#if this wasnt a short film my entire insides would feel like they would be scrubbed raw

[submariini]

Thee Antwerp Gig Overview (by #5)

me and @jeevm arrived around 7:50am at the gig, numbers 4 and 5 bc belgians simply are not a queuing people. not much happened beside chaotic uno and trix doing a short interview with us seven? i think at that point i forget

the bus arrived a little before ten am, and we were allowed to sit inside at that point so we just all went outside again and just stood there for a whole ass three hours being clowns.

jaakko, jukka and jesse walked by a few times entirely undisturbed bc belgians also do not talk ever. (and dutch ppl ig). respectful times.

eventually, at around one, Häärijä got off the bus (mostly as a distraction for K going the other way). This man came by like proper we thought he was gonna just walk by, but he waved and then decided to ignore everyone and beeline straight into my direction for a hug? hello? unsure how he still knows what i look like (was not in the yellow tshirt yet bc cold and he hasnt seen me since simerock).

K and Jesse came by as well -- please note at this point there were like goddamn 40 people there. Nothing like the Munich papal visit scenes at any point.

K just the nicest. Didn't remember me from simerock (fair, it was a factory of photographs) and was like wtf rollo (as per ushe), complimented my boots bc he likes them (they are r+ but usually kids sizes) and i got to be "mean" abt the r+ ticket sale and the bus making it stressful. When he asked it I wanted him to sign anything, I didn't have anything and he just offered to sign my boots? Man did not expect the clown to clown communication that was happening bc he seemed very oh god for real when I agreed.

Someone gave him a necklace and instantly wanted to put it on. The person who gave it couldn't fasten it bc nails/shaking hands so I offered to try and then idk how it got fastened bc christ I shook as well. Not helpful: Mikke both filming that and the boot signing up close 😭

Told Jesse he told me at simerock that I should just join the tour bus and he went "yeah that sounds like something I would say." then scolded me for not having been in Berlin for that 😭

H wandered back and forth a bit, had another weird football chat (rip hazards career) where I was sitting on a little wall, back to the bus still at that point, and he just leaned into me turning around and just held my shoulders the entire time? When I got sweaty and took my hoodie off later he also suddenly grabbed my tshirt when it was riding up I am Feeling Fine.

Was wearing the yellow tshirt w the cross stitch and he made me turn to show Jesse??? And Jesse did the nicest "wait can I touch this?" bc I guess he thought it would be fragile???

People formed a nice selfie line and K just said he's santa claus 🎅

H vanished, then came back out of the bus, and we had a weird mime moment bc I wasnt sure if he was motioning at me to get to him away from the rest. He was and I got fucking free merch??? Like free, not yet available merch. Genuinely what the FUCK. Im making an extra post abt this most likely bc I cannot explain what the hell happened in that moment and the things around it.

When Mikke did the interview w the first queuer, H just stood behind the glass door into the venue and started miming at us. Like not even properly in character? Help.

Gig

Jesus Belgian audiences proving once again we just Are like that. Refusing to goddamn shut up. Every time. Man disallowed to banter by loud belgian screaming. He seemed so touched though jesus christ time to cry

Got roasted for basically slut dropping and shooting my Häärijä sign up in the air before Mic Mac. "yes that mean fucking häärijä" local man fed up w my antics.

Got roasted AGAIN straight after Mic Mac because I was the person he pointed at during the "this is your home now" bit. (promptly decided diving behind the barrier and Face In Hands was the best reply)

Mild bit before the 2nd Cha Cha Cha as I was the front row person he called out for not sitting down. Just yelled that I got bad knees and I'm not sure anyone caught his reply properly 😂

Overall 10/10 excellent gig what the HELL. The belly flop on the balloon, the whole banter before paidaton bc so much of the queue ppl I was with took their shirt off, the way we refused to kept chanting, him trying to eat the bubbles, him talking about Hs dick and the whole balls convo??

Post Gig

Had to pick up merch for a few people, so went with the hope of a third Häärijä hug. He eventually got a bit held up outside of merch by people (lit at the door into the merch room) and I got to just "Sorry it's me again" but he just instantly hug. We talked a little about the gig (did I like it, how I was doing) and like K feeling much better/doing better ft. some dumb crap.

Merch was in fact gotten after I just LOST my friends bc of H.

CANNOT wait for London. and Glasgow but thats with normal people. Like met so many fun people in the queue who are going to be at London jesus christ. Party time.

[chikkou]

I'd ask this on your Lisa sideblog but you don't have anon on and I'm shy lol, but do you have any headcanons relating to Lisa the First? Like Lisa's views on religion, her relationship with her mother, if any of the various worlds we see mean anything?

hoh man i didnt even know anon wasnt on LMAO... ill turn it on after i post this!

also fuck YEAH i do holy shit i fucking LOVE lisa the first!! i know its sort of the black sheep of the lisa series, since it is a completely different type of game and was clearly austins first game, but i fucking ADORE it dude. the music - which he made ENTIRELY IN THE FREE TRIAL OF FL STUDIO BY THE WAY - is FANTASTIC, the art direction is actually pretty fucking incredible for an rpgmaker game that uses a good deal of basic assets, and the gameplay.... ok yeah that part is a bit lacking but its a yume nikki-style game be nice it was his first time LMAO

ANYWAY back to ur question. first and foremost, i think this is not even a headcanon so much as straight up canon, but lisa DESPISES christianity. marty is christian, probably catholic given the golden crosses everywhere, and he is a fucking scumbag hypocrite. lisa likely associates all of christianity with this line of thinking, as there is one room in the bile area where the melted martys (although i suppose we can just call them joy mutants now LMAO) simply stand in a circle surrounding one big cross. the role of the melted martys is up for interpretation of course, as is everything, but after playing the painful and seeing them described as “mindless sheep,” i think this is how lisa viewed them. so they likely represent other people that, to lisa, are probably just as sick and disgusting as marty

lisas relationship with her mother... i go back and forth on this one a lot. i can never decide if i prefer the headcanon that lisas mom died in childbirth, and so lisa never met her, or if i prefer that lisas mom was around for a very short time and then either left or died. the fact that she says “i didnt want to leave” at the end of the first leads me to believe that she most likely died. in either case, the memory of her mother was clearly important to lisa, as she wears her pendant through the entire game and its explicitly noted as being a gift from her. in either case, i think that the death/absence of the mother is heavily implied to be the primary cause behind martys descent into alcoholism and lisas abuse, since the white room strongly implies that marty did at one time sincerely love and care for her as a father properly should 

as for the meaning of each of the rooms, i think most of them are fairly self explanatory, but some of them are a bit more vague, so ill break it down in terms of how i see it (and ill put them under the cut because its long as hell):

martys house - this is the most literal one. pretty self-explanatory. the dark, yet vibrant colors and the ear-bleedingly loud tv are pure sensory overload, something lisa probably deals with on a regular basis. when lisa goes outside and it turns into a sky of marty faces, i think this is the transition into the psychological part of the game

the lobby - this is honestly just pure yume nikki ripoff LMAO... but if i had to ascribe a symbolic meaning to it, i think its probably a quiet and safe area for lisa to retreat to in her mind when she needs it, but even that eventually gets sullied as tricky rick makes his way there, too (and tells her hes “just waiting” when she talks to him). the majority of gameplay is lisa searching for items with which to kill tricky rick, who always abuses and disparages her whenever she talks to him, telling her she’ll never forget. as for the reason why... well, take one look at him and its pretty clear whats going on there. (the name is also a reference to richard nixon, whose nickname was... well, you can figure it out!)

the town - the bar area is 100% my favorite from this world; lisa clearly hates alcohol and anyone who drinks it, associating them all with marty, and that music... all i can say is YUCK. the entire section also consists of lisa having to give up something in exchange for what she needs to move on, and usually getting the raw end of the deal out of it (she gives one marty a banana, he gives her a banana peel in return). she does all that while avoiding a marty following her outside who repeatedly tells her “you cant escape,” and upon reaching tricky rick (who is atop a narrow, columnar, PINK mountain), it becomes pretty clear whats happening to her. 

the sea room - fucking marty spiders man. im assuming they represent the sickly feeling of crawling skin she gets when she looks at him or is anywhere near him, but holy GOD they are annoying to deal with. she kills tricky rick with pills here - we dont know what kind of pills these are, but i interpret them as sleeping pills, and given the rumbling music and the rapid cycling marty background, i wonder if he forced her to take these. marty is everywhere here, but the only one she can speak to is seen chilling on a raft of some kind. marty likely spent much of his time recreationally, i.e. drinking, so it makes sense why this would be here

the rope room - theres no symbolism here this is just pure comedy (LMAO). if i HAD to assign some meaning to this area, it would be that lisa likely is so despondent at this point that putting in effort to do anything feels utterly pointless, much like climbing this long-ass rope was

the white room - as i mentioned earlier, i personally believe that this area depicts the previous relationship between marty and lisa (and also has one of my favorite songs in the game). he is shown doing traditional fatherly things - he is no longer wearing sunglasses and is wearing a suit, meaning he was likely employed, and is actually smiling. he also spends time with her in a completely platonic, familial way. when she interacts with him, there is a little heart over his head. after lisa walks through the golden statues (which will reappear later), the entire world becomes filled with bile, and martys appearance returns to that of the other martys, but with an extremely warped, grotesque face. the item she needs in this area to kill tricky rick is found between two golden crosses.

notice that all of the items she kills tricky rick with - a razor, pills, and now a plastic bag - are things that a child could plausibly get their hands on; none of them are explicitly weapons. i think this shows both her age and how often she must have considered using those things against him. 

the bile room - probably my favorite area in the game, and also features what i consider the quintessential lisa song. this area really drives home lisas disgust with marty and with christianity as a whole - it almost certainly has the highest concentration of crosses, and it is also quite literally covered in wall-to-wall bile, dirty water, and disgusting houses. a lot of the most graphic sights, like the melting martys and the pond martys (no idea what to call them LMAO) are here, so i think this is pretty much the lowest circle of hell for lisa. marty gives lisa a freshly cut finger in exchange for a napkin here; im not necessarily sure what that represents, but i think the napkin was used by marty to masturbate (as he says “i needed that” after he takes it), so perhaps the finger is martys?

lisa kills tricky rick here in a cave that is not-so-subtly shaped like a penis, and gets a vhs tape in which he pretty explicitly states what is going on in the game; he even pretends like he doesnt know who lisa is at first, which somehow makes it even more disgusting. the fact that vhs tapes play a role here sort of makes me wonder if marty really WAS filming some of what he was doing, and given that lisa the joyful confirms that brad was forced to somehow participate in lisas abuse, that is.... horrific to think about, honestly

the marty tape - this tape just has the player (as marty) walk up to lisa and suited marty, who are having a tea party with a plastic tea set. they both get hearts over their heads if you talk to them. i think this drives home that he and lisa did once have a normal relationship, and perhaps theres some part of marty who misses that? theres a LOT of ways you can interpret this; having the player become marty really calls a lot into question.

the mansion - the room leading here has a marty staring directly at the player who informs lisa that she needs a sword to progress. unsubtly, the sword must be placed into the crotch of a womans statue. the mansion inside is beautiful and ornate, and easily the most gorgeous area in the game - and it all leads to what appears to be a proto-joy mutant marty, sort of looking like jabba the hutt. i dont doubt that this is intentional, given that jabba the hutt is associated with slave leia, and its not at all a far leap to call lisa martys slave. the golden statues of women, as well as many golden crosses, are everywhere in this area. its actually quite a large space with a lot of thought put into it, so im really upset that i cant figure out more of what it represents LMAO

the final area - lisa seems to go back to her actual house, but upon leaving her room and entering whether the living room would be, the whole area changes. she encounters herself in a blood red room, but when she talks to the other lisa, she turns into marty. i think this represents a clear question - who is lisa without him? IS she anyone? or is she just a vessel for him to do with what he pleases? she encounters a naked marty telling her to give up shortly after, and flees from him, but is followed by voices repeatedly telling her that she must accept her fate. i think this clearly show the mental state of lisas last days. she was tormented, eternally. she truly felt there was no escape from marty. even the background becomes nothing but martys face, over and over again, as the end screen flashes.

at the end text, she finds a video tape, and in the tape sees someone who is ostensibly her mother from behind. she apologizes for not being there for her, but when that figure turns out, its martys face that she sees. the sky turns into marty. the music becomes corrupted and overrun with pretty fucked up laughter. she tries to run, but marty is already everywhere. theres nowhere for her to run. and then the game is over.

note that the video tape comes AFTER the games end screen, which stops not long after the appearance of the naked marty. so i personally believe that the “game over” represents her deciding to take her own life, rather than just give up and accept her fate. by running from him into the blackness, she got away from marty the only way she could have. it is sad and horrible, but that is honestly the best ending that she could have gotten in this game.

the first is definitely not as good as the painful in terms of gameplay, that much i can agree on, but i really think people miss out on a lot by not playing it. i think its really crucial to see lisas life from her own perspective before you can see it from brads - after all, brad may have known more than anyone else about what was going on, but he did not experience it like lisa did. for brad, lisa is a symbol of his own regrets and failures, but lisa was a PERSON (well, in-universe anyway LMAO). she suffered on her own, with pretty much no one to help her, and then she suffered so much that she couldnt take another second of it. 

[niixell]

"lets get personal." answer as many as you wanna! if thats meands allof them tn go for it!!!

Hell Yeah imma do all of them!!!! ty!!!!! sorry some of the answers are really boring or short

1. you and Jennifer-bulow, Chlorine-twenty one pilots, missing you-all time low, water fountain-Alec Benjamin, blame it on my youth-blink-182. It was difficult to choose 6 songs cause usually i just put a playlist on shuffle, but this is pretty good representation of whats in it

2. uhhhh, probably Phil Lester cause I look up to him alot and I want to know what’d he’d be like in person

3. ofc it was “this book is gay” the line is “wowsers, this whole gay thing is a lot more complicated then Glee lead us to believe”

4. ngl, how fucking gay i am for certain people

5. pretty boring, it’s “yeahhh”

6. not completely naked, but not in full pajamas

7. i can pop 3 of my fingers completely in and out of their socket

8. Girls, guys, and non-binary pals are fucking attractive and pretty and nice and im rlly fuckin gay.

9. yup, one of my ex’s did, it was rlly sweet

10. no clue, air drums woulda been yesterday though

11. not rlly, nope!

12. probably, not that i remember though

13. don’t got one

14. wanting to go inside or im at the ocean

15. behind behind behind, i hate being on camera

16. currently...uhhhhhhh......P!ATD probably

17. How are you? “I’m ok”

18. not rlly nope, do believe some people defiantly deserve it though

19. its extreamly complicated. Toby’s my name, and I’m bored

20. Weakness is probably my anxiety. Strength would be...... I can pick up new talents up pretty quicky i guess

21. don’t have one. got people i admire, but not a crush

22. yup, in the lake during the summer once

23. Now that I think about it....I don’t know

24. so, so, so many things. I am an absolute gremlin

25. depending on the people, only time im on the phone is playing mc though so. phone ig

26. maybe? im still “becoming”

27. love: the crunch of refrozen snow. hate: the bus engine which sucks cause i gotta ride it every day

28. what if I fail

29. Ghosts yes, 99% sure my house is haunted as it used to be a doctors office in the 1920s. Aliens 100%. youd have to be an idiot to think that theres not some sort of other life in the entire universe

30. My computer that im typing this on with both arms

31. apple pie filling that I made

32. alberta

33. west west west west west

34. i don’t have an opposite gender

35. the meaning of my life is to study some fucking orcas

36. creation of something new

37. sometimes!

38. pretty grey and boring. maybe rainy, im not sure, im not by any windows

39. 4:28, though it feels like 7. today has gone so slowly

40. Yes and yes. though i only bumped someones truck while learning to park so it wasnt to bad

41. the book needed for # 3!!

42. enh, kinda?

43. not rlly. 

44. film? idk but watching something? im watching bnha right now for the 3rd time

45. ive broken my arm and sprained my ankle but im not sure what was worse

46. yeah!! i was in mexico and they would come land on me!

47. well. Orcas. Bnha. thats pretty much my entire personality

48. Panromanic Demisexual

49. that I cheated on my ex which is compleate bullshit

50. yes!!!

51. sometimes and depends on the situation

52. Aquarius!

53. i need to save it but i spend it. im sucky at saving

54. some food cause im a hungry bitch

55. love<3

56. nope

57. 3 as of current

58. yup!!

59. at school and at work. glad thats over

60. a pan flag hanging on my ceiling

61. yeah. my feet are cold

62. ORCAS

63. i dont really have one. i just hang out with people who like the same stuff and we bond over that

64. shes probably at her house while talking to me on discord rn. hey look @krarshadow, youre part of the asks I told you about

65.  @seriously--fuck--you @krarshadow @official-lucifers-child @thatsthat24 @kitkatthegaybean

66. no clue

67. having a shower i think

68. morningstar

69. nah

70. some of the time. other times im an annoying little shit who shouldn’t be allowed to interact with anyone

71. save the dog and run to work on time. then get fired for refusing to get rid of the dog

72. tell certain people, hang out in my friends classes and not bother with my own, enh, id just be sad I wouldnt see my friends again

73. love as love builds trust

74. I really dont know. I have a playlist called “calming???” and that helps make me not sad

75. ***-***-2083

76. communication. this goes for any kind of relationship, not just romantic

77. i dont know!!!! romantic stuff is confusing and telling the different between liking someone and liking someone is sometimes fucking difficult

78. oh hell yes. one hundred percent

79. wanting to study orcas as a tiny child. its given me something to always look towards and work for

80. 8-91/2

81. i don’t want on. mix my ashes with glitter and throw me into the ocean

82. Sonder, its a pretty boring word but the meaning is cool. “ The profound feeling of realizing that everyone, including strangers passed in the street, has a life as complex as one's own, which they are constantly living despite one's personal lack of awareness of it. “

83. blood

84. *screams are heard in the distance*

85. You and Jennifer apparently

86. blue. but like a Logan Sanders or Tuesday blue

87.

88. my dad

89. situational. there are ones i don’t want to answer, but nothing i can think of where im scared of the truth

90. kill all but one and strap that one on a table and unwrap and dissect it

91. shapeshifting (gotta love that definatly creative answer from a trans person right there)

92. seeing orcas

93. my fucking childhood trauma

94. what the fuck. do people actually wanna sleep with them???? thats creepy as fuck man

95. Tofino, BC (no surprise there, its really easy to see orcas off the coast)

96. Its my fatherrrrrrrr

97. uhhhhh, no, but i did right after getting out of the car once

98. many times! real fun! i quite like plane rides if i get my own space

99. Fuck terfs. Trans rights

[golden-van-fleet]

Your Song

Summary: Gwilym has loved you for a long time and will continue to.

Word Count: ~2.2k

A/N: Hi! I needed to write about Gwilym. I’m not sure about the format? Also on mobile for this one. Enjoy!

It’s a little bit funny, this feeling inside

I’m not one of those who can easily hide

Despite Gwilym being an actor, his fatal flaw was his inability to hide what was on his mind. The entire world knew how he felt about you, except for, well, you. It made his stomach turn, to see you with a man that wasn’t him, holding his hand, kissing his cheek, calling him “babe”. He hoped, wished, and prayed desperately to be that man.

I don’t have much money, but boy if I did

I’d buy a big house where we both could live

He knew you wanted a big house in the countryside. It’d been your dream for as long as either of you could remember. In fact, it was the first thing he bought with his paycheck from Bohemian Rhapsody. He’d be lying if he said he didn’t dream of the two of you living there like Allie and Noah in The Notebook. He didn’t want to buy your love, per se, but if he could afford what you wanted, he wanted to be able to spoil you. For only being your best friend, he treated you a hell of a lot better than that boyfriend of yours ever could. Any of them, really.

And it wasn’t lost on you. You’d lost a couple boyfriends because they felt they couldn’t compete with Gwilym, and they couldn’t. Gwilym was over the top for you and only for you. When he bought the house, you were stunned. He constantly had you over, one of the guest rooms unofficially becoming your room. You’d been by his side before the fame and the fortune, it was only fair in his eyes that you were still there after it.

If I was a sculptor, but then again, no

Or a man who makes potions in a traveling show

I know it’s not much but it’s the best I can do

My gift is my song and this one’s for you

Every performance he did as Brian May was with you in mind. Gwilym was willing to go to the ends of the earth to prove that he was worthy of your love, to prove to you that he was the one you needed. He knew, rationally, you never needed a man to be happy or to succeed. He also knew, selfishly, that he was the one for you. This was a man willing to bend over backwards for you at any given moment, knowing you would do the same.

And you can tell everybody that this is your song

It may be quite simple but now that it’s done

I hope you don’t mind,

I hope you don’t mind that I put down in words

How wonderful life is, now you’re in the world

The day you met was a day he’d never forget. Your eyes piercing back into his own, a stare that sent a delicious shiver down his spine. It wasn’t a malicious stare, it was one of amusement. You were working at a local coffee shop while finishing your bachelor’s degree around the same time Gwilym began filming one of many up and coming projects. He’d come in with an agenda, a man on a mission, but when his eyes met yours, he babbled like an infant. You were so kind, you didn’t make fun of him, you smiled a little and let him compose himself.

Ever since that day, he made a point to visit you at work, seated at one of the tables in the corner as long as he could be without disturbing you, your coworkers, or the other patrons. You found it sweet, and your heart ached to get to know him.

So you did. He’d been to your apartment more times than the members of your family had over the course of the next year. It was around that year mark Gwilym realized he couldn’t live without you. It was also around the time you’d started your string of terrible boyfriends.

Gwilym couldn’t thank you enough for changing his quality of life. You breathed a life into everything that he’d never been able to find. Life by your side was beautiful. You never let him dwell on the bad, and as hard as it could be to find the good sometimes, he always tried. If not for his sake, then for yours.

I sat on the roof, and kicked off the moss

Well, a few of the verses, well they’ve got me quite cross

He had to tell you. He couldn’t say it to your face, but he couldn’t not say it to your face. He wrote letter after letter, page after page, hoping that something, anything would encapsulate his feelings about you. Late night after late night, he failed to document exactly what he wanted to say. He didn’t want to plan out what he wanted to say, but he needed it to be everything he’d had on his mind for years.

When you showed up at his door during one of those late nights, he told himself as soon as he opened the door he’d tell you. What he didn’t expect was to see you sobbing, throwing yourself at him. He caught you before you could hit the floor, catching a glimpse of you before you buried your face into his shoulder. Your eyes were puffy and swollen with tears, your face red and stained with tear tracks. It absolutely broke his heart.

“He broke up with me,” you whimpered. “Almost two years, I thought I was going to marry this man, and then suddenly I’m not good enough?”

But if only you knew how good enough you were. Gwilym saw the sun rise and set within you. You were the very center of his universe. He couldn’t tell you now, you’d just had your heart broken. He could try, in vain, to tell you how wonderful he found you and about the total joy you brought to his life, but his dark secret would have to wait a little longer.

You climbed out onto the roof outside the guest room window, the full moon hanging bright above your head. There was a gentle, almost imperceptible breeze floating through the summer night. This was your favorite part of the house. It was your hideaway, wrapped around the back of the house with a full view of the river in the background. It felt as though time stood still when you were there. You found yourself lost in the peacefulness of it all until Gwilym squeezed himself through the window frame to sit with you.

“He thought you and I had something going on on the side. I told him that you were my best friend, that you always would be, that without you there is no me. And he was jealous.” You sniffled, the tears of sadness now transformed to tears of resentment. “But maybe he had a reason to be jealous. You’re all I need in my life.”

Gwilym was nothing short of stunned. That was the first time in his life that he was utterly lost for words.

“I- I can’t be your rebound, Y/N. I’ve loved you for far too long to let myself be who builds you up for someone else to tear back down. You mean too much to me for that.” He felt a tear slip down his cheek. His heart was on the line. As much as he wanted to be with you immediately, to hold you in his arms and never let go, he couldn’t. Not right now.

“I’m not saying I want to jump from him to you. But I did a lot of thinking on the drive over here. You’ve always been there for me. You’ve been this support, this rock, and I can’t help but feel I’ve taken it for granted. And for that, I’m so sorry. I know the way you look at me when I’m not looking because I look at you the same way. I always have. And maybe I was too afraid of ruining what we had built up so beautifully. Rome wasn’t built in a day, but they were laying bricks every hour, and that’s what we did. We’re still doing it. So if you’ll let me, I’d like to keep building it, I want to know that it’s not going to go away after tonight.”

He forced himself to look at you, your eyes burning with unshed tears. It would never go away. It couldn’t.

But the sun’s been quite kind while I wrote this song

It’s for people like you that keep it turned on

Over the course of the following months, your relationship bloomed into the blossom it was destined to be. The dark cloud that hung over Gwilym’s head had finally given way to the warm rays of the sun, and he embraced them fully. Loving you was diving head first into a pool that had no bottom. There was always a new depth to be reached, and when he thought he’d reached his capacity, there was always more.

You noticed the change, welcomed it, and encouraged it. Gwilym was finally back to the man he was when you first met. The man that you thought you were going to fall in love with. However, you’d hung that up when he brought over one of his girlfriends, unannounced, to your flat the night you were going to tell him how you felt. It crushed you, but you couldn’t tell him that. To know that now, it wouldn’t happen again, he was yours? It was heaven in and of itself.

So excuse me forgetting, but these things I do

You see I've forgotten if they're green or they're blue

Anyway the thing is what I really mean

Yours are the sweetest eyes I've ever seen

He had to ask you to marry him. He made up his mind before the two of you had even been together six months. It took half a lifetime, or so he thought, to get with you in the first place. Hell, you’d moved in together after two months together, what difference would it make?

He found himself in the same position he was years and years prior, back in that tiny coffee shop. Your eyes were focused intently on his, your smile kind and your hand relaxed in his. Gwilym was in his element, at home, alone, with you. And there, in the comfort of your shared bed, he was going to ask you to be his wife, and he couldn’t choke the words out. All he could do was present you with the ring first.

“Marry me. Please,” he added, softening what sounded like a demand.

“Easily,” you smiled, pulling his face towards yours and locking your lips into a breathless kiss. “I would marry you a million times over.”

He found himself in the same predicament when it came to your vows.

“I’m not usually one to forget what I’m saying before I say it, but you look so beautiful I can’t help myself,” he began, chuckling as he bashfully wiped away a tear. “I had this whole thing planned about how you were the one for me and I knew from the moment I met you, but even to this day you render me speechless. So forgive me if I cut this a bit short, but I’d really love to call you my wife sooner rather than later.”

And you can tell everybody this is your song

It may be quite simple, but now that it's done

I hope you don't mind, I hope you don't mind that I put down in words

How wonderful life is while you're in the world

When your daughter was born with your bright, beautiful eyes, Gwilym cried more than he ever thought he would. He was so gentle with her, so gentle with you… You couldn’t love him more if you tried.

Despite having your eyes, your daughter was Gwilym’s clone. She had her father wrapped around her tiny little finger from the first cry she let out the day she was born. Gwilym immediately switched into protective dad mode, refusing to let her go without a fight. Unless she was going to you, of course. But even that took a little convincing.

One night, about three weeks after she was born, Gwilym got up in the middle of the night to tend to her. He took the wailing newborn out of her bassinet in your bedroom to the rocking chair in what would be her nursery.

“Alright, love, it’s okay.” He’d done everything he could think of to soothe her and nothing was working, and the last thing he wanted to do was wake you. He unbuttoned the front of her onesie, placing the newborn over his heart. He’d been told to try skin to skin bonding whenever he could, and by some miracle, it calmed her down.

Gwilym didn’t realize he was humming until he started to sing lyrics to a song he didn’t realize he knew.

I hope you don't mind,

I hope you don't mind that I put down in words

How wonderful life is while you're in the world

Your song had had its share of wrong notes and tweaked lyrics. It conveyed a full spectrum of emotions, highlighting the ups and the downs that came with life and love. Your song was unique, and Gwilym was blessed to share it with you.

[firstpuffin]

The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening remake

-Note: It’s kind of embarrassing to admit but my comments around the visuals of A Link to the Past and Link’s Awakening are straight-up incorrect. The two games did not share the same visual style and I honestly don’t know why I said that; I most definitely knew better. Still, I’m not going to get rid of it because the internet needs more examples of people admitting to be being wrong.

I say a lot that I want to be positive, but it’s really gonna be hard with this one. See, at the latest Nintendo Direct it was announced that they would be releasing a remake of the 26 year old game, The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening. As it happens I was already considering writing something about this game in a “Games from my Childhood” article, but that would actually have been positive! This one is… well, I’m going to at least try and balance every negative with a positive.

-at least the title screen looks good-

  So where to begin: I won’t cover the story because spoilers but how about some personal background? The game came out a year before I did (ha! bad jokes) and I have no idea when I got my grubby little paws on it, but it was a part of my life genuinely for as long as I can remember, along with the Pokémon games. I never completed it as a child, but my memories of it were so good that I returned to it as an adult and completed it, learning its sad secret.

-hey! according to this it released the same year I did; me getting my years mixed up I guess-

  Link’s Awakening (LA) was originally a pet project made outside of work hours which is why it borrows resources from other games such as the Mario series, but it was eventually released to critical acclaim. The gameplay is much the same as its immediate predecessor A Link to the Past (LttP), but with a number of new items and a unique soundtrack. Visually it is much the same as well, although its original release was black and white for the GameBoy with Link’s Awakening DX adding colour for the GameBoy Colour.

  So let’s start with the visuals as that is most of what we have right now: the original shared its visuals with LttP what with them using the same assets (tools, resources etc) and LttP had a sequel recently that looked really nice. But the upcoming LA remake looks nothing like it; I wouldn’t expect it to but when a defence of the artistic choice is that “it’s an update of the original graphics” (so why not use the assets from the LttP remake?) or that it somehow “reflects the atmosphere of the original” except there’s no reason for it to be any different to, again, the LttP remake. And in response to the “atmosphere”, LA was one of the darker yet in some ways more whimsical games; this new style is childish to the extreme.

  Don’t get me wrong, I love something that is good and childish, but there is a level when it stops being great and starts to feel like they condescend to the player. Bright colours, simple faces, high pitched noises- Oh god the noises!! I’ll expand on the sounds later but I’m still on the visuals. I’ve heard the game described as looking like Claymation, which isn’t wrong, but my immediate thought was that it looked like cheap plastic. And after watching it again and again as I discussed it with a friend, this opinion stuck.

-tell me this doesn’t look like claymation; this isn’t a game, it’s an animated short film-

  You know how shiny and tacky cheap plastic usually looks? Imagine an entire game like that; an entire world like that. Fans of anime may understand what I say next, but there is a large element of “chibi” in this new game. Large head, tiny body. It’s often seen in short 4 minute spin offs of popular series.

-as you can see, chibi is hardly meant to be taken seriously-

-just to hammer things home-

  So shiny plastic, silly chibi art with a soulless expression. Oh yeah, that. Link’s eyes have zero soul behind them. Zero. He’s a freakin’ monster. Have you seen those Funko Pops? You know how empty they look? Some have said it somehow reflects the original game’s art again, but back then they didn’t have the technology to make him look soulless and young me always thought he looked determined; it was really cool.

-determined; dead inside-

Okay, so I said I would try and be fair, and I have shat upon the plasticine toy-box long enough, so here’s what is good visually. The areas are actually really nice. 

Ignoring the nail varnish sheen on everything, things are really detailed. There is an unfortunate trend in games, likely due to technical limitations, to have flat textures. Basically, imagine the difference between a tile or wood panel floor, and a picture of a tile or wood panel floor. But this game looks to have really tried in these areas. The grass looks thick and lush, tiles look like more than a photograph on the floor and even the flat flowers on the ground look decent. Just a shame it all looks like LEGO. Actually, a LEGO Zelda game would be awesome. But this is not that.

  I haven’t explained that very well, it’s an area that I am new at but I will say that clearly a lot of care has gone into the assets and the world. It is not a lazy game in any way.

-don’t tell me those trees and rocks and- well, everything, don’t look like LEGO-

Next I’m going to talk about the sound. First of all, I’m convinced that they have artificially increased the pitch of Link’s voice so it is painfully sharp to the ears. I’ll admit, I have an unusual sensitivity to lights and sound and thus I prefer darker colours and quieter sounds; I avoid clubs like the plague and not just because I’ll likely catch it there. So maybe, just maybe, I’m noticing something that won’t be a problem for most, and is just unfortunate for me. And let’s ignore that it doesn’t match the darker tone of the game.

  And the music? Also quite high pitched. And super cheery. It doesn’t have either the dreamlike or dark tones that could be expected (and just thinking of how it could be dreamlike gives me shivers; it could be so good) but is instead inanely cheery. In fact, I hope they sped everything up for the trailer and the pitch is just an unfortunate side-effect.

  On the plus side, the trailer opens with a cool cinematic and I swear the music changes from a nice, cheerful rendition (I don’t dislike cheerful in-and-of-itself) of the Zelda main theme to the death squeals of various instruments that I mentioned before. On top of that, it ends on a really nice vocal version of the LA theme, Ballad of the Wind Fish. If the trailer had been the cinematic and that closing song alone then I would be beyond excited about the remake. Thank heaven it wasn’t, I’m not sure my love of the series could survive such a plummeting disappointment.

-and here’s the actual trailer for your perusal- 

So I’ll finish here. I was originally very pleased, excited even that they had decided to remake what was a favourite, underrated and apparently forgotten game, but I kept my expectations low because I knew what to expect from these companies. I thought I did anyway. I was still disappointed. I thought I had prepared for the worst. Still, at least it gave me something to write about.

  But, the game has clearly had a lot of work put into it and gameplay-wise it actually looks to flow really well so I’m sure it controls like a treat. But the visuals and music are too big of a deal for me to let slide; if it keeps up like this then it could literally be painful for me to play. Still, games do change a lot from the initial trailer to its release and I even put forth an idea of why the sound may hurt me so much here. Maybe the final game will be a lot better. Unfortunately, the things I want to be done in games and such rarely are, and I am often alone in my complaints.

And finally, yes I am aware that the famous and incredibly popular Wind Waker entry in the series also had similar complaints and became, as I said, incredibly popular. I wasn’t a part of that crowd, I was too young and honestly, Link’s Awakening was the only Zelda game I had actually played at that time. 

[ktrsss1fics]

Cheeseburger in Paradise: Two.

She had seven missed calls.

Two were from her mother and the rest were from him.

From the time she turned off her phone on a plane in Los Angeles to the time she turned it back on in a town car in Aruba, Niall Horan had called her five times.

Georgina Ferguson couldn’t believe it.

Before they left, they made a plan. One person would leave their phone off to use as a back up just in case. Brittany’s phone had died just before their connecting flight so it was up Georgina to keep them safe. She scanned through the text messages that had accumulated while she was in the air in search of the address of the house they were going to be staying at. Niall had ordered the girls a car so they didn’t have to worry about relying on strangers in a foreign country. Georgina had seen too many abduction films and knew she needed to have an exit plan just in case. She typed the address into Google Maps and turned on the Find My Friend application. If something went wrong at least someone (mainly her mother and Dave) would know where they were.

As Brittany made small talk with the Australian driver, three notifications popped on her phone. Two voice mails and a follow request from Find My Friend.

Niall had called her five times. Niall had left her two voice mails. Niall had requested to follow her - just in case.

Brittany’s comments from the plane swirled around her head. Niall liked her. She didn’t want to believe it. He was just some annoying boy who knew how to push her buttons. He laughed too much and cared too much and spent too much time trying to get her attention.

Maybe Brittany was right.

Maybe he did like her. She was just too stubborn to see it.

Georgina placed her phone to her ear and was instantly met by an Irish accent. The first message was wishing them a safe flight. The second was checking in and updating them on what everyone was up to.

“Who was that?” Brittany asked as Georgina hung up the phone.

“Messages from Horan.” Georgina said looking out the window before going back to her phone.

“What’d he say?” Her friend asked.

“Dave’s phone died so we need to call Horan if we need anything. Everyone is just drinking by the pool.” Georgina said in a low tone. “He wants us to go through the side gate when we get there.”

Brittany nodded. “What was the other one?”

“Wishing us a safe flight and reminding us about the car and the address n all that.” Georgina said checking their surroundings.

“That’s considerate. Isn’t it?” Brittany smirked.

“Extremely.” Georgina replied dryly.

“I’m calling it.” Brittany smiled. “You’re going to like him by the end of this trip.”

“You’re delusional.” Georgina mumbled.

“Could say the same about you.” Brittany teased.

“You are just as bad as my mother.” Georgina grumbled as a nice neighborhood came into view.

“I’m just saying G.” Her friend smiled.

“I’m gonna write that on your tombstone.” Georgina shook her head.

“Yours is gonna say–” Brittany started to say until she noticed the house they had stopped in front of.

It was something out of a travel brochure. A tall iron fence with intricate embellishments stood around a massive multistory house.

“He spent way too much on this.” Brittany said in awe.

“What do you mean?” Georgina asked sliding some money over the front seat to the driver.

“He said he’d take care of it all but this is just too much.” Brittany said getting out of the car.

“No one else is paying for this?” Georgina said surprised.

Brittany shook her head as she grabbed her suitcase. “That I know of.”

“That’s not fair.” Georgina said. “I mean I know he has the money for it but like he shouldn’t have to pay for it by himself.”

“Are you sympathizing with Niall Horan?” Brittany teased.

“Oh stop.” Georgina said grabbing the rest of their things from the car.

“He’s not that bad of a guy you know.” Brittany said.

“If you keep this up, I’m ignoring you for the rest of the trip.” Georgina said.

“Just give ‘im a chance.” Britt said as Georgina shot her a dirty look.“Last one.”

The two women gathered their belongings and headed for the gate. Some overly played dance song was blasting from the backyard letting them know they are in the right place. Georgina punched in the code to unlock the gate.

As the two women stepped foot on the property, Georgina’s stomach filled with butterflies. She knew why it was happening but she didn’t want to believe it. Niall Horan didn’t have feelings for her. She was sure it. This was just Brittany’s way to get her to cooperate. This was just a ploy to create a drama-free environment for the two weeks they were away.

At least that’s how it seemed.

They rounded the corner of the house to find a full fledged diving competition taking place in the pool. Drinks were being shared by the bar. One couple was using a lounge chair as a very public make out spot.The one person she didn’t want to see stood out in a pair of bright yellow swim trunks.

She was screwed.

Brittany made her way to her boyfriend who was acting as a bartender. Georgina left her luggage by the house before taking a minute to collect herself.

She could do this. Right?

Without a second thought, she headed towards her friends. Greetings were briefly shared with everyone around the bar.

She watched as Niall got out of line for the diving board and headed towards her. A few curse words were mumbled under her breath causing her best friend to laugh. Georgina looked up to find Brittany watching her.

“Remember what I said G.” She whispered. “Be nice just for the trip.”

Georgina attempted to think of a snarky comeback but the most popular member of their group had appeared and was hugging her best friend.

The sound of the excitement in his voice made her body tense up. She didn’t understand how someone could be that happy all the time.

Before she could she critique his every move, a pair of blue eyes was staring back at her. She put a fake smile on her face and got ready for to play a part.

“Fergie.” Niall smiled pulling her into a hug.

“Hey Niall.” Georgina responded as nicely as she could.

The young man stepped back and studied her face closely.

“What?” Georgina asked confused.

“Y'alright?” Niall asked scanning her features.

“Yeah why?” She asked still not understanding what he was doing.

“You called me by my first name.” Niall explained. “Just wanted to make sure you weren’t sick or anything.”

Georgina rolled her eyes trying to fight a blush from forming. “You’re so annoying.”

His signature laugh filled the space between them.

“So what’s that about?” She asked nodding to the line at the pool.

“Jamie said he was better than Tom Daley.” Niall said.

Georgina couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “He’s such a twat.”

“Right?” He said with a laugh. “We thought it’d be a fun competition.”

“Who’s winnin’?” She asked somewhat interested.

“Surprisingly Mags is.” He said nodding to a girl in a red bikini.

“She used to be a ballerina.” She said. “That makes sense.”

“She did?” He said smoothing over his wet hair.

“We’ve discussed this before you goof.” She said trying to be playful.

“I’m sorry I don’t remember every conversation we have.” He sassed.

“You remember my order at In N Out but you don’t remember our friends childhood hobbies.” She shook her head. “Tsk tsk Horan. Shame on you.”

Niall’s lips turned up into a big smile. “Let’s go get you settled brat.”

“So we had a bit of an issue yesterday when we got here.” He said once they got inside.

“What happened?” Georgina asked.

“I had sort of planned out where everyone was gonna stay but uh the couples ganged up on us and took the entire second floor.” He explained running a hand through his hair nervously. “It’s kind of a mess and now we are stuck down here. Just because we aren’t part of a pair doesn’t mean our opinion is invalid.”

“So you mean to tell me that you are paying for this monstrosity of a house by yourself and those drunks out there told you where you are going to be sleeping.” Georgina marveled at the thought.

Niall sighed. “She told you?”

“Yes but we’ll get to that in a second.” Georgina said. “You’re too nice to them Ni. You should have gotten first pick and then they could have fought for whatever was left.”

“I know I know. It’s just they are all so used to getting what they want and I already made them wait to come on this trip so I just let them.” He said sounding insecure.

His eyes fell to the floor realizing he might have said too much.

“They are kind of bullies.” Georgina said trying to lighten the mood. “Like that night when we went to Santa Monica and they said they got to take the first Uber home because they didn’t want to be split up but like you were gonna puke and Ash was nearly dead so you deserved the first one.”

“That was bullshit. It was a short ride to Keith’s place and they couldn’t be apart for what was it.. ten minutes?” He shook his head. “Absolute bull shit.”

“So what did they leave us poor singles with?” Georgina asked with a smile.

“Well uh two rooms on each side of the first floor. One shares a bathroom with Keith and the other shares a bathroom with me.” He said quietly.

Georgina was quiet.

“If I’m honest, Keith should have been left at home. He is being a real creep and talking about all the women he’s going to bring back.” Niall went on to explain. “So I wouldn’t choose that one. I mean if you want, I can switch to that room and you can keep the two over here.”

“Stop being a people pleaser Horan.” She said.

“I just want everyone to enjoy themselves and I’m worried they won’t.” Niall admitted shyly. “If me changing rooms will help, I’ll do it.”

“Keep your room. I get to take showers first. Got it?” She smirked grabbing her luggage and walking past him.

Niall stood still for a moment. He wasn’t used to this side of her. She was usually a little standoffish and cold. But here she was joking around with him.

He couldn’t believe it.

“So which one is mine?” Georgina asked pulling him back to reality.

“Uh the one on the left.” He said nodding towards the door in front of her.

“How much do I owe you?” She asked stepping inside the room.

“Fergie…” Niall started to say but she cut him off.

“Unlike the rest of their friends, I wasn’t raised to be disrespectful.” She said quietly. “I can’t let you pay for this entire trip by yourself.”

Niall watched her closely as she spoke - his eyes full of admiration.

“How much can I chip in?” She asked.

“I appreciate the offer.” He said sincerely. “But-”

“No buts. I’m gonna pay for something. Whether it’s part of the rental fee or for groceries or for drinks when we go out.” She said stubbornly. “We all have well paying jobs there is no excuse for them to think just because you are who you are that they deserve to get off without paying a dime.”

Niall cheeks turned rosy as the woman in front of him continued to rant about their friends. He had never seen her this passionate about anything. Not only was it slightly attractive, it was also really nice to see someone care about him.

Money wasn’t an issue. If he wanted to rent a mansion in a foreign country for a week, he could. But the fact that she was concerned about him spending too much meant something.

“You know what Fergie?” He said softly.

“Hmm?” She mumbled glancing up at him.

“I’m glad that you’re in my life.” He stated sincerely.

“Why’s that?” She asked placing her suitcase on the bed.

He shrugged, “You actually give a shit.”

She didn’t know how to respond. He took the moment to explain.

“I know I can come off a little strong sometimes and I can be a bit persistent with things but like out of everyone you give it to me straight.” Niall said trying not to show how he actually felt. “There is no bull shit with you. If I’m being a twat, you let me know. If I’m being too clingy, you let me know. If I’m being too much, you let me have it.”

Heat danced across her body as his words floated around her. This was not happening. Niall Horan wasn’t admitting how much he appreciated having her in his life. This wasn’t real life. She was still asleep on the plane and this was all a dream.

“I uh just wanted to let you know I appreciate it.” He smiled.

Georgina still didn’t know how to respond so she resorted to what she did best.

“You kind of forced yourself into my life so I’ve had to learn to adapt.” She teased making him smile even more.

“That’s how I make all my friends.” He joked. “Just annoy the shit out of them until they get use to me.”

“Sounds about right.” She laughed.

“Want me to give you a minute to like relax?” He asked trying not to over stay his welcome.

Georgina shook her head. “I’m good. We can go back with the others if you want.”

Niall headed towards the door. “Want a tour?”

“I’m only allowed on the first floor so I don’t need to see the rest.” She said following behind him.

“One day we’ll get the credentials to make it up there.” He assured her.

“Or we could just find more single friends.” She suggested.

“You do have a point.” He nodded.

“Why aren’t you as drunk as the others?” She asked as they stepped outside.

“Didn’t want to risk something happening to you and Britt and having no one to come help.” He admitted shyly. “She didn’t call me when she said she would so I got a little worried.”

“She almost made us miss our bloody connecting flight.” Georgina complained.

“How?” He asked trying not to laugh.

“Her phone charger was in her checked bag and her phone died so she wanted to buy a portable one at one of those shops.” Georgina explained. “The queue was outside the shop and she still wanted to buy it.”

“Is that why she didn’t call?” He asked looking over at their friend.

Georgina nodded as she watched Brittany dance along to the song that was playing.

“Sorry I called so much.” Niall said slightly embarrassed. “She told me she’d call in between flights and she wasn’t answering so I was hoping you’d pick up instead.”

“S'fine. I’m sorry I didn’t pick up.” Georgina apologized. “We decided to keep one phone off so we wouldn’t end up having two dead phones.”

“Smart idea.” He said glancing back at her.

“Well now that we are safely here do you wanna get something to drink?” Georgina asked keeping her eyes off the boy beside her.

“There are plenty of beers in the fridge.” He said turning towards her. “And they made some tropical juice thing with rum if you want that instead.”

Georgina scrunched up here nose trying to make up her mind. Niall found it cute.

“Or there’s water.” He added trying to help.

“Water’s for fish Horan.” Georgina joked. “Bring me something that’ll get me drunk.”

With that, Niall laughed his way to the bar to make her something to drink.

[writingguide003-blog]

'A total blast': our writers pick their favorite summer blockbusters ever

New Post has been published on https://writingguideto.com/must-see/a-total-blast-our-writers-pick-their-favorite-summer-blockbusters-ever/

'A total blast': our writers pick their favorite summer blockbusters ever

As the season heats up on the big screen, Guardian writers look back on their picks from the past with killer sharks, mournful crime-fighters and time-traveling teens

Face/Off (1997)

Photograph: Allstar/Cinetext/PARAMOUNT

Madman bomber Nicolas Cage stole John Travoltas dead sons life. So gloomy FBI agent Travolta steals Cages face. When Cage steals his face and his wife and freedom John Woos Face/Off becomes the biggest, wackiest and most operatic summer blockbuster in history, a gonzo combustion that flings everything from pigeons to peaches at the screen.

Hong Kong cineastes might applaud a script with roots in the ancient Sichuan opera genre Bian Lian, where performers swap masks like magic. Popcorn-munchers, of which I am front row center, are here to watch whack job Cage and soulful Travolta, two actors who love to go full-ham, play each other and go deep inside their iconographies. Call it hamception. Or just call it a crazy swing that hits a home run as Cavolta and Trage battling it out in a warehouse, a speedboat and, of course, a church. As Cage-as-Travolta gloats to Travolta-as-Cage, Isnt this religious? The eternal battle between good and evil, saint and sinners but youre still not having any fun! Maybe hes not, but we sure are. Bravo, bravo. AN

Edge of Tomorrow (2014)

Photograph: David James/Publicity image from film company

Theres been an increasing sense of desperation clinging to the majority of roles picked by Tom Cruise in recent years. Outside of the still shockingly entertaining Mission: Impossible series, he was miscast in the barely serviceable Jack Reacher and its maddeningly unnecessary sequel, his awards-aiming American Made was throwaway and his franchise-starting The Mummy was a franchise-killer. But four summers ago, he picked the right horse just maybe at the wrong time.

Because despite how deliriously fun Edge of Tomorrow was in the summer of 2014, audiences didnt show the requisite enthusiasm. It was a moderate success (enough to warrant a long-gestating sequel) but it should have packed them in, its combination of charm, invention and sheer thrills making it one of the most objectively successful blockbuster experiences in memory. The nifty plot device (Cruise must relive a day of dying while battling aliens over and over again) allowed for some dark gallows humor and a frenetic pace that kept us all giddily on edge while it also contained a dazzling action star turn from Emily Blunt whose fearless Full Metal Bitch wrestled the film away from Cruise. Blame its relative failure on the bland title? Cruise fatigue? Blockbuster over-saturation? Then find a digital copy to watch and rewatch and repeat. BL

Back to the Future (1985)

Photograph: Allstar/UNIVERSAL/Sportsphoto Ltd./Allstar

Back to the Future very nearly wasnt a summer blockbuster. The reshoots required after Eric Stoltz was booted off, then the fact Michael J Foxs Family Ties commitments meant he could only shoot at night all meant filming didnt wrap until late April. Robert Zemeckis and Steven Spielberg duly pencilled in an August / September release.

But then people started seeing it. Test scores were off the scale. Said producer Frank Marshall: Id never seen a preview like that. The audience went up to the ceiling. So they bagsied the best spot the year had to offer 3 July hired a squad of sound editors to work round the clock and two print editors with instructions to get properly choppy. They did, and those big trims tightened yet further one of the tautest screenplays (by Bob Gale) cinema has ever seen. The only bit of fat they left was the Johnny B Goode scene: sure, it didnt advance the story, but the kids at those test screenings knew we were gonna love it. Back to the Future is a pure shot of summer cinema: grand, ambitious, insanely entertaining. Deadpool, Avengers, take note: a blockbuster can be smart as hell so long as it wears it lightly. In the end, by the way, the film spent 11 weeks at number 1 at the US box office. Thats essentially the whole summer. CS

Teminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

Photograph: Allstar/TRISTAR/Sportsphoto Ltd./Allstar

The first film I ever saw at the cinema was The Rocketeer. We drove into Bradford city centre, bought our tickets at the Odeon and sat through the 1991 tale which followed the fortunes of a stunt pilot, a rocket pack and a Nazi agent played by Timothy Dalton who sounded like he was from Bury rather than Berlin. The way into the multiplex there was a huge poster for Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Arnie sat on a Harley with a shotgun cocked and ready. My dad was a huge fan of the original but he still couldnt swing taking a seven-year-old to see it. It wasnt until I borrowed a VHS copy that I finally got to see what was behind that image. Skynet, dipshits, T-1000s, a nuclear holocaust and a motorbike chases on the LA river.

Blockbusters dont usually have that edge: theres a more brazen mainstream appeal. But Judgment Day was and still is an exception. It did huge numbers at the box office (more than $500m), was a rare sequel that was arguably better than the original and introduced really odd bits of Spanish idiom into the Bradford schoolyard lexicon. I probably would have been scarred for life watching it as a seven-year-old, but as a teenager it gave me a story I doubt Ill ever get tired of revisiting. LB

The Dark Knight (2008)

Photograph: Allstar/WARNER BROS.

The summer of 2008 was a busy one: Barack Obama emerged from a contentious democratic primary to become the first ever black presidential nominee of a major party. The dam fortifying the entire global financial system was about to burst. China hosted its first ever Summer Olympics. But somehow, and not exactly to my credit, what I remember most from that summer is the uncanny, ridiculously over-the-top publicity blitzkrieg that preceded the release of The Dark Knight, which has since emerged as not just an all-time great summer blockbuster, but an all-time great American film, period.

There were faux-political billboards that read I believe in Harvey Dent; a weirdly nondescript website of the same name; Joker playing cards dispersed throughout comic book stores, which led fans to another website where the DA was defaced with clown makeup. Dentmobiles, Gotham City voter registration cards, a pop-up local news channel: the marketing campaign might have seemed excessive had the movie not so convincingly topped it. Ten years later, as films like Deadpool and Avengers: Infinity War try to reach those same heights of virality, The Dark Knight remains the measuring stick by which every superhero movie, and superhero villain, is measured. JN

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

Photograph: Jasin Boland/AP

In many ways, Fury Road is summer: arid, scorching, bright enough to be squinted at. The driving force behind all the high-impact driving is scarcity of water, the essence of life in a desert where death practically rises up from the burning sand. Even in the air-conditioned comfort of a multiplex auditorium in Washington DCs Chinatown, watching George Millers psychotic motor opera left this critic sweaty and parched. My world is fire and blood, warns the weary Max Rockatansky (Tom Hardy) in the scripts opening lines. Staggering out of a theater into the oppressive rays of the sun, it sure can feel that way.

Millers masterpiece fits into the summer blockbuster canon in a less literal capacity as well, striking its ideal balance of dazzling technical spectacle and massively-scaled emotional catharsis. There was plenty of breathless praise to go around upon this films 2015 release, much of it for the feats of practical-effects daring, but the hysterical extremes of feeling cemented its status as a modern classic. I cant deny that Ive watched the polecat sequence upwards of a dozen times, but Millers film truly comes alive in Furiosas howl of desperation, and in Maxs noble disappearance into the throng. CB

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

Photograph: Alamy Stock Photo

Its the music, its the giant boulder, its the Old Testament mysticism, its the whip, its the Cairo Swordsman, its Harrison Fords crooked smile, its the bad dates, its Karen Allen drinking a sherpa under the table, its the melted faces and exploding heads. Its all these things plus having the good fortune of seeing this at the cinema at a very young age, therefore watching most of it through my terrified fingers. (Indy tells Marion to keep her eyes shut during the cosmic spooky ending; way ahead of you there!)

The modern blockbuster as we know it was created by Steven Spielberg with Jaws and George Lucas with Star Wars, so the hype was unmatched when the two collaborated in 1981 with Raiders of the Lost Ark. As a kid I had no idea this was a loving homage to cliffhanger serials from the 30s and 40s, I took it as pure adventure. The seven-and-a-half minute desert truck chase (I dont know, Im making thus up as I go) is probably the best action sequence in all of cinema (John Woos Hard Boiled does not have a horse, sorry), but watching as an adult one notices a lot of sophisticated humor, too. (Indy being too exhausted to make love to Marion, for example, is something that didnt connect when I was six.)

Its strange to think I watched these cartoon Nazis on VHS with my grandparents who had escaped the Holocaust, and no one benefits when you do the math to figure out how young Marion was when, as Indy puts it, you knew what you were doing. But for thrills, laughs and propulsive camerawork (though a little mild Orientalism), nothing tops this one. JH

Independence Day (1996)

Photograph: Everett/REX/Shutterstock

Short of actually calling their film Summer Blockbuster, rarely can a films height-of-summer release date been so central to a films raison detre. This being the mid-90s, when po-mo and self-referentiality was all the rage, brazenly hooking your tentpole film to 4 July was seen as a pretty smart idea.

Fortunately, all the ducks did line up in a row for ID4: a game-changing performance from Will Smith, Jeff Goldblum at (arguably) his funniest, a rousingly Clintoneque president in Bill Pullman and most importantly in that run-up to the millennium physical destruction on a gigantic scale. Much comment at the time was expended on the laser obliteration of the White House (an early shot from the Tea Party/Maga crowd?), but I personally cherish director Roland Emmerichs signature move of detonating cars in somersault formation. Like many other huge-budget films then and since, Independence Day was basically a tooled-up retread of cheap-as-chips format of earlier decades though who these days would roll such expensive dice on what is essentially an original script, with no comic book or toy branding as a forerunner? We shall never see its like again. AP

Aliens (1986)

Photograph: Allstar/20 CENTURY FOX/Sportsphoto Ltd./Allstar

An Aliens summer is one for moviegoers who prefer to sit in in darkened rooms when the sun is shining; the brutal confines of the fiery power plant make an excellent subliminal ad for air conditioning. In 1986, James Cameron took Ridley Scotts elegant, iconic horror template and turned it into an all-out action blockbuster, forcing Ripley once again to face down her nemeses in a breathless fug of claustrophobia, sweat and fear. Its relentlessly stressful and unbelievably thrilling.

I first saw Aliens many years after its initial release. Owing to its sizeable and long-lasting legacy, it was at once immediately familiar, yet also brisk and brutally fresh. I understood that it was a classic, but I wasnt prepared for just how good it is, for the pitch-perfect management of tension, the pace that never really lets up, the emotional pull. The maternal undertow of Ripleys protection of Newt, and the alien mirror of that, adds a level of heart unusual in most blockbusters, and her frustration at being a woman whose authority must be earned again and again, and then proven again and again, remains grimly relevant, 30 years on. Its also a total blast. Now get away from her, you bitch. RN

Jaws (1975)

Photograph: Fotos International/Getty Images

It is the great summer blockbuster ancestor the film that in 1975 more or less invented the concept of the event movie. And unlike all those other summer blockbusters, Steven Spielbergs Jaws is actually about the summer; it is explicitly about the institution of the summer vacation, into which the movie was being sold as part of the seasonal entertainment. It is about the sun, the sand, the beach, the ocean and the entirely justified fear of being eaten alive by an enormous shark with the appetite of a serial killer and the cunning of a U-boat commander. And more than that: it is about that most contemporary of political phenomena: the coverup, the town authorities at a seaside resort putting vacationers at risk by not warning them about the shark. The Jaws mayor has become comic shorthand for the craven and pusillanimous politician.

A blockbuster nowadays means spectacular digital effects, but this film is from an analogue world. It bust the block through brilliant film-making and an inspired score from John Williams, summoning up the shark with a simple two-note theme which became the most famous musical expression of evil since Bernard Herrmanns shrieking violin stabs in Psycho took the place of actual knife-slashing. I still remember the excitement of the summer of 1975, and the queues around the block at the Empire, in Watford, round the corner from the football ground. The inspired brevity of the title meant the word was repeated over and over again to fill the marquee display: JAWS JAWS JAWS as if they were screaming it! PB

Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/us