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gayspock · 3 years

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short voyager thoughts

im still unsure how i feel about janeway? </3 which- its very early, so im giving it time and some grace. i am dw. all trek series usually get better after the beginning, or at least thatsbeen the pattern thus far. but i think... and im going to be SO honest. i came into voyager nervous about her!? 3: which is soooo unfair</3 but sigh...

i ts just i have heard one or two disparaging comments. and i think, also, even without those i'd be nervous bc its like. sigh. still, to this DAY, whenever they try to replace a leading male role with a woman in a piece of media, its like -_- .. it almost always sucks... bc they give her no personality other than Woman. like- its always some weird combination of not thinking she needs one, or being too scared to actually DO anything substantial with her, and an overall just "not knowing how to write women" sentiment which. baffling beyond belief. 🤪!

and i was... esp nervous bc. trek has its issues iwth women- or at least it did at this point. dont know squat abt discovery. but i mean- with respect! i do think that ds9 did, at first, have some seriously groundbreaking stuff (like seriously, i'd rank kira and dax ABOVE many women in fiction now!!) but over the course of the show it sort of... ehrm. got a little worse? somehow? not bad, but less spectacular, eek...... and tng was. well tng is tng when it comes to women.... 🤨 (stares). if tht aired as a show rn i'd be like o9

(and also as an aside its like- yes, yes, yes... i am know its like. frome 80s-90s true like. im not triyng to be like "ohhhh,</3 this always sucked😁!" but also i do think tht . SIGH. i think its a little tiresome when ppl do take past media and like... completely put it into some vacuum whenever they talk abt its issues and criticise it. do u know what i mean. like i think its like: for one, its entirely interesting and worthwhile to talk about how consuming it is different, from a modern perspective as opposed to then; and for two its also like... the past isnt a vacuum sealed away from us, even, in the first place so like . ehrmr!! but anyways-<3)

so idk im a little afraid and i dont think theyre going to give her, like, a horrible depiction- but what im sort of anticipating is that shes just going to be.... extremely bland and middling and kinda serviceable bc her main shtick is well shes a woman full stop and im scared for tht fr fr. 😑😣 bc sigh. naurr.... bc she has a LOT of potential- hell this whole set up does!!! and again im giving it the shot, i want to go in optimistic but i keep getting this nagging fear every time im done with an ep and im like "well i have no further comments on janeway, exxcept katie mulgrew is hot which i knew when i was 16 and watching oitnb LOL" , like i just dont want her to just be a serviceable, fill in character but tbe in lurv with her fr frfr<333 soooooooo.................................................

BUT! also also also. i do- i said this last time abt voy, and its sorta why i had it on pause for a bit! like- i again i just. i think in GENERAL they arent taking full advantage of like their whole setup. and its like... its rlly getting me, omg!! bc again: fine, fine, fine. i get it - ds9 was like... a step towards sth grittier and its the outlier, and most ppl dont like it bc of that funnily enough. but thats the thing- like im not asking for that at all, yknow! not for anything super dark. however again i just... WHEN IM WATCHING THIS, IM JUST SORT OF. BEWILDERED BY HOW... NONCHALANT THEY ARE ABT THEIR WHOLE SITUATION. AND ITS LIKE- i think its really just feels weird to me, and i'll give them time to settle in i guess- but its just... i feel like i want more of a reaction. bc theyve given me the set up for some really interesting dynamics and, like, have it all primed to push them into really good narrative spaces to like explore these guys but theyre not? taking any of that opportunity?

and again its like theyre just on some happy jaunt- and thats fine!! hey, i love it. its whats trek will always be about in the end<3 but nonetheless i think... you CAN do that and still have them actually, like, fuckin acknowledge their predicament and be optimistic abt it. like fuck: i think this could rlly lead to such a heartwarming thing, abt the crews coming together, but like... i dont know. i guess it will. but also i dont know how much im gonna care in the end if u dont rlly properly explore the tension thats there in the first place. like you guys just sort of- state it, sometimes? but then the rest of the ep its like. youre just going through the motions of the rest of the script.

and i bring this up again bc im starting this ep (the cloud) and its opening with janeway and im wondering here if we're going to get more of her, but also its just occurred to me that literally.... i feel like shes one of the characters who really could be fucking PUSHED into something sooo good if they just WORKED! with what theyve set up for themselves an the beginning to this ep is rlly making me THINK of tht and im like ahhhhhhhh! ahrghh! AHHRGHHH!!!!

and the doctor also is like a funny example of like . what feels like the only character whos kind of pointing out how horrific this all is but its like hes written off as a joke the whole time and it doesnt even feel self aware and i think. again i think theres also an angle you could go for: go for the characters, here, being the type to just sort of steamroll ahead and power through this sort of sitch but..... EVEN THEN, i think you still need to address the actual sitch narratively in some way bc that still has an effect and consequences and etc etc etc

and i will quiet my mouth now bc i KNOW im jumping the gun too much but i think its just. i think whats ALSO getting to me is like- this is different to the other shows. where its like... with tng there was no overarching plot so if you didnt stick it right at the beginning, it wasnt of such a big consequence. with ds9 there was one, but i think it kind of forgives itself easily and whilst i wouldnt say it makes the show inherently better..... the clumsier start (bc its worth noting, whilst it was rocky i dont think ds9 s1 was THAT bad- at least by comparison to tng) can be appreciated almost! bc i think it works well with the humble beginnings of the show, the characters all sort of coming to ds9 as different people, etc............ but with VOYAGER its like. youve started with a pretty big event. what im assuming is supposed to define, like, the rest of the show from what i hear!? so its like- its like.... it was a BOLD move to do that. and im not saying that, hey! if you dont get it right now, the whole show is shot- nahhh, its not that deep- but i think it just feels... more stark in its mediocrity. and hmmmm. im again unsure. i am of how i think. i am babes i am

#Egg.txt #star trek liveblog

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macklives · 5 years

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hey so this is gonna be a long-ish one. ive decided its been far too long since i did a session, and we did so many i can often forget what happened. i started in july and im pretty sure its been more than half a year now since this whole blog happened. and in that time, we’ve gone through 88 sessions and i want to know if i remember the relevant plot points and what we got up to in the last few sessions. a refresh/reminder if you would.

so i hereby commence my own little recap of act 5 because yeah no, its too much to do a recap of everything and i have andrew for that after every few acts. but i wanna refresh my mind on act 5 for now. so here we go.

1. alternia.. fucked up place. but its a place the trolls live on so what are we gonna do about it? overthrow the government? seems about right, lets do that with the next troll that gets introduced and if its not kanaya idk what andrew is doing by not having introduced the best troll yet. why the long wait? it was the second introduced? i honestly expected it to go in order when i first read act 5, because first we had karkat talk to jade which was the first new piece dialogue in the comic besides the main kids, but then we had kanaya with rose, which was followed by tavros, then terezi (iirc). so id assume we were following that order but nope karkat got fully introduced, then this random fucking juggalo called gamzee made its way into the comic. imagine my surprise.

2. theres been terminology throughout act 5, that i do not fucking know and will not remember and probably never will. like tf is a perigee again? i made a doc somewhere ill probably find it.

3. karkat’s introduction... short but very sweet. and by sweet i mean we got to know the depths of the angry edge lord. and by depths i mean karkat got angry at gamzee for typing in a way that he didnt like so he yapped like a chihuahua. nah, but seriously, i do like karkat tho, hes growing on me but only bc hes a bitch baby and his whole personality makes me want to mock him so thats the reason im not that annoyed and think hes funny, and the most harmless troll. even more so than tavros. and thats saying something. 7.5/10 bc im generous.

4. then gamzee... the high juggalo troll who has the worst typing quirk imo, i cannot for the life of me read it. but hes chill, i actually really like gamzee. hes funny and the least problematic as of right now. 8.5/10.

5. terezi’s introduction next i think. she likes playing as a lawyer with her stuffed dragons, ie by roleplay, shes blind, can see through licking, and she likes eating chalk, maybe its even nutritious. shes good. 9/10.

6. uhh in the process of these intros, there are teams being made? karkat joins gamzee and terezi in, i THINK, the red team?? bc terezi likes red?? could be wrong, i dont remember the teams except that its red/blue to represent sollux’s duality in those colors. terezi then tries recruiting AC but AC is like lol sorry i have to ask this friend of mine who has authority over me for some goddamn reason and terezi goes yuck tf i hate that guy................... yeah thats all we have on the teams. pretty sure sollux had smth to do with karkat about the making of the leaders, and they did the “i hate me” and the “no i hate me more than u hate u” or whatever the fuck that was. they got embarrassed afterwards and deleted their messages. im pretty sure they have no messages because everything ends up being mutually deleted so their logs are actually empty. ngl, kinda enjoyed their convos, made me appreciate their characters. i hope we get more because its good content. i also dont know what order this whole thing is in, who contacted who first? couldnt tell you. ill remember later on. and since im basing this off from memory alone, gotta deal with what i remember. uhhhh so yeah. we havent met all characters yet so the teams have not been officially decided but we got the bases, which is that.

7. god i found it, and the only thing im looking at right now is the terminology list i made and what the fuck?? what the fuck?? you miss a few weeks and suddenly the word nubslurping comes up and you forget what the fuck youre reading.

8. im PRETTY SURE aradia is seen after that whole team fiasco?? or its sollux... maybe. wait. its sollux, right. i just knew someone gets introduced mid way through is all. actually, someone gets introduced after every 20 pages. i have no idea. but ik aradia and sollux go hand in hand.

9. oh shit. OH SHIT! RIGHT! I REMEMBER! so this occurs in the latest session i did, and not the beginning of act 5, but AG and aradia team up, right?? and sollux fucking gets manipulated by them and ??? idk??? they make him find the game, reprogram it and then make him believe its going to end the world (which in hindsight is true, but anyways) so he refuses to play it which was AG’s plan all along so she steps up and becomes leader in his place. but aradia says sollux will still play the game no matter what, but she never went through with the plan for AG but it was apart of a prophecy? that sollux wouldnt be the leader at all? that he’d still play? but it had to go according to plan so it could succeed??? we just dont know why yet. anyways, point being, she still cares for sollux since she did it for him rather than for AG. and thats what i recall. god tf i forgot about that whole drama until writing down “sollux and aradia go hand in hand” which gave me violent flashbacks to the memory.

10. oh and id give aradia 9/10 and sollux 7/10. i do like sollux but if i put him higher than karkat, id get crucified. so im keeping them around the same.

11. man i really like sollux and aradia tho, i may have put him at 7, but i really like their dynamic and i really hope they make up and aradia explains herself about AG. because from one side it looks shitty. and while sollux is rude and never makes up his mind, he apologized to aradia after going off, and that was the only time ive seen him be sincere, so im pretty sure he cares for her to some extent. and i think its somewhat mutual? considering the whole “did it for him” thing. man, i see potential because i actually like both their characters. theyre well written. may not have the best personalities, but i appreciate well written characters and homestuck has the best ones ive seen in a while.

12. oh shit, hell yeah, the more i write, the more im connecting the dots and remembering. however, the more i write, the more i want to just make an analogy post but thats not for now. jesus christ its not all about analogies, mack, this is a recap. but.. how does andrew do it? to not go off track??? hard. telling ya.

13. anyways, didnt we break the fourth wall at some point and have the demon gods or whatever the fuck speak to us in third person for the first time in the comic, after having only gone into second person narrative, right after we were introduced to sollux and his “virus”? the uh, the phrase “the demon was already here” was said, or something along those lines. first line in homestuck to give me the creeps ngl and i appreciate it bc it gives me motivation to know what the fuck its about. its cool bc you have no idea where its going and it sure doesnt have anything to do with the current plot, since the trolls’ session/game doesnt have fucking demons so im curious as to what the fuck that was about. and if i really have to make a theory, i feel it has something to do with aradia’s voices in her head which also connect to the gods rose heard when she started disregarding rules and told dave to look at derse without listening to music bc it was as if he was purposely blocking away their calls. like holy shit, that gave me the shivers. while i do want to know more about wtf happens after act 4, trolls are taking priority right now. just like we did with the intermission. no discussing the kids unless necessary. treat this as its own separate comic. and THEN we can connect.

14. ANYWAYS, tavros’ intro???? that comes afterwards?? with the fiduspawn that made me gag a little on the inside? yep. remember that. fuck that lol. -1/10 but tavros himself is MAYBE a 6/10? i wish we explored his character more in his intro bc right now he just looks like a character made only to be a victim rather than have any depth and i feel thats robbing someone of their full potential. give me more personality andrew, rather than a quivering boy who falls prey to bitches. im expecting more throughout the comic honestly and i hope he gets growth so hes not looked as a “victim” but rather his own character. he is still sweet, and i like him because i want to protect him, but id rather have more info, you know what i mean?

15. oh hell. kanaya had a chainsaw at some point. that made me happy. and didnt she cut off tavros’ legs?? and he got robot ones? and some creepy dude was looking and we called him saggy tits bc hes sagittarius? right? neat. that did happen. pretty sure saggy tits is ACs friend that tells her what to do. the more u know. OH and they all have colored blood similar to their text colors lol. that i remember... so tavros has brown, terezi has blueish green, um. karkat has grey the loser. and apparently it forms a rainbow which is nice. rainbow is good.

16. i dont remember anything else actually

17. wait no i do. AG appeared. shes a petty bully. idk what to say about her. we didnt get that much, except that she hates tavros but is okay with aradia. she also looks like a bottle opener. actually, i think she teamed with aradia to gain leadership rather than to “be friends”. and while that is similar to how karkat did it, meaning the gain, the motivation and how they earned it is entirely different. kinda seeing a trend tho. the leaders of the red/blue teams are both characters who wanted the role, but never had it to begin with. only to win their way into the position. but rather than ask non-stop like karkat did, AG manipulated others so she could be successful. not too sure if she also used aradia for that, or is actually motivated to become friends since they were “past enemies” and she needed a rebound. pretty sure its somewhat both. while AG did mostly use aradia to speak with sollux, what she doesnt know is that aradia is a bad bitch who never even thought about AG and only followed through with the plan bc she had a plan of her own. i guess we’ll look into that later. i lowkey want to know their history.

18. OH AC!!! she appeared for a second as well. love her. shes amazing. 9.5/10. and you may ask yourself, why am i saying “i love this character” but none of them are 10/10?? weellllll its because, and i cant stress this enough, 10/10 belongs to kanaya, i dont make the rules. im waiting for her introduction, shes my favorite and its obvious. sorry.

19. oh huh seems i forgot about the term “lusus”. which.. is.. their parents but not really, its these fucking weird ass creatures that the trolls fought in a cave or something as a child. i dont fucking know. terezi hatched hers and it died? gamzee’s also died but his goat sea dad was never really there to begin with so while it is sad, its more sad that gamzee never saw him? um.. karkat killed his own by exploding his computer bc sollux said dont run the virus and karkat said u cant tell me what to do and did it anyways. so thats on him. but apparently theyre supposed to die, to become prototyped during the game, right? yeah. i remember now.

20. thats.. about it? idk anything else, nothing is coming back to me apart from the shit above. huh.... im surprised how quickly things do come back to you the moment you rant about the plot tho.... handy trick.

cool. neat. fun. this took me too long. but im glad i remember a little bit.

#i wanted to catch u all up on this #but ill most likely do a liveblog tmr bc i was bust today unfortunately apart from writing this out #bc this took priority for better understanding where i am rn #maaaannnn #writing wears me out #i love it #but its tiring the fucking bitch #so im in need for deep sleep #wish i could do more smh #welll #goodnight :)

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kingjasnah · 4 years

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Is there the full list of brandersons favourite games reposted somewhere?

i dont think so? or not that ive seen. u can literally just sign up for the newsletter on his website but screw it ill just post them for u. it sure was a TRIP scrolling past these to get to the interlude though. undertale is on this list.....im shakign at the thought that adolin was based off ff10 tidus but i cant get it out of my head now

#10: Katamari Damaci

I love things that make me look at the world in a new way. Katamari did this in spades. It is an imaginative, bizarre vision with unique gameplay. It is like nothing else in the world and I love it for all its strangeness and occasional lack of gameplay polish.

I was transfixed the first time I played it, and have looked forward to it being remade and rereleased on multiple different consoles. I love the cute—and somehow creepy at the same time—storyline. It feels like a fever dream more than a game sometimes, and is probably the closest I’ll ever get to understanding what it’s like to do drugs.

#9: Undertale

This is an oddball on this list because I think it’s the only game that is not a franchise from a major studio—but is instead an indie game, which I believe was originally funded on Kickstarter.I loved how this felt like a novel as much as a game. It was one person’s vision; a single story told really well, with a huge amount of personality. The humor was just my kind of wonderful/terrible, and I was instantly enamored with the characters.That probably would have been enough, but it is a nice deconstruction of video games as a medium—and has not one, but multiple innovative gameplay mechanics. Together, the package left me enamored. This is a work of genius that I feel everyone should at least try, even if it ends up not being for them.

#8: Fallout: New Vegas

I have played all of the core Fallout games, and I was one of the (it seems few) who was really excited when it moved from turn-based tactics to first-person shooter. While Fallout 3 was good, it didn’t have the charm of the first two.New Vegas delivered on everything I was hoping to see. The charm was back, the writing sharp, the quests imaginative. The gameplay was engaging and branched in a variety of directions, the gunplay was solid, and the atmosphere immersive. I of course love the first two games in the series—but New Vegas combines everything I like in gaming into one package. (As a note, I own the Outer Worlds, and am looking forward to digging into it. Consider this item on the list a recommendation of other Obsidian games—like Knights of the Old Republic Two—regardless of genre, as I’ve found them universally to be superior to their contemporaries.)

#7 Super Mario World

When I was eleven, I flew (alone, which was very exciting to me) from Nebraska to visit my uncle Devon in Salt Lake City. Before I left, my father gave me $200 and told me to pay for my own meals while on the trip—but of course, my uncle didn’t allow this. At the end of the trip, I tried to give him the money, which he wouldn’t take.I mentioned my dad would take the money back when I got home, but that was okay. Well, my uncle would have none of that, and drove me to the local mall and made me spend it on a Nintendo Entertainment System. (This uncle, you might guess, is an awesome human being.)Since that day of first plugging it in and experiencing Mario for the first time, I was hooked. This is the only platformer on the list, as I don’t love those. But one makes an exception for Mario. There’s just so much polish, so much elegance to the control schemes, that even a guy who prefers an FPS or an RPG like me has to admit these are great games. I picked World as my favorite as it’s the one I’ve gone back to and played the most.

#7: The Curse of Monkey Island (Monkey Island 3)

I kind of miss the golden age of adventure gaming, and I don’t know that anyone ever got it as right as they did with this game. It is the pinnacle of the genre, in my opinion—no offense to Grim Fandango fans.This game came out right before gaming’s awkward teenage phase where everything moved to 3-d polygons. For a while after, games looked pretty bad, though they could do more because of the swap. But if you want to go see what life was like before that change, play Monkey Island 3. Composed of beautiful art pieces that look like cells from Disney movies, with streamlined controls (the genre had come a long way from “Get yon torch”) and fantastic voice acting, this game still plays really well.This is one of the few games I’ve been able to get my non-gamer wife to play through with me, and it worked really well as a co-op game with the two of us trying to talk through problems. It’s a lovingly crafted time capsule of a previous era of gaming, and if you missed it, it’s really worth trying all these years later. (The first and second games hold up surprisingly well too, as a note, particularly with the redone art that came out a decade or so ago.)Also, again, this one has my kind of humor.

#6: Breath of the Wild

I never thought a Zelda game would unseat A Link to the Past as my favorite Zelda, but Breath of the Wild managed it. It combined the magic of classic gameplay with modern design aesthetic, and I loved this game.There’s not a lot to say about it that others haven’t said before, but I particularly liked how it took the elements of the previous games in the series (giving you specific tools to beat specific challenges) and let you have them all at once. I like how the dungeons became little mini puzzles to beat, instead of (sometimes seemingly endless) slogs to get through. I liked the exploration, the fluidity of the controls, and the use of a non-linear narrative in flashbacks. It’s worth buying a Switch just to play this one and Mario—but in case you want, you can also play Dark Souls on Switch... (That’s foreshadowing.)

#5: Halo 2

Telling stories about Halo Two on stream is what made me think of writing this list.I’m sometimes surprised that this game isn’t talked about as much as I think it should be. Granted, the franchise is very popular—but people tend to love either Reach or games 1 or 3 more than two. Two, however, is the only one I ever wanted to replay—and I’ve done so three or four times at this point. (It’s also the only one I ever beat on Legendary.)It’s made me think on why I love this one, while so many others seem to just consider it one of many in a strong—but in many ways unexceptional—series of games. I think part of this is because I focus primarily on the single-player aspects of a game (which is why there aren’t any MMOs on this list.) Others prefer Halo games with more balanced/polished multiplayer. But I like to game by myself, and don’t really look for a multiplayer experience. (Though this is changing as I game with my sons more and more.)I really like good writing—which I suppose you’d expect. But in games, I specifically prefer writing that enhances the style of game I’m playing. Just dumping a bunch of story on me isn’t enough; it has to be suited to the gameplay and the feel of the game. In that context, I’ve rarely encountered writing as good as Halo 2. From the opening—with the intercutting and juxtaposition of the two narratives—to the quotes barked out by the marines, the writing in this game is great. It stands out starkly against other Halo games, to the point that I wonder what the difference is.Yes, Halo Two is a bombastic hero fantasy about a super soldier stomping aliens. But it has subtle, yet powerful worldbuilding sprinkled all through it—and the music...it does things with the story that I envy. It’s kind of cheating that games and films get to have powerful scores to help with mood.The guns in Two feel so much better than Halo One, and the vehicles drive far better. The only complaint I have is that it’s only half a story—as in, Halo 2 and 3 seem like they were one game broken in two pieces. And while 3 is good (and Reach does something different, which I approve of in general) neither did it for me the way Two did, and continues to do.

#3: Final Fantasy X

You probably knew Final Fantasy was coming. People often ask if the way these games handle magic was an influence upon me. All I can say is that I’ve played them since the first one, and so they’re bound to have had an influence.On one hand, these games are really strange. I mean, I don’t think we gamers stop quite often enough to note how downright bizarre this series gets. Final Fantasy doesn’t always make the most sense—but the games are always ambitious.Ten is my favorite for a couple of reasons. I felt like the worldbuilding was among the strongest, and I really connected with the characters. That’s strange, because this is one of the FF games without an angst-filled teen as the protagonist. Instead, it has a kind of stable happy-go-lucky jock as the protagonist.But that’s what I needed, right then. A game that didn’t give me the same old protagonist, but instead gave me someone new and showed me I could bond to them just as well. Ten was the first with full voice acting, and that jump added a lot for me. It has my favorite music of the series, and all together is what I consider the perfect final fantasy game. (Though admittedly, I find it more and more difficult to get into turn-based battle mechanics as I grow older.)

#2: Bloodborne

Those who follow my streams, or who read other interviews I’ve done, probably expected this series to be at or near the top. The question wasn’t whether Souls would be here, but which one to pick as my favorite.I went with Bloodborne, though it could have been any of them. (Even Dark Souls 2—which I really like, despite its reputation in the fandom.) I’ve been following FromSoftware’s games since the King’s Field games, and Demon’s Souls was a huge triumph—with the director Hidetaka Miyazaki deserving much of the praise for its design, and Dark Souls (which is really just a more polished version of Demon’s Souls).As I am a fan of cosmic horror, Bloodborne is probably my favorite overall. It really hit the mix of cosmic and gothic horror perfectly. It forced me to change up my gameplay from the other Souls games, and I loved the beautiful visuals.I am a fan of hard games—but I like hard games that are what I consider “fair.” (For example, I don’t love those impossible fan-made Mario levels, or many of the super-crazy “bullet hell”-style games.) Dark Souls is a different kind of hard. Difficult like a stern instructor, expecting you to learn—but giving you the tools to do so. It presents a challenge, rather than being hard just to be hard.If I have a problem with Final Fantasy, it’s that the games sometimes feel like the gameplay is an afterthought to telling the story. But in the Souls games, story and gameplay are intermixed in a way I’d never seen done before. You have to construct the story like an archeologist, using dialogue and lore from descriptions of in-game objects. I find this fascinating; the series tells stories in a way a book never could. I’m always glad when a game series can show off the specific strengths of the medium.In fact, this series would be #1 except for the little fact that I have way too much time on Steam logged playing...

#1: Civilization VI

This series had to take #1 by sheer weight of gameplay time. I discovered the first on a friend’s computer in the dorms my freshman year—and I can still remember the feeling of the birds chirping outside, realizing I’d been playing all night and really should get back to my own dorm room.That still happens, and has happened, with every game in the series. I have a lot of thoughts on this series, many of them granular and too specific for this list. (Like, it’s obvious AI technology isn’t up to the task of playing a game this complex—so could we instead get a roguelike set of modifiers, game modes, etc. to liven up the games, rather than just having a difficulty slider that changes a few simple aspects of the game?)I’ll try not to rant, because I really do love this game series. A lot of people consider IV to be the pinnacle of the series, but after V unstacked units—and VI unstacked cities—there was no way I could ever go back. If for some reason, you’ve never played this grand patriarch of the 4X game genre, it’s about starting with a single stone-age settler who can found a city—then playing through eras of a civilization, growing your empire, to try to eventually get offworld with a space program. (Or, if you prefer, conquering the world.)It’s a load of fun in the way I like to have fun, and I feel like the series has only gotten better over the years. My hat is off to the developers, who keep reinventing the series, rather than making the exact same game over and over.Now, about that request for difficulty modes...

there are runner ups but for the sake of anyone whos on mobile and cant get past a read more (first of all omg im SO sorry) ill refrain. anyway he thought WHAT loz game was the best before botw?

#mix between HARDCORE judgement and like. yea. yea ff10 was pretty good wasnt it #but i dont think its anywhere near the best of them #long post #im read mores dont work imm so fucking sorry this is so long #MOST of these games are good its just so wild its so wild its SO wild #asks #Anonymous

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ogamagirl · 4 years

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1, 8, 10, 18, and 29!

WOOO MORE ANIMU ASKS thanks Phoe!!

1. first anime you ever watched --Pokemon! TuT

8. anime character you are most like --aah lol I feel like I’ve answered this before (actually I know I have; I’ve reblogged these questions before but I couldn’t find any new ones orz;;;) so I’ll give my standard answer: I rlly don’t know if there’s any ONE anime character I’m most like because I find it really hard to describe myself AND I’ve never seen any character and instantly gone “wow this feels like me” SO I’ve consistently at least felt connected to Kiki from Kiki’s Delivery Service ever since I first saw the movie as a little girl, and I also sympathized with Inaba from Kokoro Connect pretty hard when I first saw that. I’ve also been told that I’m like Nano from Nichijou! So I guess...a mix of those three?

10. favorite anime animal sidekick --(kinda going with the musings above here lol but) JIJI!!!!!!!!!! Jiji my love, I love Jiji sm ToT <333333333

18.10 worst anime you have watched --HOOHOO So I did definitely answer this years ago but I have seen many more anime in the interim so...let’s see if I can come up with some NEW worst anime! |D IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER (and realizing that this is largely based on my own personal taste): -The Day I Became a God - Maeda’s really fallen off his game imo...it was just kind of bland up until the endgame and then it became actively offensive :/ -Lostorage incited/conflated WIXOSS - I really liked the first two seasons of WIXOSS (Selector infected/spread); I realize they’re not the most quality but they scratched an emotional itch for me and I really enjoyed them! But Lostorage was a huge disappointment; I didn’t even finish conflated and I don’t plan to, even with the reintroduction of selector character to the narrative...it just was bland and not well done. -Mahoutsukai no Yome - let me preface this by saying I LOVE MAHOUTSUKAI NO YOME; I started reading the manga in Japan and it’s extremely well written and interesting and I’d like to eventually finish it, BUT I put the anime adaptation here because imo it makes a pretty good case for an adaptation that’s TOO close to the manga not working. Animation is a different medium and if all you do is animate the panels as they were it’s not going to work; the animation was pretty and consistent, but the way everything was put together just...didn’t work. Reading the manga felt better and I never managed to finish the anime because of that. Even if you’ve read the source material, a good anime adaptation should make you excited to revisit the story again, and I just honestly never felt that here; I was bored. So...adapting a manga “word for word” does not a good anime make! -22/7 - SO much wasted potential. The hook in the first ep was really interesting! ...and then each new episode was just a flashback for each girl so by the time you got to the climax where they had to split the group up I didn’t FEEL anything because they weren’t developed in the present...it didn’t feel like they were friends so why should I care about them splitting up? I didn’t even finish it. -Magical Girl Spec Ops Asuka - look; I like edgy shit as much as the next person, and I do love me some edgy magical girls from time to time, but Madoka this ain’t - DEEPLY unpleasant scenes of torture for no reason other than to be shocking, and while I can appreciate them trying to do something deeper with exploring their main character’s trauma it was just clumsy and unpleasant to watch. (...looks like those are all the new entries! so for the last 5 let’s dunk on some old favorites) -School Days - I should not have to explain why School Days is bad lmfao. I’m kind of glad I watched it just because of its place in history but it was not a fun experience -Narutaru - another for the “I like edgy shit but this is just unpleasant” category. -Yumekui Merry - this is more of a disappointment because I thought the style and character designs were really cool but the show itself was boring and underutilized them. Wasted potential. -Daybreak Illusion - ALSO a disappointment - I was REALLY into it while it was airing but the finale shit the bed imo. I do still really like the character designs tho. -Psycho-Pass 2 - Psycho-Pass 1 was fantastic. I haven’t bothered watching anything beyond that because of how disappointed I was in Psycho-Pass 2.

29. anime that deserves another season ---...mmk listen. For reasons that I have detailed multiple times across multiple posts I am not entirely sure I want another season of SE in full because of issues I have with the manga. But I do want more SE animation u feel me listen, BONES: I will win the lottery and then I will commission u to make more SE animation that adheres to my internal world and includes me because I am canon mmk mmk

UH OH YOU WANTED A REAL ANSWER OK (that is my real answer fools)

Ouran is fun there should be another season of Ouran

#asks

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konako · 4 years

Note

wasted potential sounds like an amazing Ruby Lucas rant 😏 just give me some red content I miss her sm

LETS GO

It’s like THEY VERY WELL KNEW THAT RUBY WOULD SOLVE A TON OF PROBLEMS IF USED CORRECTLY, so they chose to conveniently forget about her, so they could be forced to come up with ridiculous alternatives for the plot!!

Ruby as a Detective Deputy?

Brilliant. Even dormant, her wolf was there, in her senses, in her temper, in her speed, in her energy. She found a heart buried inside a chest near a river – by smell alone. She didn’t know it, but she smelt it. She found David in the woods – by listening to his breathing. Again, without even knowing it. Her partying persona was her wolf energy going unused. Her desire for adventure was her wolf longing to run free. She was a werewolf still, she had just forgotten about it.

Now imagine THIS IN LAW ENFORCEMENT:Foot pursuit? Pfft. Please. In a few feet, she caught the guy. Folks in this town are so slow, doctors should look into that.Tackling big broad men? Surprisingly easy. They just drop like empty bags. Iron deficiency in mass, perhaps…Hand to hand combat? Who knew flipping over your head could be so effortless? There is training for that? Uh?Searching for clues? People have a problem with that? Why don’t they just follow the very strong, very noticeable scent to the hidden murder weapon that is practically drenched in the culprit’s smell? Duh!

They couldn’t have that advantage, or the plot would have very little actual obstacles, so……… RUBY? WHO’S THAT?

Red being properly utilized in the War against The Evil Queen?

Yeah, we got a few glimpses of what she could do, and what she did do in that era, but they couldn’t use her too much, or the conflict would… not be?

So, okay, she can turn and kill armies very easily, check. She can search and spy and survey, check. She can sneak up inside Regina’s castle and kill her men– but let’s not have too much of that. Let’s not have Regina acknowledge that foe, or we would have to, I don’t know, have the Evil Queen envying Snow White’s wolf companion. (REAL WOLF COMPANION, not that imitation of a wolf she has with the Huntsman, just pretending to be the real thing and disappointing her kink passion) Yet another thing Snow White has that the Evil Queen only wished she could have. A real wolf, by her side, helping her, fighting for her.

Plus, having The Evil Queen realize Red’s potential against her could lead to Regina finding another beast to rival the werewolf, so she could be matched and even out the fight again. She could find another werewolf, from the pack Red broke apart?? She could find an ogre, the yaoguai, a werewolf hunter, a warrior in need of some work (maybe named mulan, idk). She could find herself a worthy sidekick to bear some of the brunt of Red’s attacks, so she could focus on Snow properly. But that would mean they would have to upgrade Red from a side character to an actual player with motivations, fears, enemies of her own. Too much work! Let’s have Jekyll and Hyde there for no reason at all maybe.

Ruby being in control of her powers and using them with full intent to save the day?

Again, experimented with, in the Frankenstein episode in season two. But, oooooh, fuck, we can’t have that! Shit, that stupid plot twist of Whale running from the hospital lasted for like 5 seconds, was solved in 2 and had NO real impact in the bigger story – IF RUBY SOLVES ALL OF OUR SHALLOW INCONSEQUENTIAL PROBLEMS, what damp piece of toilet paper will we call a script? A plot??? We can’t have that.

We need our fairytale errands to take an epic proportion, waste 70% of our run time and pretend to be a bigger problem than they are, so we can have what the kids are calling… what was it? oh, Drama! Yes!

If we misplace this Macguffin in the town and have a werewolf sniff it out in an hour, WHAT STORY WILL WE TELL? A REAL ONE? No, hear me out: Regina has gone missing, so we have to have Snow squirting this weird ass oracle juice in her eye to see through Regina’s eyes to find her – and she should go to outrageous lengths to find this all-seeing spit– THAT’S PLOT. We have it. Found it. Amazing plot. – What do you mean, her very best friend is a werewolf with incredible senses that by this point has Regina’s scent engraved in her mind (because of the hate sex in the previous season, but we won’t get into that)?? NO! ORACLE JUICE! MAGIC SQUIRT! NO WOLF.

Oh man, it sure is hard to have this character… Supernatural senses, speed, strength, stamina… that neutralizes like… 80% of our everyday obstacles. Maybe we should go for the emotional, interpersonal conflicts. That will guarantee she won’t be able to solve it, right? Right…..?

Ruby as the emotional support friend, the loyal companion, the charitable

Shit. Oh SHIT!

Snow killed Regina’s mother on impulse and is now in a deep depression over the consequences, both to Regina and to her soul. She’s struggling with the taking of a life, with the blood on her hands, with the sacrifices she’s had to made to defeat the greater evil?

What do you mean, Ruby lived through all of that and could offer her precious council, comfort, company? Ah, fuck. Does that mean we have to acknowledge Ruby’s story as well? Do you mean we have to have her as an actual character, as she helps Snow through this tough time, and they share their fears and explore their dynamic, as they finally switch roles and now Snow is the one drowning in guilt and Ruby is the one grounded? F u c k.

Regina and Red have eerily similar stories? Killed mother without meaning to, death of first boyfriend in their arms being the turning for from her previous life, a hint of darkness always swirling in their hearts and minds, a concerning ease in causing harm, an inner conflict fueled by an unsatisfied desire for freedom and the shackles of other’s expectations? And the critical difference that ultimately led them to opposite paths: a loving and accepting friend/family. Red and Regina as equals in origin, but opposite extremes in the present? Whoa, that’s too heavy. That’s some deep shit right there. That could make a serious storyline, a solid relationship of frenemies, to friends, to………………….. lovers?

That’s too dangerous. We can’t have people thinking OUAT is for philosophical shit!! What’s that, a sociological take on my evil vs. good story?? Complex character dynamics and layered personalities interacting in the full scope of a human relationship???? GET OUT OF HERE WITH THIS GAY SHIT. GIVE ME A MUSICAL EPISODE INSTEAD.

Ruby is a powerhouse of a character, it’s decided. She threatens our easy (while mind-numbingly convoluted) narrative. Let’s leave her by the road, like a proper unwanted dog.

Let’s her take a mysterious trip to FTL and blame it on Storybrooke’s overwhelming heterosexual demographic and her raging bisexuality her being the only werewolf in town, despite every other stupid type of creature populating every square inch of this hell. And not feeling comfortable there. Okay. That’ll do.

People won’t ask too many questions. Who care about Ruby anyway???

Phew. Solved it.

Bullet: dodged!

Pats on the back. Good management, good writing, good everything, OUAT. We did it. We did a writing. We write good. Where is our Emmy.

*sigh*.

just….. *sigh*.

#ruby lucas #once upon a time #Anonymous

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rhinoswriting · 4 years

Text

A Life On The Road - Part 2 (A Luke Hemmings FanFic)

Overview: Elizabeth and Calum have been best friends since they were 15/14 respectively. Elizabeth is from and lives in the UK, but her family lived in Sydney for a brief 2 year period which is how the two met.

With Calum’s band, 5SOS, embarking on their biggest and most ambitious world tour to date, he has invited Elizabeth along to work as a photographer/content creator for their social media. This is in the hopes that travelling with them and getting to explore so many new cities will help Elizabeth achieve her dream of becoming a full-time travel writer.

Elizabeth is acquainted with the rest of 5SOS but doesn’t know them tremendously well. Obviously that changes as they are all forced to be in one another’s company for the duration of the tour. As the tour progresses and new friendships blossom, Elizabeth feels the connection between her and Luke grow more and more.

A/N: Picking up where I left off in Part 1 and getting into the main story now. So if you weren’t a fan of Part 1 because it lacked 5SOS, you’ll be glad to know they’re all now entering the main narrative.

Part 1

*******************************************************************

I woke up when the train was 15 minutes outside of Edinburgh and tried to gather my bearings as quickly as I could. The coffee, bagel and nap had all definitely helped make me feel a bit more human. But I was a bit groggy from the 3 hours nap so rummaged in my bag for the almond biscuits I had purchased in Sheffield. I ate the two biscuits in the hope that the sugar would perk me up by the time I met up with everyone at the station.

So it turns out that Edinburgh station is fucking huge. I absolutely hate being late, so the stress of trying to find my way through the station was very anxiety inducing. Eventually I decided to just follow the crowd and call Cal to find out where everybody was. He picked up after a few rings and gave me directions to the right exit as well as a description of the tour bus.

Look for the black and bronze bus. I thought to myself as I scanned the row of coaches, vans and buses. Once I had spotted it I began to make my way over. As I did so I was suddenly hit by a truck-load of anxiety. What if I don’t get on with the others? What if no publications pick up the pieces I write? Will I even be in a place long enough to write about it? Oh God, was this all a mistake?!

I forced myself to walk on and did my best to ignore all the intrusive thoughts firing around my mind. As I got closer to the bus I spotted someone in a bucket hat talking to a blonde man and an older man with a very round beer belly. The bucket hat instantly made me feel calmer and I rushed over, dragging my suitcase behind me over the uneven pavement.

“CAL!” I yelled as I grew closer to him.

The three men paused their conversation and turned in the direction of my voice. Calum broke out into a stupid, big grin and rushed towards me to close the distance quicker. My right hand let go of my suitcase as I opened my arms and threw them around Calum.

“I’ve missed you! I’m so excited for this! Thank you again for inviting me!” I said gleefully while still embracing him.

“I’ve missed you too, you melon! This tour is going to be so fun with you on it.” Calum responded, squeezing me tighter before letting go and standing in front of me, “Come pick your bunk then!”

Before hopping on to the bus to pick my bunk I said hi to Michael and Tom (the older man who was the driver) and swapped pleasantries.

I knew the bus was going to be impressive and blow my mind a little, but even that didn’t prepare me for just how fancy the interior was. The first section was the lounge area. One side had a leather sofa with some overhead cabinets and the other had a small dinner style booth coming off the end of a counter top with a sink, microwave and kettle. Through the thin, fabric curtain lead to the bunks. There were 6 in total, with three stacked on top of each other on both sides. I opted for the top left bunk and ‘claimed’ it by throwing my rucksack and camera bag onto the mattress. I then followed Cal through to the last section of the bus which was another lounge area. It had a U shaped sofa with a mini-bar at each end and a TV with games console already set-up.

“Shiiiiit, I could get used to this.” I said doing a slow spin to take in all of the second lounge area.

“COFFEE BETCHES!” Was suddenly yelled down from the other end of the bus.

“I put in your usual order with the boys, come grab it.” Cal said, immediately making his way towards his bandmates and awaiting beverage.

I followed closely behind. When I got into the front lounge area the guys, driver, manager and a two of the roadies were either grabbing their coffee cups or sat down already taking swigs from the take-away cups.

“Hey! Elizabeth! It’s good to see you again!” Luke said enthusiastically when he noticed my presence behind Cal.

“Excited to come on the road with us?” Ashton added, “Oh, uh, here’s your coffee.”

“Hey guys, it’s been a minute! And yeah I’m really looking forward to it!” I beamed at them as Ashton handed over my second cappuccino of the day.

Then their manager, Lou, quickly took control of the room, sharing the necessary details of tonight’s press event as well as a brief on tomorrow’s press, soundcheck and show in Glasgow. He sent the roadies back to their bus after this and then turned his focus more specifically on me. He gave me a brief of what images and content they were after, checked I had my laptop with me to edit videos and then gave me the login detail to the band’s socials. Once he was assured I had everything and knew what I was doing, as opposed to being the band’s freeloader, he bid us a safe journey to Glasgow and went to get in his hire car so he could drive ahead to the venue.

After grabbing headphones and or gaming devices the four men settled into the front lounge before Tom pulled the bus out of its parking spot and headed for Glasgow. Ashton and Michael were on the sofa, Calum and Luke were sat on one of the booth’s benches, while I stretched my legs out across the other, my head against the window.

“Ahhhh, it is so nice to be travelling and have leg room.” I said as I settled into the faux leather.

“You’re 5 foot 2; you are not allowed to complain about leg room.” Cal teased.

My response was simply to flip him off while gulping down some more of my cappuccino. Both Calum and Luke seemed amused by the gesture.

“So, have you got any story ideas in mind for any of the stops?” Cal asked.

“Not really. I’m probably not very well prepared. But I don’t want to go to a city with too many assumptions in case they’re off. But if you guys have suggestions I’m down to hear them.”

“You’ll be spoilt for choice in Berlin. The history, the art, the nightlife.” Luke said after a moment of thought, while counting off his suggested story angles on his fingers. I noticed he made a point of emphasising ‘nightlife’, so I already had a feeling Berlin was going to be a really fun stop.

“Paris will be good for art and galleries too.” Calum added, “Oslo has a tonne of rooftops bars you could review.”

“I’d be more than happy to do a bar crawl if it’ll help you write an article!” Luke enthusiastically offered.

“I know I can’t exactly demand anything. But I demand a rooftop bar crawl in Oslo.” I stated as I began to mirror Luke’s enthusiasm for the idea.

Our conversation had clearly grabbed Ashton’s attention. After a few more suggestions were thrown out, Ashton looked up from his phone and said,

“If you join us in Japan after Europe you should write about the fashion over there. I’ll be personally offended if you don’t.”

Not one to be left out, Michael then pulled an earphone free to get caught up on the conversation he’d been missing while engrossed on his Switch. Once he was up to speed he threw his first idea into the ring,

“Milan has some insane architecture. If you get to explore it, definitely go for an architecture story.”

By the time we reached Glasgow the guys had thought of so many solid angles and ideas that I had 15 of the best ones stored within my Notes App.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

After a week I was pretty well adjusted to my new temporary lifestyle with Cal and the guys. The daylight hours spent on the bus in transit were usually pretty chill. A lot of the time the guys spent napping, playing video-games, on the phone to family or stuffing their faces with junk. As well as hanging out with them and competing in Smash Bros tournaments, I used a lot of this time to work on some of my article ideas and edit together a video diary of the tour.

When the guys were doing press during the day, I used those free hours as my opportunity for solo exploration of whatever city we were in. But I always made it back for soundcheck and the beginning of the backstage hang out pre-drinking, in order to get shots and clips for the band’s socials. Then when it was time for them to take the stage I’d switch between side of stage, in front of the barrier and back of house in order to cover all angles.

After the encore I’d head back to the bus to shower and change while Cal and the guys met fans outside. Once they all clambered back onto the bus at varying stages of exhaustion we’d just hang and have a few more drinks before one by one peeling away from the group and heading to our bunks. Other than when they had a free day to explore a city with me, these post-show hours were proving to be my favourite times with them all on tour. And tonight in Liverpool was no exception.

I looked up from my laptop as the bus door opened and saw Michael enter, with his stage towel still draped over both shoulders.

“Ayyyoo! You were on fire tonight, Mike!” I congratulated him as he collapsed onto the sofa.

“Thanks, E,” He responded in a voice that matched the exhaustion exuding from his posture more than it did the grin on his face.

“I got some great footage of you during Jet Black Heart tonight. You want another drink?” I asked as I got up from the booth to refill my own cup.

“I’ll take a beer if there’s any left in the mini-fridge.”

As I handed him a cool bottle, Cal and Ashton got on the bus both in stitches over something one of them had said.

“How great was tonight?! We fucking rocked it!” Ashton exclaimed as soon as he saw Michael and I.

“Best night of the tour so far! Joint with London!” I excitedly responded as Ashton pulled me into a hug, “What a way to end the UK portion of the tour!”

Ignoring my freshly poured drink and Michael’s bottle that was only missing a few sips, Ashton decided to kick off the post-show celebrations by concocting cocktails for us all. He was pouring the bright blue mixture into glasses when Luke got back on the bus and completed the group. His entrance once again prompted us to shout about how great the show had been, while Ashton handed out our drinks.

After the first cocktail went down, Ashton was immediately preparing seconds and someone was blaring our carefully curated ‘Rock Party Playlist’ through my Bluetooth speaker. So needless to say it wasn’t long before the dancing began.

At some point Michael managed to sneak off to his bunk. Cal was the next to head to bed after wishing us a good night and gracefully turning down our pleas that he stayed and partied on.

So for a while it was just me, Ashton and Luke dancing about the front lounge and opting for shots over cocktails. It was at some point during this stage of the night that the infamous video of the three of us belting out the lyrics to Rock n’ Roll All Nite by KISS was uploaded to Ashton’s IG story and introduced my face to their fan base.

Then, just before he reached blackout drunk, Aston took himself off to his bunk, making it a party of two.

“Last ones standing!” Luke declared as he held his shot glass high into the air.

“Last ones standing!” I echoed as I clinked my shot glass with his and promptly downed the liquid.

A few songs after this the playlist ended. Instead of finding a new one or repeating it, we both embraced the quiet that washed over the tour bus. Neither of us quite ready for bed, we sat at opposite ends of the couch with our knees pulled into our chests so we could face one another and started chatting.

“You’re doing a great job by the way,” Luke told me, “Lou, would never praise you to your face, but I know even he’s impressed. You’re doing a really good job, even though it’s not the main reason you’re here and I want you to know that. And I’m glad you’re here. I don’t know you as well as Cal does, but I want us to be genuine friends too.”

“That’s incredibly sweet of you. And thank you for thinking I’m doing a good job here.” I responded as the compliments added a darker hue to my already flushed cheeks, “Also we are genuine friends, Luke. Cal and I being best friends doesn’t negate the fact that you and I have a friendship.”

“I know. I know. I guess what I meant is I want us to be better friends. I want to get to know you as you, not as I know you now.”

“And how do you know me now?” I asked a little defensively.

“I know you as Cal’s British best friend from high school Science and History the last two years we were there. I know you as Elizabeth, the girl who comes to at least our London show with Cal’s sister when we tour the UK. I know you through Calum. What I’m trying to say is I want to know you myself. More than just the surface level stuff and the stories Calum tells us of your good times.”

I guess he has a point. I guess until this tour I’ve only really know him, Ash and Michael through the stories Cal has told me and from hanging out in the same packed backstage dressing rooms at all their previous London shows with MK.

“More than the surface level stuff you say? Well then go ahead and ask me something you want to know. Let’s build a better friendship tonight.” I smiled

#luke hemmings fanfic #luke hemmings fanfiction #luke hemmings #5sos fanfiction #5sos fanfic

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ladylilithprime · 6 years

Note

do all the even numbersssssss

~evil stare~

2) What fandoms do you write for and do you have a particular favourite if you write for more than one?

Ugh.... Animorphs, Marvel, Sailor Moon, Tomorrow People, Firefly, Gundam Wing, Princess Tutu, DC Comics universe, Smallville, Danny Phantom, YURI!!! On Ice, Supernatural, Star Trek, Star Wars, Harry Potter, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Daria, How To Train Your Dragon, Rise of the Guardians, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Power Rangers, Fullmetal Alchemist, Miraculous Ladybug, Phineas and Ferb, Gravitation, Yami no Matsuei, Weiss Kreuz, My Little Pony, FAKE, ElfQuest, Good Omens, Chronicles of Narnia, Lord of the Rings, Transformers, Stargate SG1, Pirates of the Caribbean, Highlander, The Sentinel, Boondock Saints, MacGyver, and a whole wild world of crossovers..... Yeesh. Anyway, I don’t have a particular favorite, though I will go through periods of working exclusively in one fandom or another before switching.

4) What is your favourite genre to write for?

Fanfic genre? Probably Alternate Timeline/For Want Of A Nail fics, where a single change in the timeline causes events to play out differently. I also have a weakness for time-travel fics. ^_^

6) If you had to delete one of your stories and never speak of it again, which would it be and why?

I thought we agreed never to speak of it again?

8) Where do you take your inspiration from?

Everywhere. Literally everywhere. Frequently from just sitting around letting my brain wander.

10) In your fic A Wish Your Heart Makes, why did you decide to end it like that? Did you have an alternative ending in mind?

I’ll be completely honest: the moment I got the prompt, I knew how the story was going to end. If anything, I made it less angsty than originally intended.

12) Who is your favourite character to write for? Why?

Depends on the fandom. In Marvel, regardless of the universe, I love writing for Tony and his flashy misdirection and nicknames hiding a wealth of genius and depth and background that the surface never shows. I have similar reasons for enjoying writing Sam Winchester in Supernatural. However, in Fullmetal Alchemist I love writing for Jean Havoc, a theoretical background character who is still deeply important to the narrative and has all sorts of depths to explore despite his canon dissembling about how “I ain’t the brightest, but I get by”. Basically, I guess I just love characters that have way more going on in their heads than gets shown on screen.

14) How did you come up with the title for Twist The Sinews Of Thy Heart? - You can ask about multiple stories.

It’s actually a line from the poem “Tyger Tyger Burning Bright”. Appropriate choice for a fic that features a “crazy” angel rescuing technically extinct tiger cubs. eh?

16) How did you come up with the idea for Twist The Sinews Of Thy Heart?

My dear enabler @rodiniaorzetalthepenquin asked for “fluffy Sastiel with tiger” for her birthday, and by Chuck I delivered! XD

18) Do you have any abandoned WIP’s? What made you abandon them?

Technically, yes, but I don’t exactly consider them abandoned. I have WIPs whose bunnies decided to fuck off to Monaco and chill with porn stars go on an extended vacation, and so they got put on the back-burner while I pursued other avenues in other fandoms, but I don’t think I’m capable of abandoning a WIP. I either finish it or straight-up kill it.

20) Are there any stories that you wished you’d ended differently?

There are a couple of fics that I wish I could have drawn out the resolution longer, but my momentum failed me.

22) Do you have a story that you look back on and cringe when you reread it?

Yep! Next?

24) How do you feel about writing smutty scenes?

Eh... I can do it when I need to, but it’s not my preferred thing to write.

26) Which part of your Amethystium fic was the hardest to write?

Definitely part five. I had to write it with just enough ambiguity to keep it from being too obvious exactly what I’d done so I wouldn’t get murdered by my readers.

28) What is something you wished you’d known before you started posting fanfiction?

The internet is full of people who all have different motivations for going online to read fan-created content. Some people are going to be friendly, some are going to be weirdly elitist about fandom, and some of those people are going to be assholes who want to tear you down just because they think they can and believe the internet anonymity will protect them from consequences. Don’t let them drive you out of what you love before you’re ready to move on to something new.

30) In contrast to 29 is there a story which gets lots of love which you kinda eye roll at?

Not really? Maybe some of my really old Animorphs fics that I wrote when I was twelve upon which I look back and feel like I could have done so much better?

32) Are any of your characters based on real people?

Sure, sometimes. Mostly the blink-and-you-miss-them NPCs. Occasionally some of the bigger OCs are based off of real people, but I try not to tell people that, or of whom the character is a representation. ^_~

34) What’s the harshest criticism you’ve gotten?

Probably the person who kept harping over my “obvious” lack of understanding of genetics, when I’d actually done the research prior to writing the fic and had sources to back up my in-story numbers. The person kept after me until I just deleted the entire fic “pending rewrite” to get rid of the whole damn argument chain, and I’ve just never gotten around to reposting it. Not even sure I still have the original fic file, actually.... Anyway, that was both the harshest and most stupid criticism ever, and for twenty-two years of fic-writing, that’s pretty decent, I think. (I don’t count flames, because those are just haters being mean.

36) Can you give us a spoiler for one of your WIP’s?

...Sam has wings. ^_~

38) If you could collab with any other writer on here, who would it be? (Perhaps this question will inspire some collabs!) If you’re shy, don’t tag the blog, just name it.

Of the people with whom I would like to collaborate and with whom I have not already collaborated, probably @jupiterjames and @theriverscribe

40) Do people know you write fanfiction?

Some of them, if I trust them a whole hell of a lot or we’re mutually blackmailing each other because they write fanfic too. (Looking at you, @jupiterjames )

42) Song fic - What made you decide to use the song “Bailamos” for Harry Potter.

Honestly? The crackfic potential and the chance to write male/male dance choreography. ^^U

44) What is the last line you wrote?

Rarely was Castiel disappointed in the offerings, and even those disappointments were because he didn't care for the flavors, not because of any fault in the quality of the pastries or drinks offered.

46) I really loved your “Phoenix Ascending” fic. If you were ever to do a sequel, what do you think might happen in it?

Well, Michael would take over and stabilize Heaven, Gabriel would get rescued from Assmodickus without Ketch’s help, Lucifer would die sooner, and Jack and Mary would be rescued fairly close to canon with a few obvious differences. Probably. Maybe. If I was writing a sequel. ~shifty look~

48) What’s your favourite trope to write?

Irritatingly, I love writing Slow Burn. I also hate it. Because it’s slow. And long.

50) If you could write only angst, fluff or smut for the rest of your writing life, which would it be and why?

Fluff. Angst hurts to write, frankly, and as for smut.... Meh. I'm really not that good at writing it solo; it's a lot easier to do cooperatively when I have someone else's character reactions to react to, but even then the actual deed is not so important for me as the depths of emotions behind it, so... Fluff.

#fic writer questionaire #i have too many fandoms i write more #sweet feckin' jesus this took a while to fill out #dreamhunter-trash #Whispers on the Wind

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sulietsexual · 7 years

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Do that trauma thing but for angel! (Please)

Anonymous said: Different anon, but I’m curious, what do you think is the most traumatic thing the main characters from AtS went through?

Anonymous said: Sorry u might have got this ask and just. Or wanted to answer but if not could you do the trauma ask thing for angel plz

Angel

Withouta doubt, I would list Angel’s biggest trauma as losing his son when Holtjumps through the portal to Quor-toth.

Angelis a person who is used to losing those he cares about or having to walk awayfrom those he loves to protect or save them. He is someone who can usually takethese losses in stride, collect his emotions and remain stoic and focused on thebigger picture. Connor is an entirely different matter.

Angelobviously never planned on or thought he would ever have a child, so whenConnor was miraculously born, he became Angel’s entire world, to the pointwhere Angel literally would not let anyone else hold him or go near him for thefirst twenty-four hours of his life. He loved Connor more than anything in theworld, and his priorities changed entirely when Connor arrived. Suddenly Connorwas the thing Angel put above all else, the one person he couldn’t live without,the one being who owned all of Angel’s soul.

So losing Connor was, to put it mildly,devastating for Angel, as witnessed by his subsequent actions. Never before hasAngel lost it the way he did when confronting Wesley at the hospital, neverbefore has Angel been so driven by pain and rage and trauma that he literallydidn’t care if the whole world burned so long as he got his son back. And wheneverything failed to get Connor back, he went almost catatonic, sitting insideConnor’s burnt-out room for days, not moving, not speaking, too devastated bythe loss of his son to even pretend to be alright. No trauma before or sincehas ever affected Angel in such adevastating manner.

Cordelia

Kindof like Buffy, I feel like Cordy’s actualbiggest trauma and the event presentedas her biggest trauma are different events.

For mepersonally, I would list Jasmine hi-jacking Cordy’s body, raping her andConnor, using Cordy’s body to commit murder and eventually birthing herself tobe Cordelia’s biggest trauma, especially since Cordelia retains memories of thewhole ordeal. Another being taking over your agency and body and using you forevil, leaving you with no choice in matter and no way to stop them would be terrifying and traumatic and absolutelyhorrific to experience. However, due to the fact that Cordy slips into a coma andeventually dies from this ordeal, there is no way for the show to present andexplore the after-effects this would have had on her had she survived.

So,with that in mind, I would say that narrativelyCordy’s biggest trauma is the physical manifestations of her visions inThat Vision Thing. As she says to Lilah in the episode Billy, she was burned, cut, traumatisedand didn’t know whether she would die, rendering her completely helpless. Thephysical pain she endures throughout that episode, not to mention thepsychological damage it would have done, seems to stay with Cordy for a whileafter, and as we see in Billy, she still clearly recalls the feeling of beingvictimised and feeling powerless.

Wes

Look,I know that the show wants me to viewFred’s death as Wesley’s biggest trauma, but I hate the Fresley relationship,Wesley’s role within it and his creepy and obsessive feelings for Fred, and Ifind his pain over her death to be narcissistic, self-indulgent andself-centered and if anyone gets togrieve Fred to that degree it should be Gunn, you know, the guy who had an actual relationship with her for over ayear, who respected her and was her equal partner, not some creepy sexist dudewho infantilized and idealized her, and screwed over everyone and anyone to gether in the end.

So Iwould list Wesley’s biggest trauma as his childhood. Much like Xander, thereare definite hints that Wesley’s childhood was unhappy and abusive, and thathis father in particular was emotionally and probably physically abusive. Andagain, like Xander, you can see a lot of this reflected in Wesley’s behaviourand his attitude towards women. Although, unlikeXander, Wesley indulges his sexism and allows it to turn into full-blownmisogyny, and he ends up treating the women in his life appallingly because ofthis.

Gunn

Ithink Gunn’s entire life up until he meets Team Angel is probably saturatedwith trauma, given that he’s been watching his friends die and been trying toprotect everyone for years, but it isfairly obvious that his biggest trauma was when Allona was murdered, turned andthen sent back to him only for him to have to stake her.

Weknow that Gunn was crazy protective of Allona, that she was the most importantperson in the world to him. While he was concerned with keeping his entire crewsafe, Allona was prioritized above all, she was the one he ultimately wanted tokeep out of danger. So when she was not only taken by vampires but then turned into a vampire and returned tohim, the trauma and pain and guilt cut deeper than anything Gunn hadexperienced before or since. Not only was Allona’s fate a consequence of hisown recklessness but he was then forced to kill her all over again, much likeXander was with Jesse. And, much like Xander, this incident has such a profoundeffect on Gunn and traumatizes him so badly, that he struggles to shake hisblack-and-white view of the world and he has a very hard time fully trustingAngel, seemingly only being able to do so towards the end of Season 3/earlySeason 4, despite fighting shoulder-to-shoulder with the vampire.

Fred

Ithink we can all agree that Fred’s biggest trauma was being sucked through aportal and having to fend for herself for five years in Pylea. While Fredproves how self-sufficient and strong she is by surviving the Hell dimension,the after-effects of this trauma seemingly stay with her for the rest of theseries.

As wesee in the series, when Fred finally escapes Pylea she is still so traumatisedthat she basically develops agoraphobia, refusing to leave her room, scribblingon her walls and avoiding everyone in the Hyperion. Once she finally does startventuring outside, her mannerisms remain timid and anxious, she frequentlyhides under or behind furniture and she doesn’t start to really recover untilthe middle of the season. A combination of her beautiful relationship with Gunn, aswell as being forced into a leadership role when Angel, Cordy and Wes disappear, finally helps to turn into a stronger and more in-control character, but as weare shown in Supersymmetry, she still carries the trauma of Pylea enough thatshe is severely triggered when a portal opens on top of her. Had she lived, sheprobably would have had to work to overcome this trauma and finally get to aplace where she didn’t fear her past as much.

Connor

Ohgod, Connor, basically until Angelchanges his memories and gives him a new family, this poor kid’s entire freaking life is one longEmotional Trauma Conga Line. I mean, where do I even start? Kidnapped as aninfant, raised in a hell dimensionwhere his foster father used extreme methods to teach him survival (tyingConnor to a tree and leaving him there for days springs to mind – and Connorwas a child when this happened),brought up to hate part of himself, punches through to our world to meet hisbiological father, starts to form a bond with him and is then manipulated into believinghis biological father killed his foster father, kicked out of home and forcedto live on the streets, emotionally and sexually manipulated by a Higher Beingwho also rapes him, mistrusted by everyone, called a freak, made to feel likean outsider and broken so badly that he is driven to murder and suicide.

I knowthe fandom finds Connor whiney and bratty, but really, can you blame him? Look at all this shit the poor kid goes through!And throughout all of this, he literally has no one to turn to, no one in hiscorner, whom he trusts, whom he feels he can go to for advice or support.Honestly, I always have massive amounts of sympathy for Connor, as his entirelife is one big trauma. Poor kid.

#angel #ats #ats meta #angel the series #meta #Anonymous #answered #anti fresley #anti wesley

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nathjonesey-75 · 5 years

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A Day In A Life

They say retrospect is a wonderful thing. To be able to review; objectively and honestly – moments, times or even periods of time. Critically or loosely. Positively or negatively. Sometimes that essential clarity of thought cannot be granted until enough time has passed, as the mind (it has been known) to play tricks on us. In this particularly unique instance it has taken me this long – twenty-two years, in fact – to be openly able to absolutely look everything in the eye and be brutally frank. To the point where it’s almost completely written in the third-person, about another individual.

I suppose it could be as much the self-therapy I’ve wanted to gift myself, as it is hopefully a document of mental health learning for others. Tomorrow I will turn the grand, fuddy-duddy, middle-aged, wrinkle-washed age of forty-four. Double the age of probably the most pivotal and instrumental birthday anniversary of my life. Those who have known me forever will know why – but as I try not to assume that I know everything about everyone – this is a story from a very jittery life journey. Having lost people; friends and acquaintances from my generation to mental health struggles and coping mechanisms which didn’t work – “every little helps”, as Tesco says.

On Wednesday, May 7th, 1997, I travelled back to Nottingham; to my university life, having visited my mother after a write-off, nasty car accident had broken both her legs. She used to tell me up to that point “I’ve been driving twenty-five years and had no accidents, so don’t tell me how to drive!” When the time had clearly come to blemish the self-prognosed perfect driver’s record – it was done in destructive style. Anyway, having left my pin-legged mother in Llanelli, I returned to pre-arranged birthday drinks in Nottingham. A month or so away from completing my BA (Hons) Communication Studies course, this was to be probably the last big celebration before a month of coursework was to be completed. Life was good (apart from the aforementioned Mrs Damon Hill-Jones’s road exploits).

After a few hours of not paying for any drinks, I felt on the brink of being annihilated - should I drink any more. So, after running into my work colleague from my part-time job at the Beatroot nightclub, the two of us diverted from Sam Fay’s late bar – to his nearby flat, near Nottingham castle, so I could chill out for an hour. The plan was to return and see the night out until 2am. Whether the walk and fresh air had helped or not, I had a semi-second wind. We got to his flat and my ideals of birthday grandeur got the better of me. I wanted a bottle of bubbles. At that time of night, the only place I could get one would be a nightclub, so we ordered a taxi to take us to…sigh….The Black Orchid. A cheesy, yet huge club in the enterprise park which had Wednesday student night on. Did I need the bottle? No, yet the cab was booked.

It was at this point that my mental hard drive crashed. My next memory was waking up in a hospital bed, the following afternoon, with not only my friends around the bed, but my father as well. I opened my eyes and asked; “What happened?”, as if I was in a scene of a film where the character had woken up in heaven – only to be sent back to earth with a completely abstract life narrative to the one which was being played up to the Wednesday. Turns out I had probably had another drink at my friend’s, at some point of the night consumed a small amount of amphetamines, then passed out on the first-floor landing, but falling sharply down the twenty feet of stairs on my head, all the way.

Now, with music playing loudly, my workmate and his flatmate heard nothing. It was their neighbour who heard a large ‘thud’, who rang the doorbell in concern which alerted them, along with the taxi which had arrived outside. There was blood everywhere. I had fractured my skull, torn nerves while breaking my nose and had a slight haemorrhage on the side of my head. Five days were spent in Nottingham’s QMC Hospital, mostly sleeping. On the Saturday, I remember getting out of bed in a complete fuzzy daydream, wearing only one of those crappy bed gowns; walking to the toilet with the nurse calling after me “Nathan! Where are you going?” “Home!” was the abrupt, muddled answer. I urinated, went back to bed and proceeded to enter hibernation once again.

Doctors said I was lucky to be alive. There was a dent at the front of my cranium, around an inch long. Had that been an inch higher in position on my skull – I was told I would have died. Those nerves I severed were my smell and taste nerves, so I’ve had very diminished senses in those departments, since. Most pivotal – was my doctor, back in Llanelli; once I returned and spent another five days in Prince Phillip Hospital, he said “You will experience some depression and levels of fatigue.” Immediately, in my head I decided – no I won’t. Not the depression, anyway. I’ll find a way of keeping lively and feeling good. The fact Being ruled out of playing rugby or football for at least nine months became a huge problem. My penultimate match played before the incident was for Wales Students Rugby League team against Scotland. The previous summer I had trained pre-season with my beloved Llanelli RFC, with the likes of Stephen Jones and Ieuan Evans; taking my fitness to a new level. I was twenty-two with the world at my feet. There was no way I was stopping. Unsurprisingly, it took a very short space of sleepy, anxious time to realise I’d have to succumb to the doctor’s prognoses.

Panic attacks began, embarrassingly in public while visiting a friend for their birthday in August 1997, having seen out three months of ‘no alcohol’ from my doctor’s orders. I had no energy. Not even enough to complete my coursework, so Nottingham Trent University gave me an extension of three months – to the end of August, to submit my work. However, I was living away from the university and my beloved friends. What the hell was happening? No energy; forced to live with my mother and brother while my father and sister both lived in Cardiff; both studying for their new careers. Here beginneth the hardest years of my life.

By the end of 1997, I had managed to graduate successfully, but I was by then suffering heavy depression and anxiety, fuelled by the loneliness of having no friends around; not knowing why I was on earth and wanting to die. I had lost all tracking of whom I was, what I was doing and where any of it was going. Plus, glandular fever had bitten me hard, taking a month out of my glorious, progressive freezer job at Asda.

In January 1998, I was charged with drink-driving, having driven home on Christmas week with no care for repercussions; caught on camera making a U-turn in a forbidden area. While living at home with my mother caused all sorts of tension, arguments and vitriol, the only thing which kept me partially sane was my first set of turntables. With very few points of company around in a reversal of vibrant, university life – it was me; and the decks. Over time, it became a slow, fearful return to “normal” life. I have never been a naturally confident person – easily intimidated in the past by louder, overconfident characters, but this new anger in me – for what I didn’t know – became something, someone – I had to allow to be played out. Not a villain, but an even more insecure little boy to that one on the morning of May 7th, 1997. Unapologetically cavalier, which only cost me at times – and those who suffer depression will know how past mistakes can eat the soul of those who made the mistakes.

For many years I refused to accept depression and anxiety were a part of me. My mother has since told me she believed it began with my grandfather’s death when I was seventeen, but I know from looking deeply inside myself, from exploring instincts I’ve always had, but with which I’ve had to become accustomed – questions I’ve asked in early teenage years, that my fears and those scared instincts – must be tied into my neurological wiring. Throughout my early twenties, from that point I lived out wild teenage years – years locked away inside the vault of a strict upbringing. Partying. Having to surrender, also – any instinctive passion or talent I had for playing rugby, from being oversensitive to knockbacks and increasing lack of confidence.

Seventeen thousand career changes later, I find myself at almost full-circle completion point. Only now, a bit of maturity (which I appreciate) makes the Peter Pan in me; hopefully a more reasoned character and person. I went into teaching (having told myself at eighteen I would never become a teacher) to try forging a predictable, 9-to-5 life for myself in a past relationship. To try proving to myself I was a virtuous individual (ironically omitting the thought that there are vile and immoral teachers out there too – luckily not many, but there are!) among the clouds of twentysomething decisions – without realising I didn’t have to almost burn myself out a second time, by becoming something I was not aligned with - to prove I could be virtuous and good. Back, now; working in hospitality and trying to revitalise my DJ career (as that’s what I always wanted to do), playing music I love and believe in – rather than what I fooled myself into thinking others wanted, in those hazy days.

Personally, visiting a psychologist in 2013 (my own choice) to try fathoming whether I had ADHD – which could explain these seventeen-thousand career changes, as well as lack of interest in my later school days – may have given me the road signs I needed. Being told it wasn’t attention deficit, but depression – being medicated has been like having a carbon monoxide fan for the air I breathe. It can always seep back into the oxygen channels, but I have now the ability to blow it away. The ridiculousness of life is something I have to laugh at – I don’t believe in staying miserable (despite being the younger Victor Meldrew). I appreciate the chances I have now and my family life. The point being – the imbalanced brain wires may have always been there but became violently exacerbated by this accident. I cannot stress enough how important it is to consult a mental health professional. Drop the pride, the façade and ideals of grandeur – everyone has some kind of something going on. Some are better are dealing with it than others. Some can’t hold on in the battle.

In one of those seventeen thousand careers – twenty years ago, in fact – I worked at what was, pretty much – an abuse line, call-centre; at British Gas in Cardiff. One reason I didn’t last there was because I am not a salesman. Plus, I’m an impatient non-salesman. In this job, the department had to deal with calls from people who had been mis-sold contracts by field agents, selling gas and electricity. On one memorable occasion an English man called, calling me a “f***ing c***” for asking him to explain – a little slower – what exactly happened and how he was conned. When I told him I’d hang up if he didn’t change his abusive tone, he replied “Sorry, I haven’t had my medication today, have I love?” To which his wife, shouting in the background answered, “No, he hasn’t.”

I still laugh at that, knowing that’s the bar of communication I’d prefer to stay beneath.

#depression #anxiety #mental health #suicide #accidents #life #growing up #careers #medication #therapy #birthday

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suchagiantnerd · 6 years

Text

54 Books, 1 Year

2018 was my first full year back at work after my mat leave, and thanks to all the time I spend on the subway, my yearly reading total is back up to over 50 books!

2018 was a dark year, and I made a conscious effort to read more books from authors on the margins of society. The more those of us with privilege take the time to listen to and learn from these voices, the better we’ll be as friends, colleagues and citizens.

You’ll also notice a lot of books about witchcraft and witches in this year’s list. What can I say? Dark times call for resorting to ANYTHING that can help dig us out of our current reality, including putting a hex on Donald Trump.

Trigger Warning: Some of the books reviewed below are about mental illness, suicide, domestic violence, sexual assault, and violence against people of colour, Indigenous people and people in the LGBTQ community.

Here are this year’s mini reviews:

1. The Lottery and Other Stories / Shirley Jackson

Jackson’s short stories were published in the late forties and fifties, but their slow-burning creep factor holds up today. The stories involve normal people doing normal things until something small gives, and we realize something is really wrong here. As you read through the collection, take note of the mysterious man in blue. He appears in about half of the stories, always in the margins of the action. Who is he? I read him as a bit of a trickster figure, bringing chaos and mayhem with him wherever he goes. Other people have read him as the devil himself. Let me know what you think!

2. The Ship / Antonia Honeywell

I was excited to read this YA novel about a giant cruise ship-turned-ark, designed and captained by the protagonist Lalla’s father in a dystopic near future. The premise of the book is great and brings up lots of juicy questions – where is the ship going? How long can the passengers survive together in a confined space? How did Lalla’s father choose who got to board the ship? But the author’s execution was a disappointment and focused far too much on Lalla’s inner turmoil and immaturity.

3. The Hot One: A Memoir of Friendship, Sex and Murder / Carolyn Murnick

My book club read this true crime memoir detailing the intense, adolescent friendship between Carolyn, the author, and Ashley, who was murdered in her home in her early 20s a few years after the girls’ friendship fizzled. Murnick is understandably destroyed by the murder and obsessed with the killer’s trial. The narrative loops back and forth between the trial and the girls’ paths, which diverged sharply after Ashley moved away in high school. Murnick (the self-proclaimed nerdy one) muses on the intricacies of female friendship, growing up under the microscope of the male gaze, and the last weekend she ever spent with Ashley (the hot one). This is an emotional, detailed account of a woman trying her best to bear witness to her friend’s horrific death and to honour who she was in life.

4. The Break / Katherena Vermette

Somebody is brutally attacked on a cold winter night in Winnipeg, and Stella, a young Métis woman and tired new mother is the only witness – and even she isn’t sure what she saw. The police investigation into the attack puts a series of events in motion that make long-buried emotions bubble to the surface and ripple outwards to touch a number of people in the community, including an Indigenous teenager recently released from a youth detention center, one of the investigating officers (a Métis man walking a fine line between two worlds), and an artist. This is a tough read, especially in the era of #MMIW and #MeToo, but all the more important because of it.

5. So You Want to Talk About Race / Ijeoma Oluo

Probably the most important book I read this year, I will never stop recommending this read to anyone and everyone. This is your Allyship 101 syllabus right here, folks. Do you really want to do better and be better as an ally? Then you need to read every chapter closely and start implementing the lessons learned right away. This book will teach you about tone policing, microaggressions and privilege, and how all of those things are harmful to people of colour and other marginalized communities.

6. The Accusation / Bandi

This is a collection of short stories by a North Korean man (written under a pseudonym for his protection as he still lives there). The stories were actually smuggled out of the country for publication by a family friend. The characters in these stories are regular people living regular lives (as much as that is possible in North Korea). What really comes across is the fine line between laughter and tears while living under the scrutiny of a dangerous regime. There are several scenes where people laugh uncontrollably because they can’t cry, and where people start to cry because they can’t laugh. This book offers a rare perspective into a hidden world.

7. Being Jazz: My Life as a (Transgender) Teen / Jazz Jennings

Some of you will be familiar with Jazz via the TLC show about her and her family, “I Am Jazz”. I’d never seen it but was inspired to read the book to gain a better understanding about what coming out as trans as a child is like. Jazz came out to her family at 5 years old (!) and her parents and siblings have had her back from the beginning. If you are still having a tough time understanding that trans women are women, full stop, this book will help get you there.

8. A Field Guide to Getting Lost / Rebecca Solnit

When it comes to the books that gave me “all the feels”, this one tops the 2018 list. Solnit is everything - historian, writer, philosopher, culture lover, explorer. Her mind is always making connections and as you follow her through her labyrinthine thoughts you start to feel connected too. Her words on loss, nostalgia and missing a person/place/time actually made me cry, they were so true. For me, an agnostic leaning towards atheism, she illuminated the magic in the everyday that made me feel more spiritually rooted to life than I have in a long time.

9. I Found You / Lisa Jewell

Lots of weird and bad things seem to happen in British seaside towns, don’t they? This is another psychological thriller, à la “The Girl on the Train” and “Gone Girl”. One woman finds a man sitting on the beach one morning. He has no idea who he is or how he got there. Miles away, another woman wakes up one morning to find her husband has vanished. Is the mystery man on the beach the missing husband? Dive into this page-turner and find out!

10. The Midnight Sun / Cecilia Ekbäck

This novel is the sequel to a historical Swedish noir book I read a few years ago. Though it’s not so much a sequel, as it is a novel taking place in the same setting – Blackasen Mountain in Lapland. This story actually takes place about a hundred years after the first novel does, so it can be read on its own. Ekbäck’s stories dive into the effect of place on people – whether it’s the isolation of a harsh and long winter or the mental havoc caused by the midnight sun on sleep patterns, the people on Blackasen Mountain are always strained and ready to explode. (Oh, and there’s also a bit of the supernatural happening on this mountain too – but just a bit!)

11. After the Bloom / Leslie Shimotakahara

Strained mother-daughter relationships. The PTSD caused by immigration and then being detained in camps in your new home. Fraught romances. Shimotakahara’s novel tackles all of this and more. Taking place in two times – 1980s Toronto and a WWII Japanese internment camp in the California desert – this story of loss, hardship, betrayal and family is both tragic and hopeful.

12. Company Town / Madeline Ashby

In this Canadian dystopian tale, thousands of people live in little cities built on the oil rigs off the coast of Newfoundland. Hwa works as a bodyguard for the family that owns the rigs and is simultaneously trying to protect the family’s youngest child from threats, find out who is killing her sex-worker friends, mourn her brother (who died in a rig explosion), and work through her own self-esteem issues. Phew! If it sounds like too much, it is. I really did like this book, but I think it needed tighter editing and focus.

13. The Power / Naomi Alderman

In the near-future, women and girls all over the world develop the ability to send electrical shocks out of their hands. With this newfound power, society’s gender power imbalance starts to flip. The U.S. military scrambles to try and work this to their advantage. A new religious movement starts to grow. And Tunde, a Nigerian photographer (and a dude!) travels the world, trying to document it all. This is an exciting novel that seriously asks, “what if?” in which many of the key characters cross paths.

14. Milk and Honey / Rupi Kaur

Everyone’s reading it, so I had to too! Kaur’s poems are refreshing and healing, and definitely accessible. This is poetry for the people, for women, for daughters, mothers and sisters. These are poems about how women make themselves small and quiet, about our inner anger, about sacrifice, longing and love.

15. Tell It to the Trees / Anita Rau Badami

In the dead of winter in small-town B.C., the body of big-city writer Anu is found outside of the Dharmas’ house, frozen to death. Anu had been renting their renovated shed, working on a novel in seclusion. As we get to know the Dharmas – angry and controlling Vikram, his quiet and frightened wife Suman, the two children, and the ghost of Vikram’s first wife, Helen, we feel more and more uneasy. Was Anu’s death just a tragic accident, or something else entirely? There is a touch of “The Good Son” in this novel…

16. You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life / Jen Sincero

This book was huge last year and my curiosity got the better of me. But I can’t, I just can’t subscribe to this advice! All of this stuff about manifesting whatever you want reeks of privilege and is just “The Secret” repackaged for millennials and Gen-Z. Thank u, next!

17. All the Things We Never Knew: Chasing the Chaos of Mental Illness / Sheila Hamilton

Shortly after a diagnosis of bipolar disorder, Hamilton’s husband, David, took his own life after years of little signs and indicators that something wasn’t right. Her memoir, in the aftermath of his death, is a reckoning, a tribute, and a warning to others. In it, she details the fairy tale beginning of their relationship (but even then, there were signs), the birth of their only child, and the rocky path that led to his final choice. Hamilton’s story doesn’t feel exploitative to me. It’s an important piece in the global conversation about mental health and includes lots of facts and statistics too.

18. This Is How It Always Is / Laurie Frankel

This is a beautiful novel about loving your family members for who they are and about the tough choices parents have to make when it comes to protecting their children. Rosie and Penn have five boys (that this modern couple has five children is the most unbelievable part of the plot, frankly), but at five years old, their youngest, Claude, tells the family that he is a girl. Claude changes her name to Poppy, and Rosie and Penn decide to move the whole family to more inclusive Seattle to give Poppy a fresh start in life. Of course, the move has consequences on the other four children as well, and we follow everybody’s ups and downs over the years as they adjust and adapt to their new reality.

19. Dumplin’ / Julie Murphy

While I didn’t love the writing or any of the characters, I do need to acknowledge the importance of this YA novel in showing a fat teenager as happy and confident in who she is. Willowdean Dickson has a job, a best friend and a passion for Dolly Parton. She also catches the attention of cute new kid, Bo, and a sweet summer romance develops between the two (with all of the miscommunications and misunderstandings you’d expect in a YA plot). This is an important book in the #RepresentationMatters movement, and is now a Netflix film if you want to skip the read!

20. Kintu / Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi

This was touted as “the great Ugandan novel” and it did not disappoint! The first part of the novel takes place in 1754, as Kintu Kidda, leader of a clan, travels to the capital of Buganda (modern day Kampala) with his entourage to pledge allegiance to the new Kabaka. During the journey, tragedy strikes, unleashing a curse on Kintu’s descendants. The rest of the novel follows five modern-day Ugandans who are descended from Kintu’s bloodline and find themselves invited to a massive family reunion. As their paths cross and family histories unfold, will the curse be broken?

21. The Child Finder / Rene Denfeld

I bought this at the airport as a quick and thrilling travel read, and that’s exactly what it was. Naomi is a private investigator with a knack for finding missing and kidnapped children. This is because she was once a kidnapped child herself. The plot moves back and forth in time between Naomi’s current case and her own escape and recovery. There was nothing exceptional about this book, but it’s definitely a page-turner.

22. Difficult Women / Roxane Gay

Are the women in Gay’s short stories actually difficult? Or has a sexist, racist world made things difficult for them? I think you know what my answer is. The stories are at times beautiful - like the fairy tale about a woman made of glass, and at times violent and visceral – like a number of stories about hunting and butchering. Women are everything and more.

23. My Education / Susan Choi

I suggested this novel to my book club and I will always regret it. This was my least favourite read of the year. I thought it was going to be about a sexy and inappropriate threesome or love triangle between a student, her professor, and his wife. Instead it had a few very unsexy sex scenes and hundreds and hundreds of pages about the minutiae of academic life. I can’t see anyone enjoying this book except English professors and grad students.

24. Hope in the Dark: Untold Histories, Wild Possibilities / Rebecca Solnit

This series of essays was a balm to my soul after Ford won the provincial election. It reminded me that history is full of steps forward and steps back, and though things look bleak right now, there are millions of us around the world trying to make positive changes in big and little ways as we speak.

25. The Woman in Cabin 10 / Ruth Ware

Another novel in the vein of “The Woman on the Train”, that is, a book featuring a young, female, unreliable narrator. Lo knows what she saw – or does she? There was a woman in the now empty Cabin 10 – or was there? And also, Lo hasn’t been eating or sleeping. But she’s been drinking a lot and not taking her medication. I’m kind of done with this genre – anyone else?

26. My Brilliant Friend / Elena Ferrante

After hearing many intelligent women praise this novel (the first in a four-part series), my book club decided to give it a try. I didn’t fall in love with it, but I was sufficiently intrigued by the intense and passionate friendship between Lila and Lenu, two young girls growing up in post-war Naples, that I will likely read the whole series. Many claim that no writer has managed to capture the intricacy of female friendship the way that Ferrante has.

27. The Turquoise Table: Finding Community and Connection in Your Own Front Yard / Kristin Schell

This is Schell’s non-fiction account of how she started Austin’s turquoise table movement (which has now spread further into other communities). Schell was feeling disconnected from her immediate community, so she painted an old picnic table a bright turquoise, moved it into her front yard, and started sitting out there some mornings, evenings and weekends - sometimes alone, and sometimes with her family. Neighbours started to gather for chats, snacks, card games, and more. People got to know each other on a deeper level and friendships bloomed. This book is a nice reminder that small actions matter. A small warning though – Schell is an evangelical Christian, and I didn’t know this before diving in. There is a focus on Christianity in the book, and though it’s not quite preachy, it’s very in-your-face.

28. Sing, Unburied, Sing / Jesmyn Ward

This was hands-down my favourite novel of the year. It’s a lingering and haunting look at the generational trauma carried by the descendants of those who were enslaved and lived during the Jim Crow era. One part road trip novel, one part ghost story, the plot follows a fractured, multi-racial family as they head into the broken heart of Mississippi to pick up the protagonist’s father, who has just been released from prison.

29. Full Disclosure / Beverley McLachlin

This is the first novel by Canada’s former Chief Justice, Beverley McLachlin. As someone who works in the legal industry and has heard her speak, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this. But, with all due respect to one of the queens, the book was very ‘meh’. The plot was a little over the top, the characters weren’t sufficiently fleshed out, and I felt that the backdrop of the Robert Pickton murders was somewhat exploitative and not done respectfully. Am I being more critical of this novel than I might otherwise be because the author is so intelligent? Likely yes, so you can take this review with a grain of salt.

30. The Long Way Home / Louise Penny

This is the 10th novel in Penny’s Inspector Gamache mystery series. As ever, I fell in love with her descriptions of Quebec’s beauty, the small town of Three Pines, and the delicious food the characters are always eating. Penny’s books are the definition of cozy.

31. In the Skin of a Lion / Michael Ondaatje

Ondaatje has the gift of writing novels that read like poetry, and this story is no exception. Taking place in Toronto during construction of the Don Valley bridge and the RC Harris water treatment plant, the plot follows a construction worker, a young nun, an explosives expert, a business magnate and an actress as they maneuver making a life for themselves in the big city and changing ideas about class and gender.

32. The Story of a New Name / Elena Ferrante

This is the second novel in Ferrante’s four-part series about the complicated life-long friendship between Lila and Lenu. In this installment, the women navigate first love, marriage, post-secondary education, first jobs and new motherhood.

33. The Happiness Project / Gretchen Rubin

In this memoir / self-help book, Rubin studies the concept of happiness and implements a new action or practice each month of the year that is designed to increase her happiness levels. Examples include practicing gratitude, going to bed earlier, making time for fun and learning something new. Her journey inspired me to make a few tweaks to my life during a difficult time, and I do think they’ve made me more appreciative of what I have (which I think is a form of happiness?)

34. The Virgin Suicides / Jeffrey Eugenides

I loved the film adaptation of this novel when I was a teenager, but I’d never actually read it until my book club selected it. Eugenides paints a glimmering, ethereal portrait of the five teenaged Lisbon sisters living a suffocating half-life at the hands of their overly protective and religious parents. The story is told through the eyes of the neighbourhood boys who longed for them from a distance and learned about who they were through snatched telephone calls, passed notes and one tragic suburban basement party.

35. Time’s Convert / Deborah Harkness

This is a supernatural fantasy novel that takes place in the same universe of witches, vampires and daemons as Harkness’ All Souls trilogy. The plot follows the romance between centuries-old vampire Marcus, who came of age during the American Civil War, and human Phoebe, who begins her own transformation into a vampire so that she and Marcus can be together forever.

36. The Saturday Night Ghost Club / Craig Davidson

Were you a fan of the TV show “Are You Afraid of the Dark?” If yes, this novel is for you. Davidson explores the blurred line between real-life tragedy and ghost story over the course of one summer in 1980s Niagara Falls. A coming-of-age novel that’s somehow sweet, funny and sad all at once, this story delves into the aftershocks of trauma and the way we heal the cracks in families.

37. Oh Crap! Potty Training: Everything Modern Parents Need to Know to Do It Once and Do It Right / Jamie Glowacki

I hoped this was the book for us, but I don’t think it was. Some of the tips were great, but others really didn’t work for us. The other issue is that the technique in this book is much better suited to kids staying at home with a caregiver, not kids in daycare.

38. The Witch Doesn’t Burn in This One / Amanda Lovelace

This is a collection of poetry about women’s anger, women’s long memories and strength in sisterhood. It’s accessible, emotional and a bit of a feminist rallying cry. As someone who is obsessed with the Salem witch trials, I also loved the historical backdrop to the poems.

39. The Rules of Magic / Alice Hoffman

I love to read seasonally, and this prequel to “Practical Magic” was a perfect October book. Remember Jet and Franny, the old, quirky aunts from the movie? This novel describes their upbringing, along with that of their brother Vincent, as the three siblings discover their powers and try to out-maneuver the Owens family curse.

40. Witch: Unleased. Untamed. Unapologetic. / Lisa Lister

This book has a very sleek, appealing cover. Holding it made me feel magical. Reading it really disappointed me. From Lister’s almost outright transphobia to her unedited, repetitive style, this was a huge disappointment and I don’t recommend it.

41. The Death of Mrs. Westaway / Ruth Ware

I liked this novel a lot more than Ware’s other novel, “The Woman in Cabin 10”. Crumbling English manor homes, long-buried family evils and people trapped together by snowstorms are my jam.

42. Weirdo / Cathi Unsworth

Another British seaside town, another grisly murder. Jumping back and forth between a modern-day private investigation and the parental panic around cults and Satanism in the 1980s, Unsworth unpacks the darkness lurking within a small community and the way society’s outcasts are often used as scapegoats. The creep factor grows as the story unfolds.

43. Mabon: Rituals, Recipes and Lore for the Autumn Equinox / Diana Rajchel

And so begins my witchy education. I have to admit, I really liked learning about the historical pagan celebrations and superstitions surrounding harvest time. I also liked reading about spells and incantations… ooooOOOOoooo!

44. From Here to Eternity: Travelling the World to Find the Good Death / Caitlin Doughty

In North America, we are so removed from death that we are unequipped to process it when someone close to us dies. But this doesn’t have to be the case. In this non-fiction account, Doughty, a mortician based in L.A., travels the world learning about the business of death, the cultural customs around mortality, and the rituals of care and compassion for the deceased in ten different places. It seems that the closer we are to death, the less we’ll fear it, and the better-equipped we’ll be to process loss and grief in healthy ways.

45. Samhain: Rituals, Recipes and Lore for Halloween / Diana Rajchel

Did you know that Samhain is actually pronounced “Sow-en”? I didn’t until I read this book, and felt very intelligent indeed, when later, while watching “The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” on Netflix, the head witch pronounced the word as “Sam-hain”, destroying the writers’ credibility in one instant. I am a witch now.

46. See What I Have Done / Sarah Schmidt

This novel is a retelling of the Lizzie Borden murders, illuminated through four characters – Lizzie herself, the Borden’s maid Bridget, Lizzie’s sister, and a mysterious man hired the day before the murders by Lizzie’s uncle to intimidate Mr. Borden (one of the murder victims). I knew very little about the murders before reading this book, but this version of the tale strongly suggests that Lizzie really is the murderer. Unhinged, childlike, selfish and manipulative, I hated her so much and felt awful for everyone that had to live in her orbit.

47. The Nature of the Beast / Louise Penny

In the 11th installment of Penny’s Inspector Gamache mystery series, she sets the story up with a parallel to the boy who cried wolf and introduces us to her first killer without a soul. Crimes of passion and greed abound in Penny’s universe, but a crime of pure, cold evil? This is a first.

48. How Are You Going to Save Yourself? / J.M. Holmes

This is a powerful collection of short stories about what it’s like to be a Black man in America right now. It’s about Black male friendship, fathers and sons, outright racism and dealing with a lifetime of microaggressions. Holmes makes some risky and bold decisions with his characters, even playing into some of the harmful stereotypes about Black men while subverting some of the others. This book really stayed with me. One disturbing story in particular I kept turning around and around in my mind for days afterward.

49. Split Tooth / Tanya Tagaq

This is a beautiful story about a young Inuit girl growing up in Nunavut in the 1970s, combining gritty anecdotes about bullying, friendship, family and addiction with Inuit myth, legend, and the magic of the Arctic. The most evocative and otherworldly scenes in the novel took place under the Northern Lights and left me kind of mesmerized.

50. Motherhood / Sheila Heti

Heti’s book is a work of fiction styled as a memoir, during which the protagonist, nearing her 40s, weighs the pros and cons of having a baby. I’ve maybe never felt so “seen” by an author before. I agonized over the decision about whether to have a baby for years before finally making a decision. The unsatisfying, but freeing conclusion that both the author and I came to is that for many of us there is no right choice (but no wrong choice either).

51. The Mistletoe Murder and Other Stories / P.D. James

This is a short collection of James’ four “Christmas-y” mysteries published over the course of a number of years. It was a perfect cozy read to welcome the holiday season.

52. The Christmas Sisters / Sarah Morgan

Morgan’s story is a Hallmark holiday movie in book form. A family experiencing emotional turmoil at Christmas? Check. Predictable romances, old and new? Check. A beautiful, festive setting? Check. (In this case, it’s a rustic inn nestled in the Scottish Highlands). This novel is fluff, but the most delightful kind.

53. Jonny Appleseed / Joshua Whitehead

Jonny is a Two-Spirit Ojibway-Cree person who leaves the reservation in his early 20s to escape his community’s homophobia and make it in the city. Making ends meet as a cybersex worker, the action begins when he has to scrape together enough cash to make it home to the “rez” (and all the loose ends he left behind there) for a funeral. The emotional heart of the novel are Jonny’s relationships with his kokum (grandmother) and his best friend / part-time lover Tias.

54. Yule: Rituals, Recipes and Lore for the Winter Solstice / Susan Pesznecker

Do you folks believe that I’m a witch now? I am, okay? I even spoke an incantation to Old Mother Winter while staring into the flame of a candle after reading this book.

55. Half Spent Was the Night: A Witches’ Yuletide / Ami McKay

Old-timey witches? At Christmas time? At an elaborate New Year’s Eve masked ball? Be still my heart. This novella was just what I wanted to read in those lost days between Christmas and New Year’s. You’ll appreciate it even more if you’ve already read Ami McKay’s previous novel “The Witches of New York”, as it features the same characters.

#50BookPledge 50BookChallenge

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alexanderking · 6 years

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Another top 20 albums of 2018

‘My 11th list, making this nearly 10 years of top 20 lists! There’s a lot more hip-hop on this one than recent years...

“Have I left anything out?”- Albums et al of 2017:

Iman Omari – IHY: I was asked to see him live in 2017. He was on one of my favourite tracks off of Jonah Levine Collective’s ‘Attention Deficit’ project. I even checked out some of his tracks. Yet I STILL missed out on this album until May of this year!!! ...Better late than never I guess...this would’ve got a 6...

Keyon Harrold – The Mugician: I heard this one last year, I just neglected to mention it on last year’s list...

Quelle Chris – Being you is great! I wish I could be you more often: While I still haven’t necessarily gained an understanding of this project lyrically, I really enjoyed the production. ‘Worth a mention...

Blue Lab Beats – Freedom: I only got hip to Blue Lab Beats this year and ended up going down a tiny rabbit hole. This EP in particular stood out to me. I love ‘Keep Moving’ and the title track...

Ivan Ave – Every Eye: Shouts to my friend Sherman for this one! MNDSGN isn’t really one of the producers I keep an eye out for (pun intended), but I was really feeling the work on here. This might have got a 19...

Smino – blkswn: I finally got on that Chicago wave of hip-hop. I never fully got into Chance, but I really like the work of a lot of his cohorts. I feel that Smino’s flows and general sound is really accessible to fans of Travis Scott, Drake and to a much lesser extent the Migos. I thought the middle of the album slowed down a bit (even though it’s growing on me) but I really enjoy the second half...

...2018:

20) Mick Jenkins – Pieces of a Man:

I had only been listening to Mick Jenkins for about a month before this one came out. The subject matter seems to cover various elements of how a man is perceived nowadays, as well as allowing for moments of vulnerability on tracks like ‘Soft Porn’ and ‘Heron Flow’. My favourites are ‘Stress Fracture’, ‘Plain Clothes’ and ‘Consensual Seduction’...

19) Prhyme – PRhyme 2:

‘Black History’ pulled me in. I was generally engaged from ‘1 of the Hardest’ to ‘Rock It’, then I was fully engaged from ‘Loved Ones’ onwards. While a lot of the subject matter remains being who rhymes the best and attracts the most women (-_-), the wordplay and Preemo’s experimentation kept this enjoyable...

18) Kaidi Tatham – It’s a World Before You:

I keep remarking on how ridiculous this musician’s output is...and no doubt I’ll keep doing so. This project has a more straight forward structure to his broken beat/jazz stylings, most prominent in the title track, ‘Your dreams don’t mean a thing’ and ‘2Tone’. While I still find myself comparing most of his music to ‘In Search of Hope’ (my favourite of Kaidi’s work), I was glad to hear a full version of ‘Cold’ and gems in ‘Joyous’ and ‘Cupid’...

17) Layfullstop – Colour Reaction:

Some reviews have said this is an EP, while others have said mixtape or album...I’ll go with the latter for now. This is one my friend Dan put me on. This nine track project consists of impressive flows, engaging singing and strong instrumentation; enough to have me coming back to this one throughout the year. My favourites are ‘Kriss’ and ‘Suits’...

16) Anderson .Paak – Oxnard:

It may be no secret that I wasn’t really blown away by ‘Malibu’ or ‘NxWorries’. This album however struck a chord with me. It may be (what a lot of reviewers are saying) the confidence of which .Paak tells us who he is, how he can be and also leaves us with poignant messages; some’ we’ve heard a lot in the past year or so but still remains very much HIS voice. My standouts are ‘Tints’, ‘Who r u?’, ‘Mansa Musa’, ‘Smile’ (not ‘Petty’ so much), ‘Cheers’ and ‘Headlow’ (I have to accept my ignorance to a further extent on this one as the song is merely about getting head in the car)...

15) Lupe Fiasco – DROGAS WAVE:

Lupe Fiasco returns with his most ambitious body of work to date. The first nine songs have a continuous narrative of a number of African slaves who are thrown overboard during the transatlantic trade to become the Longchains; spirits that reside beneath the waves, sinking other slave ships and often saving the lives of those drowning or thrown overboard (‘Alan Forever’ is an example of this). The remaining tracks come across to me as an anthology of this world. There’s a callback to the character ‘Stack’ from ‘The Cool’, as he daydreams about finally becoming an accomplished hip-hop superstar in ‘Stack That Cheese’ and we get the fictional story of Jonylah’s life in ‘Jonylah Forever’; she’s later courted by Alan on ‘Alan Forever’...I’m rambling!

This project is riddled with educational moments and distinctive flows. Strangely enough I found that musically, the more electronic leaning instrumentals worked better for me than the traditional hip-hop sounds. My standouts are ‘Manilla’, ‘Alan Forever’, ‘Sun God Sam...’, ‘Stack That Cheese’ and ‘Happy Timbuck2 Day’...

14) Phonte – No News Is Good News:

The long promised and awaited project from Phonte Coleman comes to fruition! Much like ‘Charity Starts At Home’, this album sees Phonte predominately rapping. While there’s a tiny bit of bragging, this album takes a chunk of it to talk on the physical health of the black community, particularly in relation to food. There’s also moments that Phonte reflects on his growth as a person, an artist and as a partner, giving us another “Grown ass rap album”. A lot of the production worked really well on here too...

13) Ali Shaheed Muhammad & Adrian Younge – The Midnight Hour:

‘Another project Dan put me on. This project was being conceived when Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Adrian Younge were approached to compose the score for ‘Luke Cage’, hence why the spacious soundscapes, occasional burst of drums and laid back midnight session playing sound quite familiar. This is a great project to listen to in the night hours (as possibly its intention?). I loved ‘It’s You’, ‘Dans Un Moment D’errance’ and ‘Together Again’...

12) Kamasi Washington – Heaven and Earth:

After taking us on quite the journey with ‘The Epic’, Kamasi Washington returns with this double (triple) album. For me, the music writing has shown steady progression although I felt there were less stand out solos to go back to. I’d recommend listening to this the first time in the order the title suggests (‘Heaven’ and ‘Earth’), then’ as it is (‘Earth’ and ‘Heaven’)...

11) Killiam Shakespeare – A Town Called Elsewhere:

While I love Steve McKie’s work with Bilal Oliver, I had little to no knowledge of the Philadelphia collective he creates music with. The first couple of pieces on ‘A Town Called Elsewhere’ didn't quite catch my attention. But then the dramatic burst of drums and strings that open ‘1976 Heron’ did just that! From this piece onwards I found myself head nodding along with the slight rock stylings of ‘WDYKAL’, the ranting pulse of ‘Kelo B. Trippin’, the grand opening of ‘Sumido Querido’ and the rolling swagger of ‘Philip Eno Greene’...

10) Patrick Paige II – Letters of Irrelevance:

After a free EP of excellence and a breakdown of current events for his late mother, the bassist from The Internet delivers a personal and at times painful body of work. ‘Letters of Irrelevance’ covers his current status, the passing of his mother and rift it left for him and his loved ones. Paige raps some moments of reflection on ‘The Best Policy’ and ‘The Last Letter’, moments of lament on ‘On My Mind’ and ‘Ode to Inebriation’ and pulls off some impressive vocals on ‘Voodoo’ and ‘Red Knife’...

9) Jean Grae & Quelle Chris – Everything’s Fine:

‘Another recommendation from Dan! Engaged emcee couple (now betrothed) Jean Grae and Quelle Chris decided that they spent so much time together that they might as well make a collaborative album. So why not create a project that delves into the lie we often tell ourselves and others when responding to the question “How are you?”! My standouts are ‘House Call’, ‘Gold Purple Orange’, ‘Breakfast of Champions’, ‘Scoop of Dirt’ and the closing track ‘River’...

8) Noname – Room 25:

I really paid no attention to this Chicago-based emcee/singer/musician until the buzz around the release of this project; I even missed out on seeing her live at North Sea Jazz Festival in 2017...I’m so glad I finally caught up! ‘Room 25′ explores a number of moments that occurred in Noname’s 26th year of life (yes, it’s her 26th year), including an intense relationship, her nomadic lifestyle due to touring and the loss of a friend. Musically, I felt this album peaked with ‘Windows’ but lyrically I’d say on ‘Ace’ (named after the Ace Hotel in Shoreditch) and ‘Part of Me’...

Side note: Listening to this album took me down the Chicago-based wave rabbit hole...

7) Saba – CARE FOR ME:

Out of the Chicago wave, Saba took the top spot for me this year, with this cathartic project, mainly exploring his relationship with his late cousin. This doesn’t become fully evident until the closing 11 minutes of ‘CARE FOR ME’, with ‘PROM/KING’. This piece begins with Saba and his cousin becoming close and ends with his untimely death. This is followed by the beautifully harrowing ‘HEAVEN’, in which he sings from the perspective of his cousin’s spirit; this is one I often feel uncomfortable singing along to because of how personal it is...

6) Royce Da 5′9″ – The Book of Ryan:

Royce Da 5′9″ continues the trend of “Grown ass rap albums” (several of which are his previous works) with this insight into Royce’s story. The first act of the album (tracks 1-7) addresses where he’s at with current events. The second act (tracks 8-16) speaks of his younger years, covering addiction and family relationships, especially his brother and father. The third act (tracks 17-20) returns to the present, dealing with issues of mental health before closing with the joys of having just got paid on ‘First of the Month’. My personal standouts are ‘Godspeed’, ‘Life is Fair’, ‘Legendary’, ‘Outside’ and ‘Strong Friend’...

Side note: This album works a lot better without the ‘Caterpillar (Remix)’ bonus track, which for me, has the whiniest verse I’ve heard from Logic to date (even with ‘Everybody’)...

5) The Internet – Hive Mind:

After a string of solo albums, EPs and the odd track over about two years, The Internet band reunite to give us what is possibly their most cohesive album to date. After the first four tracks (many of which were singles), this project initially took me aback by how straight forward the song formats generally become. After a few listens, it really worked for me. My favourites are ‘La Di Da’, ‘Next Time/Humble Pie’, ‘Wanna Be’ and ‘Beat Goes On’.

4) DJ Jazzy Jeff – M3:

Continuing from the inspiration that gave us last year’s ‘Chasing Goosebumps’, DJ Jazzy Jeff collaborates with Daniel Crawford, Kaidi Tatham, Stro Elliot, Killiam Shakespeare and rap group ‘The Trinity’ (I seriously didn’t intend for the roll call to be this long...) to give us the third instalment in his ‘Magnificent’ series. Lyrically, the group bounce off of each other really well, even pulling off some super rapping at times. While this is a showcase for the writing ability of Rhymefest, I felt that Dayne Jordan in particular, held his own. My favourites are ‘M3′ (the intro and outro), ‘Skaters Paradise’, ‘2 Step’ and ‘The Government’s Dead’...

3) Vertical Current – The Future is Bright:

‘Another Philadelphia based group I wasn’t privy to until Eric Roberson shared the video for ‘Open’ on which he features. To me, this group is what would have happened to Snarky Puppy if they kept experimenting with the sound they utilised on ‘Bring Us The Bright’. Not to take away from this group at all! There’s a strong mix of Jazz, Rock, Soul/R’n’B and to an extent scoring. I can play this album in it’s entirety really easily but my absolute favourite on here is ‘Trocodile’...

2) Daniel Crawford – Revolution:

I wasn’t hip to Daniel Crawford until seeing how significant his contributions to ‘Chasing Goosebumps’ and ‘M3’ were. This had me check out what I call the “Woke” trilogy, starting with ‘Red Pill’ and continuing with ‘The Awakening’. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the conclusion had been released!

This project deals mainly with the theme of inequality in the States. An initial indication is the first official piece titled ‘Kaepin’’. The issue is more explicitly addressed from ‘Sirens’ onwards. The more Jazz oriented pieces, starting with ‘Before The Storm’ seem to convey a build up to a revolution, the drums and guitars on ‘Checklist’ sounding like a group being gathered, the urgent synths on ‘March of the Gullah’ conveying an unrelenting determination and the title track giving us the possible climax! ‘Strong features and playing all around on this one. It was almost my number one but in the end I went with...

Sy Smith – Sometimes a Rose Will Grow in Concrete:

This album was entirely written, produced, arranged and performed by Smith. This has been a joy to get lost on walks to! It remains a damn shame that she is still to an extent, an unsung talent (pun intended!) despite a number of strong releases and prolific features among the underground but recognised. ‘Sometimes a Rose...’ has the general subject matter of love and being in it, but also addresses self belief on the title track and disillusionment on ‘We Were Never Free’. My favourites are ‘Camelot’, ‘We Were Never Free’, and the ‘Closer Than You Know’ segment...

Honourable Mentions: There are quite a few more albums I could mention, but I’m limiting this section to 10:

Chima Anya & Slone – People Forget: ‘Another “Grown ass rap album” from an artist who continuously shows growth in his lyrics. From reminding us to ‘Do Less’, to reflecting on where he is now on ‘It Wasn’t Always Like This’. From acknowledging the ethereal factor to (mis)fortune on ‘Luck’, to taking in those moments to appreciate a win on ‘Make Do’.

C R O W N (Formerly Lauren Crown) – Epicene: C R O W N’s third EP, addressing romance, heartbreak and the hypocrisy of our expectations of women when pursuing love. ‘Womxn’s Way’ continues to be my favourite piece by C R O W N to date, although I must say ‘How Many Times’ hit WAAAAAAAAAY too close to home!

Phony Ppl – mō'zā-ik: This was a recommendation from a tweet by ‘The Internet’; A group of vocalists, musicians and occasional emcees who somewhat help fill a void of black modern male crooners in Soul/R’n’B. There wasn’t anything I disliked on here, but there wasn’t anything I LOVED either; ‘REALLY liked, but not loved...

Lyric L – UnequiVocaL: ‘Lyric L’s sophomore project. ‘A blend of hip-hop, soul, deep house and broken beat. There were significant moments on the first half of this album (‘Dreamstate’ and ‘Try’), but the second half takes the gold for me, with tracks like ‘Expected To’, ‘Why (Find the time)’ and the humorous ‘Oh No (Here we go)’...

Black Milk – Fever: This is one I’ve only revisited a couple of times over the year. 'Fever’ delves more into Black Milk’s musical craft, the raps feeling more sparse than ‘If there’s a Hell below’. ‘Laugh Now, Cry Later’ and ‘True Lies’ deserve a shout.

JID – DiCaprio 2: This is one I ignored until I watched Dead End Hip-Hop’s review of this project. ‘Playful flows, ‘a head-nod factor and crossover appeal without losing its character at all. I just hadn’t revisited this as much as other albums...

Blue Lab Beats – Xover: I was late on this artist. This brought in the spring perfectly, with borderline Neo-soul vibes and spacious jazz pieces. There was a slump in the middle of the project for me however...

Pusha T – Daytona: While I haven’t revisited this much either, I can’t deny the attitude or the confidence of Pusha’s flows and the instrumentals. ‘Santeria’ is a standout...

Children of Zeus – Travel Light: 'Another Dan recommendation. This is a long-awaited, well deserved win for the ‘Broke ‘n’ £nglish’ cohorts. This is another one I just didn’t revisit much. ‘Kintsugi’ is a stand out for me...

Tom Misch – Geography: I got hip to this musician the day AFTER he performed at North Sea Jazz Festival. I enjoyed this album way more than I thought I would. ‘South of the River’ to ‘It Runs Through Me’ is my favourite section of the project...

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moiraineswife · 7 years

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(okay i’ve been asked basically every number for the salt asks so I’m just going to answer them all here (for acotar, with some ToGs where requested. U can send more for other fandoms but this just seems easier than answering 6 separate asks soooo)

Under a cut for length

1)- What OTPs in your fandom(s) do you just not get?*

answered.

2)- Are there any popular fandom OTPs you only BroTP?*

Azlain, which I think I’ve mentioned before. I’m pretty sure that’s the only popular one, I ship everything else.

3)- Have you ever unfollowed someone over a fandom opinion?

Errmm, if they tag things properly and I can avoid them then no? But if they don’t and they just flood my dash with it I have just....Nope I love myself too much for this haha.

4)- Do you have a NoTP in your fandom? Are they a popular OTP?*

I suppose Elr*el is the closest thing I have to a notp? Which is quite sad because I adore them both and they have a really sweet relationship I just...Can’t with the fandom.

5)- Has fandom ever ruined a pairing for you?*

See above.

6)- *Has fandom ever made you enjoy a pairing you previously hated?*

Hmmmmm. No I don’t think so actually?? I don’t actually really hate anything pairing wise, except...the above and feyl*n but...fandom doesn’t really push for them so? I don’t think there was anything in ToG either, I either always liked it or always hated it and never changed?

7)- Is there anything you used to like but can’t stand now?*

Errmmmm. Can I say Nesta’s relationship with her father?? This isn’t a fandom thing but like...I have some massive, massive issues with the way ACOWAR ended for that. He neglected them for years; he let her mother die and did nothing, she had every right to hate him and be furious with him. He pushed a young teenage girl into wanting to starve herself just to see if he might actually try and do something to stop that from happening. The emotional guilt-trip at the end for Nesta where her father dies is just...Gross, honestly. If Nesta’s arc is learning to be softer and more loving and warm because she regrets how she treated her father all those years because she realises that he ~truly did love her~ I will burn this world to the ground because no.

Also, Mor’s entire....Everything. (Not HER but her storyline/narrative arc is just. I can’t)

8)- Have you received anon hate? What about?*

I don’t think so?? I’ve had people disagree with me and argue with me a bit and stuff but I don’t think I’ve ever classed anything as just empty hate?? 9)- Most disliked character(s)? Why?

answered, somewhere. 10)-*Most disliked arc? Why?

Answered for ACOTAR.

For ToG...Actually I think I might say Dorian’s. And also Manon’s. Dorian got seriously fucked over in E0S I think? I think everyone was expecting him to sort of, struggle to rule his people and take over from his father and then it just sort of...Oops your kingdom is gone just like that, we’re not going to fight for it or anything because we need you to join adventure squad. It just felt overly convenient if I’m being generous and flat out lazy if I’m not. 11)- Is there an unpopular character you like that the fandom doesn’t? Why?

answered. 12)- Is there an unpopular arc that you like that the fandom doesn’t? Why?

In ACOTAR I don’t think so? (Unless you count Nesta’s ACOTAR arc. I think Claire mentioned this earlier and I agree, I thought it was well done and considered her ‘redeemed’ or rather ‘properly understood’ by the middle of ACOTAR but most people still wanted her to apologise or whatever. Though apparently Eris doesn’t need to apologise for abusing Mor or Lucien he just has to say she ~doesn’t understand~ and we all leap all over him to give him a second chance. What a delightful double standard.

In ToG: Chaol’s. This is one of the rare things I’ll argue with fandom about. (Though it is highly dependent on how ToD plays out) but I liked his QoS storyline, I liked the way it ended, I liked what it potentially sets up for his character and I think the decision to cut him out of EoS was the right one because geographically, tonally, in pretty much every which way - it doesn’t fit. 13)- *Unpopular opinion about XXX character?

someone actually asked for this one so please message me again with characters and I’ll answer them separately! 14)- Unpopular opinion about your fandom?

answered (I think I’ve fucked up the numbering somehow but ACH WELL) 15)- Unpopular opinion about the manga/show?

I mean..There are a fair few flying around?? Mostly ACOWAR related, most of them Mor related (though I’m not sure if that’s unpopular, fandom seems to be at a kind of 50/50 split with this) 16)- If you could change anything in the show, what would you change?

answered.

17)- Instead of XYZ happening, I would have made ABC happen…

Mor is not closeted and miserable af. She is happily out to her Inner Circle family who love and support her and help protect the knowledge from Keir (Rhys and his family hid an entire fucking CITY from the entire world for 5,000 years, you’re telling me he couldn’t have found a way to keep Keir and co from ever learning about Mor’s sexuality?) Mor has an adorable girlfriend, Moriel has only ever been platonic since they were teenagers, she Cass and Az still deeply love each other but everyone is happy and comfortable and safe in the relationship. All is well. 18)- Does not shipping something ‘popular’ mean you’re in denial and/or biased?

No??? Or at least not for me. I think there’s a misconception (at least in this fandom) about what the intention of shipping is (or at least why I (and most of the people I know)) do it. I’m not placing bets on what I think is going to be canon? I’m not arguing that this ship is more valid than that one/more likely to happen. I’m saying that this dynamic intrigues me. I want to explore it. I want to create content for it. I want to read canon content for it, even if it’s just a random conversation that takes place over two pages and that’s it. I don’t ship based on what will happen, or even sometimes what I’d like to happen, I ship because it interests me. And if something doesn’t interest me or sink its claws into my imagination it doesn’t matter if it’s popular and it doesn’t make me in denial or biased it just...makes me not interested??

19)- What is the one thing you hate most about your fandom?

answered 20)- What is the purest ship in the fandom?

I agree with Claire, Mor/Elain is so Good and Pure. Also (platonic) Nesta/Azriel, I love that thing. Actually platonic Azriel/anyone really, it’s just Good. 21)- What are your thoughts on crack ships?

G I M M E 22)- *Popular character you hate?

ACOTAR - we are not going through this again.

ToG- errmmm....None of them? I’m not a fan of Lorcan but that’s largely in the context of E/orcan I don’t technically mind him on his own, he’s interesting, and completely and utterly fucked up which is also interesting...He just isn’t good enough for my darling Slytherin witchling but that’s the only big problem I have. 23)- Unpopular character you love?

answered (for both) 24)- Would you recommend XXX to a friend? Why or why not?

ACOTAR - yes if they stop reading after ACOMAF and just...invent their own ending for the series. Or...Look ACOWAR was a goddamn mess I have to do some musing on whether it’s worth it as a whole for ACOMAF. If i ever did recommend it’d be with a heaping shovel-full of salt and some warnings. 25)- How would you end XXX/Would you change the ending of XXX?

ACOTAR - OOH. INTERESTING. I actually don’t mind the open-ending? I was anticipating it. ACOWAR has been set up for a while now as the conclusion to Feyre and Rhys’ story and the conclusion of their story only. I don’t mind that the others were unfinished because they were never meant to be.

I think I might liked for more to have actually changed though? I mean.We had this huge near-world ending war and...Everyone just kinda went back to their day jobs as though it was a few months long nightmare and that was it? I’d have liked it to be a bit more radical and lasting and to actually mean something. There didn’t really feel like that many consequences on the whole, idk, that made it feel a bit flat. 26)- Most shippable character?

Most of them tbh. But I agree with Claire on this one too, every Lucien ship is Good, very, very, very Good. Give me them all. 27)- *Least shippable character?

I’m usually happy to leave Feyre and Rhys to their own devices. But apart from them I really struggle with Az? Like I have tried to nudge him into other ships, believe me I’ve tried, but he’s having none of it.

For ToG....I’m not sure?? I haven’t really crackshipped as much but maybe Lysandra? I don’t really want her with anyone at the moment

#lauren answers #ask game answers #salt asks #text post tag #anti acowar #antielriel #acowar #acowar spoilers #acowarspoilers

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spicynbachili1 · 6 years

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Pokemon Let’s Go Pikachu & Eevee

Catch ’em all again

I don’t remember exactly what compelled me to rush out and buy Pokémon Red before the craze began, but I vividly recall the day I went to Toys”R”Us after school and picked it up. I got to Mt. Moon in one sitting and promptly turned off the game, forgetting to save: what a first day!

From there I’d go on to collect all 151, hosting all sorts of local trainer parties as the resident link cable owner and Pokémon Master. It’s one of my most-played games of all time and it’s the main reason why I’m always willing to give new entries a shake.

Pokémon Let’s Go isn’t for everyone, but from the perspective of someone who only recently became a parent, this is going to be a perfect entry point for some.

Pokémon: Let’s Go Eevee & Pikachu (Switch) Developer: Game Freak Publisher: Nintendo Released: November 16, 2018 MSRP: $59.99 (game), $49.99 (Poké Ball Plus), $99.99 (Poké Ball Plus and game bundle)

Let��s Go serves a bridge between the more casual Pokémon Go and the mainline series. Remember how Pokémon Yellow sort of retrofitted the anime? Go (not to be confused with the mobile Go) is like a super-charged version of that. I’m talking Team Rocket with Jesse/James/Meowth shenanigans, the whole nine yards.

That’s awesome in theory, but this dynamic duo is going to really confuse some long-term fans. It is basically an alternate generation-one journey, complete with small geographic and narrative twists. Let’s Go is also a bit of an odd duck as far as its control schemes go. As I espoused in our Super Mario Party review, I’ve come to really admire Nintendo for increasing our options in the Wii U and Switch eras compared to the forced waggle of the Wii, but not every game adheres to that standard. Let’s Go completely removes Pro Controller support in favor of adding a new object into the mix: the Poké Ball Plus.

Now I sorely missed the Pro Controller (it’s one of the best remotes on the market right now), but I did have access to the one-handed device for this review and it grew on me (here’s a closeup). That tiny little bit where the Poké Ball button is? That’s an analog stick that presses in for menu confirmations and world exploration. The top button (which is kind of hidden on the red part of the ball) opens the menu. Given that Pokémon games are RPGs with a heavy emphasis on turn-based combat, it makes sense why it would work. I went on to play roughly half the game with it, finishing the rest in portable mode and with the Joy-Con.

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So there are three aspects of the Poké Ball Plus: the aforementioned controller option, the chance to place creatures in the ball and walk around with them (Pokéwalker anyone?), and Pokémon Go connectivity. Although I wasn’t able to extensively test the latter out as it wasn’t readily available for some time, the walking aspect is a cute little extra and tapping the ball to cue a Poké voiceover is a nice touch. Just know that the little thing is a whopping $50 and is basically only applicable to Let’s Go, so maybe don’t get too excited. I sincerely felt the hit of not using the Pro Controller, and if you do opt for a Joy-Con, only one is supported — and only in the upright position. Now if this was Bayonetta I’m sure people would be angry to no end, but again, it’s Pokémon: I can make do. It also comes with a level-one Mew if that gets you going.

Digging a little deeper, I’ll get the “big nope” out of the way (I can hear the figurative right-clicks already!): open-world battles don’t exist as they’re just capture encounters, not unlike those you’d find in Pokémon Go. I get that it’s not going to appeal to people who wanted a full 3D generation-one remake, but there’s an upside. Taking the focus off of wild battles seems trivial but it cuts out the grinding, a mentality you slowly adapt to while playing Let’s Go. I lament that there are fewer chances to try out my Pokémon in the wild (and that the strategy of whittling down their health for a greater capture chance is now reduced to chucking berries), but it’s a give and take.

That streamlined approach gives way to universally positive improvements. Pokémon are kept in a convenient bag without the need to go to boxes to swap party members. Really good Pokémon like Beedrill (a straight-up Beedrill, fully evolved) can be caught very early on. That’s great! I know a ton of people are going to espouse the virtues of leveling up Pokémon from level one to 100 and how you should “earn” evolutions, but this is not that kind of game.

Mechanical talk aside I think everyone is going to fall in love with Let’s Go‘s aesthetics. Kanto is a delightful Arcadia and has never looked this good. Watching the camera pan over the quiet hamlet of Pallet Town gets the nostalgia endorphins going, yes, but Let’s Go‘s sleek visuals sell all of those familiar locations. Game Freak also nails the scale of each Pokémon to make it feel more like the anime: seeing a gigantic Onix tower over his foes is something else. The same thing goes for random environmental cuteness like napping Meowths. It all adds flavor to the world. Its sense of scale is its biggest strength. Gym battles more accurately mirror the anime with their grand halls, and random trainers (even throwaways) are more emotive.

As far as the big picture is concerned there is some wasted potential. No Pokémon Bank connectivity at launch, or possibly ever, is a bummer; especially when Game Freak and Nintendo are collectively asking you to catch the same Pokémon that have been around for ages (you can nab Alolan forms through Pokémon Go but that’s not a big enough incentive). The ability to play it solely in the Switch’s portable mode is fantastic (thus not betraying the original “pocket monster” mantra), but you can’t help but think that some basic features we’ve come to expect from the series were held back in favor of a more explosive entrance for the next mainline entry.

I can’t believe it took Game Freak over 20 years to give us an RPG-oriented console Pokémon game, but with the ever-changing mobile landscape and the success of the Switch, the opportunity finally presented itself. No, Let’s Go is not the mainline entry that EV/IV min-maxers hoped for, but that’s still on the way. If you happen to miss this return to Kanto, that’s perfectly fine, but I was mostly delighted to go back.

Pokemon: Let’s Go Eevee – 7.5/10

Pokemon: Let’s Go Pikachu – 7.5/10

[This review is based on a retail build of the game and the Poké Ball Plus, provided by the publisher.]

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Pokemon: Let’s Go Eevee & Pikachu reviewed by Chris Carter

7.5

GOOD

Solid and definitely has an audience. There could be some hard-to-ignore faults, but the experience is fun. How we score: The destructoid reviews guide

from SpicyNBAChili.com http://spicymoviechili.spicynbachili.com/pokemon-lets-go-pikachu-eevee/

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kartiavelino · 6 years

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Alfre Woodard On Her Sexy Scenes For ‘Juanita’

Actor Alfre Woodard has performed some memorable and iconic moms in her veteran profession: Winnie Mandela in Mandela (1987); Carolyn in Crooklyn (1994); Loretta Sinclair in Down within the Delta (1998); Wanda Dean in Vacation Coronary heart (2000); Camille Wright in Love & Basketball (2000); Alice Pratt in The Household That Preys (2008); Oiser within the 2012 remake of Metal Magnolias. Simply final yr, she performed Cookie Lyons’ mother Renee on Empire, and returned to her position because the infamous Mariah Dillard in Netflix’s Luke Cage. Extra In Celebs: ‘Black-Ish’ Star Marcus Scribner On Colorism In Hollywood The Golden Globe and Emmy winner expands her work with Netflix in her newest undertaking Juanita, the place she performs a single mom of three grown youngsters who take her with no consideration and have her wishing for a while to herself, if solely to determine who she is and what precisely she desires from her life. Juanita was written by her husband Roderick M. Spencer, but it surely pulls no punches in exploring her sexual needs. BET spoke with Woodard concerning the film and her co-stars, Blair Underwood and LaTanya Richardson Jackson, in addition to her husband’s involvement within the undertaking as screenwriter and the viability of a streaming platform like Netflix transferring ahead. BET: It takes a whole lot of braveness for somebody to confess that his or her life is simply not working, however that’s precisely what your character Juanita does. Have you ever ever discovered your self wanting to vary the narrative of your life? And in that case, how did you go about it? Alfre Woodard: When Juanita says “I’m a ghetto cliché, it’s a touch upon how folks look on her scenario. She shouldn’t be having a tragic life, it’s simply gentle annoyance that almost all mothers, it doesn’t matter what ghetto you’re in, even when you’re in a flowery condominium constructing or an upscale a part of city. It’s simply that it builds, and that’s what occurs to her. It’s taken her a lifetime of individuals ignoring her wants and her satisfying different folks’s wants outdoors of the house and within her dwelling, and it lastly simply sooner or later snaps. And we see it really occurs to her when her good friend [Ms. Berman], the girl that she cares for and will get excessive with on the medical heart, when she passes on it’s like, you gotta do it. To Juanita it’s like, I gotta do one thing for myself, and also you see her scrape her little cash collectively. I’ve by no means needed to change the narrative of my life as a result of I’ve had goals since I used to be 5 years outdated – really 4 years outdated. I’ve had goals and I’ve gone for them. It retains altering as a result of you understand, you’re a five-year-old [person] so there’s not one [dream] you wish to preserve sticking to whenever you’re 20 or 30, however I’ve all the time had one thing in entrance of me and moved in direction of it. I thank God it’s by no means occurred the best way I wished to as a result of it forces me in numerous instructions, which has given my life a whole lot of spice. However no, I consider in consistently making a transfer and mixing it up. Having the ability to be open and versatile, in addition to being able to pivot and shift in a single’s life, is a vital life talent to have, isn’t it? Woodard: I feel it’s instinctual. It’s kinda like–I ask myself this so much – what do I really feel like consuming? What do I’ve a style for? My mom used to do it, so I do it, and if I can’t get what I’ve a style for, I don’t eat, even when I’m hungry. And my husband goes, “I simply can’t consider that, why gained’t you simply eat?” And I say, “No, that’s not what I’ve a style for,” so I feel it’s instinctual. The factor about Juanita that I like is that after she does make a transfer she discovers she’s an agoraphobic. That’s how closed off from life she is true in her neighborhood and proper the place she’s been for most likely highschool, work and every part has been within the neighborhood. She hasn’t seen a panorama so she didn’t even know she had bother with open areas. So it’s not that she heads off to find herself, however she heads off, and she or he opens up, to every kind of issues. So that you get the inconvenience with the potential of journey, and romance, and deepened spirituality. And even the romance and the great intercourse, it’s like yeah, all that’s good however she nonetheless is aware of… that sense of satisfaction coming from inside isn’t full. That’s why she says I gotta preserve transferring. We predict she’s coming again as a result of we all know she is aware of the place life is sweet, and it feels good and you are feeling revered and brought care of in a partnership, however that’s nonetheless a partnership. She’s acquired to be okay with simply herself. Not okay. She’s gotta be happy in a deep method with herself. Juanita has a sizzling and steamy love affair–at least in her fantasies–with Blair Underwood within the movie. On a scale of 1-10, how snug have been you being that up shut and private with scantily dressed Underwood and the way did you two put together in your on-camera “love” scene? Woodard: Initially, you understand my husband wrote this for me, proper? So Blair Underwood shouldn’t be in Sheila Williams’ e book, Dancing on the Fringe of the Roof, which that is based mostly on. However Robert, when he was writing it, he deeply is aware of all of my girls relations for the previous 40 years. I say he is aware of the best way the phrases fly out of their mouth, the best way their hips swing and irrespective of how skilled they’re, those that work as nurses aides or those that work in firms, they nonetheless have that factor, and I knew he knew tips on how to clock it. So, I knew he may discover Juanita and her voice, and the very first thing he stated was, “Okay, the world is wanting over this lady, wanting previous her, and so, each lady wants a fantasy life, so… Blair Underwood!” However, even her fantasy lover is trifling – ain’t that one thing! So, he stated, the one method that that is going to work is that Blair will do it, it needs to be him, as a result of no person can play Blair, and he stated each time she says his title, it’s Blair Underwood, as a result of that’s the complete fantasy. So we referred to as Blair instantly, and Blair beloved it. Robert instructed him that is what I’m writing and Blair stated go for it. Blair’s spouse stated, I’m so glad Robert wrote this for Blair. She stated, “Blair is a idiot! He’s simply loopy!” Blair and I shot some even crazier stuff. You already know, I’ve identified Blair since he was a pet. L.A. Legislation was his first [show] and I did the pilot of that, and we’ve labored for 25 years on South Africa collectively – New South Africa, Free South Africa and The Artist Ground, so I do know him effectively, so it’s effective being enthralled with folks you understand. It turns into a contest to ensure folks go like, Oh yeah, that was sizzling! So it’s a whole lot of enjoyable doing that. You already know, actors, we prepare collectively, you naked your butt and your soul to one another whenever you’re coaching, in order that’s what we do. Most individuals are afraid to indicate these elements of themselves, however an artist can’t reside with out displaying these elements of themselves. Your finest good friend within the movie Kay-Rita is performed by LaTanya Richardson Jackson, spouse of Samuel L. Jackson, and also you two have some nice onscreen chemistry and appear fairly linked as effectively. Are you buddies in actual life? Woodard: She is my girlfriend without end! We didn’t even follow. They needed to cease us yapping between scenes about different stuff and we’d be speaking about [their children] Zoe and Mavis and Duncan, and would hear Clark say motion and carry on speaking concerning the children in our scenes, however yeah, she is my sister. She’s not my S-I-S-T-A-H, she is my S-I-S-T-U-H. We have been simply honored that she got here and did that work with us. One other nice second within the movie is your dialog with the character Peaches concerning the plight of Black boys in Juanita’s neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio. Why was it so vital to deal with the epidemic of disproportionate incarceration of Black males on this movie? Woodard: As a result of my husband is Caucasian and his youngsters are blended youngsters which suggests they’re African-American youngsters. So his son is now 25, Duncan, however Duncan acquired placed on the curb outdoors of our home at twelve o’clock within the afternoon at 16 years outdated! Got here out of my home, we have been all inside, from taking part in movies, and on the steps he acquired placed on the curb as a result of he regarded like any individual. So it’s in there as a result of it’s part of all people’s life. Persons are like ‘Why are all these black boys sitting on the curb?’ – as a result of it’s designed. And you understand, it’s within the film now as a result of it has all the time been in our lives since my brother, who is nearly 70. Don’t deliver up a narrative when you’re not going to inform each side of it – the entire fact. Additionally, Juanita will get into unlikely alliances – the alliance between Juanita and the indigenous group; the alliance between Juanita and the lesbian…To have the ability to acknowledge the truth that alright don’t be taking a look at me, you’re not my kind, and be trustworthy and have amusing about it and know that we’re there collectively, and we’re taking place collectively as a result of take a look at all people right here taking a look at us – it’s simply plenty of methods of individuals understanding that they’re stronger of their alliances, even one to 1, than they’re on their very own. I like all of that. How do you’re feeling concerning the push to vary the principles for streaming providers being thought of for awards consideration? Woodard: Proper now, with filmed leisure, the taking part in discipline has been thrown up within the air and we don’t know the way it all goes to land. Everyone is scrambling. Let’s name it a chessboard or a recreation board. All of the items are up within the air and all people is scrambling for a spot of energy when it lands. However the fact is, we’re going to have much more of our leisure on totally different platforms, totally different gadgets. I knew I used to be nuts after I stated oh my God, no person ought to watch a film on a sensible telephone. You’ll be able to’t see the cinematography for God’s sake, and all these issues, however you understand, time strikes on, and there’s no option to say we’re gonna preserve this purely in a specific vein when the movies and the films that we’re making and receiving don’t match into that slot anymore. So I feel it’s a dialog value having, but it surely’s like saying, you’re not likely my brother or my sister. You’re my stepsister or my cousin as soon as eliminated. It’s like you understand what? We’re making filmed leisure and you understand, the definition of tv — Roma shouldn’t be a TV film – it’s a movie. We all know what’s TV and what’s movies which might be made and streamed on a monitor in your house referred to as a TV, and I feel which you can’t maintain again that tide, so it’s value a whole lot of dialogue about how we are going to do it, however I feel it’s a purism that will be unable to carry, saying that streaming content material… you don’t actually need the Actual Housewives of Mars competing for finest image. I shouldn’t say that as a result of I like… I’m not gonna say which Actual Housewives however I like certainly one of them. It’s additionally that when Juanita drops, it drops in 150 nations. They dubbed the heck out of it so folks within the Highlands of Tibet can stroll round quoting Juanita. That’s highly effective, and we get to instantly hear a narrative a couple of lady on a river in an East Indian province. It’s a highly effective factor, and so I feel we’re on this space however we have now to simply redefine it, however I don’t assume simply having the knee-jerk closing out is gonna work. It’s like saying tighten the borders. Effectively, you understand what… What’s arising subsequent for you by way of tasks? Woodard: I’ve Lion King popping out this summer time, I’m taking part in Sarabi to Donald Glover’s Simba, and proper now for the previous seven months and I’ve one other month to go, I’ve been taking pictures SEE with [Jason] Mamoa up in British Columbia, in order that’ll come out most likely within the fall. Juanita is streaming now! http://feeds.bet.com/~r/Betcom-Celebrities/~3/UlAoGkTP3XI/alfre-woodard-juanita-interview.html The post Alfre Woodard On Her Sexy Scenes For ‘Juanita’ appeared first on My style by Kartia. https://kartiavelino.com/2019/03/alfre-woodard-on-her-sexy-scenes-for-juanita.html

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lvlsrvryhigh · 8 years

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LVLSRVRYHI-044: Spurz

Hey man, how it's going? I usually start off with introductions, so, for anyone who doesn't know, who are you and where are you from? I'm Spurz, a producer/DJ originally from a small town in Canada, now based in London because I felt like my life needed a shake up and I wanted to chase some things I love. Aside from my own music, I also run a label called Drama Hands with one of my best friends, Jesse.

Now that you're in London you're ostensibly within spitting distance of places where a lot of your musical touchstones (grime, dubstep, jungle, garage) were born and developed - Was that a part of the decision behind the move? Did you come with specific expectations? Yeah, honestly that was kinda the biggest reason for the move. I was growing very disheartened by an increasingly bleak music/club scene in Vancouver where I've been for the past few years, but I'm a firm believer in the idea that if you don't like your situation or surroundings, you change them. More than that, I really wanted to experience firsthand not only the birthplace of all these sounds and scenes I cherish, but to better understand the societal factors that influenced their conception. I didn't move over with any concrete expectations besides the rent being pretty astronomical, but having a really solid network of London-based friends that I speak to on a regular basis helped give me an idea of what life was going to look like.

I mentioned the UK dance spectrum already, but something I've noticed just from hanging around you a lot lately is the breadth and depth of your listening habits; from Carly Rae Jepson to Lorenzo Senni to house and techno tracks I'm not even going to pretend to know. What were some of your first beginnings with music, electronic or otherwise? Is there anything you've revisited recently that's left an impact? I owe a lot of those eclectic tastes to my parents. My dad holds Delta blues musicians in the same light that people worship saints, while my mum worked the pop spectrum from the ‘50s onwards. Mum accidentally turned me on to electronic music, actually. She used to instruct aerobics classes and was always on the hunt for music with a solid beat, which at that time (mid 90's) meant a lot of "dance music" (the catch-all term at the time). The fact that she openly hated it all, referring to it as "circle music", made it extra appealing to me in the same way some kids gravitate to punk or metal. There was an underground rave DJ in Toronto, Chris Sheppard, who used to put out these Pirate Mix cassettes that I used to horde as soon as she bought them, that was really the entry point for me. While they had some questionable Eurodance content, they also had a lot of house and rave classics that served as a great gateway.

As for retrospection, I've been diving back into the LOL Boys catalogue. A lot of their productions were transformative for me, and there was something innocent and explorative about that time in electronic music, at least for me, and I miss it sometimes. Their Fader mix is one of the only mixes I ever revisit with any frequency.

Once I hear it I'm sure I'll start to pick out elements of that erratic taste of yours on your album - Loud Futures (which just dropped on Apothecary Compositions) - but if you had to give a sort of elevator pitch for the record what would be the main points to mention? It's mainly a study in contrasts, whether it be weight, textures, tones, etc. I suppose it's meant to be a more cohesive narrative, repurposing fragments of my influences while aiming for something that sits slightly out of any one pocket.

What brought you to release on Apothecary? Why the effort to put something physical out as well? Joseph (Druid Cloak) has been a friend and huge inspiration to me for years, not only as a producer but as an example of an artist who isn't afraid to put his vision and values above everything else. He was an early supporter of my music and it had always been a goal to work with him in some capacity. In a night of mutually drunken text messaging, we started bouncing around the idea of doing a full LP.

The physical element stems entirely from my younger days. I fully endorse digital consumption of music, but part of me will never be able to fully divorce from the feeling of owning a physical recording as an immersive experience. For this release, it was a great opportunity to add some extra layers to the record, and having my dear friend Markus Garcia (former LOL Boy, now Heartbeat(s)) supply his art on the project makes it really personal for me.

Drama Hands, the label and club night you co-run with your house/soulmate Jesse Rhodes, moved its operation to London the same time the two of you did. How do you see this change of base affecting something that started out as a specific response to the absence of a local scene or platform? Where do you plan to take the label now that you're here? You're right, it is a bit of a 180. Drama Hands was born out of a complete lack of spaces for local artists we loved that needed a platform. Even though we've moved to a place with one of the biggest possible platforms (albeit with ever-dwindling spaces), I think our goal is still very much the same. I feel that with the brighter spotlight London offers to some, it means others get left in even darker shadows, so we'd like to continue to help amplify the voice of artists we believe in. Our club nights will be up and running in London soon, and I'm excited about some of the upcoming projects we've got in the wings as well.

With both Drama Hands and Loud Futures in mind, I wanted to ask about what kind of influences you might have outside of music, and also how you adapt or recast those within your productions? A lot of my influences are actually spaces and moments, I write a lot of music to be a score to small, passing everyday scenes or structures. I'm inspired heavily by design, architecture and fashion, so in a way, my music is a way to build and sew in a sonic medium.

Where and how did you record the mix? Did you set out with any particular idea when picking out the tracks? The mix was recorded in my flat, on Ableton, which I tend to shy away from usually, but for mixes such as this one, I view them as a statement or composition, so I can add extra elements and utilize the elasticity that Ableton provides. Track selection was basically like any of my DJ sets, random grab bag of tracks I've been enjoying lately with a few older tracks peppered in. For me, nostalgia is an extremely powerful emotion when I'm on the dance floor so I usually try to work something timeless into my sets.

What else do you have planned for 2017? A bit later in the year, I'll be releasing a mixtape/cassette of productions titled 'Vexed 2 Rest On U'. I'm hoping to follow that up with a small collection of my writings accompanied by a sibling collection of more ambient works. A few other EPs/projects in the works for Drama Hands and some other labels too.

And finally, if you had to pick something for people to listen to immediately after this mix what would it be? If you enjoyed the Jungle / DnB direction the mix was headed in, I'd highly recommend revisiting some of the earlier Moving Shadow catalogue.

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If you'd like to cool off, Steven Hauschildt's newest one 'Strands' is fantastic, as is Emika's new 'Melanfonie' project.

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#Spurz #Apothecary Compositions #Loud Futures #Mix #Interview #words #the levels are very high #lvlsrvryhi #mix series #garage #grime #dubstep #jungle

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