#i know they’re giving twilight sparkle vibes

[hey-imma-fangirl]

The sixth of the Seven Deadly Sins;

Sloth/Belphegor

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - I'm sorry but The Sign just WINS

Organized, in each category, by ones I'm enjoying most at the top.

Dec 2023 Wk 3

Ongoing Series - Thai

The Sign (Sat YT) ep 5 of 10 - Fun fun fun. I feel sorry for Yai dealing with these two doomed lovers fated mate drama queens. He got a queen of his own to look after, cut the poor boy some slack.

Meanwhile, if evil... why so shirtless?

Hold on peeps, gotta rip my shirt off in a v stripper way, might get blood on it. Not that I’m complaining. Also, a strap? Man after my own heart. 

Awe. Baby boy has magic sparkle punch!! Yay! 

Meanwhile Phaya is my current fav himbo. These two are beyond pretty together. I love the stark contrast in their fantasies about each other. Phaya's is a way more romantic. Normally I don’t like a white towel sponge bath, but that was the most effective one ever deployed by any BL plot since Love Sick. Well done writer's room. This show is FANTASTIC.

Last Twilight (Fri YT) ep 7 of 12 - I say this every week but I truly love this show. Another pair of great communicators, I love that BL is giving us this right now (rather than the usual run of plot driven by willful miscommunication). I’m sad D was mean to M but I see where they’re coming from (for the purpose of story & plot). And the boys did a great job. Jimmy’s so lovely in this role.

But seriously people: Where did those old shoes come from in the middle of a marathon?

Random park shoes! 

For Him (Thurs iQIYI) ep 4 of 10 - One of the most endearing things about these two is what good communicators they are. The sides are kinda cute: puppy+cat hyung romance. Love that for them (and me).

Twins the series (Fri GaGa) ep 8 of 10 - Sprite & First are so crush confession confused first-time tentative adorable. First got himself such a sweet troubled little puppy. What’s gonna happen when he finds out the big lie? 

Pit Babe (Fri iQIYI) ep 6 of 14 - Jeff and Alan are best boys, i see a glimmer of hope for Way. Omegaverse mpreg possibility confirmed. Trash watch happening here.

Cooking Crush (Sun YT) ep 4 of 12 - I finally figured out that it’s the alternating voiceovers that bother me with this show. It gives it a Japanese manga feel, but I’m not wild about that in my Thai BL. Doc being jelly was fun, tho. Tiny confessions and secret smiles do make me happy. It’s sweet. I’m liking it better this week. 

Bake Me Please (Mon Gaga) ep 5 of 6 - The conflict seems very manufactured. Okay, yes that's normal in BL, but you know what I mean... more than normal. Honestly? I’m on Guy’s side. Screw Shin, and not in a good way. 

Middleman’s Love (Fri YT & iQIYI ep 7 of 8 - I really don’t like it that Jade has to be cruel to Mai. And Mai cruel back. ButJade is sweet when he’s a calm and smiley and shy. Boyfriend ep next week  

My Universe (Sun iQIYI) Pisces of Me ep 18 of 24 - I just found this one extremely boring, I didn’t really enjoy any of the characters. And I think it might be incest? Ugh. 4/10

Night Dream (Sat YT) ep 2 of 6 - It’s a pain to track down and I really didn’t like the first episode so… DNF  

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

VIP Only (Taiwan Fri Gaga) ep 6 of 10 - It’s slow and sweet and fine but not great. Lovely little kitchen back hug. Not sure about the boy from the past. The mom character gave me serious PTSD. 

Sahara-sensei to Toki-kun (Japan Fri Gaga) ep 4 of 8 - No ep this week for JBL reasons. 

It's Airing But...

Playboyy (Thurs Gaga) 14 eps - Dear Playboyy, it's not you, it’s me… I hate you. You’re about as deep (and as palatable) as a shot glass of cum. While I'm sure you’re someone’s kink, you're my weakest link. I DNFed this at ep 5, and frnakly I'm impressed with myself for getting that far.

The Whisperer (Sun ????) 10 eps - Thai horror BL that ALSO involves cheating (what joy is mine). I don't think even the perfect single dimple can motivate me to watch. Word is... it's terrible.

7 Days Before Valentine (Weds WeTV) 10 eps - Giving me Luminous Solution vibes. I'm waiting to binge if safe.

Beyond The Star (Weds iQIYI) 8 eps - House of Stars meets Boyband. I was NOT impressed with ep 1. Been told I shouldn't bother.

What Did You Eat Yesterday Season 2 AKA Kinou Nani Tabeta? Season 2 (Japan Gaga) 10 eps - I find this series more fun to binge, so I'll be doing that when I have a spare day. Crazy work load right now so no idea when that will be. (End of year is a bear for me.)

Behind the Shadows (Korea movie) - This is a historical I was interested in, but I've been told they kill the gay so I'm OUT.

Dead Friend Forever (Thai Sat iQIYI) - horror, meh, tell me if it's worth my time?

IT'S NO LONGER AIRING INTERNATIONAL

Cherry Magic (Sat YouTube) ep 3 of 12 - yeah Japan put the smack down on our boys. Sadness. You can use a VPN if you like.

Next Week Looks Like This

I Became the Main Pole of a BL (Japan Gaga) ep 1 of 3 - AKA BL Drama no Shuen ni Narimashita: Crank Up Hen starts tomorrow.

Original 2023 forthcoming BL master post (see comments, some are inaccurate, NOT KEPT UPDATED). With the end of the year upon us I'll do an "announced for 2023 but never happened list" soon.

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

I think this EVERY SINGLE TIME someone blows on a wound in an Asian drama.

Only Billy has the guts to give us an O face from a cuddle. (The Sign)

I do love it when a show calls out a trope. (Cooking Crush)

 A/b/o and sometimes e! The scene that broke tumblr. (Pit Babe)

(Last week)

[biinarysttars]

Okaaaaaay here they are!! My Mane 6 redesigns! I’m definitely happiest w/ Pinkie Pie!

Design notes and links to the images I edited under the cut!

If you like these designs, please consider reblogging this post! Likes really do nothing at all for me, but reblogs will allow more people to see my work! Thank you so much <3

General notes: First, I wanted to make them a rainbow! So each one of them represents one ROYGBV colour! Seemed like it would make more sense, that way. I also wanted to give them more noticeable hooves, since they ARE ponies!

Pinkie Pie: I really didn’t need to alter Pinkie Pie’s colour scheme at all! I thought it spoke for itself. That being said, it was still very, very plain compared to the entire rest of her personality. I wanted it to look busy, but the business comes from patterns so you really don’t need to look very hard! I also gave her symmetrical piebald spots, and symmetrical hair buns. I thought it might make more sense for her curls to be a lot tighter! All of that symmetry is supposed to represent the controlled chaos of her personality!

Rainbow Dash: I had a lot of issues with RD’s colour scheme. She’s a very show-off-y character, and the thing she tries to show of the most is her flying! So WHY did they make her THE SAME COLOUR AS THE SKY? I made her orange so that she would be bright and obvious! I also stole some inspiration from G3 Rarity with her mane and tail-- warm colours for her mane, and cold for her tail! When she’s flying really fast, it all comes together to look like a rainbow!  And! What colour do you get when you mix every colour (pigment theory, not light theory)? It’s brown! Making her orange allowed me to outline her mane and tail in brown.

Then for her markings, I wanted to give her socks! They look like those long, athletic-wear socks (they’re supposed to, anyways)!

Finally, her earrings! Those are not just part of her design, but I like to picture that she takes them out when she’s about to go flying. Someone needs to hang on to them, though, because she can’t just leave them lying on the ground! Looks like she’s got an audience member for these craaaazy stunts she’s about to practise.

Rarity: I didn’t think there was anything wrong with Rarity, but hell, I was doing the other five, and there was an idea I wanted to try...

She was the last one I designed, and I knew she had to be yellow, but I didn’t want to throw away the royal violet mane and tail! That seemed crucial to Rarity’s design. I thought it would look interesting if they were maybe lined with violet, and boy!! That certainly turned out very well! Then, I eliminated the blue from her design, since it didn’t seem like it added anything, anymore. I’m not super clear on what her special talent actually is, but I figured she needed more references to her passion: sewing/dressmaking. The light gold strands in her hair are supposed to look like golden threads!

Applejack: I might not be the happiest with Applejack’s design-- in fact, I’ll probably redo it at some point! That being said, there are a few core ideas at play here:

First off, almost the entirety of the Apple family is green, or red, or some mixture of both; even those who are yellow/brown have green or red hair to balance them out! And sure, there are golden delicious apples! But Applejack is orange. Which bothered me.

I originally tried to make her red, but I couldn’t find something that didn’t end up with her just looking like Big Mac. Plus, Apple Bloom is already the inversion of Big Mac! Not that siblings can’t look alike, but it felt unoriginal to do something like that. Not to mention, I’m PRETTY sure AJ’s talent will be to take over the role of head of the Apple family after Granny Smith, so I wanted her to look a lot like Granny Smith!

I was originally going to have her lose the hat, because of all the ponies that were going to accessorize, Applejack seems like the least likely one (except for when it’s actually practical, like when she’s actually working the farm), but then there wasn’t enough red to tie it all together.

Fluttershy: The base idea around Fluttershy’s recolour was simple: give her colours to make her stand out less. As a pegasus, she’d probably benefit from blending in with the sky, in theory! So, blue. A green mane to tie together that more natural feeling.

The pink accents are there to soften her. Fun fact: the gradient on her legs was how I was going to originally do socks! It just didn’t look quite right on RD. I wanted to do gradients in her mane/tail, but it didn’t end up looking the way I wanted it to.

I didn’t want to lose the pastel vibes of her original design, otherwise I might have tried a more earthy palette! 

Twilight Sparkle: Twilight was the first pony I redesigned! I am very happy with her!!

I wanted to make her seem more magical; it’s really not the darker colours that do this on their own, but the very bright secondary colours against them! Her yellow eyes also really add to this effect, I think! I also made her cutie mark match the new colour scheme.

Violet is already a colour associated with magic, so I knew I wanted to keep that! Blue is associated with wisdom, and while I didn’t get to keep any of it in this new design, I think her gala dress would still be blue! Something can be your favourite colour without it being part of your body! For example, mine is also blue, but I have brown eyes! Guess I’ve gotta stick to blue clothes!

Her diamond is very large, and stretches up and around her horn. I considered giving her glasses, but I have experience with being an avid reader with no friends! I myself do not have glasses. This is a classic case of projection and also not knowing how to draw glasses in this style.

If you read all that, please feel free to let me know what you think! If there’s anything you disagree with, or if you have any advice for future edits, let me know and I’ll keep it in mind for next time!

[ploffskinpluffskin]

i said i was going to make a list of the songs that remind me of lune and yuki and here we have them :v

under a cut bc it’s slightly long. but there were a fair fewer than i expected

Kiss Me

You wear those shoes and I will wear that dress Oh, kiss me, beneath the milky twilight Lead me out on the moonlit floor Lift your open hand Strike up the band and make the fireflies dance Silver moon's sparkling So kiss me Kiss me down by the broken tree house Swing me upon its hanging tire Bring, bring, bring your flowered hat We'll take the trail marked on your father's map

listen just. the Vibes. also if the ‘trail marked on your father’s map’ is one the cat king once took either persephone or natori to before-- a favorite place of his, which neither yuki no lune are aware of but are continuing the tradition anyhow

When You Say Nothing At All

It's amazing how you can speak right to my heart Without saying a word you can light up the dark Try as I may I could never explain what I hear when you don't say a thing The smile on your face lets me know that you need me There's a truth in your eyes saying you'll never leave me The touch of your hand says you'll catch me if ever I fall You say it best when you say nothing at all

......ok so lune and yuki don’t have an altogether Deep relationship and it is very fluffy and sweet, but i’d be lying if i said i didn’t get kind of a warm feeling from the idea of the two of them knowing each other so well and just legitimately, actively enjoying each other’s company

Long Way Around

Onward down this road, hand in hand we go Holding tight to what is ours Follow me my dear and know that only I will follow you To places near or far, give me a place to start Oh, to have you here, promising with every step set down That we’ll take the long way around

oh this song does me in sometimes-- the ‘long way around’ being of course together into their golden years bc they’re a newly married couple now but i love imagining them years and years down the road when they’re much older and still want to be together

also just the idea of the two promising to each other to do so, that this is what they both want for their future, is just really endearing to me aha

For the Dancing and the Dreaming

But I've no need for mighty deeds When I feel your arms around me But I would bring you rings of gold I'd even sing you poetry And I would keep you from all harm If you would stay beside me I have no use for rings of gold I care not for your poetry I only want your hand to hold I only want you near me To love and kiss to sweetly hold For the dancing and the dreaming Through all life's sorrows And delights

do i just stick this song into almost all my fluffier ships? maybe. but it also fits into my ideas of lune the romantic and yuki the slightly more practical and quietly grounded romantic

Morning Song

Come on darlin', let's go back to bed Put the phone machine on hold Leave the dishes in the sink Do not answer the door For you, I'd be a poor man's wife I'm gonna give you some more Let the phone ring, let's go back to sleep

slightly more casual and nonchalant? but it also seems to fit a more experienced version of them, further down the line. also funny to me to imagine yuki being the troublemaker for once, ha

Across the Sea

Oh, just you and me Oh, across the sea Oh, darling won't you just come with me Leave our note in the old oak tree Carve it deep so they all can read The only thing of us that's left behind Are the words we left here in those few lines

ok so i don’t think lune or yuki have any actual interest in leaving the cat kingdom, but i do like to imagine lune sometimes crafting these sort of imaginative travels they could go on someday, just the two of them, where they run off and live peaceful lives where no one knows who they are, the usual

Sugar

Show me that love is worth the wait Tell me I'm right Give me your love don't hesitate Show me tonight I waited so long for a love so true So I'm giving it all right back to you I'm giving you my best of silver I'm giving you my best of gold

kind of along the same line as the one above this, but also more of lune the romantic lmao

[jcmorrigan]

How was your element of harmony fic gonna end?

OOH NOW THIS ONE HAS BEEN SUCH A WHILE THAT THIS ACTUALLY SOUNDS FUN TO TALK ABOUT

Context for those unaware: EoH was one of my many attempts at a multicrossover. A predecessor to TBTC. It was my goal at being an EVERYTHING CROSSOVER and taking forever to highlight every little thing that could be explored in the canon of each work used. And I was in a difficult relationship with KH at the time, even though it was obviously a KH derivative, so I didn't want to actually use Sora and co. as the main cast. MLPFIM was a comfort show for me, and I was already used to the br0n135 using the Mane Six in crossovers with everything you could imagine, so I was like, hey, let's do this, Mane Six are now multi-world travelers and Discord is assembling every villain ever to stand in their way. (KH then ended up in the mythos anyway!) This is also where I was playing the infamous Twilight Sparkle/Mozenrath ship that is now very very dead.

To explain exactly what all was going on with the lore and politics of it to make this last bit make sense would take too long, so from there, please just...roll with it. I'm about to detail you THE FINALE ARC

The original idea was actually, at some point, to begin work on the Finale Arc when most of the main players were introduced. Then go back in time and keep editing the middle of the story to go on indefinitely. A bad business plan for many reasons, first of all being that I didn't even get to introduce the players that would've made it possible to begin the arc. That's how long I took to explore EVERY FRICKIN THING.

Over the course of the story, Discord has been interfering on every crossover world you can imagine, to the point of sometimes altering their canons into "fix fic." The story is aware of this. It's kinda like in the Loki series (of which I've only watched episode 1) where there's a "sacred timeline" and Discord's crossover actions are deliberate attempts by him to break it. We learn at some point that paradoxes and timeline changes are what broke the Age of Fairy Tales into the KH worlds we know today. So Discord rounds up his Old Ones (the Lovecraftian monstrosities that are more powerful than gods) and they all band together to strike at all the cracks he's put in the structure of the multiverse, and it all just falls APART. Worlds are destroyed, time has no meaning, suddenly everything is shards floating in void. The main players survive, mostly. Countless civilians die. Some named characters are given tragic deaths.

I've actually written one little snippet from this arc because I wanted to. It details two particular characters, who at the time were side villains I enjoyed and was just digging the vibe of, going down defending a stronghold from the creatures of Darkness (oni, yokai, Heartless, Grimm) that emerged from the void when everything broke. By the way do you want to take a guess who these characters IT WAS ARCHIBALD SNATCHER AND ROMAN TORCHWICK. GOD, THAT SHOULD'VE BEEN THE SIGN RIGHT THEN AND THERE THAT THEY WERE WHO I WANTED TO BE WRITING ABOUT FULL-TIME

But! I had a friend who'd lent me the book "Haroun and the Sea of Stories," and I was REALLY into that book's whole concept of "all stories in existence are threatened to end." So I lifted Khattam-Shud, a personification of The End (and I have since heard is also a political caricature), as the ACTUAL final boss. Discord wanted to blow up the multiverse because of the CHAOS that would ensue! KS, however, wanted to end EVERYTHING. (If I were doing this today, he'd just flat-out be Ansem, Seeker of Darkness instead.) Discord would realize he'd been played as KS makes a bid to line up one more cataclysm that will reduce everything to dust.

Heroes and villains alike, Discord included, find each other across the wastelands and amass into one last survivors' army led by the Mane Six. They approach the final field standing between them and KS and they charge. KS unleashes Dark creatures (Echthroi, as I had it) to gun them down. Pretty much everyone dies in this battle except the Mane Six themselves. (Which should give you a hint as to how this REALLY ends, but let's keep going.) The Mane Six fight their way to KS (and I'm REALLY gonna date myself here - the final line of defense before him was gonna be Paige the freaking Notebook from DHMIS as a personification of creative control). He shatters the Elements and then un-exists the Mane Six, but they don't die.

Instead, they end up in a sort of...white realm, inspired by the development rooms in The Stanley Parable (I was into even weirder fandoms back then than I am now apparently?). At one point it was gonna be "inside the author's laptop" and they could see doors to other timelines (i.e. crossover fanfics my friends were doing). They can also see all the files here for all the worlds they visited on their way and all the friends they made. Y'know, everything that's now DEAD.

The memories of everyone and everything they loved, however, allows them to forge one (1) new Element stone. This is...wait for it...THE ELEMENT OF HARMONY. Its surface shimmers with a rainbow of all colors! But wait! When it's flipped over, there's another side to the same gem, with colors dissonantly swirled around in an ugly way. Our heroines realize that the Element of Harmony also serves a dual purpose as the Element of Chaos, since you can't have one without the other!

The Mane Six find a way back to KS' battlefield, where he's about to finally UN-EXIST EVERYTHING. Twilight gets to say the one and only "FUCK" she's allowed to say in the whole story (I really...want to use this same joke on Mozenrath in TBTC...I know I've said he curses inaudibly to keep him IC but just imagine in the finale arc he gets the one and only FUCK he's ever allowed in his life). The six huddle around their Element of Harmony and activate its magic, casting a rainbow aura that begins to heal the broken multiverse. KS then tells them there's no way that will ever work because he and the other Old Ones caused so many paradoxes that it'll fall back apart again. To build a multiverse that's stable under these conditions would make no sense. And Twilight goes "WHAT FUN IS THERE IN MAKING SENSE" and flips the Element over to the Chaos side! Now the Chaos energy basically...fixes all the plot holes and physical impossibilities of the multiverse, allowing it to rebuild everything that had broken without a single issue!

Discord petrifies Khattam-Shud and it was fairly badass but I can't remember exactly what one-liner I gave him to end it.

Lights up on a rebuilt multiverse. Everyone's alive again and nothing's broken! YAY! And everyone in the survivor army (though they're not "survivors" anymore since EVERYONE is alive again) has come to Equestria to give the Mane Six a celebration for saving literally everything! AND THEY'RE ALL PONIES OR OTHERWISE MAGICAL CREATURES BECAUSE OF MY RULES OF FORM CHANGING IN THAT FIC. HAHAHAHAHA IT WAS A VERY COMICAL MENTAL IMAGE AND STILL IS.

The Six get their ships (Twilight/Mozenrath, Pinkie Pie/Megavolt, Fluttershy/Sakuya from Okami, Rarity/Stork, Rainbow Dash/I would really rather not say this one because it was taboo in a way I don't wanna touch again, Applejack/I don't even know anymore because it was gonna be Emma Swan and then it wasn't and then I just got confused). And everyone just has a good time.

The Six then take off in the ship again for THE ADVENTURE CONTINUING, EVEN THOUGH AFTER THIS I WOULD JUST GO WRITE ETERNAL ADVENTURE LEADING UP TO THIS MOMENT

Also I heard the song "We Come Running" by Youngblood Hawke on the radio once and I was like "This would go great over a credits sequence" so I used it for a while as my inspo for a KH-style "credits montage" where you see each of the most major worlds and the factions that live on them, and an early concept for the WHAM ARMY was one of these factions and this cracks me up so much because they graduated from a shot in the KH montage to WE ARE THE PROTAGS OF THE NEXT FIC

And that's pretty much it!

[iheardarumorxxx]

Midnight Sun, Chapter 8 - Ghost

Guess who’s stalking Bella again? Did you guess dumbass Edward? If so, go get yourself a cookie bc you earned it.

He straight up calls Bella the object of his obsession right out of the gate. He also says ‘love’ but I don’t buy it. This is still not love and nothing he does is going to convince me otherwise. 

It’s sunny in Forks, so the Cullens are making themselves scarce in order to avoid the humans finding out about their sparkle skin. And despite the fact that everyone makes a big deal out of the sparkle skin, can we talk for a second about the fact that, in the series proper at least, it never really matters after that initial reveal (which I can not WAIT to get to in this book to hear all about how angsty Eddie feels about his body glitter). But seriously. The big reveal in the meadow harps on it, but then it is rarely brought up again, and not at all in times when it would matter. The big ‘climax’ (insomuch as it is) in New Moon is about Eddie exposing his body glitter to the people in Italy, but right before that, Alice and Bella get on a plane to go stop him and Alice isn’t causing a full on disco party in the cabin. It is, at best, an inconsequencial plot point strictly for the first book (and this one, as it’s companion piece) and very rarely ever brought up again. 

That was a tangent, moving on.

Moving on to shitting on Mike Newton again, apparently. Eddie (And Bella in her own book) just can not leave this poor boy alone. Literally all he ever did was have a crush on a girl.

I accidentally uprooted the young spruce tree

Jesus, Eddie. Like, for one thing, I’m glad you can’t expose your sparkle skin, otherwise I might worry about poor Mike’s head. But that poor tree didn’t deserve your ire. It honestly is so scary tho, just how fucking strong SM made these vamps, combined with Eddie’s clearly violent tendencies and quick temper. 

to steal her away from the boy that I hated so much in this moment I could have kill him and enjoyed it.

There are two things extremely wrong here. I probably don’t even need to point them out to you, but I’m gonna anyway, because we all surely know how much I love my rants at this point. 

1) He literally just said he could kill Mike and enjoy it. He would be happy to murder this poor, innocent teenage boy who’s only crime is having a crush on a girl that Eddie also likes. Think for a second about the fact that Eddie has had all of four conversations with Bella at this point, and has been extremely nasty and condescending to her during at least three of them, up to and including outright laughing at her. But Mike is the one that deserves outright murder. 

2) He wants to steal her away. Literally Edward is talking about kidnapping Bella to get her away from Mike. He is not, in fact, taking her agency and autonomy into consideration when he thinks this. He isn’t thinking about Bella and what she wants. He is only thinking about himself and what he wants. He is only thinking about what would make him happy. He doesn’t give two flying shits about Bella, about whether or not she would want to be taken out of the situation she’s in or if she is actually enjoying her conversation with this person who, for all outward appearance, is her friend. He is simply thinking about how his feefees are hurt because Mike is talking to her and how he wants that to stop right now immediately.

I will deduct a couple of points from Mike for being so oblivious to Jessica’s crush on him. I mean, teenage boy dumb, sure, but Jessica is not subtle about it, and went so far as to ask him to that dumb dance. Still think they’re way too hard on him, tho.

And Eddie just kinda spends the school day jumping from brain to brain to keep tabs on Bella. Which is still creepy by the way. He is most happy when he can spy on her through Angela, because Angela is a soft, nice girl who has no personality of her own. 

I automatically planned my own surveillance

He’s so casual about stalking her. 

Eddie points out that he’s overdoing the stalking and obsessing thing, but as we’ve learned from this book and the four that came before it, if someone admits that what they’re doing is wrong, that just means they get to keep on doing it anyway.

Eddie is impressed that Bella is reading Sense and Sensibility, because clearly she is learned and wise. I wasn’t impressed in Twilight (especially because Bella’s inner monologue showed a clear lack of actual literary understanding of the work) and I’m still not impressed here.

Eddie just goes on ahead and wanders out into the sun after Bella falls asleep in the backyard, despite the fact that it’s a risk and a danger and anyone could see him there. And the bit where he’s sparkling is something, but imagine the scandal in a small town like this for him to be found in Bella’s backyard with her asleep. Even if he wasn’t a sparklePire, there would be gossip in town, because SM made Forks out to be one of those towns where everyone knows everyone and gossip flies.

He spends a while just hanging out in a tree and listening to Bella and Charlie have dinner, and it’s both creepy as always and boring at the same time. Then we get this line:

And then I left, knowing I would return when she was asleep.

I’m gonna harp on this forever guys. Eddie is creepy as fuck. He’s out here straight up stalking this poor girl, who is none the wiser. Watching her sleep every single night, spying on her most intimate and vulnerable moments. Even he admits that it’s wrong, but just keeps on doing it, not letting her have any privacy, and touting that it’s all in the name of love. I hate this guy so much, but even more than that, I’m actually genuinely afraid of Edward Cullen. He reminds me of my own possessive and emotionally manipulative ex. He gives me the vibes of every PSA ever about domestic abuse. More than the anger, he just makes me so uncomfortable. 

Jasper’s human eatin’ friends are leaving, and are saying their goodbyes to the family when Eddie gets home before his stalking trip after Bella in Port Angles. Instead of being a polite person, he heads inside and starts moodily banging on the piano, basically for the entire time they’re there and saying their goodbyes. Inconsiderate jerk. He offers them a goodbye as they’re leaving and then immediately heads out to go stalk Bella, and that’s the end of the chapter. 

I know what the next chapter is. I’ve seen the quotes. And I can’t wait to rip into it.

As always, feel free to shoot me a message or DM to chat or recommend what book I should recap next. Feel free to buy me a snack using the CashApp cash tag in my bio, and I’ll see you guys for the next one.

[airyairyaucontraire]

In between the seventh and eighth seasons of MLP:FiM they had a movie, which for historical perspective/I didn't realise how long this show went on, was in theatres at the same time as Thor: Ragnarok, because I saw the Now Playing posters for it when I went to Thor: Ragnarok after a hair appointment that took longer than expected but resulted in heavy blunt bangs and dark purple hair with pink streaks in it, so I coincidentally looked kind of like Twilight Sparkle, and I was like "whoa, they're still making My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic?" but totally didn't do anything about it.

So I just got to the end of season seven in my current rewatch-watching later seasons for the first time, so I needed to go and find the movie for completeness' sake (especially as season eight opens with the Mane Six reminiscing about stuff that happened in the movie), and it's so weird skipping from the TV version to the movie which has a lusher animation style with, uh, curvy shading? You know how the TV show has a deliberately flat, uncontoured look to the colouring, so there's a kind of a mid-century picture-book/paper cut-out visual vibe? I do not have the art/graphic design education to describe what I'm talking about in precise terms or point you to references, but there's definitely a thing I have in mind here.

The opening sequence is a long, swooping aerial shot from up above the clouds down into and through Canterlot, and there's all this DEPTH OF FIELD that MLP:FiM normally never has, and it looks beautiful and gives you this feeling of maybe the people who made the TV show getting to show you the Equestria they had in their heads all this time but couldn't exactly put on screen because of early choices about a consistent visual style and budget and time limitations and so on, but it's also really weird-feeling because instead of an original song by Daniel Ingram, like almost every other song in MLP:FiM canon, I know nothing about Daniel Ingram except his name showing up in the credits like he's the pony Alan Menken (hey, it's a niche!), it's accompanied by a pony-lyrics cover of "We Got the Beat" by the Go-Gos, like "It's a movie! A real cinema movie! We can have three dimensions and license pop songs!" which immediately throws my immersion off a little

and I'm all atwitter because APPARENTLY THERE ARE GOING TO BE SEA PONIES IN THIS ONE

if the Sea Ponies don't sing something with "shoo-be-doo" in it, I'll shit

[mecommentating]

Twilight: Chapters 1-8

I was bored and when I’m bored I read cheesy romance novels. Now seemed as good a time as any to read this series that I’ve heard so much about. 

Basically these are just my thoughts on the novel as I’m reading it. I already know quite a bit about the story so that is heavily effecting my thoughts and predictions. 

Of course there will be spoilers. 

Bella is like a kitten she tries to be intimidating and angry but really she’s just this cute little fluff ball that trips over nothing. It’s hilarious

Edward is just infuriating

Bruh. This guy- He was like you shouldn’t be my friend, stay away from me. Then he goes so do you wanna go to Seattle with me on Saturday? DUDE just stop 

I can’t take this book seriously. The writing’s bad. The characters are bad, the story is meh. But, inexplicably, I love it. It’s so funny. 

Okay. So I know Edward likes her but at this point in the book he has made no indication that his fascination and attraction to her is anything but pure friendliness and curiosity. But she’s like YO HE LIKES ME WHAT DOES THIS MEEEAAAANNN?!?!?!

WHAT THE- DUDE This guuuuuuuuuuuy Come on!  He has repeatedly been like nope we can’t be friends you should avoid me and then he asks her to go to Seattle with him. And then he’s like you should stay away. AND NOW he is sitting alone at lunch makes eye contact with her and then motions her over AND WINKS

He sounds like someone who would trick her into his car and then drive away and rape her. The way he asked her to sit with him sounded terrifying. Of course I can’t actually hear him but that was 100% the vibe I was getting 

WHY WOULD YOU SAY THAT YOU FRICKING MORON

Edward after Bella questions why he invited her to sit with him for lunch: “I decided as long as I was going to hell, I might as well do it thoroughly.”

I’m team anybody but Edward 

Yeah if I didn’t know he was a vampire who has no idea how to handle his emotions I would be terrified that Edward was going to assault Bella

This guy has no idea how to talk to people. I get it he’s in love or whatever but dude stop being creepy

THERE YOU GO AGAIN SAYING THEY CANT BE FRIENDS

This dude is being her friend and when Bella says he’s her friend he’s like WOAH no no no we’re not friends I just like hanging out with you and stuff....

HOW CAN SHE AVOID YOU WHEN YOU’RE DROP DEAD GORGEOUS AND KEEP GOADING HER?

HA she thinks he’s Batman or Spider-Man she can’t decided that’s awesome

Because he can read minds Bella! Just not yours for some reason.

Ooo this boy is hot and he knows it look at him wrapping her around his finger

Edward go shoot your self

Oh my gods Bella. He has literally told you stay away I’m not safe like 10 times and it just now occurred to you that he might be dangerous?!

Ooo look at Edward skipping class how edgy

WHAT KIND OF SCIENCE CLASS HAS ITS STUDENTS PRICK THEIR FINGERS AS PART OF THE ASSIGNMENT?!

ooooh I see why Edward skipped class today

Haha this girl is scared of blood and she’s going to join a vampire clan? That’s a stupid idea.Her fear of blood is like crippling. She almost passed out and is now lying on the sidewalk trying to calm herself down.

How does she handle her period then? That must be a traumatic week...

OF COURSE EDWARD SHOWS UP

This guy just kidnapped her 

Edward I know it’s hilarious but you laughing is just going to piss her off so please let’s avoid a temper tantrum and stop laughing

What the- So Mike (he likes Bella hates Edward I find him annoying) just walks into the nurses office with another guy who fainted when he saw blood and Edward is like Bella get out of the office right now

What is Mike gonna do? What did you read in Mike’s mind, Ed?

Bella is like 2 steps from being a Vampire. She hates the smell of blood. Not the sight of it just the smell. And did she not notice that Edward just referred to her as human as in he’s not

He actually just dragged her to his car. Is nobody else concerned? 

Oh look at that they just bonded over classical music

LOLOLOLOLOLLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL  Edward like low key just asked if Bella’s parents would be okay if he married her. You have known her for barely two months you need to calm down lover boy. 

“There are no secrets in Forks.” oh then I guess everyone knows that the best doctor around and all of his family are vampires??

Edward. Shut up. 

Nobody likes you Jessica. Shut up, I don’t want your opinion. 

Okay how does Bella plan on getting out of town with Edward with out her dad and the entire town asking questions. Her truck is loud and distinctive. If she leaves it anywhere in town everyone will know within 5 minutes. And she cant leave it in her drive way because then her dad will get suspicious. AND is she going to take Edward clothing shopping with her?! I see flaws in this plan. 

Do drift wood fires really burn blue? holy frick it does. Whaaaaaaaaaaat. OH it’s also toxic and not safe to burn so um they’re all going to die. 

*gasp* is this when we meet the werewolf people?! Jacob? *mutters* is that his name? 

Haha I knew it

If they’re pretty they’re not human. That is what this book has taught me. 

I like Jacob. He sticks around right?

haha he likes her. Man I wish I could in good conscious ship them. He’s funny, a good talker, attractive, builds cars. What more could she want? But no. She chooses Edward. Which is fine. I assume I’ll eventually like him too. But right now I’m all for Jacob. 

Oh I bet the Cullens don’t come to the beach because of the Blacks. 

NOOOOOO no no no Bella please for the love of god do not try and flirt it will not work and will only end up embarrassing you and me. 

How is this working?

Jacob has got to be pulling her leg or something. There is no way he’d actually be giving away clan secrets like this. 

Looks like he is.  

What an idiot. 

YEAH Vampires! Finally. 

Yeah uh huh be worried Jacob. You just told the biggest secret ever to the one person who is going to believe you. 

Yeeaaaah Team Jacob. Bella stop leading on the better of your two options. Everyone knows you won’t choose him except for him. 

 Listen to your dream. It’s more accurate than you know. 

Her just listening to the same album over and over again is so relatable. 

Believe it Bella. He’s a Vampire. Now go confront him about it. 

Foreshadowing that Edward is from the 18th century? Did he know Jane Austin? 

ha I love her dad. 

Lol Tyler my guy you don’t have a chance. 

OOOOOOH sunlight right. The sparkle or whatever in the sun so they can’t go to school when there’s direct sunlight. I’m so freaking slow. Thanks for explaining, Angela. 

oh no... The dudes have her trapped. Edward is going to show up. I would bet money on it. 

haha silver car that had better be edward- aw that move was smooth as hell- yeah edward! 

Little did you know that Vampires are amazing get away drivers. They can even do fancy driving tricks. If you want a good chauffeur hire a Vampire. 

What’s wrong, Eddy? Why you so mad?

Aw. He got so riled up for her. He really needs to learn to not feel things so strongly but it’s still cute. 

Yeah maybe don’t try and distract him by talking about someone he might see as a threat to your affection for him.  

Dang he’s a good driver. 

lol I haven’t liked Edward at all. He’s annoying, possessive, can’t control his emotions, cocky. Then I find out he’s a good driver and I’m like ooo I like him. I am such an idiot. 

Edward you don’t eat. Why do you want to take Bella out for dinner? That’s just going to be awkward. 

Oh nooooo. Every single person in Forks is going to know that Bella stayed behind with Edward. uuuuugh this is a nightmare. 

ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?? This guy has been alive for who knows how long and you’re telling me he has no idea the effect he has on women? He doesn’t know the paralyzing ability his smile has? Bullcrap. 

oh oh oh he’s giving her his jacket oooooh she has fallen forever

oh and he wears turtle necks. I aproooove. Turtle necks are so cool. Idk but I love them. 

Lol I don’t think he thinks she’s human. He knows she’s not a vampire but she does not act like a human. 

NO do not question him Bella. This is a bad idea. I do not advise.

“Let’s call him ‘Joe’“ LOL

OH my GOSSSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSH 

lol she’s a trouble magnet and it’s the truth

ooo that’s a nice word: Unequivocally

HE WAS FOLLOWING HER?! that’s not creepy at all! 

wait. what?

Ooooh he wanted to kill her the first time they met and yet he didn’t kill her I get it now

Tell her. 

okay calm down buddy Bella is okay everyone is fine you need to take a deep breathe and calm down. 

oh shoot okay going to dinner was a smart idea it kept him from killing people

Why can’t he read her mind? I wanna know. 

[krixwell-liveblogs]

Worm asks

Have you tried to give D&D alignments to The Travelers yet, and if not how would you classify them?

Hmm.

Trickster: True neutral

Sundancer: Neutral good

Ballistic: Chaotic neutral

Genesis: ???

Noelle: Lawful? good

Oliver: Chaotic nerd

Gurer’f abguvat vaqvfchgnoyl njshy tbvat guebhtu, ohg V’q qrsvavgryl yvxr gb frr yrff uvagvat znxr vg guebhtu gur fperravat gb Xevk

Sharks: Fher guvat. V’ir orra ehaavat bss gur vqrn gung vs vg’f va gur sbezng bs na ubarfg dhrfgvba, va beqre gb nibvq nabgure Fpragyrff Zna vapvqrag, ohg V pna svarghar vg vs crbcyr jnag?

As usual, translate here.

While you’re checking out all the Simurgh fanart, you should listen to this theme someone made for her: (google Simurgh Husr, first result. Hopefully sharks can just replace this with the actual link) Same person who made that Leviathan theme linked way back.

https://soundcloud.com/user-371879520/simurgh

This was really nice. I like how it does sound like a good melody while at the same time exhibiting some of the pattern-defying nature of the tune. 🙂

I think you miiiight have jumped to conclusions from an ask that simply asked you if you could list the Traveler’s cape and civilian names. Miiight have. Also, I’m pretty sure most of them where refered to by their civilian names in previous arcs.

It’s certainly possible.

It’s not so much that I jumped to the conclusion as that the ask opened my eyes to the possibility of it, which I hadn’t considered before. From there, I had to reevaluate things and consider how things would change if it turned out I had gotten the two mixed up. Ultimately I think I’d prefer for Cody to be Ballistic, but I’m still not sure either way (even with this ask heavily implying it’s Luke).

As for names, most of their names did show up (all the more reason for an ask about matching names to capes being kind of odd if it wasn’t trying to set me thinking of something), but I can’t recall Ballistic’s being one of them. But you know how my memory can be.

That smurf song you posted definitely says “dab dab dab” several times, despite the video being uploaded to YouTube in 2009, and the song supposedly being from 1978. So that’s suspicious as hell.

I… think that has to be the bits where it actually says “tramp, tramp, tramp på en smurf” (“stomp, stomp, stomp on a smurf”).

Either way, now we’re all forced to consider the concept of the Smurfs dabbing, so thanks for that. 😛

“Dragonberry” was Scarfgirl’s old character on City of Heroes, a MMORPG with a superhero theme that no longer exists. I know you’re not reading the chapter comments, but if you ever go back to read the early ones, you’ll see that quite a lot of the early readers were City of Heroes players who had an interest in superhero fiction. That’s why Scarfgirl’s art is signed “Dragonberry”, because it’s how people knew her back then.

Ah, interesting. Fun to hear a little about the fandom’s early history. 🙂

I’ve had many names, myself. Once upon a time I used to make a different name, if not more, for just about every site I was on. One of the names that stuck with me the most was Elementarion, which I used in the game Godville and a few other places (not every Elementarion that comes up on Google now is me, though), because I found long-time friends while using that name.

Though for some reason I wonder why 😛, nobody seemed to want to type it out every time they wanted to mention me. I’ve been called almost every short form of Elementarion there is. El was the most common (made watching Stranger Things kinda odd the first time around, even though I’d long abandoned the name), but I’ve been called Ele, Elem, Eleme, Elemen, Element…

A couple other highlights I remember were Hiatus (in a browser game I don’t remember the name of), OldHeavens (NewGrounds) and Barbute (ArmorGames).

It wasn’t until I came up with Krix Jace, later Krixwell Jace, that I started stabilizing my name.

1. Do you think people ever submit misleading questions just to fuck with you?

Some, probably. And that might be a good thing — if there are some asks that deliberately imply things that are wrong, it makes it harder to trust accidental implications of things that are right.

2. Have you ever noticed that Danny and Eidolon have never been in a scene together?

Hmmmmmm 🤔

Still no Travelers interlude… do you still think you’ll get one, or has this dashed your hopes?

Ahaha

Yeah, no, I’m counting this as everything I asked for and more. 😛

Sharks:

http://www.nospoiler.com/y/WenCYI_Bn7I

Sent in by “ewerwqer”. “Simurgh Scream” by person257 Don’t… Open it with headphones on. Trust me. Don’t.

I’m scared.

*disconnects his headphones*

…not as bad as the description sounded, but yeah, probably a good idea to not use headphones. It’s a well put-together bit of mind noise, nice work. 🙂

Worm fanart

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By Winkle92

Oooh, there are more of these? Awesome! They’re all going in my backgrounds folder.

I love how Behemoth just kinda peeks around the corner of the image border. It’s okay, don’t be shy!

(Also I just discovered I can do slideshows. Neat.)

K6BD ask

My favorite part is the Master of Aesthetic saying “she is an idiot, and a loathsome schemer!” and YISUN is all “YEP, YOU GOT THAT ONE RIGHT 😀 😀 :D”. With Aesma standing right there.

YISUN is the type of person who has “precious trash babies” in every fandom they’re in. 😛

I feel like you all need to know, even if you don’t care about MLP:FiM, that the final episode of the show proved us all wrong.

The show’s resident Skitter is not Queen Chrysalis, the villainous, scheming ruler of a hive full of insect ponies.

Nor is it Twilight Sparkle, the mainest character and socially awkward brainiac who leads a team of five other main characters and always does her research if she can.

No, because of this one episode, it becomes clear:

It’s Rarity.

…

Okay, that’s just a joke, Twilight is still the best fit among the Mane Six, but Rarity using spiders for her fashion did immediately make me think of Taylor.

Twilight – Taylor

Applejack – Brian

Rainbow Dash – Rachel

Rarity – Lisa

Fluttershy – Alec??

Pinkie Pie – Aisha??

(Spike – Shatterbird??????)

K6BD patron comments

1. “What happened to Hansa” is addressed in the Prim story so that’s still out there if you want to know.

Ahh. That would explain why it was left unexplained in Aesma, aside from acting as a noodle incident if you haven’t read Prim.

2. As you observed, the word “demon” has appeared very rarely in the comic, outside of epic title drops & an instance where drunk Allison used it in place of “devil”. It’s used in some of the bonus texts but without a clear definition. Can you speculate further on what it might mean?

The priests seem to call Aesma a demon in the sense of a being of evil, but I don’t think that’s necessarily a definition that’s relevant to the comic’s title (and what appears to be Allison’s “name” in some sense, though the Demiurges do seem to have misinterpreted other parts of the prophecy and Zoss didn’t unambiguously use it as a name). It may be more about inner demons, Allison killing her fears, doubts and insecurities as she grows into the role of a king/queen of the cosmos. Six billion might be hyperbole, in that case, but still.

Alternatively, the prophecy and name might actually refer to Zaid, who could easily end up being the final villain of this thing even if he’s not actually Zoss’ intended successor. In that case, “six billion demons” might refer to humans, if Zaid gets really nasty with his own species. We know very little about Zaid’s base personality beyond “kinda sleazy boyfriend”, so a lot of developments are plausible on that front.

Though there are other parts of the prophecy, as well as illustrations, that do fairly clearly indicate Kill Six Billion Demons is Allison and will be flanked by White Chain and Ciocie, so it referring to Zaid is unlikely.

3. I think the author once said that there are still Aesma-worshippers active in Throne. What do you think they’re like and what would she think of them?

(Somehow the flesh sellars come to mind.)

Well, clearly they’d be Slytherins, if they understand her teachings. Aesma might treat them as ants, if she were still around, but bask in their adoration.

4. Kalpa — a Hindu / Buddhist concept meaning a really fucking long time. Besides in the story you just read, the term has also appeared in the comic at least once so far.

Good to know. I think I kind of just assumed it was Throne’s equivalent of a year, however long it might be.

5. Panopticon — a prison design envisioned by philospopher Jeremy Bentham, allowing all prisoners to be observed from a central point.

Makes sense. When I read it in Aesma’s story, the word’s construction was clear enough that I figured out what it was immediately, before I finished reading the sentence. It very clearly means a place from which to see everything.

6. Root — penis.

Yeah, I figured that one out. 😛

7. To offset the unfortunate scarcity of Cio in your life lately, here’s some of the old concept art:

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(The quantity of arms was somewhat uncertain.)

Oooh.

Her arms and legs look so spidery here. I suppose that might be why she was introduced with the Coat of Arms.

Can Skitter control her?

8. Not related to K6BD but Abaddon has also been working on a tabletop mecha RPG and here’s the very nice cover art:

Ooh, you’re right, this looks very nice. It kind of gives me a K6BD x Steven Universe x Star Wars vibe. And a little bit of RWBY with that one guy that reminds me of Tyrian. I can definitely see the resemblance between this an K6BD in terms of character design style, despite the genre shift.

I particularly like the blonde in the lower left.

In the interest of transparency, I should also mention that the patron has said he probably won’t sponsor full liveblogs of any of the other bonus texts, but has sent me a few recommendations and links to some of the ones I’ve passed (besides Prim). I might read some of those on my own time, though, especially the second Aesma story. If I do, I will of course let you know and discuss any particularly notable observations.

Between: PB7

[darkcloud-kcalifornia]

Finally, let’s see if we can get some pony watching done before I hit the hay tonight.  This is “Uprooted”.

* Riiiiiight, either this is a dream sequence or Discord has fallen off the wagon.  You know, Dash did say she wanted to rule the Dream Realm when Luna retired and she was in the beginning of this.  This might be Rainbow learning the ropes of dream manipulation, and subsequently is causing a bunch of dreams to collide, with some of the Lil’ 6 having pleasant dreams (Silver Stream, Smolder) and the others nightmares (Yona, Gallus, Ocellus).

* Or it’s Treelight Sparkle? Dude, I don’t care if your body got blasted into kindling, Rainbow had dibs.  Interesting that the Tree would call on them rather than the Mane 6 though, especially as the Mane 6 are already in on the Tree being in pretty bad shape.

* Yeah, kinda funny how in a place where Harmony is a powerful force, getting together to try and use good vibes to heal it is considered worth trying because it’s not that far out there.

* Shapeshifters have whole areas of snark not readily available to the form-locked.

* Sandbar is… a mediocre background pony.  But at least this episode is giving him some conflict and things to do?  It’s also interesting that they all have different ideas of how to best honor the fallen tree.  Though really most of those ideas aren’t really incompatible.

* How in Equestria does the site of the Tree have tourists?!  That thing is still in the middle of the Everfree forest, which wasn’t a safe place at the best of times.  And this is hardly the best of times!

* “Yaks know things not forever.  That’s why smash, and rebuild.”  Huh. That’s… an interesting way of approaching things.  At least it makes the yaks seem less like a gaggle of idiots if they’re able to reflect upon the ephemeral nature of all things, if in a somewhat unique way.

* Well, can’t say I particularly cared for the song.  But the after effect of coming together to build the Treehouse of Harmony was very impressive.  And shiny. I wonder if the Tree’s decorations are taking a cue from what the Mane 6 did to decorate the Friendship Palace to make it feel like a home for Twilight.  Also, “You get a palace!  You get a palace!  Everycreature gets a palace!”

* Aww… they’re not gonna show us the inside?  Ripoff!

 Anyway, that’s the episode. Overall, not bad at all.  Not the most original and there weren’t exactly any unexpected twists here, but it’s a nice way of teaching that just because something you cared about is gone doesn’t mean that its influence has to be.  And it reassures the younger audience that nobody really dies in this series, they just get really big booboos.  As for the Treehouse of Harmony, I like the look of the exterior.  I just really wish we’d gotten to see something of the interior.  Oh well, maybe in a future episode.

[doomandgloomfromthetomb]

Robert Forster Interview — February 2003

Sunday Interview! Hey, I’m going to start re-posting some of these old interviews I did back in the day — many aren’t really readily available.Why the hell not! First up, there’s this one I did for Junkmedia with Robert Forster on the eve of Bright Yellow Bright Orange’s release. I remember that the connection between Boston and Australia was not particularly great, but the interview came out OK! Also, Go-Betweens bassist Robert Vickers was the publicist who hooked us up. That was cool. Also, I think I heavily overrated Bright Yellow Bright Orange. It’s good, but I think I’d rate it as the weakest of the Go-Betweens’ reunion records. 

Some things just get better with age. Take the Go-Betweens for example. The band's latest record, Bright Yellow Bright Orange (released last week on Jetset Records), reveals that songwriting prowess of Grant McLennan and Robert Forster remains undimmed, more than two decades after the band made its first tentative recordings. The new album doesn't even remotely sound like the work of a band in its twilight years; rather, it's a potent, ambitious collection of ten shimmering pop gems.

After their somewhat disappointing "reunion" record (2000's The Friends of Rachel Worth, recorded with members of Sleater Kinney and Quasi), the songwriters' collective muse has returned, and the result is some of their best songs in years. The original lineup of the Go-Betweens made some of the finest music of the '80s; on Bright Yellow Bright Orange, Forster and McLennan seem determined to top themselves. A hell of a challenge, to be sure, but they just might be up to it. Forster spoke with Junkmedia from his home in Australia on the eve of the album's release.

So if my calculations are correct, 2003 marks the 25th anniversary of the Go-Betweens. How does it feel to have made it this far?

God, I hadn't really thought of that, but 25 years — uh, good! It feels good. We're especially happy to still be making relevant music.

It being your anniversary and all, have you and Grant gotten each other gifts or anything? What's the 25th anniversary gift supposed to be — silver?

Well, I'm not expecting any gift. I hope Grant isn't! So, no, I don't think so.

How did the two of you meet?

We were studying at the same place, the same university. This would have been in the mid-'70s. We were sort of living off of "Queen and Country", living on campus. And we just became friends.

I'm curious to know what kind of records were making their way down under at that time.

Well that was just around the time when punk was starting up, so we were getting some of the early punk stuff. Also, Dylan's Desire album was a big one, and the first Jonathan Richman and The Modern Lovers record was issued — that sort of thing was making it down here. And we obviously listened to a lot of '60s stuff — the Velvet Underground, and so forth. A lot of the New York bands of that era were a big influence. Television's first album, the Ramones' first album, I remember quite well. All of that was what Grant and I were listening to in those days.

Was there any one record that really made you think "I want to make something like this!"?

Well, I guess it'd have to be Marquee Moon by Television. That was a real landmark there. It seems like you'd have to spend 20 years studying that to get to where they were on that record. And that record led us to a lot of things -- to the Velvets, to Dylan, to a whole different range of music, really.

How would you characterize your relationship with Grant, in terms of personal dynamics, in terms of songwriting?

Well, it's a friendship. A lot of times, people who work closely in bands aren't friends, but with us that's never been the case. So we've got that going for us. And you know, we're quite similar — a similar age, similar background and all of that. And even though our lives have sort of developed in different ways since we met, we always have a base from which to build off of. So we're similar, but different.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it always seems to me that — unlike other famous songwriting partnerships — yours is a partnership that's fueled more by mutual respect than by competition. Do you think that's accurate?

Yeah, that's a good point. I do think it's accurate. And the songwriting arrangement we had right at the start has really served us well. Since the second album, we've each had the same amount of songs on each album, and I think that eliminates a lot of problems that other duos might have. And so with that arrangement in place, we're both just trying to make the best records and songs possible. I mean, there is certainly competition to some degree — that's healthy. We're both trying to get the best out of each other, I think.

Listening to your records, however uncompromised they might be, it still sounds like you and Grant, unlike a lot of "cult" bands, were trying to write hit songs. Do you think that's true?

Yeah, I think what we're doing did have and does still have broad appeal. I think of a band like, say, Sonic Youth — they're not really going for any kind of broad appeal, even though a great number of people like them. They're sort of designed to have a cult kind of appeal. But we've always worked within the boundaries of the three-minute or five-minute pop song. A lot of what we do has the possibility of broad appeal. And also, you know, we love pop music. We were brought up on AM radio. We're both AM radio kids.

When the Go-Betweens are brought up in the music press, the adjective "influential" is always coming up. Do you find that to to be accurate — do you ever hear a new band and think, "That really sounds like us!"?

No, to be honest. Not really. I think if we were influential in any way, it was more the way we sort of carried ourselves, and the kind of people we are. And the strange twists and turns of our career might have been influential in some way as well. The music? Maybe a little bit, but I don't hear it in a big way. And I try as much as I can to keep up with the current music scene.

The two of you spent the '90s pursuing other projects — recording solo albums, playing with other bands, and writing with other collaborators. Was that time apart valuable to you as a songwriter?

Oh, enormously. Enormously. For the both of us. I think that's the reason things are happening right now with the Go-Betweens, why we're hungry. We had a break from each other, which was great — and we also got to work with other people. I learned to play the keyboards, which was something I didn't have time for the first time around. And I made a couple albums collaborating with different people. I made one with Edwyn Collins producing called Warm Nights and a covers record called New York Girlfriend. I learned a lot about studios, and all kinds of things, and that was all very valuable.

And that brings us a little more up to date, with Bright Yellow Bright Orange. Grant said in the press materials that this is his favorite Go-Betweens album. I thought that was a pretty bold claim to make at first, but, having listened to it quite a bit in the last few weeks, I'm almost inclined to agree. What do you think?

Well, it's hard to say, really. I like it, and it's getting a really good reaction so far, but, when you start talking about favorites, it's hard to single one out. There are some earlier records that I have great affection for. But Bright Yellow Bright Orange is up there, to be sure.

Is there any one Go-Betweens record that really sums it up for you, where you think you accomplished exactly what you set out to do with it?

Hmmm. Before Hollywood is good. But I still think we're sort of striving for that perfect record — I suppose if we had already made that perfect record, there'd be no reason to go on!

Tell me a little about the band you've got playing with you on Bright Yellow.

Well, we've got Adele Pickvance playing bass and Glen Thompson playing drums and keyboards. Glen played on my second solo album. I met him through some other people and he ended up playing on Warm Nights, and when I was touring behind that record I hooked up with Adele. But it took a while to get that combination together with Grant to do a real Go-Betweens record.

Where was it recorded?

Some of it was in Melbourne, a great studio down in Melbourne called Sing Sing, and some of it was done in Sydney, at Paradise Studios.

Does location play a big part in the "vibe" of an album?

Totally. Totally. Place has always been extremely important in all of our recordings. For us, it's like going on location for a film, really. You know, like if you were in Miami, you can't make a Western down there. And if you want to make, say, a sparkling situation comedy, you can't do that in the backwoods of Tennessee. So where we end up recording — it's all been thought through, we've discussed what the best environment would be for that particular record.

Now, in addition to this new material you've got coming out, Jetset and Circus Records put out your first three records, with bonus discs of unreleased and rare material. Were you involved in that? Was it fun for you to go back and listen to those records?

That was done by the record company, and they put the whole package together, and Grant and I for the most part gave our approval. We removed one or two things we weren't excited about. But I do enjoy listening to those records from time to time, although lately I've been getting back to some of my solo career. That stuff is starting to grow on me a bit.

Are there plans to give the remaining Go-Betweens records a similar treatment?

Yeah, there are plans. That'll probably happen next year. We'll do the rest with bonus material and all of that. There's even a record of early bonus material that didn't make it on to the first set of reissues that'll see the light of day sooner or later. It's kind of "the rarities of the rarities."

The Go-Betweens have always enjoyed a particularly fierce fan base. It might even be bigger now than it was in the '80s. Does it surprise that you after all these years you've still got fans all over the world following the band?

Well, honestly, not entirely. We made good music, and we're hopefully still making good music. And no matter how "popular" something is, if it's good, it's going to have a life, you know?

[ramblesandmumblesofanerd]

Rambling Reviews: EQG - Friendship Games

After gushing about Rainbow Rocks, we return to talk about the Equestria Girls series once again. As I said in the previous review, I found the second film to have a higher quality than the original. The villains were both intimidating and fun, the songs were catchy and Sunset Shimmer went from being the villain I hated to the hero I can actually begin to like. The only weak point was the HuMain 5, who did nothing but bicker and whine until the finale where they inevitably banded together to beat the bad guys in what I have labeled the best climax of the series. So, of course, another sequel was inevitable, especially after the cliffhanger with a human version of Twilight Sparkle investigating the weird events occurring at Canterlot High School. And now the time has come to look at that sequel, known as Friendship Games. Will this film be even better than the last, or will it fail to live up to the high expectations Rainbow Rocks established? Well, as Tom Hardy once said: “Let the games begin.”

We begin once more in the human world, where Sunset Shimmer is running to Canterlot High on an early morning while sporting a new outfit. Her and the HuMain 5 meet up at the front of the school, where Rainbow Dash has brought them all together for an emergency like no other...she needs a spare guitar string.

DUN-DUN-DUUUUUN

*sigh* We’re not even five minutes into this film, and already Rainbow Dash is making an effort to get on my nerves. She sent an emergency group text to everyone in the hopes that one of them had a spare guitar string so she can perform for some fans from the Battle of the Bands. If she starts singing a reprise of Awesome As I Want To Be, I’m out of here!

Mercifully, that doesn’t happen. Instead, while the others go inside to see Rainbow’s performance, Sunset sits on the front steps to write in her magical journal from the last film. And no sooner does she write out a message to Twilight Sparkle in Equestria then a girl in a hoodie arrives by bus to investigate the mirror with her PKE Meter. Yeah, it probably has some other techno-babble name, but look at it. It’s the PKE Meter from Ghostbusters. Way to take a page from Suburban Commando, guys. But, before Sunset can discover who the girl is, she jumps onto another bus, which conveniently made a stop just minutes after the original bus dropped her off. Seriously, what is the bus schedule like in this town? And, of course, while Sunset asks who the girl was, it’s revealed that the girl was the human Twilight Sparkle, more commonly referred to as “Sci-Twi” due to her prowess in science. This is proven by her immediately dismantling her PKE Meter and using the technology inside to make a new device that totally doesn’t look like a compact mirror at all. The people who whine about these films being thinly veiled commercials will never know, Hasbro! After a half ominous half energetic title sequence, we get some backstory about what the Friendship Games are and who Canterlot High will be competing against this year, Crystal Prep’s Shadowbolts (no doubt a not so subtle reference to the Shadowbolts from Season 1 Episode 2 of the TV show). The HuMain 5 groan about how Crystal Prep has always beaten them every year, but Sunset initially scoffs at how silly the rivalry is. And just like that, Sunny has earned some brownie points from me.

Well, at least Rainbow Dash isn’t singing about how awesome she is and how she’s gonna win the Friendship Games. She instead sings about how everyone is awesome and how they’re going to win the Friendship Games. Honestly, though, this song is pretty good in spite of it’s “yay school pride” vibe. It’s a peppy, energetic song that gets everyone in the room amped up in spite of their initial melancholy. They even make a reference to Sunset’s she-demon form. Nice of them to remind Sunset about the lowest point in her life again.

But things take a strange turn as Rainbow Dash’s powers start to appear in spite of her not playing her guitar (notice how I avoid using the phrase “pony-up”). After feeding Rainbows ego for a split second, Sunset gives probably the most fitting line to describe Equestria Girls as a whole:

“It just seems so random.”

Chalk up another brownie point for Ms. Shimmer.

Anyways, in order to keep up appearance, Vice-Principal Luna assigns Sunset Shimmer with the task of keeping the HuMain 5’s magic under control, but that is easier said than done. Sunny already feels the stress of not knowing how the magic works due to it’s sudden evolution, and writes a worried message to the Equestrian Twilight hoping for a reply soon.

Meanwhile, at the sparkliest of Preparatory Schools, Sci-Twi sings an obligatory Disney Princess song while on her way to the principal’s office. This is probably one of the few songs I’m not overly interested in, but it does help reinforce that this Twilight is socially awkward and intelligent. So intelligent, in fact, that she feels that sticking around at Crystal Prep would only be a hinderance, which is why she has sent the principal an application for an independant study program. Speaking of the principal, Ms. Cinch here asks Sci-Twi to participate in the Friendship Games in order to basically show off her most gifted student like a prized pony...and yes, I realized that I just made a terrible joke. When Sci-Twi shows reluctance, Cinch basically extorts her by saying if Sci-Twi fails to participate and win the games, he application to the independant study program will be denied. Sci-Twi begrudgingly agrees which gives way to the movie introducing the most obnoxious if not underdeveloped characters I’ve seen in these films; The Shadowbolts. There’s Sour Sweet, who is essentially Two-Face, Indigo Zap, a loud, over competitive girl, Sunny Flare who...does nothing, Sugar Coat who is so blunt you could use her as a bludgeoning weapon, and Lemon Zest, who gets a brownie point for her taste in music.

As the Showdowbolts get off their bus at Canterlot High, Sci-Twi picks up a signal from inside and sets off to find the source...kinda like Yami Bakura and his Millennium Ring. Inevitably, every student inside mistakes her for the Equestrian Twilight, even Flash Sentry, who I swear has become the lost puppy looking for his master ever since Rainbow Rocks. Look how dejected the guy is whenever Sci-Twi brushes him aside, he looks so crushed. Even Derpy Hooves...oh, sorry, Ditzy Do...what?! That’s wrong too? Well, what am I supposed to call her?

...I hate PC Parents.

Anyways, after Derpy makes an obligatory cameo to cheer Flash up, Sci-Twi converges on the location of the magic, which is just Rarity gushing about all the pointless clothes she made for the Games. No sooner does she say making clothes makes her feel alive then her magic springs up only for Sci-Twi’s device to steal it. Not realizing what Sci-Twi has done or that she is not the Equestrian Princess, the HuMain 5, Sunset and even Principal Celestia greet her like everyone else has only for Cinch to drag her away minutes later. And then the first film rears it’s ugly head for a brief moment like a phantom as Pinkie becomes a Deus Ex Machina device in order to explain what the audience already knows about Sci-Twi, to which Principal Celestia gives the best response.

“...Nevermind.”

While the HuMain 5 wonder about Sci-Twi, Sunset tries to use the mirror to Equestria, only for Sci-Twi’s Millennium Compact Mirror to steal her magic through the portal. Before Sunset can confront her, Sci-Twi leaves with her classmates, leaving Sunset to investigate the mirror. To her sheer horror, she realizes that the portal (which is now supposed to be open all the time) is dead. Nothing can get in, nothing can get out. Including Princess Twilight.

So, realizing she has to take matters into her own hands, Sunset goes to confront Twilight who is still using her device to locate more magic. Before she can get any information, however, the Shadowbolts intervene, but Pinkie manages to snag Sci-Twi and have her help in livening up the dull party in the gymnasium. As Pinkie’s tactics work, she starts to show her powers like the others, and the device goes nuts again, not devouring the magic but also ripping open the very fabric of the universe until Sci-Twi snaps it shut. What was that quote from Sunset again? “It just seems so random.”

Ahh, I’m going to get so much use out of that line now.

Principal Cinch immediately kills the party and pretty much reiterates that she will be the lukewarm bad guy for the movie, basically saying that “Canterlot sucks and Crystal Prep rules. Nany-nany-boo-boo, stick your head in doo doo.” Ok, she didn’t say that specifically, but she might as well have.

What follows is a montage of events with the song AcaDeca paying over. It’s actually a fun segment with both of the teams talking smack to one another as the events unfold. We even get cute moments like Flash Sentry and Bon Bon somehow failing to make a cake and instead making...Sprinkled Bread? Speaking of cake, check out the Mona Lisa cake that was of course made by Pinkie. Don’t ask how she did it, it’s Pinkie Pie. Logic does not comply. So, the two teams compete in the Academic Decathlon segment of the Friendship Games until Sunset and Sci-Twi are the last two standing, each representing their schools. Of course. And while Sunset fails to score the point, the HuMain 5 and their classmates congratulate her for getting so far because friendship.

After she wins the AcaDeca, Sci-Twi meets Fluttershy, who shows off all of her animal friends while Twilight gives her dog Spike some air. Oh, I forgot to mention him, didn’t I? Yeah, up until this point, Spike’s presence in the film has been pretty lukewarm. Why do I say “up until this point”? Because after Sci-Twi, once again, steals more magic and rips more holes in the universe, Spike somehow gains the ability to talk.

“It just seems so random.”

In either case, after more extorting from Cinch, the HuMain 5 discover what the friendship games has in store next: a tricross rally, with archery, roller skating and motocross. Yes, motocross. In high school. Before anyone starts freaking out, I actually did the research; this is an actual thing, especially back in the 70’s-80’s. It’s not exactly common due to how expensive it is, but it is a thing nonetheless. A very overkill sort of thing. And guess who shares my opinion?

Ahh, Sunset. One more brownie point for the bacon hair.

So, the rally begins with the always bipolar Sour Sweet berating Sci-Twi for being an unathletic wuss. Gee, it’s almost like she wasn’t supposed to be in this competition. One could say that she is being forced to participate. Regardless, Applejack helps her out, but reveals her pony powers in the process. You know the drill by now, the machine goes haywire, sucks in the magic and more portals open up, only this time something comes out. Straight out of a hentai, a giant plant monster starts to attack the girls during the motocross segment, forcing Rainbow to show off her powers again and help whoever the monster captures. This catches Cinch’s attention, and she covertly watches what unfolds next.

After Rainbow Dash deals with the monster while Sunset wins the motocross segment, thus tying the score with Crystal Prep. Sunset doesn’t give a care about the score though, as she snaps Sci-Twi’s Millennium Compact Mirror shut and basically snaps at her. All throughout this film, Sunset has been trying to contain and understand this magic, and then Sci-Twi tampers with things she doesn’t understand to the point where people almost got hurt or worse. This is the straw on the camel’s back for Sunset, and she lashes out against Sci-Twi, almost to the point where you feel like the original Sunset starts to leak out. So, after Sunset gives her a tongue lashing, Sci-Twi leaves and the wheels in Cinch’s head start to turn.

And then, Principal Celestia talks to Cinch and has probably the best idea in this entire film; cancel the games and call it a tie between the schools. Cinch, being a sensible adult responsible for the well being of the children attending her school, accepts the terms of this deal, and they all lived happily ever...oh, who am I kidding, of course Cinch refuses to take such a deal, as it would “tarnish her reputation”.

Thus, the students meet up for the final event, but Cinch pulls Sci-Twi aside to propose a crazy idea: Unleash The Magic. Yes, through a song, Cinch and the Shadowbolts tell Sci-Twi to fight fire with fire and use the magic that she has collected against the Wondercolts. Sci-Twi, having been abused by Cinch, her classmates and Sunset, gives into peer pressure and opens her device.

What follows is that climax I teased in the last review.

Twilight goes through what looks like a terrifying transformation, reaching out to whoever can listen to her pleas for help before being enveloped and corrupted by the raw magic. Much like Sunset She-Demon, Twilight becomes drunk on power and becomes...Midnight Sparkle.

*crickets chirp* Don’t look at me, I didn’t name her.

Midnight then proceeds to rip holes in the fabric of reality while cackling like a madwoman while Sunset, the HuMain 5 and even the Shadowbolts try to save the students who fall through the cracks. Sunset tries to snap Midnight out of her madness, but it’s no good. So, Sunset grabs the discarded compact mirror in order to absorb more magic from her friends in order to become… Seraph Shimmer. *more crickets chirp* Ok, that time I did name her. After Seraphim seals the cracks, the two demigods proceed to have a Dragonball style showdown, which Seraph inevitably wins when Spike momentarily distracts Midnight with those big puppy dog eyes. But, victory isn’t immediate, as Seraph doesn’t straight up blast Midnight. Rather, for a brief moment, she and Midnight are sealed into a white void where Seraph tries once more to convince Midnight that there is a different way to learn about magic, a way that is far less lonely than the path she travels now. Sci-Twi takes Sunset’s hand, and the two revert to their human forms, the crisis now averted.

Cinch, who hid after causing this in the first place, demands that Canterlot High must forfeit the Friendship Games for their use of magic or she will contact the school board. Everyone, even her own students and staff, call her out on her lies and blatant disregard for student safety, but invite her to tell the school board all about the magical flying girls, the portals to different dimensions and the talking dog. Cinch, having finally been backed into a corner, silently walks away and has never been seen since.

So, it’s time for the obligatory wrap-up, with both teams winning the Friendship Games...somehow, and Sci-Twi wanting to transfer to Canterlot High rather than go through with her independent study application. Sunset and the HuMain 5 wholeheartedly accept Sci-Twi as a new friend...just when the mirror portal decides to work again. Yup, the Equestrian Twilight finally makes an appearance at the last thirty seconds of the film right before the credits to basically give a reason as to why the portal died besides Sci-Twi stealing magic, and it’s a funny if not cute thirty seconds.

And with that, Friendship Games comes to a close with a cute slideshow. So,how was this film? Well, obviously it’s quite a good film, and in some ways I suppose it is better than Rainbow Rocks, but I feel like Friendship Games cannot surpass it’s predecessor. Now, like I said, it is a good film. The songs are all catchy, some of the characters are written a lot better than before, the climax was certainly just as epic if not more so than before and the film was very entertaining overall. There’s even this self-aware air about Friendship Games, as if the writers knew what the adult fanbase was upset about and decided to throw them a bone for their troubles. But, there are just certain aspects of the film that keep me from liking it more than I actually do.

For starters, let’s talk about the magic. I’m sure you folks are wondering how the magic works in this world, and even if you’re not I’m gonna tell you. According to Sunset Shimmer, at the end of the film, the magic now works only when the HuMain 5 show their Elemental nature (i.e. Applejack being honest, Pinkie Pie spreading cheer, etc.). To quote Sunset, “it seems so random” after we clearly established in Rainbow Rocks that the magic works with instruments. Then again, in the original film the girls didn’t do anything and yet they were able to do that deus ex machina attack. This may sound like a nitpick, and I will admit it kinda is, but I’m just asking for some consistency in these films.

Also, let’s talk about the Shadowbolts. These ladies were probably the least threatening “villains” since Sunset, forcing Cinch to carry to weight and being the driving force of evil and even that doesn’t work all the time. I don’t know, maybe I just prefer it when the villains are Equestrian creatures masquerading as humans who know more about magic than Sunset and the Equestrian Twilight, but sometimes changes are necessary in order to keep things interesting, otherwise these films would be a tad formulaic in its structure.

Although, maybe it was a tad late for the structure in the first place, as the plot line of Twilight stealing the magic became a tad repetitive. She tracks magic down, encounters a member of the HuMain 5, they show an attribute of themselves that reveals their magic, Sci-Twi steals it and causes weird things to happen, rinse and repeat.

Look, I’m not saying Friendship Games is bad. I’m honestly grasping at straws trying to find things to genuinely complain about rather than just sounding very nitpicky. If anything, I appreciate that this film took the risk of introducing an all human cast, minus Sunset Shimmer  and Spike, of course, and have the villains be humans rather than an obligatory Equestrian villain. Also, cutting Sunset off from the portal was honestly a nice touch, allowing Sunset to prove that she could handle this situation without Princess Twilight using the power of Deus Ex Machina to save the day from her human counterpart. But for some reason, I cannot like this film more than Rainbow Rocks. Maybe it’s because of the lack of character the Shadowbolts are given, maybe it’s the inconsistencies in the overall plot across the films, maybe it’s the repetitive structure of the story, I don’t know.

What I do know is this; Friendship Games is another great entry in the Equestria Girls series, and I would watch it again if I wanted to, in spite of my love-hate relationship with the film. It may not be as personally gratifying as Rainbow Rocks, but it is certainly is an improvement over the first film. I know that is not saying much, but it’s the best I can say for this film. In any case, that’s three films down, one more to go.

In the meantime, never stop rambling, TM

[princess-of-the-corner]

So I was talking about how Sunset Shimmer should’ve gotten a villain song, and then about how there needs to be more villain songs in mlp in general because, seriously, the show has songs already, and villain songs are amazing! Why aren’t there more villain songs? 

Anyway, the point is, that I’m going to come up with what the villain songs could have been, and maybe comparing them to fairly known villain songs.

Let’s start at the behinning: Nightmare Moon. 

Tbh, from the fandom, we’ve gotten plenty of Nightmare Moon songs. But other than ‘Nightmare Night’, they’re all Luna songs. And yes, Nightmare and Luna are the same pony, and Nightmare is sympathetic. However, the show makes you forget that Nightmare is Luna until the end. Literally. The opening cutscene, which is a book Twilight is reading, tells us her story and that she is Celestia’s sister. But even Twilight forgets it until Celestia calls Luna a sister at the end. Nightmare wouldn’t get a sympathetic song, because they’re making you forget the fact that she is sympathetic. 

What I’d want from Nightmare Moon’s song, would be more of a battle between her and Twilight when they’re alone with the Elements. Not a magic battle, but one of words. I used this concept in my fic ‘In Another World’, though that uses Spike and not Twilight, but the idea still applies. Basically, Nightmare uses the Shadowbolt trick again, but this time she’s openly asking Twilight to join her side. She’s singing of how similar they are, because tbh Nightmare probably can use some of her dreamwalker powers to see into others’ minds. She creates Nightmare versions of Twilight’s family members(though Shining Armor didn’t exist in season one but let’s ingore that) and even a Nightmare!Celestia. They sing backup to Nightmare and have their own verses singing to Twilight. Actually, think of it sort of like Friendship Game’s villain song. Nightmare Moon is Principal Cinch and the Nightmare!Family are the Shadowbolts. 

And while I said there wouldn’t be a sympathetic song for Nightmare, the song has hints. Because she knows too much about certain things Twilight might feel. For example, an older sibling who’s quite perfect, and very looked up to. But also the fact that, as far as Twilight knows, Celestia never took her seriously. 

And then, Twilight is about to give in. Maybe not to join Nightmare’s side, but give in to what she’s saying. What her Nightmare!Family is saying. Then, we have her hear everyone else’s voices, and she finishes out the song by cutting Nightmare off. 

Next, is the fun one: Discord

While everyone loves a certain song about howling at the moon and sleeping in the middle of a summer afternoon (Side Note that second part doesn’t really fit with the theme since who doesn’t do that?)

Discord’s villain song would definitely be while he’s ‘discording’ the mane six. Well, maybe not the whole time, but once everyone’s grayed out, he gives the song that delivers the final blow. It would have a ‘Poor Unfortunate Souls’/’Friends on the Other Side’ vibe. The ‘I’m helping you by doing this, and totally not tricking you for my own gain’ feeling. 

However, because of my personal Discord headcanons, the song has an air of anger and sadness to it. The things he says are things he truly believes. Especially the Honesty and Laughter parts, which I always kind of felt were the ones he was closest to. I mean, he does call Laughter his favorite, and expresses plenty of it, but he also never truly lies to anyone. He gives riddles, but no lies. So ‘they’re laughing at you, not with you’ and ‘it’s easier to lie to yourself than face the truth’ parts really hit home. 

Chrysalis’ villain song, This Day Aria, was wonderful, and also the first villain song. 

However, Sombra didn’t get a villain song!

Okay, well, Sombra didn’t get much character overall. And I have way to may headcanons about him for this. So let’s just say that either he should’ve gotten some sort of bombastic ‘Be Prepared’ song, or maybe ‘In the Dark of the Night’ song when he breaks through the barrier into the Empire. 

Either that, or he gets a ‘Cruella de Vil’ style song, where he’s not actually the one singing. Instead, the Crystal Ponies are singing(and freaking out), telling of how horrible he is. Either way, it’s still a lot of buildup for ten seconds of screentime but still. We could’ve at least got a catchy song out of it.

Now, onto the one who started this, Sunset Shimmer!

Sunset’s villain song should definitely be big, but I want it to be before she becomes the demon. Because I want her song to be angry and sad. Not the ‘lol, I’m a massive bitch! Let’s sing about it!’ song, but something that gives her more past that. Like, why this means so much to her, what her past was like, and why she’s doing this. I mean, she was Celestia’s Student at one point, which means that she had to have been ‘good’ before, or else Celestia wouldn’t have had her as a student. And, you know what? Sunset’s just a kid. Like, I personally headcanon that she’s nineteen when EQG happens, but was thirteen when she had her falling out with Celestia. But,like, all the previous villains have been major people, ponies, whatever. Like, Nightmare was an Immortal Alicorn and ruler of the Moon, Discord is another Immortal and is the embodiment of Chaos, Chrysalis is a Changeling Queen and possibly an Immortal(I mean, she’s lie the Changeling version of an Alicorn), and Sombra might’ve been a Unicorn but he was also an evil tyrant king who enslaved an Empire! Sunset’s just a girl who’s angry and heartbroken, and making bad decisions because of it. Like, yeah, she turned into a demon at the end, but it’s obvious that she never meant for that to happen. But my point is that her villain song should show this. 

So, if Tirek had a villain song:

His song would either be for when he convinces Discord to come to the dark side(Similar to Discord and Luna’s songs, but without true sympathy), or just a general ‘I’m evil and awesome’ song. like ‘My Lullaby’ or ‘Big and Loud’, or the Dentist song from Little Shop. Or we can combine the two and have a reprise of the Convincing Discord song after the Betrayal, which is all out evil. 

The Sirens got two and a half Villain Songs(Battle of the Bands, Under Our Spell, and Welcome to the Show(WTTS is the half one since it’s a battle with the Rainbooms singing the other half of it))

Starlight got her Villain Song in ‘Our Town’, 

However, she could’ve used a second one through the Time Battle with Twilight. Maybe a duet with Twilight in a montage of their fights and terrible futures. 

Principal Cinch and the Shadowbolts got Unleash the Magic(This also counts as Sci-Twi/Midnight Sparkle’s Villain Song if you want to count her as a villain but she’s really more of the victim here.)

Chrysalis should’ve gotten a second villain song but I digress

And Gloriosa Daisy had a really cool villain song. 

[murfeelee]

RANT. ALERT.

I.... I don’t even know how to say this without seeming like a complete and utter psychopath, so I'm just gonna say what’s on my mind.

This TS4 Vampire pack looks INCREDIBLE!!! This looks even better than TS2′s vamps from Nightlife, sweet unholy jeebus! Who sold their soul to Satan over at the TS4 team to create such a perfect pack!? O_O

HOWEVER....

While I am beyond thrilled and amazed and zomg over the TS4 Vampires Game Pack, I am only further angered and pissed right the hell off at EA for the comparative treatment vamps got in TS3, despite all the freaking complaining and criticism I personally did at the officials that amounted to EFFING ZILCH.

1: COFFINS

Late Night vampires sucked (pun intended) so badly that EA had to try again and re-introduce them in Supernatural, yet all we got was another busted altar for them to levitate on like some sort of goth Houdini ripoff.

The interactions/animations for TS4′s look just like what I was hoping for in TS3. I am heartbroken. That’s the only word I can think of describe the sense of VOID I feel widening as I look at the TS4 (and TS2) footage.

2: Animations/Interactions

First of all: Bats are Back. O_O

Second of all, Vampirism is now a frikkin SKILL. *insert ugly envious sobbing here*

Sims can become better or suckier vamps and there are all kinds of traits involved now to increase the Rank of your vamps -- this is absolutely WILD. <3 TS3 vamps didn’t do a GOSHFRIKKINDARNIT GOTTERDAMMERUNG THING but Hunt and Hypnotize and there is no TS2 style Grand Vampire ranking, the hell!? :(

I am also SO freaking jealous that vampires can spar with each other. That looks bloody awesome, how they levitate and fight in the air Dragonball style, and then body slam each other and everything.

I’ve always felt that so many of the special effects in TS4 look really cool, and the vamps are no exception.

The effects just look really sweet, y’know. I’m a total fan of the black smoky wisps everywhere. TS3 had a few, and mods like Sauzers’ CERTAINLY frikkin helped, but yeah, more would have been nice, is all. 

3: Objects/World

The vast assortment of build/buy stuff TS4 got for vamps is really awesome, but I’m not sweating over too much of it, since TS3 got it’s fair share (thanks in large part to the spooky sets, venues and worlds at the Store, rather than the LN/SN EPs or MVSP themselves -- which is terrible when you think about the cash-grab piece-mealing involved, but I digress! >_> It’s just that y’all TS4 simmers think y’all have it bad with the 8 zillion SPs and GPs, but hey, the TS3 Store was the DEN OF WOE for broke simmers, okay? Just saying.).

Anyways.

I personally think Forgotten Hollow is a side-street off of Midnight Hollow, they look a lot alike, which is great! MH is one of my top 3 favorite worlds at the Store. Even though FH laughably small like all TS4 “worlds” are, at least it looks waaaaay better than dull Moonlight Falls from SN, which had pretty lots, but the most uninspired Pacific Northwest boondocks terrain ever -- frikkin Twinbrook looked creepier, IMO. >_>

The objects TS4 got certainly help tszuj up the place for FH -- I like the moon and the fireflies and the creepy cobwebs & dead plants (which EA took absolutely FOREVER to finally give us in MH).

Not only are the powers nice to look at, but they even get a glow-in-the-dark plasma tree for their plasma fruit -- I’m effing jelly over here; TS3′s was the same ole generic bush from the base game -- can we say “ZERO IMAGINATION” five times fast, EA?!

The pink/purple glow makes no effing sense though; the tree would look so much better glowing blood red. >:D

Despite Late Night being the “musical EP,“ EA didn’t even think to give Vampires a creepy organ to play as a variation to the keyboard/piano. There’s another point to TS4 for the beautiful pipe organ they got; that was genius -- I LOVE the Nosferatu/Vincent Price/Bela Lugosi vibe of this pack!

4: CAS Stuff

Speaking of Bela Lugosi, the CAS stuff looks pretty frikkin neat. (Except the hair -- I despise TS4′s playdough hair something fierce.)

I don’t see any capes though, which saddens me, TS2′s were so cool.

In TS3 SN did FAR better in the wardrobe department than LN did, with its whole BDSM fetish fang-banger nonsense, and TS4 went a step further by bringing back some of that TS2 elaborate period-piece quality I love.

The facial changes are great, like the freaky makeup and age lines, and rejoice, cuz more pointed ear sliders are back. But my favorite thing they added are the new TEETH options. ^0^

That was such a good idea omg, EA!

It's also interesting to note that vampires in TS4 have a Dark Form now, the way TS3 werewolves have a second form they can transform to. That’s a cool idea, to have vampires trying to blend in to ordinary life, then going into their final form to show their true fangs. It’s much better than the way vamps in TS3 first off have that HORRID skin override that makes zero sense, and you can easily tell who all of them are in Bridgeport since they’re the most...urgh. U_U And the Twilight sparkles are gone -- good riddance. So overall, less bioluminescent vamps this time around -- kudos! :P

So, yes. EA summoned their Vlad Tepes powers and finally did vampires the credit they deserve. If this is what TS4 has in store for the rest of the lifestates, then IMO I say they need to keep separating them into different GPs, if cramming them into EPs would lessen the attention to detail they’d get otherwise.

Cuz that’s precisely what happened to lifestates in Supernatural. It’s my fave TS3 EP don’t get ,me wrong, but between juggling Witches, Faeries, Werewolves, Vampires, Zombies, Toadsims, Tragic Clowns, and everything else going on in that EP, it was glaringly PAINFULLY obvious which lifestates got the shorter ends of the stick.

After waiting so long for decent vampires after LN proved to be a total BUST, I was let down by SN for not going the distance with vamps, who were third or even fourth wheeling it behind the Witches and Faeries. Yes, SN updated the vamps and added all the social interactions that were non-existent in LN, and the fangs/tatts got unlocked, and we got more period clothes if not really “vampiric” clothes, as they were really better suited for the Witches. But that was it. (Well, that and the dreaded sparkle potion.)

So to see this TS4 GP get everything I wanted for TS3 gladdens me and saddens me at the same time. I mean, I know it’s only a matter of time before some intrepid simmer retro-converts the Build/Buy/CAS stuff to TS3, of course. But what do we do about the stuff that can’t be replicated, y’know? The animations and interactions and gameplay that TS3 was sorely lacking for its vamps? That’s what depresses me.

Vamps are some of the worst lifestates TS3 got, and there’s literally no excuse for it, since they’re possibly the most popular/famous kind of Horror supernatural out there. TS4 not only doing it, but doing it better, despite all its rampant flaws, just pokes the beehive for me, cuz if TS4 can do it, then I know EA was deliberately being effing LAZY to not do the same in TS3, yet they charged ALL THAT MONEYYYY for a lesser quality product.

The Vampire GP is still not enough for me to want to play TS4, as it’s not an EP, but it makes me look forward to what a TS4 Supernatural EP might look like.

So, that’s my thoughts.