#since everyone is drawing shadow in their own cultures

[wonderr-skyy]

Hug

[the-wanderer]

Netflix has seriously harmed it's reputation with how often it is now cancelling shows. What used to be seen as the go-to service for saving cancelled shows, has now become the very thing it swore to destroy {Hello There Obi-Wan Kenobi reference). Netflix likes to repeat it's standard line that they have never cancelled a successful show, but they conveniently never tell us how they measure success, because this doesn't ring true with their shows like Lockwood & Co and Shadow & Bone, that got to both Number 1 and Number 2 respectively in Netflix's own published streaming charts, and that still wasn't enough to save those shows from cancellation. Also Netflix clearly has favourites in terms of marketing, for example I enjoyed the show Everything Now, but you've probably never heard of it, and I searched Facebook - Netflix did one post about it when they dropped the trailer 3 weeks before it's worldwide release, and that was it; but other shows like Bridgerton, you can't fail to know it's there because they post daily about it on their socials for weeks up to and including release and for weeks after too. You even have actors in a new show saying they have to search their show to find it so they can watch and it's not even advertised on Netflix's own home screen, let alone anywhere else, so no wonder these shows get cancelled as they are never given a fair shot to succeed.

It seems unless you go viral or break Netflix's own streaming records, like Stranger Things or Wednesday, then even getting the number one or number two spot is not good enough to save a program from cancellation. Netflix needs to remember that not all releases are an overwhelming overnight success - even some of the best and most popular shows took a while to find their audience, like Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, The West Wing, The Sopranos, but then when they did find their audience they became what everyone was talking about, and people who had never seen the show, still knew about them from it's impact on the cultural audience. Somebody else said, and I truly believe it, that if Netflix had made Breaking Bad today, they would have cancelled it after two seasons, and then think what great storytelling we would have missed out on, all because the show wasn't a record hit in it's opening week.

And now Netflix finds itself in a self-fullfilling loop where they have now trained their audience to not try new shows and get attached as they'll likely be cancelled. Think about it, how many new shows can you think of on Netflix that got renewed last year. It only seems to be people will tune in for shows like Bridgerton, Emily in Paris, Outer Banks, as they have had time to grow with the characters, so now Netflix has got themselves in to a model where customers don't try a new show, like KAOS or Everything Now, and they'll wait and see if it's renewed, and when after only a month since it's release, it does indeed get cancelled, the consumer hasn't wasted time getting invested in a show & characters that get cut short, especially nowadays when there is so much to watch across traditional TV and now streaming services too, that just because the audience doesn't come running to watch as soon as it drops, doesn't mean it's not there or interested.

2025 see's the return of some of Netflix's biggest shows like Squid Game, Wednesday and Stranger Things, but 2 out of those 3 also end this year too and then what shows will be left that are associated with the Netflix brand - they had Stranger Things, House of Cards, Orange Is The New Black when Netflix first got going, it'll be hard to say by the end of this year what big shows Netflix will have left to draw customers in

Unless Netflix, and the wider industry, change their perception to not only see massive, viral numbers as success and that shows with strong-moderate success are allowed to grow and widen their audience, then there will eventually reach a tipping point where they will cancel one show too many that either customers leave their service, or creatives will decide that Netflix isn't a good partner to work with where you put years of work in writing, filming, producing, editing a project just for it to be cancelled a month after it's release, so if you have a story that needs more than one film or a one and done series to tell it in, then Netflix probably isn't your best bet any longer.

[thechthonicherbalist]

Hello what are the devotionals acts you do for the divinities you devoted yourself to ?

Cheers

Hii! Thank you for your question! Okay, so currently I can't do a lot for health related reasons. So mostly it's things related to surviving and healing, as I'm dealing with cancer, chemotherapy and the aftereffects of a bad mental health crisis. 🌼 I used to do a lot of other things while I was doing better, but in this context I also I need to point out that I grew up with the cultural and religious heritage of Judaism, Romani and a number of Indo-European practices, because I live here and my family has diverse roots (although that's not uncommon in Euroasia). It's things like festivities and customs, that are practiced locally or have been passed down within the family, which involve such acts. All that is very traditional and often very different for people who start working with deities or become member of these cultural practices and religions from the outside or a different background, as belief is always a very individual matter. Since some of my family's cultural and religious roots have been lost or buried, especially due to WW2 and it's aftermath, assimilation, relocation and simply generational loss of interest, I have also made big efforts since my childhood to learn about it and reconstruct. In other words, the way I practice is a mixed bag of different approaches. 🌈 And I do recommend to always try a bit to pave your own path in regards to how you want to practice. Of course it's also fine to draw inspiration from different sources. Actually that's a pretty good way to go about it in my opinion, as diversity keeps our communities and believes alive, evolving and growing and therefore seasonable and healthy! 🥰 If you want to participate or set up more traditional festive acts like the ones I mentioned above for yourself, I recommend researching the calendars of the cultures and religions you're interested in. Similar to the "default" Christianity, all other religions and cultures have annually repetitive practices that are worth looking into. You can also leave a comment with the religions you're curious about and I can see if I can find something to at least get you started on your research journey with some pages or terms to look into, if you want to go down that particular path. 🌼 (No pressure though, I understand that's not for everyone!) But ofc there's also rather personal devotional acts. 🙈 I'm a bit shy to share about this, but I'll take Hellenism as an example: In dedication the Hecate, I practice shadow work, rituals and ancestral work as my family does. In dedication to Apollo, I practice art, have spent my life doing dedicated work to learn about herbal and alternative medicine, picked up training and work as a nurse ages ago (I had to stop since) and I make many playlists, used to sing etc in devotion to him. My dream is to get and learn to play the lyre as a devotional act. In dedication to Ares, I have spent a long time working with him to be able to tap into my anger and deal with it in healthy ways, instead of dissociating it, learning and creating healthy boundaries etc. I made a post about my make-shift altar, where I address some of these things and just how personal and individual they can be, further below here:

Again, this is deeply personal, involves topics of my own personal history etc and also requires a bit of a trigger warning here and there.

I think devotional acts can either be traditional things, that happen in accordance with festivities etc. Or acts that are commonly associated with a deity's attributes (e.g. Aphrodite = love, self love etc; Apollo = healing, art, muses etc). Or things that match with these deities in accordance to your very core personality and current life situation. Or (and most importantly): Simple daily life things. 🌌 In my opinion it's an important part of the spiritual work and a devotional act in itself, to find out what works for you personally, to go on a journey to connect with your deities and believes and figure out what they mean to you, for what reasons you worship and what your hopes and your dedication to a belief or deity is made of. It's also a lot of fun and helps a ton with personal growth though, so don't feel scared or like this is a huge thing. It starts with small stuff, such as writing a poem, making a playlist and a lot of it stays small like this, always. It's also important to only do what's within your power and never go beyond that point, simply to please. Don't try to do things that you can't or that are too much or damaging. It will rob you of your joy in worship and burn you out, rather than give you the desired spiritual peace and connection. The big challenges and changes in life come around all by themselves & when you need a God the most and have to do the difficult things that help you progress? These are the big things you can dedicate to them & do with their help and guidance as well. 💕🌼 Sorry for the long text, I tried to cover a bunch of areas of information and I hope there's something in here that helps you!

[epicfroggz]

Would love to see more of your Messmer/Abyssal takes, it’s just really, really fresh and interesting!

Thanks y’all for the asks, I’ll be answering these under one roof since they work for a broad thematic post! On the subject of Messmer’s

Disorder

(long post ahead!)

Definition 1: “The disruption of peaceful and law-abiding behavior.”

If the law is the Golden Order, then the Abyssal Serpent represents the opposite of that, Shadow and Disorder. Seen in the contrast between his two phases: phase 1 Messmer is disciplined like his army, a little bit dramatic, and tired of his role in this charade. His lines are practiced and the way he says his own name worn out. Yet, my purpose standeth unchanged… Phase 2 Messmer, on the other hand, drops all such pretense, his strikes and movements becoming wild and exceedingly violent as he thrashes and twists and crawls upon the ground like the base serpent he is. He sheds all regard for his own safety, like Guts donning the Berserker armor—and the similarities don’t end there. Messmer’s beast of darkness may take on a serpentine shape, but it certainly still represents his hatred, bloodlust, and desire for revenge. Revenge, in this case, against the mother that imprisoned him—a curse upon thee. All his suffering and pent-up negative emotions that he has pushed aside for her sake have been concentrated into one being, and now he will inflict that pain upon you. Embrace thine oblivion, as shall I.

So no, the Abyssal Serpent is certainly not peaceful nor law-abiding; Messmer has forsaken the Order, and embraced his natural state of disorder. Become wild, and free. Returned to the shadows from which he draws his true power—that which made god herself fear him.

And that begs the question—why? Why does he exist? Why did Marika birth such an accursed child, the antithesis to everything she is trying to create?

“A curse upon the strumpet’s progeny, upon Marika’s children each and all.” (Hornsent Grandam dialogue)

“The seduction, and the betrayal. An affair from which Gold arose. And so too was Shadow born.” (DLC Story Trailer narration)

The Hornsent believe Marika’s ascension a betrayal. Their suffering, alongside Marika’s own suffering at the fate of her people, both coalesced into the twisted immaculate conception of a son. Messmer, son of Marika, who carries the burden of all their curses and despair, and keeps company with the original sin. This was the Greater Will’s “gift” to Marika upon achieving godhood—and so too was Shadow born. A painful reminder of where she came from, what it took to get here—and, since with his flame he could destroy everything she built, a reminder of her place. She is, as much as Miquella would have been, a divinity caged. (Reason #326 why Marika had Messmer sealed away in the Land of Shadow…)

Definition 2: “An illness or condition that disrupts normal physical or mental functions.”

Does the Abyssal Serpent have a personality—yes, Messmer’s! But more specifically, it is the personification (snake-ification?) of Messmer’s personality disorder. Before the seal, his behavior would have certainly fallen outside the norms of his culture and caused problems, as such disorders are defined. He had strange habits, was prone to violence, and often acted upon primal instinct. His overall experience was quite different from that of everyone else. Between his own serpentine nature and the winged serpents, his senses were sharper, he felt emotions (especially negative ones) more strongly, and occasionally transformed into a gigantic viper when he got too excited. As one does. This viper’s thoughts were essentially Messmer’s without the filter—just like him, it cares about the people that care for him, and wishes to hurt those that hurt him. Sometimes towards his mother it felt both, causing friction between them.

What may have just been the growing pains of his unusual existence, Marika saw as a sickness that needed to be cured. She was of the belief that the Abyssal Serpent was not an extension of Messmer, but a parasite clinging on to and ruining her beloved son. Her efforts culminated in the seal. She implanted grace into a being inherently graceless, and like some kind of conversion therapy, suppressed his true self. But that part of him did not and cannot just go away—there it writhes, behind his blinded eye, for only him to witness. For only him to hear its screams, to feel its pain. An eternity of suffering. As it thrashes, its hatred grows, manifesting as constant intrusive thoughts and vivid nightmares—symptoms not at all helped by Messmer’s inherent PTSD (this one I will diagnose outright—in my timeline, he was enlisted as a pre-teen and then the wars kinda never stopped).

Although she sealed the Abyssal Serpent, Marika recognized that Messmer’s drive to burn consume destroy everything could not be quenched. A drive that she herself caused and cultivated, and now feared. Hence, she gave him a target, the Hornsent, and while he was not looking, abandoned him with no way to return home. (Potentially at the behest of Radagon now that he is Elden Lord, who for ages has been wanting to excise the sinful impurity that is Messmer from his Golden Order.) Can you imagine what that does to a person?

I think I will never run out of things to say about him, but that is where I will leave it for now. The whole mental deterioration of Messmer and his army after being abandoned is worthy of another post (or, I think I may write a fic about it).

I will say, if you want more of my personal characterization of Messmer and the serpent within, you may wish to check out my fic! It’s in his POV and I really try to get inside his head (it’s so interesting in there)!

- Froggo

[districtxii]

Meta: Help Rationalizing THG Worldbuilding

I originally posted this on reddit, even though I'm not really a redditor, because I've had trouble getting much traction on tumblr lately. I just made this sideblog, though, so I decided to share it just in case anyone wanted to discuss this with me.

According to the first book, all we really get about the history of the world of Panem is:

everyone kind of knows their education of history is propaganda, even if they don't have the word for it

Panem is in what used to be called North America, but an unspecified series of natural disasters and wars led to the rise of Panem's current regime

it's the 74th Annual Hunger Games, meaning that it's been somewhere about 75-80 years since the ultimate conclusion of the Rebellion of the Districts against the Capitol, implying that there was some period of time before the rebellion of the Districts and the "Dark Days" during which Panem was the seat of power that was risen up against

Before the existence of the prequel novel, I think that some of us sort of thought that this pre-Panem era might have been the dying days of the United States. However, it seems that it's pretty impossible for that to be true, given how different socially and culturally the Panem of young Coriolanus Snow.

I think it is implied that the excessive reliance upon Greco-Roman pseudo-language, nomenclature, and symbols, was part of a concerted effort on the part of those pulling the strings - people like Dr. Gaul and her ilk - to evoke certain theoretical states of being, directly and intentionally evoking panem et circenses as a mission statement and a weird if-you-know-you-know kind of dig at masses who were kept ignorant, both in and outside the Capitol. (Of course, this is really convenient when you're a YA author trying to drive home and teach a point at the same time.)

However, this had already started before the Rebellion, making it clear that the Capitol was rebuilt much in its own image, even if certain things intensified. And the Capitol of the TBOSAS movie is one that evokes both familiar imagery from the original film triology and a much harsher imagery that draws on very harsh federal and classical architecture, mixed with a kind of Soviet propaganda flavored art style and brutalism. (I'm using these words with a vague understanding of what they mean but an acknowledgment that there may be better descriptions of what I'm talking about.)

This, in turn, perplexes me, because I had sort of understood the Capitol's decadence to have been very... LA-flavored from the start. I had presumed that the Capitol had a hard time that might have more resembled starving in a resort, the way Katniss describes the situation when they're infiltrating the Capitol in Mockingjay. I had also come to the Aha moment, a couple years ago when teaching The Hunger Games (the first book) to seventh graders, that the "Capitol Accent" was a future-evolved version of verbal fry a la the Kardashians or something. I thought that the Capitol population might have been a "Hollywood Elite" run inland to the Rockies due to, I dunno, part of California falling into the sea. I thought that this might have also gone along with the idea that power is in spectacle, and there are conservative people all over who yell and scream about the Hollywood effectively being some kind of lefty shadow government, or whatever.

TBOSAS threw this perception for a loop, when one sees that the color and glitz and glamor of the Capitol, having healed and vampire-sucked the Districts for seven decades, seems to have had a weird original story with Lucy Gray and Dr. Gaul's warring colors, spectacle, and appeal.

While the Tenth Hunger Games are wiped from record as best as they can, the collective memory of Lucy Gray and how much the people started to become invested in her, along with the spectacle of the snakes, pushed and impression of a wild, freer aesthetic -- at least in terms of a first domino falling. At least, that's my current perception.

But, as described, it really challenges my prior conception of what the Capitol is, culturally speaking, and where it and the rest of Panem came from.

The Covey, also, may be an even bigger thorn in my side in this regard. I absolutely love the representation of something of my Appalachian heritage in the music that is depicted in TBOSAS. I also love the way it filters down into Katniss's story. However, the existence of the Covey also seems like something very anachronistic even for this imaginary-future timeline.

During what kind of era and circumstances where the Covey's parent generation - Lucy Gray's mother and others - existing?

Was in the the Capitol era before the Dark Days war? It must have been, right? But what came immediately before that?

The Covey seem to draw some vague flavor from pop culture perceptions of the Roma (which is kind of weird for the Appalachians but who knows and Roma can be anywhere they want), but it seems even more rooted in some kind of spiritual connection to - for example - the Carter Family becoming involved in syndication and touring with music that was previously unknown to the rest of America and the world. With Bristol, Tennessee/Virginia, being the "Birthplace of Country Music."

But that happened during the early 20th century.

One presumes that the timeline of Panem and The Hunger Games diverges from our own sometime in our own future, but has this perception on my part been wrong all along?

Is The Hunger Games universe better-perceived as something like the Fallout universe where it's sort of a nuclear-power-arms-race-punk divergent timeline well BEFORE the apocalypse that resulted in the present dystopia?

I would love to hear anyone's opinion on this, whether it's a reassurance that "just don't worry about it" is the best approach or someone who's better at worldbuilding-brain than I offering some kind of explanation - whether based on canon or fanon.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts!

[writing-whump]

Character basics

[Picrew link]

Seline Silverstein

Feisty, opinionated, free-spirited

A young witch that recently moved to town. Studies Cultural sciences with focus on storytelling, popular culture and writing. Her magical affinities are water and air and her specialised method is singing. Sky witches are supposed to calm and soothe the shadow wolves, but Seline is too stubborn and angry for that. She wants to argue. She wants to fight. She wants a mission that would be worth it. How can she help other wolves with their tempers, when she struggles with her own? Daydreams, writes, sings. Lost in her own world half the time, makes her a bit oblivious. Prouder of being a scientist than a witch, but she is very good at both.

Isaiah Wolfson

Cautious, well-mannered, kind

Very powerful shadow wolf with unrivaled control to the point he doesn't seem like a wolf at all. Laid-back and friendly most of the time, when he isn't on the brink of violence. Passionate psychology student. Refuses to belong to any pack, which creates tensions in the pack hierarchies. Values freedom, good manners and often suffers for his pride. Always perfect, smooth, nothing ruffles me vibes. Has masks for every situation. Hardly let's himself relax. Has too much work, wants to save everything he comes across. Too nosy. Very very caring, everyone deserves love and kindness except me worldview.

Matthew Blackwell

Sarcastic, temperamental, protective

Matthew has a wolf's temper to go with even worse tempered angry personality. Bad combination. His shadow is too strong to control, some days he struggles to even think clearly. He doesn't belong, doesn't submit, doesn't care. Only maybe sorta not quite enemies with Isaiah. Interested in economics and bussiness making of humans, if only he could tolerate the classes better. When calm, he is the emotional barometer of the room and gets things quickly in his pack before Isaiah or Seline have a clue.

-> Matthew's sisters

Hector Wolfson

Competetive, hard-working, ambitious

Isaiah's younger brother. Extremely ambitious and competetive, wants to lead the biggest pack and control the city. Very angry with his older brother for not supporting him nor accepting his challeneges. Insanely competitive. Obsessed with being the best. Wants to he the leader, and means well, but he can't people for the life of him. His trademark attitude is love me or hate me, Idgaf. Does not understand his emotions or anyone else's. Prickly and fuming for the smallest thing.

Olive

Shy, artistic, determined

Olive is a human girl studying arts in Vienna, who often goes to the economy campus to draw. She also has a student job there as manager of the school's social media account. She is timid and compassionate, having hard time making her way through with people and gets emotional easily, but can be assertive in her own way and stand up for her passions, especially drawing, manga and anime. Rather withdrawn and introverted, she does believe in the best in people and carries a fascination and curiosity that make her inspired all the time.

Arnold "Arnie" Wolfson

Empathetic, manipulative, playful

The youngest Wolfson brother and a human. He is the one most in touch with his emotions and quickly understands circumstances and people. Often uses this to hit people where it hurts. A master of words, since they are his only weapon. Shameless enjoyer of life and pretty things, cares about style and appearance. Very loyal to those he loves, would go to hell and back for them. Also gets extremely jealous.

Dylan Silverstein

Friendly, carefree, lazy

Seline's younger brother. Shadow wolf. High school dropout lacking shadow discipline and ambitions. Outgoing and charming, makes friends easily. Very naive, mouthy, does not plan for the future at all. With a human family finds it hard to find a pack. Has little sense for wolf culture or proper manners. Irresponsible, no care in the world, gets defensive quickly. Often breaks taboos and things that are supposed to be impossible cause he didn't know they were.

Rip

Abrasive, snarky, fair

Street stray shadow wolf. 19 years old. Cynical as heck, been living on the streets since he was 13. His whole family is dead and he blames himself for it. Excellent fighter respected by most street wolves, especially in the fighting rings. No formal education whatsoever, learned everything on the go on his own. Perceptive and great judge of character. Very strong sense of justice he thinks is a weakness but can't shake.

[lordleonster]

at first glance on the academy grounds, Eldigan thinks he is seeing a ghost. After all, everyone he knows should be gone or dead. And yet he'd know that silhouette and umber-colored eyes anymore. But could it be? Could it really be? Was this not life playing cruel tricks on him? Shadows, dancing in a dangerous scheme, inviting him to play, but knowing that the cannot stay. No, Eldigan cannot believe it. Refuses to. But the way Quan moves seems so lifelike. The way his smile draws in warmth reminds him od days bygone when they once shared friendship. He wants to reach out and test the waters but what if it's a false shot... But what has he left? Eldigan has already failed as a knight....As a father....as a brother... Closing his eyes, he calls out for one of his dearest allies. "Quan!" his voice starts, a bit shaky, unsure of himself. Since when has he become so insecure? That's not the stalwart knight he's known himself to be. But now, in the foreign land where he is stripped of everything and everyone he knows, who is to say? All that's left is for the man to respond. Please. "Is that really you, Quan?" Eldigan nopes - nay - prays, that the desperation is not literally dripping from his voice, but loneliness does not bode well on him. "What brings you to the officer's academy?"

Old friend of mine, where have you been? / With my knuckles tracing ebbs / I kneel before the shore. / Asking to bottle our last days together. / Like a ship out in the black sea.

Quan remembers a time when Leonster hailed at the height of its cultural surge, opening the castle gates for all to attend its open-theatre plays and stroll through hand-selected art galleries in its gardens. It was a glorious time—though its memory now rasps dry and chapped, for he is unsure if glory is the veneer of something true, or something that could be chipped away with his thumb. The voice he remembers is— was an actor in his prime rapping his knuckles against the stage floorboards, with tears so real Quan could have caught them himself. Old friend of mine.

He shakes the voice in his head, it shakes him back— as he spots him immediately. There's a sort of parting of seas when his friend walks, there's a sort of quaking of sands when his back straightens.

Where have you been?

There's a feeling that shivers and sways, holding onto a bottle with a ship inside— shaking it until the sea becomes sand. The voice inside his head becomes his own, and he feels his heart drop onto the floorboards.

"Eldigan!" He dives for it, the actor in his head dives for it. That sentimental heart of his still has its worth. Quan grips Eldigan close, one hand parsed on his shoulder, the other gripping his free hand in a tight greeting. Quan can feel the shake in the man opposite of him, and he fears the same can be said about the reflection. "You're here!" Alive! The voice in his head gasps. Where have you been?

Quan's the first to grin. It's a reassured one, a confident one. It's the one his daughter has damned. His stern brows sharpen, to pull them both by the heart back onto their feet. "Family. Of course. As you are."

"My god, you look like you've seen a ghost." His teeth show, grinning even wider. "Don't look so somber, my friend. You know I keep my promises."

On that stage, the actor cries tears so real Quan could have caught them himself. On this stage, Quan feels close. He feels Aed, he feels loss, he feels lost, he feels—

Old friend.

He feels at home. "And I said my strength was yours, whenever you would call me."

Where have you been?

[goodnightwish-s]

Alaric Design #5

second last oc redesign, Alaric :) this character also belongs to my partner, and him and Delaney have gone through the most redesigns actually. Like I think both of their titles are wrong it might be 5 but I don't wanna check LMAO (i checked and edited them)

leaving a note that I put on twitter too, I need to study anatomy n such a lot more to properly draw him, but I got all the time in the world and I'll get to it eventually :)

Unlike the other characters, Alaric doesn't exactly take inspiration from a certain country's culture, but from the druidic culture, which I guess you could say from the Celtic culture too. In his case though, he's been isolated from the rest of the country his whole life. He was never actually meant to be alive for as long as he is and was basically forced into hiding. Although in his case, he could've changed his appearance, lied, fit in with the crowd, but he grew to just love the forest and nature itself.

With a smile like no other, Alaric bears a wide, toothy smile, handed down from the previous Vessel of Alteration. It's almost... everlasting. One would rarely see his smile falter, even when in slumber, his smile continues to remain.

His clothing is all hand-made, learning how to sew and create on his own so he can remain independent. His furs come from animals that had naturally passed, allowing their flesh to rest in the earth but their skins live on with him. This along with the skulls he wears on his body, some animals were more important to him that others, they had been with him since they were young, he watched them grow. His bag that he carries has infinite capacity, which is related to his abilities in alteration.

A lot of the scars he gained came from simply growing up. I completely forgot to note the meanings down in the image so i will here :') Many of his scars come from battle training with a creature named the Anaithnid. A scar unignorable is the massive gash across his chest that was caused during an incident in his childhood. A tyrannical leader had ravaged through many smaller towns, specifically of those who follow Shadow and Alteration. Killed everyone and then left. A guard with a holy, but not consecrated weapon, had slashed at Alaric, ripping through his flesh and causing a wound that will never disappear, but will still heal over time. The burns on his chest and leg come from the same incident, his home was burnt down and he was caught in it. A smaller detail is the scar on his right arm, a stab wound, one caused by a civilian of a certain town under that leader, found disgust in him and tried stabbing him as Alaric tried running away.

Sorry this was late :( I completely forgot to complete it when I finished the drawing, and THEN I was at a school camp (it's my final year I can't refuse that). Azriel will be posted tonight along with his twt and bsky post too!

[theonespoopyghost]

Chapter 2: Haunted At Home

Kikuko returns home, and examines the leftovers of her life.

Contains the following updates:

1E - Goodbye To The Graveyard 1F - Cue The Angst Interlude - Second Incantation 1G - Family Matters And Broader Concerns

~~~ .oO◯Oo. ~~~

1E - Goodbye To The Graveyard

"Ah, sorry," you say, thinking quickly, "I just wanted to move around a little bit. I'm still listening." You decide not to mention the meeting. Even if Death never told you to keep it a secret, it just feels like something meant to stay between you and her.

The stranger doesn't seem to notice anything amiss, continuing on obliviously. "Alright then. As I said, I imagine all of this at once is a surprise to you, so for now I'll give you time. Always have to account for culture shock, and all that. I can take you somewhere else if you want, or would you rather stay here?"

You glance around. The graveyard is silent and empty, a little bit gloomy but mostly just boring. "I'd like…" You glance down at your arms, remembering that you're invisible now, even if it doesn't really seem like it. "I'd like to go home, I think." It may make you feel worse, but you want closure. You want to see your parents again.

"Where do you live?" The stranger asks, and you tell them. They beckon you to follow, returning to the strange doorway in the back. They raise one shadowed limb toward it, and it suddenly sinks down into the earth, before rising back up looking slightly… different, more normal if anything. You open the knob, and on the other side, impossibly, is your room. "I'll return for you later," the stranger promises, and you walk through.

As soon as it shuts, the doorway vanishes, leaving you alone in your room. Given the funeral, you know intellectually that some time must have passed since your death, but it feels to you like you left only just this morning, and that illusion is supported by your surroundings, unchanged in the least.

What does your room look like?

A Total Mess Lived-In Nice And Neat

What sort of hobbies did you have?

Drawing Cosplay Fashion Videogames Tabletop Games Singing Guitar Photography

~~~ .oO◯Oo. ~~~

1F - Cue The Angst

Now that you look about, it's really untouched. Honestly, the place is kind of messy; not nearly as bad as it could be, (or has been in the past) but with the healthy clutter that signified it was comfortably lived-in. You're not sure whether to laugh or wince at the irony. There are papers everywhere, sketchbooks and loose sheets, all drawn on, from silly doodles to beautiful works of art. (Or at least everyone told you they were beautiful; personally, you've never been completely satisfied with more than a handful of them, and you suspect even a few of those won't hold up in a year or two.)

The closet door is half-open, and peeking out are your other big projects - a couple being unique dresses that you came up with the designs for, but the vast majority of them are costumes for cosplay. Some from recent popular anime, a few more from games you like, and even some taken from western superhero action movies. You've only once worn one in public, when a convention was staged in your city for once, but mostly it's been a personal thing. You're not necessarily shy about it, but neither did you feel the need to flaunt it about except in the most permissive of circumstances.

On your desk -surrounded by additional sketches- rests your desktop computer, and on the shelf above is a whole row of cases for game disks. (You also have a console underneath, that you had convinced your younger brother to rig into connecting with your monitor; he's much better at that hardware finagling than you. Ah, young kids these days and their technology… You also have a few books for tabletop gaming, but given your lack of connection to most of your peers, you had to resort to dragging said brother into a short campaign. Then he soon became too bored to continue, so you were left simply playing on your own.

It got depressing fast, and you haven't really touched them recently.

Aside from that, there's not much of note. An acoustic guitar rests across your messy futon, the remnants of your all-too-brief musical phase - you were sure you were getting better, but noise complaints from the neighbors across the alleyway, combined with a scathing brotherly critique of your singing, put to rest any serious thoughts of pursuing the skill. Still, on occasions when you've had the house to yourself, you've managed to look up advice online and get some practice in. You've still been too self-conscious to ask your family if you've improved any, but you hoped it wasn't as painful nowadays. Finally, forgotten atop the dresser is a camera from a few years back, when you'd tried to get into photography. That, too, was an ill-fated endeavor, though less from lack of skill and more the simple fact that you feel more comfortable depicting life with a pencil in hand.

All told, it's an artistic but somewhat eclectic set of hobbies you've managed to waste your short life on, though you prefer to think of it as versatility. It's kept you occupied, at the very least, though your passion for your drawing and your sewing are very real.

And suddenly it hits you - you can't come back to this, can you? You could pick the pen back up and resume where you left off, but if your family noticed new drawings appearing, or your sewing machine seemingly operating itself, it would terrify them. They weren't inclined toward superstition in this day and age, but everyone had their limits. Your own skepticism had been shaken today, by events too strange to conceivably ignore. There is the remote possibility that this was all some strange dream and you were in a coma in the hospital or something, but somehow you found yourself doubting that.

You wind up lying down on the edge of the futon, plucking at guitar strings idly, just quietly enough to avoid being overheard. Outside the window, the stars twinkle distantly, almost drowned out by the glow of city lights below, and a sudden feeling of hopelessness washes over you. Sure, there's this whole 'magical girl' schtick that you remember just enough from those childhood anime reruns to understand the basics of, but the rest of the time? The protagonists of Mystic Midnight Voyager Kairi may have flown off all over the world on their brooms every night, guided only by the moon and stars during the hidden thirteenth hour only they could experience... but once the sun rose, they all still had to return home to deal with school and homework and friends. You, however… you are completely unmoored; you are past all of that now. To the world at large, you may as well be dead… Wait, no, you are dead, which just somehow makes it even worse. You can't just pick up where you left off.

Maybe coming back here was a mistake.

Standing back up, you drift over to the door (your door, not the strange one your benefactor had summoned) and gently, quietly, turn the knob. Even if nobody can hear or see you directly, you don't want to take the chance of freaking them out over things you're interacting with.

The hall is silent and empty; your brother's door is closed shut, no light coming from underneath. You can hear a noise coming from downstairs, too, so you carefully step toward the stairs, a lump growing in your throat.

But before you reach the top, you notice the full-length mirror hanging on the opposite end, right between your door and the one for your brother's room. To your surprise, you can see your own reflection clearly in it. Guess that's one myth debunked… or wait, wasn't that vampires? Either way, it's a surprise to you, and you wonder if anyone living would be able to see you in the reflection as well.

You'd better leave quick before someone comes and tests that out, but before you head down, you take a moment to look yourself over. You look just the same as on the day you died, perhaps just a little before the actual accident. (Going by the lack of blood on your outfit.)

What Do You Look Like?

[Plan Slightly Spooky Appearance]

Height: Medium-Short Hair Length: Medium Bangs: Parted Hair: Platinum Eyes: Purple Skin: Pale Body Type: Feminine Outfit: Casual Weekend Wear - Sweater Vest & Skirt

~~~ .oO◯Oo. ~~~

Interlude - Second Incantation

Swirling around but moving strong My power pushes the world along Through many masks and many names Always in flux, but toward good aims

~~~ .oO◯Oo. ~~~

1G - Family Matters And Broader Concerns

You're just on the shorter end of average, with a petite figure and pale skin and pale hair - made even whiter by your newly deceased status. (It's ironic in a way; becoming a ghost doesn't seem to have changed you too much, at least visually speaking.) Your eyes stand out, though, a dark purple shade that in the dark hallway look like black holes, creeping even yourself out just a tad. You're wearing the same thing as on the day you died; an argyle sweater vest over a dress shirt, a pleated skirt that ends just above your knees, and long socks. Perhaps some would find it a bit ostentatious, but you like it.

The sound from downstairs comes again, jolting you from your self-reflection. Right.

Slowly making your way down, carefully avoiding hitting that one creaky step obligatory in every staircase, you find yourself in the living room; the front door's off to your left, while the dining room and kitchen are to your right. That's where your parents are, their backs to you; your mother slumped over a cup of tea at the table, your father standing behind her, rubbing her shoulders comfortingly. Both look unbearably sad, yet neither speak, the only sound being the occasional sigh and sipping from the cup.

It's strange, to be standing right in front of them yet know they can't see you. To know why they're grieving, but unable to stop it.

Or can you? If you transformed right now, you could talk to them. Tell them you're still here, in a manner of speaking, still watching over them. But how would they react to that? Fear? Denial? (If your brother died instead, and reappeared saying he was now a magical girl, you'd probably think the grief had driven you crazy…) Or acceptance? You just don't know.

Do you reveal yourse-

The doorbell rings suddenly, and your father goes over to get it; you shrink aside to avoid bumping into him. The moment has passed for now, stopping you from doing anything rash, but the temptation remains in the back of your head.

Anyway, the door opens to reveal a rather androgynous stranger dressed in a business suit, and your father steps closer to prevent them from entering. "Is this the Yukimura household?" The voice, equally gender-neutral, seems oddly familiar.

"It's rather late," your father says, somewhat stiffly. "What's this about?"

"Ah, sorry," the stranger says, glancing about the room over his shoulders, before meeting eyes with you and winking, a subtle black mist appearing around them for just a moment. Your own eyes widen suddenly, and you realize who it is. That was… faster than you were expecting. "I'm from the school district, heard about what happened with your daughter. I realize now isn't the best time, perhaps, but I wanted to arrange a meeting for later to discuss what to do about that."

"I'm not sure what there is to discuss, but very well." Your father says. "I'll call tomorrow. What's your number?"

"Ah, let me see…" The stranger digs in their pockets before handing him a business card, then bows slightly at the waist and turns to leave. "I look forward to speaking with you tomorrow, then. Have a good night."

"I'll try," your father mutters, stepping back from the door for a moment - just long enough for you to dart through. He slams it shut just a second after you clear the frame, and you nearly tumble down the front steps in surprise.

Once again shrouded in black mist, the stranger stands before you. "We have trouble already," they explain. "So you'll have to jump into action a little earlier than I anticipated. The good news, though, is that you'll have backup; I was able to convince one of the the other candidates to join as well, before I was notified of the brewing incident."

You wonder who it might be, or if you know them at all, but there is of course the bigger issue at hand. "Right, you were going to tell me what the problem was… What can I expect?"

What scenarios will you be facing?

Dubious Dopplegangers - 1 Point (Clones of random people have been appearing in the city lately, living lives in parallel with their lookalikes. It's not been causing any problems so far, but there's something strange about the whole scenario…) ~~~ Worrisome Discovery - 1 Point (Human scientists have recently stumbled across strange technology from an ancient tomb, and there's reason to believe that if they figure out how to activate it, severe consequences could follow.) ~~~ Corrupted Monsters - 2 Points (Human civilians have recently been turning into monsters at random. The incidents have been covered up and they can be turned back to normal, but someone still needs to do the legwork to save them from themselves and figure out why this is happening.) ~~~ Slumbering Terror - 2 Points (A long-dormant western dragon sleeps beneath the city, and if awoken, its reign of fire would be devastating. A cult dedicated to unearthing it plans to dig down and wake it up.) ~~~ Dark Portals - 3 Points (Strange portals have begun opening up at random, sending people to a hidden dimension, inaccessible to the stranger. Someone needs to go through and find a way to bring the vanished people back.) ~~~ The Godfather - 3 Points (A local Yazuka branch has undergone a shift in leadership, and the new head honcho is suspected to be a dark mage in disguise. Even if it's outside the usual job description for a magical girl, someone needs to infiltrate and bring them down from the inside.) ~~~ Mysterious Juggernaut - Locked In (An unstoppable, unidentifiable entity has been causing direct problems for the stranger's organization, and it's coming to your city soon.)

[Plan Monsters and Mysteries]

Dubious Dopplegangers Corrupted Monsters Slumbering Terror Dark Portals Mysterious Juggernaut

~~~ .oO◯Oo. ~~~

Previous Chapter - Main Index - Episode Index - Next Chapter

[aninsecurewriter]

American Gods - Book Review - 4.5/5

American Gods is one of those books that most people know immediately. Personally, I had been really interested in reading it for quite a while. The concept as a whole was fascinating and allowed for so much creative flow in terms of the shape that these gods could take, questions such as "What are things that we worship in our modern society and how would these shape a god" rising from it. Overall, from reading this book, I felt it matched my expectations and, in part, exceeded them. However, in one area I did feel quite let down.

Everyone who knows Neil Gaiman knows that he is on the forefront of impactful and creative plots in literature today, and this book showcases that perfectly! Gaiman weaves this beautiful story, showcasing the unseen war between the gods of old with the gods who have arisen from modern America. Interspersed throughout the novel as well are sections where we learn of some of the immigrants who came to America, and the gods who came with them. How the gods of old are now battling for life in a world that is slowly killing them with a lack of belief and worship. We follow Shadow as he navigates this world that, since boyhood, he has felt connected with although he never knew what it was. As Shadow learns of the gods, their struggles, and how he fits into this mysterious war. The plot of this book is a definite highlight, a slow build towards an inevitable war but the journey made all the more interesting by the discovery we go on alongside Shadow.

A part of this novel that I adored was the character Gaiman crafts. As someone who grew up reading tons of old folktales from different cultures seeing them retold in this completely different settings gave me a feeling of nostalgia I never knew I needed. Seeing characters such as Anansi and Anubis making their way outside of their culture and their different paths made me so much more invested as it felt like reading of a childhood friend. For that alone, I love this novel. However my one quip with this novel comes here. My biggest draw for this novel was to read about the ideas and concepts of "new gods" and what do they look like, act like, how have we as Americans created them and subsequently become enslaved to them. However, aside from a few, we really didn't meet any. The ones we met were great but the continual name drops showed that the idea for more was there but it was never fully shown. I was quite disappointed by this as I felt it was an amazing concept and so much more could've been done with it, to add to the folklore with new characters as well as building upon what was there.

Obviously, the world building in American Gods is incredible. One of my favorite types of worlds are ones where it's almost ours. Worlds like Percy Jackson, Harry Potter, most horror fiction in a way, and Miss Peregrine's. This novel fits perfectly into it. The world is recognizable as ours, but there is so much more to it that the typical people of the world can't see. That's what makes it so beautiful, these subtle yet drastic differences in the world. Exploring something that's hidden yet so plainly in sight, the undercurrent of even our own world and the idea that we're gonna be worshipping something, no matter what it is. It's this thought that crafts the world of Gaiman's America, where the gods of old live in, sometimes, harmony, and we see their interactions with the more modern world as it is ever changing.

I think Gaiman has proved over and over again that he is a master at writing, one of those writers who will go down as a classic from our time. He harnesses this ability that all writers crave, to be able to create a beautiful idea from a simple sentence. To leave readers desperate to hear more through just five words. It's what becomes the heart of the book, the voice of Shadow as he makes sense of a world beyond typical comprehension. And through these struggles we see Gaiman's prowess at crafting a typically difficult concept and making it into something which causes the reader not just to understand but to truly think.

The novel was an absolutely beautiful one! The idea and concept behind it were enough to capture me and throughout the whole novel it kept dragging me further into this world. The characters he crafts are masterful, and aside from my own gripe I really struggle to fault this novel. I just hope maybe, one day, he'll do something to explore it even further.

[deepergrooves]

A Journey Through the Shadows: From Endtroducing….. to Action Adventure 

Exploring the evolution of DJ Shadow, his latest album and last months Vancouver show

Every artist follows a different journey in the pursuit of creativity but Josh Davis (aka DJ Shadow) has taken a truly unique and personal route by digging, editing and slowly crafting his way into focus in a way that had never been done before, using the work of others to create an entirely new sound. Having emerged from record store basements with sample-only bedroom productions and subtle but ear catching-ly emotive MPC edits, Davis defined a trip hop adjacent instrumental electronic hip hop sound as the flagship import and breakout artist for James Lavelle’s fledgling UK label Mo Wax. 

The track that caught Lavelle’s attention, a 1996 scratched up Shadow edit of Zimbabwe Legit encapsulates the sound he would go on to define with brash hip hop drums, eerie backing melodies, off key heart-string-tugging chords and comedy album sketches all mashed together in a pastiche of reference points that draw you in for a distinctive sensory ride.  

Since that release his output has seen a number of iterations and stylistic changes but grounded in an authenticity of spirit with Shadow refusing to be pigeonholed, choosing instead to define his own journey as an artist. 

Last month DJ Shadow returned to Vancouver for the first time in 7 years to showcase his latest offering, Action Adventure. In this piece I will explore his journey to this point, details of the show and delve into this latest release. 

'Endtroducing…..' expectations and the emerging from the shadows

There is often a hint of expectation from fans, myself included, when a DJ Shadow release is announced. Will he return to the deep, personal, introspective and sample cloaked 'Endtroducing.....' formula showcased on his seminal debut album that we all fell in love with? As time goes on I have come to accept that Davis is not somebody who looks backwards or feels that he is in service to the masses in that way. He once joking said ‘Fuck em’ when asked will the fans appreciate his stylistic changes post 'Endtroducing.....', but anyone who follows Shadow knows that he is deeply committed to searching for the most meaningful and truest expression of the culture, and sincerely and generously connecting with the fans who support his work. 

It may not be what we want, but it is who he is, and as time goes on it is what I am beginning to appreciate most about him and other artists who have followed this model (see Andre 3000’s recent left turn for example). It is this very approach that led to 'Endtroducing.....' after all, at a time when sampling was akin to stealing. A commitment to chasing what feels most true, new and innovative.  

On reflection, the nostalgia that surrounds 'Endtroducing.....' seems more like a longing for the feeling it evoked for any fan then a realistic outcome. The cords from 'Entroducing......' classics like ‘Building Steam with a Grain of Salt’ struck deeply. It felt like the album belonged to the introverts and night owls who longed for an emotional feeling or connection to music that can be found through the carefully selected samples, collaged to create a beautiful tapestry of sound. We were all experiencing ‘Midnight in a Perfect World’. 

Everyone has their own connection to the 'Endtroducing.....' record. For me it brings me back to the early Limewire and Myspace era, stumbling through Allmusic genres and file downloads in the wild west of the internet as downloading MP3’s became the new crate digging. My dormant, incubated appreciation for 'Endtroducing.....' was released a few years later when I heard it playing at a hostel in San Francisco and fell in love with it all over again and it has never really left my musical psyche since.  

UNKLE and authenticity

Post-Endtroducing, Davis continued to work from London and went on to collaborate with Mo Wax’s James Lavelle on the UNKLE project. The highly anticipated ‘Psyence Fiction’ album drew in a host of incredible names from Thom Yorke and Richard Ashcroft to Mike D from the Beastie Boys in a cartoonish, hip hop led, stylish, super group, hidden behind the two UNKLE characters and laying the blueprint for Gorillaz and other mythical groups. 

Shadow infamously left UNKLE shortly after the release with Lavelle requesting writing credits on the Shadow produced tracks and the two seeming to grow apart. Shadow preferred to concentrate on his own projects and collaborations with artists from his Quannum collective (affiliated with artists like Lateef the Truth Speaker, Blackalicious and Souls of Mischief who I recently profiled for their 30th anniversary Vancouver show) whom he felt he was neglecting by focusing on UNKLE. The story is covered well (albeit from Lavelle’s perspective) in The Man from Mo Wax documentary and the two have since buried the hatchet with Shadow performing at Lavelle's UNKLE Meltdown exhibition/festival in Southbank London.

Since leaving UNKLE, Shadow has gone on to release numerous solo albums primarily exploring the fusion of electronic and hip hop sounds, even splitting these genres across two albums on his 2020 release ‘Our Pathetic Age’. Until now I haven’t engaged deeply with his modern back catalogue, apart from a dip in and out for each new release and finding a standout track here and there. Having re-engaged with his work for a radio show celebrating his history I have found a golden thread and a new appreciation for the artist, music and man that is DJ Shadow. 

DJ Shadow returns to Vancouver Vogue 

Shadow’s live show has seen an evolution similar to that of his production career over my lifetime. My first Shadow experience, discounting a Shadow-less UNKLE show in 2007, was his incredible Shadowshepre Orb tour in a hotel function room in Galway back in 2011 where I was lucky to be handed one of a few mix CDs from Shadow himself (I hope it will turn up in a storage box some day!). I also attended the London ‘Mountain Will Fall’ tour in 2016 in service of the heavy electronic soundscape album of the same name which remains one of my favourite modern Shadow outputs.    

So on to this show. After a fast paced warm up from Holly which put the Vogue Theatre sound system through the motions, DJ Shadow took to the stage to a warm and appreciative reception. He gave a brief intro in which he thanked fans, asked people to be respectful of those looking for a phone free experience and acknowledged how privileged he was to be playing his first North American show in 7 years. 

Shadow opened with blade runner style graphics over his ‘Slingblade’ track from 2019’s ‘Our Pathetic Age’ double album. Track names were helpfully displayed over visuals throughout the show with a pre-set backing mix which Shadow scratched, and even drummed, over throughout using an electronic drum set that sat above his Pioneer DJ setup.

Shadow moved through a number of tracks from this era, dropping in some earlier edits such as an unrecognizable ‘Scale it Back’ production with Little Dragon, rarely tapping into 90’s or even early 00’s materials in keeping with his commitment to pushing things forward. There were some exceptions with UNKLE’s Richard Ashcroft collaboration ‘Lonely Soul’ receiving a strong reception and mixing nicely back to ‘C.O.N.F.O.R.M.’, a song featuring clever raps depicting the modern experience of technology and social media from a selection of Quannum artists. 

The standout moment for me was the dropping of the weighty ‘Juggernaut’ accompanied by striking visuals of dandelions and deserts in keeping with the deep, heavy drum patterns. Similar soundscapes and tracks were paired with some of Shadows' slower, high production value tracks such as ‘The Mountain Will Fall’ which followed an astronaut through a space of purple and dark red in keeping with the album cover for this title track.

Another section of the show went through some of Shadow’s more recent brash hip hop tracks with notable collaborations that keep some of the aforementioned depth of sound but with a contemporary hip hop outlook. Shadow rattled through songs like ‘Systematic’ featuring Nas, the fast paced ‘Rosie’, ‘Kings and Queens’ with Run the Jewels and Shadows ‘Holy Calamity’ production with Handsome Boy Modelling School, a project from one of DJ Shadows inspirations, sampling pioneer Prince Paul. 

Shadow gave a specific shout out to Todd Curry who he said may or may not have been in the crowd and had been another big influence on his work and his creative approach showing him the possibilities of sampling through his old mix tapes. He also called out the new single tracks ‘You Played Me’ and ‘Ozone Scraper’ on separate occasions. These tracks, among other singles from previous albums, were accompanied by their music video rather than curated visuals which took away from the incredible aesthetic of the first part of the show somewhat but not enough to affect the overall experience. 

The goose bump inducing keys of ‘Blood on the Motorway’ took us into an electronic interlude which brought a slight lull, and featured extended drumming from Shadow, but this pre-empted and set up a final lift with some big crowd favourites like ‘Nobody speak’, ‘This Time (I’m going to try things my way)’ and ‘Six Days’. 

For the encore Shadow announced it was time to ‘have some fun’ and launched into 'Endtroducing.....' classic ‘Organ Donor’ and recent hit ‘Rocket Fuel’ with De La Soul with Shadow mentioning it had been a dream come true to be able to work with such an iconic act before saying goodbye…until next time.

Action Adventure: A new direction inspired by forgotten cassettes 

Approaching Shadows latest release I had a certain amount of optimism but also the inherent and aforementioned expectations. The pre-released ‘Ozone Scraper’ was a big gear shift, even in spite of previous left turns, and sounded like a throwback to fast-paced, arcade-based, 80’s-inspired, retro video game soundtracks. Like the rest of the album it has grown on me but in my opinion this track is probably one of the hardest to warm to given its sheer pace and garishness. It seems an odd choice as the opening track but it could have been chosen as a statement of intent which it certainly is. 

The next track ‘All My’ is a standout, taking things down a notch but keeping some ‘in your face’ drum and vocal patterns with the repetition of the line ‘all my records and tapes’. A hint of softer keys comes in that really makes the track. It’s after this where I feel the album really shows itself. Time and space has a beautiful airy opening before bringing in some simple baselines and synths with hints of the arcade feel of ‘Ozone Scraper’ but with more depth and subtly that defines the overall feeling of the album. ‘Craig, Ingles and Wrightson’ follows a similar pattern and is equally hypnotic. 

Shadow was apparently inspired to make this album after buying a set of old radio station shows recorded on cassettes and there are nods to this throughout with the sound of tape decks and 80’s instrumentals. As Shadow describes in an interview on the ‘Q with Tom Power’ podcast, it’s nice to lean into the seduction of nostalgia for a while.

‘Witches and Warlocks’ is a strong track in a similar vein and ‘A Narrow Escape’ ups the tempo with break beat drums without veering too far from the albums aesthetic before the second single ‘You Played Me’. This song really sets out the new direction and sounds more like a familiar but forgotten single from an electro R&B group than a DJ Shadow edit. It has a beautiful balance and hook which Shadow apparently stumbled upon by playing the instrumental and vocal side by side by dropping the needle on each at the same time on his first listen, a technique he also used on one of his most commercially successful hits ‘Six Days’ from ‘The Private Press’ album in 2001.

‘Free For All’ opens with a cotton-eye-joe style country guitar riff and hip hop beats which has been a hallmark of Shadows post 'Endtroducing.....' work. It seems every album over the last decade has at least one song in this style and it is one which personally has been hard to engage with but works to a degree here, albeit a bit out of step with the overall theme of the album. Shadow has used a similar approach on past hit ‘Nobody Speak’ with Run the Jewels and ‘This Time’ where he states boldly ‘this time I'm going to do this my way’. I feel like somewhere in Shadow’s subconscious he has a desire to release a country album or song but isn’t quite ready to go there! 

‘The Prophecy’ slows things right down again with a haunting melody over deep bass and strings before opening up synths and tighter string arrangements. ‘Friend or Foe’ builds on that taking things back to the simple, video game villain motif. ‘Fleeting Youth’ and ‘Forever Changed’ are again really lovely and tender arrangements broken up by ‘Reflecting Pools’, a drum laden bubbler before ‘She's Evolving’ finishes things perfectly, incorporating lofty lyric less vocal patterns that interact well with the mid-level synths and and rougher broken beat. 

Overall it is a gorgeously produced album with just the right balance of nostalgia, weight and hip hop sentimentalities. I did wonder if the placement of tracks and ordering of the album would be better building slowly towards a peak and falling again rather than the quite swift shifts in momentum and blistering opening but who am I to question the master of texture and mood. This is an album that refines Shadow once again and clears the pallet after ‘Our Pathetic Age’s swipe at modern culture. A modern interpretation after a step backwards in time.  

End...tering a new era - the journey continues

During the recent live show Shadow mentioned that he thought about packing things in after the collapse of his ‘Our Pathetic Age’ tour due to Covid but it feels like he has been re-invigorated and has more to say and ways of saying it with this latest album and tour. All creativity comes with ebbs and flows but is lost when it ceases to be true to the artists intent and what they want to create for themselves. 

Shadows pursuit of his own sound whether through hip hop samples, 80’s instrumentals or ye-haw country riffs is his expression of what he holds most true and I think overall that to me is what matters most. I look forward to the next step in the journey. 

Download 'Deeper Grooves w/ Linchi: DJ Shadow special', a 90 minute mix exploring everything from Endtroducing..... to Action Adventure via the link below:

[hellmouth-manor]

causcaus racing | cu | 3.1 | re: micah, sapphire, nike

Micah straight up talking about the Pact makes Cu jolt just slightly. He should've added that the first rule of the Pact is we don't talk about the Pact.

"Right, right. We agreed on the terms. And we're definitely looking at one killer who planned everything, since Micah's right, Miranda wouldn't be looking to kill. And anyways, it wouldn't make sense. If she did the poisoning, how'd someone suffering symptoms get the better of her?"

Cu's busy trying to put together a timeline, ignoring his own thoughts on Miranda. Some things give him confusion, but others are clear enough to draw up an image. Normally, he'd match by motivation or emotional connection, fitting everything together through how it seems everyone else operates.

Except, this one isn't as clear as the others, and Cu can't speak for the motivations of anyone in this place.

It's most transactional, and yet most premeditated, and he can't decide how he feels. For one, Cu is more forgiving of this motive. Someone weighed up a wish and acted. But he doesn't know if he yet forgives the killer for deciding Miranda wasn't enough.

Some part of him before finding her in that pool had thought there was a future where Sloth dorm could keep each other safe. Cu files that broken hope away. It will sit pretty next to his distrust.

He's thinking, gears still caught on a Miranda-shaped idea. More like a shadow, than anything, obscuring Cu's mind as he brings together the pieces. Comparing them like paint swatches, trying to see where the ragged teeth of each piece of evidence line up.

"We're looking for someone with not a lot of medicinal knowledge, given the reference books laying around. Definitely, as Nike said, someone well-cultured."

Cu looks around the room, gaze resting on Nori for a moment. Then it slides away, as if he'd never been looking at her at all.

"It was a kitchen knife, wasn't it? We could consider someone who used one of those and failed to get a kill."

[plusanimablog]

Chapter 53: My Anima

So...Blanca.

Husky and Nana see her, Nana thinking that she's a real angel. Then she wakes up and GASP, she's the White Shadow!

Husky and Nana escape the room, recognizing her from last night. They find themselves in a strange room full of plants. Then Nana sees this:

She screams and runs off. Then the White Shadow flies around her. She freaks out, thinking it's trying to get inside her. Then Cooro and Senri burst in...then Fly bursts in after them, shoving them out of the way. He cries out "Blanca!" and the White Shadow returns to Blanca's body. Nana asks if Blanca is the girl's name and Fly responds in the affirmative. He says she's an angel Anima. Husky demands to know what the hell is going on and Fly offers to explain in a different room, leading them to another track that leads out to Astar. Turns out they're in a tunnel that was made in the capital a long time ago. Only a small part of it is still usable. He takes them outdoors to the Astarian National Research Facility. Then he takes them to the library where they see Marca (surprise surprise, Husky isn't happy to see her). Cooro just recognizes her as the lady who gave them apples. Fly asks her to make them some tea as he leads the kids away.

He finds out they met Lyra and confirms that she underwent Anima implantation at her own request. He also confirms that he can also remove an Anima, turning the Anima user into a human. He says that becoming an Anima is not something children wish for; they unconsciously draw in Animas in order to survive. A child cries, an Anima arrives. The Anima marking is a scar that he can remove with surgery. Animas tend to leave on their own when a child grows up, no longer being needed. But Fly asks why wait? Why prolong your suffering? The facility can help children lead normal lives.

Husky calls him out, asking what exactly is he supposed to do for them? Fly responds by saying that since Nana is good with a needle, he can have her take an apprenticeship under a seamstress. He then cryptically says that if there's someone that you can't see because of your Anima, you can see them again in Husky's earshot. However, he won't recommend the procedure to Senri, saying that being a Kimunkle the Anima are sacred to his culture. The offer stands for everyone else though. Cooro himself says that Nana should do what will make her happy.

We later seen Nana bathing to prep for the surgery. Cooro himself is thinking by the window, wondering if he really will be happier without an Anima. I mean, he had one since birth so he wouldn't know. So Nana is being led to the surgery room to be prepped for anesthesia. She hesitates and admits that since it's the last time, she wants to say goodbye to her Anima. She sprouts her bat wings and bat ears and thanks them for helping her and introducing her to her friends. When Marca asks if she's ready, she flies off, saying she's changed her mind. She's not happy despite her Anima; she's happy because of her Anima. And hey, if it's going to disappear when she's an adult, what's the rush? She then rushes over to see Husky, afraid that he had the surgery and Husky pops out to yell at her for screaming. Nana hugs him and says that she didn't have the surgery. Husky says he thought about it but didn't go through with it; he's happy the way he is. When Nana asks where Cooro and Senri are, Husky says they never wanted to remove their Anima in the first place so they're probably in the waiting room. The chapter ends with them going off to search for them.

[count-geiger]

okay update because i saw it again TWICE tonight because it was closing night and i love to yap

the shows tonight were so fucking great (i couldn’t see too great for the first show cuz i was in the second row really close to the stage) and i remembered lots of the callouts (my throat is gonna hurt so bad tomorrow from cheering and all the ding-dang-diddly-fuckin callouts)

second of all. i’m still incredibly homosexual for the guy who played frank (he has a name obviously i just don’t want to say it because it feels awkward to name drop him) BUT he is no longer some random guy ive never spoken to, but some guy i HAVE spoken to!!!! he’s very nice and he recognized me from the previous shows, so that was cool (also AHHHHHHH AHHHHHHHH HELP ME AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH) he seems super cool and i’ll be happy to interact with him more and hopefully be in a show with him next semester. also in case anyone is under the impression i am planning on shooting my shot with his guy: he has a girlfriend, he’s also a senior, so i am being gay from a distance. i have an inkling he knows (because i was incredibly obviously flustered during the whole first show and i was looking a LITTLE too hard sometimes i will admit) but if he does he doesn’t care.

third of all, AHHHHHHHH everyone in the cast is so fucking nice. i got multiple hugs from people who i’ve hardly spoken to, but they all knew my face and recognized me (most of them knew my name too!!!!!) and i got so emotional over that because omg i just did one persons makeup and you all think i did a good job and that i helped out…. im going to cry (i did but that was when i got back to my room). the girl who plays riff and the guy who plays rocky are both so so nice and i love those guys so much and i cant wait to hang out with them again. also the person i did makeup for is literally the best i love them so much

this one’s a lot sappier than the last one because i’m feeling sappy lately. i can’t help it, theater makes me kinda sappy. like…. wow i didn’t realize i missed it this much. it’s really like a part of me has been missing since i stopped doing theater. i can’t believe i didn’t notice. it’d been a part of my life for EIGHT YEARS before i quit and i just became like. despondent after i quit. i’m starting to realize i kinda need theater. like it’s part of my upkeep as a human being. even after just doing this makeup crew for a week i feel so much BETTER. in general.

also i am absolutely most definitely certainly hyperfixated on rocky horror picture show. you all might have to deal with that for the time being. how this will manifest…… i am not yet sure. i do want to draw brad and janet because they’re my favorite asshole and slut (that’s a shadow cast thing. brad is almost exclusively referred to as asshole and janet as slut. in case anyone is unaware and thinks i’m just being mean)

i want to see more shadow casts some day because i know that some callouts and stuff are (roughly) universal and some are totally original improv and others are just native to the group performing (like my college has its own) and shadow cast culture is so so cool and fun to me. it’s loud and stupid and i LOVE stuff that has audience participation.

this one’s even longer than the original post jeez louise. ummmmmmmmmmmmmmm what else.

i’m still thinking about when that guy sat on me. i will think about that until i die. i feel weirder about it now that ive spoken to him and will most likely speak to him again but. i can not help it sir you are hot also im not used to physical contact. and you are doing very very hot things on stage. i think i hauve covid

seriously debated whether or not i was gonna say anything about this but i use this blog like a diary anyways so. whatever

chat i think i may be hyperfixated on rocky horror picture show. okay let me provide some background because that might seem kinda out of nowhere

for those of you who may not be aware: i am a theater kid. yes i know i can hear you booing through the screen. my college's theater group does a rhps shadow cast every year, and i am on the makeup crew for it this year. id seen the movie once years ago and liked it but also found it deeply uncomfortable (because i was in like eighth grade or something and people were all but fucking and sucking on screen).

i was front center in the audience last night and HOLY SHIT yeah that was cool (guy who played frank sat on my lap, i completed the herculean task of not passing out crying because a hot guy sat on my lap and was also yknow doing frank n furter things DIRECTLY IN FRONT ME like a for a big part of the show MAKING DIRECT EYE CONTACT its a miracle im not dead this guy almost killed me he looked back at me a few times while he was sitting on my lap and i was making the biggest dumbest nervous smile ever and im 99% he could feel me shaking we made eye contact at some point guys please send an ambulance)

guys please i know rhps is. deeply deeply questionable. but the movie is so stupid and the music is good i love it so much. also shadow casts are so epic THE CALLOUTS HELP. i have the callouts rattling around in my brain theyre all so funny.

im coming out as a faggot, a pathetic faggot, a rhps fan, AND a theater kid in the same post. i think one of you just needs to kill me

[kirwell]

It's been a minute since I've memorized myself with the og four arcs, but I still feel like the modern warrior clans don't show the things that make them unique as they used to in the older books. Actual culture in the clans has become such a background thing, and the clans' mostly acknowledge each other by overused stereotypes. "ThunderClan gets in everyone's business" "ShadowClan can never be trusted" yeah we know And then WindClan and RiverClan just kinda exist… they don't get involved enough to get slandered at gatherings.

It would be nice to see each clan acknowledged for their odd traditions and unique mannerisms too. And I would love to see the clans themselves DO MORE with their own clanmates that make their clan feel special. Especially now that we're getting more POVs not just from good ol' ThunderClan.

Have RiverClan show their skill for swimming more often. Have them swim to gatherings, unbothered by their slick, drenched coats. Imagine them leaving a gathering, dramatically submerging back into the dark water and disappearing into the night. "How unnatural..."

Have them incorporate water into their fighting technique, as we see in the opening of Into The Wild. Ambush rival cats from the water, or pull them into the water where they have the advantage. I want to see RiverClan excel in water and completely have the upper hand in some battles.

It says RiverClan decorates their nests, but it's rarely shown or appreciated. Let them have the most beautiful camp out of everyone, decorated in shells, pebbles, foliage and feathers. Let the other clans think "wow. why is it so pretty here?" or "ew, why do you decorate with fish scales?"

I want their ceremonies to involve dressing in elaborately made accessories that every cat learns to make. Have cats be given unique shells when they're born, and these shells are given to their chosen mates as a sign of true affection.

Show downtime, where cats just relax on the shoreline, kits playing in the sand, apprentices challenging each other in the water, and elders sunbathing on the rocks.

RiverClan was basically founded by a hippie. Let the clans see them as typically laidback and the type to stop and smell the roses. But when they step up, they have skills that no other clan can match.

Have ShadowClan be excellent at stealth and use the literal shadows to their advantage. Have other cats not notice a ShadowClan patrol until they suddenly burst from the dark.

Imagine they cover themselves in different smells, like mushrooms, moss and pine, to mask their natural scent. I like to think ShadowClan cats have the strongest tolerance for strong or icky smells.

I think it would be cool to have Shadowclan cats know how to mimic night critter noises, like owls, frogs and crickets, to trick prey, or to communicate with their own patrol without drawing away from the natural ambiance.

Show ShadowClan as being able to move in the dark better then any other clan, and let the clans think it's UNCANNY. During nighttime battles, have them lure rivals into the darkness where they can gain the upper hand. Have them work as a team to confuse and disorientate rivals in the darkness, before striking.

Show Shadowclan cats being more nocturnal and more active at night than other clans. They thrive in it, and do most of their training and chores when the sun sets.

I want ShadowClan to be known for more than their bad history and terrible taste in leaders. I want them to be seen as mysterious night dwellers, whose talents best shine in the dark. You will never see them coming until it's too late.

Windclan used to have a lot more goin on, in Tallstar's revenge, having a whole tunneling system with different ranks like Moor Runners and Tunnelers. We could have something similar to this again. Windclan navigating an elaborate abandoned warren underneath their moorland, for quick escapes, safety or even traps.

Have Windclan use the tunnels to outsmart invading clans or predators, or trap them in dead-ends. If their camp was ever overtaken, they could rely on the tunnels as a temporary home, a place no other clan knows how to navigate.

SHOW them as the fastest cats of all the clans. It's not shown all that much, except when WindClan shows up to mee a rival patrol. Show them being able to outrun rival cats, run circles around them, chasing off patrols with unmatchable swiftness.

Birds of prey used to be more of a thing in the books, but they seemed to have disappeared. Have dangerous predators around that only WindClan really knows how to evade or kill, taking down hawks and such, similar to how the Tripe of Rushing Water actively did.

Have Windclan be excellent at camouflage, since the moorlands are so open, they have to learn to blend in with shrubbery, or shroud themselves in plants and mud that blend in while patrolling. For battles, imagine they come dressed in full camouflage / warpaint.

I love the idea of cats singing and the winds just carry their voices away. It would be neat to see ceremonies directly involve the wind, singing different songs with special meanings, or releasing flower petals into the breeze when cats die. Let the other cats think that WindClan is strange, since no other clans have songs that pass through generations. Cat singing is weird.

WindClan once prided themselves for "being closer to Starclan" literally because they lived under the open sky. Imagine they're the only clan to recognize constellations, stargaze and create stories based off them.

WindClan gets wrecked more times than not, but they've got spirit, and I want the clans to see it.

SkyClan had a pretty rich culture prior to moving to the Lake, and lot of it tied into their environment, so understandably, they lost so much because of Darktail. I love Skyclan honestly, and I want to see them thrive again so much.

I wish we got to see them climb trees a bit more in public, using them during patrols, jumping from branch to branch. We saw them use this method in battle, jumping down from above and landing on their enemies, and I would love to see more of this!

Show SkyClan cats as excellent climbers who don't fear heights. Causally hanging out in trees and other precarious places for pure enjoyment. Let the other clans think that it's weird and dangerous, and they're stupid for doing it. But also it makes them uneasy, cause Skyclan could attack from ANYWHERE if there's trees.

I'd LOVE to see Skyclan continue to take in kittypets/strays/loners as Daytime-Warriors, and have this general acceptance of outsiders. The OG clans are very prejudice, as we know, even against each other, so it would be neat to showcase Skyclan's tolerance for non-clan-blooded cats. If Skyclan is ever in danger, imagine a legion of outsiders rushing in to aid their SkyClan friends, much to the other clans' shock.

Skyclan to me have always felt like they'd be storytellers, given how much they've been through and how their clan came to be. Would love to see them talk more about their experiences and history to the other clans, and encourage openness and change.

SkyClan is new to the Lake, but I want them to bring in what made them special and show it off. They've got so much heart, how can you not admire them for their strength?

And of course ThunderClan. The protagonist clan that's begun to feel so bland to me personally. We spent the most time with them, and I miss seeing what made them unique. (I'm very nostalgic for into the wild vibes)

ThunderClan has lived in their new home beside the Lake for years now, and I feel like it's barely talked about or used in any special way. I want to see them use their environment more.

Have it tradition for young cats to learn how to scale the rocky cliffs, in case of emergency. Have ThunderClan cats excel at scaling uneven surfaces, like little whiskered mountain goats. Oh, a Thunderclan cat was pushed off a cliff in battle? No matter. They manage to keep their cool and catch onto the surface, and scale back up or down with ease.

ThunderClan has lived through so much history, and have been at the center of it many times, so I would love to see them have more downtime together, sharing legendary stories and reliving old memoires of the past so it's never forgotten. Or fuzzy stories, just pleasant memories from a time in the past, where they learned valuable lessons or enjoyed time with loved ones.

Let everyone do fun activates and team building exercises, to strength their bonds, like hunting or cliff scaling competitions where they must work together. ThunderClan have their unsavory moments, but let's be honest, they're the heart of all the clans, holding them together more times than driving them apart. Anyway, that's the end of that. I just wanna see some inner clan chemistry, OK??? Is that too much to ask?

[darkcircles4lyfe]

Death to All Might, Rebirth to Yagi Toshinori

So about All Might. I’ve been extremely wary of talking about what could happen to him because straight up saying “I don’t think he’s gonna die” is asking the universe to spite me. Plus it also feels like a room full of people turning to stare at me as if I said the Sun isn’t a star. Man has death flags everywhere, I know. 

But, okay, *Bill Nye voice* consider the following:

Mr. Yagi here, if he overheard everything, just received the final nail in the coffin on his career. His time as the symbol of peace is not only over, it was in fact partially responsible for the current state of things, since he once did so much on his own that his absence now makes heroes and civilians alike ill-prepared to cope. I think it was very apt for that one guy to be wearing an All Might shirt--he was acting as a mouthpiece for the latent societal problems embedded in All Might’s legacy. 

We know already that he’s been feeling useless. I love this scene and although I’m not gonna talk about it right this second, remember what Aizawa says about just “being here” being enough:

And we know from conversations with Inko that Toshinori is also reframed his purpose around looking after Izuku. But in the end, Izuku rejected his help, and it was his classmates instead who were able to save him. Now the very progress of humanity is rejecting him too. You may me wondering how on Earth I don’t see the logical conclusion of all this being his death. Hold on. It actually has a lot to do with the fact that we’re all expecting it. Nighteye himself saw it, and despite any contrary convictions anyone might have, the plot doesn’t seem to be veering away from that end. All Might Is Gonna Die, says absolutely everything. 

It’s occurring to me that I have previous experience with this kind of plotline that probably little to no one else in this fandom shares, being that I’ve read a certain book series in which the main character is told in no uncertain terms that he will die (no, I’m not talking about hp). The series in question is T*e Und*rland Chronicl*s (censoring so it doesn’t get put in their side of tumblr) and I’m sorry but I’m about to go on a shameless tangent about it and spoil the ending for you.

So in this series there is a prophecy in every book, each one having something to do with war and conflict, and so far all of them have been right. In the last book [mc] finds out that it’s prophesied that he will be killed. Lots of the things in the prophecies are convoluted and metaphorical, but no, this one literally says “when the [mc’s title] has been killed.” He spends the whole book coming to terms with this, and he gives into it, only to find himself waking up in the hospital instead. “Wow, plot twist. /s” you may be thinking, and yeah sure, the mc in a kids book survived, big shocker. But it doesn't end there. After the war, there are peace talks, but they escalate until the two sides are on the verge of declaring war again. And [mc], bless him, has just been caught in the middle of all of this the entire time. He’s sick as shit of fighting, of watching the suffering and death of people he cares about. He draws his sword against both of them angrily, gives a speech saying he won’t take a side, and then promptly breaks his sword across his knee: “There. [mc’s title in the prophecies] is dead. I killed him.” He’s giving a huge middle finger to everyone there, to the man who wrote the prophecies, to the entire fucked up culture of it all. And so something that was taken literally turns out to be metaphorical. That is, if you still believe in the prophecies at all.

Hopefully you’re catching my drift here. What I’m saying is, even though this other series has nothing to do with bnha, it goes to show sometimes it’s the most absolute certainties that are red herrings, and a “death” can consequently be a symbolic one. In All Might’s case, it could be the death of hero society and a rejection of his own past. In other words, character development for Toshinori himself that reflects on the way the world is changing, too. Also there’s the fact that the mc from that other series I’m trying not to name has an honorary title, and I’m imagining that role he occupied “dying” could correspond to something that amounts to, “All Might is dead. I (Yagi Toshinori) killed him.” 

And here’s another thing: we also have to ask ourselves what good a dead Toshinori is to Izuku, narratively speaking. Yes, Izuku has spent his whole life idolizing even the more toxic parts of All Might, and his idealized vision of his hero does need to “die.” But how about Toshinori as a father figure?  Izuku regretting that his last interaction with Toshinori was to reject his help may drive home the fact that he shouldn’t go off on his own, but at this point it’s kinda redundant. If anything it would negate some of the progress that was just made because it’d make him extra paranoid about losing other people too. To be honest, the whole “Uncle Ben” trope, the mentor/father figure who dies and gives the mc a reason to do better, is so tired. Experiencing the death of a loved one really doesn’t deserve to be romanticized like that. I might as well admit that I’m speaking from experience, and let me tell you, losing someone you love suddenly, when you weren’t around, and with unfinished business--it makes you paranoid as hell that it will happen again. It literally gives me nightmares. Y’all, I cannot stress enough that trauma does not equal character development. Granted, just because I know this doesn’t mean Horikoshi does, but in general he does seem to lead his characters toward healing.

Okay, back to the present. Toshinori is turning away from UA. He likely feels useless and rejected. We can infer that what happens next will involve Stain, and we have a couple of extra clues to go with it: Stain considers All Might a true hero, and has stated that he would let All Might kill him. And since Horikoshi loves his parallels, we also have this fight between Endeavor and this random villain who admires him so much that he wants to die by Endeavor’s hand:

This suggests a confrontation in which Stain challenges All Might to live up to himself as he once was, so that as a hero he can vanquish Stain and symbolically overcome society's perversion of that role. But based on what All Might has learned about the system he upheld, Stain is wrong. All Might is not a “true hero” in the sense that the societal issues Stain witnessed exist not in spite of All Might, but (in part) because of him, because he took too much of the responsibility for himself.

Stain probably had no idea about the personal cost of All Might’s lonely burden until after the fact. Maybe he’s seeing it now. So then perhaps the confrontation would be more about Stain claiming he’s just as fake as the rest. Either way, Toshinori has the opportunity to denounce himself and be rid of “All Might,”  to stop living in his own shadow. Nighteye’s vision has been defied before, and I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if the combination of society shifting + Toshinori’s own conviction is enough to do it again and work fate in his favor.

He is not All Might. He is Yagi Toshinori: quirkless, worn down, and directionless except for his dedication to Izuku. If he survives his interaction with Stain, he can resolve his imperfect mentorship by confessing about his shortcomings and simply supporting Izuku as a part of his family, not as his teacher (as Aizawa said, just “being there”). And that’s how you really get character development, for both of them. I mean, shit, imagine Toshinori straight up telling Izuku to stop calling him All Might.