#rawk talks

[leembeanz]

i assembled a BRBA ita-pouch. starring my good friend Gus Fring

[twentytwoarts]

interested in your perspective on rawk hawk and prince mush. i feel like the guy would be chuffed to have mush gone but once others know how mush really went missing he'd feel guilt in some way. especially since prince mush is said to have cake trauma lol

oh i have a VERY incredibly specific version of them in my head because i ship the two which makes for a lot of "lost love and memories that you can never get back and things will never be the same no matter how hard you try" type stuff post chapter 3 BUT if you're wanting to know more about how i view them in a canonical sense . i do truly believe in rawk hawk's change of heart (see the photo of him and mush making up on the wall of his secret training room) and think he tries to view mush less as a rival and more as a friend unlike pre-chapter 3, where rawk hawk was genuinely intimidated by him and his strength and wanted nothing more than for him to be out of the way. i like to think he also grows to be a little overprotective (definitely not to jolene's degree though), wanting to make sure mush is doing good and overall just being a good sport and making sure a fellow fighter gets what he needs. the stuff that happened to mush doesn't make him laugh in the slightest, because that's not fair; robbing someone of life crosses the line for rawk hawk, and he KNOWS unfair

mush receives this all gladly and with an open heart. he forgives, but doesn't forget, and rawk hawk acknowledges that

i also don't think mush's "cake trauma" is like "he starts having a panic attack whenever he sees cake" lol i think it's more just him being passively averse to it. he doesn't take food gifts from fans anymore (or anyone except jolene and their family for that matter), he'll turn down dessert at restaurants, and won't celebrate his birthday with a cake, but he's also not vocal about it. it's more just something everyone understands. even if he does forgive rawk hawk it doesn't mean he has to like the food because the experience was still unpleasant

and also, i think this all gets to the point where mush confides in rawk hawk about not knowing what happened that night and his frustration with jolene not telling him. rawk hawk would tell him what he knew if he knew anything, but he doesn't, so all he can do is support mush in any way he can while he wrestles with this

[turqrambles]

I'm torn between "Sorry for The Summer of Grubba this year" and "Actually why should I apologize, I didn't even draw him holding the goddamn microphone yet".

[punk-rawk-pkmn]

his penif....

bonked by a ROCK TYPE. his BALS. HIS DUCKING PEEBIS

[themetalgodsmeltdownposts]

Subway To Sally interview with Simon for The Metal Gods Meltdown by Seb ...

[redgbasp]

Hey, you think you can just smack-talk the Rawk Hawk? I DON'T THINK SO!

[dewcrow]

MORE ANTONBLAST SPOILERS AHEAD

Annie:

- Is only in it for the chaos, like Jevil and possibly The Noise

- Has a bad cough (but it only seems to affect her when she’s resting or talking)

- Kind of reminds me of Niffty for some reason (Okay, I do know the reason; it’s the hair and the gremlin energy)

Nina:

- Is married to Danton (which, now that I mention it, makes it weird that I ended the last post with the “pick your man-crush” joke)

- Has the same line when dying in Antonball that Birdo has when defeated in Super Mario Advance (“How could you?!”)

- Could probably stab you with her nose

Brawlbuster:

- Is basically Rawk Hawk as a mole in terms of personality, but Tiny Tiger as a mole in terms of his boss fight.

- Has an attack where he charges across the screen an increasing number of times, like Shake King from Wario Land: Shake It! (the fact that he’s only vulnerable at the end of it makes it similar to Red-Brief J’s dash from Wario World, too)

- COMES IN WITH THE CHAIR (but only when he’s pissed)

Tallbuster:

- Is longer than Longcat and Tacgnol (but not longer than Lesser Dog’s neck at maximum stretch)

- Has a face like Fake Crash

- Goes to sleep if you don’t burn him at the start of his fight (maybe you know that, maybe you don’t, but I bring it up because it’s cute)

- Probably represents Sloth because his long body lets him be in two places at once, minimizing movement (now that I think about it, it’s weird this doesn’t affect how you fight him, although to be fair, the sleeping thing is already on brand for Sloth, as it means he can’t be bothered to start an attack pattern unless it’s in defense)

Smallbuster:

- Is tiny and possibly a child, you dingbat. (You’re lucky that I’ve dropped the whole “crush” aspect from the last post!)

- Does machines, including one that has missiles. Missiles!

- The way she gives up at the end of her fight and just ineffectually charges at you like Ado in Kirby’s Dream Land 3 (or Adeleine in K64) is so cute

Maulbuster:

- Is the opposite of the dude in that one Aerosmith song (seriously, I thought she was a guy until I saw the name of the achievement for beating her, although I suppose I should have guessed it since she’s quite clearly a Brunhilda)

- Is the most foul-mouthed Brunhilda I’ve ever seen (seriously, she makes you dodge swears in her fight more than your visiting relatives when they bring their kids)

- Shakes the stage when she lands right before you finish her (which is easy to forget, since she’s the only Bossbuster this applies to)

Jewel Ghoul:

- Uses the player’s transformations against them like a Wario Land boss (his card-squishing move that puts Anton/Annie in an extended Tornado state)

- Is clearly inspired by various Cuphead bosses, especially King Dice and Glumstone the Giant

- Has a Dingodile-tier badass boss theme

- Will probably need a seeing-eye dog for several months because of the head cast

Freako Dragon:

- Has a Ripper Roo-tier wacky boss theme (the stock flute sound commonly used to represent Asian dragons is a cute touch)

- Also has a cue from Meat Circus in his boss theme (any “Psychonauts mentioned” comments?)

- Apparently vacationed in Brazil sometime ago (if you enter the casino’s hidden Brazil room and find the secret photograph, he’ll be in it even if you haven’t beaten him yet; you’d better believe me on this because I started a separate save specifically to test it!)

- Has a Raphael the Raven-ass final phase (although comparisons can also be drawn to the final level from Battletoads, the tower from Mickey Mania, and basically every level from Nebulus/Castelian/Tower Toppler/whatever name that game goes by in your region)

Ring-a-Ding:

- Is basically the Fake Peppino of the game (a boss that surprised players because he wasn’t shown in trailers, a boss with a monstrous final form, a pretty strong mindfuck the first time you see him, etc.)

- Is a BAB (Biblically-accurate bell) whose boss theme reminds me of the bells from the Futurama theme even though they’re not really that similar

- Cost me three hours of my life trying to get CRACKED in his fight just because of the slam attack in his final phase (the one laser ambush right at the end of the “flying” phase - immediately before the freefall - certainly didn’t help, either, and it wasn’t until after I got CRACKED that the patch nerfing that section went live)

[artofkhaos404]

Hobie Brown is a fantastic character.

His design, concept, uniqueness and how HOT he is make him altogether very likeable. But all these things are not why I love him so much; it's what he represents that gets me.

The symbol in modern media he is for many different types of people. For one, he's pretty awesome for people of color to enjoy. Another black hero who can get down to business is always welcome, though it's nothing new for the Spiderverse universe with Miles Morales being our main protagonist. Having a British black character makes it all the more fun, diverse and interesting!

All that being said, the thing that warms my heart about Hobie Brown is what he means for the alternative community.

Im a punk. I'm also an anarchist.

Like anyone, I look for people in media who represent me in both appearance and ideals. As a plus sized person, finding people in media who look like me and aren't part of the toxic stereotype for fat people is uncommon. Chubby characters who don't make their weight part of their personality is unheard of.

Finding characters who properly represent my beliefs and ideals is nigh impossible in my experience. Seeing a punk in modern day popular media is rare. And when I say punk, I'm talking PUNK RAWK. Musicians with colorfully laced boots and symbols painted sloppily all over themselves. Gritty political activists in homemade clothes and piercings, fighting tooth and nail for what they believe in. In truth, I don't know if I've ever seen that in popular media; not authentically.

What do we get instead? Punk coded teenagers who don't really believe in anything, pissing people off for the sake of it. That ain't us. We believe in respect, love and morals. We believe in doing whatever is necessary to achieve the perfect world, whatever each individual believes that is.

The representation is even more insulting for anarchists. Everywhere are both mature antagonists and cartoon villains parading around preaching "anarchy" and completely misusing the word. Its to the point that my political belief is now more closely related to dictatorships (the literal OPPOSITE of anarchism!) or simply death and destruction rather than the true definition: no institutions, just people.

That word has been defiled. I've had people laugh at me and ridicule me when I share my political stance with them due to this stereotype. I've had people tell me I believe what I do just because it "sounds cool."

People that were uneducated to the concept in the first place have now been reeducated by an overlord walking across a battlefield of dead bodies in some movie screaming about "anarchy." Thanks Hollywood. Really appreciate that.

But Hobie is a punk. And he's an anarchist.

He's a hero. He's intelligent. He knows what he fights for and he fights well. That alone is revolutionary for the anarchist movement.

And in a MARVEL FILM. Millions of people watch Marvel films across the globe. Across the Spider verse has pulled in 1.35 Billion dollars. This is exactly what we need.

So, as a representative of my community, thank you Sony Pictures for this gift. I hope to see more like it. And while we're at it, thank you for all the diversity in this new film between all the ethnicities shown onscreen to putting someone my size in the mask!

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

(also if anyone has any recommendations for realistic punk characters in media I'd love to hear em)

[t-underneaththeradardancing]

everyone - well almost - loves potatoes at least on tumblr - then again tumblr being wonky af

and then i gave up - for the day anyhow - there wuz something else 'sides the taters but thats ancient history

yet another today - another now - and yet - same same mostly usual usual - but not exactly

and i was dreaming ...

more to than gonna but getting ahead of myself - a kitty good and always - coffee cuz imma need it to get a simple tax thing finis - a day b4 deadline - physical therapy also later

so lets backtrack cuz i remembered

a post performance watever - havent been up to performing - its both physical and mentally but missed the people even tho we dont actually - talk talk too much - we dig the scene together - and i forget - unlike most of the rest of the world - they dont make me feel OH EL DEEE

so not ignoring the physical - we bring "baby" my tiny acoustic - decide to only perform 1 song and leave early - stayed longer than expected

so the performance it wuz performance like the movie with t in the role of rawk star - as much as playing singing - displaying confidence we dont really have and emoting a little over the top like and sounding casual (when have played the song daily working the arrangements )

so it wuz idk tbh - i guess ok maybe better - a little help from my friends more like cocker than ringo - and over the top dramatic - bare bones guitar in my sleep simple and for acoustic - brutal on the power chords but 1 bad note or chord could b fatal - and the crowd was talking loud enough i could here and now them onstage - it happens and at times myself a guilty party - its not a diss and by mid song we trance out together - decide to stick w plan of 1 song

and so tumblr still be wonky - af - its late stage dying platform ( but been that way for almost a decade ) so imma finis with the usual usual

hallelujah

anyway

[mus1g4]

Who the first guy you met in real life who also liked prison like you, what did you guys do?

My first real person is known to many as Joshua Ryan. He writes prison stories and collects uniforms. He talked to me online for more than a year about prison uniforms and prison. He told me of many adventures and made me describe fantasies and prison scenes in minute detail.

After more than a year, he told me I should go to Prison and invited me to a roleplay prison in Anaheim, California, known as RAWK, formerly MCP or Men's Central Prison.

The story of our meeting is long and involved but ended with lovely dinners at The Mission Inn at Riverside, California and at Sir Winston's on the Queen Mary in Long Beach, California.

We still collaborate on uniforms and talk. I count him amoung my best friends.

Question about my First Real Prison Conversations

[leembeanz]

been wanting to post a compilation of Louie pics from my instagram but waited til i could get some pictures of her with arizona teas...i've fed her many treats and got a goth-y lanyard to substitute as a leash so she can go on walks Safely. it is really fun to swaddle her.

cannot wait til Olive gets sent out so she can join in on adventures 🥺

[twentytwoarts]

i think a lot about mush's feelings towards grubba post chapter 3 bc i know he must have looked up to him being they were both individuals who took up fighting to escape poverty. he probably saw grubba as another father figure. i wonder what their last exchange was like after mush's resurrection. patching things up with rawk hawk was easy but it's near impossible to fix things with someone you trusted so deeply, who turned around and took your life and the lives of other fighters. i don't see mush as much of a crier but whatever final talk they had he definitely got emotional. ohhhh and mush is so angry at grubba for all the pain he's caused but part of him will forever view grubba as his mentor and pillar of support and he HATES it he hates things had to turn out this way because the grubba he knew was a good person.... so what happened....

maybe that's why mush cries. yes because he's angry but also he's mourning the loss of the man who gave him hope. hope for his family. hope for a better life

and maybe that man never truly existed, but it was real enough to him... that's all it needs to be in order for it to hurt

[kiwipineappleparasol]

TTYD Remake — Chapter 3, 4, & 5 Ramblings

I suddenly realized I forgot to post all my rambling here! And then I beat the game haha. But I will post my notes like I did not just Watch the Credits Sequence today . So do not fear! This is only for Chapters 3 4 & 5

I like when they show all the partners out together! Like at the Thousand year door or the blimp cutscene with them all riding together … That one made me unreasonably happy when starting chapter 3 haha.

I was . Literally kicking my feet giggling hysterically when I saw that the photo standee now actually does a little photo op??? I was sooooo happy oh my god . Noone asked for them to make the standee actually interactable to this extent but they did cause they could ! As a kid I would always pretend I was getting photos in it so this literally shot an arrow directly at my Child Self . This game is for meeeeee.

The fact your title screen has your Yoshi color on it! Suuuuuuper neat, I was quite surprised by it -- I just love the title screen in general . How everyone shows up as they join the cast! So fun. Another one of those details just added because they could ! I named my Yoshi Hot Dog by the way . And it was pink! I always wanted the pink one as a kid haha -- but I never got it.

I spent so much time talking to every NPC in chapter 3 it was embarrassing . And I don't think I even saw every piece of NPC dialogue despite my best efforts . Chapter 3 was such fun for me to go through I looooooove Glitzville . One of my favorite chapters for sure

I can appreciate how much foreshadowing there is for everything in this chapter now that I'm older… Bandy Andy and the Seven Wonders are an obvious example -- he directly foreshadows both Grubba's motive and his own demise. NPCs won't stop talking about Prince Mush, especially the juice shop lady -- who is obviously Jolene in disguise… My favorite might be this extremely obscure piece of dialogue if you talk to the freelance cameraman on the second floor, he tells you that Rawk Hawk used to be such a polite guy; he even sent Prince Mush a cake before their match! … Yep. Super Polite Guy! Bet that cake wasn't poisoned.

The way Bandy Andy's disappearance is like. All but unsaid is so cool to me. He just vanishes from the hallway and is silently replaced like nothing happened. But if you talked to him, you'd know exactly what he investigated that caused his disappearance. Loveee chapter 3.

Shellshock eating the cakes will never not be funny to me 🍰 that and him calling Mario "baby" is just inherently amusing to me. Mario is NOT your babygirl.... (End of Chapter 3 Notes)

THEY DID IT THEY CHANGED THE TRANSLATION !!!!! 🏳️‍⚧️ we looooooove you Vivian . I will give her The World . They also changed the translation for Jerry though too! Originally, he said he had to stop Luigi from wearing a dress ever again, but now he says he can't let Luigi fumble around in heels again because he might just kill someone . Jerry Character Development we love to see it .

I love the fact all the NPCs have different little voices it just adds so much … And I still can't get over all their cute little animations.

VIVIAN'S THEME IS SOOOOOOOOOOO GOOD!!! I will be listening to this Again . The spooky battle theme rules too . Such great Spooky Atmosphere they set with this chapters music and visuals .

Doopliss rocking in his little rocking chair was an absolute highlight for me . Look at him . I love his room so much . All he does is sit around, watch TV and curse the townspeople all day. He's bored!

the partner hints can be very silly . I really like how because Goombella DITCHED Mario for his poser in Chapter 4 that Vivian becomes the main partner hint girl for a time ! Love extra Vivian content .

I had the W Emblem badge when I got to chapter 4, but I was thinking that it wouldn't affect how Doopliss looked, let alone random NPC dialogue. But color me shocked when Doopliss stole the Wario Color Palette and the townspeople said he wore purple and yellow! This attention to detail is so cool.

The reveal at the end of the chapter ! How the paper ripped away to reveal his true form ! How Mario's shadow state was peeled off like a sticker! Finally a good use of stickers in Paper Mario . (Laughtrack)

My mother wasn't pleased that we had to beat Doopliss up because "look at him he's so cute he didn't do anything wrong." But she did say he should give up Mario's identity because his true form looks much better which is true. (End of Chapter 4 Notes)

Arfur saying he wants to talk to Swindell but he can't find him anywhere … You walk over two feet and see Swindell across the bridge. That got to me LMAO. That and Swindell calling some guy hopping into people's chimneys dashing. Happy Pride!

Mario tipping his hat to pay his respects to Scarlette …

FLAVIOS SINGING VOICE IS SO FUNNY. imagine being on a ship forced to listen to that for days on end.

The sequence of them all going overboard was Awesome love seeing everyone drown . But actually just so many of these cutscenes look so good in this remake !!! It's almost hard to appreciate them all because they set such a standard for them all!

Keyhaul Key looks so good actually. I mean I love all the new graphics in general it just really was hammered in here. Like wow. This game looks awesome. I love the battle theme here too.

Flavio and Pa-patch fighting over who's the Bravest Coolest Guy only for them to both quiver behind Mario is both entirely expected and very amusing. I Enjoy whatever is wrong with them.

(not) LORD CRUMP DOING THE FUCKING 👉👈 POSE??? hilarious. Also him Evilly Apologizing all the time. AND WHEN HE PICKED UP MARIO OVER HIS HEAD. why didn't he just drop him over the bridge and get it over with .

Koops saying "here I was feeling depressed … Mario, whack this guy" after they realized Bobbery wasn't dead . LMAO.

"Um. No. Not fair. I hate you all." Has got to be one of my top ten favorite lines from this game now.

The amount of joy Flavio riding on Yoshi with Mario brings is insane it's so funny to me. Two grown men piggybacking on a child . The only downside to the new pipe system is that you can no longer do the Flavio glitch and keep him forever.

Bobbery's partner hints are so full of personality… Also you can interact with the winch with every character and you bet I did that just to see what everyone said. I like how Koops didn't even know what the sluice gate was called, it feels very in line with him growing up in a peaceful village doing Nothing. Me too buddy.

I Can't Believe It Was Lord Crump This Whole Time! … Is what I would say if he hadn't told us earlier. I mean his disguise was flawless. Can you imagine Lord Crump doing this 👉👈? (Joking Statement)

CORTEZ SHAKING WITH RAGE WAS SOOOO FUNNY . He is SEETHING. also him eating the Skull Gem . Yum yum! I love this whole sequence with him and Flavio so much. His cabin is soooo pretty in the remake. They really went all out with the coins and gems here. I had to take so many screenshots !

THE SHIP FIGHTING SEQUENCE is great . I watched it twice just because I could .

I can't get over this dialogue from Pa-Patch after chapter 5 . The only explanations I can think of is 1: this is somehow offensive in Bom-Omb Culture or 2: he realized this sounded like he was flirting with a widower who just barely stopped blaming himself for his late wife's death. Bad look.

[wreywrites]

Wolf Songs

Jedi June Week 1

Prompt: Fun/Joy

A/N: Doing some extra scenes and some existing scenes from "The Protector," which is in final edits right now, so I'll start posting soon. Rather than first person from Ky's point of view, these will all be third person from other characters, kind of looking in at her life. Some of them will be Jedi, some won't. This week's comes at you straight from Creche Mom Le'Kal. Warnings: None AO3

Jedi Master Le’Kal Olto had raised three creche clans. Her first three she had made up little chants and mantras for, but this one, her fourth, she had decided to do something a little different. So the six crechelings of Wolf Clan howled.

They howled a lot.

They howled to the point where she sometimes wondered if she should apologize to the other creche masters, and Master Sinube, and Master Syssree in the laundry supply, and Master Yoda that day her half-dozen three-year-olds had burst into raucous howls at the end of their meditation session, and Master Nu when six five-year-olds entered the Archives as the model of respectful behavior and received a very stern talking to half an hour later for the same crime, and most of the Council, and—

Maybe she should issue a Temple-wide apology and tell her beloved creche that they must be polite with their howls, and save them only for game times.

Or, she thought, watching them line up for supper under the watchful and mostly helpful eye of Kit Fisto, the older Nautolan crecheling who often helped with their saber lessons and meditations, she could let it go on. There was no harm in it, and Master Yoda had simply chuckled at their antics, and Master Syssree had howled a raspy Trandoshan howl back to each of them individually as she handed them their new robes, and Master Nu… well, Jocasta could perhaps use a bit more levity in her life. Even if she was in charge of the Archives, and the Archives were supposed to be a quiet and respectful place of learning, and—

“Ready, little wolves?” Kit grinned at the six-year-olds lined up in front of him.

“Awooo!” they howled as one.

Most of one.

“Obi-Wan!” Keeli crossed her arms and bobbed her head at him, a Vurk expression of the highest disappointment on her face.

Obi-Wan barely looked abashed by this.

“You’re too serious!” Quinlan teased, turning around but not leaving his place in the immaculate line.

“I am the right amount of serious.” Obi-Wan held his head high, not looking at anyone in particular. “Being a Jedi isn’t all fun and games.”

Quinlan snorted, Keeli let out a rawk of disapproval, and Adi and Shaak, usually so strait-laced, actually stepped out of their places in line to look around Brallo, one on either side, and scrutinized poor Obi-Wan, who was perhaps now realizing his mistake.

“Being a Jedi is mostly fun and sometimes games,” Adi said, still leaning comically around Brallo.

Shaak, from Brallo’s other side, chimed, “Right, Le’Kal?”

Le’Kal smiled, took the briefest of seconds to arrange her thoughts, and said, “Being a Jedi isn’t all about having fun. However, it is important to have fun. It is much easier to find peace when you are happy and content, and it is easier to be content when you are having fun.” This, of course, being a teaching moment, she continued, “That does not mean you should howl all through meditations with Master Yoda this afternoon, but it does mean I want you all to be able to have fun with each other. It builds trust and friendship, and those things are important for Jedi. We are not meant to be alone.”

Le’Kal paused, looking at each little one individually, even Kit, who was feeling this divide more sharply than Wolf Clan, as the last of his own creche clan to not yet be a padawan. At fourteen, there was still time, but she knew it was hard for him, and she very much appreciated how well he put on a smile for her little ones.

She went on, “My creche-mates and I are still friends. We still share old jokes and stories from our time in the creche, and because we had fun together as children, we remain friends as adults and Jedi masters now, and because we are friends, we all know that we can call on the others for help and advice at any time. So…” Le’Kal paused, took a slow breath, and looked at each of them again, “being a Jedi is not all fun and games, but it is certainly harder without the fun and games.”

Wolf Clan looked at her with shining eyes full of awe, the Force’s current calm and cool and relaxed as they digested her words.

Kit, standing behind them at what had been the head of the line until they all turned around, smiled an almost disconcertingly soft smile when compared to his usual feral and toothy grins. If nothing else, he needed this.

Keeli broke formation first, bolting for Le’Kal and throwing her arms around the Mon Calamari’s middle in the biggest hug she could manage. Le’Kal barely had time to return the hug before the others swarmed them, surrounding her in a heartfelt group hug and warmth in the Force. Even Kit joined in, hugging her over Adi’s head.

Le’Kal simply radiated warmth back to them as she wrapped her arms around as many of them as she could reach.

Somewhere from the middle of the pile came a sigh and a quiet, resigned, “Awoo.”

“Awoooo!”

As the others started to howl with a vengeance, Le’Kal shifted one arm and ruffled Obi-Wan’s hair gently.

He smiled at her, looking a little rueful, then tipped his head back and howled again.

*****

Le’Kal’s datapad pinged. She glanced down at the table, confident that Shaak would alert her if something catastrophic happened as Brallo and Quinlan wrestled. They were usually careful, but she could never be completely sure. Thankfully, Shaak was responsible in the extreme.

It was a short message from Master Sinube: ‘Expect new initiate.’

She frowned. New? Six was too old, and any child younger than that would surely join one of the other clans, with children their age. She took a sip of tea and returned her attention to Quinlan and Brallo.

Next to her, Obi-Wan tensed and looked up with a sharp frown. “Is someone—?”

The door opened and there was Master Dooku of all people—soundly in the top five Jedi Le’Kal would never expect to bring new initiates to the Temple—and a girl, who did indeed look about the age of Wolf Clan.

She fed her flicker of surprise into the Force, smiled at the newcomer, and stood. “Master Sinube told me you were coming our way. Obi-Wan will welcome the company.”

Obi-Wan turned and shot what started as a shy smile but quickly became that famous winning grin of his at the girl. Le’Kal was quite sure her little wolves didn’t care about the species of their friends, but she also knew Obi-Wan didn’t always enjoy having to be careful of Shaak’s lekku and montrals, and Brallo’s lekku, and Adi’s tendrils, and Keeli’s head crest, and Quinlan was just different enough that Obi-Wan was always the odd man out. Another human would be good for him. Or at least give him a playmate whose head area he wouldn’t have to be so obsessively careful with.

The girl was grinning back at Obi-Wan.

Master Dooku inclined his head to Le’Kal. “Master Le’Kal, this is our hopeful initiate, Kylen Ydarra, of Vriis. Kylen, this is Jedi Master Le’Kal Olto. You will be in her charge for tonight.”

Le’Kal could feel cautious optimism from Dooku, and rampant excitement from Kylen Ydarra. It was a wonder the girl wasn’t visibly vibrating. “Force willing,” Le’Kal smiled, “for a few years yet. Let me introduce you around—”

Kylen suddenly spun around, reaching after Dooku, who had tried to slip out, as Jedi sometimes had to do when dropping off new crechelings. It was impressive how quickly most little ones became attached to whoever found them and brought them to the Temple and how little they wanted to be left with a group of strangers, even if those strangers were children their own age.

Kylen was staring at Dooku, the Force around her still overjoyed, but with the beginnings of anxiety churning beneath the surface. “You’ll come back?”

Dooku paused, then looked over his shoulder—very fondly, Le’Kal was surprised to see—and nodded. “I will see you at breakfast tomorrow, and then I will take you to the Council, and they will test you. After that, only the Force knows what will happen.”

“I know what will happen.” The girl did bounce on the balls of her feet this time. “They’ll let me stay.”

Dooku chuckled, then stepped out into the hallway and closed the door behind him.

Le’Kal gave the girl a moment to process this. The lesson of no attachments had to be taught early and reinforced often, and Kylen was already behind—though, at six, she must have chosen to come to the Temple rather than stay on Vriis with whoever was raising her. Selfishly, Le’Kal was interested to watch her grow, if only to see how her unique experiences would shape the Jedi she became.

“Kylen?” She spoke gently.

The girl turned around to face her. “Yes, Master?”

Le’Kal smiled. “You may call me Le’Kal. All the others do. What would you like us to call you?”

“Ky.”

“Very good.” Le’Kal gestured the others forward and put a hand on Obi-Wan’s shoulder before gesturing to the others in turn. “Now, this is Obi-Wan Kenobi, Shaak Ti, Adi Gallia, and Keeli Andrell. And my wrestlers are Brallo Kitari and Quinlan Vos.”

*****

Ky was right. She passed the Council’s test with flying colors and became the seventh member of Wolf Clan, and she howled along with the others at moments both opportune and otherwise.

Eight years later, Wolf Clan’s six padawans and one youngling stood from their table as one, howled, and scurried from the dining hall. Quiet, good-natured laughter followed them, and a fair few Jedi shot fond looks at Le’Kal.

Across the table, Ashda chuckled. “What mischief do you think they will get themselves into today?”

“I suspect a game of hide-and-seek tag in the West Garden. In fact,” Le’Kal stood and picked up her tray, “I may go and watch, for old time’s sake.”

Ashda nodded with a smile. “Have a fun afternoon.”

“I will.”

She did.

She did not arrive in time to hear the cackling laughter that came when Adi pushed Obi-Wan into one of the fountains to gain an advantage in their race to the circular bench on the far end of the garden to see who would be the seeker for the first game.

She did arrive in time to see Shaak jog by, smearing mud on her face to camouflage her brightly colored skin. The young Togruta smiled at her, then ducked into the trees. Le’Kal sat on a nearby bench, closed her eyes, and drew in a deep breath, letting herself drift into the current of the Force.

The Force was bright and warm with their joy and excitement, each of the children a bright spot, flaring nearly white against the peaceful green of the life in the garden. Le’Kal smiled and watched them through the Force. Brallo counted, his voice quickly slipping into the soft monotony of meditation. Keeli hid near one of the huge tree forts, grown for games just such as this; Quinlan on the walkway on the top level of the garden with Ky just below him on a fountain’s broad shelf top; Adi and Obi-Wan on a pair of small floating hedge mazes on opposite ends of the garden; Shaak climbed high into a boga tree and nestled herself into a crook in one of the larger limbs.

Le’Kal stayed on the bench for three wild games of hide-and-seek tag, basking in the warmth of Wolf Clan’s joy and laughter, smiling in the knowledge that no matter what happened to them, her little wolves would always have their pack.

Jedi were not meant to be alone, and these little ones would never be.

*****

It had been twelve years since the fountain incident, twelve years since Ky had finally become a padawan, and now she was the last padawan of Wolf Clan, the others all knighted and given responsibilities that made Le’Kal proud—Brallo a healer, Obi-Wan master to his own padawan already, Shaak a creche mom. It was that very creche that led to one of their wildest games of hide-and-see tag yet. Shaak’s Rancor Clan was on Ilum for the Gathering, leaving her with what Le’Kal knew could be a very overwhelming amount of free time. Obi-Wan’s padawan, who was a sort of honorary member of the creche clan since he was their age when he came to the Temple, had gone along, leaving Obi-Wan with an equally overwhelming amount of free time. Rather than use that time for napping and truly peaceful—rather than educational—meditations, the silly wolves had rounded up their creche-mates for an afternoon of chaos.

Le’Kal treasured it. She sat in the West Garden and observed their games through the Force, today a riot of color with their joy. She laughed aloud when Obi-Wan finally evened the scales and sent Adi tumbling into the fountain. When she went to supper a few moments after Wolf Clan, her heart was light and her spirit rejuvenated from the simple happiness the little wolves had exuded into the Force.

After supper, she followed them to the much quieter East Garden, where they settled in one of the grassy open spaces in a small circle, and, still smiling, began to meditate. She couldn’t resist.

“May I join your meditations, little wolves?”

Their eyes lit up as they opened them and saw her just outside their circle. They scooted closer together, looking oh so much like the six-year-olds they once had been, staring adoringly at her as she told them bedtime stories, only now, at twenty-six, they were, to a man, taller than she. But the way Ky and Obi-Wan grinned happily at each other, the way Brallo bounced in place, the way Shaak repositioned her montrals for optimum comfort—none of these things had changed in twenty years. They were still the little wolves of Wolf Clan, still prone to howling at inopportune moments, still so strong in their bonds of friendship and their dedication to the Jedi Order and all that it stood for, still warm lights in the Force, surrounding her and reminding her of the simple joys of life and the peace that those joys brought.

Le’Kal smiled and sat in the gap they made for her, between Adi and Quinlan. She knew they didn’t need her instruction any longer, but she couldn’t resist.

“Close your eyes, little wolves,” she said, voice soft and melodic.

They all drew a slow breath as one, eyes drifting shut, peace swelling in the Force, and still, underneath, that contagious joy bubbling up.

“I’m one with the Force, and the Force is with me.”

Another deep breath.

“I’m one with the Force, and the Force is with me.”

Seven voices, much less shrill and somehow both quieter and louder than they had been twenty years ago, joined her.

“I’m one with the Force, and the Force is with me.”

How could she feel anything but joy, surrounded by these bright lights that were the future of the Jedi Order? How could anyone worry when they heard the howls and laughter of Wolf Clan ring through the halls of the Temple?

Jedi were not meant to be alone, and as if to prove that they had learned that lesson well, Wolf Clan slept in a pile in the short grass of the East Garden just like they had when they were crechelings, and the Force danced around them.

[thisaintascenereviews]

Camp Is An Underrated Masterpiece: A 13th Anniversary Retrospective

Modern renaissance man Donald Glover put out his last album under the Childish Gambino moniker this past Friday. Entitled Bando Stone & The New World, the album serves as a soundtrack for a film of the same name, and it’s a fitting exit for the longtime moniker. Childish Gambino was started in the late 00s as Glover was working on his burgeoning comedy career, whether it was posting videos on YouTube with Derrick Comedy, writing for 30 Rock, or starring in Community, and having some standup specials, Glover also somehow made time for music. He released a few mixtapes in the late 00s, but 2011 saw the arrival of his debut album, Camp, and this album was a game changer. Not only did this album introduce people to his music, and how Glover could literally do almost anything, this record changed my life in a big way.

To put it bluntly, Camp was the reason I got into rap. You see, I was 18 when Camp came out, and by that point, I had only gotten into classic rock and metalcore / post-hardcore. Rap music was foreign to me, despite seeing stuff on TV and the radio. I was a fan of Community when it was on, and Glover was always one of my favorite actors on it, so I was psyched to learn when he had music out. I didn’t know or expect it to be rap music, but I remember being in my room and listening to “Bonfire” for the first time. It was one of those “this is what [insert genre] is??” moments, because I was surprised in the best way.

You have to remember a few things, too, because this was at the time when it was cool to hate mainstream pop / rap, and there were a lot of pop music reviewers on YouTube who looked down on that type of music. I wasn’t outright with it, but I just didn’t get into pop, rap, or anything like that, because it just didn’t seem interesting to me. I wanted my music to have guitars, as most “tr00 rawk” guys do, but as I got older, I wanted to expand my tastes a bit. I began listening to indie rock, and diving into stuff that was out of my comfort zone, especially something like Camp. I was in the mindset that a lot of rap was of the “money, sex, and drugs” variety, and had nothing to say outside of that, which is such a close minded thing to think, but again, I was a teenager who liked rock and metal music. What do you expect?

Camp surprised me by having a lot of things to say, whether it was about Glover’s racial insecurities, especially as a Black man that’s also “nerdy” (this was right around the time when being a nerd was becoming cool, instead of niche and weird), his relationship woes, talking about his career thus far, and trying to make a name for himself. There are plenty of clever, fun, and entertaining pop culture references. Some of these references have aged well, and some of them haven’t, but this was also in the time of what became known as “punchline rap,” where rappers would basically be standup comedians by using a line to build a setup and then end it with one word or a phase, usually some kind of pun. It was also known as “hashtag rap,” and a lot of rappers at the time did this. This was the rise of the blog era, too, as lots more people began using social media, so the Internet was booming.

At its core, though, Camp is essentially a pop-rap / alternative rap album, and aside from being Childish Gambino’s debut studio album, it’s also known for having one of the harshest Pitchfork reviews, and for a long time, Pitchfork really didn’t like Donald Glover’s music. Nostalgia aside, this record is a harmless pop-rap album, and if it works, good for you, but if not, there’s no harm in that, either. This record has a lot of solid hooks, good one liners, and production that’s held up over the years (despite how its sound is very influenced by Kanye West and Lupe Fiasco, who were both huge at the time).

It’s awesome, too, because not only Glover’s music would improve tenfold on other albums, but so would his lyricism, rapping, and singing. It’s pretty good here, but you can tell he’s getting into his own groove. This is a solid debut that you can look back at in retrospect and appreciate where he came from, but that Pitchfork review is still out of pocket all these years later. There are plenty other albums that could have made for a better “first rap album,” but Camp is still a great album. I have a lot of nostalgia for it, and it still holds up today, even if some of the language and references don’t hold up now or they’re just dated. This is the record that put Donald Glover on the map, and while his later albums would bring him more success under the moniker, this record always has a place in my heart.

[realindevelopment-returns]

Ask 18 and 24

a couple of tough ones here, thanks for the ask :) \m/>.<\m/

18:A song from the year that you were born

down at precinct 49, having a tear gas of a time. also just this year read a book about how important 10cc were in setting up a major recording studio over in manchester which broke the mold of all the fancy studios being in london (i'm not from england i just have a fondness for the manchester music scenes over the years. paul hanley's book 'leave the capital' is a cracking read for music nerds)

24:A song by a band you wish were still together

tough one as most bands from my peak are either on non speaking terms, filthy rich, dead poor or still touring in with or without significant members involved.

so this is really tough because i can't think of one band that i wished did one more - i can think of plenty of bands that probably should not have made the last one better; so i'm going to tackle this with bands that i think got a little fucked over by the front person. and there's 2 that spring to mind straight away.

talking heads

tina and chris, the bassist and the drummer, the engine room of talking heads i think got a little bit stiffed by david byrne calling time on the band. (jerry i think was more on wages than the other three founding members but i could be wrong)

silverchair

i'm not even into silverchair but this was a great song and showed they could have gone anywhere if they were on the same page. similar to talking heads, when the front says it's over there's no real recourse, i've got the other two's book (ben and chris - love & pain) on my wishlist for when i'm rady to tackle the rawk n roll memoir set again