#wasnt a bad day just. very saturated

[libelelle]

I am going to do thursday i promise i am just beat it was a very long day

[opens-up-4-nobody]

...

[lakesbian]

and re last post as for how i would fix that issue if i were in charge of twig:

one: sy should not fucking run away. give him one chapter to stalk miserably around the town stewing in his thoughts before undergoing the character growth of admitting that he genuinely cannot do 62 hours away from jessie without ending up dead in a ditch somewhere & doesn't want to run away from conflict resolution with the person who's been his partner in crime and sole mutual support over the last few months.

two: during the conversation he and jessie were Supposed to have after he got back from his walk, force sy to undergo some goddamned fucking character growth over actually processing and internalizing the fallout of both the realization that he's not on equal ground with or fair to lillian no matter how much she likes him

three: also force sy to undergo some goddamned fucking character growth over grasping and sincerely, in his own sy way, regretting/wanting to amend doing some evil shit to jessie with the mental walls

four: this one is critical. i recognize that it's hard to fit this in following the heels of lillian but. i think you amend the issue of it being unpleasant to watch jessie having to bend over backwards for a mere Chance at sy theoretically liking her someday by having sy actually acknowledge that she's right and they Would be a good pair together. like have sy set aside the anger where he's getting bitter and sardonically going "what you want me to go make myself gay" out of clear revulsion for the idea of changing himself to be compatible with jessie--if jessie is going to change for him, then it's not fair that sy gets to be repulsed about the idea of changing for her.

i like jamie and jessie both being naturally gender apathetic and jessie deciding to transition to distinguish herself from jamie, and i could like her doing it to be more romantically compatible with sy, but i think in order for me to like that second part it would have to go the route of like. first of all sy takes culpability for his very very large part in the fight. second of all sy is like. "huh you know what. i would actually hypothetically make a good pair with you as a person i've been happily spending some of the best months of my life alone with. and maybe it would be nice to try feeling things out one day, even if it not immediately because of lillian, but i doubt something like getting a back alley doctor to rummage around in my brain is a good idea, no? this is sad i feel like we're missing out on something that couldve been good just by bad luck of i wasnt born as someone whos into boys or youre not someone who was born a girl" and jessie is like "no yeah i dont want someone to rummage around in your already wyvern-saturated brain i think it would not work and also you might die. however, re the girl part, i have some feelings ive been musing on,"

like. not necessarily over the course of even one immediate conversation, obviously not in those precise words. but if sy just One time got off his cishet ass to be decent to jessie and intentionally choose her or want to prioritize her feelings. Well then I would approve of their transhet biopunk brokeback mountain once more.

also. remove the part where jessie is like Ohhh unless it makes You uncomfortable for me to transition. let her keep being a hardass, let her want to do it either way, she can be noticeably nervous about sy's reaction without actually capitulating. she has that in her.

[yakool-foolio]

see maybe this is just me, but As A Character Designer Myself i think the rain code designs are some of komatzuzaki's best work yet. they're weird and campy and yet they work so well. i do think the characters' personalities shine through on first and second glances. I don't even usually like neon colors but I think the combo of bright neons with understated neutrals is so fascinating and memorable. no one else does it like this. a lot of the small details on the designs are actually packed with symbolic meaning (esp. yakou's - I'd love to see you unpack all that) and the overabundance of logos is evocative of the corpo-cyber-future setting. the rain code designs feel much more cohesive in terms of that setting than the DR designs do - which makes sense bc DR is more about disparate people being united by their circumstances - dialed to 11 in v3 where the designs are at their wackiest. but this ain't about her this is about rain code.

I love that characters you wouldn't expect (zange, fubuki, priest...) have weird facial piercings and tattoos. I love that the animal ears are never explained. I love desuhiko's tboy swag and yeah, the golden yellow and the dirty blonde and the neon yellow accents don't look great together - and I think the clashing colors work wonders to establish his personality. this kid dressed himself and thought it would make him look cool. you idiot. aphex's hat is stupid. zilch's ears are stupid. vivia's bandages-instead-of-clothes are stupid - and yet reading into that choice is very insightful. (he puts on a lazy air but if he was really lazy he'd just put on an oversized emo band tee instead of wrapping himself up like a mummy every day. he actually does care about how he comes across to people.)

there's a few videos about fashion YouTubers judging the DR fits, and at one point they brought in Yuma and shinigami and they hated yuma's outfit so much because it's dorky and they wouldn't wear it. but like!!! that's the whole point is that it's dorky!!!! his little trainee shorts. his stupid fkin bowl cut making him look like a little boy whose mom still cuts his hair. (which of course turns out to be a meaningful deception. his haircut influences how the audience and other characters see him to great effect.) and yet he has the coolest fkin shoes ever and when he puts his hat and cape on he's got such an iconic silhouette. teru teru bozu lookin ass /pos.

anyway yeah. i wasnt a fan of komatzuzaki's designs in the beginning but over the years ive come around. I'm a firm designer that a character design doesn't necessarily have to look good to be a good character design. I like it when they aren't afraid to make the characters look cringe - I love cringe. I eat it up. thanks for coming to my Ted talk.

Even more perspectives! I think your take of 'bad-looking designs can be good actually' is a great way to look at Rain Code's characters. To put it simply, it's unique! 'Nobody does it like Komatsuzaki'-kind of campiness. Honestly, Rain Code's designs remind me a lot of Danganronpa 2's designs in terms of color. That cast is full of much brighter colors compared to the lesser saturation of DR1 n V3's cast colors. And it makes sense cause it's a brighter game overall in terms of setting and upping the ridiculousness of the killing game in every way! Rain Code sorta follows that with its own designs by crankin' up the neons to really ride the idea home that this game is wacky right from the get-go and it's a Resident Evil game in disguise! And y'know what Resident Evil loves to indulge in? Campiness! Rain Code wears its inspirations on its sleeve, and that's totally chill.

As a sidenote to your sidenote regarding Yakou's clothing details, I have actually written a bit about how he might perceive them, but I haven't yet written about what they could truly mean in terms of how they relate to him narratively. The meaning of the phoenix patterns are painfully obvious though heh. And I also greatly appreciate the recognition that Vivia really does care about his appearance despite his 'laziness'. His hedonistic lifestyle includes his own attire, wearing whatever he pleases no matter the effort! Like I've preached before, Vivia has the energy, he just prefers to use it only when necessary.

Thank you for the TED talk *golf claps*

[aj-is-typing-18]

So I got.....more brainrot for the cursed candy man au thats been made pretty much by @shadeswift99 and @red-rose-gown ,,,,,but- yknow, maybe if impulse was bad? We'll see where this goes! :]

Tw: body horror, bit of kinda, mindcontrol :]

~~~~~~

Grian felt the world dance.

No, he hadn't ever been one for sweets, oddly enough. Since the watchers, he hasn't really eaten any. Nothin' ever really,,,,made him not want candy, it was just....too sweet.

That was when impulse and pearl approached him.

He should've known something was wrong.

Pearls smile was a bit brighter, the sight of her made him feel fizzy. It was really odd, she didn't seem as animated before as she did now, she didn't seem as......lively? No. Pearl was very lively! It just....didn't make much sense she was with impulse? That may be it. Not to mention the fact She didn't seem....normal. Not in the 'this is hermitcraft' not normal, but in the 'something is off but I can't put my finger in on it', not normal.

It was the way her hair seemed goopier, like....he wouldn't call it pudding, but is smelled like it. Her skin wasn't exactly melty, but he could see some purple shards peeking from her skin and melty brown splotches of what he could only assume was skin on her arms and legs.

Impulse wasn't any better.

Grian knew the other had wanted fantasy, but he didn't have to be melting with candy. The brunettes hair looked like chocolate itself, and , a big patch of it melted his eye, and it seemed his very sweat was also.......melting him. Larger crystals were on the redstoners elbows, and his eyes were a striking purple, almost.......entrancing.

They had talked, like normal good neighbors do. Impulse was way more saturated too, his eyes seemed.....purple? His hair also seemed to me milkier, or was grian imagining things? No, he thought to himself. Something isn't right here.

Maybe it was the fact impulse and pearl were in matching suits? Impulse in a full one that was mainly yellow with purple accents, and pearl having a purple one with yellow accents. They were in sync, pherhaps too in sync. They also seemed to smell like all the candy in a candy store at once.

"Anyways," impulse said, fishing a something out of his pocket. "I Wanted to give you something to try! Pearl said they were great. But I want your opinion too! Scar sadly he wasnt feeling up to it....so..."

He handed grian........a chocolate bar? The builder was a bit confused. The thing that was....making all these problems was a small piece of chocolate?

"You'll try it right?"

"Of course!" Grian promised.

And now he was dancing. It had been days? Weeks? Grian didn't care anymore! He twirled and danced in the rtthm of everything, it all had that natural glow. Sure, his feet and body were sticking to things! That was okay......just a small hiccup from those candy bars of.....of uh- grian was puzzled.

He shouldn't be here.

He doesn't belong here.

But that sweet buzz kept pulling grian under, kept keeping him unaware of the changes. He was happy here. With his boxes of chocolate! It didn't matter....

He knew his hair had gotten more liquidy, like a syrup, or that his body had started melting. It didn't matter! Impulse knew what was best! It didn't matter when he saw his wings start to turn to goop, when he couldn't remeber his own- name. He was just content eating his chocolate.( And the wings, felt nice! )

But this felt so so wrong. He shouldn't be here.

A hand gently held a candy bar out to him, and grian couldn't stop himself from taking and starting to eat it as the hand gripped his shoulder. A voice laughed.

"There we go." Impulse said, as the haze returned to his friends gaze. As that smile became full once again, as the spiraling thoughts came to an abrupt halt under the sweet and muddled buzz of the confectionary, as it covered and snuffed out all those pesky worries and doubts from grians little head, covered like waffles were in syrup.

The hand helped him up as it wrapped around him more, and the warm and welcoming hand pulled him to his feet and helped get him into his new outfit uniform.

"Now, let's get to work."

[dirt-str1der]

Dyou have any insights on the EMPLOYERS!!! what are ur hcs for them..

Bites lip just one ...

Ok im kidding also dont come at me for the missing characters its because this graph excludes cissies ok i lied im not actually kidding but ive been looking for a reason to post my madness combat toxicity-presentation graph

But listen stygian ... is trans , and so is the auditor. I will say i dont know much about the employers due to not paying attention BUT i want to believe that theyre overhyped. (Note that a lot of these hcs are directly lifted from tumblr user bugsontoastt but hey whats new their brain is huge). Like yes of course these cool fire aliens can evaporate you if you get too close and they can summon items at will, but honestly i like to think most if not all employers stay in their own lane. They are not very hands on !! I like to think that the auditor is the only one who sticks around the surface and all the others kind of look down on her about it lmao theyre like ewwww grunt stench and shes like IM LITERALLY KEEPING THE WORLD FROM EXPLODING CAN I GET A HOO YEAH ????

I also want to believe that the auditor and the other employers have some hardcore tension with each other because they hold the belief that Nevada and The Other Place will eventually sort itself out and all they have to do is keep pulling strings while the auditor believes that theyre a bunch of idiots who sit with their thumbs up their asses. She was the only one who took the initiative to go up there and ............. okay i will be honest shes not doing much either but cut her some slack (whispering: shes not very bright)

That one wasnt a headcanon i do believe krinkels stated that the auditor is a bit of a dumbass so uhmmm bimbo queen !!! The only thing she is good at is numbers and being milfy , everything else is bad and stupid. Also sorry for being mainly auditor focused but i like to think that since they come from nevadan superhell , that place is absolutely saturated with dissonant reality (you know ... the energy that powers the absolutely methed up reality warping abilities that the employers have that are also utilised by improbability drives and possibly other folks from nexus whom i dont know about) anyway employers THRIVE on that shit it fuels them. However, after making the choice to become a low down surface dweller , the auditor doesnt have limitless access to dissonance anymore and has to sustain herself via other means. This is why i like to hc that her sippy cup is just filled with diesel ^_^ she needs the juice

The day hank and co actually manage to severely fuck shit up is the day all the other employers are going to come crawling to her like we are sorry and she is going to throw her drink in their faces and laugh nonstop.

Also employers have two modes, battery saving and power mode. The former dampens their flames so they just look like a solid mass of shadow , the latter activates their powers and thats when you start to see the black flame wafting and whipping and they glow their respective colours it is very cool to see them in action theyre really like gods <3 unfortunately / fortunately most of the time they think theyre above getting their hands dirty

[zerobotic]

Well, you asked for it and you can’t say I didn’t warn you :3

First off, the usual disclaimer that I did enjoy DH2. I thought it had some very interesting level design ideas with the clockwork mansion and crack in the slab, the new powers were very cool and fun to use, and it polished some of the rough edges from the first game’s mechanics. It’s just the story and such that disappointed me after how much I loved the first game.

So to start off here’s some of the things I found disappointing or frustrating (and keep in mind these are all just my personal feelings on the games):

“Spoiled rich person learns a lesson from poverty tourism” is a plot that gets on my nerves in general and that’s more or less what happened here with Emily’s story

Like, not to disagree with an anti-rich-people story but the first one did a much more poignant job of highlighting greed and corruption and letting you be the one actually fighting it, rather than putting you in the position of perpetuating it. It felt like the first game showed it, while the second game just preached about it.

Boy this sure did feel out of character for both Corvo and Emily. Emily watched her mother be murdered at ten years old for the sake of political power, and then was held hostage for six months while being told her father was executed for her mother’s death. She got a firsthand view of how much the people of the empire were suffering during this time, and then when she finally got rescued she was immediately kidnapped and used as a pawn again by yet more schemers after her mother’s throne. You cannot tell me that’s a person who would grow up to be spoiled and carefree and complacent with their position, or someone who wouldn’t give a shit about their people. Yes, I know that she was a headstrong, rebellious kid with an adventurous streak, and I’m not trying to claim she wouldn’t probably still prefer, on some level or another, to escape to the rooftops with a sword rather than being stuck in court. I’m just saying that kids grow up and change and whoever wrote the second game seems to be stuck on taking ten-year-old Emily at face value for her adult self’s personality too, instead of considering how the first game’s events might have actually influenced her. She’s got more than enough firsthand experience to know to be wary of scheming nobles. (Also I definitely got the feeling, playing the first game, that at least a bit of how Emily behaved at the Hound Pits was her trying to cope with what was happening.) You also can’t tell me that Corvo, father and royal protector of the current empress, man with the most reason and justification to be paranoid out of everyone in the whole damn empire after everything he’s been through, would be so negligent in paying attention to a coup that the first mission claims pretty much everyone in Dunwall knew was happening. 

Building off of that, in general it felt like the first game wasn’t allowed to have much of an impact. It pays lipservice to Jessamine’s death, and acknowledges Corvo having been a badass back then, but that’s....about it? Like I said in the other post, the first game felt so saturated in grief, both for Jessamine and for everything else going on in Dunwall, that it really influenced the overall tone of the game. The second one kinda feels like the first one never happened, or at least didn’t have any lasting influence on the characters or world, and it’s kind of jarring going from one to the other.

So with all that said, here’s my idea for a different DH2. Still using Karnaca as the setting and Delilah as the primary antagonist, just...different. 

"Delilah wants to use a reality-altering painting to change the world into her vision of it” is still a plot point. Except, instead of the end of the game, it’s the beginning. It’s a logical extension of her actions and powers during the Daud DLC - the plan to use Emily’s painting to take over almost worked til it was stopped, so there’s clearly potential there. She’ll just think bigger, more direct this time.

The game starts on a ship. Emily and Corvo are en route to Karnaca for some sort of diplomatic mission. We get to know them a little bit during this opening trip: Emily isn’t an absent, complacent ruler, she's a young woman who inherited a difficult throne as a child, after a series of traumatic events, and now she's trying hard to live up to her mother's legacy and prove herself worthy to an empire that still seems to only see her as the child she was during the interregnum. She’s doing her best, but she’s insecure about all of that, and spends a lot of time frustrated with the back and forth scheming of the nobles, trying to please everyone instead of putting her foot down and getting things done. Corvo is trying to keep her safe where he failed Jessamine, but court still isn’t his preferred arena either. 

The night before they’re due to arrive in Karnaca, we start getting hints that something is...off. Strange dreams, maybe?

They land in Karnaca and things are different than expected. But they don’t get time to look around, because there's guards there to arrest them, claiming they’re wanted criminals. They’ve got music boxes or something that can strip Corvo of his powers, and only one of them gets away while the other is taken. The one that gets away is stuck alone, disoriented, and hunted in an unfamiliar city - even if you play as Corvo, things are different than he remembers. More different than can be explained by just time. 

They meet Meagan Foster. She takes them to meet a group of ex-whalers (the player character doesn’t know who they are). They’re a group that got back in touch with each other in Karnaca after Daud left and the whalers split, and they still do shady shit, but these days it’s generally more smuggling type stuff and they’ve put down the assassin blades. They’re the equivalent of the loyalist home base in this game. Meagan is still the Samuel stand-in, taking the player places and narrating things as necessary. 

Information is shared and the player finds out that somehow, the world is changed from what they remember. Delilah is the empress, here, come by it what seemed like legitimately at some point in the 15 years between Jessamine’s death and now, and Emily and Corvo are wanted criminals. No one seems aware of the change except for the player and the whalers (who only remember it because of their experience with magic, though the player character doesn’t learn that til much later). 

Clearly it’s Delilah who did something, because she has magic, and she’s the one on the throne now. 

The Outsider shows up in their dreams that first night in the new world, but something is clearly wrong in the void, too, and it seems like he’s barely capable of reaching out and communicating with them. He offers the mark, but disappears before really getting a chance to explain anything. 

The player goes through the game now with the goal of finding out what happened, how it happened, and how it can be fixed. DH2 and DOTO explained a lot more than I felt they should’ve, at times, and I preferred how the first game balanced worldbuilding with mystery. So, let things be explored and figured out along the way. 

Things are real bad in this universe. From Emily's perspective as she goes through the game, we get commentary questioning whether or not she was doing a good job, and comparing it to how things are in Delilah's world. There’s lots of corruption and poverty and people suffering, and the question "is this just Delilah's world? How much of this going on in mine too? In trying to navigate court instead of putting my foot down, was I failing my people in the end after all? Would it have been better if my mother was still the empress?" The difference between this and what DH2 did is that she was trying, there was just a lot hindering her, including her own doubts. In this one, those questions aren’t preaching, they’re a sign that she does care and is pained by the idea of her people suffering like this again, by the mere possibility that it might not be just Delilah’s world. 

Corvo and Emily have distinct perspectives, not just the same lines very slightly altered. 

The bloodfly infestations are either 1) a natural thing that wasnt supposed to turn ugly like this and has been affected by Delilah’s magic, or 2) wholly the product of unnatural magic. None of this "we need them and they’re always like this, just not this bad" stuff. if you're gonna repeat the plague motif, make it actually horrifying, like the rat plague was. In fact, there’s obvious magic influence here and there in general - maybe not quite as thorough as at Brigmore Manor, but it’s present enough to give you the creeping feeling that things aren’t right, here, visual confirmation of Delilah’s influence, that things have been changed and twisted from their normal state of things. Hell, maybe this is where the hollows from DOTO come in, the original world and Delilah’s altered version of it trying to bleed through each other in some spaces. Maybe that’s a different explanation for the crack in the slab mission, even. 

Actually, if you’re gonna repeat the plague motif, lean into the similarities between the rat plague era and now. Have them be reminded here and there by things they see, recount what happened and how terrible it was, compare it to now. Give NPCs lines about the comparison and how some of them left Dunwall only to be stuck living through something like this a second time. Let the first game have happened and had an impact, folks, cmon.

On a similar note, if you’re gonna keep Delilah's backstory the same when we finally learn it, let Emily and Corvo get mad about it. They lived through the first game - what right does Delilah have to talk like she's got a monopoly on suffering and that's why she should have the throne?

Delilah's mistake was assuming Emily was a sheltered child who wouldn’t come for her, rather than someone who's already been through a lot and come out on top. That was almost a satisfying thing about the second game but they messed up the execution of the whole concept and I want it to actually pay off. 

I’m not sure if the targets in this one should be the same or how much should change there. Honestly, except for Breanna, the targets in DH2 felt a lot less relevant to what was going on than the DH1 targets did, like...why are half these people even at this ritual? But for simplicity’s sake let’s keep it as close as we can, while also adjusting for the fact that this reality has been tailor-made for Delilah and her buddies. Perhaps the Duke is only the Duke here because things were rewritten to put one of Delilah’s allies in charge, and it was supposed to still be his father. Hypatia isn’t the crown killer (what even was that plot point honestly), she’s the doctor they found to help Delilah recover after her time in the void, and now they’ve rewritten things to imprison her in the institute to keep her quiet and out of the way, and you get wind of it and go to see what she knows. Etc. Is Sokolov involved in this version of things? I dunno! But speaking of Sokolov I want some sort of explanation for where the other surviving loyalists are, damnit. 

Delilah did something in and to the void, just like in canon, but it actually has a visible impact here (beyond just a total aesthetic redesign of the void between games that never gets commented on). The void is struggling under her influence when you find shrines, and you never know what you're gonna find at one of them, or what the Outsider is gonna be like, if he even shows up. Honestly, I’m not a huge fan of the way DH2 gave him a human backstory, because I liked the mystery there behind what he was and what the void was, but this is open to go either way, either with Delilah finding his death site like in canon, or some other way she found to influence it. I’m not sure how the progression would go of how the void changes over the course of the game, but it would be cool to get to help/save the Outsider in some kinda way. 

Finding Corvo's childhood home should have more impact. Let it be like when you find the saferoom in Dunwall tower, in the first game. A temporary refuge in a dangerous place, full of obvious memory and grief - not so much for the time spent here since that's so long in the past, but for all that's been lost, everything they've been through and are in the middle of going through. Especially if you're playing Emily - this is the home of the father she just lost.

Let the heart be vague and ominous again, and let our interactions with it be sad, especially as Emily! I’m still messed up about the first time I heard "the doom of Pandyssia has come to the city" in DH1, and the lines about the floodwaters and the plague victims, give me stuff like that! Especially in a world that isn’t meant to exist the way it currently is, where things have been twisted almost beyond recognition. And give me lines that remind Emily of the mother she lost and how this is the first time she's heard her voice since she was a child!

Give us more on citizens and how they're suffering in this world, the way the first game showed us plague victims who died in each other's arms, journals from the desperate and dying, living people sent to the flooded district. Let it be a reminder to Emily why it's worth it, why she has to change the world back and what she wants to be fighting for when she gets her throne back. Another reason to question - has she been doing all she can? (Alternatively, a source of righteous fury for high chaos Emily.)

This is a journey of self discovery for Emily, either low or high chaos. It's about realizing she hasn’t been doing all she could, despite her intentions, because she's been trying to please everyone and in the end it still wasn’t good enough. She needs to stop living under her mother's shadow and come into her own (and the heart plays a role in this epiphany, probably. This might actually come to a head when she has to let her mother's spirit go, if we're gonna keep that plot point.)

High chaos Emily is similar but in a more "alright no more nice empress" kinda way whereas low chaos is more about conviction to put her foot down to do what's right.

You meet people during the game who in a good ending become part of her new council. Common people, who are more in touch with what needs to be done. It pisses nobles off but she's determined to do better, after everything. It helps both her and Corvo come to terms with the whole safety thing, because you can't ever make sure you're totally safe but you can try to make sure the empire can keep going should something happen to its ruler.

In fact, part of Corvo's perspective on this game probably would involve him still wanting to keep Emily out of things for safety's sake, and wondering if sheltering her from knowledge of magic and such contributed to this situation.

When it's revealed who the whalers are, it's late in the game after we've already come to like them a lot. They don't betray you like the loyalists did, but it should still feel like a punch to the gut for Emily and Corvo.

They don’t know where Daud is, haven’t seen him since the whalers disbanded .

Billie talks about that whole thing, and it's complicated. She decides maybe she should try to find him, after all. Cue DLC, which is about finding Daud, and helping/saving him, and the two reconciling and Billie finding some kind of...if not redemption, then absolution. A parallel to the first game’s DLC, Billie getting an arc like that in Emily’s game the way Daud got that arc in Corvo’s game. Y’know, instead of DOTO going and undoing all of Daud’s character growth. 

I know I’m kind of handwaving the actual mechanics of who the targets are and how you actually go about uncovering what happened and how you can fix it and take down Delilah in the end, but this is all just. Concepts. If I were to try to write this as a fic or something I’d have to actually sit down and work out all those details, but for now this is something that’s just been living in my head since like an hour after I finished DH2 for the first time a couple years ago.

(I did warn you it was gonna be long lmao)

[mspainttaz]

When someone mentioned your Bg color I opened up your profile and saw the bleeding bright fuchsia. I thought it wasnt that color at one point in time but just shrugged it off. Cane back like 3 hours later and now u have a Pepto Bg and I'm still confused on if I was remembering your original bg wrong

how often is everyone checking my blog that this is a topic of interest 

jk heres the breakdown so we can lay this bad boy to rest:

the fuchsia is the old color from a year ago that i deleted after bee movie blog description post ruined me, the nice pink is the usual because i think it makes people happy and it makes me happy, i changed it yesterday? day before that? to fuchsia because im going through it and i wanted to be a little zesty, a little bold,

homestuck anon called the presses on me for the fuschia being a reference and i DID LOOK IT UP AND I LEARNED SOME VERY STRANGE THINGS BUT MOSTLY I WAS RIGHT THAT THIS WAS A BIT OF A REACH OF A REFERENCE ANON  (except for the context of my blog being badly named mspaint which i understand makes me look like a homestuck i know i know so like. valid i guess. nothing against homestuck i just dont go here yanno)

(which is relevant because it kickstarted the current pink discussion)

aaaaaand finally the sweet soft pink is back because high saturation isnt pleasant or accessible and i respect that. the end. uwu.

tldr because heaven KNOWS none of that was all that riveting: pepto? pink is normal and evil pink was a twenty four hour phase. end scene

[ts-unpopular-opinions]

Side Tracks opinions part 3: Logan

(Here I go again! Logan’s playlist is a bit more straightforward than the other bois, so heres hoping this one doesn’t take me as long 🤞)

1) The Elements: Not much to say. It just a literal musical list of the periodic table of elements. You can’t get much more Logan than that 😂 Also, Logan likes chemistry!

2) White and Nerdy: Apart from the obvious listing of nerdy things and the legitimate title, Logan feels like he doesn’t always get taken seriously enough by the other sides (“I wanna roll with the gangstas, But so far they all think I'm too White and nerdy” “I wanna bowl with the gangstas, But, oh well, it's obvious I'm White and nerdy”). Basically Logan is a big nerd and a dork. He knows that and he’s worried that sometimes it ostracizes him from the others.

3) Algorithm: Logan doesn’t understand humans very well, at least, he doesn’t understand anything but the logical aspect of humans and the world. He has a different view on life than the other sides (“Supercomputer status, walkin' along streets”). He thinks that the dilemmas and problems in the world would not exist if it wasnt for humans throwing a wrench into all of it with their feelings and emotions (“Humans don't understand, humans will sell a lie. Humans gotta survive, we know we gon' die. Nothing can live forever, you know we gon' try. Life, is it really worth it?”). As the song puts it, Logan believes that the theoretical algorithm of life is perfect, and he doesn’t understand why it needs to get muddied and ruined by simple human issues (“Looking for something worth it, the algorhythm is perfect, mmh”).

4) Fitter Happier: This song is interesting because it shows us the innerworkings of Logan’s thought process. A lot of what he does involves simply planning daily tasks (things as small as drinking or eating) based on what he knows is most healthy for Thomas. The song completely lacks any sense of feeling or emotion and is, as I stated, a legitimate list of things to do in a day. All tasks are put in place to keep Thomas fitter and happier, however, Logan doesn’t have a grasp on emotions and clearly doesn’t know all of the things that Thomas needs to be happy AND healthy. I’ll just list some interesting daily tasks in the song here: “Regular exercise at the gym, three days a week” “Eating well, no more microwave dinners and saturated fats” “Careful to all animals, never washing spiders down the plughole” “Favours for favours, fond but not in love” “Still cries at a good film” “Still kisses with saliva”. As the song goes on, you kind of get a sense that Logan is losing his grip on Thomas, or doesn’t understand why Thomas isn’t feeling satisfied with the plan that, to him, is perfect. Thomas feels trapped in the life that Logan plans for him, and Logan does not understand why that is (“A pig in a cage on antibiotics” “No chance of escape”). There are also a lot of points in the song where Logan shows that he finds emotions to be a weakness, or something to hide away (“Will not cry in public” “Nothing so childish” “No paranoia”).

5) Medicine: I’m not 100% sure what this song is about, but it talks a lot about ancient philosophy. Basically being curious about the world and people in it. I’m guessing that Logan just likes philosophy and thinks that people should always stay curious. Logan really values curiosity and thinking (of course).

6) The Watchtower: This ones... interesting to say the least. If you’re a fan of the broken blue crayon theory you may want to look into this song a bit more. The song talks about being broken and wanting to restart things, possibly showing that Logan will crack at somepoint and need to reevaluate how he’s been handling things (“I'm breaking, I need another start. Far away, From the city lights.”). Ultimately, I think this song is about Logan’s neutrality over all the situations that the group handles. He doesn’t really see problems as good or bad, because he can see logical scenarios with both options (“From the watchtower, We can see things coming. Good or bad”). He knows that this mentality makes him a bit unlikeable because the other sides want him to side with them, but he doesn’t really mind (“I don't mind, If I'm impopular-ar.”).

7) The Breach: Another interesting one which I feel like could have two meanings. My first take was that this song was about Virgil escaping the dark side of Thomas’ mind and mixing in with the light sides. Logan wasn’t quite sure how to process this new arrival at the begining and had no control over his escape (“Generally operating normally, A small anomaly has become evident” “There is spiking in the pulse of a member of the cargo” “First: the recommended course of action should be to Administer a sedative to all the cargo via ventilation” “Now: one specifically is up and moving to the door”). After looking into the lyrics a bit more though, it seemed like a lot of them could be applied to Janus as well, specifically his first appearance when he was disguised as patton. Logan knew from very early on the Janus was taking pattons spot, but was unable to say or do anything about it due to Janus being the only one with “the access code” (“The ship is fully capable of automating this But requires an approval code from the administration” “He has found the access panel situated in the floor. He is entering the codes and overriding has begun. Reading rage in the nervous system, nothing can be done”). Either way you see it, I’m nearly positive it is about a dark side coming out to the light and Logan not being able to control it.

8) The Letter C: I LOVE THIS ONE 😂 And it���s the first in our list of songs that Logan vent’s about Roman in! The premise of the song is that someone insulted the main singers rap and so the main singer goes off about the comeback he wished he would have used to tell this guy off. It’s honestly such a funny song and I couldn’t give it the justice it deserves here by just listing the lyrics. It gives off huge rap battle vibes and I’m sure Logan would have been imagining the one who insulted him as Roman. Here’s just some great lines that I’d like to point out: “Man I wish I could’ve hit him with a zinger. Should’ve served him with the verbal equivalent of a middle finger.” “I’d say, "Are you insured medically? ‘Cause you sure better be When you’re broken in half from provokin’ the wrath” ““Aw shit!” “Oh crap!” Everybody within earshot would be like, “Oh snap!” I’d high five all around while the guy falls down in a ball on the ground” “I pull out a sharpie marker, Narrow my eyes through my Warby Parkers. Like, “Watch who you’re f-in’ with, with your f-in’ ish””.

9) Galaxy Song: Logan trying to calm Thomas down in the only way he knows how: Gushing about how great the natural world is (“Just remember that you're standing on a planet that's evolving” “Now the sun, and you and me, and all the stars that we can see, Are moving at a million miles a day” “Our galaxy itself contains a hundred billion stars” “And our galaxy itself is one of millions of billions In this amazing and expanding universe”). It’s cute, its wholesome, and Logan tries his best to be comforting 🖤 (“So remember, when you're feeling very small and insecure, How amazingly unlikely is your birth; And pray that there's intelligent life somewhere out in space, Cause there's bugger all down here on Earth!”).

10) Streaks: Logan explains to Thomas that growing up is a process that he needs to experience. He understands that it’s hard and scary, but he believes that if you follow the plan and stay in the lines, everything will work out alright (“You can decide on the colors that you like As long as you stay in the lines” “All these years of filling out papers, Building a future, keeping your head down. Tryin' to keep a head on your shoulders” “Cause It's all a piece of the plan. It's something You'll understand When you're older” “Give em what they need to move on, then you let them go”). As he’s explained in canon, he doesn’t really see room for taking a lot of creative liberties in life, and he believes Thomas should follow the mold set out for everyone in life. That’s the logical way to survive anyways.

11) What I do for You: (This song and the next song feel pretty connected to me, so keep that in mind) In this song, Logan really shows his pride and ego. He believes he is the most important side for Thomas and that he will get Thomas the furthest in life (“I want you to survive” “I'm your only hope, I'm your savior too. Every single test You've been ever carried through”). Despite his superiority complex, he knows that Thomas doesn’t see Logan as important as he should. Logan knows how much he does for Thomas but is a bit annoyed that Thomas never seems to notice (“I couldn't ever give up on you, But don't thank me”).

12) Erase Me: Oooh boy. This ones heavy... Logan is PISSED. The whole song feels like a jab at Thomas, daring him to get rid of Logan to see what happens. Logan still feel important and knows his necessity as part of Thomas, but he’s frustrated with the lack of recognition he gets for all of the things he does (“Would it be easier? To just delete, our pages And the plans we've made” “Erase me, so you don't have to face me. Put me in ground and move the daisies” “So what will you do? With no me for you” “Erased me, what the fuck is this? You're crazy, Turn around and do each time, Replace me”). Logan sounds MAD in this song, something that he’s shown in canon quite a few times. It’s interesting that Logan alone seems to be the only side whose shown such anger and furstration, this song just adding to his list of instances. I’m not sure what that could mean going forward...

13) Art is Dead: Well what do yah know? Another rant song for Roman! We all know how Logan feels about Thomas’ choice of career as an entertainer and this song is basically just that. Logan can’t understand Roman’s dreams and aspirations for Thomas because they don’t make any logical sense to him (“ Have you ever been to a birthday party for children And one of the children won't stop screaming Cuz he's just a little attention attractor. When he grows up to be a comic or actor He'll be rewarded for never maturing, For never understanding or learning That every day can't be about him. There's other people, you selfish asshole!”) Logan would rather Thomas take up a job that is benefiting society and making his world a better place (“Cause I wanted my name in lights When I could have fed a family of four For forty fucking fortnights”). Roman’s self-centered and fantastical view on Thomas’ future is just childish to Logan and he feels like Thomas may one day grow out of it (“I'm just a kid And maybe I'll grow out of it”).

14) Equation: Oh man... I just don’t know. The song mentions a mom and dad, so I automatically go to a younger Thomas and his younger version of Logan. The song just asks a bunch of questions that feel like things a little kid might ask (“Have I made you cross? Have I made you sad? Have I made you proud Mom?” “How white is the snow, Does it matter after all?Will I ever learn How to fly like a birds?” “Are you going to school? Are you far from home? Are you well alone Dad? Will I be a brave? Will I be a bright? Will I be a good grown up?”). Logan may have represented more of Curiosity in Thomas’ younger years than Logic. A lot of Logan’s songs have an encompasing theme of wonder and curiosity being amazing things to have. I think Logan really values that part of himself/Thomas.

15) Sunrise: Yes! The love song everyone! I’ll shut that down right away and say that Logan DOES NOT UNDERSTAND LOVE. He isn’t even capable of “love” as some of the other side may be. He of course understands love and how it works, but it’s merely a process to him, and a word which he’s openly stated that he doesn’t like to use. So lets try to look at this from Logan’s perspective. The song is literally about learning spanish, yes its clearly romantic, but its about learning spanish. Something that Logan has shown an interest in since wayyyy back at the begining of the series. I like to imagine that this song came up in Thomas’ playlist and Logan was overjoyed that Thomas was not only learning something from the song, but also learning spanish!

16) One More Time with Feeling: This one feels kind of tough to crack. To me, I get the feeling that Logan’s again talking about the others and the fact that they don’t listen to him. He prepares his words and hopes to get through to them, but is only welcomed by blank faces and misunderstanding (“Everyone takes turns. Now it's yours to play the part And they're sitting all around you, Holding copies of your chart, And the misery inside their eyes is Synchronized and reflecting into yours”). After getting shut down, Logan tries again ‘with feeling this time’, hoping to get through, but it falls flat over and over again (“Hold on. One more time with feeling. Try it again, breathing's just a rhythm. Say it in your mind until you know that the words are right”). Logan has been trying really hard to appeal to the others in different way, but if seems like it never works in his opinion (“You thought by now you'd be So much better than you are. You thought by now they'd see That you had come so far”). He want’s to finally be shown the respect that he believes he deserves and hopes to one day be loved by the others and much as they love each other (“And the pride inside their eyes Would synchronized into a love you've never known. So much more than you've been shown”).

17) In My Mind: Logan has a drastically different view of Thomas’ future than is actually the case (“In a future five years from now. I'm one hundred and twenty pounds, And I never get hung over Because I will be the picture of discipline” “And I will be someone I admire And it's funny how I imagined That I would be that person now, But it does not seem to have happened” “Maybe I've just forgotten how to see That I am not exactly the person that I thought I'd be”). He’s realized that he has some unrealistic expectations for Thomas and that’s odd to him as, logically, things should have played out how he thought they would. At the end of the song, Logan seems to accept the fact that even though Thomas hasn’t strictly followed the plan that Logan expected, he’s still doing great and succeeding at life (“I am exactly the person that I want to be”).

18) Not Perfect: This song has a lot of lyrics, but most of them can be taken at face value. Logan recognizes that everything in Thomas’ life (his world, his country, his house, his body, and his brain) is not perfect. I’m sure it’s a metaphor for Logan realizing that he, himself, is not perfect and he’s begining to realize that he can’t solve every problem.

19) Human: This song is also long. REALLY LONG. But thankfully it is fairly straight forward. When life is getting Thomas (or any of the sides down) Logan will list facts about their life as a human that are supposed to be comforting or inspirational. It’s basically just like Galaxy song, but a bit more personal and loving. Here’s just some cute quotes from it to keep you all going: “For you are a force of skin & nails & heart. A walking Monae, you're breathing art” “The average human heart will beat over 100 million times in one lifetime. I'm sure you'll find someone who won't mind skipping one for you” “You need to grow up. You need to grow out of things. When something doesn't belong, even your body knows when it's time for that thing to be Replaced” “15 million blood cells are Destroyed in a human body every second. If your body can get over it You can get over that last relationship”). Basically Logan trying to ground Thomas in reality to make him realize that everything he’s going through is just human.

20) Time Adventure: (ughhh this song make me cry every time I hear it) That being said, I was a bit surprised to hear this on Logan’s album and not Pattons. Not only that, but it’s his finishing song. The song is all about growing up and how, even though time passes, you will always have the good memories that you built along the way. It’s also about how, no matter how much time passes, the singer and the person theyre singing about will always be friends. Seems kind of like a weird song choice for Logan right? It seems like it needs to include Patton in someway... So perhaps its Logan trying to comfort Patton. Patton has shown a fear of growing up and changing, so perhaps telling him that he’ll always have a friend in Logan no matter how the times change is something that Logan does to ease his worries.

(Oh boy... this one took a long time 😅 Sorry about that! Like usual, let me know what you think and give your own opinions if you’d like!)

[sunpdf]

can you do 3, 7, 13, 22 and 100?? and mayb if i want.. elaborate as to why you listen to it / how it makes you feel ?? 🥺💌

yes of course :’)

3. if it wasnt for the nights by abba 

this year has been ROUGH but my go-to pick me up song? if it wasnt for the nights baby! i listen to this when im feeling down and i need to motivate myself to go shower or study or just when im feeling like dancing around  

its definitely one of my favorite songs of all time and i have a lot of really good memories i associate with it :’) i used to work at a cafe before all of this happened and i remember blasting this while closing at the end of the day when everyone had left? i was listening to it on my way to my first date with my partner too! and once i was doing a silly little friendship quiz with my friend @persimmongal and one of the questions was “what is your friends favorite song” and i said i didnt really think i had one but she said she thought i did and that it was if it wasnt for the nights and i didnt know it then but she was right! it is! 

i think most of all it reminds me of the moments when i was growing into the best version of myself and being with my found family

7. tal uno by barrie 

i remember all the times @persimmongal told me to listen to this band. i kept forgetting to so i didnt really begin listening to barrie until maybe january of february of this year? but once i did i was hooked 

i have a tendency to get attached to certain songs for about a week at a time? basically ill listen to that song on repeat for hours every day for at least a few days in a row lmao. im pretty sure its a neurodivergent thing 

plus, im not sure what the exact name for it is but i think i really like dream pop genre of music. im really prone to zoning out and it does cause me to just forget i exist a lot of the time but not in a bad way. it makes me forget i exist in a relaxing way

13. rhiannon by fleetwood mac 

im not sure what to say about this one - it was definitely one of the songs my brain latched onto at a certain point this year. i remember i was going through a pretty bad depressive episode and i was working a lot at that time to distract myself from a lot of what was going on in my life

22. saturated by barrie 

wow you picked out two (2) barrie songs! this one is kind of the same situation as tal uno? almost all of my memories with this song i associate with @persimmongal! it reminds me of studying together with her at our favorite cafes. and we take different busses home but we used to have this little tradition where i would take her bus with her for just one (1) stop just to spend the extra 5 minutes together

100. im looking through you by the beatles 

i remember writing letters while listening to this? i had a pretty strong beatles phase in middle school lmao. i dont listen to them very much anymore but there are a few beatles songs that i listened to on repeat for weeks this year and those were michelle and im looking through you 

[mcuspidey-archive]

bulletproof | t.h. — part one

Pairing: Agent!Tom x Agent!Reader

Word Count: 1.6k

Summary: You have one job. Get the evidence and get out. Should be easy enough but with your incredibly irresistible partner in your ear the whole time, it’s a little hard to stay focused.

Warning: A LOT OF DIALOGUE, crime, cursing, angst, major flirting like, did I mention dialogue !!!! 

A/N: COLLAB WITH @thelazypangolin ! This started as a blurb request but I was so inspired and excited about it that I knew it had to be BIG and I couldn’t do it alone. I’m honored to be writing with her and we honestly are having so much fun with it that I’d be shocked if it didn’t turn into an entire series. (That will depend on the feedback we get so please let us know what you think ok?) We are just so proud of this and we really hope you enjoy it ❤️

Your hands reach for the computer that sat in front of you as drops of perspiration trickle down your forehead. You were well aware that the mission would be risky, but your lazy ass hated time-bound tasks enough for you to start stressing out.

Your hand finds the mini USB drive you had stashed in your back pocket earlier and despite it being a minute device, it would be the deciding factor on whether your assignment failed or succeeded.

“Y/N, you sure you can handle this one?” Tom’s voice flows softly through the tiny earpiece.

He was always teasing you and you loved it, but of course would never admit it. Rolling your eyes at the hidden cameras surrounding you, you hear him laugh.

“I can handle anything,” you assure him, a sly smirk spreads across your face. It was true and he knew it. You had only been working together for a few months and he already knew you better than anyone else ever had. You’re strong, the strongest person he knows, and so fearless. It was the reason you were offered the position in the first place because no matter what, you never backed down.

“I know. But are you sure you can stay focused, love? You look so sexy right now.” He tests you and you know he’s busy eyeing the black, skin-tight pants and red leather jacket that were hugging you in all the right places.

“Something tells me that you are the one who's having a hard time focusing, eh Holland?” you chuckle, hiding the underlying anxiety.

“I might be more focused if you dressed more professionally, ya know,” his voice saturates your being, officially distracting you. Though it wouldn't be exactly wrong to say that you did love all the distraction he brought to the job.

“Maybe I’m just trying to show you what you’ve been missing out on,” you say, a little too confidently. You knew you needed to be completely invested in the screen in front of you, but couldn’t help yourself. You dished it right back, only you were better at it and you wished you could see his reactions.

You hear his voice hitch and he lets out a soft groan. “You sure, this is the right time and the right place to show that?”

“Better now than never.” Your fingers tap nervously on all the possible combinations of numbers to unlock the information, yet you manage to let the words glide effortlessly.

“How 'bout after we’re done here?” He says, sending a shiver up your spine as you imagine the gorgeous, uneven grin he most likely had on his face. You gasp dramatically. “Tom Holland, are you asking me out?”

“I might be,” he says and a nervous laugh escapes his lips. It had been months of continuous flirting and ensuing tension between the two of you, and he chose now to do this?

Getting too caught up in him, you enter just enough wrong combinations.

The analogue display immediately sets to 10:00.

“Y/N?”

“I’m fine, it’s just- I may have set off the intruder alert, no big deal,” you try to brush it off. The fact that you made a mistake in the first place was bad enough.

“Y/N, they’re going to be there any minute, most likely armed, do you hear me? Get out!” Panic ringing clearly through his words.

09:00

“I uh-” you glance at the illuminated numbers. “-still have nine minutes. I can do this.” You fake confidence to pacify your partner's concerns but on the inside, you knew that you were fucked, big time.

“No damn it, the moment that clock hits zero, this entire building blows up and all the evidence with be destroyed. You are not going down with it,” Tom was almost yelling through the earpiece, his shrill voice making your already pounding heart beat out of your chest.

“Tom, I have nine-” you correct yourself as your eyes find the blinking red warning once again. “-eight and a half minutes and I can and will make it.”

It would go against the image you had worked so hard to maintain so no, you were not leaving this unfinished. You were given the nearly impossible task of catching these guys. Known to be one of the most dangerous group of criminals and their specialty? Importing stolen money which you were chosen to get proof of on the tiny USB drive now plugged to the computer. It was safe to say that you were scared, a feeling you weren’t familiar with because when it came to what you did for a living, you almost never felt fear. Now with the time still ticking down, 08:00, your nerves threaten to get the best of you.

“Come on, come on,” You urge the data percentage to move faster as it feels like it stays at 43% for hours instead of mere seconds.

Tom was still frantic, his melodic tone that usually calms you down, now builds you up and not in the good way.

“Listen to me, Y/N. Get out right now or I swear I will come in after you,” he scolded seriously and there was no doubt in your mind that he would. But you couldn’t let them get away with this and he was just going to have to trust you.

07:00

“I can’t,” you shake your head, about to say exactly what he didn’t want to hear. “I-I have to see this through, otherwise it’s all for nothing.”

“If they see you, you’re dead. If you hide and that timer stops, you're dead. You might be willing to risk your life but I’m not!” Tom yells again, needing you to just listen to him for once. You could tell he was pacing back and forth and with each step that echoed through the speaker, you felt more anxious and equally annoyed.

“I’m staying, Tom. I’ll be fine. You know I always am,” your wavering tone barely convincing you as you try to ease his frantic heart.

“This is different! Your life's on the line and I refuse to just sit in this damn van and let it happen.” He was trying everything because maybe something he said would change your mind. Or at the very least, his voice. Always calm and smooth as silk somehow, even when he was pissed off. One of his many features that typically made you weak, but right now? It just wasn’t enough.

As much as the situation was testing you, Tom's words weren't making it any better and engulfed with rage, you snap. “My life is always on the line. None of our missions are without risks!”

The deafening sound of Tom's fists slamming on the tabletop fills your ears, making you flinch. “There is no mission if you're dead,” he screamed and you take a deep breath and keep watching the data that was close to 78% now. Any second now.

“Can you hear me, Y/N?” Tom heaves a sigh and you swear you could feel his warm breath calm your nerves. You shut your eyes close and muster the courage to utter at least a single word that wouldn't shatter your hopes anymore.

“Please… Listen to me, I can’t lose you,” Tom's voice is a mere whisper and your heart sinks at the possibility of the inevitable.

Nevertheless, you shake your head and put your fingers to your ear. “Tom, I'll make it. Trust me,” you assure him and swallow harshly as your eyes well up. You never were the emotional one, you had aced the impossible before, but today just happened to be the day when your heart ached and you wished to melt in someone's arms. Tom's arms.

“I love you.”

You blink your eyes and furrow your brows. “What?”

“I said I love you, Y/N.” You feel the pain in his voice despite the barriers and your brimming eyes overflow just enough to let a tear stain your cheek.

03:00

“Y-you?” Your lip quivers and breath gets caught up in your throat. You sniffle and shut your eyes, it wasn't real. “Do you-”

“I have been in love with you ever since that first fucking day,” he said, sure and steady.

Silence.

You swallow harshly as your eyes watch the data percentage reach close to 98%. Your fingers tap on the table in front of you, ready to pull out the device and run for your life. To run to him.

“Y/N?” You feel heart-wrenching pain as your name rolls  off his tongue. How little a gesture, yet still left you in misery.

01:00

“Dammit, talk to me!” The voice in your ears was loud, loud and desperate. You could even hear the tapping of his foot, like the world silenced every other sound so you could savour the last moment, let his words engulf you for the last time.

100%

“Done,” you manage to slip the word out.

“Run, Y/N!” he screams over the comms and you inhale deeply. Show time.

Your fingers wrap around the device and you pull it with a jerk and take to your heels. Your vision grows hazy and you hastily wipe your eyes with the back of your hand but it doesn't help. Your pools were clouded, but your thoughts weren't. Tom was quiet yet his voice was still playing at the back of your mind like a broken record and you loved it. Maybe it was the last time that you got to hear it and if so, at least it was filled with the love that you desperately needed.

You stumble and then regain your balance.

You had done this before.

You harshly clear your throat and part your lips to let the words out. You couldn't wait to be in his arms, to tell him that you felt exactly the same but your current situation wasn't assuring your chances of escape. You take a gust of air in through your parted lips and manage to push the words out.

00:00

“I lo-”

Boom.

My masterlist | Amy’s masterlist

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[mekatrio]

thinking abt the shortcomings of pokespe (which are fine and to be expected in a series for children) and finding a lot of it to be Shounen Protagonist Syndrome which might not be the correct term for it, but basically the fact that the protag has to be stronger and better than every other character for the sake of the plot. a common way it gets justified is that the shounen protag has some sort of Power whether some ancient strong demon was born into them or their #TragicBackstory is some sort of experimentation or whatever the fuck luffy did. eat a devils apple or something. like its fine when it gets explored and paced properly but when it isnt then it just feels silly and unreasonable (<- what pokespe falls into the trap of unfortunately)

and basically this ended up making me think abt cloud strife bc wow he really is such a great deconstruction of this idea. he has the perfect setup to be ur overpowered hero dude with tragic experimentation and the Power (of mako) injected into him bla bla and even without that setup he tossed mfing Sephiroth into the mako blender at the young age of 16 with nothing but toothpick arms and the fervor of vengeance. except he doesnt get to be your hero dude at fucking all, he gets to be cool for one intro mission and then its time to play dressup and its all downhill from there. just one embarassment after another!

and not just his character but the plot he functions in deconstructs this idea too, bc instead of overcoming hardships by winning battles, ff7 has cloud losing like every single important plot point that matters. cloud and co dont stop the plate from falling, they dont save aerith, they dont stop meteor from being summoned, they dont stop shinra from shooting the ultimate materia into space, they dont stop weapon from wrecking midgar, and they dont even stop meteor (debatably). this party doesnt do SHIT.

and thats kinda amazing. fictional stories (shounen genre ones at least) are saturated with your archetypal Hero who is badass and is stronger than everyone and if that wasnt ur taste then ur other option was Edgy Antihero or The Land of Metaphorical Storytelling. then here comes mr toothpick arm strife showing a completely new path that can be taken: A Complete Fucking Loser. but such a well written loser. because while its nice for fictional medias to do their best to inspire us to give it our all to succeed, a lot of the time we dont! and of course shonen-esque media will have the protag lose every now and then, but again, itll be for the sake of the plot. they lose just so they can ultimately win. but in ff7, you NEVER win. its a failure after failure. you suck. but these characters keep picking themselves up after each loss, they keep trying again, and it is very touching and inspiring. to me at least, it is honestly more relatable and moving than a story where the hero's wins a penultimate battle after countless of toil and trouble. in ff7 they do the best that they can (which couldnt directly stop meteor) and leave the rest in fate's hand, which is just so different, but in the best way.

you would think that a story like ff7 wouldve been replicated more times, but ive yet to see another media do it in a similar way, with both their story beats + protag. i can think of stories that are like bad news after bad news, but none with fittingly appropriate losers of a protag. but i also have memory problems so i might recall one in like 2 days. but that aside its crazy that when cloud strife Is replicated, its his stupid hair and Cool Facade (which is supposed to be ironic/completely fake but then people make characters where thats their whole schtick like wht are u doing!!). anyways i love u cloud strife number 1 protag always in my heart

[amodernpieceofglasswork]

i like this because it's true

I like this because it's true.

https://artguide.com.au/paul-yore-on-the-radical-slowness-of-craft/

Idk paul yore but i look through some of his works and im immediately drawn towards it. and this interview... sums up how i really feel.

radical slowness

i was irritated and moody and i realised, it was because i wanted things to happen. and even in my complaints about other people and things, the core message was that i expected things to happen. what can happen. perhaps i wanted some sort of gratification. and i needed to be satiated. i said that i had this hole and i wanted to cram it with anything... and it was because i needed to be filled.

i thought about this that day, when i took a long nap after a very uneventful morning. i got up and ate a slice of chocolate crepe cake that was in the fridge. i avoided the studio because the table is a mess - and it wasnt a good mess, it was full of things that i was trying to make happen but failed. i didnt get any kind of satisfaction. after i took the nap and i ate the cake and shortly after, i felt BORED, i felt bad. like all i did was to satisfy my very simple barbarian needs and i had nothing to show for it.

so i told myself to procrastinate more, and simple tasks that i put off start to appear in my dreams, and i felt irritated and i had no sense of pleasure.

remix

all of these source materials came from some project or another. i decided to shred them up so that they can become something else. i like a lot of things and i let my different interests and tastes mingle, until something good comes out of it. when i stop doing something, especially for illustrations, i feel like i've exhausted that discipline. after doing a lot of drawings, i wanted to stop, but there's still a lot of creative fuel left inside and they often become a some sort of remix-collage-glitchy mess. during this time, i look a lot at objects, and things that are not two dimensional. i wanted to make something with my hands.

i often have a lot of creative voices in my head and i have a lot of extremities and specifics. i like the combination of white and blue (i.e china porcelain), or just the use of that singular colour blue. i like a certain range of colours together, like very bright neons. i don't like and absolutely avoid all neutrals, beigey things. i like black and white a lot, or just black on its own. black as a contrast against bright neons. all black and all colour. and i like glitchy, collage things, and it feels like all these tiny obsessions have a place in this glitchy collage mess, and these bits are all made of the individual works that i've created to express these obsessions.

i like a big, messy saturated visual treat, and this is what the zine is about on the front, and the inside of it, the black text on the newsprint, with hand stamped lino cut header texts, complements that saturated expression on the front.

on the slowness of making, i don't want to feel so bad anymore about letting things wait. i've never made or eaten sourdough bread in my life, but i've read up on the process and i can see how making the bread feels like a satisfying hobby for many of us. i used to think that making work as an artist should reflect a sort of season. seasons and cyclical nature. i completely agree with that. and the pandemic, being locked up at home, forces me to understand this better. when i feel that force and that guilt and impatience building up and asking myself why am i not making something faster, better, i have to be reminded of the cyclical nature of things, and even then, i don't always feel better until i am conscious about letting go of things.

i spend the afternoon colouring a dinosaur.

[midnightcoffeerain]

Colours

___________________________________

You’re dripping like a saturated sunrise

You’re spilling like an overflowing sink

You’re ripped at every edge but you’re a masterpiece

And now i’m tearing through the pages and the ink

Bucky Barnes / Reader (OC)

Auras & healing.

_______________________________________

“What colours my aura?” He asks from across the room.

“Hmmmm?” you ask lifting your head up to the man in front of you. The question caught you a little off guard, you had been together for 2 years yet he hadn't ever even hinted about asking. Everyone else had asked a few weeks after meeting you or in Tony's case straight away. But Bucky had never.

“What colors my aura?” He asks again.

“Now or when I met you?” you ask as he raises an eyebrow at you.

“It changed?” Bucky asks as you nod.

“It's rare but it can happen” you mumble putting hot water into two cups in front of you. You walked over to him handing him the cup.

You remembered the first time you met Bucky. Hell he tried to kill you and luckily Steve body slammed him before he managed to damage you too much. He did manage to shoot you though in the leg and being a healer the worst thing was you couldn't heal yourself. So when you didn't get your way you'd point to your leg and pretend the long healed wound was suddenly a problem again. The next time you met him, his body dripped with sadness and regret. His aura radiated from his body taking over the surrounding area. You never felt scared but sad for the man standing in front of you. He was surprised by how often you protected him from bad media coverage of him. You'd keep news stations reporting him off and papers clear knowing under that aura was something more. You spent hours around him trying to calm his emotions with your power. You never said it out loud but both him and Steve knew you were doing it and he was always grateful you did. You got him through some of the hardest nights in the tower. Your friendship blossomed into a relationship over a couple of months and soon became inseparable.

“You know the way auras have negative and positives by shades”

“Yeah depending on what the person's done or doing” He mumbles intertwining his fingers into yours.

“Yours was a negative black…”

You tightened your hand in his, noticing his eyes fall slightly and jaw clenching but you knew he wasn't that surprised.

“Your aura though was one of a kind” you continued as he brought his eyes back up to you. “There was a small dot of white Buck… tiny but there”

“White?” He asks surprised. While he never asked about his aura, he had asked what she could see. What colours and what did they mean with her often showing him shades of colours in her palms that she could see.

“That's why i always defended you from the first day you came here I knew this winter solider wasnt you but what you had been forced to do I couldn't heal your memory Bucky and it always frustrated me to no ends but i noticed something when we spent time together… the black started to fade”

“To white?” He asks

“No it faded to blue, when you came out of the brainwashing you turned bluey black, you were overwhelmed with sadness... then when you moved to the tower we spent more time together and the colour changed again to white”

“You said people are very rarely that colour”

“Yes”

“I just don't understand h-how could i be white?” he asks shaking his head letting go of your hand.

“I don't pick the colour, they're just naturally there”

“But white, that's pure and innocence right I've hurt people i've killed-”

“James Barnes you 100% are a pure white energy I've spent my life analysing emotions and auras and the only person whos ever come close to being worthy is you. Who you were while being controlled is not you and will never be you… it doesn't define you as a human being”

“I think your wrong-” he starts as you stop him again biting your lip.

“I'm not”

“Not about my aura i trust you, but i think you've a white aura too”

You broke a smile at him with a light chuckle.

“You think so?” you ask as he nods his head placing his hand back in yours.

“Am i the only one to have ever changed?” he asks after a silence.

“People can change shades from light to dark or dark to light over time but colour change is rare the only two I've seen is you and Loki” you mumble knowing the reaction coming.

“I know what i did was bad but i don't think i was that bad-”

“Loki has his flaws i know but look how far he's come since then”

“You say that like he's a child whos learning the rights and wrongs of life”

“The rights and wrongs of human life norse gods are fickle things..”

“He killed what hundreds of people and destroyed New York city” Bucky states squinting his eyes at you.

“He’s adopted” you smile gaining an eye roll from him.

~Requests for one shots and ships are open~

[staringblanklyataplant]

start

it has been a long time since i last journalled, mainly because life hasn’t been the most interesting ever since i graduated from eighteen years of formal education straight into the most mundane job in the world. also whenever i journal online i get this feeling of anxiety because it feels like i have an obligation to reflect myself as a happy go lucky person with the most positive attitude and mindset. today (and through a certain amount of anonymity) i will finally get down to jotting my emotions down again, before it gets the better of me.

i remember clearly how whenever there were those choose-one-word-to-describe-yourself questions i would always pick “positive” or “happy-go-lucky”, but those days are long gone. i think things started going downhill the day i realised that i was going to do accountancy in uni - and move on to an accountancy related career thereafter. eighteen years of young me anticipating what the future potentially had to offer was honestly a flop, sort of like a misleading movie trailer with the fanciest buildup. everything i said or did in my whole lifetime led up to the disappointing moment when i chose to enroll in accountancy at nus. school was a chore - getting into a straight As course without straight As meant that i was automatically in the bottom quartile of the cohort, let alone it being a course that i despised. there was so much stigma against accountancy that media portrayed, how it is the most boring job in the world but it pays well (which i now learnt that the latter is completely bullshit). when i was younger i didn’t know what i wanted to do when i grew up, but i definitely knew that i did not want to be an office worker with a 9 to 5 job. i mean at least i got half of it right - it is most definitely NOT a 9 to 5 job. 

i remember the first half of uni being my most depressing days, even though i often portrayed myself as a motivated and positive minded individual in school and in hall. my junior college friends were ganging up against me, i wasn’t enjoying what i was learning and in turn, this led to getting poor results in school. i recall one particular night, probably during the peak of my depressed state (that oxymoron) i broke down so hard in front of my mom. i was talking to my parents about how i was forced to do accountancy by them, mainly my father. being the stubborn self-righteous asian dad he was (and still is), he said, no full-on scolded me with something along the lines of “hey, we gave you the choices, you were the one who applied for them in the end, don’t go blaming on us when things don’t go your way”. what i wanted to do was something in the field of design or life sciences, which might or might not be in Singapore’s big three unis. design? oh the job market is saturated. life sciences? oh you’ll be stuck with research (which now that i think about it isn’t half bad at all, well, if you compare it to accountancy). things that i wanted to do slowly got struck off the list. what was i left with? dentistry, pharmacy, architecture - all of which are straight As courses and the closest things there were to arts or life sciences. and then we have accountancy and business - literally the only courses left after striking out sciences, (and the two that i actually strongly chose not to do)  computing and engineering. i KNOW if i did end up applying for courses that my dad struck out, i would have to face years and years of “why didn’t you do what i told you to” or “you will regret this, i told you so”. i was a naive kid, one that did not dare to stand up to her parents or even have her own opinions at home because any opinion that did not match my father’s would just lead to scolding and a bitter look of disdain from my mother. but what good does being an abiding child bring when all i did was cry myself to sleep almost every night knowing that the remaining of my youth has been ruined by the very people whom i thought only wanted the best for me?

being around motivated people has made me reflect upon myself and realise how little i have achieved in my life. while i have to give myself credit for pushing through 4 years of doing a bachelors in something that wasnt my first, second, third but fourth choice, i should probably stop giving the excuse of being forced to do something i didnt want to as a reason not to excel in a field. everyone started off the same. we are of the same age now yet look how different we are. definitely the environment people grow up in plays a part in defining their character. but what i do is i take the environment to blame. but blaming literally does not do anything. still leaves me as a person who has much i want to achieve yet not taking steps to achieve them. i am constantly in search of a catalyst, but the catalyst is myself after all. i have been pushing back everything and i am already 24. thinking back (as i always do), i think about how i should have done this and should have done that. and think of all the regrets i have for not starting on something while i was younger. but who says i am not still young? being around motivated people really makes me want to be as motivated as them. what do they have that i do not have? literally nothing. there are people out there who start off worse than me but are doing so much better now. i have said it many times but maybe this time i mean it for once - it is time for a change in attitude. sure i am not enjoying what i am doing now. but who says i cant excel in it? otherwise, who says i cant make a switch? i am always so worried of stability that i end up being so stable. what do i get in the end of it all? retirement? will i be happy then, knowing of all the other things i could have done in my lifetime but didnt? like how i look back now and think of all i could have done while i was still in school and had no responsibilities? what i have now is time and health. 

[writingguide003-blog]

'A total blast': our writers pick their favorite summer blockbusters ever

New Post has been published on https://writingguideto.com/must-see/a-total-blast-our-writers-pick-their-favorite-summer-blockbusters-ever/

'A total blast': our writers pick their favorite summer blockbusters ever

As the season heats up on the big screen, Guardian writers look back on their picks from the past with killer sharks, mournful crime-fighters and time-traveling teens

Face/Off (1997)

Photograph: Allstar/Cinetext/PARAMOUNT

Madman bomber Nicolas Cage stole John Travoltas dead sons life. So gloomy FBI agent Travolta steals Cages face. When Cage steals his face and his wife and freedom John Woos Face/Off becomes the biggest, wackiest and most operatic summer blockbuster in history, a gonzo combustion that flings everything from pigeons to peaches at the screen.

Hong Kong cineastes might applaud a script with roots in the ancient Sichuan opera genre Bian Lian, where performers swap masks like magic. Popcorn-munchers, of which I am front row center, are here to watch whack job Cage and soulful Travolta, two actors who love to go full-ham, play each other and go deep inside their iconographies. Call it hamception. Or just call it a crazy swing that hits a home run as Cavolta and Trage battling it out in a warehouse, a speedboat and, of course, a church. As Cage-as-Travolta gloats to Travolta-as-Cage, Isnt this religious? The eternal battle between good and evil, saint and sinners but youre still not having any fun! Maybe hes not, but we sure are. Bravo, bravo. AN

Edge of Tomorrow (2014)

Photograph: David James/Publicity image from film company

Theres been an increasing sense of desperation clinging to the majority of roles picked by Tom Cruise in recent years. Outside of the still shockingly entertaining Mission: Impossible series, he was miscast in the barely serviceable Jack Reacher and its maddeningly unnecessary sequel, his awards-aiming American Made was throwaway and his franchise-starting The Mummy was a franchise-killer. But four summers ago, he picked the right horse just maybe at the wrong time.

Because despite how deliriously fun Edge of Tomorrow was in the summer of 2014, audiences didnt show the requisite enthusiasm. It was a moderate success (enough to warrant a long-gestating sequel) but it should have packed them in, its combination of charm, invention and sheer thrills making it one of the most objectively successful blockbuster experiences in memory. The nifty plot device (Cruise must relive a day of dying while battling aliens over and over again) allowed for some dark gallows humor and a frenetic pace that kept us all giddily on edge while it also contained a dazzling action star turn from Emily Blunt whose fearless Full Metal Bitch wrestled the film away from Cruise. Blame its relative failure on the bland title? Cruise fatigue? Blockbuster over-saturation? Then find a digital copy to watch and rewatch and repeat. BL

Back to the Future (1985)

Photograph: Allstar/UNIVERSAL/Sportsphoto Ltd./Allstar

Back to the Future very nearly wasnt a summer blockbuster. The reshoots required after Eric Stoltz was booted off, then the fact Michael J Foxs Family Ties commitments meant he could only shoot at night all meant filming didnt wrap until late April. Robert Zemeckis and Steven Spielberg duly pencilled in an August / September release.

But then people started seeing it. Test scores were off the scale. Said producer Frank Marshall: Id never seen a preview like that. The audience went up to the ceiling. So they bagsied the best spot the year had to offer 3 July hired a squad of sound editors to work round the clock and two print editors with instructions to get properly choppy. They did, and those big trims tightened yet further one of the tautest screenplays (by Bob Gale) cinema has ever seen. The only bit of fat they left was the Johnny B Goode scene: sure, it didnt advance the story, but the kids at those test screenings knew we were gonna love it. Back to the Future is a pure shot of summer cinema: grand, ambitious, insanely entertaining. Deadpool, Avengers, take note: a blockbuster can be smart as hell so long as it wears it lightly. In the end, by the way, the film spent 11 weeks at number 1 at the US box office. Thats essentially the whole summer. CS

Teminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

Photograph: Allstar/TRISTAR/Sportsphoto Ltd./Allstar

The first film I ever saw at the cinema was The Rocketeer. We drove into Bradford city centre, bought our tickets at the Odeon and sat through the 1991 tale which followed the fortunes of a stunt pilot, a rocket pack and a Nazi agent played by Timothy Dalton who sounded like he was from Bury rather than Berlin. The way into the multiplex there was a huge poster for Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Arnie sat on a Harley with a shotgun cocked and ready. My dad was a huge fan of the original but he still couldnt swing taking a seven-year-old to see it. It wasnt until I borrowed a VHS copy that I finally got to see what was behind that image. Skynet, dipshits, T-1000s, a nuclear holocaust and a motorbike chases on the LA river.

Blockbusters dont usually have that edge: theres a more brazen mainstream appeal. But Judgment Day was and still is an exception. It did huge numbers at the box office (more than $500m), was a rare sequel that was arguably better than the original and introduced really odd bits of Spanish idiom into the Bradford schoolyard lexicon. I probably would have been scarred for life watching it as a seven-year-old, but as a teenager it gave me a story I doubt Ill ever get tired of revisiting. LB

The Dark Knight (2008)

Photograph: Allstar/WARNER BROS.

The summer of 2008 was a busy one: Barack Obama emerged from a contentious democratic primary to become the first ever black presidential nominee of a major party. The dam fortifying the entire global financial system was about to burst. China hosted its first ever Summer Olympics. But somehow, and not exactly to my credit, what I remember most from that summer is the uncanny, ridiculously over-the-top publicity blitzkrieg that preceded the release of The Dark Knight, which has since emerged as not just an all-time great summer blockbuster, but an all-time great American film, period.

There were faux-political billboards that read I believe in Harvey Dent; a weirdly nondescript website of the same name; Joker playing cards dispersed throughout comic book stores, which led fans to another website where the DA was defaced with clown makeup. Dentmobiles, Gotham City voter registration cards, a pop-up local news channel: the marketing campaign might have seemed excessive had the movie not so convincingly topped it. Ten years later, as films like Deadpool and Avengers: Infinity War try to reach those same heights of virality, The Dark Knight remains the measuring stick by which every superhero movie, and superhero villain, is measured. JN

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

Photograph: Jasin Boland/AP

In many ways, Fury Road is summer: arid, scorching, bright enough to be squinted at. The driving force behind all the high-impact driving is scarcity of water, the essence of life in a desert where death practically rises up from the burning sand. Even in the air-conditioned comfort of a multiplex auditorium in Washington DCs Chinatown, watching George Millers psychotic motor opera left this critic sweaty and parched. My world is fire and blood, warns the weary Max Rockatansky (Tom Hardy) in the scripts opening lines. Staggering out of a theater into the oppressive rays of the sun, it sure can feel that way.

Millers masterpiece fits into the summer blockbuster canon in a less literal capacity as well, striking its ideal balance of dazzling technical spectacle and massively-scaled emotional catharsis. There was plenty of breathless praise to go around upon this films 2015 release, much of it for the feats of practical-effects daring, but the hysterical extremes of feeling cemented its status as a modern classic. I cant deny that Ive watched the polecat sequence upwards of a dozen times, but Millers film truly comes alive in Furiosas howl of desperation, and in Maxs noble disappearance into the throng. CB

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

Photograph: Alamy Stock Photo

Its the music, its the giant boulder, its the Old Testament mysticism, its the whip, its the Cairo Swordsman, its Harrison Fords crooked smile, its the bad dates, its Karen Allen drinking a sherpa under the table, its the melted faces and exploding heads. Its all these things plus having the good fortune of seeing this at the cinema at a very young age, therefore watching most of it through my terrified fingers. (Indy tells Marion to keep her eyes shut during the cosmic spooky ending; way ahead of you there!)

The modern blockbuster as we know it was created by Steven Spielberg with Jaws and George Lucas with Star Wars, so the hype was unmatched when the two collaborated in 1981 with Raiders of the Lost Ark. As a kid I had no idea this was a loving homage to cliffhanger serials from the 30s and 40s, I took it as pure adventure. The seven-and-a-half minute desert truck chase (I dont know, Im making thus up as I go) is probably the best action sequence in all of cinema (John Woos Hard Boiled does not have a horse, sorry), but watching as an adult one notices a lot of sophisticated humor, too. (Indy being too exhausted to make love to Marion, for example, is something that didnt connect when I was six.)

Its strange to think I watched these cartoon Nazis on VHS with my grandparents who had escaped the Holocaust, and no one benefits when you do the math to figure out how young Marion was when, as Indy puts it, you knew what you were doing. But for thrills, laughs and propulsive camerawork (though a little mild Orientalism), nothing tops this one. JH

Independence Day (1996)

Photograph: Everett/REX/Shutterstock

Short of actually calling their film Summer Blockbuster, rarely can a films height-of-summer release date been so central to a films raison detre. This being the mid-90s, when po-mo and self-referentiality was all the rage, brazenly hooking your tentpole film to 4 July was seen as a pretty smart idea.

Fortunately, all the ducks did line up in a row for ID4: a game-changing performance from Will Smith, Jeff Goldblum at (arguably) his funniest, a rousingly Clintoneque president in Bill Pullman and most importantly in that run-up to the millennium physical destruction on a gigantic scale. Much comment at the time was expended on the laser obliteration of the White House (an early shot from the Tea Party/Maga crowd?), but I personally cherish director Roland Emmerichs signature move of detonating cars in somersault formation. Like many other huge-budget films then and since, Independence Day was basically a tooled-up retread of cheap-as-chips format of earlier decades though who these days would roll such expensive dice on what is essentially an original script, with no comic book or toy branding as a forerunner? We shall never see its like again. AP

Aliens (1986)

Photograph: Allstar/20 CENTURY FOX/Sportsphoto Ltd./Allstar

An Aliens summer is one for moviegoers who prefer to sit in in darkened rooms when the sun is shining; the brutal confines of the fiery power plant make an excellent subliminal ad for air conditioning. In 1986, James Cameron took Ridley Scotts elegant, iconic horror template and turned it into an all-out action blockbuster, forcing Ripley once again to face down her nemeses in a breathless fug of claustrophobia, sweat and fear. Its relentlessly stressful and unbelievably thrilling.

I first saw Aliens many years after its initial release. Owing to its sizeable and long-lasting legacy, it was at once immediately familiar, yet also brisk and brutally fresh. I understood that it was a classic, but I wasnt prepared for just how good it is, for the pitch-perfect management of tension, the pace that never really lets up, the emotional pull. The maternal undertow of Ripleys protection of Newt, and the alien mirror of that, adds a level of heart unusual in most blockbusters, and her frustration at being a woman whose authority must be earned again and again, and then proven again and again, remains grimly relevant, 30 years on. Its also a total blast. Now get away from her, you bitch. RN

Jaws (1975)

Photograph: Fotos International/Getty Images

It is the great summer blockbuster ancestor the film that in 1975 more or less invented the concept of the event movie. And unlike all those other summer blockbusters, Steven Spielbergs Jaws is actually about the summer; it is explicitly about the institution of the summer vacation, into which the movie was being sold as part of the seasonal entertainment. It is about the sun, the sand, the beach, the ocean and the entirely justified fear of being eaten alive by an enormous shark with the appetite of a serial killer and the cunning of a U-boat commander. And more than that: it is about that most contemporary of political phenomena: the coverup, the town authorities at a seaside resort putting vacationers at risk by not warning them about the shark. The Jaws mayor has become comic shorthand for the craven and pusillanimous politician.

A blockbuster nowadays means spectacular digital effects, but this film is from an analogue world. It bust the block through brilliant film-making and an inspired score from John Williams, summoning up the shark with a simple two-note theme which became the most famous musical expression of evil since Bernard Herrmanns shrieking violin stabs in Psycho took the place of actual knife-slashing. I still remember the excitement of the summer of 1975, and the queues around the block at the Empire, in Watford, round the corner from the football ground. The inspired brevity of the title meant the word was repeated over and over again to fill the marquee display: JAWS JAWS JAWS as if they were screaming it! PB

Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/us