#the art of ambition podcast

[bonusquestion]

The art of ambition

In the city that never sleeps, the next opportunity is right around the corner… The Art of Ambition is a modern noir-esque series told from the perspective of a New Yorker with his ear to the ground and a knack for turning a situation to his advantage. It's fairly interesting, nothing to write home about. I like the idea of taking advantage of city space that no one is using. I have a lot of thoughts like this to tust steal land from those that dont use it. The voice acting is good as well its a solid b+, they do well but nothing so good that you should take notes on.

[totallynormals4]

Podcast poll!!

[mishkakagehishka]

Idc anymore i think i'm a good enough writer that i can say that when i noticed the pattern in what exactly makes a book "good" on booktok (and, bc of that, what makes it popular and top bestseller lists), it feels almost demeaning and denigrating to the entire craft. Idk if i should blame the way tiktok-esque social media has utterly rotted everyone's ability to concentrate and read more than three sentences, but literally none of those books are objectively good.

(Yes, yes, art is subjective. HOWEVER. Art is subjective when you look at style, at themes, at motifs, at plots and characters. Art is still a craft, it still requires skill. I've seen beyond the tiktok quotes of these books. Not even their editors are good given the amount of typos/spelling mistakes. That is not something that you should find in a traditionally published book.)

You look at these books, and you know the only reason for their existence is to make money. I cannot and will not accept that as art.

(I'm on Tumblr, of course I have to explain every point. Artists who make money off their art =/= people who only create art meant to be profitable. There is a difference between an artist who hopes to monetise doing what they love, who creates what they wish to see more of and who happens to then create something that other people wish to see more of, and a person who looks at what's trending and decides that making an unholy frankenstein's monster of a book that mashes all those trending tropes and motifs together would get them rich quick. The fact that a lot of these booktok books become popular because of nepotism is just the cherry on top. It's soulless.)

And to finally say what I wanted to say, it's because none of these books have any deeper message or even artistic value to them. You will find a few out of context quotes or paragraphs, ones written specifically so they'd look deep and beautiful when taken out of context, so that people would post them, so that people would buy the books. Entire books written just so those few lines could become viral and make cash. It cannot even be compared to a hook line writers would post to get people interested in their works, because in booktok's case, those are the only lines of quality and in the context itself, they are often out of place and forced.

I just hate booktok, i hate what modern social media has done to art. It's all created to be quickly consumed, for the few ☆aesthetic☆ glances, and then discarded. Just to make more money for those who are already nepo babies. As if artists needed more obstacles to jump over.

[cartograffiti]

The Burden of Proofing

Fandom: The Penumbra Podcast, Juno Steel series Rated: M Warnings: No archive warnings apply Word count: 20,398 - Relationships: Peter Nureyev/Juno Steel (Jupeter), background Buddy Aurinko/Vespa Ilkay Characters: Juno Steel, Peter Nureyev, Rita, Buddy Aurinko, Vespa Ilkay, Jet Sikuliaq - The Carte Blanche crew needs to get close to a device made by M'tendere, and there may never be a better opportunity than its owner's upcoming participation in The Great Cutthroat Welford Pan-holiday Charity Bake Off Extravaganza!!! (tm). With Rita having replaced half the playing field with their cover identities, they'll have to bake the most luscious creations, infiltrate the filming location, keep their cool in front of nigh-mythical judge Alton Brown (recently defrosted from his cryogenic pod), and escape cleanly at the end of the season…wait, where did this dead body come from?

A case fic inspired by reality cooking competitions, written for the 2021 Penumbra Mini Bang.

This fic was posted in 2021. I'm sharing it now because I want my Tumblr to have a nicely organized link to each of my fics. Some I've shared with such inconsistent tags I can't find the links myself, and many I've never blogged about at all! This one I know I have, but a fresh link is an easier way to get organized.

[justtheroguesorceress]

I am back from the dead. Literally.

Hi! Long time no see! It has been 3 years! So quick catch-up! We are still playing dnd but with a different group. My friend who is our dm is turning it into a pod cast and I do art for the campaign. This page will be the art part and I will see if I can get it promoted so it will be easer to find!

[betterbooktitles]

Guillermo del Toro owns a second home that only has his stuff in it. Though the 59-year-old filmmaker is married with children, he keeps an entire second house to himself and fills it with frightening sculptures, inspiring pieces of art, toys, books, and movies, all of it his own curation. There are no kid’s drawings on the fridge, no side tables picked out by his spouse. It’s his personal playroom. He does most of the upkeep himself after a housecleaner broke the finger off one of his statues. He refers to it as a “man cave” or the “Bleak House” and often spends time alone writing there. Del Toro claims his wife likes it and has always supported his childhood dream house. She also prefers that his horrifying decorations don’t impede the aesthetic taste of the home they share as a family.

Having an entire home as a creative man cave that I am entirely in charge of would sound perfect to me if it weren’t for the fact that owning one home has become a nightmare even the best horror director could not fully capture on film.

I know I am lucky. The stats on Millennials owning their own homes are (if you will) bleak. But whatever I thought was irritating me in the city wasn’t nearly as bad as the physical and mental work required to live in a house. It drains bank accounts and my will to do more than one thing per day. When I was young and lived in New York, I scheduled my days like a CEO or politician: meetings, lunches, podcasts, and stand-up shows all crammed together to the minute as if I could teleport between venues. Now, if Wednesday morning includes a Home Depot run and a painting project, realistically, I’m not doing anything after that until Saturday. The laundry list of what needs to be fixed or maintained in the house grows every day. In the winter, there are rooms I simply don’t use because of a draft I can’t fix. In the summers, the yard becomes something we have to actively fight against lest new trees and mushrooms and 6-foot tall weeds that resemble stalks of asparagus take over everything. The current issue is a dead tree blocking a path to the backyard because wisteria vines are pulling it to the ground. It’s the fastest I’ve ever seen a plant move outside of Evil Dead.

Though we struggle to keep up with our checklists, my wife and I have ambitions for the house outside of general maintenance. We’d like a bigger kitchen, a functional garden, and a fence that looks like a stiff breeze wouldn’t knock it over. The house is fine without these physical flourishes, but the fantasy is always there, nagging whispers in the brain of how nice it could be given unlimited time and resources. That nagging gets into my head about a whole house devoted to my creative dreams.

When I fantasize about what I’d like most if money and time were no object, I find myself thinking about a home theater. Unfortunately, money is an object, and the “fun budget” was consumed by the “necessities budget” a year ago. We already replaced the furnace and AC, dug up tiles in the den, painted nearly every room, replaced doors, one of which was rotting the wood at the edges because it hadn’t been replaced since 1986, the year I was born. Still, the list grows. A dedicated line to the kitchen needs to be added by an electrician so the fuse doesn’t blow whenever I use the toaster and the electric kettle at the same time. The fence and what it nominally protects behind the house needs to be reworked before bunnies consume everything that isn’t a weed. The ancient carpeting needs to be ripped up, bathrooms need to be redone by professionals so my body can actually fit comfortably inside one. Walls need to come down to make living spaces seem less like hallways, and the bay window on the second floor that appears to be melting toward the ground needs to be addressed by a professional architect before the wind rips it off the bedroom wall like a giant scab. After all of that is finished, I’d still need to move into a newer, much bigger house if I want to have a home theater. 

Where did the yearning for a private theater come from? Unlike Del Toro’s childhood fantasy of having a house all his own, my wish for this extravagance came much later. I was 30, and I remember exactly how the seed was planted: Zillow. I spent hours on the site, letting the mortgage/insurance calculator tell me what I could afford for the same amount I paid in rent in Brooklyn. On my phone’s screen, I saw a $400,000 mansion in my wife’s hometown outside of Pittsburgh that was the most beautiful house I’d ever seen. It had high wood ceilings and multiple fireplaces to make the whole giant house feel like a cabin. I had 8 bedrooms and a home theater. Imagine, I thought, how good a movie must be in a theater in your own home. Imagine the parties with friends. Imagine movie nights where you force your kids to watch Back to the Future for the first time in a close approximation to the space where you saw it. Playing an old cartoon and a few YouTube’d trailers from the 80s. A little popcorn machine in the corner. Speakers that are way too loud. The dream.

I’ve realized recently, however, how silly the longing for a home theater is for me specifically. I don’t like watching sports at home. I need the atmosphere of screaming people either in the arena itself or in a bar. I need the game to be live. I need to be out among strangers or friends. I feel the same way about movies. I need other people with me, laughing, crying, gasping, clapping. 

Read the rest here.

[readwritedrawrecordrepeat]

I think what makes the PNGs they used during the Splatfest announcement look so odd is the fact that it's really hard to tell what we're supposed to make of it.

The Splatcasts are also meant to be listened to as a podcast, right? So of course, characters (and other guests) calling in using the monitor and not showing up themselves/via video would make sense. So if they simply structured it like a Discord/Zoom call (ex. giving each idol their own PFP that lights up as they talk, or something like that), it would make sense and make it clear that they're meant to be calling in. Or heck, even use their 2D art or the logos for each band, with or without the light ups.

With the PNGs, though? Why would they use pictures of themselves to call in instead of a PFP or video? It almost feels like we're supposed to pretend that they're calling in using a video, and THAT'S what makes it seem a bit cheap to me. I don't really want to say it's lazy, though, since something tells me there's a lot of messed-up stuff going on behind the scenes of Splatoon 3's development, and I don't want to blame the developers for something that likely isn't their fault. The artbooks show clear ambition, so I'm 90 percent sure they had better ideas but not enough resources, money, or time. I wouldn't be surprised if the higher ups thought, "It's just an announcement, it doesn't need anything special."

Anyway, I even think the 3D PNGs could have worked if they had a volume/mic icon in a corner that would light up/animate whenever someone was talking, since again, that would give a greater impression of a video call with the cameras off for some reason.

Like I said, I'm always hesitant to blame the developers, since we don't always know what's going on behind the scenes. My vote is that they're either being allocated to Animal Crossing or Splatoon 4 (i.e. the higher ups have given up on Splatoon 3, are putting everything into making one last, really good event and end a controversial game on a relatively high note), had bigger ideas and were simply ordered not to put in the extra effort/money it would take, or were too burnt out or crunched to do something better. Still, I think it would have been worth it to do a little extra something that would make it clearer what it is we're looking at, rather than slapping on some PNGs and making it seem like we're supposed to imagine they're animated.

Finally, I don't think we should take this as an indicator of what the rest of Grandfest is going to be like. It's clear they're putting plenty into the event ITSELF, and considering the fact that a good chunk of the fanbase couldn't care less about the news segments/Splatfest announcements, I understand why they would put more effort into the parts the fanbase care about the most.

[madhogthymaster]

I Played Every BioShock Game in One Month, And I Must Scream!

On January 2nd 2023, I made the sporadic, partially ill-begotten decision to buy all three BioShock videogames. Up to that point, I had never experienced these titles directly save only through cultural osmosis, the occasional meme and, naturally, The Discourse! I would spend the following lunar cycle playing them, writing down my thoughts and posting them on Twitter dot com. Today, after enough time passed for my heightened feelings to reset, I have collected those floating brain bubbles and transliterated them into some manner of structured essay for your reading pleasure - or utter lack thereof. Did I have anything meaningful to add to the conversation on one of the most dissected and dissertated franchises in the history of the art form? You may be the judge of that. It begins.

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Part One: Atlas Drowned

BioShock. The first BioShock. BioShock the First. "Spiritual" successor to System Shock 2, Bioshock. Yes, that BioShock. This is most certainly not a title that requires any sort of elaborate introduction. Since 2007, there have been many videos, articles, essays, podcasts, and everything in-between, dedicated to its analysis. For better and (decisively) for worse, the concept of Videogame Discourse was birthed from the metaphorical wreckage of this opus smashing itself onto the collective consciousness. I may be indulging in prosaic hyperbole here but the point still stands: it was, and still is, a big deal. You have probably heard it all before: the game is about the Folly of "Free-Market" Capitalism as it drives Society to ruin, the inadequacy of the wealthy to lead, a satirical takedown of Ayn Rand's Objectivism as it unceremoniously flops when confronted with the reality of basic human nature and needs. It's about America, in other words. It gleefully revels in its political stance with the subtlety of a clown-faced vending machine yelling: "Welcome to the Circus of Value!" It might as well be using a copy of Atlas Shrugged to wipe its anus, at this point. That is all to say, first impressions were quite positive and I was enjoying it a lot.

The underwater city of Rapture is a poignantly depressing location: everything from its very name to its opulent Art Deco architecture screams of egomaniacal pretention. It is a monument to its founder's hubris turned into a decadent, decaying tomb for his ambition. It perfectly conveys all you need to know about Andrew Ryan, the founder of Rapture and initial antagonist. He is a rich twat who hated having to pay taxes so he created his own version of a Libertarian Blockchain disguised as a country where there would be "No Gods or Kings. Only Man." He then proceeded to make himself the god-king of his utopia; it crashed and burned along with everyone in it. "Is a man not entitled to the sweat of his brow?" he said, indeed.

Rapture is a wonderfully designed world, in that sense. The only elements that clash with the contextual aesthetic would be the aforementioned "Circus of Value" marketplaces. Let me explain. Andrew Ryan, like all demagogues, takes himself super seriously. His entire platform was built on the premise that he's a charismatic genius and everything he says is Gospel. His whole civilization was constructed on the terrible ideas he convinced both himself and many others were actually good. Seriousness, self-importance and overcompensated grandiosity were the building blocks of Rapture, the roots of its aesthetic, the basis by which this society could function - until it wouldn't anymore. As such, the presence of those vending machines, openly mocking the very foundation of Uncle Andy's Ryanworld, feel out of place within the narrative and universe at hand. They have been clearly put there so that the developers could do a little meta-humour, a wink and a nudge at the player, to redundantly point out how absurd it all was. They must have been worried the game was too subtle and some players would not get it... Anyway, this was but a minor complaint. By all means, take it with a grain of salt. Now, I have some legitimate criticism to bring forth.

Whilst a lot of the conversation has been directed at Brow Sweat Man, his God complex, his insane ambition, his "Chain of Industries" ideology and "Laissez-Faire" economics, not nearly enough analysis was ever dedicated to the other major antagonist of the game, and I can definitely gather why. I will now openly address spoilers for the latter half of the story by discussing the character of Frank Fontaine (aka ATLAS), the de-facto main villain of the piece.

Fontaine is a grifter who played a long con at the expense of the "Kingdom of Reason." He started a smuggling ring that introduced gun violence and religious bigotry to the city, used the malcontent of the exploited working class to start a bloody rebellion, manipulated and killed people behind the scene through various aliases. His corporation is the one responsible for mass producing all the Big Daddies and Little Sisters, the iconic "monsters" of the series running around town. They are a product of Eugenics science based off Nazi Germany's human experiments. I should stress that Ryan approved all this as the city needed exploitable labour in order to run. The reason behind Frank's actions is simple: money, profit, cold hard cash. Andrew Ryan was a wealthy fool hooked on his delusional Capitalist drivel, his "daring vision" for the future of mankind, Fontaine was the reality check. The thematic exclamation point to the game's entire thesis, the depressing yet irrefutable truth behind all the cruelty and horrors caused in the name of IDEAS is good old fashioned Greed. Someone in a position of power will always be there to make a buck out of human suffering.

To be perfectly honest, I find this throughline rather pedestrian. It is the truth of Capitalism, yes, but it is such an obvious statement delivered with such un-earned gusto that it makes the entire game less interesting as a result. Here we have a compellingly detestable villain in Uncle Andy, the "good guy" of his story, a living byproduct of American Exceptionalism, Ayn Rand's poster boy, a poignant satire of the current socioeconomic establishment, being replaced by a basic money-grabbing baddie. What made Ryan so effective is how real he felt: he represented the warped worldview of the out-of-touch, obscenely rich class that rules the planet and that's going to eventually lead us to our demise - much like in Rapture itself. Fontaine, by contrast, is a mustache-twirling cartoon. He acts and talks like a typical videogame villain who doesn't have anything meaningful to say to you other than how smart he is, how he loves money and how he's totally going to get away with it (insert evil laugh here) while sporting the worst accent I have ever heard in my life. His point as a character is moot and the writing is messier as a result. Still, BioShock is a good game, perhaps not as masterfully crafted as many believed it to be, but rather innovative for the time. There is a clever (for 2007) twist right before Fontaine takes over as the final boss in which it is revealed the player's character was being mind controlled the whole time. It's a cute meta-commentary on the unique nature of our interaction with videogames.

Had I played BioShock when it first came out, I would have probably placed it atop a golden pedestal, sung its praises as the best written story in the history of the medium and angrily rejected any criticism towards it in the most obnoxious way imaginable... I think I was trying to make a point but my brain gave up half way through the tangent. As such, I shall conclude this tirade by saying I enjoyed playing this classic title but I have no interest in going through it a second time. Is that fair? Yes, it is.

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Part Two: Tetsuo The Drill Man

I moved on to Bioshock 2: The BioShockening, a game that didn't need to exist, in many ways. On one hand, it drags the theming of the first game to unnecessary levels of dilution as its message had already been abundantly delivered. On the other hand, you play as a Big Daddy with a Big Drill. There is a new ruler in Rapture, her name is Dr. Sofia Lamb. She took over after the fall of Andrew Ryan's "Individualist Utopia" by indoctrinating its inhabitants into a cult that's equal parts Early Christian commune and Eugenics with an extra dose of fanaticism. Much like with Frank Fontaine, we have a case study as to how an unregulated, isolationist, capitalist state lays the foundations for stochastic terrorism and sociopathic grift - just in case it wasn't already obvious that Rapture is supposed to represent America. I say that but, to be brutally honest, Dr. Lamb's politics or set of beliefs are as undercooked and generically laid out as they can get. I had to interpret and extrapolate what her deal was through context clues more than anything else. It wouldn't surprise me if the game's intent was to comment on Communism instead of everything else I pointed out, which would somewhat invalidate its previous stance on Capitalism and would further bring into question the overall political stance behind the BioShock series... but let us put a pin on that thought, for now.

As far as the gameplay is concerned, I believe this is a slightly better, more refined, more challenging loop than its previous iteration. These titles are both solid First-Person Shooters with light RPG elements but the second one improves upon its many shortcomings. The ability to hold both weapons and "magical gene powers" at the same time is such a simple yet elegant mechanic that it (bio)shocks me it wasn't implemented earlier. The hacking mini-games have been simplified to the point of fruitlessness - and I'm fine with that. The big change comes with the Big Daddy himself and his huge, oversized, dominating drill that penetrates all its victims at full force, making them scream. It singlehandedly redeems melee attack as a worthwhile feature. Did I mention it's a huge drill?

Beyond that, there isn't much to add to The Discourse. To reiterate, BioShock 2 is a thoroughly pointless sequel and it barely qualifies as one. It's a glorified expansion pack that adds nothing of substance to the narrative, lazily resting on the laurels planted by its predecessor. It's a more polished and fun title to play, undoubtedly, but it's otherwise easy to see why it is considered the forgettable middle child stuck between an era-defining first outing and whatever Infinite turned out to be. Speaking of which, it's time to get into that one.

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Part Three: Infinite Mysery

WARNING: the following few paragraphs represent my initial impressions on the game, left mostly unaltered as I experienced it for the first time back in January 2023.

So, Infinite, BioShock numero tres but technically a prequel set in 1912, the flying city of Columbia, and all of that. All I knew about this game beforehand was that its engine was used to revolutionize 3D pornography for years to come... Do not ask how or why I know that.

Our "Andrew Ryan" for this episode is played by Father Comstock (oh, brother), an evangelical, white supremacist prophet who gathered his "flock" to live in a conferedate utopia closer to the "Kingdom of Heaven" and far above the "Sodom Below." I used to think the first game was unsubtle and heavy-handed with its commentary, impassioned in its righteous indignation if a bit simplistic by the end, but this game takes that sharp edge and slashes the US flag with it, literally!

This game appears to have things to say about American myth-making, the religious zealotry fueling the glorification (and alteration) of history as a means for Power, The White Man's Burden and the dangerously real threat of Christian Nationalism. It seems to condemn it all with the fervor that bespeaks decapitating a cop with a portable blender - which Infinite is all too eager to provide. What makes the experience truly effective is the setting itself: a far cry from the claustrophobic doom of Rapture. The misery of that place served as a remainder that Capitalism is unsustainable and leads society to ruin. That's an obvious statement by this point and, as such, it left me lukewarm on the experience. All it did was reinforcing my beliefs. Columbia, however, is a different beast. It is not the sunken tombstone to the hubris of a rich fool, it is the realm of the "Chosen Race" thriving under the watchful gaze of the deified Founding Fathers. It's a thriving, gorgeous vision right out of Jules Verne's mind, and it runs on the back of slaves.

That's what makes it truly horrifying and infuriating. The fact that it works, that its ruler managed to build a community for "good white Christians" thanks to the power of religious indoctrination and the exploited labour of the "lower races" that keeps it afloat. It is unsettling, bone-rattling, how inviting the city looks at a first glance, its Victorian architecture bathing in the sun as a barber shop quartet entertains curious onlookers. It's a grotesque dream of Dixieland as filtered through Gone with the Wind lenses.

As such, getting to disrupt the perfect little order of this bigoted, racist 19th century style town through acts of wanton violence is INFINITEly more cathartic than killing random junkies in an already disrupted, dead society. Sticking it to an unjust hierarchy by murdering cops and destroying property elevates the enjoyment of playing this title tenfold. It's exactly what was missing from my ideal BioShock experience. It's simply more compelling to defeat that which is yet to be even challenged. Another major element in the game's favour is a main character with actual agency, as opposed to a silent protagonist whose whole deal was his tragic lack of agency. It's much easier to be invested in the narrative when my guy has a literal say in the matter.

I sure hope the game does not somehow ruin everything in the second half. That would be so disappointing...

WARNING: the following are my real, unfiltered opinions on BioShock Infinite.

Do you know what is the most egregious, baffling, aggravating turn a narrative like this could have made after all it's done, after putting out such an inflammatory takedown of the American conservative institutions? Why, Bothsidesing, of course! According to this game's oh so wise writing, when those rebelling against their literal slavers do it by employing Direct Action instead of "the right, non-violent way" then they're just as bad as them. That is how Infinite chooses to frame the Anarcho-Socialist revolution of one Daisy Fitzroy (the only named black character) as she's compared to Father Comstock (the racist theocrat) with the all too familiar adagio of "Both sides are in the wrong." I am seething with rage.

This game went out of its way to pontificate against America's history of bigotry and racism up to including actual horrendous ethnic caricatures to drive its point home. Then it cowardly decided to throw it all away by taking the "Enlightened Centrist" stance. Essentially, the people in charge of the project have demonstrated to me their unwillingness to commit to a difficult subject as soon as it came to addressing the Real American history, opting thusly to an implicit endorsement of the Neoliberal Status Quo. The message now reads: "Slavery was bad but the slaves should not rebel against it! They should debate the slavers in the Market Place of Ideas!" You could take such a blanket statement and apply it to every sociopolitical scenario where there is a clear Oppressor with a clear Oppressed and expect it to be uttered by those who benefit from the Oppression.

I understand this title is more than a decade old but I will unendingly rag on the plate of unfulfilled potential due to cop-out writing. In fact, this whole situation has forced me to reevaluate my thoughts on the first title, as well! All of a sudden, the dichotomy between Andrew Ryan and Frank Fountain (the latter pretending to be on the side of the working class with a "clever" pseudonym) starts to feel like a less immediately obvious form of political bothsidesing. It wouldn't surprise me to learn that the game was cherry-picking its themes as if they were somehow divorced from the larger critique on the Establishment. Implying, in other words, that concepts like the "The Invisible Hand", Objectivism and Manifest Destiny could be extricated from the very fabric of American Society when the inconvenient truth is that they are as much a part of it as Racism, Slavery and Genocide. I am not necessarily changing my opinion on that first iteration, mind you, but I do find myself dubious over my initial read given how the series ultimately panned out, with all the poise of a bald eagle covered in blood-soaked feces! It has just occurred to me, as I was writing this down, that Infinite is basically a remake of the first BioShock but dumber in every conceivable way. More over, BioShock 2's main antagonist, Sofia Lamb, was presented as the total opposite to Andrew Ryan (but just as bad) which reinforces the aforementioned Centrist stance the series now appears to champion while serving as a prelude to what would become the profoundly stupid thesis of the third one! It is astounding just how bad Infinite is turning out to be: horrible in a manner that makes me retroactively question my own ability to understand media literacy. This, dear readers, would be the time when I start screaming.

That said, it's not even the worst part. No, the most offensive aspect about any of this is that None of it actually matters, by the end.

WARNING: That Ending.

It turns out Father Comstock and your main character are the same person but from a different timeline when an Important Choice was made because of Guilt which led to becoming a Reborn Christian and the foundation of Columbia. You had a daughter which was taken from you by your evil doppelganger from another dimension and you were left trapped in a pocket world of some kind and then the rest of the game happens. Something, something, Regret. Something, something, commentary on Player Agency. Something, something, you must stop existing in the past in order to erase all the bad timelines, Sonic '06 style. By the way, there are timey-wimey bollocks, in case it wasn't clear. This is garbage and I do not care for it.

To see what this game was actually about, all along, further undermines whatever "political position" was presented to me throughout the diegesis. Depictions of oppression, racism and human suffering very much rooted in actual history were used as a mere thematic red herring. Meaning that there never was any real commentary, it was a "distraction" from the true narrative. Let this thought consume you for a spell. The game will have you slaughter fascist cops as well as recently liberated black men in the same gruesome, sadistic fashion while framing both groups as "equally bad", only to then pull the rug from under you and tell you it was all window dressing for the Real Story, which was about our (white) protagonist being tormented by his bad life decisions. I am beyond done.

The best I can say about the third and final chapter of the thoroughly tainted BioShock saga is that its contentious presence can be applied to a broader discussion about the nature of Art, namely if or when certain lines should be crossed, for what purpose should they be crossed and, especially, by whom. Infinite was built on the foundation of bad ideas and irredeemable execution. It presented a vapid vision of political radicalism from the obvious perspective of White Privilege and managed, bewilderingly, to not have anything to say about said politics, at all! It's the kind of idiocy that should have been nipped at the bud before wreaking untold damage - much like the main character himself. Nevertheless, it is a real piece of media that exists, a piece of gaming history and, like all history, we can learn something from it... Never Again! That would be the lesson to learn here.

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Part 4: Something, Something, A Conclusion

As I am about to put this series inside the proverbial Tomb of Amontillado, I suppose this would be the right time to enlist my many gameplay pet peeves, my general pedantries, starting with the hacking mini-games: annoying in the first game, pointless in the second. In general, dealing with turrets, cameras and security robots was an unpleasant experience throughout the trilogy.

In the first two entries, some wise guy had the "great idea" of mapping the jump input to the upper button of the controller. I positively loathed that. They finally fixed it in the third game, just in time for it to stain the bed with several more horrible decisions! Why can't I hold more than two weapons at once in my inventory? That is such a backward step compared to the rest of the series!

Infinite must have also been one of the first AAA games to implement the hideous, horrendous, hackneyed sprint feature that would have you press on the left analog stick while the character is moving. Why was this ever considered an acceptable design choice?

I guess there were a few DLC. They sure exist.

... And with that underwhelming post scriptum, I shall now set my sights elsewhere - away from "Great Chains" and "Kingdoms of Heaven." New games await but we will always have the memories.

The memories of the giant drill, specifically.

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BioShock and BioShock: Infinite were developed by Irrational Games. BioShock 2 was developed by 2K Marin.

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[art-of-manliness]

Odds & Ends: September 6, 2024

Macbeth. Ever since my podcast with Eliot Cohen on what Shakespeare can teach us about power and leadership, I’ve had a hankering to read more of the Bard. But I read somewhere that to really get the full effect of Shakespeare’s plays, it helps to hear the plays performed instead of merely reading them. So I downloaded a performance of Macbeth done by the Folgers Theatre on my Audible app and listened to it during my morning walks. It was great! So many good lessons on the dangers of unchecked ambition. I’ve already downloaded King Richard III, and it will be my next morning walk companion. If you’ve wanted to get more Shakespeare in your life, try listening to him instead of reading him.  Flint and Tinder Waxed Canvas Trucker Jacket. The summer heat broke here in Oklahoma this week, and we’re starting to get a faint whiff of fall. Which means I’ll soon be busting out my favorite piece of autumnal clothing: the Flint and Tinder Waxed Canvas Jacket. I’ve had mine since 2016, and it’s only gotten more handsome with time. The F&T Trucker Jacket is pricey, but it will give you years of use. I’ll probably still be wearing mine in another eight years. Read my full review of the Flint and Tinder Waxed Canvas Trucker Jacket here.  EA Sports NCAA College Football 25. Overall, I haven’t been a big fan of the changes that NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) has brought to college sports. But one bright spot is that it ushered in the return of one of my favorite video games from high school: EA Sports NCAA College Football. (The game had been on a decade-long hiatus because of legal disputes over the use of players’ likenesses in the game). Gus and I have been playing it together the past few weeks, and we both really enjoy it. It’s fun to see all the little traditions from each college that the designers have put into the game. The playbook is a lot of fun, too. Back in high school, our football team ran the triple option that Air Force runs, so I’ve been playing as the Falcons to digitally relive my Friday night lights glory days. It’s just been cool playing a video game that I enjoyed as a young man with my son who is now a young man.  The Natural. This Robert Redford baseball classic was my latest zone 2 cardio watch. I haven’t enjoyed a movie this much in a long time. First, the golden-hued cinematography bathes everything in a warm glow of nostalgia. It feels good just seeing the moving images on the screen. Second, the story is top-notch. It’s a baseball flick, but the movie makes obvious allusions to Greek epic poetry, particularly the Odyssey. Third, the acting is stellar: Robert Redford, Glenn Close, Wilford Brimley, Kim Basinger, Robert Duvall…such an all-star cast. I first watched this movie as a kid; it hit different watching it as a middle-aged man. Highly recommend.  Quote of the Week Nothing can lift the heart of man Like manhood in a fellow-man. The thought of heaven’s great King afar But humbles us—too weak to scan But manly greatness men can span, And feel the bonds that draw. —Herman Melville Help support independent publishing. Make a donation to The Art of Manliness! Thanks for the support! http://dlvr.it/TCwPtr

[junkdayz]

Most of this is copied but it still works to be honest—

INTRO POST !!

Hiiiiii I’m remi, Mia or zita (Zeeta), 18, any prns, dominican, pansexual.

Just in case for roleplay purposes: Non-binary. has a slight athletic build due to being on the gymnastics team when he was in high school. 6'3. he's very shy and awkward unless he's around someone he enjoys talking to. no matter the fc i will always use any prns and have a penis. i am NOT a girl. please don't call me one lol

Kinks are found here

DNI ୧ʕ •̀ᴥ•́ ʔ୨

if you cannot handle mature themes, if you're racist, homophobic, misogynistic, transphobic, if you're often involved in drama, if you support negative and hateful behaviour, if you kink and/or fetish shame, people who are dishonest, negativity, being interrupted, loud and crowded places, close-mindedness, unfair treatment, lack of respect for personal boundaries, being pressured into things, judgmental attitudes, procrastination, unnecessary conflict, insensitivity to others' feelings, lack of ambition, laziness, unreliability, people who are overly critical, feeling unappreciated

likes ʅʕ´•ᴥ•`ʔʃ

music, dancing, hanging with friends, trying out new foods, watching movies, video games, fashion and styling, photography, traveling, exploring new cultures, reading books, writing lyrics or poetry, collecting sneakers, practicing new dance routines, going to concerts, playing sports, cooking or baking, watching anime, painting or drawing, learning new languages, attending fan meet-ups and events, visiting cafes, shopping for unique clothing and accessories, participating in charity events or volunteering, listening to podcasts, yoga or meditation, going on nature walks or hikes, watching reality TV shows, doing makeup tutorials, visiting art galleries and museums, playing with pets.

I am an unpublished author, teen author, fanfiction author, beginner author and possibly many other things!!!! These factors don't make me or anyone less of an author, because you can write fanfiction and still be an author! You can be unpublished and still be an author! And you can be younger than most and still be an author!!!

Guess what! I will do requests!!! If you want to, send in a prompt for a one-shot! Look at the bottom for my request info!

What I write?

• I wanna write a lot of k-pop fanfiction's as of right now

• I write my own stories, and I would one day like to be an actual author

• I specialise in romance-type and heavy smut stories

• One-shots

• Multichapter fics

• And I'm gonna write/make a lot of WIPS (the list is endless!)

• Request reminders!!!!!

• I have a right to refuse requests!

This isn't me being rude and I'm sorry if you feel that way! It's just that I'm trying to stay safe online and if I'm not comfortable writing something I won't write it.

• I can write one-shots or mini-fanfics!

• I will do: Ships, SFW, Angst, LGBTQ+, one-shots, mini-fanfics, NSFW, Alcohol, _________ x reader, raceplay, gender-bent, alternate anatomy: boypussy | girlcock, regular stuff

• When it comes to requests try to send in ones that align with the fandoms I'm in!

• This is an LGBTQ+ safe place, everyone is welcome!!!!!

• If you don't like, don't interact, please! Again this account will be dark and freaky and may contain uncomfortable and triggering themes. i always content warn and tag the content that i know is sensitive so that people who don't want to see it, don't see it! i encourage those who are uncomfortable with what i write about (see below for specifics) to utilize the block and blacklist features to their liking! i can be slow to answer asks, i have a job and i am also neurodivergent so apologies in advance if it takes a while.

Fics written as of now

Pillow talk | reader x Femboy dosie (purple kiss)

[aff1uence]

𓏲   *   (  oliver  jackson-cohen,  cis  man,  he/him  )   ⸺   pictures  of  DYLAN  CHRISTOPHER  KHOURI  have  been  showing  up  all  over  my  feed,  and  considering  the  last  time  they  were  #trending,  it  was  due  to  a  photograph  of  him  looking  attractively  photogenic  being  rescued  from  a  hostage  situation  going  viral  —  i'm  not  likely  to  unfollow  anytime  soon.  with  their  precisely  coiffed  hair,  mixture  of  military  clothing  in  the  field  and  suits  in  the  studio,  i'm  not  surprised  to  hear  that  they  are  considered  part  of  the  NOUVEAU  RICHES.  after  35  years,  they've  managed  to  garner  a  reputation  for  being  more  brave  than  coarse,  but  their  critics  say  that  they're  more  haunted  than  gallant  when  they  aren't  too  busy  capitalising  on  the  events  that  cause  him  to  lose  sleep  every  night  ;  cooking  elaborate  meals  for  himself  alone  ;  photographing  animals  in  the  park.  when  they  aren't  occupied  with  their  work  as  a  journalist  /  former  war  correspondent,  they've  been  sighted  taking  pottery  classes.  reputation.com  has  taken  to  calling  them  HERCULES  in  order  to  avoid  a  lawsuit  (  again  ).   ──

GENERAL DETAILS.

full  name:   dylan  christopher isaac  khouri .  nickname(s):   d .  dyl .  age:  thirty5 .  date  of  birth:   4th  of  april ,  1988 .  place  of  birth:   lismore ,  australia .  current  location:   soho ,  new  york  city .  ethnicity:   jewish  australian  egyptian .  gender:   cis  man .  pronouns:   he / him .  sexual  orientation:   heterosexual .   romantic orientation:   heteroromantic .  relationship  status:  single .  religion:   not  religious .  occupation:   journalist / podcaster ,  former  war  correspondent .  education:   master  of  arts  in  journalism  from  murdoch university .  accent:   mild  australian .  spoken  languages:   english  ( native ) ,  italian  ( fluent ) ,  arabic  ( fluent ) .

PHYSICAL APPEARANCE, ETC.

faceclaim:   oliver  jackson - cohen .  hair  colour  and  style:   straight  dirty  blonde ,  a  textured  crew  cut  with  low  fade .  eye  colour:   blueish  green .  height:   6  ft  3 .  tattoos:   none  currently .  none:   none .  clothing  style:   street  style ,  jeans ,  neutral - toned  tops ,  leather  jackets .  distinguishing  features:   various  small  scars  across  his  body .  including  a  recently  healed  gash  from  his  hairline  to  just  above  his  left  eyebrow .  signature  scent:   tom  ford ,  oud  wood .

HEALTH.

mental  disorder(s):   ptsd ,  anger  management  issues .  physical  disorder(s):   a  busted  shoulder ,  permanent  hearing  damage  ( 30%  loss  in  left  ear ,  10%  loss  in  right  ear ) .  allergies:   none .  sleeping  habits:   night  owl ,  sleeps  approx.  4 - 5  hours  each  night ,  has  night  terrors .  eating  habits:   omnivore .  sociability:   extrovert .  addictions:   alcohol  dependency .  drug  use:   weed ,  party  drugs  such  as  mdma occasionally .  alcohol  use:   daily ,  gets  drunk  twice  a  week  minimum  when  not  working .

PERSONALITY.

label(s):   hercules .  positive  traits:   brave ,  gallant ,  generous ,  sociable ,  protective .  negative  traits:   haunted ,  selfish ,  coarse ,  noncommittal ,  stubborn .  likes:   working  out ,  clubbing ,  photography ,  writing ,  hanging  with  the  boys ,  flirting .  dislikes:   conferences ,  being  fussed  over ,  confronting  his  feelings ,  country  music .  fears:   small  spaces .  goals  and  ambitions:   to  shed  a  light  on  the  cruelties  of  war .  astrology:   aries  ( sun ) ,  scorpio  ( moon ) ,  leo  ( rising ) .  moral  alignment:   lawful  neutral . element:   fire .  primary  vice:   pride .  primary  virtue:   charity .

BIOGRAPHY.

dylan  grew  up  in  australia ,  with  his  mother  grace  and  his  father  rowland  isaac .  most  of  their  life  revolved  around  rowland's  job  –  a  military  man .  they  moved  around  often  when  dylan  was  young .  his  father  was  the  person  he  admired  most  and  he  planned  to  follow  in  his  footsteps .  the  signs  of  the  horrors  of  war  were  there ,  but  a  young  impressionable  mind  convinced  itself  that  it  was  to  be  expected  and  that  it  was  a  badge  of  honour .  when  his  little  sister  was  born ,  things  settled  a  bit  more .  they  stopped  moving  as  often ,  allowing  dylan  to  make  friends  while  the  family  was  slowly  starting  to  crumble .  rowland  was  struggling  more  and  more  with  what  he  had  seen  in  active  duty ,  often  having  periods  where  he  did  not  understand  where  he  was  or  who  was  around  him .  more  often ,  grace  would  leave  the  house  for  the  night  and  leave  dylan  and  gwyn  alone  with  rowland .  although  dylan  always  empathised  with  his  father  for  what  he  had  gone  through ,  his  post  traumatic  stress  was  escalating  into  more  than  just  night  terrors .  the  violent  outbursts  became  a  regular  occurrence  and  dylan  often  felt  responsible  for  ensuring  the  safety  of  his  little  sister  and  himself . 

approaching  his  high  school  graduation ,  dylan  initially  did  not  want  to  go  to  university .  he  considered  finding  a  job  locally ,  perhaps  working  for  a  gym ,  so  he  could  stay  home  and  keep  an  eye  on  the  family .  after  much  convincing  from  his  both  his  parents ,  he  ended  up  enrolling  at  the  university  of  queensland  for  a  bachelor  in  political  science  in  brisbane .

the  day  before  he  left  for  university ,  his  mother  pulled  him  aside  and  dropped  a  bombshell  on  him .  rowland  was  not  his  father .  his  father  was  a  man  by  the  name  of  haim  khouri  –  an  egyptian  businessman  she  had  met  in  italy  in  a  whirlwind  romance ,  when  she  and  rowland  had  already  been  together  for  a  while .  grace  made  him  swear  he  would  not  tell  rowland ,  fearing  for  his  mental  state .  so ,  dylan  kept  the  secret  from  rowland  and  from  his  sister . 

while  at  university  he  contacted  with  his  biological  father .  he  even  flew  out  to  tunisia ,  his  current  home ,  to  meet  him .  dylan  learnt  arabic ,  craving  to  have  a  closer  connection  to  his  paternal  side  as  he  heard  the  struggles  rowland  continued  to  endure .  after  his  bachelor  in  political  science ,  he  followed  it  up  with  a  masters'  in  journalism  at  murdoch  university  in  perth ,  unsure  what  he  wanted  in  life .  following  graduation ,  he  started  work  as  a  political  journalist  in  brisbane ,  first  written  correspondence ,  then  as  a  field  reporter  for  a  local  news  programme .  he  travelled  all  around  australia  and  didn't  get  to  visit  home  as  often  anymore .  however ,  just  after  gwyn's  16th  birthday ,  he  travelled  home  only  to  find  it  in  chaos  and  his  little  sister  covered  in  blood  and  rowland  dead  on  the  floor .

a  lot  changed  after  that .  the  case  was  dropped  and  him ,  gwyn  –  now  florence  –  and  grace  moved  to  the  us .  he  continued  his  journalism  career ,  actively  pursuing  a  path  towards  war  correspondence .  he  had  seen  how  much  war  impacted  those  around  him ,  and  studying  politics  and  international  relations ,  he  knew  that  he  needed  to  report  on  it .  not  long  after  the  move ,  he  was  off  again ,  running  around  active  warzones  and  photographing  and  reporting  on  them  for  cnn . 

late  march  2023 ,  dylan  did  not  make  his  scheduled  call .  it  took  48  more  hours  before  he  was  reported  as  missing .  the  envoy  he  had  been  travelling  in  was  stopped  for  what  was  initially  thought  to  be  a  routine  check .  instead ,  he  had  found  the  barrel  of  a  gun  pressed  to  the  back  of  his  head  and  he  was  escorted  away  by  a  terror  organisation .  he  was  not  alone .  two  fellow  correspondents ,  one  from  the  bb c,  one  independent  reporter  from  germany ,  were  also  captured .  the  first  few  months ,  they  were  used  as  a  pawn  in  negotiations  with  the  reporters'  respective  home  countries  and  countries  of  employment .  he  was  kept  in  relatively  comfortable  conditions .  his  captors  demanded  supplies ,  then  money ,  then  weapons .  the  list  never  ended  and  demands  became  too  outrageous .  by  the  time  august  rolled  around ,  it  had  been  claimed  that  all  three  of  them  had  been  assassinated .  the  governments  were  only  able  to  confirm  the  deaths  of  the  english  and  german  reporter  due  to  footage  appearing  on  the  dark  web .  in  reality ,  they  kept  him  around  and  alive  just  for  the  fun  of  torturing  him .

early  october ,  months  after  the  outcries  for  dylan's  release  had  died  down  and  the  news  had  moved  on ,  though  contact  had  remained  between  the  australian  government ,  united  states  government  and  the  terrorists  under  the  radar ,  the  home  he'd  been  kept  in  was  raided  and  he  was  released .  on  his  way  out ,  looking  rather  worse  for  wear ,  one  of  his  colleagues  from  the  cnn  captured  a  photo  of  him .  it  went  viral ,  not  because  he  had  been  presumed  dead ,  but  because  despite  his  injuries ,  despite  his  worsened  physical  and  mental  state ,  he  looked  attractive  in  the  candid  photo  and  the  internet  went  wild . 

since  his  reappearance ,  he  has  been  involved  in  talk  shows ,  podcasts &  radio  shows .  he  has  yet  to  see  a  therapist ,  despite  the  horrors  he  now  continues  to  relive  nightly .

[kittyboudoir]

Favorite Hobbies

Leveling up consists of being the best version of you and pursuing your passions. Having hobbies will drive your ambition and will show others that you’re motivated to reach your goals. Here are examples of my hobbies if you are stuck trying to find a new passion:

Learning languages. I currently study the most used languages in the fashion industry: French, Italian, Japanese, Russian, German & Spanish

Reading books on famous women in history

Using the Google Arts & Culture app to better my knowledge in the fine arts.

Writing poetry

Studying famous composers & classical music

Horseback riding

Playing the piano

Fashion journalism

Teaching my self how to host special occasions & cook/bake foods from around the world

Researching organizations for charity

Playing badminton, tennis and croquet

Signing up for pole dancing, aerial & pilates classes

Studying psychology

Broadening my knowledge in medical esthetics

Learning about real estate & law

Sketching fashion designs

Taking trips to the Saturday market

Buying books about architecture & interior design

Painting

Watching ballet performances & fashion shows

Practicing calligraphy

Investing in books about philosophy

Expanding my vocabulary

Going on library trips for new novels

Listening to podcasts & opera performances

Going to the gym

Teaching myself how to be a sommelier

Blogging

Going to the museum

Journaling

Watching old Hollywood films

Understanding perfumery

Learning how to play the violin & harp

Photography

Xoxo

Kitty.

[redsoapbox]

The Third and Final Volume of Have Yourself a Merry Indie Christmas is Released Tomorrow

So, I've reached the end of a rather wonderful journey. When I had the idea of curating a Christmas album, almost two years ago now, I didn't really have a specific project in mind at all. However, the best decision I took early on was to ban cover versions (I adore all the great Christmas classics, from Bing and Nat to Noddy and Elton) but anybody can round up a crappy cover version of an all-time classic. I wanted to see if there were undiscovered Christmas songs floating around in the ether that had simply never had a fair hearing, songs good enough to be future classics, at least within the genre of Indie music.

That meant a lot of back breaking and heart breaking (there are still moments when I full-on curse a record company for not consenting to the release of a track!) work along the way. I must have listened to every Indie Xmas compilation ever recorded - day after day spent trawling through Bandcamp, Discogs, label catalogues, you tube, Xmas podcasts and blogs.

On the subject of the latter, it was chancing upon the phenomenal Christmas Underground – We are the War on Christmas (Music) that allowed the fanciful vision I had of compiling the 'Best Indie Xmas Album Ever' to crystalize into a realistic proposition. I was discovering song after song there that I was falling in love with. These songs were from bands (mostly unknown to me) from all parts of America and all over Europe (Scandinavian Indie Xmas songs is a really flourishing sub-genre), it was incredibly exciting and lead to dozens of punch the air moments as, one by one, bands agreed to participate.

In addition to discovering new songs, I also set about tracking down bands that I admired and who I knew had an Xmas song in their back catalogue. I was lucky enough to get hold of songs from Dodgy, Girl Ray, White Town, bis, Pete Astor and many more. It was around this point that my idea for a 20-30 song album began to trend to the mammoth 108-track compilation that was released last Christmas. There were just so many unbelievable songs that I had to try and track down.

An example of the obsessive hole that I was digging for myself came when I read a write up on a Minneapolis band called GLOSS (who became Poshlost) before splitting up. Christmas Underground called their song 'Gifts Received' 'the best Joy Division/New Order Christmas song of all time! From the baseline, to the vocals, to the lyrics, GLOSS have hit the nail on the head when it comes to writing a dark, pulsing, disturbing Christmas song'. You can imagine, as someone whose favourite band is JoyDivision/New Order how much I wanted that song, because, unbelievably and against all the odds, it did sound like a Joy Division Christmas song. The band had long since split up though (the song dated back to 2015) and my bandcamp messages met with silence. In the end, I tracked down a band member on Facebook and received an immediate and favourable reply. That wild goose chase was repeated dozens of times through 2022.

Volumes I and II succeeded in raising £5,800 for Crisis, nearly treble the target I had set myself, having been played on BBC6 Music, BBC Scotland, Radio X and BBC Radio Wales (each volume was named Album Of The Week by Huw Stephens). In addition, the songs were played on "indie" stations around Europe and America (thanks to Sandra and Alice for constantly playing the albums on their shows from Berlin) but also in Canada, Hong Kong and Australia. Have Yourself a Merry Indie Christmas was also shorlisted as a (Welsh Origin) AOTY by Wales Arts Review.

The main aim accomplished then, but what of my personal ambition to compile an album that would be played at Christmas for years to come? Here is the verdict: A REMINDER OF THE INCREDIBLE REVIEWS FOR HAVE... (tumblr.com). I don't think there is anything else to touch it. For example, Rough Trade, as good an Indie label as there ever was, released a Christmas comp this year (some five or six tracks are on HYAMIC too), but it comes nowhere near the quality of any of the three volumes that constitute Have Yourself a Merry Indie Christmas.

Speaking of Volume III (you may have read the tracklist already at Have Yourself a Merry Indie Christmas Vol III: Line Up Reveal - Wales Arts Review), it matches the standard of its predecessors, featuring The Wedding Present, The Futureheads, Helen Love, Euros Childs and Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard.

The project closes then, having rounded up 143 distinctive, thrilling Christmas earworms into a three volume compilation that raises money for a cause which demands urgent support. This is the 21st Century and no one should be homeless in the United Kingdom. Thank you all for your generosity in helping others and for giving these forgotten songs a home too.

A track from Volume III "Xmas Trip" by Run On

You can purchase all three volumes here Music | Various Artists (bandcamp.com) If you do that on December 1st (after 8.ooam UK time) bandcamp waives its commission, raising more money for Crisis at Christmas.

[starlight-blackbird]

10 facts about Katy Banner, please??

@dancingsunflowers-ocs 💙

Alexandra, you absolute babe, I am kissing you for sending this (<3 <3). Thank you so much!!

Katy is autistic, and some of their special interests include feminist and queer history, musical theatre and its history, plants and botany, and film history.

Their favorite color is yellow, but the color they wear the most is black.

Their dreams of being on Broadway began the first time they watched the old Oklahoma! movie from the fifties with their mother, and afterwards they wouldn't stop walking around the house singing "I Cain't Say No" for almost a week.

Katy has a love for all things most people would find creepy and weird; they love all sorts of horror movies and video games, and they're constantly listening to creepy fiction podcasts such as The Magnus Archives.

(They also have a bit of a crush on Vincent Sinclair from the 2005 House of Wax movie, but no one needs to know about that.)

They don't actually get the chance to audition for any type of production until they move into Avengers Tower and Tony gets them an audition at a performing arts school, but they always thought that their ideal audition song would be "There's A Fine, Fine Line" from Avenue Q. (They do in fact sing the song for their audition, and nail it.)

Katy has major sensory issues when it comes to mushy foods and certain types of carpet; they had to wear socks at all times in their bedroom when they lived with Judith because of the carpet, and they can't even put a piece of banana in their mouth without having to spit it back out and gag.

(They really love banana muffins and bread, however, but that's different.)

Besides movie musicals and horror movies, Katy has a good love for comedies - they've seen all of Adam Sandler's movies and can quote most of the second Grown Ups by heart.

One of Katy's biggest ambitions is to have a snake (specifically a banana ball python) for a pet. They're not allowed to have one in the tower because Steve and Wanda are afraid of them, but they plan to get one when they move out. They intend to name the snake Noodle.

Tagging @shefollowedthestars!!

[bowtiesnmusicals]

Here is my recap of the Howard Bamboo (Kent Avenido) episode of the podcast.

Kent is smarter then Howard.

This is another example of art imitating life and life imitating art.

Everyone loves him.

Tiktok and Disney+ have created a whole new group of fans.

People still call Kent, Howard Bamboo.

Kevin’s boyfriend started to quote Howard when Kevin told him Kent was going to be on the show. It freaked out Kevin because he didn’t know his boyfriend watched glee.

Kent originally addiction for Coach Ken Tanaka. He went through all the auditions and didn’t get it but the creators liked him enough to rewrite a part for him.

Howard was originally Ginny a 20 something with bad roots.

Kent was told he looked too young for Ken Tanaka.

He said Patrick Gallagher played Ken perfectly.

Kent can sing.

He did 4 musical numbers on glee.

He didn’t have to sing in his auditions.

Ryan asked Kent if he could sing while they were filming the pilot.

Kent grew up doing musical theater.

They sang For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow live.

Kent said it was so much fun doing the musical numbers.

He didn’t know if Howard would come back after the pilot.

Every episode Howard was in was with Terri (Jessalyn).

It was a dream to be on set .

He knew after seeing a viewing of the pilot he knew the show as something special.

Howard was always in his Sheets and Things uniform.

Panda Express owes something to Kent for all that free promotion.

Poor Howard had a lot going on.

Kent was raised in a family of doctors. His dad and brothers are doctors and his mom and sisters are nurses. He was planning on going on med school. He has two science degrees. He has a minor in fine arts. He got waitlisted and while he was waiting he decided to pursue acting. He went to New York with dreams of being a big Broadway star. His dreams changed and he moved to LA because he wanted to do more film, tv, and commercials.

He didn’t know anyone when he moved to LA.

His initials ambition was to become a cardiologist.

He secretly always wanted to be an actor but didn’t think it was possible.

He took the risk and it paid off.

He has worked on shows like Grace and Frankie, Superstore, and The Mentalist.

Booking gigs is the hardest part of the job.

Howard Bamboo has both helped and hurt Kent’s career. He was getting a lot of notoriety which made getting commercial work hard. That notoriety helped him get roles after glee though.

Playing Howard was easy.

Kent can watch the pilot on repeat. He also likes watching musical numbers.

At one point Poison was his ringtone.

Kevin’s parents use songs he has sung as their ringtones.

Kent enjoyed getting to meet all the adult characters.

He didn’t get to meet Josh Groban. He met him years later at a concert.

Glee was so good at getting people to show their different talents.

Patrick Gallagher was nervous about singing.

Adam Anders and the music department were good at making people sound good even on their bad days.

Kent’s last episode was the 2009 episode at the end of season 6.

He said it brought good closure to his time on the show.

It was really special for the whole cast to do the 2009 episode. It was a way of bringing it back to the start and getting closure all at the same time.

Chris Colfer was a baby at the beginning of the show and by the end everyone was seasoned pros.

Kevin said that just means assholes and everyone laughed.

Kent’s advice to people looking to start out in show business is you have to have a love for it. If you don’t this business willl chew you up and spit you out. You have to rely on that love to get you through the bad times. Just keep going and don’t give up. It you really love it the good times will be so worth it.

Everybody loves Howard Bamboo.

Kent is the absolute best.

Jenna and Kevin said it is nice to get to talk to these actors that played characters they didn’t really get to work with on the show.

[hydralisk98]

My strengths and ambitions

Generic skills and forces:

Research, "Creative" Writing & Analysis (atlases, encyclopedias, reference works...)

Multimedia Collaging and Video Compositing

Analog Media and Digital Data Preservation

Composing tracker music

Technical documentation

(explorable?) multimedia explainers

History (& alternate history)

Information technologies

Historical hardware & software

Sidestream software & "operating" systems

Linguistics?

Casual spirituality topics?

TTRPG crawl campaign setting & systemic designs...

Toybox tools and manifestation games...

Causal collectible card games and expansive board game mods...

Demoscene and game modding...

Vector / Retro Aliased Raster illustrations

Animations & interactive (A?)SVG cartoons

Free, Libre and Open Source movement (open culture, open hardware and open software, et cetera.)

Computer builds and overall customization (especially the looks but also functionality, both virtual and physically informed)

Sensible, caring and detail-oriented.

Specific skills (existing and upcoming) and emphasis points for my career

Page pixel dolls, banner blinkies, panels & other animated GIF graphics...

Printables (blanks, worksheet, guestbooks, greeting cards...)

Stickers & clipart

Stationery (especially legacy/obsoleted types)

Desktop organizers with bundled theme packs (even cursors, icons, sounds, widgets and almost everything else under the sun?)

Monero+Liquid online shop

ClipStudioPaint (upcoming...)

WordPerfect from Corel (upcoming...)

OpenMPT + MilkyTracker (tracker music)

ReNoise (upcoming...)

LibreOffice

GIMP with G'MIC

Krita with G'MIC

GrafX2 (upcoming...)

Kate & KDevelop

Version control with Git (GitHub, GitLab, GitTea...)

Homebrew responsive yet retro stylized HTML5/CSS3 static sites/blogs with Neocities + Hexo (and Jekyll?)

XML+XSL

SQL?

Vim & Emacs

Linux + BSD commands with both Bash and Fish shells

KDE Plasma

Linux/BSD/POSIX certifications?

Common Lisp & Nim (with C bindings?)

WDC & KKIT

SLADE & GZDOOM

Godot + Qodot

Hammer++

Entrepreneurship / autonomous work?

Dreams and projects:

Video rental-store full-stack ticket database

Fiction atlases and themed pointcrawl semi-historical adventures...

Cozy game levels for raycasters and doom-clones

Cozy social spaces in Qodot & Hammer++

Cartoon pitches & short animated explainers

Toybox sets and modular building easy assemblers...

TTRPG campaign setting and supplementary rulesets...

Stylized yesterweb responsive pages

Analog media production (music video and data Digipaks)

SVG stickers, PDF printables and OGG content...

Fully custom developer desktop environment themes & scripted auto-riced workflows

Tutorials, listicles and other long-form content threads...

Raw art files and game-ready asset / clipart bundles

Manifestation / affirmation Tarot-sized card deques

Alternate technological implementations...

Dumbphone / "feature phone", two-way pagers and other dumb specialized devices... designing.

Constructed language(s) with nuanced dialects and poetic audio recordings...

Library economy in diecast car miniature worlds for sci-fi films

My very own guidebooks and curations

Lofi illustrations, podcast covers and album digipaks with feelies...

I hope that does sum up my professional + hobby goals well enough.