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ofskellingtcns · 2 years ago

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【 𝐣𝐚𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐬 ! 】

i’ve been thinking about jasper’s character for sometime now so i decided to jot down all that was bopping around in my noggin. from expanding on hallow falls lore, skellington lore and jasper himself, this is just an extended intro task lmfao

𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘰𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘦

the skellington family are the founding family of hallow falls. for generations their family has been in power within the town. they were bestowed with the great honor of holding the title of being the spirit of halloween - a title that is passed down to every skellington son.

being the spirit of halloween basically means jasper is a guardian in the same way nicholas is the guardian of wonder and bunnymund is the guardian of hope and their respective holidays.

when hallow falls was founded it was called halloween town given the only way to get to there was through the holiday world of old - basically trees in the woods with doors for their respective holidays. as the world became more modern and monsters traveled outside the realms of halloween town ( whether for normality, better life, etc ) halloween town became hallow falls in the late 70s. the skellington’s opened its perimeters to mortals who dared live in their macabre little town. though, most residents were indeed still creatures whether it be witches, demons, lagoon monsters, vampires and so on, but walked around in more ‘human’ disguises.

enter jasper ichabod skellington, the golden boy of hallow falls. son of alaric skellington and ravenna burton, and for all intensive purposes the problem child of the skellingtons. jasper had always wanted more in life. he had an insatiable appetite for knowledge. he felt confined knowing his destiny had already been decided for him and he was to live this mundane existence that wasn’t his. everything about him was to be perfect and while most in the town thought jasper floated above it all - jasper was flawed and he knew that.

when he was younger jasper had a big ask for forgiveness rather than permission attitude. he dove head first into things and wouldn’t let an idea go until the itch was scratched. that’s how at sixteen he ended up stealing christmas. it wasn’t malicious by any means. he just wanted to bring the joy he felt while stumbling into christmas town to hallow falls. it was the first scandal the skellington’s dealt with when it came to their son.

the mischief, ambiance, tricks and treats of halloween? all jasper’s doing. he took on the mantle when he was fifteen. he was a natural at scaring and was the best his family line had seen up until then. he’s still the spirit of halloween even with leaving hallow falls. it’s the one thing that wasn’t taken from him.

𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘰𝘺

being from the founding family and the richest of the three prominent families of hallow falls, jasper was well sought after. as a young boy he was naive to the ulterior motives as he grew older they became more clear but jasper had been raised to be a people pleaser. so he gave to the people who took everything from him leaving nothing for himself. it was always what could jasper for for them? how was jasper going to help? what was jasper going to do? jasper this, jasper that, it was exhausting for the skeleton.

his friendship with orion bartholomew was ultimately his down fall. despite their family fued, jasper befriended the eldest bartholomew. the two were close. close enough to where jasper once had feelings for orion. although never explored because not much can keep jasper’s attention long especially romance.

jasper turned a blind eye to orion’s antics for years. he did it because he cares about him and hoped he could bring out the good in his friend but his efforts were in vain because once jasper cut orion off his life was changed drastically.

jasper was framed for the murder of the mayor. he had hoped that people wouldn’t believe the lies orion was spreading about him and that the people who claimed to love him would have his back but that wasn’t the truth. the town turned their backs on jasper, no one came to save him and even his own parents disowned him. jasper was thrown to the wolves and his entire life was destroyed in an instant.

jasper was eighteen when orion shattered his life. a child if you will. it wasn’t just the mayor who died that day the accusations were made jasper died that day. even now he is still mourning the loss of that child.

he left town to protect himself. he was going to stay and wait for someone to be his saving grace so he left to build a better life for himself because he had to. the life he once had was now broken and he was left to pick up the pieces of something he didn’t break and he was going to do it in a place where he was safe.

after all of this jasper now hides who he truly is. prior to the halloween bash, most wouldn’t have known jasper was anything but human. he fears being the monster orion wants him to be so he buries it. something he was once proud of now becoming something he’s ashamed to be.

𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘰𝘯

jasper is a big boy. like we know this but let me expand. my man is 6′4. broad and built. he’s thick with four c’s. in his youth he was very lanky. fitting more into a skeleton aesthetic but now that he’s thirty he’s grown into himself. even if he has become a recluse of sorts jasper is still an intimidating and commanding presence.

has tattoos all over his body. from his shoulders to his fingers. it’s mostly his arms and chest that are inked. an act of defiance once he came to elias to shed his perfectly curated image.

tw: body horror. in his skeleton monster form he is 7ft tall. he has the ability to grow taller and can be as tall as a building. spikes can protrude from his spine, he has claws, glowing green eyes, his jaw can disconnect and can grow extra limbs. x, x, x ( images may disturbing to those who have megalophobia )

with being connected to halloween he is able to create and control ambiance around him. flickering lights, fog, presence of ghosts. anything to create a spooky and or unsettling atmosphere.

incredibly strong. can and will tear you apart limb from limb.

with his mother being a witch, jasper is able to use magic. although, he chooses not to. he’s a man of science and prefers that over the use of magic. he rejects most concepts of magic mostly due to his strained relationship with his mother.

the only time he ever really uses magic is when he must set himself on fire for the renewal ceremony on halloween in his pumpkin king form. other than that he hardly ever uses it if not ever.

his limbs can regenerate and grow back.

noises he makes can be reptilian in nature such as rumbling and hissing. he is able to roar and scream as well. ( i.e the movie. )

can retract his claws and make his eyes glow at whim. doesn’t have to be in his skeletal form.

peaks of the old jasper sometimes come through. mostly around people he’s truly and completely comfortable with.

#* . 　 ✦ . ˚ musings ˗ˏˋ and in my bones I feel the warmth that's coming from inside ˎˊ˗#me adding more to the intro without redoing the intro #no thoughts just my skelly boy #this was hard to write with a missing h key

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tomatosoupandpasta · 1 month ago

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INTRO POST (again? yes again because I do as I please)

Redoing this because I don't like the last one teehee :3c

You can call me either Tomato or Mon (although Tomato is more common), I'm a genderfluid lesbian and use any pronouns without any preference

I use tone indicators both ironically and unironically because I 1: don't want to offend people, and 2: think it's hilarious to see "choke on a lemon /pos"

My reblog tag is "tomato reblog" and my yapping tag is "silly stuff". I vent sometimes, these are usually tagged with "vent post" or "tw vent" and the like

I'm not the brightest when it comes to references and I often make a BUNCH of typos and grammatical errors if I don't double check it (and I only double check it if I remember to)

Also I use the term "freak" affectionately

@g1rasol <- PLATONIC WIFE❗️❗️❗️❗️🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🗣🗣🗣🗣🗣🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅

Go fucking CRAZY in my askbox. Tell me how that lemon tasted, rant to me, event ven idc. I love interaction.

^ That being said I'm very shy on dms and won't make much sense because I'm nervous. You can yap to me there anyway

I AM A MINOR

INTERESTS?!?! (i will update this as I go along (and the ones capitalized are the ones im most active in)):

VOCALOID

PROJECT SEKAI

mdzs

tgcf

svsss

komi can't communicate

undertale

deltarune

alien stage

legend of zelda

TOILET BOUND HANAKO KUN

sonic the hedgehog

kipo and the age of wonderbeasts

dungeon meshi

gravity falls

doki doki literature club

a hat in time

honkai: star rail

omori

pokemon

adventure time

stardew valley

love bullet

the guy she was interested in wasn't a guy at all

minecraft story mode

villains are destined to die

more to be added...

(userbox by @/vbs-kaitos-big-naturals)

(userbox by @/tazmaboxed)

(userbox by @/sweetpeauserboxes)

(userboxes by @/tazmaboxed)

#pinned intro #blog intro #introduction #intro post

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roomsofangel · 6 months ago

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CHAPTER SEVEN

the act of holding on and letting go .ᐟ

wc 1.1k

if you’d like to be added to the taglist please either send an ask in my inbox or leave a comment to be added to the taglist! reblogs and comments are also very appreciated!

chapter warnings metaphor of torture. hint/talk of depression and suicidal ideation without it fully being expressed outright. y/n learns their feelings were manipulated at one point.

other with the further we get into this — the more warnings that will be more prominent — the lore and y/n uncovering everything alongside the way they all handle / go about things aren’t exactly what a healthy person would immediately go towards. ( and maybe, that one line you read in a previous chapter that didn’t seem like much, was actually a key thing for a later time x )

other 2.0 bringing my forever first baby back! i tagged those who i can remember asking to be on the taglist but no hard feelings if you want to be removed! i just deeply missed this series and it’s nowhere near done so i want to bring it back to finish it! at the moment, the masterlist was taken down so i’m in the process of redoing it so its not linked! however, click here to be directed to my old blog and the intro for this work! it’s all my work, i just moved over when that blog got shadowbanned!

“you’re absolutely fucking insane if you think i’d just sit here after hearing the stunt he pulled—“

seonghwa’s pitch and tone could make any grown man cower into submission, tears swelled up in their eyes while asking if he wanted them to bleed on his shoes or in his hands, seonghwa stared ahead focusing on hongjoong who was only speechless — how could you run into the arms that put you in harms way?

well, if he looked at it through an outsider point of view, that’s what you did with seonghwa constantly.

something told hongjoong you didn’t go to san with seductive undertones, that just wasn’t you. in every life, you still held the same morals. it was something he knew would never change.

“why did they go?” seonghwa’s voice began to lower, softly raspy when his emotions began fully processing, allowing himself to sit on the armrest chair and put his head in his hands, pushing his hair out of his face that draped over his forehead, “was it my fault?”

hongjoong shook his head, “though, i really want to say it is,” he coughed, attempting to cover the laugh he wanted to let out because he knew it wasn’t a comedic matter. “has anyone seen them?” he changed the subject, his skin crawling with unease after noticing the suffocating silence with himself and seonghwa in his living room

“besides san?” seonghwa sneered, fixing his posture before standing, dusting off imaginary dirt from his clothes, “i have to pay a visit to cupid,” he scoffed

hongjoong followed alongside, “something tells me this isn’t a usual business call,” he amused while catching up with seonghwa’s pace who made his way to the door, swiftly grabbing his car keys that hung from the wall storage hooks, “san knows all about those.”

seonghwa stopped for a moment, glancing over his shoulder to shake his head, though, his small peeking smile showed he found the reference amusing — opening the door, he swallowed his nerves.

he wanted to trust you. but how could he when you were surrounded by people he didn’t?

‎

the room was cold, goosebumps illuminating each part of your skin that was more exposed than the other — you curled up on the couch with a heavy weighted blanket and a mug of hot chocolate — wooyoung only seemed to have a sweet taste, everything he owned in the food department was a major hint at his severe sweet tooth

you learned wooyoung was the god of love — though, most humans knew him as cupid despite some not fully believing on his reliability and existence, he seemed warm and inviting. he made sure you changed clothes and let you keep the dagger you swiped, clutched next to you.

it didn’t make sense that wooyoung was considered an enemy.

recalling san saying he met wooyoung however, had alarms going off in your head — what was his involvement? san never elaborated on the so called help.

but it was enough for him to be punished. how did you die the first time?

“if you keep frowning like that you’ll have wrinkles,” wooyoung prompted, taking a seat across from you with a strawberry cupcake in his hand, “at least, that’s what humans say — i never had any.”

you scoffed, biting back your laugh, “how lucky you must be.”

he nodded, smiling, “i mean, yn, i’m stuck as twenty three forever,” he kept a light hearted tone and facade, but you saw through it.

his eyes screamed of something you could recall as despair — desperate for an ending, he was tired. anyone with two eyes that struggled with choosing if they should stay or go, could see he was holding on by a thread.

because right now, wooyoung may have had the brightest smile — but you saw he also had the most saddest eyes.

“how did you get involved in this?” you asked, tone soft — you hoped you didn’t overstep a boundary, but wooyoung looked back at you with understanding

clearing his throat, “san told you he came to me, didn’t he?” he amused

you nodded in response.

“it was inevitable really, if san didn’t drag me in, one of the others would’ve,” he sighed, cleaning his fingers with his lips and tongue from the frosting excess of the cupcake he finished, “i felt bad for him, he was desperate for love and specifically from you.”

frowning, heart swelling, you knew if you were going to get the full story, you had to get your hands dirty and go to those who were all involved

it wasn’t smart in a sense — but with everyone telling different sides and their point of views, it was your job to pin point the consistency and bring it altogether.

for your final life.

‎‎

‎

“seonghwa is looking for you,” wooyoung mentioned, helping you wash the dishes — his eyes glancing to the side you resided, wet rag in hand focusing on the mug you drank from, “i can feel he’ll be here soon,” he frowned

“with hongjoong.”

your eyes lifted, attention gained fully, “do you know how long it’ll be?”

wooyoung shook his head, “i just wanted to tell you, give a heads up,” he pressed his lips together

you could see he was holding back, the same expression of wanting to say more than he was — was evident — you understood it all too well, that was your constant default.

words left unsaid.

“tell me what you want to, wooyoung,” you turned to face him

defeated, he smiled, “you made me feel human today, y/n,” his cheeks flushed and he looked away from you, “domestic even,” he teased which earned a small laugh from you

“i don’t know if i like it yet, but it’s not a bad feeling,” he briefed, finishing the last dish, “i just… want this with someone in particular..”

now this.

this was something you didn’t expect to hear.

“is it okay if i ask who?”

wooyoung laughed, “just as nosy as me, huh?” teasing, he cleared his throat and the amusement he held faded, recognizing the one thing you noticed, wanting the one thing you could never have.

“it’ll never happen, he’s been chasing after the same person for centuries,” he shook his head, “i can be blamed though.”

“i always helped him.”

then it made sense.

if wooyoung helped someone else, you weren’t aware of such — but something told you, whoever you thought of — was that person.

“why stay?” you asked

wooyoung contemplated on admitting it, tears swelling in his eyes before he whispered, “anything is better than being alone again, y/n.”

‎

you sat outside the porch, the talk with wooyoung left the two of you with overwhelming emotions — they weren’t directed at each other, but towards the confession and why wooyoung even got involved.

giving him time to adjust himself, you let wooyoung shower while you stared up at the full moon that shined down on you, appearing to slowly fade— nostalgic, you smiled.

you don’t know how long you had been staying with wooyoung, assuming half a night — at least, until the sunrise.

swallowing your nerves, you attempted to gather the information you received.

san didn’t give you an exact timeline but something told you he knew — you’d gather that later.

hongjoong and you had already been best friends — every life.

seonghwa was never meant to be your lover but somehow always made it happen.

and wooyoung helped san with you.

your expressions showed your progress and you couldn’t help but audibly gasp, “that fucking asshole.”

my yn never let a man control them.

“what a hypocrite you are, choi san,” you bitterly whispered under your breath

before you could stand and let wooyoung know you should be heading out soon, your nose twitched and felt a hand wrap around your wrist to pull you back

“yn, you have explaining to do.”

PREVIOUS . . MASTERLIST . . NEXT

taglist (open)

@onedumbho3 @chngbnwf

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throwup-yourguts · 8 months ago

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Redoing my intro

So hiii

🍇 I'm Matia

🍇 I'm 22 years old

🍇 I'm French

🍇 I'm an afab agender person (it/they/he)

🍇 I'm panromantic, asexual and aroflux

🍇 BPD, C-PTSD, Ana, Psychosis (diagnosed)

🍇 I'm a freelance furry artist

🍇 my discord is matiamoka (feel free to DM me i'm more than happy to meet new people in this wl journey ❤️💛💙)

🍇 DNI pedos, zoos, creeps, lgbtphobic, racists, psychophobic.

----

My stats :

Height : 163cm / 5'3ft

SW/HW: 71kg / 156lbs

LW: 29kg / 63lbs

CW : 64kg / 141lbs

GW1: 65kg / 143.3lbs ✅️

GW2: 60kg / 132lbs 🔒

GW3: 55kg / 121lbs 🔒

GW4: 50kg / 110lbs 🔒

GW5: 45kg / 99lbs 🔒

GW6: 40kg / 88lbs 🔒

UGW: 35kg / 77lbs 🔒

----

My rules :

🍇 one metaday per week

(800kcal limit)

🍇 breaking fast when I feel like I need it (500kcal limit)

🍇 24 hours minimum liquid fasts regularly

🍇 at least 8 hours of sleep

----

My list of allowed foods for liquid fasts:

🍇 any veggies juice

🍇 any non sugar added fruit juice

🍇 unsweetened liquid yogurt (or with stevia)

🍇 non sugar added applesauce

🍇 unsweetened coffee

🍇unsweetened tea

🍇 any soup without chunks (I'm a soupwhore)

🍇 sugar-free energy drinks

🍇 unflavored water

🍇 jelly

----

What I wanna reward myself with once i reach a GW:

🍇 new piercings

🍇 new tattoos

🍇 my first fursuit

🍇 new makeup

🍇 new clothes in my aesthetic (techwear and alternative)

🍇 new cosplays

🍇 a new computer for medschool

🍇 a new graphic tablet (an xp pen)

🍇 new books for medschool

🍇 new skincare products

🍇 new calculator for medschool

🍇 new videogames

🍇 new anime figures

🍇 saving for house

----

My fear foods

🍇 bread

🍇 marmalade

🍇 butter

🍇 egg yolks

🍇 pastas

🍇 rice

🍇 potatoes

🍇 bananas

🍇 anything fried

🍇 ice cream

🍇 chocolate

🍇 cakes

🍇 candies

🍇 pastries

🍇 semolina

🍇 Ramen and noodles

🍇 cheese

🍇 cereals

🍇 regular sodas

🍇 any fast food

----

My safe foods

🍇 stevia sweetener

🍇 any fruit except bananas

🍇 low cal yogurt and skyr

🍇 coffee

🍇 tea

🍇 soup without chunks

🍇 raw celeri

🍇 boiled egg whites

🍇 diet sodas

🍇 sugar-free energy drinks

🍇 jellies

🍇 no sugar added applesauce

🍇 turkey ham

🍇 cucumbers

🍇 tomatoes

🍇 caned tuna

----

Nice to meet y'all 😊

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sleepyfox0316 · 1 year ago

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redoing my intro post on a whim. felt like i needed to update some things

anyway

HI TUMBLR. again

Just your local vampire fennec here, reblogging and drawing. Sometimes rambling too. Call me Vlad. Male he/they. More under cut!

Currently enjoying:

Mega Man (the Zero / ZX series in particular)

Streets of Rage (been playing a lot of that River City Girls rom hack lately)

Alien Soldier (funny bird cyborg go brrrrr)

Shin Megami Tensei (recently beat V! Currently on my 2nd playthrough, got Chaos as my first ending on Normal, shooting for Law this time around on Reborn Hard)

30XX (if you like mega man and/or roguelikes PLEASE give it a shot)

Rocket Knight Adventures (and its genesis sequel, Sparkster: RKA 2)

Phantasy Star Online 2 (i usually play classic! i main Étoile (SB), used to main Bouncer (JB)/Fighter)

Side blogs:

@essenian-damnation - an ask blog for my "main" OC Kelske Torou! And his "buddy" Necro...

@madfoxvlad - a space for me to reblog all the wacky ass shit going on in the world without clogging up this one in-between all the art and random thoughts

More will be added if I make any more.

Common tags:

#my art - Self-explanatory. Usually comes with #furry and #anthro, but not always.

On that note, #oc: (oc name) - Common OCs include Kelske Torou, Tep Rosano, and Aesta Fekuma, though others can make an appearance. Usually ordered from left to right, top to bottom

#other's art - Reblogged art from other people.

#vlad's insane ramblings - Text posts, either on their own or on a reblog.

#vlad talks to people - Answering asks! They're always open, but do be aware, there is no anon.

Other:

I have a YouTube channel, right here!

uhhhhhhh i can't think of anything else. maybe later, will edit if/when needed

#introductory post #vlad's insane ramblings #edit 10/26/23: added new side blog #edit 12/29/23: added new interests #edit 2/13/24: changed pso2 main class

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queermediastudies · 2 years ago

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Behind the Umbrellas: Marginality as Joyful Resistance

Final Queer Video

When we first talked about the video project, I thought of Parasol Patrol, a non-profit founded by Eli Bazan and Pasha Ripley in 2019. I wanted to show how Parasol Patrol creates a queer space in the midst of a visual culture filled with hate and violence aimed at LGBTQ children. The Barker and Scheele (2016) graphic novel informed my goals.

1. I wanted to show one type of queer activism (p. 51). As queer people of color, Eli and Pasha are uniquely able to address the threats facing queer children, including queer children of color.

2. Barker and Scheele describe “how queer theory has engaged with popular culture…” (p. 6) and given the increasingly violent actions directed at trans people and at drag events, I wanted to show how a local organization could resist the hate targeting LGBTQ folx.

3. Barker and Scheele say, “Queer activism is a form of sexuality/gender activism that opposes assimilationist agendas of trying to show how ‘normal’ LG(BT) people are. Instead it celebrates difference and diversity…” (p. 15). Pasha often says, “We’re here because of the hate groups. We’re not here for them.” Parasol Patrol carves out a space in the midst of violent hate that doesn’t try to change LGBTQIA children—it celebrates them. I wanted to show this joy.

4. Most importantly, I wanted to make queer media about queer people. So I focused on how Parasol Patrol creates space for youth to grow into powerful adults. Parasol is really about queer elders modeling community care for queer youth. This is our genealogy and I want to document it.

5. As a secondary goal, I wanted to create something Parasol Patrol can potentially use in its marketing because yay capitalism and the Nonprofit Industrial Complex.

I had good access to Eli, Pasha, and the rest of the Parasol Patrol regulars. I’ve been a Patroller since their 3rd month, so I knew getting footage and photos wouldn’t be a problem. I also felt pretty sure I could show the change in atmosphere when participants move from the hate group side of the venue to the protected queer-friendly side behind the umbrellas. I questioned how much of the hate I should show, and I’m still not sure I balanced that right.

I had some other problems. I’ve never made a movie, so in terms of technology, I started at zero. Mia provided some helpful guidance, and the links on the module helped with editing. I also tend to be pretty wordy (ha!) so my first proposal was enormous. I needed to cut the scope down.

I had some tech issues, all user error, but I finally got a first rough draft posted. Moss watched it before I submitted it to Canvas. Their feedback basically boiled down to “what does Parasol Patrol even do?” but said in a very nice way. I reworked the intro, but after submitting the 2nd version, I still needed to clarify some things, rethink some quotes, and work on my ever-lagging tech skills (note to self: film in landscape next time). This is when I added voice over, bullying my husband into being the narrator. He agreed because he’s scared of me I think.

Unique helped me figure out how to script something that made sense without having to redo the whole video. She answered tech questions. She also gave me snacks and tea, both of which gave me enough energy to work on the video when the cold hit.

I sent the 3rd draft to Mia, she gave more feedback, and I changed roughly 1/3 of the video. I also added some different images about recent events.

While the assignment was for a 5 minute video, mine goes over that. The credits begin at 5 minutes 25 seconds, so that’s where the for-a-grade project ends. But. Because I wanted Parasol to be able to use the video, and because I adore the owner of Second Star to the Right Bookstore (she always gives us food when we patrol there), I added a Marvel-Studios style post credit clip. Honestly, in my eyes, Eli and Pasha and the rest of the patrollers are superheroes, and Dea has been a long-time knowledge-keeper and child-protector, so it seems very apropos.

Bryn

youtube

#queermedia #queer media #lgbtq #youtube #queermediastudies #queer media studies #final video #ParasolPatrol #disarmhate #activism #drag queen #drag queen story time #all ages drag

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liapher · 2 years ago

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Dracula! 🧛

[Click on the pictures for better resolution.]

After my previous experiment with wrap-around hinges, I kept thinking about how to secure the wrap so it remains shut when the book is closed. When I started reading Dracula, the solution was obvious: vampire fangs that “bite” into the front cover!

Since almost all diary entries, letters, newspaper articles and telegrams in Dracula start with a date, I decided to have some fun there and set the date in a way that matches the item: different handwriting fonts for different recurring characters, a telegram font and a newspaper font, a little waveform separator for Dr. Seward's phonograph diary, and—my favourite—Pitman's shorthand for Jonathan and Mina's diaries.

I've been reading Dracula via the Dracula Daily substack and wanted to be able to carry on doing this also in this different media format, so I added an index that tells me the pages that belong to each day, and also added the dates to the footer.

More typesetting/binding notes under the cut:

⁂

Typesetting

Set mainly in ETbb (11/14), which is based on Bembo. The various decorative fonts were much harder to find than you'd think—sooo many cursive handwriting fonts on the web, but most of them look very modern or have horrible kerning or entirely unnatural character transitions. Explaining how I created the stenography bits (over 70 distinct little "intros"!) would really warrant a post of its own, but the short version is that I spent some time reading up on Pitman's shorthand, then used a tool that can, more or less, convert English (or phonetically written English) into shorthand, then double-checked various words with the help of old dictionaries on the Internet Archive and edited the strokes to my liking.

(The appendix includes a brief introduction to Pitman's shorthand as well as a dictionary-of-sorts for the stenography bits that appear in the book.)

2. Binding the textblock

Until now, the books I've bound have always been slim enough for me to get away with square-back bindings without the books looking too wedge-shaped, but Dracula here is just over 500 pages, so I figured it'd look better with a rounded spine. (Since backing the spine is beyond my expertise and I also don't have the tools for that, I skipped that step, but I'd love to give it a try someday.) To get the spine into a shape I liked and to glue it, I used two clamps, two sheets of cardboard, and two sturdy old encyclopedias, like so:

Which worked pretty well.

I sewed two-colour (b&w) headbands, this time with 2-ply embroidery thread:

3. The case:

The main part of the case is a Bradel binding with a rounded spine. The inside of the front cover contains an extra layer of bookboard with triangular cut-out that are slightly larger than the fangs, and partially covered with some thin cardboard.

The white bookcloth unfortunately proved to be trickier to work with than I'd hoped: it's basically see-through (so I had to glue white paper to the outside of my black bookboard first) and smudges super easily.

If I do something like this again, I might consider making all of the front and back cover as thick as that fore-edge section of the front cover currently is, to make it look more even. Also, important lesson learned: even if everything fits together nicely when it's just bookboard and paper, adding bookcloth will make all the hinges much stiffer (I unfortunately had to redo the fore-edge hinges).

Cheers 🩸

#bookbinding #book design #dracula #dracula daily #crafts tag #mission update

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tehrevving · 4 years ago

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Cocked and Loaded

My piece for the @ssszine. I was waiting until I received my copy to post it buuuut it’s been stuck in about 3 different countries now, so I’ve decided to just go for it.

This is a funny fic that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Enjoy!

The bar is so deserted that Dante can’t even find someone to refill his drink. He just sits there, swirling the ice around his empty glass and staring at the strange fruit bowl in front of him. He doesn’t know why there’s one on the bar, or why it’s filled with only bananas and a giant purple fruit that looks like the emoji thing that young people use when they text. If he’s not going to be able to get another drink, he decides to just leave. He stands up, not noticing the woman standing behind him, lower than his eye line. He almost knocks her to the floor. She’s pretty, older but with a bit too much plastic injected into her face for his tastes.

“Sorry Miss,” he says sheepishly, moving around her.

She puts a hand on his bicep and squeezes, “don’t worry about it big boy.”

Dante carefully lifts her hand off his arm. She just puts her other hand on his chest. “You’re quite a catch aren’t you Love,” she smiles sincerely, through the face fillers. “I’d popped in here for a drink, but now that I’ve seen you. Well I could go for something a little bit more,” she pauses for dramatic effect. “Salty.”

Dante chokes. He’s never heard that one before and it catches him off guard, especially said with such a serious tone. The man behind the camera sighs.

“Cut!” he yells, and the room comes alive.

People are running around, adjusting the angle of the spotlights while the director yells. Dante sits back down on the stool and takes a sip of his whisky, shaking his head. He can’t believe he’s actually doing this.

It was an offer he hadn’t been able to refuse. A simple, quick job attached to a ten thousand dollar cheque. He was already eyeing up a stylish new coat, custom holsters for his guns and the very expensive pizza shop down the road. The catch was the very nature of the job itself. The client wanted him, Dante Sparda, Legendary Devil Hunter, to star in a full frontal pornographic film, for their personal collection.

Dante needed the cash desperately. He’d been sent a script, a time and an address, and now he was here, thrust into the spotlight and still not really sure what was going on.

He thought that he would be walking into an amateur type affair. A casting couch in a dark room with a handycam sort of thing. There’s a whole team of people though, including an eccentric director - stupid hat included - who seems incapable of speaking in a volume lower than a shout.

He takes another look at the client, his co-star. She’s a socialite, rich, influential, and apparently a huge fan of his. She’s nice enough even though there’s just something off about her. She doesn’t look quite right when she smiles. She reminds him of the hellspawn he regularly exterminates.

“One minute warning!”

Dante takes a deep breath and steels himself.

It takes two more attempts for the director to be happy. Dante is already bored of repeating the same thing over and over. He wonders why getting this scene right is such a big deal. It’s not like anyone ever watches the intro to porn films anyway. He just drains his glass and reaches over the bar for the bottle to refill it.

One of the cameramen is next to him suddenly, grinning. “Are you sure drinking more is a good idea?” he smirks, biting back laughter, “it’s all well and good to calm your nerves, but don’t let it affect your performance. If you catch my drift,” he winks.

Dante rolls his eyes, the great Son of Sparda getting whisky dick? Please. Dante reckons that even flaccid he’s got a bigger cock than this idiot. He downs his drink as the man drags him into the next room.

The director has a megaphone now and is screaming into it. He walks over and puts the speaker right next to Dante’s ear. “All you have to do is let her undress you. Got it?”

Dante nods, desperate to stop the ringing in his ear as he’s dragged to the centre of the room.

“Action!”

His co-star stands in front of him again, she’s tiny. He wonders if the camera can even get both of them in the same frame.

Dante takes in a breath and puts on his usual act, cocky and carefree.

“Why, is that a sword in your pants or are you just happy to see me?” she smiles, winking.

Dante struggles not to laugh at the lines, or at the expression on her face. He just follows the script, cocking out his hip. “Why don’t you come a little bit closer and find out Sweetheart,” he purrs flawlessly, finishing off with some finger guns for effect. He’s starting to feel a little bit more relaxed.

She steps in closer as a wind machine starts up. The sound almost deafening. Dante feels the breeze push at his hair and uses his heightened senses to time the shrug of his shoulders. His coat falls off his shoulders effortlessly, fluttering stylishly to the floor.

The wind machine stops and he shakes out his long hair. He flexes his arms and reaches up, over his head. He pulls off his shirt, struggling not to get caught in the fabric or mess up his hair. Sure, it’s an impractical way to take off a shirt, but he saw it in a movie once and thought it looked pretty sweet.

She stands up on her toes and starts licking at his neck and then his hairy chest. His skin is covered with saliva when she pulls away and it feels pretty gross. She works her way down his body until she’s half crouching to be level with his crotch. The cameraman moves to get the shot, getting tangled up in the cables. Dante tries not to laugh. He tries to look sexy instead. Like he’s excited to have a desperate woman kneeling between his legs, instead of apprehensive.

She traces her hands down his thighs and works quickly down to his boots. She licks the buckle and uses her teeth to pull the zipper down. Dante notices, as she pulls off his shoe, that everyone in the room is staring at his feet.

“Cut!”

The director storms over, his voice distorted static through the megaphone. “What are those?!”

Dante looks down, “my socks?” he questions, wiggling his toes inside of his lucky, pizza print sock.

The director groans, holding his head in his hands.

“Costuming!”

They take away Dante’s favourite sock and the mismatched pink strawberry print one from his other foot. He’s given replacement socks that are boring and plain black. He’s just managed to get them on when an assistant appears and throws all of his previously discarded clothes at him. Dante gets dressed again.

He can’t believe he has to go through it all again. He has a lot less enthusiasm during the next take. His coat falls dismally to the floor and he takes his shirt off the normal way because he’s not going to risk stretching the neck out. Eventually they get back to where they were, and then further. Now she’s crouched awkwardly in front of him, working on his fly.

She rubs her face all over his clothed cock. He’s not really hard yet but not one seems to have noticed. It’s all going well so far. She undoes his fly and slowly pulls his pants lower. She works seductively, dragging the fabric down his legs while biting her lip. Dante cocks out his hip while the camera pans around him.

“Cut!”

The director is utterly irate this time, stalking towards Dante like he’s going to murder him. “Your underwear,” he spits. Dante twists around. He’d accidentally put on his smokin hot black briefs this morning, the ones with the word ‘sexy’ stamped across the ass in giant, holographic letters.

His co-star turns, struggling not to laugh. “I don’t think those are a problem.”

The director stares at her like she has two heads but quickly relents.

They don’t have to redo the whole scene again apparently. Dante’s just glad he doesn’t have to get dressed again, or deal with the wind machine. He just does his pants back up and they go from there. There’s only one more hitch on the next take. She’s a little bit too enthusiastic ripping off his underwear and his semi-hard cock springs up. Hitting her solidly in the face. She’s not hurt, but she’s definitely a little bit shaken up. The next time they try the take, she makes sure to hold him steady with her hand.

There’s a team of people adjusting a stool in front of him. His co-star kneels on it and they mess around trying to get her high enough to comfortably reach his cock. Dante tries to play it cool. He’s starting to feel a little bit out of his depth, now that she’s about to properly touch him.

The director turns to Dante. “Get ready,” he scoffs and makes a jerking motion with his fist. Gross.

Dante has never had any problems with his performance, even with an audience. It’s different in the dark recesses of a strip club though, compared to harsh lights and critical stares. He ignores them, reaching down and stroking his cock a few times. He quickly gets into it, adding in a twist of his wrist here and there. It feels good.

The director fawns over him, tells him to bend his knees, cock out his hip, tense his butt. Dante tries his best to follow the contradicting directions, ignoring the strain in his thighs.

“Action!”

It’s now or never. She reaches out and wraps a hand firmly around the thick base of his cock. She strokes him a few times, making exaggerated movements while she leans her face in closer. She holds him in place and then sticks out her tongue.

Dante is watching closely. There’s something not right with her tongue. It’s slightly too long and flicks out strangely from between her lips. Her grip tightens painfully around the base of his cock. He hears her hiss. “Gotcha!”

Dante recoils. Managing to pull himself back just in time. Her maw crunches down on the empty air where beloved lil’ Dante was only moments ago.

She crouches to the floor, splayed out with too long limbs. “Famed Devil Hunter,” she hisses, staring at him with glowing, slitted eyes. “You’ve fallen right into our trap. Let us see how strong you really are, aroused, naked and without any weapons.”

Dante doesn’t need to look around the room. The grotesque snapping sounds echoing off the walls tell him that everyone else in the room is transforming too. She takes a step back as the others gang up on him.

This is his element though. He can handle a fight. “Oh, Darling,” he taunts, “I’m always fully loaded.” He winks and flies head first into battle.

The creatures aren’t strong. Dante doesn’t need weapons. His bare fists are strong enough to puncture through their squishy chests. He has fun, backflipping and dancing around. It’s interesting, getting to fight with parts of his body that he doesn’t normally. He laughs, snapping necks with his thighs. Yelling out, “cut” and “action” as he slams disfigured faces to the ground. It’s easy to improvise, though he has to be careful not to bang his large adrenaline filled erection on the furniture.

Far too soon for his liking, it’s just the woman and the director - stupid hat still perched on his reptilian head - left. The director stalks forward, looking just as agitated as he had when he looked human. He’s so focused on Dante that he doesn’t notice the camera cable, stretched taut and hidden by streaming corpses. He trips. Dante watches it play out in slow motion. The director flails, trying to keep his balance. His hat flies off his head. There’s a pause and a click as the swinging cable flicks the fan blades on. Dante can’t tear his eyes away from the director’s horrified face. He screams as the sharp blades slice through him and paint the walls with his blood.

The client is furious now. She screeches at him. The sound threatens to shatter the windows. Dante throws a quick come hither motion in her direction, goading her on. She lunges forwards.

It’s an accident, honestly. Dante was having way too much fun. He wanted to capture her, interrogate her, find out exactly what was going on here, who sent them. But it wasn’t to be. It wasn’t that he mistimed his stylish double pike backflip exactly, it was more that she anticipated his movement and decided to attack him with her teeth.

Her head swung back as he twisted. Neither her nor Dante though have accounted for the unrestrained and exceptionally lethal weapon between his legs. His dick hits her solidly in the neck. He has too much momentum. He doesn’t stop spinning. Her neck splits with a pop as her decapitated head flies across the room.

Dante stops moving as quickly as he can. Frantically inspecting his makeshift sword for any damage. There’s a little bit of devil gore, but otherwise everything is intact. He sighs with relief as he looks around the room.

Dante sneaks out of the apartment through the back window, dropping into the bushes below. He’s haphazardly dressed, already having put on and taken his clothes off way too many times today. He leaves the mess of bodies and equipment as they are. Not his problem. He steals the bottle of booze though, along with the strange purple fruit from the bowl and the tape from the camera, which has ‘Cocked and Loaded’ scrawled across the front of it.

He starts the slow, long walk back to the office, still broke. He’s pretty sure that the large cheque he has in his pocket is gonna bounce. He turns the purple fruit around in his hands and then takes a bite. It’s disgusting. He throws it away. Why would anyone want to eat that?

He can’t believe that he’s walking away empty handed. He’d been so confident this job was going to work out. He pats the tape in his pocket, glad he has it as a souvenir. He’s almost giddy, thinking about watching it later tonight in private. He’s already decided that he’s never gonna show it to anyone else, and even if it never really got juicy… well, he figures at least one person should jerk off to it.

#dmc #dante sparda #dante #dmcv #rev writes #my writing #ssszine

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doomtodivide · 3 years ago

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Imagining The Future: Bastille's New Era Analysis

Hello all! The following is taken from the first of my new era update posts on r/Bastillecult. I highly reccomend reading all the posts on there!

Last time I had a few solid guesses with the whole Goosebumps EP transition period, so I figured I would try my luck with this new era. I've broken everything down into a few categories that should hopefully flesh out a sketch of possibilities

Aesthetic: The new logo has a very sleek design. This complete change in aesthetics is very noticable. Bad Blood was filled with literature references, a cozy and nerdy looking dan, and more earthy looking tones. Wild World focused on nihilism, movie references, and an all too realistic dystopian city aesthetic. Doom Days focused on escapism, partying, fucking, and a red and home-y vibes. The lack of color and the clean and sleek look points towards it being a more future oriented era.

Triangle: For a deeper background, I highly recommend reading u/casperwyomingrex 'spost.

The WW era triangle and this new triangle are technically called deltas. While I am by no means a geometry person, I’ve been told by a few math nerds that these triangles are technically not possible in certain plains and spaces, making them impossible. While it is likely that Bastille just needed to explore just slightly outside the normal definition of a triangle to match this aesthetic, the impossible triangle t-shirts hint that there is significance to having “impossible” triangles. This hints that there may be more in common between the WW Era and the Future Era, ie. a dystopian society.

Dystopia: Bastille created an entire dystopian corporation for WW. I remember them saying somewhere they hated the promo and touring process for this album, leading them to switch up the process for DD and the Goosebumps EP. With the record label change and covid shaking up the world, this opens up the opportunity for them to have a redo with this era, especially considering it is a fan favorite era. Many people have pointed out that hint has a vibe similar to black mirror, a sci-fi dystopian show, which would fully support a sci-fi dystopian aesthetic era.

Sound: Though the clip is only 8 seconds long, it gives us some hints about the new era. Bastille once again uses synths for sound, creating a reference to Sci Fi sound effects. The clip mirrors the effect of oscillators to create things like laser sound effects, teleportation, warping, and other “space” noises. I find the juxtaposition of Sci-fi interesting; it was most popular in the early 1900s, meaning Bastille is referencing the past, yet it focuses on the future, which in the lense of Sci-fi, would mean the 2000s and beyond.

In the lens of broadcasting, short interludes are used throughout advertising to the point where many people don’t even think about this. A lot of them are used to hook us in and signify a certain company or thing. In advertisements they are used to signify the company’s presence and to worm the product into our brain. In casinos they are used as a dopamine reward. News stations use them to signify the station. This especially could be relevant in a dystopian society. I’m mentioning this because the clip doesn’t sound full enough to be a song, rather an intro to a news station segment. I find this especially notable considering WW had a news anchor. Looking back, a few videos from wild world could hold significance. This video

has a sci-fi esc clip in the intro.

In Previous Context: In the context of ReOrchestrated, Bastille is no longer letting imposter syndrome or shitty opinions stop them from what they want to do. Meaning they are going full force into the future. There's one specific time during the ReOrch doc where the boys talk about how ReOrch made them realize they could try new shit, even if management thinks it will fail. Dan has spoken in a few interviews now about being excited about collabing (and mentioning relinquishing control to others in the ReOrch doc), a few artists have come forward about working with Dan. While it’s unlikely that every collab we’ve theorized about will go through, Dan Wilson and Ryan Tedder seem to be confirmed in the roster based off of their interviews

When considering the past, a lot of previous songs focus on nostalgia; for example, in Fake it “We can never go back / We can only do our best to recreate.” Post ReOrch and DD, Bastille has worked up enough confidence to push into making their own future, one unlimited by nostalgia and fear.

In the Context of the Goosebumps EP, Inception and Vanilla Sky are both referenced. Both of these movies mark the first time* (to my knowledge

) that futuristic sci-fi has been referenced in Bastille. There is significant overlap with dreaming and time travel, something that could definitely be applied to this era. While it could be coincidental, Bastille has been quite purposeful with using references to add to the era’s aesthetic (see Aesthetic section). Referencing them during a transition period points towards both the literal future (new era) and a new aesthetic.

*Cosmos: War of the Planets and twilight zone have both been referenced but fall into a different category of sci-fi than Vanilla Sky and Inception

In Regards to Distraction Tactics Space Week and WW, alot of it holds very similar aesthetics. This video

from WW also holds a similar aesthetic. Considering DT is linked through space and WW is linked through dystopian this might MIGHT be related.

Hints: It wouldn’t be a new Era without Dan “Soon” Smith teasing us a bit, so here are a few highlights. In this interview

, Dan says “I want to tell you but I can’t! We just want to reflect on the future…” The No Bad Days tweet and the #ToTheSky post likely plays a part in the new era, but the 8 second clip does not have any immediate hints. The art installation in the #ToTheSky post originally caught my interest when it was posted. James Turrel, the artist that created the installation, uses light as a medium to create art. The installation, called the Space That Sees, is described as an “allegory of light that we generate from inside and light that comes from outside: the emergence into space where light comes forth as in a dream." While I have no fucking clue how to interprete this allegory, I imagine space, light, and dreaming will become key players in the new era. A few other notable works of his are the Raethro Pink and Alta Pink, both of which are pinkish purplish white triangles light projections surrounded by inky blackness. The use of Bastille’s triangle logo and a flash of light purple light means there are likely deep ties between the new era and James Turrel’s creations; furthermore, he also acquired a dormant cinder cone volcano to turn into an a museum/observatory using light apertures to observe the solar system, adding further ties to the space and light themes.

Meaning: "You Don't Predict The Future. You Imagine It" I have purposely not used predict in this analysis so I don’t jinx this era. I’ve found a few variations of this saying (You Can’t Predict The Future. But You Can Create It), but all of them seem to point towards creating the future instead of guessing. I imagine not many of my predictions of this era will not be accurate because I am not the one imagining it. I feel like this might also point towards being conscious about what you want out of the future instead of merely guessing where the tides will take you. This could also be like that one story of a kid's drawings turning into real creatures because of the kid imagining it. I feel like “future” and “imagine” point deeply towards sci-fi because of the creative inventions that will take us there. This could also connect to the theory that the survivin’ coin is linked to A.A., and this statement being a motto to help someone escape addiction. Personally, I feel like this clip is the beginning of some sci-fi choose your own adventure video game, but that's my own opinion.

My Personal Crazy Conclusion: It wouldn’t be a post from me without me shooting out some crazy theories. A Light Cult Utopia. That's right. It would be the opposite of WW, meaning it would be new territory for Bastille and it would break a mold (ReOrch doc). It would also give Dan the ability to be more positive then he has been in the past, while also allowing for his normal cynical undertones. Bastille is purposeful with their references, meaning the Jonestown reference in DD might have a bit more purpose behind it. The lighter colors used in the clip would point to happiness. Considering utopias are “imagined” it would fit the phrase in the clip. Sci-fi would also fit into this as being imagined. Considering there are a few space references, I imagine that humans have imagined perfect spacecraft, further fitting sci-fi and a utopian society. Also, Dan collabed with Future Utopia on the track “What’s In A Name?” That's right, what’s in a name? The name being Future Utopia? An entire new era being the name? That right cultists, Dan ”Soon” Smith snuck this under our noses the entire time that bastard.

Summary Statement: This new era will likely bring collabs from an entirely new approach. A Sci-fi dystopian (or utopian) world, one focused on dreaming, light, and space will likely be the aesthetic for this era.

Loose ends: I am only one human, meaning I physically could not rewatch Inception and Vanilla Sky while also researching James Turrel, so there might be a few things I missed in my brief look at them. If anyone would like to read 1984 by George Orwell through the whole dystopian thing, there might be a few connections there.

Based on some things I’ve heard from a little birdy, expect some big non-album projects that tie in with this era and other things….

Special thanks to u/0verjoyed and @ ja9zimm on twitter

#bastille band #bastille #bastillecult #dan smith #kyle simmons #chris woody wood #will farquarson #long post

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radramblog · 3 years ago

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Album Discussion- The Fall of Troy

Last week I discussed an album that, more or less, was defined by looseness and empty spaces. This might as well be the polar opposite of that.

(man no-one seems to have uploaded this album art in high res)

Released in 2003, The Fall of Troy is a self-titled mathcore/post-hardcore/screamo debut album made by 3 17 year olds- and in some ways that shows, but it’s not like they were fresh, they’d had two EPs under a different name by that point. The Fall of Troy is probably best known by their song F.C.P.R.E.M.I.X., having been featured as a bonus track in Guitar Hero III, which is notably, not on this album. Rather, their second album, Doppelganger, had a few tracks that were basically retakes of songs from this first album. But we’re not talking about Doppelganger (and I still can’t find a bloody CD of it), we’re talking about The Fall of Troy, by The Fall of Troy, so let’s bloody well dive in.

The first song on here, Rockstar Nailbomb!, is as much a statement of intent as anything I’ve ever seen. It’s starts with hoarsely screamed, incomprehensible vocals over a frenetic set of guitar riffs, that cuts back into a more traditional song structure, you know, after a bit. Like any good opener, it’s introducing what you’re going to be getting from the album- songs that, while extremely energetic, tend to cut between sung vocals and screamed ones at a moment’s notice, complex and overlapping guitar riffs, and a very deliberately unpolished sound. The technical skill on display is incredible considering the age of the band, as well. For such a short song, Rockstar Nailbomb! goes in some real places, closing with a line that would be appropriate to finish off the album as a whole- but of course, we’re just getting started.

The next song is called Spartacus, and it shows off the talent of the drummer in a way that the previous didn’t. Unfortunately, I almost feel like this song was kind of a half-formed idea, considering it’s a minute and a quarter long, and the…squeal…? Near the end is kind of offputting. A mid one.

Oh boy it wouldn’t be a nerd band without ridiculous track names- next up is The Circus That Has Brought Us Back to These Nights (Yo Chocola), and no I don’t fucking know what that means. This one ironically feels the most like a song than the others before it, a slightly more traditional structure, the screaming and singing vocals forming something of a call-and-response that would probably make more sense if I could understand the lyrics half the time. Despite this, it’s no less speedy, frantic, and intricate, mixes between melody and dissonance that are basically the band’s signature.

The fourth track is named Mouths Like Sidewinder Missiles, and it’s one of my favourite tracks on the album. I can’t really describe why, though, so I’m going to take a minute to talk about something else. See, this is one of the tracks that was redone for Doppelganger, and on Spotify, for whatever reason, has the title misspelled “Misssiles”. I let them know about this years ago and they never fixed it, so I guess this is my callout post. For what it’s worth, I think the Doppelganger version is a bit looser, adding in some elements in the empty space (there’s a reverb after the initial riff I really love), but both have their own merits.

Okay, mild rant over, back to regular old rambling. The next track is The Last March of the Ents, Lord of the Rings reference very much intended. This is one of those tracks I always forgets exists to be honest, like the intro started and I was like…what was this one again? And then the bit at like 50 seconds came in and I remembered everything. That section is honestly really strong, though unfortunately the rest of the track kinda feels just like Mouths like Sidewinder Missiles, but like, slightly worse? Which is especially awkward considering it immediately proceeds that song. I will say the part of the song where it slows alllll the way down is really enjoyable, it’s very gradual and smooth, gives the bass a bit of time to shine, before blowing back up again because these guys just can’t bear to play slow for half a minute.

The next track is F.C.P.S.I.T.S.G.E.P.G.E.P.G.E.P. This is the song that their most popular track, F.C.P.R.E.M.I.X. is a version of, and they’ve never actually stated what the acronym is for. A common (and I believe discredited) suggestion is, and I quote, “Fuck condoms, premarital sex is the shit, get ‘er pregnant get ‘er pregnant get ‘er pregnant”, which is A Take. It also has nothing to do with the lyrics of the song itself. This track is actually by far the loosest and slowest on the album completely, appropriate considering it’s first words are “slow down”. There’s really not a lot of screaming on it, left only to the chorus, and they’re actually understandable which is nice (or maybe it’s just because I know it’s “come running home”). This is undoubtedly an emo track, based on the lyrics, but it’s also just kind of excellent, similarly complex lyrics slowed down to a comprehensible tempo and a bridge that builds in a supremely satisfying manner. The comparison to R.E.M.I.X. is of course, inevitable, and I will say the tightening up did help in some places- the very slow section at the latter part of the song probably doesn’t need to go that long, and that’s easily the part that gets sped up most in the redo. Still, the song stands out very naturally, feeling more thoughtful and controlled than its peers.

The next song is titled “Whacko Jacko Steals The Elephant Man’s Bones”, apparently a reference to…a music video where Michael Jackson danced next to a recreation of the skeleton of a famously deformed man. Yeah, ok, sure. I don’t actually have much to say about this one, it’s very scream-led, but doesn’t really stand out to me apart from the naming. It’s play rating supports this, being the second least listened track here, but it’s by no means bad. It’s just kinda long and as generic as something like this can be, I suppose. Honestly I kinda forgot all the directions this goes, some of these sections are really quite excellent, but the song is probably like 2 minutes longer than it needed to be. I’m just saying. Like I kept waiting for this song to try and change my mind and it kinda just didn’t.

Reassurance Rests in the Sea is up next, and god that little riff it’s building around, that just noodles around but at triple speed, is just so sick. It’s a song that spends a lot more time cutting itself down- like F.C.P.etc. it’s looser and slower, but substantially more disjointed than that one is. This song, uh, completely breaks off like two minutes in and just stops. And becomes a different song. Like, I don’t think this is a bonus track or anything, it’s just a part of the same song. And that second half is a really sort of chill (for this album) instrumental, lead by a bassline that slowly gets more riffs over the top of it. And then that bit stops itself, and the main song returns again for like the final half a minute or so. And honestly I was just like, wait, no, go back…….

The actual least listened to track on the album is number 9, The Adventures of Allan Gordon (it’s apparently about a book). Honestly, I’d kinda love to hear this live, because the first minute or so of it is the kind of thing you’d play as an interstitial to keep the audience going while you get your shit ready for the next song. Eventually (and I mean eventually, song’s a third through at this point) the lyrics and such come in, and yeah ok I see why this one isn’t as popular. It’s like, fine? Like, that cut back section is pretty overall mediocre, but when we get back to the screaming and the riffs and the noise its as solid as ever. It’s a little frustrating, because they can do the more lyrical stuff, F.C.P. is right there, but this one doesn’t quite make the mark for me. A shame.

Track 10 is I Just Got This Symphony Goin’, which does not have an actual symphony, but it does present and absolutely killer opening riff, so it’s not all bad. This is one of the songs I most associate with the album, even if it’s one of the ones also on Doppelganger. Its speeding up and slowing down and screaming and singing and lots of interweaving and yeah. I like it. Iunno.

The final song, What Sound Does a Mastodon Make? (I dunno, ask a paleontolgist?), is a full seven minutes, 2 minutes longer than the next longest track. It’s kind of interesting, since the second half of the album going by tracks is much much longer than the first half. It does this really fun bit where the lead guitar and rhythm guitar do their own little call and response thing, immediately followed by one of the weirdest vocal noises I’ve ever heard, and I don’t have a word to describe it, so you’re gonna have to either trust me or listen to it yourself. This song is just really, really long, man, and it goes in a lot of places but none of them are exceptional enough to really justify slogging through a total 7 minutes of it. I’m going to be honest, I’m probably not going to listen to it unless I’m going through the whole album. The extended build near the end is pretty sick, I guess? And the way the last minute just decides to, like, drop everything, and just end with a very quiet, indie-esque instrumental. Like the very “we did it, now we can relax” sort of moment. Lets both you and the band know its over, and you can move on past your energy high to something a bit more chill.

I think the best phrase I can use to describe The Fall of Troy is “ADHD music”. Both in that it feels almost a little distractable sometimes, multidirectional and often not fully resolving its lines, and also in that said lines are great if you’re someone like myself who’s brain needs something to be chewing over while the more conscious parts are trying to do something else. To be clear, I consider this a compliment. Like most music I discuss, this certainly isn’t for everyone, as you’re going to need a tolerance for adrenaline and screaming to enjoy this album, but I do think it’s worth the attempt. Now, I haven’t listened to Doppelganger (or any of the other albums for that manner) in full, so I can’t comment on how the style of The Fall of Troy would evolve over time. But at the very least, this is a very solid starting point for what would become a surprisingly long-lasting act.

#ramble #music #mathcore #the fall of troy

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lilacasia · 4 years ago

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[ voicelines ]

hello — welcome to my clinic , i’m dr. casia vincent , casia is just fine . . . no need for the intimidating title , let’s start off with being friends and get more comfortable with each other.

good morning — have you had breakfast ?? no ?? let me make you some , come , sit . don’t be shy !! i like having guests over for a meal !!

good afternoon — have you ever had the pleasure of having afternoon tea in the clearing near here ?? it’s absolutely blissful , enjoying the scenery with a cup of tea and sweet treats , it really refreshes the mind

good evening — the day just flew by , where does the time go ?? there’s still so much to do , but not enough time to do them !! sometimes i wish there were multiples of me . i wonder if that’s possible to do

good night — beauty sleep is real and it’s important for your skin and your health !! it’s no joke , sleeping eight hours will do wonders for your body !!

chat ( idleness ) — hmm . . .i wonder if i might be able to make a wound freezing agent . . . maybe if i mix it with slime condensate . . . interesting . . . i need to look into this more

chat ( traveling ) — it’s hard , but for the sake of gathering materials and finding new resources , it’s worth it in the end . . . plus , i get to see new sights every time !!

chat ( research ) — i’m trying to come up with efficient and easy-to-use potions and remedies for people to use . . . ones that people can easily access and even make themselves for times when doctors cannot be reached

when it rains — goodness , i guess our plans have to be postponed until a later time . . . as much as i enjoy a good dousing of rain , getting sick is not that fun .

when the sun is out — beautiful !! today’s the perfect day to go for a stroll and maybe even a tea break in the forest .

when it’s windy — heavens above , someone must have peeved the lord of wind . . . let us be careful on our way today , it’s hard to tell what sort of things we may come across .

about casia ( schooling ) — i was mostly homeschooled until the age of 16 when my vision appeared . . . that was when my parents and i discussed receiving official schooling to learn how to use my vision properly and to further my knowledge .

about casia ( career ) — i became a doctor , not only because my parents were , but because i also enjoy helping people . . . i want them to be a better version of themselves , it brings me joy to know that i can help people live to the fullest .

about casia ( fashion ) — i always find it so interesting how people dress in different regions . . . i unfortunately have yet to come across those from inazuma and snezhnaya , but i do wish to know how they dress over there , what the current style is like . i wonder if it’s like the trends here .

about us ( potions ) — here , let me teach you how to make this potion without wasting a lot of resources , you’ll thank me later . it’s really simple , come closer .

about us ( plants ) — these plants here are edible , if you’re ever hungry , give them a wash and eat them . it’s not much , but it’s better than starving and running out energy . . . don’t put yourself in danger , even if it’s just some plants , it’ll give you a boost until you can find proper food .

about the vision — a gift ?? i’m not really sure how to explain how i feel , but perhaps it’s a driving factor in wanting to better myself . had i not received a vision , i would not have found myself so driven to use my ability for something and explore the world .

anything to share — i know you already have a companion , but if i may be so bold and ask . . . would you mind if i accompanied you on your next trip ?? i’d be honored if you’d allow me , i promise i won’t be a burden !!

interesting things — if you’re looking for a refreshing tea , take some mint and some sweet flowers , grind them together and steep them in hot water for a few minutes . add a bit of honey and voila , you have a sweet and minty tea that’s good for the palate !! it tastes good cold as well !!

about albedo [ @likepyrite ] — a bold , bold man !! he has definitely swayed my heart with his upfront confession , he has me anticipating to hear and see more from him !! aside from that , i respect him as a fellow alchemist and scholar , i’m often amazed by the work he’s put out .

about vlad [ @dayguard ] — my . . . one night hero ?? people haven’t had the greatest opinions about the fatui , but they are people with feelings . i’m less surprised that a fatui saved me than i am surprised that someone stepped in to help . i hope people understand that the people in the fatui aren’t . . . bad .

about terry [ @spitefulgames ] — a sweet and gentle boy . whoever hurt him and left him in the forest needs to answer for their crimes . he’s been a great help , i just wish he’d stop feeling as if he owes me something . . . i did what i did because i wanted to , not because i was expecting something in return . now . . . the other side of him . . . [ nervous laugh ] i’m not quite sure how to feel about him .

about sucrose [ @naturalisstatera ] — sucrose is hardworking and dedicated , i can see why sir albedo took her on as an apprentice . she’s got a curious nature and is willing to explore . i can’t wait to see what sort of research she brings to the table .

about york [ @warblissed ] — the only person i’ve met that finds being in an emergency room romantic . . . truly , york needs to find a better definition of romantic , or archons save his soul , he’s going to get dumped . . .

more about casia [ i ] — i grew up in a small farming region on the edge of mondstadt , my family has a long history of being physicians and herbologists so we were kind of unofficially dubbed as the local hospital . . . we have many patients from nearby villages come for our help

more about casia [ ii ] — hm ?? why do i keep looking . . . ah . . . you caught me . i’m just appreciating that gentleman’s fine physique , it’s quite a beauty to see . he’s quite handsome too !! what a treat for my tired eyes , i feel absolutely refreshed just by watching him move !!

more about casia [ iii ] — why didn’t i go home after i finished school and opened my own clinic instead ?? well , they have enough help at home already . . . they don’t need me to crowd them . plus , my clinic is now closer to the library at the favonius headquarters so i have access to plenty of reading materials .

hobbies — i enjoy making my own makeup and perfume . . . all natural and in very pretty shades . it’s a huge trial and error process , but that’s the fun in it . some ingredients are harder to acquire , but the result makes it worth it .

troubles — i just can’t seem to find a set of earrings that match this outfit !! and even more , now i have to redo my makeup . . . there’s just not enough time to put together a good looking outfit for the day . . . how upsetting .

favorite foods — i prefer balanced meals , nothing too salty nor spicy nor sweet . . . a meal with dessert !! i’m not picky about food !!

least favorite foods — not picky at all , i’ll eat anything that is edible and filling !!

birthday — oh darling !! it’s your birthday ?? why didn’t you say so ?? come , come . . . i’m gonna get you all dressed up then we’ll have a night in town , everything’s on me tonight !!

feelings about ascension ( intro ) — wow , i didn’t know i could do even more with my powers

feelings about ascension ( building up ) — now i’m giddy to learn what else i can do !! show me more !!

feelings about ascension ( climax ) — so this is what it means to be a better you . . . amazing , i feel like i’m constantly evolving !!

feelings about ascension ( conclusion ) — incredible , just when i thought i knew my abilities , you have shown me a whole new world !! please !! do go on , i wish to learn more !!

battle and exploration

added to party — you won’t regret it !! / i’m excited !!

elemental skill — watch this !!

elemental burst — don’t take your eyes off of me !!

idle — same as chat lines above

dash — watch out for the mud , these shoes are new !!

gliding — oh dear , i really hope this doesn’t mess up my hair

damage — ugh !! how rude !!

knocked out — i was too hasty / i hope i have enough potions to heal

#( trivia. )#( long post. )

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malibvnghts · 3 years ago

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