from Flake's friend from Chile.

Paul: But Till can already speak Spanish so well that he only had a few questions about grammar.+++

**monkeyman: What type of gear do you use when recording in the studio?**

Paul: This would take two hours to list. Too much for now. Sorry.+++

**Hugo: Why did you choose almost the same cover for the japanese version of Reise, Reise and Rosenrot? **

Paul: Because we thought it would be a shame to use the cover only for the Japanese edition.+++

**MafiUndomiel: There are many bands that edited DVD and VHS with the footage they got when they recorded their albums, the creative process and all that stuff. Since many R+ fans are really interested in knowing "Rammstein's kitchen", have you considered releasing something of that kind?

** Paul: I filmed some of the footage during Reise, Reise and it will come out sometime on a DVD as bonus material.+++

**blastedop: What happened to Live DVD? It was delayed? **

Paul: Yeah a little bit, but we're going to try to do it this year.+++

**MafiUndomiel: I wanted to know how did you put your setlists together when you go to a country you've never been... you mix old and new material, or you prefer to show your new material above all, and play only the "classics"? **

Paul: We play a mix of both old and new.+++

**Jenna: As you are possibly the most successful band from Germany (singing in German) that you are expected to represent German music and culture to the rest of the world? **

Paul: It was never our plan to play all over the world.

Paul: Sometimes we wonder ourselves how this all happened.+++

**beurgueur: what american film director would you enjoy to make a ckip with **

Paul: Tarantino.+++

**Benzramm: Did you ever get hurt when you were working with fire on the live acts ? **

Paul: Sometimes.+++

**aeon: One Rammstein member said you had a movie project with Werner Herzog. Do you think this project will be carried out and would you like to act in something different from Rammstein videos ? **

Paul: It's been awhile with WErner herzog. Maybe it will work out, there's still a plan to do it.

Paul: +++

**Rammsteinizied: Dear Paul: What is your favorite live performance effect? (like the flamethrowes in Feuer frei or the bow in DRSG) **

Paul: The nose flame throwers that we use in Feuer frei!+++

**MafiUndomiel: Which was your first guitar? Do you still own it? **

Paul: It was a Telecaster copy. A cheap one. I gave away my first guitars at an auction for a good cause. No idea whether it worked out.+++

**Straya: This has been in my mind for a while now, and I must ask. From the sample songs on the official site, it seems Rosenrot might be your 'hardest/loudest' albums, the songs seem 'hard', in a way, like Ich Will, Feuer Frei, and Mein Teil; what do you think of this? **

Paul: I don't think so. There are fewer sequences so the guitars come out better.+++

**Synthema: Do you still feel that being in Rammstein is almost like being in a six-way marriage? Does the band still function as a tight a unit or have things drifted apart? **

Paul: Yeah.

Paul: We're still together. Knock on wood. We've been together for 10 years and now that we've gone through our crisis, we feel better than ever.

Paul: We've got money, success, beautiful women and all the rest.

Paul: Things can only get worse.+++

**Jenna: Do you think your videos help to stop you taking yourselves too seriously? **

Paul: We've always taken ourselves less seriously than many people think. our best friends know this.

Paul: At the moment, we don't feel like making any humouress videos.+++

**whiskeypapa: When writing a song, how many/what kinds of revisions does the song go through before finally making it onto an album? **

Paul: Some songs make it out directly as we conceived them. With other songs, we make 20 versions and they still don't make it.

Paul: +++

**Noora: HI! I'm a fashion and design student from Finland and I was wondering about your stage costumes...How much do you participate in the designing and making of the outfits that you use on your tours? I understand that every album has its own look. Do you first design the outline of the look as a band and hen consult a designer and maker? Thanx and welcome back to Finland! :)**

Paul: Most ideas come directly from the band. For the last outfit, we had the idea to combine Bavarian folkloric outfits with industrial.

Paul: Because Bavarian folklore is not very cool and we like to mix things that you're not supposed to.+++

**Beurgueur: Have you ever thought in what your life would be now if rammstein never was created?**

Paul: No. We don't think that way.+++

**minx: It’s been stated in several interviews that the band has two pyromaniacs in the group, but is there anyone who is not so fond of fire?**

Paul: Everybody in the band has a different specialty.

Paul: Each of us is really equally important.

Paul: It doesn'T matter what each does, it could be better when two are on vacation during preparation and actually help us to make a good video this way.+++

**Badeend: Who thinks of the titles of the cd's? Is it some kind of democraty or is it 1 man that decides?**

Paul: We make the decision as a group but it's not really a democracy. More like a board of directors.+++

**Biz: How have older industrial bands (such as Laibach or KMFDM) influenced you?**

Paul: A lot.

Paul: Also Ministry.+++

**minx: What is the oily black/brown liquid that you are all covered with on stage? Is it a fire retardant liquid?**

Paul: No.

Paul: That's a secret.+++

**minx: Why did you wear a paper bag over your head at the concert in Tallin, last November?**

Paul: I wanted to display an Iraqi prisoner.

Paul: There's a photo of a guy behind barbed wire and he's holding his son but he has a bag on his head.

Paul: That photo really had an impact on me.+++

**aeon: Why do you only do signing sessions in London and Paris? Why not in other big cities f Europe or even Germany? Or is anything planned? **

Paul: Actually we've only planned for Paris. London snuck in at the last minute.

Paul: I don't know any more signing sessions details right now.+++

**Badeend: Did you take gitar lessons or did you teach it on your self?**

Paul: Self-taught.

Paul: +++

**minx: I am going to be at the signing in London on Sunday. Do you enjoy doing those types of promotional events or are they just ‘hard work’?**

Paul: Sometimes it's a lot of fun but other times it can be exhausting.+++

**Synthema: It could be said that the "Rosenrot" photos are quite a departure image-wise from what one would expect from the band. Was this something that was decided by the band for a particular reason, or is this the sort of decision that is out of your hands? Does your management or record label have much control over how you present yourselves, or is that left to you?**

Paul: We don't like to repeat ourselves.

Paul: Usually the band always has the last word on these amtters. But weR'e not always interested in all of the details.+++

**Badeend: What is the new instrument you used in the song Te Quiero Puta?**

Paul: Trumpet.+++

**beurgueur: do you think you'll be on stage again when you'll be 60? (like rolling stones for example...)**

Paul: Hopefully somebody will die first. Then we won'T have to worry about that.+++

**minx: Do you do you all do own make-up for the shows?**

Paul: Yes.+++

**OK-River: Will Rammstein play again "Bück Dich" in a concert, or it is something of the past?**

Paul: I wouldn't say no.+++

**blastedop: Rosenrot is so diferent from Reise Reise. How is this possible if these songs are from Reise Reise recording season?**

Paul: I don'T think so. Listen to the whole album.+++

**Benzramm: Are you a sort of scared when flake is going with his boat in the public ? **

Paul: No.

Paul: But it was always Oli last year.+++

**whiskeypapa: Which of your songs invokes the most emotion from you?**

Paul: Seemann.+++

**MsBehaviour: Greetings from Finland and good evening! My question is, you have been playing together as a band for quite a many years now, and there is a big difference in the sound of Herzeleid and the sound of Reise Reise. Does this "evolution" come naturally to you, or do you make conscious decisions as to where to direct your sound? How do you feel about the change?**

Paul: There are some of us who want to stay the same.

Paul: There's some of us who want to always change.

Paul: These parties fight each other and the result is a new album or a black eye.+++

**MafiUndomiel: Have you heard a cover version of Keine Lust made by a Russian guy called Miguel? What did you think about it?**

Paul: Not yet, unfortunately.+++

**Badeend: Do you have a private jet or do you have to rent a plane?**

Paul: When the record company pays, we fly Business. When we have to pay, it'S Tourist class. Sometimes, when the connections are difficult, we rent a litlle jet.+++

**luna: First "Snow White" now "Rose Red". Do the members of Rammstein have a fondness for fairytales?**

Paul: Who doesn't?+++

**Synthema: Do you still enjoy performing live after all these years, or is it more of a chore now?**

Paul: If we didn't like it, we wouldn't have been around so long.+++

**Benzramm: Is there a double meaning in the songtexts of your songs ? **

Paul: Yeah. But the subtleties and double-meanings get lsot in translation.+++

**Badeend: What is your favorite song or cd?**

Paul: Kill Bill 1.+++

**DRS2G: Is "Hilf Mir" inspired by a Heinrich Hoffmann's tale?!**

Paul: Yes.+++

**Synthema: Have you ever felt that the success of Rammstein has been a negative thing for you in your personal life? That it makes it difficult to decide who to trust and who not to?**

Paul: It is difficult to stay normal despite money and success.

Paul: We fight this on a daily battle but we usually win.+++

**Beurgueur: from a viewer: what guitar do you use for your c tuning, and what guitar does richard use for this?**

Paul: I play a Gibson Les Paul and Richard plays ESP guitars.+++

**Benzramm: Did you really go to the mountains for the videoclip "Ohne Dich"?**

Paul: Yes. The was the funnest video of them all.

Paul: The thin air up there was difficult.

Paul: I'm impressed by mountain climbers who go even higher.

Paul: It was difficult for our crew and us.+++

**MafiUndomiel: how did you and richard decided who was going to be lead and who rythm guitars?**

Paul: Good question.

Paul: We're both stubborn.

Paul: It's a fight every time but we're still doing alright up to now.

Paul: Actually, the winner is supposed to be the one who plays the best solo.+++

**Badeend: Do you still have to take guitar lessons to play better?**

Paul: No.+++

**blastedop: Do you visit fansites? How about a Top 10 Fansites in the official page?**

Paul: From time to time.+++

**Badeend: Why did you pick just that girl for the Texas vocal in Stirb nich vor Mir?**

Paul: It was our producer's idea.+++

**MafiUndomiel: Paul, is there any country that you´d like to visit or going on tour, and you haven´t yet? Why?**

Paul: Yes, we would love to go to Turkey, Mongolia, Iraq. We know we've got lots of fans there.+++

**Jenna: Which current musicians (Not youselves, I'm sorry) do you think are creating the best work at the moment?**

Paul: System of a Down, Muse, Snoop Doggy Dog, Eminem, Slip Knot, etc.+++

**Rammsteinizied: Dear Paul, How do you feel about us fans?**

Paul: It's an honour.+++

**Minx: Do you have a favourite guitar part in a particular song you really enjoy?**

Paul: +++

**DRS2G: Will "Rosenrot" be the 2nd single from your new album?!**

Paul: Yes.+++

**Straya: I'm wondering how this question has not come up yet... but, plenty of people are asking if you guys will tour in America and Canada. I don't mean for this to be one of those annoying questions. But, has anything be talked about?**

Paul: I'm certain that we'll tour North and South America with our next album.+++

**rammsteinuk: I read in a recent interview that there were some arguments within the band during the production of 'Mutter'. Have there been any more strong disagreements like this since?

**Paul: Thankfully not. There's always stress when six stubborn people meet, but nothing serious.+++

**minx: Most influential musician on yourself?**

Paul: Laibach, Ministry, Metallica, Nirvana.+++

**blastedop: Did you like Benzin video? Schneider didnt.**

Paul: I don't think it's that bad.

Paul: We've had three really good videos in a row, so it'S hard to keep the standards so high.

Paul: I'm glad that there's some variation, next time we'll improve.+++

**whiskeypapa: First, Reise Reise saw a "country moment" with Los, and now Rosenrot has Te Quiero Puta. If you could make a fusion of Rammstein and any other world music (for fun), what would it be?**

Paul: Yes, I interested in all combinations of things that don'T fit together.+++

**Biz: Are there any downsides to being famous?**

Paul: We're famous but we can still buy groceries in Berlin without bodyguards.

Paul: We've got nothing to complain about.

Paul: Our band is famous around the world but we still have normal lives, thank God.+++

**minty: Paul are you looking forward to the world cup next year? who will win?**

Paul: Yes. It doesn'T look good for Germany right now.

Paul: I hope that a miracle happens.+++

**aeon: Do you hope your music will still be appreciated in many years from now or it doesn't matter to you ?**

Paul: I think that we're relatively timeless.

Paul: But that'S probably what every band thinks and two years later nobody cares ...+++

**DRS2G: Was it good to be directed by Jonas Akerlund?!**

Paul: Yes, he's just a cool guy.+++