#stylistic parody

[cthulu-in-a-ballgown]

My attempt at a stylistic parody of Will Wood lyrics:

My last paradigm blamed and sued for alimony

Now the breakdown of free will’s just a synapse away

Bound to my 5ht receptors in holy matrimony

Don’t divorce me baby, I swear I can’t change!

Lashed to the moon by sixty million miles of DNA

Simply existing was the only decision I ever made

If a butterfly flaps its wings, don’t blame the guns

If I say I’ll quit soon, it’s pelopsia

My action patterns are fixed, can’t be fixed

And giving up lithium’s a small price to pay

Reinforcements keep forcing me to be (f) skinned

An acid test for my self-restraint

(Just a few more trials, it’s scientifically rigorous!)

Lashed to the moon by sixty million miles of DNA

Simply existing was the only decision I ever made

If a butterfly flaps its wings, don’t blame the guns

If I say I’ll quit soon, it’s pelopsia

Hands bloody, hear the thud as the ego fell, run to unmask it

Just to find it’s my dignity

Lab coated id, superego on a slab, waking up screaming 

For propriety

Agonists and antagonists, they’re all the fucking same!

Latin roots don’t lie, they’ll just bring conflict and pain!

Lashed to the moon by sixty million miles of DNA

Simply existing was the only decision I ever made

If a butterfly flaps its wings, don’t blame the guns

If I say I’ll quit soon, it’s pelopsia

It’s pelopsia 

Ah!

Ah!

Ah!

It’s pelopsia!

[rottakone]

Alright so cold take, the Minecraft Movie looks fucking horrendous. It looks like a parody or an advert, not an actual movie people would want to make or watch.

Many others have said the same thing, but why the fuck isn't it an animated movie?? There are so many beautiful fucking art pieces made by fans or just look at the official Minecraft concept art!!

The world of Minecraft is so pretty and you could have so much artistic freedom to make a really fucking cool stylistic animated movie!!

But no.. We get white zionist Steve and in general just an irl cast for some reason, and ugly ass CGI.

Why can't it follow the minimal story Minecraft already has? The main character, whether it be Steve or someone else, wakes up with no explanation as to how they got there, and they juat have to survive. Minecraft has all these mysteries baked into the different worlds and structures, it would be so cool to have the movie explore them in some way!

I'm assuming this movie will just be "Hey, I'm white zionist Steve and I'll help you guys get back to your world" and the main content of the movie is gonna be the group of people experiencing Minecraft things, that we've already seen and know everything about, for the first time.

Idk man. I think people should boycott the movie because of the zionist in the main role and I don't think that'll be too difficult. Thanks if you read the whole thing <3

[ask-whitepearl-and-steven]

Do you think this comic would still be enjoyable for someone with zero knowledge of the original show? I'm sure they would miss some Easter eggs but even still I would hope so just because of how good of a quality the art and writing is as a stand alone story - genuinely asking for a friend

I always struggle to answer this question, because I legitimately don't know. My writing of this comic is heavily dependent on my knowledge of the base story. I reference it as much as I can (stylistically, morally, thematically) quite a bit! It's essentially just a parody, but slightly darker instead of funnier.

That being said, I HAVE actually received word that some people read this story without having watched the original SU and still managed to somewhat enjoy it. There's also this poll I ran once upon a time:

According to this, about 30-35 people are just here....hanging out. Without having once watched SU.

[bunnyinatree]

Ryuk: Hey, where are you going?  Get back here and kill each other! 💀

[Image ID: A three-page comic of Light and L parodying this scene from “The Fry Cook Games” in Spongebob.  On the first page, Light and L are fighting, grabbing onto each other’s shirts and aiming punches/kicks, despite the chain that connects them.  Light is saying, “I don’t like you!”  L is saying, “I don’t like you more!”  Light replies, “I never liked you!”  And L says back, “I a thousand times never liked you!”  Then, there’s a close-up on both of their faces, and Light shouts, “Blue!” while L shouts, “Red!”  The bottom of the page is dedicated to a spiky text bubble that reads “RIIIIP”!  The second page features Light and L staring at one another in shock, against a yellow background with a white lightning bolt through it.  Their shirts have been ripped off completely, and Light, who is stylistically colored all in red, is wearing a blue chest binder, while L, who is stylistically colored in all blue, is wearing a red chest binder.  There is an ellipsis above both of their heads.  On the top of the third and final page are close-ups of Light and L’s faces.  Light looks like the pleading eyes emoji as he says, “...Red?” and L says, “Blue..?”  They are both blushing.  The comic ends with Light and L embracing, still in handcuffs, with the speech bubble, “You DO care!” beneath them.  End image ID.]

Bonus:

[Image ID: A digital drawing with two panels.  The top panel is a thin close-up on L’s face.  His hair is wet with rainwater, and he’s saying, “Forget the Kira investigation.  This is PERSONAL.”  “Personal” is written in all caps and is underlined twice.  The second panel, which takes up the majority of the page, is a redraw of the iconic foot scene from the anime.  Light is sitting on a stairwell, watching L dry off his feet with a towel.  This is also a reference to the “Fry Cook Games” clip linked above.  Unlike the three-page comic above, this drawing is colored more realistically.  Light’s hair is brown, not red; L’s skin isn’t blue-tinted, etc.  End image ID.]

[mysweeetbucky]

Bucky Thunderbolts look

I'm sorry to say this and I'm saying this with a very heavy heart that this look is really horrible like it's really terrible and I hate Marvel so much for ruining a perfectly gorgeous man. TFATWS Look of Bucky was the best, the hottest and absolutely perfect but all other looks before that were gorgeous too especially CATFA and CATWS. The goatee just adds insult to the injury. I'll probably get hate for this but I needed to get this off my chest and before any of you says it's because Seb is ageing, NO! ABSOLUTELY NOT. Seb is ageing like fine wine and is gorgeous in all his recent appearances be it the MET Gala or the SDCC or the award shows. Marvel stylists are just stoned or smth idk Yelena's hairstyle is pretty bad too. One of my friend said all the characters look like parody and I couldn't agree more.

[pinetreegoblin]

I have a silly and indulgent Very Important People fan theory:

Very Important People!Vic Michaelis is extremely insecure and lonely as shown by their dialogue throughout many of the currently released episodes. They seem down on their luck and frustrated by their lot in life especially in their career and their personal connections. They seem like the perfect character to go through a classic “self growth through a journey of meeting crazy characters” plot. 

Each of the characters seem like out of this world caricatures of people they could meet out in the world, and some (like Denzel and Vic’s Grandma), seem like representations of those in her actual life (I also have a fun theory that the dolls were her childhood dolls). Many of the characters themselves point out that Vic seems to be down on their luck and unhappy, and in some way preventing themselves from happiness. Off the top of my head, Vic has referred to their father being murdered, a divorce from their husband, and struggling to get a “real reporting career.” 

If I had to construct a story of how they got to this point I would say the death of their father pushed VIP!Vic into grief induced isolation and loneliness, which inhibited their personal connections as they were stuck in survival mode. The murder of their father inspired them to become a reporter, as an attempt to help other victims of violent crime, but they are struggling to find a foothold. Their unbridled grief and obsession with retribution for their father has put a strain on their marriage and their partner asks for a divorce. Maybe in their exasperation and the chaos of life they are spurred to follow a lead they have no business or jurisdiction to follow and they end up injured. It is in this injury they are experiencing this hallucinogenic state.

The VIP set itself feels very cultivated and its “old-fashioned” eclectic style gives it a vibe of a surreal manufactured reality. Each episode starts with Vic idly messing with some aspect of the set, before realizing the camera is on and putting on the reporter mask. In my memory, none of the people “on set” ever say anything, besides Vic and the interviewee, even when Vic audibly asks them questions. Additionally the cutting off to infomercials gives an uncanny feeling of parody, someone concocting the stereotypical formula of a show. Finally, there are the moments where there is an abrupt cut to a transition card from a more intense scene, almost to redirect the emotional plot. Overall, it has given me a kinda WandaVision vibe of a dreamlike state manufactured in VIP!Vics head in order to address their loneliness and disillusionment with life.

The closing question especially points towards this specific idea of VIP!Vic being stuck in this fugue state looking for answers: “What is the meaning of life?” This is both impactful if we go with the idea she is injured and experiencing this all in an unconscious state (almost "deciding" whether to wake up) as well as just in them searching for the next direction to go in their frozen life. What is the meaning of life amidst grief, loneliness, fear, and unfair circumstances? How can Vic find meaning? In creating this dreamlike fabrication, VIP!Vic is trying to recover and find a version of themselves who can live a more fulfilling life as they let go of the past which has held them back. “Remember to always be yourself, unless you'd rather be somone else” 

TLDR: Vic Michalis is having some sort of surreal, unconscious dream where crazy characters are attempting to help them heal from their father's death, their fucked up social situations, and to find meaning and happiness in their life. Through the interviewees eccentricities they teach Vic their personal meanings of life so Vic can find their own.

(This is all just to be silly, I know a lot of it is just stylistic choices of the show and the nature of the type of show it is, but I just love the show a lot and this little theory came to me)

[ozzgin]

I think you're genuinely a really good writer! Have you ever considered writing a whole book?

That’s very nice of you, anon! I can’t say it hasn’t crossed my mind, but I’m rather doubtful as to whether people would truly enjoy my style of, uh, storytelling.

To give you a little context, I have participated in and won multiple writing competitions, but most of the time it involved analytical and/or scientific essays. I think I have a pretty sterile and sarcastic vocabulary, certainly not the intricate stylistic wording I often see in popular book snippets. It’s a less fancy, less intellectual Infinite Jest kind of approach.

I don’t know, maybe one day I could compile most little stories and doodles in the form of an erotic romance parody, where the protagonist is a bald, blank slate named Self-Insert Jane or something. Some absurd, ridiculous, yet slightly horny adventure to satiate the minds of similarly deranged people.

[vanajinn]

When I was in Copenhagen, I discovered the 'Irma girl,' the mascot for the now no-longer-operational Danish supermarket chain Irma. Her design over the years is very striking and cute, so I thought she had similarities with a certain character...

[ID: Four digital drawings arranged in a square with a blue background. Three of the drawings depict Cirno from Touhou Project in a stylistic parody of the Irma mascot. The mascot is a full-body simplistic depiction of a little girl to the side, wearing a dress blowing to the left and holding a basket in hand, with white oulines. Each of the drawings is rendered more and more minimalist to reflect the changing design evolution of society. end ID]

[surrealisticduvet]

Album Review: Infinite Rider on the Big Dogma (1979)

What is it? 

Infinite Rider… on the Big… Dogma.

What?

With this album, I decided to go with the “write as you re-listen” method of reviewing, since I knew I had so much to say about many of the songs individually. I hope this is as half as enjoyable to read as it was to write. As always, please let me know if you have any comments or dissenting opinions, I would love to hear them!

Without further, or really any, ado, we have “Dance”, a frivolously thrilling and unusual new style from our Michael. I am always a little shocked by its usage here as an opener, so used to it being the outro to Elephant Parts, in which many Infinite Rider songs feature. The instrumentation is rich and complex, in stark contrast to the lyrics –  “All I wanna do is dance and have a good time”. In some ways it leaves you confused as to why this wasn’t a big radio hit - is it the way he sings it, almost ironic in its empty-headedness? Is it just his bad luck? The song is too short to let you ponder for long. 

Next, we have “Magic” – my main gripe with this song, unfortunately not a bug but a feature, is the kitschy way he sings some of the high notes (we know for a fact he can hit them without so much falsetto fanfare) but it does add to the subtle irony of the song. Hidden underneath that facade, buried in the full, sustained notes of the chorus, is his true capacity. This song has a bit of a festive undertone with the bells lightly jingling, adding to the feeling of, genuinely, magic. Once again, this song is expertly produced, musically (aside from the background vocals “do-do-dooing” which I think is sometimes overkill) - there are a lot of layers which prevent it from sounding like a cheap holiday commercial.

I completely stand by the belief that “Flying” is an Eagles parody. Listen to this, and then listen to something like “One of These Nights.” I maintain also that this song is at least a parody of something, with lyrics that are deceptively genuine at first before dipping into deep unseriousness, all sung as straight-faced as ever. The middle eight here is again just exquisite. I wish there was an instrumental of this track particularly, although his vocals are so good that I wouldn’t push too hard for it. This song sounds like it ought to be played to a packed arena, something almost on the same level, musically, as “Comfortably Numb.” As the song fades out, you get a bit of a better listen to the drum and rhythm section, which has a unique stylistic blend and flare that, once again, adds depth to what otherwise might be called a boring album. (Misguided Rateyourmusic users have called it his “most accessible” album [read: contemporary, standard-issue, basic! – more on this at the end] but I disagree, at the risk of sounding pretentious… Infinite Rider is a complex and borderline experimental album; it just so happened that he was experimenting with things that happened to be in popular music at the time.)

Much like taking songs from The Prison out of their context as a soundtrack in order to review them musically, it is critical to take “Tonite” out of the context of Elephant Parts, in which it is evergreen in its evocation of the special as a whole – they were literally made for each other. The lyrics are weird, for Michael - on a first listen, you’ll be a little put off by them, until you get to the bridge and chorus, which swings back to the sort of strangeness that you’re used to, and now the old Hollywood oddness from the beginning starts to make a little sense. Three for three, these songs have so much going on musically that you never have a chance to be bored or question his intentions. There’s expert use of a piano/synth solo here which in some ways really dates the album as being from the late 70s/early 80s but that’s what I like so no complaints here. As the song ramps up towards the end (nearly unrecognizable from the moderately paced introductory verse) Michael slips into a rougher tone and drives the whole thing home. Careful listeners will catch the “I’m still inside of a little glass tube - I’m still inside of this room” as it fades out; a tasteful callback to the final scene of Head (1968), or just a bit of before-its-time commentary on the effect of fame on an individual’s psyche? Infinite Rider gives you no time at all to chew and swallow thoughtfully - the next song is already upon us.

“Carioca” is the first and only real reprieve you’ll get on this album, and it is still a wonderful song. Much like “Rio,” this song is inspired by what we can assume to be Michael’s fond memories of seeing Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in Flying Down to Rio (1933). His ability to belt out a chorus shines here, supported by pleasant instrumentation. Take a breath while you can, because up next we have…

… “Cruisin’”. If you’ve heard any song from this album already, it’s probably this – and you’ve probably seen a little bit of the music video from Elephant Parts, too. The verses are low-key and casual, and the whole thing reeks of sun-tan oil and hot tarmac. Whether or not you consider this to be Michael’s coming-out party, it’s still a compelling song much in the style of something like the Traveling Wilbury’s “Tweeter and the Monkey Man.” On its own, the song is fairly middle-of-the-road; it’s the music video that really makes it pop, with visual cues lining up perfectly to the song and Michael’s own performance of it (in those sunglasses...) 

From “Cruisin’” we dive straight into “Factions,” perhaps more memorably titled in early versions as “The Daughter of Rock n' Roll.” He didn’t invent anything new with the song, but definitely proved that he could keep up with the times, musically. The things he does with his voice here are almost foreign, a tone and gravel that we’ve never heard from him before. The song itself is good, with clever lyrics and an interesting story, a classic Nesmithian take on the contemporary “rock ‘n’ roll song about rock ‘n’ roll.” It’s not at the top of the album for me, but any song that effectively uses and rhymes the word “Boogie” gets a free pass for me. 

Take another deep breath at the end of this one, because you’re about to experience what is possibly, maybe probably, my favorite song of his ever: “Light.” Immediately, he has dropped the ironic and performative vocal quirks, and is once again singing in his own sweet tenor, with just a few humorous dips to keep you guessing. This song effortlessly blends bleating saxophone solos with laid-back steely drum meanderings, quivering organ overtones, and a sturdy, pulsing bassline. The lyrics are simple, yet powerful – “but the light from the window is the brightest of all” among others. I find it interesting that the song is called not “lights” plural, but “Light,” singular, implying that these eclectic lights are all interconnected, blending together from and into one infinite form. Once you have seen the music video for this, you’ll never listen to the song without its dancer flashing and jumping through your mind, it’s truly mesmerizing and at times otherworldly – again, the visions of the dancer and Michael are melded together by the use of mirrors and cutaways to create a mind bending effect. “Light” clocks in at 3:21 and feels even shorter; it ends almost abruptly, with the sax trailing off. I usually have to listen to it at least a second time to really let it sink in. 

One Tumblr user has in the past posited that we should “kill Horserace and replace it with a second Light” (Surrealisticduvet, 2024), and I wholeheartedly agree with that sentiment. Much like “The Other Room” is on From a Radio Engine to the Photon Wing, “Horserace”’s placement here is jarring, uncouth, and downright disrespectful to the rest of the album. Okay – now that I’ve gotten all that out of my system, let me explain why it just doesn’t work for me. While many songs on Infinite Rider have lyrics that are tongue-in-cheek, parodical, and dare I say intentionally silly, “Horserace” feels to me almost sloppy. Many words are rhymed with each other in such a way that it doesn’t feel intentional, meaning that by default it sounds amateurish. Michael here utilizes the same growl that he does on “Factions” and to some extent “Dance,” but it overpowers the track to the point where I had a hard time focusing on the music. (When I managed to, I confirmed to myself that it wasn’t as intricately crafted as any of the first 7 songs, and certainly not the last one we just listened to.) I’ve always said that even Michael’s worst songs are still worth listening to; such is not the case with “Horserace.” Listen to “Light” a second time and then hit that skip button.

“Capsule” is another one of those songs that Michael co-wrote with a few other people, and it is, dare I say, obvious. I like what he was trying to do, and the song sounds interesting, with a cool, jazzy swing. I don’t think it’s among his best work, either vocally or lyrically, and it’s a bit of a disappointing closer to an otherwise fast-paced and densely enjoyable album. 

I have to give a little shout out to the album’s outtakes, which I actually didn’t even know about until very recently. “Rollin’” is a real foot-tapper that takes his old song “Roll With the Flow” and revamps it in late-70’s radio-rock fashion with a “Mama Rocker”-style piano breakdown that sweeps up and down the keys. The whole song is pretty simple, but fun and effective, and I really like it. “Walkin’ in the Sand” is an interesting track, a true outtake in the sense that it breaks free from the one-word-title constraint he set for himself on this album. It’s like nothing I’ve ever heard from him, ramping up his affinity for minor-keys to a new level, with a glaring bass riff like something from the Arctic Monkeys (sorry, I can’t think of a more period-appropriate comparison). I’d be curious about what he could do in this style if given a whole album to play with – but if all we ever got was this one song, I’m still thrilled. 

Conclusion:

I think Infinite Rider, despite being perhaps more well-known during its time than his other albums, is largely misunderstood. (To be fair, you have to have a very high IQ to enjoy his… oh, god, listen to me.) Some reviews call it his most accessible album, and laud his return into the sphere of pop music. I have a hard time explicitly agreeing with these assertions; I don’t think the album’s true intentions are as wholesome, simplistic, and popularity-seeking as some may claim. Much like The Prison was written as a soundtrack, Infinite Rider was written as a “video album” – to listen to “Magic” or “Cruisin’” on their own, without the music video, is to experience only half of the song. Even tracks which were not released with a visual component, I would argue, must still be considered within this context.

Critics also say that this album was overproduced and that there’s too much going on, instrumentally; this is just a difference of taste – I like an album you can listen to half a dozen times over and still hear something new. One amateur reviewer (my peer, I suppose) said that they appreciated the album since, despite its tongue-twisting title, it was easy to enjoy without having to crawl into Nesmith’s head to “get” it. Well, I guess I can’t argue with that – Infinite Rider’s appeal lies in the fact that to the casual listener, it is a good rock ‘n’ rollin’ time that ends after 38 minutes and 15 seconds; for anyone with enough time on their hands to dig a little deeper, rest assured that Michael will not disappoint.

[theygotlost]

here are the questions *I* would ask Doc Hammer and Jackson Publick if I could. if they've answered any of these already please let me know

what are some of your inspirations, aside from the ones you're obviously parodying like Johnny Quest and GI Joe?

what did your process for creating characters look like? did your character designs go through a lot of revisions or did you usually go with your initial concept?

with a notoriously lean voice cast, how did you determine who should voice which character?

where there any unscripted or improvised moments from a cast member, including yourself, that made it to an episode?

the transition from season 3 to season 4 marks a tonal shift toward more emotional depth, character-driven episodes, and narrative continuity. by your own admission, continuity made writing the show more difficult. what made you decide on this shift?

how often were the two of you in disagreement about each other's writing or what direction the show should take?

the worldbuilding with the Guild of Calamitous Intent, the Council of Thirteen, the OSI, and SPHINX is kind of a tangled mess. did you ever have problems keeping your own lore straight?

at what point in the show's run did you decide on the truth of Hank and Dean's parentage? was that an idea you had for a while, or did you only come up with it while writing the movie?

the exact location of the Venture Compound was kept ambiguous until the movie revealed it was in Colorado for some reason. was it always supposed to be in Colorado? and why? actually that doesnt really matter but i feel like im losing my mind

to what extent did reception from the fanbase influence your writing over the course of the show?

what's your favorite idea or scene that DIDN'T make it into the final cut?

most adult animation is done with puppet rigging to save time and money. aside from the Shallow Gravy special (which you explained you resorted to puppet animation for because you did it all in-house on a short turnaround), The Venture Bros is animated traditionally for the most part. was this a stylistic choice or a logistical one?

like many shows of its type, The Venture Bros has been criticized for content that has "aged poorly", some of which you've tried to correct over the show's run. with your current perspective, what would you go back and do differently from the start? since time machines don't exist, how would you address these criticisms in the future given the opportunity?

what was the most fun part of working on the show for you?

what part of The Venture Bros are you proudest of?

[ghosty-schnibibit]

alright, so, now that i am not an incandescent ball of fury:

i was extremely disappointed with go2 and downright angry about the way it concluded. i've already read some excellent posts by other lovely people that articulate some of my grievances really well (which sadly i can't link here or the site will eat this post entirely) but i want to add my own to the pile. if you enjoyed the season then more power to you, but i very much did not.

after this post i won't be complaining about s2 again or really posting anything about it at all, positive or negative, and will probably just block the tag entirely. like i said in my much shorter vent post last night, i just want to get all of my negativity out in one go and then pretend it doesn't exist. with that out of the way:

the pacing was terrible. the plot went in circles around itself and the mystery was handled so poorly that it somehow managed to be too convoluted and too simple at the same time. we spent five entire episodes wondering what was going on only to have it resolved by an exposition dump of about five minutes. the mini-sodes ground multiple episodes to a halt and squandered the majority of the season's runtime on pointless fanservice that cheapened some of the previous season's most emotional moments, runtime that could have been better spent setting up the gabriel mystery or developing literally any of the new characters introduced. speaking of which,

the new characters were pointless. nina and maggie were given no characterization beyond being pale expies of az and crowley, and the fact that a substantial part of the b-plot revolved around them makes this even more apparent. i do not remember the name of the angel pretending to be a constable and i don't care enough about them to look it up, they had literally no plot significance whatsoever. same goes for the processing demon from the third episode. the flip with jax from being a somewhat neutral character to a big bad in a party city wig felt like a failed attempt to recapture some of what made hastur and ligur work in the previous series.

gabriel and beelzabub. their relationship was unbelievable and clashed so heavily with their previous characterizations. i called it from the first episode and dreaded its conclusion right up to the finale. they feel like an ill-thought parody of ineffable husbands pulled out of an enemies-to-lovers crackfic. every romantic moment in the last episode was insipid and cloying, and them getting a consequence free happy ending retroactively cheapened the stakes of the previous season. it honestly felt like the writers just wanted to mash their dolls together.

aziraphale's character was assassinated and crowley was basically just there to play the hits. both of them were flanderized to the moon and back, but poor aziraphale got the worst of it. all of his character development from the previous season was thrown out the window in order to give us the big angsty conclusion set-up for a third season. they were both utterly flattened and i feel so bad for michael and david, they were clearly doing the best with what they were given but what they were given was just plain bad.

most of the humor and warmth from the book and the previous season were just… gone. no narrator, only one or two comedic asides from the title cards, a total of maybe three minutes of queen music across the whole thing (and most of that a piano cover), and a whole lot of little stylistic touches that went by the wayside and left the world feeling a bit hollow. also the comedy in this season was much more reliant on a "hey, aren't the characters acting so silly right now? aren't they failing at looking/acting normal? isn't that funny?" style of humor than on the wit and subtle satire of the first.

it was nothing but set up for a third season. learning this after finishing the season did not make me feel better about any of it, but it does explain a bit why it felt like all set up and no pay off. i have zero confidence about the ship being righted in a potential s3 that we likely will not see for many years (if at all, i'm already hearing murmurs about the show getting axed).

so that's basically it. i'll reiterate that if you enjoyed this season then i have no beef with you; your opinions are your own and, while i have no desire to have a dialogue about them, i respect them. but the original good omens book was very personally meaningful to me, as was its adaptation in s1, and this poorly thought out continuation has disappointed and saddened me to the point that i feel like i don't want to engage with the fandom in its wake.

[a-rum-of-ones-own]

Hi!!!

I’m currently reading A Cosmology of Blacks, Malfoys, and Assorted Individuals and just wanted to express how much I love this fic!!! Your writing style is so profoundly passionate and evocative. The way you describe the emotions and inner workings of Draco, his observations and interactions with others, and blend sensory details with atmospheric elements is so poetically done—I seriously can’t deal.

What spurred me to write this was the opening of Chapter 19:

“With their ancient, bony hands, they’d passed her golden bowls filled with brew of black cohosh. Narcissa, panting in the heated darkness of the room she was confined in, had gulped them down, red-dark liquid dripping down her chin and staining the near-translucent smocking of her nightgown.

Winds had battered against the curtained windows. The approach of an early summer storm. The air had been sweltering, hot, over-heavy with lightning that had not yet discharged.”

LIKE UGH…MINDBOGGLINGLY BEAUTIFUL. SERIOUSLY. It’s so viscerally described that I feel like I’m transported right into the room.

I’m trying to consciously pace myself through the remaining chapters because I don’t want to catch up ;( but could you recommend some books that inspired you to write this fic, or even books that influenced your writing? I would be eternally grateful (high-key already am just for the existence of this fic).

I am so thankful to have stumbled upon this gem. You are sosososo talented; I am truly in awe and can’t wait to read more of your work! xxx

Heeey! Thank you so, SO much! I had so much fun writing that scene with the midwives - I cannot resist including scary old ladies and weird little arcane rituals of womanhood in everything I write, lol. I'm a total sucker for it. Give me a scary old woman who may or may not be a morally grey agent of The Dark And Mysterious Powers of the Great Beyond, and I'm sold.

YES, I do have book recs! Fic-writing is, for me, an opportunity for total stylistic self-indulgence, and there are absolutely influences! In general, Cosmology takes a LOT of influence from gothic writing. That entire theme of a house/manor/castle as a pseudo-living thing, the curses of our ancestors coming back to haunt us, ghosts of the past (both in literal and non-literal form), that's all just plain gothic, and I LOVE writing and reading that sort of stuff. Jane Austen's first novel, Northanger Abbey, is a fantastic gothic novel and/or gothic parody, and it's a shame it's not read more widely. It's definitely her first - it's not as absolutely refined as the big names like Pride and Prejudice etc - but it's the one I love the most. There's a proper mystery plot, a cursed house, a romance, a haunting - it's just great.

If you're not a Jane Austen girlie, a HUGE influence for me is Donna Tartt, especially The Secret History and The Goldfinch. If you're into that ornate, atmospheric, scene-setting writing, both will be right up your alley - The Secret History has a bit more of it (and is, imo, the better one to start out with), but they're both just amazing. One day, I want to be able to write like Donna Tartt does. She's the OG, she's the GOAT, she's perfect, she's probably my favourite contemporary author.

Also: Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House. It's one of my absolute favourite books, but (warning!) it's not literary fiction or romance, it's very much the story of a haunting. If you're absolutely not into horror, stay clear. Similarly, The Perfume by Patrick Süßkind is BEAUTIFUL, but absolutely not a romance. I've only read it in the original and can't vouch for any translations into English, but judging by the reviews, the sheer VibesTM seem to come across even in translation. The original is one of the best books I've ever read, and I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone looking for something truly unique. I've also recently read V.C. Andrew's Flowers in the Attic for the first time, and found it really good in that gothic sense, but mind ALL the trigger warnings on that one. I don't deal well with graphic depictions of more realistic violence/abuse, especially if it involves kids (stylised/fantastical and implicit violence is fine, but anything that reads too 'real' and 'logically possible irl' doesn't agree with my stomach), and it's got some of that. I skipped a page or two, but still found it a prime example of Southern Gothic.

Thank you so so much again! I hope to get the next chapter of Cosmology out soon!

[gust-jar-simulator]

Saw a thumbnail calling Ghirahim the "creepiest Zelda boss" and. First of all, no. Numerous other bosses have him beat on both body horror AND interpersonal drama. Ghirahim is functionally more of a rival, and also mostly using Link against his will as a stress toy/rubber duck style therapist, he doesn't really fully commit to taking the kid gloves off until about a minute before he gets defeated.

But! I digress.

Calling Ghirahim the creepiest boss relies on, whether the viewer realizes or not, recognizing Ghirahim's mannerisms and behavior as disturbing. And yeah he does some disturbing stuff. But thematically he was, as far as I can tell, intentionally designed by the devs to use queer behavior to trigger repulsion in the player, and I think that HAS to be acknowledged before you commit wholesale to just calling him Creepy.

He does do creepy shit. But they decided to convey that creepiness through some very unfortunately queer design. And he's not even actually queer, so it reads as this... gutless, sourceless, mismatched parody, where what should be backing up this threat is some sort of genuine want, whatever that might be, and there's none whatsoever. He's a peacock flashing his feathers but for pure threat reasons.

I do like the idea of a living weapon learning about politeness and manners and the kind of body language that flesh-and-blood beings would find threatening, and I could make some headcanon assumptions about that, but we really have no information on why he behaves the way he does so we just have to take it at face value. Ghirahim postures and poses and soliloquizes but exhibits no genuine desire until, I think, those couple of minutes at the very end of the game.

It's really hard for me to be genuinely scared of him because there's just nothing behind his threatening gestures. Like yeah damn sticking your tongue in my ear is kind of rude, and summoning monsters to kick my ass is annoying, but it's also not really outside the expected patterns. SkSw Link has a bully (Groose) and kicks demon ass anytime he's on the surface. And, sometimes, Ghirahim is there voguing and bitching about his love life job, beating me to my goals.

If you mean specifically boss battles, though, then the final fight against him is definitely one of my favorites because you see an incredible amount of character development for him, direct acknowledgement of Link as something powerful and terrifying, and also the visuals/setting are really fucking cool. To some extent I think you can ONLY fully understand Ghirahim as a character after that boss battle, because that's the only time it's actually genuine and personal for him.

We all know, of course, that the actual scariest things in Skyward Sword are the sacred trials.

Tl;dr Ghirahim isn't actually scary until the last minute because the only serious threat he poses either physically or psychologically is Summon Thing, Stab Link, Spill Tea, and Kidnap Princess, two of which are par for the course, one of which is a nonissue, and one of which we are actively trying to solve. Most of his stylistic scare factor is just him behaving like a dramatic gay queen. The sacred trial guardians are 100% scarier.

[ahmedmootaz]

If Ayin did distort, what kind of abilities would he have?

Dear Anonymous,

Good question! I've thought about it a lot, and I think that Ayin's Distortion would be mostly influenced by the traumas he endured, just as the Ensemble's members were all influenced by their most traumatic events;

Jae-Heon was influenced by how his son was run over by a road-roller and how his puppet was then destroyed by Roland, thus turning into a puppet-master and, subsequently, into an amalgamation of various different creatures, just like his puppets he made for Argalia.

Greta was influenced by how her fellow Eight-Chefs ate themselves and pushed themselves to the limit in the search for new tastes and flavours; her hunger and desire manifested in the form of a famished shark with many, many mouths in order to eat as much as she wanted.

And so on and so forth. If we were to follow the same formula for Ayin, I'd think that the events that marked/traumatised him the most had to be the Old Lab's raid by Garion, the Smoke War, and the loss of Carmen, so I believe his Distortion would have some form of connection to all three of these events.

Not to mention that, personally, I think Ayin was just a few wrong/right turns away in life from being the perfect Arbiter, and seeing how X manifested into a sick parody of an Arbiter himself, I'd think Ayin's Distortion would be quite similar, although with a few twists here and there.

For starters, I believe that his Arbiter gear would be more white-and-red instead of the standard and iconic gold-and-black issued to most Arbiters, mostly for the sake of artistic choices on my end, but also because I believe a Distortion would attempt to be different from the main enforcers of the City's order, as Carmen explicitly stated that, after she herself became the Voice of the Distortion, she was attempting to free the people from the City's cycle in her own, twisted way. As such, I believe she would help draw out a form that is at least visually distinct from Arbiters for her beloved Yinnie, of all people, seeing how he deserves that little pleasure the most, which is my explanation for how I'd explain this stylistic choice for Ayin while X's Distortion is a regular Arbiter outfit.

As for abilities, I'd personally assume they would be similar to what X possesses, to some degree, with typical Arbiter powers being the 'norm' for Ayin's Distortion, but I'd also assume that seeing how his trauma extends far beyond that of most of the PM characters we got to see so far, he'd also be able to tap into powers specifically from his time in the Smoke War. For example, I assume that he would be able to concentrate his powers to summon inter-dimensional portals like those used in the War, or perhaps even utilise the Smoke itself as one of his abilities to weaken opponents at the cost of it also adversely affecting him.

But I think what would also make him even more of a force to be reckoned with would be his relation to Abnormalities. I'm sure that he would resonate with quite a few Abnormality powers which Carmen would happily draw from him to make him into a bit of a indestructible force, although I'm not exactly sure on what Abnormality powers he would have access to, but one thing I am certain of is that he would without a doubt be able to manipulate blood to some extent or perhaps even mess with one's central nervous system, as an homage to his trauma with regards to Carmen. Perhaps he causes hallucinations or causes one's own mind to start attacking itself?

I think his biggest weakness would be his willingness to fight against his Distortion, it's just that he will need a lot of outside help to even have a chance at managing to ward off the Distortion, seeing how he's so full of repressed sentiments and emotions, and all of them bursting out as he Distorts would have quite the catastrophic consequences.

This was a really fun ask, and so I thank you, Anon, for providing me with it! I don't know if I can apply them somewhere soon, but this was quite fun to think of! As always, take care, stay safe, and see ya'!

[livgr3]

Fairy Tale Musicals: Little Shop of Horrors (1981) dir. Frank Oz

Little Shop of Horrors has a somewhat lengthy history of multiple adaptations. The first iteration of the story was the 1960 film The Little Shop of Horrors, with a screenplay inspired by science fiction stories of the 1950s. Then, the movie was adapted into an off-Broadway musical in 1982. In 1986, the popular musical was adapted into the high camp, soon to be cult-classic movie musical Little Shop of Horrors, directed by Frank Oz, whose experience in creating and puppeteering The Muppets would lend itself to Little Shop's impressive Audrey II puppets.

Three teen girls who live on Skid Row, Crystal, Ronette, and Chiffon, introduce and narrate the events of the film.

Seymour and Audrey are both struggling to make ends meet, and work at Mr. Mushnik's failing flower shop on Skid Row. Seymour, who has a hobby of collecting exotic plants, brings a mysterious plant to the shop, Audrey II, which draws in customers and gives the shop a fighting chance at staying in business. As the plant begins to make Seymour more popular and successful, he discovers that the only thing that he can feed the plant to make it grow is human blood. (Also it can talk and sing.) Meanwhile, Audrey's abusively masochistic dentist boyfriend Orin becomes more and more insidious towards her, making him into the perfect candidate for Audrey II's first victim...

Aesthetic Markers of Class, Race, and "Bootstraps" Myths Through Song

Though Oz's film is still set in the 1960s when its source film was made and generally parodies conventions of '60s B-movies, it is clearly influenced by the politics of the 1980s, when it was made. I will read Oz's Little Shop alongside two specific events: The Reagan Administration and the Second-wave Feminist movement.

Let's close read the musical number "Skid Row" to see how formal and stylistic elements enhance racial difference and enforce the "Pull yourself up by the bootstraps" rhetoric that became popular during the Reagan era as a way to justify and distract from the growing economic disparities in America.

Though the three narrators provide a segue into the song by exclaiming that there is no chance of "bettering ourselves" on Skid Row, Audrey and Seymour end the song determined to get out of their situations. They are notably the only two people in this ensemble number to sing about getting out of Skid Row, looking up towards the sky as the song ends while the rest of the cast looks down. Several other stylistic markers set Audrey and Seymour apart throughout the song, such as the bright lighting on only them, their brighter clothes/hair in comparison to everyone else's dull attire, and even the slower tempo and more gentle style of singing during their verses.

While Seymour and Audrey's economic status makes them "Othered" protagonists (much like Eliza Dolittle in Ray's analysis of My Fair Lady), the formal elements of this number serve to further Otherize people of color. It is important to consider Seymour and Audrey's whiteness in comparison to the ensemble, which consists of many Black performers. With these two white characters as the only ones to sing about wanting to get out of Skid Row while the others do not, the film contributes racist capitalist narratives that one's economic status is a "choice." This is further supported by the fact that the rest of the ensemble of this number rarely shows up throughout the rest of the film. Their only purpose is to foil the protagonists' strife, making the audience feel as though they are rooting for the "little guy" or the "Other" at the expense of another, racialized Other.

However, the narrative that continues after this song seems to subvert and rework this very same myth of finding economic success through the exploitation of The Other.

After finding out that Audrey II feeds on human flesh and blood, the meek and good-natured Seymour struggles to see anyone as "deserving" of death. That is, until Audrey II directs him towards Audrey's abusive boyfriend Orin. Fast forward a bit, and Seymour later feeds his boss, Mr. Mushnik, to Audrey II. The death of both these characters promote Audrey II's growth, which increases the attention it gets from the media and therefore brings Seymour more wealth.

Since the film dips into conventions of Sci-Fi and monster movies, it is expected that those who are killed for financial gain are bodies which have been marked as disposable or lesser. However, the victims in this film, a horribly misogynistic man with a good career and a boss who disregards the well-being of his workers, could easily be construed as heroes in other films. In this film, Seymour and Audrey II flip the narrative of violent exploitation, fighting against oppressive figures in order to succeed in the very capitalist system which they help promote.

Complicating Femininity Through Race and Class

 Ray writes of My Fair Lady as indicating what it means to properly "be" a woman through a rags to riches transformation. Little Shop sets up the perfect foundation for such a transformation to occur to Audrey, who defies any notions of demure, proper womanhood with her "trashy" style and nasally voice. This physical transformation never happens, though, and Audrey's femininity or womanhood are never in question.

Instead, Audrey undergoes an internal transformation through the film's exploration of domestic abuse, which seems to be informed by a heightened awareness of the issue thanks to the advancements of the Second Wave Feminist movement. I find that the film handles this issue surprisingly well, with Audrey experiencing symptoms of abuse in a way that is very realistic, and she is never treated as a source of blame for the abuse Orin subjects her to. When Orin's death frees her of her circumstances, she regains a sense of autonomy and self-confidence.

Audrey's "I want" song, "Somewhere That's Green," also handles contentious aspects of womanhood in a way which considers economic class. In this song, Audrey sings that her biggest dream in life is to live in a comfortable suburban home married to Seymour. While the Second Wave Feminist movement fought against the designation of women as housewives, such a lifestyle would be a privilege to Audrey in her current economic state.

However, the film's three narrators are not given the same complex characterization. Ray writes of the "transgressive inner voice" of female musical protagonists as something progressive and empowering. The three narrators in Little Shop are basically only their voices (and they out-sing everyone else in the cast tbh), existing as an omnipotent presence that is only partially connected to the world of the film. Though the film definitely showcases their vocal talent and charm, they are reduced to an accessory with the sole purpose of narrating white stories.

Two Endings

The film's original ending followed the ending of the stage musical. In this version, Audrey II kills both Audrey and Seymour. Businessmen take cuttings of Audrey II and sell it across the country, accidentally creating an army of Audrey IIs that take over the US.

After two test screenings which left audiences uncomfortable and speechless, Oz filmed a new ending before the wider release of the film. In this new conclusion, Audrey and Seymour survive, kill Audrey II and live happily ever after.

Discussion Questions!

Does camp and the tone of movie musicals make it easier to include anti-capitalist themes and narrative points? Might the film have been made and widely released if the same themes were conveyed in a more "serious" manner?

What is the significance of Audrey II being a plant, as opposed to another kind of being? Could there be an environmentalist reading of the film?

Why do you think the darker ending was successful in the stage musical, but made audiences of the film adaptation uncomfortable? Do stage plays and films evoke different expectations?

What do you make of the second ending and the role of happy endings more generally - can they evoke a sense of hope, or are they an unrealistic distraction from real issues?

[bluef00t]

Do you have any comic recommendations for stories about pulpy-like heroes in fantastical adventures, a la Atomic Robo or Hellboy?

Those ARE my two big recs, which makes this difficult! Golden age pulp's unpredictable spikes of bigotry makes it hard to suggest to strangers as light reading, while modern pulp pastiches can feel overly self-conscious or just hollow to me (while continuing to import all the same old xenophobia.)

With those critiques in mind, though, I can name some more names.

Tom Strong is a 1999 creation by Alan Moore(!) It's not entirely free of... Moore-isms, but it's deeply sincere: no cruel twist awaits his science-action family or their casually fantastical alt-history.

Tintin is still translated and reprinted worldwide for a reason. IMO you won't find a more solid combo of research, jokes, action, and artwork in any other genuine vintage comic series. However, being written in the 30s-60s does show around the edges.

The Spirit, by comics legend Will Eisner, also dates back to the 40s. Post-Eisner, his legacy still pushes creators to get fun and experimental with format and storytelling. The role of racial caricature in the series history is a little harder to work around.

2000s Agents of Atlas is a team of '50s Timely/Marvel heroes. I have frustrations with its yellow peril "deconstruction" but do love the lineup: a secret agent, talking gorilla, Atlantean princess, Greek goddess, humanoid alien, and killer robot walk into a bar...

The Rocketeer is a popular throwback to the 30s that I find too mired in cardboard nostalgia to reach its full potential, but it's had some genuinely fun installments (and a movie!) so it's worth a look.

Sam & Max are mostly known for the point and click games, but they started out as comics parodying pulp adventure and I love their relentless cheesiness so I'm putting them here.

I also, as always, suggest exploring Franco-Belgian comics. (I think Spirou & Fantasio has decent English translations these days). The tone and formatting will be different; I tend to prefer BDs' longer "episode" length, higher density of physical comedy and puns, and more everyman characters.

And I'm always on the lookout for graphic novels which seem cool. Bone (which is honestly a very European series, stylistically), Bad Island, and Rapunzel's Revenge (+ sequel Calamity Jack) are some favorite one-off fantastical adventures I've picked up at my local library. Mostly from the kids or teens section.