#literary metal

[chronivore]

2015

[mothprincess]

serena crane, full metal baby

[marvelousmagicalaura]

Something I’ve come to appreciate about Ruin’s writing, despite my many issues, is that Ruin is change. However, Ruin doesn’t represent the typical definition of change. If Ruin wasn’t around Preservation, if not the Lord Ruler, would forever keep the world stagnant. Ruin transforms things, this is seen through Hemalurgic constructs. But Ruin doesn’t create, invent, or make things grow for the sole sake of those purposes. He does those things with the ultimate goal of decaying or breaking things down. Ruin is decay and entropy.

Ruin creates/invents a web of information which guides people towards a situation where a useless metal kills an immortal ruler. He helps Spook grow into a competent revolutionary, with the goal of having him cause the destruction of Urteau.

But if Preservation and Ruin are together in one Shard, it becomes a force that understands the necessities of BOTH stagnation/stability AND decay. A force that understands why both are necessary in the cosmere and society. And understands how to implement them. Harmony/Discord cares for the Elendel Basin, but knows its stagnation and coddling must eventually be removed for its society to grow.

[bidonica]

(The ending of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots)

Cesare Pavese, Diaries 1935-1950 // Yoji Shinkawa, Solid Snake //Anonymous, Snake Skeleton, 1856 // Kait Rokowski // The Human Genome // Philip Roth, The Dying Animal

[knackeredforever]

The objectively funniest part of mgs lore is the fact that the main catalyst for 90% of the events in the series is multiple different characters playing the worlds longest game of Chinese whispers with the boss’s will constantly misinterpreting it until the character who actually best understands what the boss wanted for the world isn’t even an mgs character, it’s pixy from ace combat zero.

[zumbiegrl]

In heaven, all the interesting people are missing.

- Nietzsche

[intomybubble]

I wish a3! had a rhythm game or something. I still think it has the best music for a series that had literally nothing to do with music

[power-chords]

[loakamossi]

Sometimes I spend too much time thinking about how much stock some people put into the fiction they and others consume or even used to consume. Like, you really can't make a moral judgement about someone by looking through their Netflix history.

Remember the Psycho Mantis scene in Metal Gear Solid? How he read your save data and assumed that, if you had save data from a game, you might like games in that genre? Imagine if instead of "Oh, you like to play Castlevania! I bet you like other action games!" he said "Oh, you like to play Castlevania! I bet you also like to kick small puppies and laugh when they wimper!"

[dubiousdoctors]

endless affection for characters who are named for What They Are And Do... extremely genderful of them, to be very real.

[arnold-layne]

Oh no, I would never do that. I ask because I’m a fan of a russian band called NeverLove and was thinking about learning some russian so I can understand them as they almost never speak English. I was just wondering if you as a native speaker have heard if there’s a good way to learn Russian. I know this is a shot in the dark, sorry

WAIT neverlove is the one that sing about a gay sex instructor from nato? That song is HILARIOUS i need to listen to it again. regarding your question, uhh, i never had to learn it so i dont know much but you could start with duolingo i think, maybe watch educational videos on youtube to get down basic grammar and vocabulary. understanding russian is much easier than speaking it and much much easier than writing it. You don’t need to learn to speak it perfectly, just to understand lyrics, right?

[vbsvartalf]

Trans Inclusive Black Metal - A Study Begins

After a wild, unscripted declaration on Twitter last night about the existence of a black metal subgenre, TIBM (or Trans Inclusive Black Metal), I began to actively evaluate whether or not I was spouting nonsense (something I do from time to time with little thought about what I’m actually saying or doing) or if I was onto something, stumbling about like a drunk at three in the morning and finding an abandoned suitcase full of cash.

The more I think about it, the more I think it’s the latter. I think I’m onto something. TIBM is a thing, it is a subgenre. It’s one of those subgenres that have been around for a long time but was never named or categorized or anything archivistic like that. Like trans people, it has always existed, even if that means in different forms than we see today. I don’t want to call it a new subgenre for that reason, TIBM has been around for a long time, we just didn’t see it, and by “we” I mean people that were in the right circles and weren’t looking for it, like myself. If I could go back and kick myself for this, I would. Alas, I’ll just make up for it by being an ally to the scene, something I think any metal fan should be doing anyway.

If you’ve heard and enjoy Feminazgûl (and if not, then why not) then you are aware of the most prominent band on the scene. Fronted by Margaret Killjoy, a trans woman and activist, the band exemplifies what it means to be trans inclusive. They managed to do something most ideologically based bands have never been able to achieve: sounding good. I’ve said this in my private musing about metal and music a lot, but if you place political ideology above creativity, your music is going to be terrible, there’s no way around it. There’s are a million reasons why NSBM is so bad, and that’s one of them.

Being trans today is political. It shouldn’t be, both the right and the left need to keep their mitts off trans bodies and allow them the space they all need to grow into what they believe they should be. Being a trans inclusive black metal band, by default then, means there is a political ideology at the heart of the band. It’s unavoidable so instead of trying anything foolish like that, Feminazgûl leans into it. They know their a politically minded band and with that firmly established, they can move on to create the music, which they do with dramatic, shrieking effectiveness. While they have a similar sound to bands like Panopticon, Wolves in the Throne Room, and Falls of Rauros, they are unique within the subgenre of atmospheric black metal or Cascadian black metal or however you want to categorize them. They sound like they could be on a compilation with all these bands, but they also sound like something very different. They’re creative enough to stand out in a genre that is becoming more and more crowded with formulaic sounds, effects, and atmospheres.

All that being said, I need to do more research into the subgenre, find other bands, other projects, other musicians, that are part of the scene. One band does not a subgenre make, I am well aware of that. There are a few others floating in the Bandcamp aether that I need to listen to and analyze, and I’m looking forward to that. If anyone reading this has a suggestion or tip or what-have-you, then I am all ears. I am still learning to be a good ally to my trans brothers and sisters, and I hope doing this project leads me to being a better, more rounded one.

Cheers!

[m-c-easton]

Book Picks: The Haunting of Hajji Hotak and Other Stories

I'm still reading through the best books of 2021/2022, and my fav so far is The Haunting of Hajji Hotak. Masterful and riveting, these stories of war and diaspora will break your heart and bind it up again. Jamil Jan Kochai is an author to watch. #reading

I’m continuing to work my way through titles that made waves in 2021 and 2022, and this is my favorite so far. If you are in the market for masterful short stories, Jamil Jan Kochai’s collection will not disappoint. A National Book Award finalist, The Haunting of Hajji Hotak feels like it enfolds the entire world in its embrace, spanning the United States and Afghanistan, teen gamers and aging…

[eek-a-tron]

Ozymandias WHO?

Only this worm poem will do!

never let anyone tell you that trawling through mediocre victorian poetry isn't worth it. we just happened upon an absolute BANGER of a worm poem. go read it or else 🪱🪱🪱

[gildedbearediting]

International Strange Music Day on Paulo Coelho's Birthday

2024 has felt like a wild year, and it feels right to be celebrate strange music and Paulo’s birthday together. Many would recognize Paulo for his writing, but most notably ‘The Alchemist’. However, it wasn’t until I dug around online that I found that he’s also a poet and lyricist. Songs that he’s written can be found on Genius. I took this opportunity to see what else Paulo has done, and get…

[scarecrowgoat]

man i really am putting my life back together ain't i? poggers