#these are now actually getting MORE complex as i get in the groove

[suburbanbonfire]

art suggestion billy borgs! as bug eyed as possible <3

not sure about bug-eyed but i do feel in this one he looks a bit like elijah wood so

[mikibaby94]

Doodle Dump

Some Growing Pains AU doodles I did the other day :) I was experimenting with colors if you couldnt tell lol.

Let me give you guys some context... Well some more

Mario and Peach played baseball in their younger years but on different teams, Mario develops a crush on her over time (I'll probably draw up how they actually met soon haha) she kinda liked him the moment she first saw him (I gotta draw that too haha) eventually they start hanging out after games or practices

Luigi and Daisy met when Mario and Peach started to hang out, they did not like each other when they first met. Luigi was in a stage of "girls are gross" and Daisy liked him but didn't at the same time (does that make sense? I think it does) over time they do develop a partnership of making their older siblings a living hell out of spite (they grow out of this at some point)

There's a time where Mario and Luigi gets into a big fight. I like to play with the idea of Mario not being a perfect and good big brother in his earlier years, of course he'd learn and grow, he developed that big brother instinct and complex over time. This big fight that happens would be the turning point in their dynamic.... You'll find out about that soon hehe.

There is more to this au, I just wanted to show y'all some of what I have for now I'll keep uploading it, get back into that au sharing groove I had lol feel free to ask questions! Id love to share a lot with y'all!

Thank you for all the support! 💖🙏

[theemperorsnewfanblog]

since I really wanna get into it, more about character development in the emperor's new school:

to say it had no character development seems wrong. Maybe Kuzco's was the least obvious, but Kronk clearly grew from his movie self. The show gave him entire episodes where he learns his self worth and to not put up with Yzma unfairly treating him. He's sassy and insults her plans regularly, and refuses to go along with many schemes if they go against his values. He was developed by the end, as much so that Kuzco trusts him enough to make him his royal advisor. 

Yzma also goes through development, well not linear development straight to being a good person, but she goes through some. There's a whole episode where she's trying to get rid of Kuzco so she can finally become empress, but she ruins her chance to make that a reality because it endangers his life. She learns that even her villainous self has standards. There's also an episode where she's frustrating Kuzco with her plots to destroy him, and Kuzco let's her know he's fed up and she admits to him that even she doesn't always enjoy it and she just feels pressured from her mother to become empress. Now she doesn't stop scheming on him, in her words "I'm evil, what do I care" but she gives him a break and the episode ends with Yzma and Kuzco just hanging out. She's evil but nowhere near as much as she was in the movie. 

Malina kinda gets development. She's introduced as a perfect student and goodie goodie, and I'm sure her classmates still view her that way by the finale. But she admits to her faults of being too competitive, shallow, and sometimes a little mean. The episode where she upstages Yatta and gets her fired but then purposefully ruins her own reputation for her friends sake comes to mind. Through her relationship with Kuzco she learns to care less about what others think and that it's ok to be more carefree. 

With Kuzco, I mean there are actually a lot of moments of development, but people don't seem to count them because again, they think that character development needs to be linear. But let's look at the first and last episode. In the first he's selfish, hates Kuzco academy, is friendless, and doesn't believe in himself. In the finale he wants to stay in school with his many friends instead of become emperor and lead everybody, because he's having second thoughts on his ability to or to be the emperor that his people deserve, which is a selfless thought. He completes a selfless action by leading the chickens in a life threatening situation and in becoming an emperor who intends to serve his people with respect. 

Every episode Kuzco is learning an important lesson, and even the ones like Come Fly With Us, where he seems to revert his behaviors to a frustrating degree, those are episodes we get to see the characters react to his revertion in a realistic manner and call him out on it. But it's because they stick by him regardless, and he knows that they believe in him, that he's able to gather the strength to do the right the thing. 

Does the emperor's new school have character development as good as the emperor's new groove? Not even close. I wouldn't even list character development in its top 5 qualities. It's mostly an unserious and comedy focused show. But to say it has no character development is disregarding the many subtle changes and experiences the characters go through that not only seperate them from the movie but make them complex and rootable personalities. 

[winterrhayle]

rank all of the 6 lunar chronicles books! i've asked a few of my friends irl this and ive seen very differing opinions so im curious (and ive seen how much you like ranking so..😂)

LOLLLL yeah ranking is my favourite thing ever ever ever ever ever ever its so fun okay (this is kinda long sorry hahaha) :

winter - this probably isnt a shocker, bc well ^^^ my url😭 literally what does this book NOT have. its 800+ pages, it contains so many perspectives, every single ship, every character dynamic is fully formed, the plot is insane and weaves together so well, the drama, the luna visuals, JACINTER, MISS WINTER HAYLE BLACKBURN.... like......... name a better book.... exactly. winter > everything. this is my go to book to reread and i think that its actually etched into the grooves of my brain. i have 2 copies of this book and they are my prized possessions

fairest - okay this ranking might be controversial, and i hate levana as much as everyone else does(just a disclaimer lol). but I LOVEEEE a character study, specially when said character is a villain. i read fairest after i'd completed all of the main 4 books and it just added so many more layers to the lunar characters (winter, levana, jacin etc), and also introduces us to evret, who is talked about in the main series but as we know he dies before the events of tlc :( but i loved his character and i found this book so interesting, also as a winter girl it was cool to see her parents, and her as a baby / toddler,, and also the og trio winter, jacin and selene / cinder own my WHOLE soul bc they are soooo <33333333333333 this book actually breaks my heart soo bad every time but i still crave rereading it bc its so good

cinder - ahhh when everything was somewhat simple, i like rereading this one to just go back to square one and like. reminisce on how everything begun and look at all of the seeds marissa planted (like that brief mention of winter and the descriptions of jacin aka the blond guard or whatever it was they described him as) . and i just love the kaider of it all of course and idk this one is just so nostalgic to me

scarlet - something about this book just keeps me on edge every time i read it. i literally cannot put it down once i start it and even though i know all of the plot twists and everything now im just constantly hooked. i love the visuals of this book, with the farm in rieux, and futuristic paris, and the fight in the abandoned opera house, soo cool. also i love how well this book in particular ties into little red riding hood because every single time i read the part about michelle actually being ran under glamour, aka the wolf disguised as the grandma like in the og fairytale, i am GAGGED its such a cool way to tie it into the lore of this series. annndddd i feel like i do talk about scarlet on here a lot because of winlet but i do NOT talk about wolf enough so let me just say something: wolf is such an interesting and complex character andi loveeee him and i love how much his personality varies from babygirl to actual killer hahhah

cress - i love this book to death BUTT i feel like some of the desert chapters kinda did drag on a little, especially as ive read this book so many times they're the scenes i tend to skim through (and this was true even BEFORE i became a cresswell hater tbh), but other than that this book is 10/10, i love the farafrah chapters especially, and i loved watching jacin be annoying and also i loved watching the rampion crew start to fill out and become bigger, ALSO this book has that iconic miscommunication scene where thorne and cress reunite with the others but thorne is blind so he didnt know that 'the wolf' cress was talking about was just our wolf (ze'ev) and the chaos of all that and cinder and dr erland and them almost getting arrested and escaping on the rampion / iko was pure chaos ALSOOOO this book had the technical introduction of winter bc you hear her adopting scarlet to save her which is fun so yeah !!! if they took out the cresswell of it all this book would be higher bc theres so much to love (and i mean this literally, this book is SO LONG)

stars above - this feels weird to rank because it isnt one full book, its a set of short stories, and the reason why its down here is because the only ones i consistently go back to are something old something new and the princess and the guard, if those two were full books they would probably be in the number 2 or 3 spot tbh (specially princess and the guard), but the thing is with stars above is that theres just a little too much filler for me,, like thornes chapter is pointless and is not interesting at all, and the little andriod actually is really sweet but i wouldve happily sacrificed that and thornes chapter to get more content with the other short stories, as i feel like they had a lot more to say (i do love cinders cameo in the little andriod tho)

[spiderdreamer-blog]

Tarzan (1999)

It's hard to define sometimes where the end of the Disney Renaissance period from the late 80s through the 90s is. After the release of The Lion King, the 2D animated features steadily made less money and critical acclaim became more mixed. There was a sea change occurring thanks to more competition from companies like DreamWorks and Warner Bros., as well as the advent of the computer. For me, the dividing line is 1999's Tarzan, mostly because it's after this point that we get to what I and others call the 2000-2004 "experimental" age with films like The Emperor's New Groove, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Lilo & Stitch, and Treasure Planet. But Tarzan has much in common with those films, representing a step away from the Broadway musical traditions and into a new, intriguing arena of animation storytelling. It's genuinely one of my favorite Disney films to revisit, and I hope this review helps explain why.

The story takes Edgar Rice Burroughs' initial novel Tarzan of the Apes as a guideline more than an actual adaptation, namely ditching concerns about nobility wealth inheritance and unflattering black African caricatures (the spinoff TV series would deal with the latter in trying to be, uh, less problematic about such). We pick up with Ye Olde Dramatically Convenient Boat Wreckage in a truly commanding opening sequence set to Phil Collins' anthemic Two Worlds. Tarzan's unnamed parents land in Africa and are put in parallel to gorillas Kala (Glenn Close, at the time coming off a very different performance for Disney as live action Cruella De Vil) and Kerchak (Lance Henriksen). Tragedy strikes for both families, and where one loses his parents, another gains a son. But Tarzan (Alex D. Linz as a child, Tony Goldwyn as an adult) grows up knowing he is "different", desperate to prove himself as an ape and belong. He seems to find an equilibrium, becoming best friends with Terk (Rosie O'Donnell) and Tantor (Wayne Knight at his most nebbishy), and even managing to vanquish Sabor, but then strangers arrive. Strangers who look like him, in the form of British scientist Archimedes Porter (Nigel Hawthorne), his daughter Jane (Minnie Driver), and their guide Clayton (BRIAN BLESSED). Now things steadily grow more complicated as Tarzan wishes to learn all he can about these outsiders and himself, but what might it cost?

One of the first, most notable things about the film to me is its complexity in the writing and characterization. Looking back, the Renaissance can have a problem in terms of male leads being love interests who don't get as much focus or slightly bland focus-tested "likable". This isn't true for ALL of them; the Beast has many layers to his personality, while Simba and Quasimodo are great, imo, because they have more baggage tying them down and thus more to rise above for true heroism. Nor does it make most of them bad characters. But it was notable enough, as was the tendency for them to be overshadowed by the villains or sidekicks, for co-directors Kevin Lima/Chris Buck and writers Tab Murphy/Bob Tzudiker/Noni White to slightly...course-correct.

Ergo, Tarzan himself is very much the main focus here. There's only one major sequence that he's not really involved with, and even when he's not onscreen, the other characters are as intrigued by his contradictions as the audience. (Insert your own Poochie jokes here, though obviously it doesn't come CLOSE to that) We truly feel his anxiety about fitting in, and the lengths he goes to are intensely relatable even at their most self-damning.

The other characters, too, feel richer and more lived-in than many of the standard types. Kala is a mother figure, one who tries to make Tarzan feel like he belongs, but is deeply scared of losing him. Kerchak is possibly my favorite character in the film because of how much you have to read into his actions because he holds so much back emotionally until the very end. Even then, he comes off as a more realistic harsh father figure than a caricature, and we can always understand where he's coming from. Jane is one of the best Disney love interests, meanwhile, feeling like a modern romantic comedy heroine with a lot of drive and initiative, as well as being just genuinely nerdy, which you don't often see even today. Clayton manages a nice two-step of seeming like an obvious bad guy but playing things down the middle until he gets what he wants. Even the comic relief gets good moments, such as Professor Porter gently supporting the romance or Tantor standing up for himself at a critical juncture.

Of course, what helps here is that said characters have some of the most beautiful environments and animation backing them up in Disney history. The African jungle is depicting as a kind of painterly, hyper-real fantasy, with impossible tree shapes and vines that bloom in the sunlight. And the then-revolutionary Deep Canvas CGI process allows Tarzan to soar through them, the camera spinning and rotating with each movement. The design sensibility is "classical" Disney to a large degree, but with slightly longer faces or larger eyes to add expressiveness. The California, Parisian, and Florida animation teams all clearly busted their asses to make this come to life. And Glen Keane's work with the Paris studio on Tarzan might be the best of his legendary career in terms of the variety of movements and subtleties in expressions. So too goes the rest of the supervising animators: Ken Duncan makes Jane truly lovable and wholly distinct from the likes of his Meg or Amelia; Randy Haycock gives Clayton a macho swagger that feels entirely his own rather than feeling like a Gaston ripoff; Bruce Smith combines remarkable anatomy work and microexpressions with Kerchak; Russ Edmonds' Kala is warm and motherly while never letting you entirely forget she's a gorilla; Dave Burgess makes Porter funny with his slightly squat, short shapes; and Mike Surrey and Sergio Pablos make for an excellent duo on Terk and Tantor in terms of contrasting their size, as well as the latter giving nervous-nelly body language to such a huge character. That's harder than it looks.

The aural end is just as good. Much hay and memery has been made of Phil Collins going ridiculously hard on the storytelling songs, which I fully support. But it really is true that they add so much here and take the burden off the characters in terms of singing save for the improvisational scat number "Trashin' The Camp". I'm partial to "Strangers Like Me" in terms of the earnest yearning and connections that Tarzan makes over the course of it. And of course the various versions of "Two Worlds" are essentially the mission statement of the film, complete with absolutely bitchin' percussion. Mark Mancina's accompanying score is also excellent, sounding like a fusion between The Lion King (which he produced/arranged for both the film and Broadway show) and his action movie work on projects like Speed or Bad Boys. Particularly great is the cue that plays when Tarzan defeats Sabor and builds up to his classic yell, which milks the heroic triumph for all its worth.

The voice cast is also excellent top to bottom. Goldwyn has a deeper timbre than many Disney male leads, less of an ingenue, and this adds to the stormier emotions; we truly feel his pain on lines like "Why didn't you tell me there were creatures that look like me?" But he's not TOO grim, thankfully, and gets some good subtly funny moments such as sounding out monkey noises in a conversation that Jane only hears one half of. Close is properly maternal, of course, getting her best showings in emotional one-on-ones with both Linz and Goldwyn as they hash out their relationship. Henriksen, like the animation, wisely underplays Kerchak and lets the emotion come out through his gruff, gravel-pit voice rather than obviously signaling things. Driver is hilarious and winning as Jane, getting some of the best laughs and most sweetly tender bits of the proceedings. It's all the more impressive when you consider she played Lady Eboshi in the Princess Mononoke dub the same year, which is the utter opposite of this performance. BRIAN BLESSED doesn't do a lot of his patented BRIAN BLESSED yelling outside of some choice bits at the end, but he makes a meal of Clayton regardless as a charismatic asshole, and I like how he plays a climactic bit of manipulation in particular. Hawthorne gets a much better showing here than his previous Disney voice role as Fflewddur Flam in The Black Cauldron, daffily sweet and humorous in equal measure, while O'Donnell and Knight are familiar vocally but use that to inform their characterizations rather than distract.

I think what I like most about this movie is that it feels incredibly well-rounded. Some Disney movies from this period might have a great villain or sidekicks but a weaker protagonist in Hercules or strong protagonists/villains but a weaker supporting cast as in The Hunchback of Notre Dame. (Then you have Pocahontas, which sucks on ALL ends!) In Tarzan, everything feels of a piece, and nobody jars against the tone or mood. Combine that with the dizzying highs of the animation and truly excellent emotional beats, and you've got a real winner that stands the test of time in my eyes.

[blueeyedrat]

Games I played in 2023.

Last year was stable. This year has been... less so. I've bounced between getting out more and shutting myself in more, and between trying to take better care of myself and letting small issues and stressors start to pile up. My steady job got a lot less steady, and I'm now out of work and finding ways to pass the time. Like video games, for instance. Shall we?

(2022 ⇐ 2023)

Moncage

This was another decent year for getting caught up on games I've tried out and expressed an interest in before. Moncage, INSIGHT, Railbound, URBO, and a few other games you'll see further down the list. I also followed up on some games I've played in the past like Train Valley 2, and even dipped back into some old mainstays like Eternal. One of these days I'll find time for Minecraft or Dwarf Fortress again.

I more or less broke even on my backlog this year, chipping away at smaller games from assorted bundles I've picked up over the years, but also picking up some new bundles to add to the pile. So many games, so little time.

Before We Leave

While we're talking about the backlog, here's a game I've been interested in for a while. A settlement builder in a solar system of small planets, with a quaint aesthetic of wooden ships and massive space whales. I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed this one. The automation and logistics aspect is an interesting spin on the genre, even it gets a bit complex at times. Never too challenging, though, and there's enough depth and nuance to hold my interest all the way to the final stages and on towards the stars. I'm looking forward to the upcoming sequel.

The Legend of Zelda (series)

It's hard to go wrong with Zelda. I have fond memories of Skyward Sword, Wind Waker HD, and Breath of the Wild, and with a new one on the way, it seemed like as good a time as any to catch up on my library. In order: Link's Awakening DX, Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, The Minish Cap, and the DLC quests from Breath of the Wild I never got around to. Our Wii U saw more activity than it's gotten in years.

Opinions on each: Awakening was a fun, solid 2D adventure that never overstayed its welcome, though the game shows its age at a few points. Likewise, Ocarina was an interesting look at the series' jump to 3D, but was also somewhat janky at times and it took a while for me to really get into a groove with it. (I think the turning point might've been the Water Temple. I actually liked the Water Temple. Ye gods.) Majora was a sizeable improvement gameplay-wise and played with the format in neat ways, though I'll admit that I butted heads with the time loop mechanic more than once.

I have a particular nostalgia for Minish Cap; some of my earliest memories of Nintendo games are watching my friend's GBA over his shoulder on the bus ride to elementary school. After so long, this was the one I was most curious to see if it held up. Answer: yes. Minish Cap is officially my favorite 2D Zelda, and the highlight of this little retro binge. There's a lot of charm to it, and it just feels good to play.

It may be a bit too recent for nostalgia, but I almost forgot how much I loved Breath of the Wild. My old file was exactly how I left it, and playing through the extra content was a good way to re-acquaint myself with the "new" Zelda style before…

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

This was a daunting one. If I had to sum up Tears in one sentence, it would be this: There is so much game in this game. Even compared to its predecessor, there's so much to do and so many more layers of exploration and interaction, with a wide array of smaller improvements that make it a smoother experience overall.

I wish I could say I put as much time into this game as I did into Breath of the Wild, and I did put a lot of time into it, but… some other things got in the way. Summer is when my work got a lot busier and a good amount more stressful, and this was a game I slowly chipped away at whenever I found time for it. I got pretty much everything I wanted out of it, and after the credits rolled, I put it away and haven't touched it since. I should change that. I'm sure there are more good times to be had.

Mutazione

The word that comes to mind to describe Mutazione is fascinating. It's a point-and-click narrative, light on gameplay, heavy on story and character. Of the other games I've played recently, the vibes remind me the most of Sable – quiet and contemplative, where all you want to do is observe and take in the world and characters that are being presented to you. It dovetails nicely with the story itself, which largely consists of a curious little soap opera playing out around characters who are along for the ride. The writing is some of the best I've seen this year, and gets real fuckin' raw in ways I wasn't expecting. This one will stick with me for a while.

Pikmin 3 / The Wild at Heart

I've never had the focus or dexterity for a really complex RTS, but Pikmin's always been a little more approachable. Played the second game in the series a while back, picked up a used copy of Pikmin 3 at a local convention this year, and with another one coming out, it seemed as good an excuse as any to make it a double feature.

Both games have their charms. Pikmin has a distinct style and sense of scale that's hard to replicate, and a good variety of environments and encounters and puzzles. The Wild at Heart is smaller in scope as a Pikmin-like, and hits some familiar beats while remixing some of the core ideas in interesting ways. The latter also put more of an emphasis on character and narrative, something I'd like to see fleshed out more, but what we got was still satisfying. Both games were fun, and I'm looking forward to getting my hands on Pikmin 4 soon.

Chants of Sennaar / Heaven's Vault

Another double feature – one game that caught my eye immediately, and another I've been curious about for a while. For a long time I've had a fondness for constructed languages, with scripts and writing systems of particular interest. The idea of decoding such a language lends itself well to a puzzle game, and these two approach it in different ways: Chants of Sennaar features multiple cultures in a Tower of Babel-esque setting, each with their own quirks and traits to learn and translate between, and their own puzzles to solve. Heaven's Vault opts for depth, with a single language and a vast history that you slowly unravel through exploration.

My verdict for both games is the same. The language puzzles are really cool and interesting! I want more of them! …Everything else in between gets sort of meandering at times. Not enough to drag down the overall experience, but perhaps enough to overstay its welcome. Sennaar filled the space with a mish-mash of puzzles and stealth, which felt oddly paced at times. Heaven's Vault's pacing was hit even harder with slow exploration and visual novel-esque story segments – fine enough for one playthrough, but the amount of wandering and backtracking involved makes me hesitant to go back and play NG+ to see the rest of the content. I don't have the patience to play a visual novel multiple times to see what all of the dialogue options do. The story's fine as is, and I got what I wanted out of it.

Even with their faults, these are still probably the games that influenced me the most in 2023. If anyone asks me, as a game dev, what I would make given unlimited time, resources, and creative freedom, from now on I'm going to point to Chants of Sennaar and say "something like that". I want more games like this to exist. I will make them myself, if I have to.

F-Zero 99

This wasn't the only racing game I played this year – a bunch of new content was added to Mario Kart 8, and I also pulled Horizon Chase Turbo from my backlog and spent a bit of time on that – but this is definitely the one that made the biggest splash. I've never played an F-Zero game, and it controls differently enough from other racers I've played that I had to unlearn a lot of muscle memory, but I got the hang of it after a while. The 99-player model is frantic in an enjoyable way, and races are quick enough that it's easy to pick up and play in short bursts… which is good, because short bursts are all my nerves can take with this one. Seriously this game is stressful. Fun, but stressful. Maybe one of these days I'll actually win a 99-player race.

Cobalt Core

I've been playing... a lot of Cobalt Core these past couple months. I don't jump on every roguelite or deckbuilder that comes out, but when one does get its hooks in me, they get in deep. This is another one of those games where everything just works. Great music and pixel art, fun characters (all traits shared with its predecessor, Sunshine Heavy Industries, which I also liked this year), a simple but engaging narrative, and an addicting gameplay loop that I can easily sink an hour into whenever the mood strikes me. It doesn't reinvent the wheel, but it doesn't need to – it takes a lot of ideas from games that have come before it, and builds on them to create something really enjoyable. One of my favorite games of the year, without question.

Terra Nil

As we build up, so too must we tear down. This is another one I wanted to get to sooner or later, and managed to slip it in during the last couple weeks of the year. It's also a type of game I want to play more often; a lot of the time when I play sim and builder games all I really want in the end is to build nice-looking homes and environments, and Terra Nil spins that into a puzzle game where those things are the only goal. It was a nice time, but left me wanting more – either more content in Terra Nil, or more games like it.

Eastward

This game is… a curiosity. A solid action-adventure game with a memorable cast of characters and impeccably detailed pixel art. Gameplay flips back and forth between slow-paced story segments and fun setpiece levels with a decent variety of tools for combat and puzzle-solving. The biggest sticking point is the narrative: the pacing and worldbuilding felt odd and disjointed in places, particularly in the back half, sometimes feeling like it's saying too much and often like it's said too little. Yet throughout all that, it never failed to be compelling, and I was hooked all the way 'til the end. What's more, the idea of the upcoming Octopia DLC flipping the entire game and setting on its head has my interest thoroughly piqued – something to look forward to in the coming year.

-

Here's to 2024, and here's hoping things turn around sooner or later.

[jodjuya]

Me: "alrighty, I played kotor on the light side, so now I'm definitely going to play kotor2 as a dark side character!"

Also me, actually playing kotor2: "I don't like being mean to people in video games :("

Also, I feel like if I play my character as an angry rude self absorbed piece of shit, then I miss out on doing quests and getting rewarded for doing said quests? Like, if every time someone asks for help, I tell them "fuck off or I'll murder you on the spot", then I miss out on actually playing big chunks of the game. So it seems kinda self-defeating.

Which is the whole schtick of being evil, sure, but it isn't very fun or engaging as a video game. I miss out on 'yes, and'-ing all those story hooks.

I think this is one of the fundamental flaws of video game morality systems.

It's annoying not being able to push my character to the dark side without making him be a puppy-kicking cunt at literally every opportunity. Any time I engage with a conversation tree I end up saying something marginally compassionate or whatever, and the outcome it flashes at me afterwards is "light side points gained, dark side points gained, influence with [character 1] lost, influence with [character 1] gained"

And so nothing has happened aside from me spinning my wheels in place.

Which i think is, like, the game's core theme? That there is no black and white, that life is more complicated than that & that everything is really just shades of grey - if your worldview is exclusively based on blacks and whites then you're Doing It Wrong and are doomed to naught but failure and ruin.

Which is fine

There's nothing wrong with having nuanced complexity in your storytelling...

...except that this is Star Wars

And so the medium is utterly wrong for that kind of message! It's like trying to train a dog to cook you breakfast.

ESPECIALLY!!! when you've gamified the morality system such that your players are actively penalized for not engaging with it as utterly black-and-white-ly as it's possible for them to do!

Textbook ludonarrative dissonance innit?!!

And so while I'm not disliking my experience with the game's storytelling and themes (leaving aside here the many, many, MANY flaws with its execution), I'm incredibly frustrated with the constant feeling of having to wrestle against it for control of my character's story, history, personality, goals, and motivations.

Playing this game feels like trying to ride a bicycle through sand, or trying to drive a car with flat tyres.

ESPECIALLY with this whole thing around having a great and terrible past, full of offscreen misdeeds and misadventures, which now need to either be embraced and/or atoned for, except that—oh no!—amnesia happened and now i don't know what any of those things were or who I am or why I did them! And you, the player, can't just choose those details for yourself and carry on role-playing accordingly, because every now and again you get fed some new snippet, which necessitates overwriting the equivalent snippet you came up with for yourself

How the fuck am I supposed to role-play with that?? Every time I feel like I've gotten into this character's groove, some new plot point flashback pops up and I have to recontextualise every damn little thing and start over with figuring out who I am and why I'm doing what I'm doing! It's utterly maddening!!

so I guess what I'm trying to say with all this is

hats off to Obsidian Entertainment for completely nailing the feeling of what it's like to play in a ttrpg campaign that's run by an incompetent GM who doesn't know what he's doing!

Great job, gang!

Vibes: ✨ captured! ✨

[delta-orionis]

Tuesday Again No Problem 3/5/24

Pretty fallow week, but I was able to surprise myself with a few things. Rain World dominates this week's roundup, because I have brainrot (ha ha).

(I know I have a couple of new followers so I'll explain- this is a weekly media roundup series inspired by @girlfriendsofthegalaxy's post series of the same name.)

Anyway...

Listening

Mostly the Rain World soundtrack, again. The music is surprisingly good at helping me focus.

Reading

Fallow. :[

I'll get back to Ancillary Justice soon, I swear...

Watching

Mostly fallow, except for the occasional Rain World video.

Playing

Fallow again, unfortunately. I need to get around to finishing Artificer's playthough. Then I think I'll either move on to Hunter or Saint. I'm putting off Saint because I know it will be difficult and make me sad, but I would like to play it eventually. :,]

Making

This is the section that actually contains interesting things.

My Five Pebbles amigurumi is still on hold, because I'm busy working on a tote bag that I'm going to gift to a family member. Nothing too crazy.

The thing I'm happiest about is that I seem to have my drawing groove back, at least for now. I'd like to ride that wave as long as I can.

Earlier this week I was inspired to draw something based on my Rain World OC, Three Stars Above Clouds, in an attempt to explore their characterization a bit. What started as a simple sketch quickly turned into something more complex than I was anticipating, haha. Here's some closeups, the whole post is here.

In the process I got a bit of practice drawing landscapes, something I don't do often. I'm definitely not amazing at it, but I'm doing my best to learn.

I drew this in my sketchbook, inked it, and scanned it so I could color it in Krita. In the process I had to draw the perspective lines by hand, and I only learned after the fact that Krita has very versatile perspective drawing tools. Oops. It was worth it for the learning experience, I suppose.

People also left some very nice comments on this post, and I'm extremely grateful for that. I'm glad that people are interested in the things I make.

I'm working on another drawing that I'm going to post soon (probably later tonight). I'm happy to be drawing again; I feel like I was in a very bad year-long slump.

...

That's it for now, I'll check in again next Tuesday. Thanks for reading!

[starlightshadowsworld]

Danganronpa 3: Future arc episode 6

Thonks.

Yasuhiro I'm afraid your vision of the future isn't correct.

I appreciate that even knows he might not be right but he being hopeful.

Can't fault him for that.

Especially because who knows how long he's been up there.

... I don't know how long but Chisa's body should be looking a lot worse.

Flashback to the trios graduation day.

The passage of time shown in Munakata's terrible hair cut.

Really?

You can't make me care, I'm sorry but you can't make me care about them.

Munakata just planned out everyone's life and guess they're cool with it?

No wonder he's got a complex.

... Munakata Chisa is already dead why are you stabbing her?

And you're just gonna leave the sword there.

Rude.

I know he's killing the idea of them together, all of them and the future they planned.

But that dream died before she did so I'm confused but okay than.

If its killing off the last part of him that held him together... Someone warn Juzo.

... No... Nooo they didn't...

No I'm not believing that they killed Kyoko.

You got me with Asahina but there's no way... No way...

Munakata immediately blaming Makoto, fuck you man.

There's no way...

I know you lost all humanity now Munakata, not that you had much in the first place, but interrogating a guy by his friends maybe corpse.

... Is several layers of fucked up.

Wait... Wait is this a nightmare? Because Munakata has both eyes in this.

And his outfit looks a lot more put together, and he has his sword.

... Oh phew it was a nightmare.

Stop doing this to me man!

Not cool!

Aw Makoto... He's slipping too poor guy.

His face is so sad.

I swear if Kyoko is actually dead...

Oh phew she's okay, doing her investigation to go find the 3rd body.

I know this guy isn't trying to sass Kyoko Kirigiri in the middle of an investigation.

Oh! Izayoi's the 3rd victim.

... Ruruka's gonna lose her shit.

I wonder if it's because he went through the secret entrance?

Single knife wound to the chest.

Oh fuck Seiko!

And she has the same injury, by the same weapon.

Suspicious.

Ruruka asking for help... Hmm...

Makoto and the others finding the Directors body, but knowing he wasn't the attackers victim.

Monaca eating ice cream as Makoto grieves the Director.

Seems about right.

Poor Makoto, one nightmare after another.

That odd moment when Monaca using Usami... Or Monomi to give Makoto a hope speech.

And it works.

Gotta wonder why she's being supportive through all of this. I get it's a cover but she could've just let Asahina comfort Makoto.

What is it with people and leaving messages in their blood as they die for Makoto?

I mean I get it but it's becoming a pattern now.

"I entrust the hope of the world to you."

Makoto smiling and getting some of his groove now.

"I need to stop thinking like a lone wolf."

Makoto you can he accused of many things, that is not one of them.

It is him saying he'll stop burdening himself with everything but I don't think he can.

That's not what he meant Monaca and you know it.

Also he did get the drop on Junko, he defeated her in the final trial.

"Why are we playing Monokuma's game in the first place."

... Because you're being forced to?

I love how Makoto's plan is just essentially to blow up a wall and let's get out because there's no rule against leaving.

The exits are sealed but no one said anything about making new ones.

Which, is a plan I guess.

Loophole, loophole.

But Munakata's not gonna let you out so easily.

Oh man are we finally using Yasuhiro to advance the plot?

Nope.

Monaca's panic when Asahina calls her a warrior of hope.

Heh.

I'm still sus of Ruruka but I can't see her killing Izayoi.

I do feel a little bad for her, it's gotta be hard seeing the guy she's loved all her life dead.

For the first time in her life she's alone.

Kyoko saying nope were staying, is very Kyoko.

And I love that she looks at Rukra saying "I intend to avenge Izayoi's murder, will you help me?"

That's how you get people on your side.

I hate that this anime is getting me to like Monomi.

I'm gonna be so suprised if the communication to the outside future foundation offices works.

... It worked.

And it's.. Byakuya!!!

Yesss oh man I didn't think he'd be in this show.

But yess!!! Man I've never been so happy to see Byakuya.

I love how Byakuya's just like it's nice to see you but I suppose you're in a hurry, aren't your on a trial or something?

Stay classy Byakuya.

So this game isn't being televised.

That's good, no one needs to know the people in charge have lost it.

Ah fuck future foundation people's are heading to Jabberwock island.

Sent by Munakata, of course.

It's so bizzare seeing Byakuya just drink tea and being the image of calm and composed.

Byakuya saying there could be a connection between that and this, makes sense.

I'm not suprised Byakuya has his own forces.

He would.

And he's gonna let Toko into the loop, that should be fun.

Only Byakuya can call someone their excellency but as an insult.

Well that went well.

Byakuya putting down his cup to address the whole room like you heard the man, everyone assemble.

... And they found the real Miaya's body but only after the call ended.

And Byakuya accurately susses out that it's gotta be Monaca.

So Byakuya knows but Makoto and Asahina do not.

Toko!!! Komaru!!

Ahhh I'm so happy.

Annd it's Komaru telling Toko to bathe... Welp.

Toko's still crazy for Byakuya, sigh.

Makoto's speech as the episode ends.

I love that Yasuhiro is just fishing and chilling on the roof.

I love how we're getting the team back this is great.

[kunstmull]

Bauhaus v Buck-Tick

Originally written as an addendum to this great post but it got so long it might as well have its own post.

As much as I keep saying, "I wish I had that deep, decades-long history with Buck-Tick", I do have that ancient connection with Bauhaus / Love and Rockets - I spent a significant part of the 80s obsessively watching Shadow of Light, Archive and The Haunted Fishtank (gee, wonder where Mr. Imai got that word from?)

The first thing that drew me to BT, when I discovered them off an "old Visual Kei" playlist - was that, where other VK / J-rock bands seemed to have Metal as the fundamental building block of their DNA, BT had Bauhaus. (And it's interesting how both bands have such a strange relationship to the genres they spawned - Bauhaus invented Goth as we know it, but very few Goth bands actually sound like Bauhaus - ditto BT and VK.)

But here's the thing: when I went to write this post, I could think of half a dozen BT songs, where I thought "OMG, this is a direct rip of Bauhaus" - but when I went back to the Bauhaus song I thought it imitated to compare them? The BT song was clearly inspired by Bauhaus, I could hear elements of the composition, in particular the visceral, noise-based, non-technical, abuse-the-guitar sound pervert style of Daniel Ash. Bauhaus, inspired by dub reggae and funk, flipped the script around the role of the guitars - in Bauhaus, the bass was the most prominent element, carrying both the groove and the melody, leaving the guitar to occupy a semi-percussion, semi-atmospheric role. In many BT songs, the bass drives the melodic structure, while Hide creates atmospheric waves of sound and Imai punctuates the rhythm with discordant squiggles of noise, playing against what the others are doing. The effect is electric! But it's very Bauhausian.

But again, I can't ever find a Bauhaus song that sounds exactly like what they've done - I can only point out the elements they've lifted and very cleverly repurposed and re-positioned.

Let's start with an early track, Iconoclasm:

Notice how it starts with a discordant, alarm-like guitar siren before the sped-up disco bass joins in? Once the rhythm section get going, it's clear that Imai's siren-guitar guitar is playing against the grain of tight unit of Toll, Yuta and Hide's funk groove. And then the surreal lyrics are strung out over the top in long disjointed segments that form yet another complex interplay with the drums.

Now let's listen to Bauhaus:

-starts with a discordant guitar siren -sped-up funk and bass kick in -surreal strings of lyrics glazed over the top in disjointed segments

They're not even remotely the same song - different chords, different melody - but the building blocks are the same, and they've been assembled in an almost identical arrangement. Other Bauhaus songs that clearly informed this era of BT include the frenetic groove of St Vitus Dance and the withering Small Talk Stinks. (This influence is even more clear in the studio version of Iconoclasm, where you can hear them lift the background voices and double-vocals.)

Did Imai stop his pilfering when they went Cyberpunk? NO, OF COURSE NOT

Now come on, Kunstmull, this sounds nothing like Bauhaus, right? This is much heavier, more doom, more low end.

RONG!

Listen to what Imai is doing the way he's playing, syncopated against the rhythm section with that weird, repetitive, OCD tick-tick tick-SCREE scratch that makes the song so compulsive.

Where have we heard that sound before? Hmmm...

Daniel Ash's rhythm is ever so slightly different - it's SCREE-tick tick tick, but it's syncopated against the rhythm section in exactly the same way. (Also watch out for the gratuitous theremin noises in the background, LOL, Mr. Imai has never used that trick either, has he?)

Obviously the arrangement and feel of Of Lilies And Remains is very different from the BT track - BT are much heavier, much darker, much more intense... oh, kind of like Stigmata Martyr (where Ash is showing how he makes the guitar-string-scratch noise)!

It just shows how creative and how original BT are, that Imai can lift something so distinctive and easily recognisable as Ash's riff, and yet make it wholly their own.

One more and I'll stop I promise, though I could do this all day. This was one of the first BT songs I ever heard, and it stopped me in my tracks, how familiar the arrangement sounded. (And I can't even blame Imai for this - it's a Hide song!)

I know, OK, it's just backwards reverb on the vocals, in particular the little breaths at the end of the chorus (first heard about 1:30) that makes it sound like that?

Where have we heard this effect before?

Well, this is one of my all-time fave Bauhaus tracks (and videos - I cannot tell you how many times I watched this as a teenager, and did silly cosplays intently watching lightbulbs in sunglasses and a grey suit) - listen to the backwards reverb on Murphy's voice during the bridge (about 2:20) and tell me teenage Hide didn't partake of this as deeply as I did.

It's even more pronounced on the dub version of the track, where you can hear how they did the effect in isolation.

I could do this all day!

Now I want to be clear - I am not accusing the band of plagiarism! (Anyway - Talent borrows; Genius steals - and Buck-Tick are clearly on the side of Genius here!) Mostly I'm in awe at their magpie inventiveness, the way they are able to invoke the style, the spirit and the atmosphere of the older Northampton band without ever descending into parody or plagiarism. You can hear that they never sound exactly like Bauhaus - they always sound like Buck-Tick.

But the Homage is very clever, and very appreciated by those who know.

[natasha-in-space]

New Tomorrow

Jihyun/gn!reader;

You and Jihyun just recently moved into your new home, new daily life spent by each other's side awaiting you right around the corner. For now, though, you're main focus is on unpacking, and in the process, you find out that your lovely painter has never had hot chocolate before! You're determined to fix that.

"I didn't know you were planning on buying this much... Now I'm feeling sort of guilty for staying home instead of coming with you."

You merely laughed at Jihyun's embarrassed shuffle as you clumsily lowered two heavy bags of groceries onto the floor with a definitive thud, finally feeling like you can breathe out with your full chest. Truth is, you knew him well enough at this point of your relationship to predict that he'd try to carry these bags for you, so you simply made a conscious decision to withhold this information from him. "You've been unpacking ever since we moved in here, it's important to let your arms rest for a while! Besides, I really like that new painting you're working on. Didn't want to bring you out of 'the zone', as people say."

Almost in an instant, his bashful pout was replaced by a sheepish smile that took your breath away.

The one that inevitably made its way onto his elegant features whenever you complimented his art. While he did returned to you with new confidence burning in his mint eyes, he was still finding his groove, and you were more than eager to motivate him on this long and winding road to self-discovery. Seeing him bloom from within was more rewarding than anything else you've witnesses throughout your lifetime.

He shyly rubbed the back of his neck. "Really? I was actually feeling fairly unsure about that one... I wanted to experiment with the new style I discovered, so it's not easy to figure out whether I like it or not quite yet. But... It's a good way to represent my inner feelings at the moment. I was planning on calling it 'New Tomorrow'. A vision so confusing to the eye, and yet, one that evokes warmth inside an anxious heart whenever you take a look at it."

"I think 'New Tomorrow' sounds perfect, darling." You smiled, making your way over to him and placing a quick kiss onto his cheek. Hearing him talk so passionately about his creative process was always something you've loved so dearly. It was an honor to get such a private look into his complex inner world that has captivated you from the very first long midnight talk you've shared. "But, how about a little break, hm? I bought us some hot chocolate!"

Jihyun tilted his head to the side, a slight curiousity flickering in his warm gaze as he carefully studied you. "Hot chocolate? If I'm being honest, I never got the chance to try it before... Is it not something that you usually drink during the winter?"

"Wait, you've never tried it before?" You blinked, a small gasp of surprise escaping you without you knowing. It just seemed so bewildering to you that something so simple could evade him for so long. "Okay, that's just not right! I was initially planning on making us some in the evening, but now I just must prepare you one right away!"

Before Jihyun could make a single peep, you were already bouncing off towards the kitchen with spring in your step, heaviness of the bags long forgotten. All you heard from him was a quiet chuckle, as he followed you soon after, clear amusement shining in his enamoured gaze. You were such a curious creature at times... He just couldn't help but observe your every move as you darted around the kitchen, quickly finding your way in an unfamiliar environment.

Shortly after, two steaming mugs of freshly made hot chocolate were standing on the shining kitchen counter, spreading their enticingly sweet aroma throughout your new home. Jihyun didn't even know he was feeling hungry until the fragrant smell hit his nose, and his stomach reacted accordingly, letting out a low needy gurgle, much to your amusement. It wasn't unusual for him to get so engrossed in his creative process that he would forget to eat. And while usually you'd scold him for it with a gentle pich to his cheek, stained with fresh paint, today you decided to make an exception.

"Go on, try it! You were right when you said about enjoying it during the winter. Some hot chocolate is perfect on a cold snowy day. It warms you up from inside, and the sweetness lifts up your mood almost in an instant!" You pushed his own mug towards him with an expectant grin adorning your face.

Cautiously, he took a small sip from the warm drink, closing his eyes to better savour the flavor. You could practically see sugary sweetness hitting his tongue as he focused on all of his sensations. First tentative sip was followed by a much bigger gulp, only making your grin grow bigger in size. Setting the mug down, he licked the remaining thick chocolate liquid off his lips, sighing in satisfaction.

You nudged him with your hip, playfully wiggling your eyebrows and impatiently awaiting for his feedback. "Well, Mr. connoisseur~? Does some rustic hot chocolate meet your standards?"

Meeting your gaze for a few brief moments, he soon took another small sip from the mug, giving you an affectionate smile as he enjoyed the rich chocolate flavour warming him from the inside out. He hummed quietly, staring down at his drink, as if he was lost deep in thought, before finally coming up with a proper response.

"It's magical, Y/N. I think I understand the appeal of it now. It's like all of my worries have faded away in a comforting embrace of sweetness and warmth. It's sweet, but not to the point where I'd feel like my tongue is being burned by it... And it's not bitter like a piece of dark chocolate that would jolt you awake without any heed for your well-being. I think... This actually inspired me to finish my painting. The reason I was struggling with it as much as I did was because there wasn't enough warmth put in it to balance out the uncertainty. But now... Now I know what I want to portray. You've given me priceless inspiration once again, my love. I'd like to say I am surprised, but... You've always been a source for positive change in my life."

It was so much like Jihyun to describe the flavor of simple hot chocolate in such a poetic way. All you could really do was chuckle with amusement before you caressing his cheek with the loving glint in your eyes.

"I'm happy you're feeling more confident now, Jihyun. But, dinner first, painting later! Who knows? Maybe I'll cook up a feast so ground, you'll have enough inspiration to last you a lifetime! Wouldn't want to miss out on that, would you?"

[hologramcowboy]

https://at.tumblr.com/hologramcowboy/httpstwittercomditchlilytigerstatus162733189/wnyptttbl66d

I saw this photographer complaining about your use of the picture, too. Reading the comments was just …

Instead of calling someone a creepy conspiracy theorist because they interpret a photo (and real life comments and actions) differently than themselves, maybe they should try looking at things from another angel. This obsession with seeing Jensen as perfect and constantly having the time of his life is ridiculous and points to a huge bias. I’ll be honest, the particular picture in question, where Jensen looks in pain, could be him "living the music" but to me, he does not look like he’s just grooving. Also, there is video of the concert, so it’s not like people’s opinions are only based on photos.

The last time Jensen performed at a con, he was yelling, not singing, and yet they praise his amazing performance. Jensen has a lovely voice when he isn’t straining it, and is a good performer (usually), but that doesn’t actually mean he is an amazing, Uber talented singer. He was very good as Dean, but to say he never had over the top moments or ones that didn’t quite connect, is just not true. Saying he’s liberal and a huge ally is a huge stretch seeing as he is very closed mouthed on politics in general (I don’t actually blame him there, as if I were famous I’d want to appeal to the widest audience and would stick to discussing my art). Saying he likes Destiel now because he learned the hard way that criticizing the stupid ship gets him outright hate and death threats, is embracing willful ignorance. Jensen and Danneel can only be viewed as couples goals, despite the fact that their body language screens anything but affection. Jared is the bad guy because he cracked the illusion that Jensen is a perfect friend, professional and gentleman, and had a "tantrum" on Twitter because he didn’t let Jebsen off the hook or bail him out, for once, for his shitty actions around the prequel. Jensen supports Ukrainian and really cares about the issue, despite the fact that he starred in a commercial promoting Atomic Heart. Anyway, my point is the man is not perfect, no one is, but as soon as they see any criticism, they call the person delivering it crazy, a hater, or a miserable person who is just projecting.

I love my family, but that doesn’t mean I think it or each family member (myself included) is without flaws.

I started watching Supernatural as a Dean and Jensen fan. I was crazy about Dean until later seasons when he just got angrier and more hypocritical. At first, I admired Ackles for his love for Jared and humility, but his behavior (his inconsistency at cons, and how he talked about Jared lovingly one minute, then criticizing him at JIB or joking at his expense when he’s not there, while calling him brother in the next breath) would not allow me to keep blindly sighing over him. Not to mention, I noticed how his stories were always humble (or not so humble) brags. He isn’t consistent and changes for the crowd he’s in.

I’m sorry, but if you are the one who only sees someone as perfect and can’t acknowledge any flaws to the point that you need to attack anyone who dares mention one, then you are the one without a balanced view. Our observation are subjective, obviously, and you don’t have to agree with how someone elde interprets something, but to instantly write them off as just a hater or lying (unless it’s a provable lie, or delusion with no proof like hellers and cockles shippers) maybe take a look at your own objectivity and need to go to battle for someone you don’t actually know.

It saddens me that Jensen has such judgemental, toxic fans that only care about fetishiz*ing him. Then I remember there are also fans like you, who are able to see him as a real and complex person. Thank you for this beautiful post! 💕💕💕

I think the reason why they immediately resort to bullying and gaslighting is because they know they stand no chance of making eloquent, balanced arguments because they lack objectivity. I mean all they do is project, not only on others but on Jensen especially, he needs to be the fantasy they created and is not allowed to stray from that perfect image. I cannot imagine how painful that must be to him. No human is perfect and we all just want to be loved for who we are, not for some false image others build in their attempt to exploit our beauty, like in his case.

[gerogerigaogaigar]

David Bowie - The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars

This was the dawning of a new age of glam rock. It's spacey like much of the glam scene, but it brought a rock n roll edge that would go on to be a major influence in the development of punk. Ziggy Stardust is supposedly a concept album about a bisexual alien rock star sent to earth to avert an energy crisis, but let's be real that concept only exists in like four songs on the album and even then only loosely. No this is really just an album about creating a moody and weird rock and roll drama filled with jangly guitars, dissonant chords, and a weird sense of desperation that is hard to put my finger on.

Talking Heads - Remain In Light

Remain In Light is a complex labyrinth of looping polyrhythmic grooves equally inspired by punk and new wave as it was from Fela Kuti. This is the album that truly brings the strengths of every member of the band to the forefront. Chris Frantz's funk/punk hybrid drumming is challenged to incorporate complex rhythmic elements from African drumming. Tina Weymouth's looping bass lines wind up holding the entire album together. Jerry Harrison on keys and guitar wind up filling in all the empty spaces in the soundscape. And singer David Byrne delivers cryptic stream of consciousness lyrics. Remain In Light, like their last couple albums, was produced by Brian Eno, and Eno's touch is definitely felt. The production is tight, but well textured. Odd noises are brought further into the foreground and vocals are allowed to sit further back than most bands would allow. Remain In Light is a must listen album.

Bob Dylan - Blonde On Blonde

It must be said, Rainy Day Women #12 & 35 is a bad and stupid song. Yes I 'get it' haha see he says stoned like weed but he means like biblically 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣. Oh it's so fucking clever kill me. The second that song is over this instantly becomes one of the best Dylan albums by a huge margin. The stretch of songs from Visions Of Johanna to Most Likely You'll Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine) is an amazing run of 10/10 songs. And the closer, Sad Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands is probably my second favorite Dylan closer after Desolation Row. The tightrope act of balancing the folk and rock sides of his style is performed incredibly.

Dr. Dre - The Chronic

The Chrinic is not a Dre solo album, it's a sampler of all the talent he has collected for his new record label. In fact Snoop probably shares as many verses as Dre does on here. It's an incredibly confident move and all the original Death Row inmates are here. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Lady Of Rage, Warren G, RBX, Kurupt, Nate Dogg, it's an incredible cast. And it's all topped off with new and innovative production that utilizes fewer samples, but deploys then with precision. The gratuitous Parliament-Funkadelic sampling would become standard for hip hop going forward, with The Chronic G-Funk was officially established.

Michael Jackson - Off The Wall

This was Michael Jackson's fifth album, but it really was his debut as an adult musician. The cutesy baby faced member of the Jackson Five was now a certified pop star who could compete on his own merits. The disco hits Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough and Rock With Me as well as the ballad She's Out Of My Life lay the groundwork for Jackson's most fertile creative period. Other than that the album is quite good but does pale in comparison to his 80s output.

The Beatles - Rubber Soul

This was the first Beatles album where it felt like they actually wanted to be taken seriously as artists. Rubber Soul leans into a more folk rock sound that strongly distinguishes this album from its rock and roll predecessors. The expanded instrumentation, including their first use of sitar on Norwegian Wood, is a welcome inclusion. The fab four have fully embraced fuzzy guitars. Also of note is the very surreal attitude towards women on here. Like what the fuck is going on in Norwegian Wood and Run For Your Life? Rock music isn't kind to women, but this is just some psycho shit. I love it.

Stevie Wonder - Innervisions

Innervisions is the real start to a more introspective, witty, and socially conscious Stevie Wonder. There are no more sappy love songs and instead politically minded songs like Living For The City or spiritually hopeful songs like Higher Ground are the bread and butter of this record. What Innervisions does do is take the synth bass that was used on Talking Book and ramp it's usage up. The Moog bass gets more usage as the the clarinet and electric piano. Wonder's energy is extremely infectious, it's no surprise that Innervisions spawned four massive hits that all still see play on classic rock radio.

Amy Winehouse - Back To Black

It is very clear that Amy Winehouse could have gone all the way for period accurate recreation of early 60s Doo wop and girl groups had she wanted to. Thankfully she was better than that. The way she blends those classic styles with their modern equivalents beautifully illuminates the evolutionary path of soul and R&B music. Winehouse is backed up by the legendary Dap-Kings which adds to the authentic retro feel, but the lyricism absolutely trends more towards a modern style (I don't think Rehab would have flown in the early 60s). All in all Back To Black is a shockingly unique yet recognizable album that can only be the result of a unique musical vision.

Beyoncé - Lemonade

This album made a huge splash when it came out. It was dropped without any warning and overnight white girls were writing think pieces about the state of black America. The album's main topic is how her husband Jay-Z had been cheating on her, but she takes the simple theme os heartbreak and betrayal and evaluates it through the lens of how the legacy of American slavery has had ripple effects on black masculinity, femininity and relationships. I'll stop there lest this becomes another white girl think piece about Lemonade. Underneath the themes and stuff is one of Beyoncé's most dynamic albums. It is not at all contained to just R&B and delves into rock frequently and Daddy Lessons is straight up a country rock song. I'm not even close to the first person to sing the praises of this album but you're gonna have to hear it again because Lemonade is perfect.

Miles Davis - Kind Of Blue

In many ways Kind Of Blue resembles other post bop albums. But under the surface something incredibly innovative is happening. You see rather than a chord progression to set the key and then a bunch of solos there is... Wait do you guys know about musical modes? Oh. Uh. This is gonna be hard to explain then. Just trust me that the underlying structure of these songs provides the performers with much more tonal freedom than in other forms of jazz without losing the sense of harmonic center. If you are intrigued Google modal jazz at your own risk. Now the performers themselves are some of the best of the best. Miles himself on trumpet, Cannonball Adderley and John Coltrane on alto and tenor sax respectively, Bill Evans on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Jimmy Cobb on drums. Each one of these performers is a legend, each one likely to be the biggest name in any other band. And they explore the freedom that the moral form allows them to craft some of the finest solos in the history of jazz. And it's kinda catchy too. I already have the refrain from So What stuck in my head. Somehow one of the most experimental albums also became one of the best selling jazz albums of all time.

[qwanderer]

Big getting-the-apartment-ready-for-guests thing accomplished: the plumber visited and fixed my shit!

This was stressful for a few reasons; I'm always playing a cost-benefit analysis game with apartment maintenance, because it's so hard to schedule that stuff when I work regular business hours and so do all the maintenance people. I've been lucky so far in that for essential stuff I've managed to schedule appointments either after work (since my shifts skew a little early) or on a day I'd already scheduled myself a stay-home PTO day. But for today I actually had to schedule a special morning off with my manager, because the plumber only had one slot available all week.

I was hoping I could get the property management company person to let the plumber in, but she said she had meetings, and I think my texts got slightly snippy at one point because, like, what I actually wanted to say was "why am I the one taking time during work hours to do this when it is literally your job to maintain my apartment" but now that it's done I am less annoyed.

I've been putting off following through on this (I always let the management company people know when something is annoying me but unless I push the issue they tend do do nothing) but it really did need dealing with before I had people over.

My assessment from living with the toilet and trying different things to help it work better was like "my best guess is that the jet at the bottom of the bowl is clogged, if I had a wire coat hanger I might poke around in there myself but I don't have one and anyway maybe I should get a professional assessment in case it's a more complex issue"

Guy came in, looked at it and said "yep, looks like the center jet is clogged, do you have a wire coat hanger?"

I am vindicated.

Anyway I took a closer look at my coat hanger collection and offered him the asymmetric solid metal pants hanger which I never use but kept because it was kinda cool, and I wasn't sure if it was bendable enough but he thought that would work so I decided to sacrifice it to the cause. He left it here so now I have a special tool for unclogging the jet if it happens again!

He also replaced the float assembly which was wearing out, and increased the pressure in the sink tap; it was hard to get this scheduled so I was happy to take full advantage.

It was nice to sleep in beforehand, but the whole non-routine start to the day really threw off my groove at work, rolling in two and a half hours late in a lyft, past when I usually take my snack break but having forgotten to eat a snack. But after lunch things felt normal again.

I am proud of me for getting so many things done! But I also need to find some real time for writing sometime soon, it will benefit my sanity and my long-term ambitions.

[inkykeiji]

How long does it take for you to write fics? I feel like you’ve been posting lots recently so I was curious! Do you have a long editing and revision process?

hi hi! ah okay so how long it takes me to write a single fic varies widely! it depends on the fic, the length, how complex the idea is (ie is it a drabble or a oneshot or is it a longer piece or a part of a series), how deep in a hyperfixation i am (ie tokrev is all my mind wants to think about right now so it’s easier to bang out tiny pieces for them atm), how busy and how stressed i am with other life things, how badly my ocpd is acting up, etc etc etc the list goes on forever.

i have been posting a lot lately and i’m really proud of myself for it!! i’ve been trying so hard to get back into releasing pieces the way i used to, and this year at least i seem to get into a groove of consistently releasing stuff and then something in my life happens and i fall off of it again :/ but i’m trying so so hard to become more consistent again. additionally, the tokrev pieces have been an effort to combat my ocpd, so i’ve been challenging myself to release them even though they aren’t perfect and to NOT obsessively comb through them for days/weeks/months on end. the touya-nii piece i just released has actually been 90% done since the end of AUGUST lmao :/ i have a lot of pieces like that just rotting away in my docs ._. i really miss being about to write something i was proud of and happy with in a day, and i really miss being able to just write something and not obsessively go through it over and over and over and over again to ‘make sure every word is as perfect as it can be’ so i’m working extremely hard to get back to that place.

ocpd aside, the length of my editing process also varies widely completely depending on the piece!! sometimes a piece only needs a quick glance and sometimes i need to rework a part or scene several times before it feels right. i discuss my editing process in sightly more detail right here! <3

[danielle-dna]

How Andy Mixed Her Groove Back - 1

It has been a dumpster fire of a year. The summer of 2023 and for the first time in my life, I had nothing to do. I had just finished my A - levels and while patiently waiting for a dull, miserable exam board to decide my fate, I had found myself thinking: what do I do with all this newly accuired free time?

The first thing on my growing to-do list was to sleep. Sleep and I were like a pair of coworkers who clearly have a thing for each other, but for some reason things never get past the first base. I had suffered with insomnia for about half a decade, but with the burden of schoolwork and idiot teachers who clearly didn't care about my future, I had managed to seduce Mr Sleep on a few occations.

Despite my mental and physical exhaustion, the first thing i did when I returned home from my final exam was to bin all of my notes for the three miserable subjects I have chosen: chemistry, maths and biology. The latter I actually enjoyed. I picked up the nearest Primark paper bags, dumped all the papers and threw them in the nearest recycling bin. Just because I suffered, doesn't mean that mother Earth has to suffer too.

Now the big question remained: what the hell should I do for the rest of the summer? I had a job that I hated, a very hard earned £6000 resting in my bank account and an empty notebook that was begging to be filled with ideas and revolutionary patents.

I spent the first two weeks laying in bed, napping or watching Sex and the city. It got me thinking: why can't my life be as fabulous as the one of Samantha Jones. A beautiful, confident woman with a great job and incredible style. Her hair always seemed to be on point and she had a decent amount of luck in her life.

My karma wasn't the greatest. I was not blessed with fabulous genetics or charisma, instead I was blessed with a revenge complex and PCOS. The latter was recently diagnosed.

My luck could be best described in the following situation: one night I decided to clean my brushes and combs. I boiled the water, put some baking soda and detergent in a bucked and soaked all my tools for a while.

After I finished, I placed them on a shelf where I usually keep them in the bathroom and one of the combs fell directly in the toilet. I believe no further explanation is needed.

If there is a god, I think he must be laughing his ass off with a giant bag of popcorn, while staring at my life like it's a bad sitcom.

That was until he came into my life. Simon Riley. And at that moment, my life started to look less like a bad sitcom and more like an old porn tape the greasy uncle has hidden in his garage, right next to the playboy collection.

I firmly believe that all parents want their kids to be a better version of themselves. Due to my socioeconomic household, I was always encouraged to never give up and work hard. But what do we do, when our hard work doesn't pay off? Do we throw in the towel? Or keep going, blindly hoping that despite all odds, our work will pay off someday?

This was not the best time for me to get philosophical. My life was not a Sex and the city episode, where despite all the shit, somehow everything works out well and everybody stays happy. So I decided to make a Summer Bucket List. It included everything I wanted to do this summer. Well, mostly the things I have wanted to do since forever, but either didn't have the time or lacked the mental enery.

Whenever I told Simon about it, he thought it was a great idea. He said it's good that I have aspirations for myself. When I asked him about his aspirations, he pulled me closer and we did the Devils' tango all night.

I can appreciate his honesty.