#unfolding melody zine

[u3pxx]

took me a while to post it here too but here's the comic i drew for @unfoldingmelodyzine!! what an honor to be able to contribute! ❤️💜 hope y'all enjoy useless men and decade-late confessions klapolly <33

image id in alt text!

[yakkosakazaki]

zine info

putting this on tumblr in case someone finds me here! all zines are listed alphabetically by category. usually i update this info more often on my carrd, so please feel free to check there for the most up-to-date and detailed information.

moderating experience:

format: [zine title] - [position] - [current status]

a new trial is in session - writing mod - complete

coda - writing mod - complete

hearth & home - co-organizer, organization mod - production

love & peace - writing mod - creation

love fools! - head, organization, and writing mod - interest check

pokemon visitors guide - organization mod - production/shipping

right words - writing mod - production

spy x vacation - organization, social media, and assistant production mod - production

the great turnabout! - writing and support mod - complete

tres elegant - writing mod - production

i am currently open to taking on writing mod roles! for all other positions, i am currently unavailable. thank you!

contributing experience:

format: [title] - [optional section i only include if i did not contribute as a writer through contributor applications]

zines in creation

hall of fame

zines in post-creation, preorders, production, or fulfillment

afternoon tea - guest writer

force of gravity

heaven on earth

labyrinthia

missing years

our greatest treasure - guest writer

pillars of love

pokedogs

pokegeist

pokemon visitors guide

project strix

right words

snapshots

spy x vacation

stars & dreams

the great chuunosuke chronicles

vitae

where in the world is herlock sholmes?

completed zines

a new trial is in session!

bring the storm

dive back in time vol. 1

eureka!!

fe3h drawn poorly - "artist" (i drew the hilda!)

i do; i do

oldbags

resilient - essayist

social warfare - meta content creator

streets of gold

stronger

the great turnabout!

timeskip

turnabout cinema

unlocked - guest writer

unfolding melody

your journey awaits!

[orlamount]

Content for the zine

I wrote a poem that could be put in the zine, it highlights my struggles with anxiety and depression but when the surfing it all goes away and you can escape your brain for a bit. Most of the poem is implicit and the reader can create their own visuals to it.

A love letter to Andreea,

In the embrace of the sea, our souls find solace,

Surfing with my friend, in a state of grace.

Together we ride the waves, our spirits entwined,

In the flow state, a connection of heart and mind.

In the flow state, our souls find blissful missions.

A love letter to Andreea,

Riding waves with my friend, in perfect harmony we blend,

Surfing together, our souls in sync, a flow state we transcend.

The ocean's rhythm, the thrill of the ride, pure joy we find,

With every wave, our spirits soar, leaving all worries behind.

A love letter to Andreea,

In the realm of dreams, where shadows dance,

Whispers of secrets, a hidden romance.

A melody played, soft and sweet,

Love's language, in silence we meet.

A love letter to Andreea,

In twilight's embrace, whispers take flight,

Unspoken desires, hidden from sight.

In this love letter to Andreea, there is only fight

A dance of words, a delicate tease,

Love's mystery unfolds, with gentle ease.

Amidst crashing waves, worries subside,

A dance with the ocean, where troubles hide.

In the flow's embrace, a momentary reprieve,

A love letter to Andreea,

Anxiety and darkness, the sea does relieve.

In the depths of shadows, a battle within,

Anxiety and depression, a constant din.

But on the waves, a moment of grace,

Surfing's embrace, a tranquil scape.

A love letter to Andreea, a perfect escape.

[krisseycrystal]

💜 a preview of my piece for @unfoldingmelodyzine ❤️

it was SUCH an honor to collaborate with THE @marerittmarit for THE Klapollo zine ever to write a heartfelt piece about these two growing older together 💕

don't forget that preorders are open NOW (get it while you can!):

❤️STORE: http://unfoldingmelodyzine.bigcartel.com 💜UK BUYERS: https://etsy.com/shop/UnfoldingMelodyZine

[letapollojusticesayfuck]

Preview of my piece for @unfoldingmelodyzine! It's been an absolutely amazing experience to see this project come together, and the finished zine is something you're not going to want to miss!

Preorders are open until March 17th, and all proceeds go to the Transgender Law Center

Preorder at: http://unfoldingmelodyzine.bigcartel.com https://www.etsy.com/shop/UnfoldingMelodyZine (UK Only)

[4ragon]

So I just reblogged another aa fanfic masterlist, and that seemed like a cool idea. SO, since so many people are migrating to here from Twitter (and especially since this is the only place where my name doesn't match my AO3 account) I thought should put a list of my AA fics together! (I'd do the other fandoms but I don't think I'd have a substantial enough list)

So here's the JJ Ace Attorney fanfic masterlist:

Long Fics -

The Miraculous Disappearance Of Phoenix Wright (107,213 words)

Phoenix Wright wakes up in a world where he never existed. What will he do when he's trapped in a world where everything he's ever loved is gone? Minor narumitsu. My first AA fic, and the fic that got me back into writing for the first time since I was a shitty teenager.

(Also please read the tags, this one has some heavy subject matter and a LOT of spoilers)

Singderella (28,103 words)

Apollo decides to try his hand at a singing contest, held by a certain ex-rockstar, for a chance to win some runner-up money. He didn't want to win the dang contest. And he sure as hell didn't want to become Klavier Gavin's mysterious disappearing muse. This one is Klapollo and this one's Silly As Hell.

Vacation All I Ever Wanted (111,197 words)

Six lawyers and a magician spend a week at the beach. One condo. Six lawyers. Seven secret plans. What could possibly go wrong? Established narumitsu, getting-together klapollo, platonic Athena and Simon, and Trucy Wright in all her glory. (Also has some AA4 and 5 spoilers)

also @/ministarfruit drew me fanart and it made me cry

Shorter Klapollo fics -

Google Search: how to turn off a gaviners alarm clock

Google Search: off button on gaviners alarm clock Google Search: how to end my suffering Google Search: please god i just wanted to sleep in

No I did not write this as a thinly veiled excuse to complain about my roommate's alarm clock what are you talking about

Also fanart from @/lycheestew

Don't Get Too Comfortable

Apollo gets caught in a rainstorm, so Klavier invites him to wait it out at his condo. Written for the Klapollo Unfolding Melody zine. I'm really proud of this one!

Either Way

It's Klavier's first week back since the Misham Trial, and Klavier had yet to gather the courage to see Apollo Justice. At least, until Apollo Justice grabs him in a panic and shoves the two of them into a broom closet.

(Klapollo Week 2021 - Protection)

Atroquinine My Love (Accoustic)

When Apollo asks Klavier for guitar lessons, Klavier is more than happy to oblige. Written for the 2021 Klapollo minibang, featuring lovely art from the wonderful @/nhuquyen

Half-and-Half

Klavier and Apollo go on their first date. That's it. That's the fic.

(Klapollo Week 2021 - Firsts)

Of Petals and Punctuality

Klavier forgets about their anniversary. That's also it. (Everyone also says this fic makes them sad but I thought it was fucking funny when I wrote it)

(Klapollo Week 2021 - Flowers)

Just A Quiet Morning

Apollo Justice wakes up to make breakfast on his wedding anniversary.

(Klapollo Week 2023 - Domesticity)

Schatz

“Hey, Athena, what does ‘shots’ mean?” Pre-dating, Athena and Phoenix mess with Apollo.

(Klapollo Week 2023 - Nicknames)

Narumitsu fics -

Procrastination

Prompt: Pre-dating narumitsu pinning and yearning for each other and all their friends and family trying to find a way for them to be finally be together

This was for a secret santa.

The Gentleman Always Gets the Girl

Sorry, Mr. Edgeworth, but the gentleman always gets the girl.

(Narumitsu Week 2023 - Foreign)

But I Thought You Hated The Mall

Miles takes Trucy to the mall. This does not go as planned.

(Narumitsu Week 2023 - Family)

Gen Fics -

A Different Kind of Lullaby (Warning, major AAI2 Spoilers)

“Hi Mr. Edgeworth, do you think Pops killed my mom?”

@/ehlihr drew the coolest fucking comic btw holy shit

Baking and Entering

Kay and Sebastian break into Edgeworth's house to bake a cake. This one was for the Dadworth Lion Lillies zine and I'm also super proud of it.

Juniper Dumped Me

Wait, wait when were Juniper and I dating?!

In which Juniper dumps Apollo, who absolutely knows what's happening, don't worry about it. Minor Junithena, literally the stupidest thing I've ever written. Dedicated to my discord friends who helped me come up with the idea.

Home Is Where The Heart Is

Kay Faraday has a secret and Miles has to get to the bottom of it. Also has some AAI2 spoilers.

Another Trip Around The Sun

Apollo Justice's first birthday without Clay Terran. Minor klapollo. It's a story about grief and I did cry while writing it.

Just a Roll of Stamps

It's been a year since Phoenix officially adopted Trucy, and Phoenix is starting to worry that she hasn't made any friends.

(Wright Family Week 2021 - Friends)

Bet On It

Apollo and Athena vs. Trucy and Phoenix. Whoever beats the escape room first wins. Whoever loses buys noodles for a year. But…it can't be that simple, right?

(Wright Family Week 2021 - Scheming and Hijinks)

Dear Runo

Phoenix and Trucy decide to clean out their spare room, and discover an old cardboard box labeled Grandpa Ryuu. Inside, they discover some old books, some letters, and possibly an old secret?! (Or maybe not). This one was for another secret santa exchange.

First Class Accomodations

After the events of Investigations 2, Sebastian Debeste is invited to spend a few nights at the Courtney residence while he figures out what to do next.

This was written for the AA Writer Zine and I am very proud of it.

Tumblr Original Ficlets

Ficlets include narumitsu, klapollo, and a few junithena, and one (1) blackmadhi.

Anyway, I think that's everything. Y'all super don't have to read these, I just wanted all of them in one place. If you do read them, though, feel free to let me know if you liked them! Comments and stuff make my day.

[probablygayattorneys]

Since I don’t have any more room on it, I finally hung it. My mom wants to fix it since it’s not straight and me pointing out neither is anyone in the game didn’t seem to be an adequate response.

So…. I think it’s either time for me to stop ordering zines, or to get a new corkboard.

…

I’m going to get a new corkboard.

[u3pxx]

5 and 28 for the ask game :)

already answered 5 so!

28. any art events you have participated in the past (like zines)

ohh i've joined many a zine back in my day! (the years 2021 to 2022) i joined my very first zine last year actually, it was the klapollo zine unfolding melody :^] loved being a part of that one! i'm also doing once upon a turnabout (aa fairytale zine) rn!! :^D

i've also been asked to be a guest artist for the aa siblings zine, pillars of love zine, gavinners zine, and a certain zine you should look out for in the future ;^P

[rage-against-the-dying-of-light]

In terms of the big zine blowup that’s happening now (iykyk), while it is important to ask if zines are becoming too businessy, plz remember that the vast majority of zines are done by passionate fans and have few hiccups, we simply notice drama much more!

This was one bad faith actor doing this, not a grift or scam. The other mods are extremely passionate and professional from what I’ve seen.

If you don’t believe me in terms of 95% of zines working out, here is a list. I can’t speak for other fandoms, but in terms of Ace Attorney: pre-2021 (2017-2020) there were 14/16 successful AA zines: Bee Avenue, Take That! Ace Adventures, MS Paint, Ace Attorney Unlocalized, The Speakeasy, Lawsuits, Unnecessary Feelings, MS Paint 2020, Herr Perfekt, Turnabout Melodies and We Always Return.

The two that were unsuccessful were cancelled before really getting going, which no harm, no foul.

In 2021, the AA zine scene EXPLODED. There is nearly double the amount of zines/projects in just 2 years compared to the previous four, and the majority are late 2021 and 2022. (I have my suspicions why, but this post is not the place.) Btw 2021 to present there are 22 zines, most of them active. (A few of the other projects are tarot cards and fangames.)

Completed includes: A New Trial, Turnabout Prosecutors, Laws of Attraction (which I have in my house right now) and Traces of Beauty. There’s also half a dozen nearing completion that I have no doubts about whatsoever, including Lion Lillies, Turnabout Century, Unfolding Melody, The Great Turnabout, Wayfinder and Turnabout Cinema. The rest are still in creation or beginning stages (Interest checks, apps, etc).

For those of you who don’t want to do math that’s 18 already successful zines and 6 more I’m incredibly confident about! That’s an amazing number of successes and I’m so proud of what this fandom has made!

I’m creating this post bc I don’t want ppl to become disillusioned or scared about zines! The vast, vast majority are run by good people who are passionate fans and simply want to create something fun and meaningful for the fandom! Myself included! (Full disclosure I have one zine nearing completion, Intellectually Attracted, and one just started, Where I Can Follow). And I can tell you nothing short of the most major of emergencies would stop me from getting the zines to you all!

While this situation does involve a lot more nuance than can properly be conveyed in a single Tumblr post, I hope at least a few people will see this and perhaps feel reassured that zines can still be amazing fan projects to both run and participate in! Please don’t give up on zines!

[fuckyeahklapollo]

Guys! I know most of the followers of this blog are inactive, but I'd like to promote this zine that is opening applications tomorrow! I'm not the one hosting it, but I will be applying as an artist :)

I hope you guys can follow through the process of this zine, it looks lovely!

[yousayparty]

The right place, the right time, and the right amount of exclamation marks

The history of Vancouver via Abbotsford British Columbia’s You Say Party is a storied one. Imagine this: trapped in a never ending nightmare of suburban dystopian hell, you form a band. With the simple adjective of having fun, spreading a message, making people dance - you leave the confines of a religiously stifling community. Within a few years you’re playing the world’s top festivals, winning awards, and wooing critics.

But now I find myself piecing foggy bits of memory fragments together with duct tape and hairspray. Like stickers on a dive bar bathroom stall, I know I was there. But why and for how long? I feel like I’m sifting through a shoebox of handbills and press clippings like some True Crime podcaster placing myself at the scene.

I’m not sure where I first heard the name You Say Party! We Say Die! but it caught my eye. It was an era of exuberant band names. !!!, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Shout Out Out Out Out, Hot Hot Heat, Fake Shark- Real Zombie! And my own band GoGoStop! It was also a time when bands out Vancouver’s sleepy conservative suburbs were starting to break out: Witness Protection Program, The Hand, Fun100.

It was exciting. There was a sense of community. Of people just wanting to have fun. Perhaps we were shaking off the anxieties of a post 9/11 world, or shrugging off the self seriousness that was emo and hardcore. We still made mix tapes and zines- scoured Terminal City and The Straight for new bands. There was this new social networking craze called MySpace that had yet to be a ubiquitous omnipresent corporate behemoth that dominated every corner of our lives. We were called Scenesters not Hipsters. Everyone was in an art collective.

Adorned with white belts and one-inch pins; asymmetrical hair cuts and red velvet blazers we set out to prove Vancouver wasn’t No Fun City at now long shuttered venues like the Marine Club, the Pic Pub, and Mesa Luna. I didn’t drink at the time so dancing, and by extension dance punk, had become my saviour- bands like The Rapture, Les Say Fav, Pretty Girls Make Graves to name a few. When Mp3 blogs became a thing, I immediately downloaded The Gap from their 2005 debut Hit The Floor! and loaded it on my 100 song iPod shuffle. I like so many others, became an instant fan.

I moved into what could only be described as a punk rock compound- 3 houses that were owned by a former Christian sect that we dubbed Triple Threat. Members of Bend Sinister, No Dice, Witness Protection Program, and Devon Clifford from You Say Party and Cadeaux (and Whiteloaf) all lived there. He drove an orange 1981 Camaro Berlinetta to match his bright red hair and big personality. We would walk to the greasy spoon Bon’s Off Broadway to get terrible but cheap breakfast and to watch The coffee Sheriff pour undrinkable refills of sludge. It was like living in the movie Withnail and I, but funner. We all wore pins that said Do You Party? on them.

It felt like Vancouver was blowing up and You Say Party was the hand-clapping drum majorette leading the pack. Ladyhawk, Black Mountain, Radio Berlin, New Pornographers, Destroyer, S.T.R.E.E.T.S., The Doers, They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? And The Organ highlighted just how tight-knit and diverse our scene was. Relentless touring and glowing reviews for You Say Party’s sophomore Lose All Time ensured they were head of the class, despite being unable to tour the US due to a previous border snafu.

Lose All Time sat on top of the Earshot charts for what seemed like forever. Famous for their frenetic live shows, and aided by stunning videos, their sophomore effort was a clear progression from Hit The Floor! It still harnessed the visceral rawness of their origins, but hinted at a confidence and maturity that was to come. The title of Lose All Time was a reference to the discombobulation of constant touring and it too was a hint of what was to come.

The touring would take its toll. Fuelled by Chinese Red Bull; a well document public dustup between band members at a bar in Germany would throw everything into uncertainty. But it was that turbulence that would set the stage for XXXX and after a restorative tour to China, the stage was set for the penultimate You Say Party record. 

Flash forward to 2009 and the city was on edge. Everything was about to change. Vancouver was preparing to host the world amidst the unfolding Great Recession. Anti-Olympic protests ramped up. A gang war raged in the streets and made international headlines, tucked behind Swine Flu hysteria and the ongoing imperialist war on Iraq.

It seemed like all the venues started closing and all our friends were moving to Berlin or Montreal. We starting looking in. Is this the city we want? Was it just growing pains? This kind of introspection is clearly reflected in XXXX. If Lose All Time was a record the band wanted to make, XXXX was a record for the people; a record for the city of Vancouver; a record for 2009.

"I finally feel like a singer, rather than a dancer who loves being in a band" said Becky Ninkovic at the time. It’s a perfect quote. One that succinctly captures the maturity and focus of the record. After a breakdown for Ninkovic, a year of rest and vocal lessons, Exclaim! announced XXXX to be a career resuscitation.

And it was. Going back now and rediscovering the record is such a magical thing. Opening for You Say Party with my band Taxes in 2008, I was impressed with the new material even if was a little jaded (I mean I was almost 30). But now with time and space I can see the songs they were working on were truly timeless. Laura Palmer’s Prom could so easily slot in with the latest 80s synthwave revival along alongside bands like Lust for Youth, Lower Dens, and Chromatics.

Overall, XXXX sounds like an exhale. A moment of stillness when you know you’ve made something extraordinary. When you know all those moments combined; moments of sheer terror, adrenalin, elation, boredom, and longing- culminate in a piece of art that once you let go of it- you just know in your gut that it’s right. It draws you in, wrestles with a brooding tension, then sends you into a churning whirlwind of tight drums and buzzing synths. It’s a remarkable achievement.

There’s plenty of vintage YSP sass throughout. “She’s Spoken For”, “Make XXXX”, and “Cosmic Wanship Avengers” are all classic synth punk gems, but the it’s in the subdued that the album really grips. “Dark Days”, “There is XXXX (Within My Heart)” and the sprawling Kate Bush like ballad “Heart of Gold” are the hallmark of a band that is comfortable exploring the limits of their genre. While lyrically quite positive, the melodies are daunting. Indeed, as Pitchfork put it, “the slower pace and more sentimental outlook of XXXX gives listeners the necessary space and encouragement to surrender to the band's emotional message”.

And it was a message they would finally return to the US with in 2009. The band was poised for mainstream breakout success. They were long listed for the Polaris and they won a Western Canadian Music Award for Best Rock Album of the year. Much has been written about what would happen next. I don’t want this article to be about the tragic onstage death of drummer and friend Devon Clifford, but it’s inexorably linked to the band’s story.

And I can only really tell it from my point of view. I wasn’t sure I would go to the funeral but a mutual friend told me that Devon would want me to go. Portland Hotel Society, a local housing provider which Devon had thrown the weight of his passion behind, rented a bus to drive out to Abbotsford. I held up pretty well until my friend Al Boyle got up to play. Then some yelled “Spagett”. Then Krista and Becky sang “Cloudbusting” and I lost it.

The band would try to carry on. Krista would leave the band and Bobby Siadat and Robert Andow of the band Gang Violence would fill in for touring.  When that didn’t go as planned Al Boyle who had been in the punk band Hard Feelings with Devon would replace Bobby. They officially went on hiatus in 2011 only to reunite a year later with Krista back on keys and a drum machine in place of Devon.

And while the band’s self titled 2016 release would be their moment of closure, the reissue of XXXX is one of celebration. Celebration of what they made with Devon. Celebration of a near perfect moment in time. A capsule of a entire city at it’s peak. The band has changed. The scene has changed. And I’ve changed. But there will always be XXXX within in our hearts.

'Cause every time it rains

You're here in my head

Like the sun coming out

Ooh, I just know that something good is going to happen

And I don't know when

But just saying it could even make it happen

Sean Orr Vancouver, BC January 2020

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

We are so excited to reissue a limited run of XXXX on clear vinyl through Paper Bag Records Vintage for Record Store Day on August 29th! Support your local stores & grab this album on vinyl for the first time in 10 years! https://recordstoredaycanada.ca  #yousayparty #YSPWSD

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

About Sean Orr Sean Orr is a writer, musician, artist, activist, and dishwasher living and working in the unceded Coast Salish territories of Vancouver, B.C. Besides his twice weekly news column in Scout Magazine he writes for Beatroute and has written for Vice Magazine and Montecristo among others in the past. He’s the frontman in the punk band Needs and also has a pickle company called Brine Adams. Twitter | NEEDS | Tea & Two Slices | Flickr

[les-legions-noires]

Les Légions Noires (The Black Legions), was an important part of 1990s underground black metal, that originated in France in the early 1990s, shortly after Norway’s black metal explosion, when a small group of socially alienated teens fueled by hopeless anger among other frustrated emotions shocked the metal scene and their local communities with absurdly raw, maniacally misanthropic music and a rash of ideologically-manifested crimes. Les Légions Noires, for their part, represented a more deranged and bizarre perspective that further disoriented metal’s conventional aesthetic and philosophical standards. Theirs was a sound festering in demonic decadence directed towards a grave destiny by a self-destructive sense of existential oblivion. The aesthetic was a vision of life stripped to shreds, twisted and evil; rather than inspire with familiar musical aspirations, they sought to disturb with terrifying expressions of their unholy visions. Black metal descended further into the depths of inner torment and black despair. Les Légions Noires represented the ultimate response to Norway’s black metal revolution, exaggerating the destructive tendencies of Mayhem and DarkThrone with an unsettling sense of and ludicrous delight in morbid insanity.

Les Légions Noires was more about the will to existential disintegration than noble spiritual transcendence. The recordings, a large majority of which were strictly limited obscure demo tapes, were made at a time when black metal was nearing the end of its classic era, and the trend of slickly produced keyboard black metal albums was on the horizon. They came as if to announce and celebrate the death of black metal, with gloomy and haunting ambient recordings that sounded like black metal’s tortured ghost summoned in bizarre ceremonial rituals in dilapidated castles. In this fashion the bands of Les Légions Noires were like black demon-shadows ascending from the depths of Hell to take black metal back where it belongs, as music labels swooped in to commercialize the style.

"Black Metal doesn’t mean anything any longer. It has become the shame of Satan, undermined in it’s very essence by all those pathetic worms, false Satanists, traitors and bastards of all kinds, have gathered to insult our art, and the less one can say is that they really succeeded in making it pure shit, a simple and only matter of image, money, publicity."

Les Légions Noires belonged to black metal’s second wave, which formalized itself in the early 1990s. The French bands were never as technically accomplished as their Scandinavian influences, though they never made it a point to be so, preferring to emphasize atmospheric mood, imagination and aesthetic over musical sophistication. Undoubtedly skilled in atmospheric composition, much of the effect was due to the absurdity of the expression and the extremely raw nature of the sound.

This was a true underground phenomena that vehemently opposed the commercial tendencies that a few of black metal’s major proponents would find themselves indulging later in their careers, seemingly determined to fulfill its own pre-ordained destiny of total self-annihilation.

Musically, what distinguished Les Légions Noires from their Norwegian inspirations was the severity of their dissonant emphasis, which possessed the sound of a more violent and evil aspect, and the irregularity of their rhythms, typically embellished by the often clumsy drumming performed by musicians who either didn’t care about instrumental proficiency or outright rejected it as an aesthetic imperative. They were intent on invalidating black metal as a commercial prospect, largely eschewing the conventions of record labels and interviews as an ideology of the purity of obscurity, which shrouded the entire scene in mystery. They were able to intensify the raw sound and misanthropic spirit of black metal, and channel it through a unique creative identity rooted in the morbid decadence that permeates much of French philosophy and art. In this way, they invented an individual style and cryptic mythology (complete with the invention of an unpronounceable language), while expressing a nihilistic drama of the absurdity of meaningless suffering and torment within the context of an anguished will to emptiness. They were better dramatists and aestheticians than instrumentalists, possessed of an intuition of ghoulish mystiques with an artistic vision and expressive objective that was more oriented to fulfilling self-prophecies of oblivion than advancing musical technique.

On purely musical terms, most of the Les Légions Noires material is of dubious value, and because it is ultimately this that determines endurance and artistic significance in this medium, the cultural, aesthetic and philosophical adaptations of these bands appear trivial to many. However, the few examples of musical validation provide enough substance to treat the French scene with serious consideration as an artistic phenomenon. The confirmation is melody, best exemplified on Mütiilation’s Vampires of Black Imperial Blood and Remains of a Ruined, Dead, Cursed Soul, both of which exhibit Burzum-style wandering melodies with a romantic sense of exquisite melancholy, with Black Murder’s melodic diversity and Aäkon Këëtrëh’s brooding ambient melodic meditation offering further demonstrations. Vlad Tepes, who displayed the most impressive musical consistency of this collective, wrote distinctive songs developed out of perceptive melodies in a somber interpretation of the epics of Bathory and Celtic Frost, only more dissonant, violent, and atmospherically obscure.

"Currently any fucker that has nothing to do with our beliefs can get BLACK METAL releases, in record shops, because of those treacherous labels that have made the unfortunate and unpardonable mistake of not understanding what true BLACK METAL is . That is was born in darkness . Where it shouldn’t have come out of, and where it will return soon. BLACK metal has become the music of everyone, which is the total contrary of what it intended to become at the time of it’s genesis. All the structures, labels, zines, even worse, the bands themselves have exhibited as any other human musical style such as “Death Metal”. The bands betray themselves one after the other getting into ideologies that have nothing to do with Satanism ( Nazism, Viking Culture) missing up the original BLACK METAL style in all sorts of stinking and intolerable mixtures!!"

Their legacy is a phenomenon of an almost mythological quality, though it seems that most are acquainted with the scene through their occult-oriented obscurity and monochromatic cut-and-paste punk-style visual aesthetic rather than the actual music. The variety of offshoot noise projects and their goofy exaggerations have resulted in their more substantial efforts being discounted by less-informed metal fans.

Each band/project possessed a distinctive atmosphere manifested in what seems to be a shared compositional vision of perceptive harmony; pure and lucid dramatic sequences unfold as songs or soundscapes take form according to the experiential context of a particular mood, impressing upon the listener a deep feeling of wandering through dark and cryptic scenes. While this is a general concept of black metal songwriting, the French bands expressed within this fundamental idea an unparalleled caliber of inner-dark penetration and emotional catharsis, including reveling in an inherent degeneracy, the perversion of dark desires, and libertine justifications for self-destruction and spiritual deviance.

The bands of Les Légions Noires underwent through their music a ceremonial process of purification towards individualized definition, a descent into the abyss of inner darkness in demonic celebration of all the depravity and luxuria swirling within as a liberation from the constraints of the conditioned self, and out of which rises the nihilistically invented truth and freedom of an independent spirit, albeit shrouded in occult mysticism.

The central bands of the Les Légions Noires were Mütiilation, Vlad Tepes, Torgeist, and Belketre. The bizarrely-named members involved in these groups recorded other music in different incarnations, some of which were solo ambient/noise recordings.

[angst-in-space]

september ‘21 writing progress

words written: 30.4k

most words written in a day: 1897

least words written in a day: 138

current yearly total: 217.7k

projects worked on:

- ya sci-fi novel - sylvix dreamscape fic - wenzhou modern au - narumitsu commission

works published in september:

“wherever i end up (i end up with you)” - chapter 1 (wenzhou)

september goals:

- reach 50k in novel draft (aka write ~15k more words) - finish sierra bday fic - finish narumitsu commission - publish ch 5 of sylvix dreamscape fic - finish draft of ch 6 of sylvix dreamscape fic - edit renga fic, possibly hand off to betas - work on matchablossom fic - start wenzhou fic if time - start fic for [redacted]

october goals:

- reach somewhere around ~70k in novel draft - finish narumitsu commission (possibly edit/post?) - publish chapter 5 of sylvix dreamscape fic - work on ch 6 of the dreamscape fic - edit like...maybe the first chapter of the renga fic at least?? - publish ch 2 of wenzhou modern au - finish editing ch 3 of wenzhou modern au (maybe post?? we shall see) - perhaps finish draft of ch 4 of the wenzhou modern au?? - start writing fic for unfolding melody zine!

notes:

well i uh didn’t do so hot on my september goals huh 😅to be fair... working on a novel has taken up a good deal of my writing energy so i should probably give myself credit for that LOL. and i did reach 50k in my current draft which i am super excited about!!!!

and well even if i didn’t complete everything on my september list, i at least worked on most of those things and/or came close to finishing them! 

besides working on my book, most of my efforts this past month went into working on the narumitsu commission––which has uhhh gotten Very Long, because i’m me and always get carried away lmao. but tbh i am really happy with it so far and can’t wait til i’m able to post the whole thing (ideally by the end of this month? we’ll seeee)

i also finally finished editing ch 5 of the sylvix dreamscape fic and it has been beta’d! i just gotta do a few more edits and post it, which will be sometime next week. still gotta finish up a draft of ch 6 so i can start editing that as well so, hopefully will be able to delve into that soon.

this past month i also finally started posting sierra’s (extremely late) bday fic which is a wenzhou modern au!! i’ve had such fun writing it and can’t wait to post the rest of it! so yeah hoping to do a bit more editing/drafting/posting of that during october. 

i have not started editing the renga fic yet, but hoping to do that soon!! ....i feel like it may be unrealistic to try and post it by the end of this month so uhh i’ll probably shoot for next month on that one, but depends on how much editing it needs.

aaand lastly, i am super excited to be a writer for unfolding melody zine, which is an ace attorney/klapollo zine!!! so i will be working on a draft of my piece for that. i really love the concept i decided on and i think it will be a lot of fun. :D

...so yeah once again i have probably bitten off more than i can chew anddd i have like an embarrassingly large backlog of things to write/edit but uh we’ll see what i can do!!! 😤

[apexart-journal]

Moraa Gitaa in NYC, Day 5

Today I started off with some urban activism history at the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space (MoRUS). The space is a living museum of urban activism. It chronicles the East Village community’s history of grassroots action and celebrates the local activists who transformed abandoned spaces and vacant lots into vibrant community spaces and gardens. The museum’s gallery displays innovative, sustainable concepts and designs. I took time to sit and watch footage of past activism rallies on a screen mounted in the gallery to get a feel of how the activists carry out their rallies and protests. The docent today is a volunteer and told me much me much more about MoRUS and its history. The space organises neighbourhood tours highlighting the efforts of local residents and organizations to clean up vacant lots and fix up abandoned buildings for community use, also promotes scholarship of grassroots urban space activism by researching and archiving efforts to create community spaces. The exhibitions feature materials that document these actions in order to educate people on the political implications of reclaimed space. East Village community activists began planning the museum in May 2011 and opened it with public tours in October 2012. The museum's sells and displays materials such as photographs, posters, zines, underground newspapers, comics, banners and buttons that show how local residents cleaned up vacant lots and buildings in the area and made them organizing spaces for the community. The museum offers three public walking tours that lead participants to the East Village’s most legendary community gardens, squats and sites of social change, reclaimed spaces and explain their complex and often controversial histories. The tour guides like today’s docent are usually long-time activists, squatters, gardeners, academics, and journalists who were directly involved in some aspect of the neighbourhood that is relevant to the museum. 

My next stop was at my host’s space at Apexart where Art Historian Giovanni Aloi was giving a talk. His presentation was about evaluating the challenges involved in human/animal relations that currently unfold in contemporary art. His talk was 3-pronged in that he looked at animals in contemporary art from the dimensions of objectivity, creation and collaboration. Giovanni Aloi had my attention when he first started off by saying that Anthropocentric mis-education began in the Garden of Eden!   Aloi creatively presented insistent presence of animals in the world of contemporary art, exploring the leading concepts which inform this emerging practice. From exhibitions featuring live animals, to taxidermy, and interspecies communication, he explored how animals feature in modern art with a range of thought-provoking and innovative visual representations -  was particularly fascinated by one artist who tried to help a spider mend its web (only an artist can think of helping a spider mend its web!) but the spider kept rejecting the strange threads! Another question that arose is - how do we grow up misunderstanding nature? Another interesting aspect was the gender aspect where we find a boy’s tee-shirt with a lion drawn on it while a girl’s dress has butterflies – the message being that animals have always been a part of our art and they define our language but we also use them to create stereotypes. It’s very interesting how we even use animals in our alphabet to teach children. – the issue of how we view animals comes in here because we associate animals with confidence, cuteness and frailty. Overall I found the talk very interesting because it also touched on the difference between aesthetics and ethics an often times controversial topic. Aloi’s style of presentation challenges ideas of identity by perfectly explaining the role animals have occupied in our cultural development and illustrating their presence in the contemporary visual arts today. In his context, creativity and collaboration become new markers of the limits and potentialities involved in rethinking the boundaries of creative expression and artistic space. Below in the first photo is Elizabeth Larison Director of Programmes at Apexart introducing Giovanni Aloi.

My last event for the day was to enjoy a bit of music in the Jackson Heights area at La Terraza restaurant where the Carlos Cuevas Trio were performing. There were repairs going on in parts of the subway and some trains were not running so it was another learning experience for me on the subway - learning how to juggle and know how to transfer in between several trains and shuttles to reach my destination! I realised this was a pre-dominantly Latino neighbourhood with lots of Spanish/Mexican or rather Spanglish speaking going on! I loved the trio’s combination of infusions of jazz with classical influences. Carlos Cuevas is really an accomplished and inventive pianist with his meshes and breaking of bar lines. Their classical technique with a robust sense of drive and melody on depiction is addictive. This eclectic mish-mash was worth the hustle on the subway! 

[trix-or-treatz]

My stuff from @unfoldingmelodyzine is here :D

I got lucky enough to catch the leftover sales and I'm super happy, everything looks amazing 💖