#I have a bootleg one already but I want an official

[mushramoo]

I might be about to cop an official lolbit hehehehe

[hinadori-chan]

jsyk i’m not above buying different color variants of the same figure. i’ve done it twice now

[kozidraws]

Bakugo hates crowds.

He also hates malls.

Yet where does he find himself at 4pm on a Friday afternoon?

At a crowded fucking mall, no thanks to Kirishima.

Kirishima had begged Bakugo for hours the day before to go with him to check out a pop culture store because he heard rumours that there were Nendoroid figurines of their class and class B.

Bakugo very much not wanting to go, points out that they’re going to be shitty knock offs since none of them have signed any merchandise contracts yet. Logical argument, an easy victory for him.

But Kirishima’s counterpoint?

Pouting and bringing out the puppy dog eyes.

Fucking cheater.

He hates when Kirishima does that. (No, he doesn’t).

So now Bakugo finds himself in an extremely cluttered store, Kirishima’s arm wrapped around his shoulders and directing them between rows and rows of ‘official hero merch TM.’

Bakugo lifts a hand to double check that his face mask and beanie are still secure while Kirishima ushers him along. He wouldn’t be caught dead buying any of this junk, all his All Might figures are 100% authentic, thank you very much.

Kirishima on the other hand, looks like a kid in a candy store, ‘ohhing’ it and ‘ahhing’ at any figure that looks super manly.

That’s one word for them…

Bakugo spots a Best Jeanist figure that makes the fibre hero look like a blue giraffe and can’t help but bark out a laugh.

When they finally get to the rumoured Nendoroid section Kirishima slips his arm of Bakugo and practically lunges towards the shelves, instantly grabbing figures of the ‘Bakusquad’ (their words- not his), then practically shoves the boxes in Bakugo’s face.

Blobs of yellow, pink and black so close to Bakugo’s eyes he goes slightly cross eyed before huffing and softly swatting Kirishima’s hand away, “Again Kirishima, they’re just knockoffs.”

Kirishima dramatically gasps in mock offence, cradling their friends and leaning away as if to shield them, “but they’re real to me!”

Bakugo crosses his arms and scoffs, “You’re such a dork.”

Kirishima shifts the figures into the crook of his elbow as he keeps browsing the shelves, inspecting a Uravity figurine before placing it back on the shelf. “Perhaps. They may be knockoffs, but it’s the fist time I’ve seen us as merch! I want to keep them as a memento before we go pro and get licensed and all that jazz.”

“Sap.”

Kirishima grins in response, then turns his head towards the store clerk, “Hey man, do you have any Dynamight ones?”

Bakugo can’t help the instant blush that spreads across his face, he feels so flustered that the clerk is going to recognise who he is he snatches Kirishima’s sleeve, trying to yank him towards the exit but Kirishima doesn’t budge, the jerk. Giving up, Bakugo quickly hikes his face mask higher up and tugs his beanie down to hide more of his hair.

The shopkeeper shakes his head as he’s stocking the shelves, “Out of stock kid, Dynamight is always the first one to go. Will probably get a restock in a week or so if you want to come back then.”

“Aww, that’s a shame,” Kirishima pouts. He’s clearly disappointed (and Bakugo tries not to read into /that/) before the redhead perks back up with a smirk, leaning against him to whisper “Look at you Mr Popular, already number one. But that’s okay, I’m willing to wait for you.”

Bakugo elbows him in response, tempted to headlock his best friend in public but the wary glare the clerk sends his way stops him. Looking back to the figures he spots a Red Riot looking up at him from the bottom shelf and snatches it up. Now it was his turn to shove a figure into Kirishima’s face, “You forgot someone.”

Kirishima’s eyes flicker down and then away, not as enthused as he was before. “Nah don’t need one of me, I just wanted y- the squad!”

“Which includes you-”

“I only have enough money for these.”

Bakugo pauses, feeling defensive on the redhead’s behalf, because Kirishima was always dismissive of things that represented himself. He knew Kirishima could feel Bakugo eyes staring hard at him, but he pretends to look busy while he shuffles the figures in his arms.

Two can play that game.

Bakugo leans against the shelves and shrugs, “Fine, let’s go so you can buy our pack of nerds,” He watches Kirishima’s shoulders ease in relief of the conversation drop before Bakugo holds up the Red Riot box in his own hand and adds, “But I’m taking Red Riot home with me.”

It was worth it watching Kirishima choke on air, cheeks darkening by the second. Now it was the redhead’s turn to try and snatch the figure out of Bakugo’s hand, whining that it’s not worth it, but the blond skilfully dodges him. He struts up to the counter first to drop more yen than what was needed, telling the clerk to keep the change before speed-walking out, leaving Kirishima to fumble with his figurines and wallet to pay.

When Kirishima finally catches up he lightly whacks Bakugo’s leg with the bag. He lets out an exasperated sigh, but Bakugo can see the small blush that stains his cheeks, “You’re a real gremlin when you want to be.”

Bakugo smirks, bumping his shoulder into him in retaliation, “And don’t you forget it.”

————————

TBC

————————

Also on ao3!

[icedragonlizard]

Dark Meta Knight deserves a plushie.

Kind of nuts that he's still the only dream friend that doesn't have an official plushie at all, aside from the three mage sisters.

I know I just posted my Kirby plushie collection a few hours ago. There was a time where I was considering getting the plushies for Adeleine, Ribbon and Daroach... but then they'd be missing their fellow wave 2 companion and I don't really want that for them. All or none there!

If they actually do ever make a DMK plushie, then I'd probably get all the wave 2 dream friends. But until then, nah. I'd feel kinda bad for DMK being the odd one out if I got the other three, so I'll wait until they make one for him so by then I can get all four of them together.

I could name a lot of Kirby characters that deserve plushies. The mage sisters, of course, since they're the other dream friends that don't have plushies. Funny how they skipped them completely and did an Elfilin plush at around literally the same year as Forgotten Land?

I'd love it if Galacta Knight, Ice Dragon or Dark Matter Swordsman were to get plushies, I'd get them as soon as possible. Not getting bootleg Galacta. And yes I'm aware there was already an official Ice Dragon plush for the Roly-Poly merch line, but there's no available way for me to get it anymore. A Sanei manufactured Ice Dragon would be way better anyways. That'd be wholesome.

But if I had to prioritize which ones should get plushies, DMK should be among the top. That way, we'd have all the wave 2 dream friends as plushies. We already have everyone in both wave 1 and wave 3.

[aurumacadicus]

Can you believe it's time to choose our book for March already? And every single choice an absolute banger! If you'd like to join the book club, feel free to send me a message and I'll drop you the link to our Discord! Book summaries are under the cut!

Unseelie by Ivelisse Housman

Twin sisters, both on the run, but different as day and night. One, a professional rogue, searches for a fabled treasure; the other, a changeling, searches for the truth behind her origins, trying to find a place to fit in with the realm of fae who made her and the humans who shun her. Iselia “Seelie” Graygrove looks just like her twin, Isolde… but as an autistic changeling trying to navigate her unpredictable magic, Seelie finds it more difficult to fit in with the humans around her. When Seelie and Isolde are caught up in a heist gone wrong and make some unexpected allies, they find themselves unraveling a larger mystery that has its roots in the history of humans and fae alike.

Both sisters soon discover that the secrets of the faeries may be more valuable than any pile of gold and jewels. But can Seelie harness her magic in time to protect her sister, and herself?

Bindle Punk Bruja by Desideria Mesa

A part-time reporter and club owner takes on crooked city councilmen, mysterious and deadly mobsters, and society’s deeply rooted sexism and racism, all while keeping her true identity and magical abilities hidden – inspired by an ancient Mexican folktale.

Yo soy quien soy. I am who I am.

Luna—or depending on who’s asking, Rose—is the white-passing daughter of an immigrant mother who has seen what happens to people from her culture. This world is prejudicial, and she must hide her identity in pursuit of owning an illegal jazz club. Using her cunning powers, Rose negotiates with dangerous criminals as she climbs up Kansas City’s bootlegging ladder. Luna, however, runs the risk of losing everything if the crooked city councilmen and ruthless mobsters discover her ties to an immigrant boxcar community that secretly houses witches. Last thing she wants is to put her entire family in danger.

But this bruja with ever-growing magical abilities can never resist a good fight. With her new identity, Rose, an unabashed flapper, defies societal expectations all while struggling to keep her true self and witchcraft in check. However, the harder she tries to avoid scrutiny, the more her efforts eventually capture unwanted attention. Soon, she finds herself surrounded by greed and every brand of bigotry—from local gangsters who want a piece of the action and businessmen who hate her diverse staff to the Ku Klux Klan and Al Capone. Will her earth magic be enough to save her friends and family? As much as she hates to admit it, she may need to learn to have faith in others—and learning to trust may prove to be her biggest ambition yet.

Scorched Grace by Margo Douaihy

Sister Holiday, a chain-smoking, heavily tattooed, queer nun, puts her amateur sleuthing skills to the test in this debut crime novel.

When Saint Sebastian’s School becomes the target of a shocking arson spree, the Sisters of the Sublime Blood and their surrounding community are thrust into chaos. Unsatisfied with the officials’ response, sardonic and headstrong Sister Holiday becomes determined to unveil the mysterious attacker herself and return her home and sanctuary to its former peace. Her investigation leads down a twisty path of suspicion and secrets in the sticky, oppressive New Orleans heat, turning her against colleagues, students, and even fellow Sisters along the way.

Sister Holiday is more faithful than most, but she’s no saint. To piece together the clues of this high-stakes mystery, she must first reckon with the sins of her checkered past—and neither task will be easy.

An exciting start to Margo Douaihy’s bold series for Gillian Flynn Books that breathes new life into the hard-boiled genre, Scorched Grace is a fast-paced and punchy whodunnit that will keep readers guessing until the very end.

The Shadow in the Glass by J.J.A. Harwood

Once upon a time Ella had wished for more than her life as a lowly maid.

Now forced to work hard under the unforgiving, lecherous gaze of the man she once called stepfather, Ella’s only refuge is in the books she reads by candlelight, secreted away in the library she isn’t permitted to enter.

One night, among her beloved books of far-off lands, Ella’s wishes are answered. At the stroke of midnight, a fairy godmother makes her an offer that will change her life: seven wishes, hers to make as she pleases. But each wish comes at a price and Ella must decide whether it’s one she’s willing pay.

A smoldering, terrifying new spin on Cinderella – perfect for fans of Laura Purcell and Erin Morgenstern.

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

In this exhilarating novel, two friends—often in love, but never lovers—come together as creative partners in the world of video game design, where success brings them fame, joy, tragedy, duplicity, and, ultimately, a kind of immortality.

On a bitter-cold day, in the December of his junior year at Harvard, Sam Masur exits a subway car and sees, amid the hordes of people waiting on the platform, Sadie Green. He calls her name. For a moment, she pretends she hasn’t heard him, but then, she turns, and a game begins: a legendary collaboration that will launch them to stardom. These friends, intimates since childhood, borrow money, beg favors, and, before even graduating college, they have created their first blockbuster, Ichigo. Overnight, the world is theirs. Not even twenty-five years old, Sam and Sadie are brilliant, successful, and rich, but these qualities won’t protect them from their own creative ambitions of the betrayals of their hearts.

Spanning thirty years, from Cambridge, Massachusetts, to Venice Beach, California, and lands in between and far beyond, Gabrielle Zevin’s Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is a dazzling and intricately imagined novel that examines the multifarious nature of identity, disability, failure, the redemptive possibilities in play, and above all, our need to connect: to be loved and to love. Yes, it is a love story, but it is not one you have read before.

Black Beauty by Anna Sewell

As a young horse, Black Beauty is well-loved and happy. But when his owner is forced to sell him, his life changes drastically. He has many new owners—some of them cruel and some of them kind. All he needs is someone to love him again…

Whether pulling and elegant carriage or a ramshackle cab, Black Beauty tries to live as best he can. This is his amazing story, told as only he could tell it.

Inferno by Dan Brown

Harvard professor of symbology Robert Langdon awakens in an Italian hospital, disoriented and with no recollection of the past thirty-six hours, including the origin of the macabre object hidden in his belongings. With a relentless female assassin trailing them through Florence, he and his resourceful doctor, Sienna Brooks, are forced to flee. Embarking on a harrowing journey, they must unravel a series of codes, which are the work of a brilliant scientist whose obsession with the end of the world is matched only by his passion for one of the most influential masterpieces ever written, Dante Alighieri’s The Inferno.

Dan Brown has raised the bar yet again, combining classical Italian art, history, and literature with cutting-edge science in this sumptuously entertaining thriller.

Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle

A searing and earnest horror debut about the demons the queer community faces in America, the price of keeping secrets, and finding the courage to burn it all down.

They’ll scare you straight to hell.

Welcome to Neverton, Montana: home to a God-fearing community with a heart of gold. Nestled high up in the mountains is Camp Damascus, the self-proclaimed “most effective” gay conversion camp in the country. Here, a life free from sin awaits. But the secret behind that success is anything but holy.

[dinosaurfucker]

I saw a popular post referring to Hobie Brown (Punk Spiderman) from Spiderman: Across the Spider-verse with a lot of notes implying he is just a background character (Wrong) that is impulsive (WRONG) and felt it was Wrong so I’m gonna rant for a min major spoilers under the cut.

So the post was saying Hobie saw one bit of conflict and decided to blow everything up and while it was funny like... It’s Wrong.

Hobie had plans from the very beginning. You think Hobie, a punk anarchist, was offered to become a part of an institution that’s whole job is to keep everything canon compliant and went “yes, this makes sense”. I think Hobie had this, or something similar planned, from the very beginning. I have two major points that I think back this up.

1. Hobie’s entrance to the story is him “show boating”, setting him up as a slightly arrogant character. Miles is about to be the one to break the electric barrier by revealing how *much* more powerful he’s become and how he’s advanced in his abilities, showing he can both siphon electricity with a touch but he can also create outward blasts. Hobie makes a point of showing off, breaking the barrier around the collider first and then rubbing salt in the wound by winking and giving him the tip which, at the time, feels patronizing and arrogant, that he needs to use his palms for a more effective blast. This, combined with his friendship with Gwen sets him up as a mild antagonist to Miles for a few scenes and Miles is jealous and feels slighted and left out. However, Hobie doesn’t continue this narrative and isn’t shown to be particularly arrogant or patronizing to even Peter B’s baby, and is in fact rather supportive, in his own way, to Miles and those around him and Miles kind of goes from jealousy to kind of admiration.

You know what Hobie did succeed in doing by interrupting Miles and stealing his thunder? Keeping Miles’ abilities secret from Miguel and the other Spiderpeople on his side, until the time was right. Hobie’s making sure that if Miles goes against the grain as he suspects he will, (because he knows their plan and why they don’t want Miles involved and what they’re hiding from Miles on purpose) that Miguel will be underestimating the young Spiderman, and that Miles will have the element of surprise. He also reiterates his advice that when he initially gave it felt like showing off, to use him palms for extra power, right at the exact moment Miles needed to show his advanced abilities off.

Hobie proceeds to say “I quit” and teleports back to (presumably) his own universe, while throwing his own teleport bracelet back to show he doesn’t intend to return. This is important. He no longer holds one of Miguel’s teleporters. This brings me on to the next point.

2. When Gwen tries support Miles, she has her teleporter taken from her, she’s dumped back into her own universe and she feels hopeless. She doesn’t know how or where to start trying to find Miles, they are essentially trapped in separate dimensions. But what appears in front of her, using colours and an art style completely different from Miguels? A teleporter watch (this isn’t their official name but forgive me I can’t think of their name right now). It’s obviously a bootlegged device. And it’s also obviously in the style and colouring of Hobie, to show that it’s come from Hobie.

When we last saw Hobie, he had quit and quite notably returned his device. And we also know, that while these wrist devices are shown to help the Spiders teleport between universes, one thing it’s clear they cannot do, is time travel. Otherwise they would simply undo all the anomalies. Which, unless Hobie made a copy in the space of a few hours, means that Hobie was already working on a teleporter copy that allowed interdimensional travel that would prevent glitching and couldn’t be easily traced by Miguel and Jess. Which implies that Hobie had had a plan from the beginning. He most likely always intended to fight back against Miguel in some way, whether he always planned on Miles being the catalyst, whether Miles was the reason he wanted to fight back (because I can’t imagine an anarchist like Hobie taking the news that a huge powerful institution needs to crack down on an individual - never mind a single black teenage boy, lying down) or whether he was an opportunist and felt in the moment Miles presented his opportunity I don’t know.

But based on the story I don’t think Hobie Brown did anything impulsively and I don’t think he just saw a bit of conflict and decided to be an instigator.

Hobie Brown was the instigator the entire time. He was intrinsic to the story progressing as it did. Where Peter B Parker was the rock Miles Morales needed in the first story, Hobie was the oil for Miles’ spark in the second story and it was entirely intentional.

Hobie Brown is an anarchist with a lot of smarts and a lot of foresight and he’s got Miles’ back.

EDIT: Hobie, before Miles even joins the Spider Gang tries to stop Miles from going to Miguel's world by throwing his arm around Miles saying "he don't follow your rules" to Jess before Miles goes with them and visibily sags when Miles wants to go anyway so he's protecting him from.Min 1. He’s literally one of the most integral parts of the story.

[maxwell-grant]

pizza tower is out! have you played it already ? if so, thoughts?

OF COURSE and, man it feels weird that the game is finally out officially. The demos for it have been probably my most played “game” over the past years, and I’ve played all of the demos available to Patreon backers plus some of the old public ones. I've been following for a long time through countless refinements and changes and do-overs and now it’s finally out, for good. I donated to this some years ago and now my name is in the credits of this thing! Feels pretty great!

I'm as biased as it gets in regards to it. It plays marvelously, it has one of the most fun characters to control ever made, endlessly replayable on the basis of that alone. The soundtrack is self-evidently kickass and has always been one of the biggest draws this game’s had to pull people in, the artstyle and animation being the other massive draw. Most of the big virtues of Pizza Tower are very self-evident, so instead I wanna talk a little on it's story and characters, because now that the game is out, it finally has a proper "canon' of sorts, in the sense that a lot of this stuff is no longer going to be rewritten or changed based on demos. Now Pizza Tower’s finally set-in-stone, of sorts, and that end result is what I wanna talk about:

I think Pizza Tower kind of had an uphill battle at first making sure it had an audience besides people who just showed up for the Wario Land-fix. Initially, that was the promise, it was designed to give people that fix that they weren’t gonna get from Nintendo themselves, and the game’s initial success in it’s demos kicked off that rise in what people now call Wario-likes, some of which are more blatant about it. The game initially played pretty much exactly as you’d expect a Wario Land fangame to be like and was set apart mainly by it’s distinct animation and catchy music, and maybe that could have been enough, but it evidently wasn’t, given how many undercooked demos it took for it to reach it’s current distinctive gameplay and appeal.

Of course, the Wario Land vibe may still be a big part of what people talk about in regards to Pizza Tower, but there was a very substantial shift over the years that I saw in real time, as the conversation around it shifted from “If you like Wario Land you should look into this new Pizza Tower thing, it seems like basically that with the serial numbers filed off”, to “Hey Pizza Tower rules, the music is kickass and the protagonist is very fast and the animation is super funny, you should play these demos, also it’s inspired by Wario games if you’re into those”. I actually didn’t even see Wario Land get brought up much at all in the last days since it’s launch, partially because Wario’s had his own comeback since 2018 (although just for the Ware games) but mainly because Pizza Tower succeeded in setting itself apart from it’s inspiration. It got people wanting the Pizza Tower-fix, and not just the bootleg-Wario-fix, if that makes sense.

And of course part of that comes from how Pizza Tower didn’t stick to just Wario games, but gradually took bits and pieces from stuff like Sonic, Earthworm Jim, Looney Tunes and Tiny Toons, some otherobscure defunct games that got brought up on occasion and etc, and then just kept throwing these gimmicks at a wall of beta testers and Patreon backers it accumulated to see what stuck and what didn’t. The game had a very small development team, and gradually acquired more and more of a following, and it made the most out of both.

I think a rather underrated aspect of the game is how Pizza Tower works at squeezing blood from stone in regards to it’s narrative and characters. The game follows in that platforming tradition of stock excuse plots that are as least obtrusive to the gameplay as they can possibly be, and for the longest time the demos and game didn’t even have one of those because no reason was settled (or needed) on why Peppino had to trek through these blasted towers fighting monsters while scared shitless the whole time, and a couple of different lore motivations were tried out over the years to explain some aspects (if anyone reading this is also in the PT Discord, you guys remember when Noise was some kind of weird shadow mirror self of Peppino? That was a thing for a bit, glad it got canned early). I want to emphasize how the trial and error approach of the development applied to Peppino’s character and the game’s story because I’m very much of a fan of what the game finally settled on: Peppino fighting to save his business from being destroyed.

Peppino is a miserable man who owns a failing pizza business and is struggling to make ends meet, who one day gets cornered by a giant pizza monster who lives on the tower across his shop, who tells him that he’s going to blow up and destroy his pizzeria, and so Peppino has no choice but to race against the clock to stop this from happening. Prior motivations tried out concepts like he destroyed “evil towers” as a job or was looking for secret ingredients to bake better pizzas, but the finished game cuts the filler and instead puts a giant bomb hanging over everything Peppino has, which is a shitty pizzeria, and sets him on collision course to cathartically smash the bomb.

The game chooses to emphasize Peppino’s poverty and struggles followed by blistering rage at the injustice he’s being inflicted with, and this is something that works better even just reflecting his basic design: though he is a chef, though he may put up ads of himself as a jolly cartoon, he cannot act like one to save his life, and if you look closer he’s actually just wearing a sleeveless shirt over black clothing: he can’t even afford an actual apron. He’s a failure who has very little to call his own, and he’s about to lose even that because some assface sitting high and mighty deemed it so: he’s a walking embodiment of an incredibly relatable frustration, and he’s going to smash the source of that frustration right in the fucking face.

You get this entire deal in the frames of animation Peppino goes through just before he faces down the final boss: he spots his place in the distance and looks dejectedly at it, gets scared when the boss looms down before him, and that fear gives way to shrieking rage as he prepares to throw down not just to save his business but as payback for all the shit he’s put up with the whole game, and MAN does the final fight make it all worth it

Because the game has basically no dialogue outside of in-game hints and flavor text, it has to put a lot of effort in making it’s cast shine non-verbally. Right from the start it was pitched as having a strong Earthworm Jim and Courage the Cowardly Dog influence, it was always playing around with as many cartoon tropes and gags as it could, and the end result in-game is that Pizza Tower does succeed big time in feeling like a cartoon show that could have been.

All of it’s levels are accompanied by title cards that present said stages as “episodes”, and all of them have built-in gimmicks with implied narratives like picking fights with pirates, taking a trip to space and back, going to jail and needing your friend to bail you out, getting stalked and hunted by monstrous animatronics until you get a shotgun that lets you hunt them back, and etc. There’s a level where you can surf through graveyards on the back of a corpse while looking scared shitless, and the Achievements later reveal Peppino used to know the dead guy when he was still alive, and so on. The core story is just there enough to make the final fight feel narratively satisfying, and along the way you get all these little bits and pieces that make this world richer and it’s characters more lively, enough that we can fill in the blanks and see how they would fit if they were part of a long-running franchise or some kind of wacko world with off-screen adventures before or after the game.

Gustavo wound up being one of the more pleasant surprises in the game. And not just gameplay-wise, since I honestly found playing Gustavo in the demos a chore but they buffed his moveset a lot in the game proper and made him a lot more fun to mess around with, but even character-wise. Ever since his planned spin-off didn’t take off Gustavo was kind of a throwaway character for the longest time without much of anything going on for him, with his in-game role as someone you'd deliver pizzas for and would beat you up if you failed (and was apparently your boss).

In-game, Gustavo is no longer your boss, in fact apparently he no longer knew Peppino before the game, he's just a guy who is going into the tower at the same time as you (and clearly more prepared since he’s got a map), tangled up in his own side-adventures taming and befriending a giant rat, who’s taking the time to help you out anyway. In-game he’s this nice, friendly character who is straightforward in a way Peppino can't be, he's got a kind of beady-eyed cuteness to him that Mario used to have in the old 2D titles (and a super deep smoker voice for contrast), and he winds up becoming your Luigi (...or maybe it’s the other way around and you’re his Luigi) in the sense that he complements and contrasts you as the secondary lead (and you sorta do Bro Attacks together at the end).

The game gets a lot of mileage out of the Gustavo and Brick dynamic as is in a way that makes it so Gustavo on his own doesn’t have to be as extravagant as Peppino or Noise, but still be funny and endearing enough as a protagonist that we can put Peppino aside to enjoy him just as much, maybe even more so depending on your preference. Gustavo is obviously very silly but silly in a lot of ways that Peppino can’t be, and I think the way the game treats him goes a long way towards lending Pizza Tower some more versatility in terms of humor and characterization. 

I'm glad Mr Stick didn't wind up as a boss as planned. He's not terribly interesting or funny enough to be one, he isn't really anyone's favorite and I think McPig got more mileage out of him as an ally to you, and considering Peppino is inspired by Courage the Cowardly Dog, I think having a Eustace type character among your allies works pretty allright. He's not a character you would really see in a Wario game, Wario would never put up with being bossed around or scammed by some greedy jackass (that's his job), but Peppino is not Wario, he's got bills to pay and bigger issues to work through via violence and he can't really pick or choose his allies so, he's stuck with Mr Stick, the piece of shit landlord who rips you off constantly and you have no choice but to pay him, but who does help you progress at least so, eh.

(Art by @ketrindarkdragon​​)

I frankly loved Pepperman as is back when he was just the default boss / a stage hazard purely on the basis of his design and attack animation and of course his kickass theme, but his reinvention into a pretentious artist who sounds like Comic Book Guy was a pretty wonderful way to make a character out of him, not exactly what you’d expect out of the game’s Musclebound Bully boss character. He’s got that Squidward gag where he’s actually remarkably skilled at several different kinds of art, and going by the credits he’s apparently well-off for it, but he’s a self-obsessed prick who only makes self-portraits, and nobody in the cast thinks much of him as is (if you beat him without taking damage, you get an achievement called “The Critic”). He’s probably the character I would most enjoy playing as even though those plans were scrapped for good reason.

I’m glad that The Noise got a somewhat reduced role in-game as just a boss fight, I think this was the smart choice. For the longest time, Noise was the only other character in the game besides Peppino and he’s always been fairly popular, and he’s going to be made playable since he’s got most of his animations finished as is, so I think downplaying The Noise was a good call to make all the other elements stand out more. I’m not super into how his boss fight ends (I do like Noisette quite a bit actually, I just don’t think that bit was particularly funny) but I otherwise really like it, the fucker keeps opening himself up for beatings because he cannot stop literally giving you the middle finger, I like how well his fight emphasizes just how much Peppino and Noise hate each other, and I can’t wait to see what else is he gonna bring once made playable.

I’ll miss playable Vigilante, it was for the better yes but I’ll miss it. Still, he does make a better Boss, and obviously since his role is to be the Meta Knight of the game he does have to be the Cool Boss Who Hands You a Weapon. I’m glad that the game plays him straightforward, I’ve always loved the contrast of our Actual Cowboy Badass character being essentially a Goomba, a sentient pile of cheese with a cowboy hat and spurs (in concept there’s also a bit of Bandana Dee in him). He’s just gross and uncool enough on the basic concept that he can get away with being the coolest character in a way nobody else can be and in some ways only makes him more of a genuine badass, after you’ve steamrolled and gotten used to the game’s Goombas and then one of them fights back big time. I love the bit of him staring into the broken John at the final floor and quietly having a moment of concern he’s not allowing you to notice, I love him teaching the Toppins to shoot in the credits in preparation for the main villain’s next move, I really love this guy.

I fucking KNEW IT that Pizza Boy was gonna turn out to be a secret villain at some point, I fucking called it, as soon as they gave him a theme park in a now scrapped version of Pig City I knew that he was gonna be more than just a running gag. I actually didn’t expect Pizzaface to be fake, but I knew Pizza Boy was gonna show his true colors at some point. I however certainly did not expect for him to be basically Ronald McDonald, which is a choice that makes the most sense for the food mascot-themed villain who’s gonna boss around all the others and be the Punchable Face of Evil for a struggling chef and business owner to be set against.

Of course the real Pizza Boy is a scuzzy freak who’s nothing like the mascot he plasters around, that’s pretty much a running theme in the game at this point. He has perfectly deranged music completely unlike anything else in the game’s soundtrack, his boss section is wonderfully obnoxious, he’s a great final twist villain to have at a point in the game where you absolutely need the most punchable character of all time to take out Peppino’s frustrations in.

I didn’t expect the Pillar Johns to wind up having a mini-story in their own right depending on how you complete the game, where it does the Wario thing where the amount of treasures and loot you collect determines the ending. Except here instead of loot, collecting all the secret treasures determines whether or not John the pillar monster comes back to life after being broken and beaten into countless pieces and having his consciousness scattered into a hivemind across the entire tower, to the point where you are basically doing him a favor by smashing him at the end of every level. I didn’t expect the game to bother explaining why Gerome the janitor is following or helping you, let alone for the explanation to be so goddamn dark.

(You guys remember way waaay back in the earliest demos when John used to be this invincible thing you fed Toppins to so it would grant you passage? That was overhauled completely but turns out in the end, you still need to feed Pillar John to finish the game)

I find it funny how Peppino winds up incidentally rescuing the Tower from the Pizza, and that’s not even a funny overstatement, the game’s progression really does show how the Pizza was the bad guy in this scenario and the Tower was just corrupted along the way. It’s Pizza Tower, a game that has pizzas and towers, and you play as a pizza chef who’s threatened by a giant pizza (hiding another pizza) atop a giant tower, and so you smash the giant pizza and escape the tower and wind up saving the tower from the pizza while trying to save the pizza from the tower.

...I killed Snotty, I’m sorry you guys, I’ll do better next time.

Did I tell you guys about the soundtrack already? Because good God it has never stopped getting better and better, it alone is worth the price you pay for the game, and there’s a LOT of music in this thing even without counting the tracks that didn’t make it into release.

I think it's great that the game assembled it's core cast piecemeal over  the development cycle from all these unlikely places over the years, it’s come such a long way from the days when it was just Peppino and Noise. I adored how the game’s ending and subsequent promos show how the Bosses stick around as cast members and showing snapshots of further adventures and mishaps for them. They all come back for the finale so Peppino can reach his breaking point, and they all escape together, and they all settle a truce over free pizza at Peppino’s place, still not much but still intact, still in one piece, after everything Peppino put up with to save it.

None of these characters belong together but they clearly don't belong anywhere else either, they're all a part of the "Receding Hairline Celebration Party" as the credits theme puts it, all these weird greasy knock-offs stuck together in the dumps, getting into trouble and duking it out, and playing cards together after it all quiets down and there’s some time to breathe, or dance.

....

Five years, man, that celebration party is definitely well deserved.

[rosalind-hawkins]

TLDR: Duke is smart boi, Mastershipping good.

Been thinking about Duke's arc in the anime, and here's the thing.

He was "in talks" with Pegasus about DDM, but it wasn't greenlit yet, yeah? It didn't get finalized and Pegasus just stops responding to his emails, hence the whole going-after-Yugi thing blah blah blah.

(Side-note about how clever and diabolical Duke is to go after Yugi via his good friend Joey; damn Duke, you make a good antagonist, I'd love and fear the version of you that goes full villain.)

But despite Duke not having the green light or official production yet, he's still got the DDM dice; probably a sample batch from manufacturers, okay, I can believe that they made a 100-bag batch or something as an early order. But he ALSO has a duel arena fitted out to be adapted for DDM specifically, and this can only exist a couple of ways.

Industrial Illusions commissioned the custom DDM arena from KC as an early model and it was delivered to Duke. (I think this is unlikely since, again, no final say from Pegasus yet.)

Duke bought a Duel Arena from KaibaCorp, studied it, took it apart, and made his own adjustments to convert it into a DDM arena, which means studying Kaiba's tech, redesigning portions of it, reprogramming some of the software, creating schematics and custom parts and reassembling everything for the final version.

Option 2, but Duke paid someone to do it. (This is unlikely to me because of how deeply personal this game is to him and how deeply involved he is.)

Option 2 is much more likely to me, and this is why in my Rock Bottom AU, I have Duke set up as a technical hardware genius. (In that AU specifically, Duke handles hardware and Seto handles software, and they're the perfect nerd team.) I do think he is a genius on some level. He's not on Kaiba's level, but I think he's highly intelligent and doesn't generally get enough credit for it.

What probably happens later on, after Pegasus gives the green light, is that Industrial Illusions formally contracts KC to design and produce DDM arenas, and maybe Duke tries to insist that he already did the design part, but KC won't produce a design that's not theirs, so they make their own.

I imagine that when Duke and Kaiba get together later, Kaiba just casually mentions that he knows about Duke's original bootlegged DDM arena, and Duke is like, "Yeah, I'm aware that I voided the warranty, and no, I'm not going to apologize for it." And Kaiba's intellectual curiosity gets the better of him, so he's just like, "Even though I know the official KC version of the DDM arena is superior, I wanted to know how you made the original adjustments," and then Duke gets to show off his own handiwork on his bf's tech, and Kaiba has someone that's not an employee that he can talk to about the intricacies of his inventions for maybe the first time ever? And it makes him happy in a way that he doesn't understand, but these inventor boys have each other to talk to now about this stuff, and it's so fulfilling for them.

When Duke eventually moves in with Kaiba, he gets his own workshop/office for all the creative and technical work he does for DDM, and Kaiba makes a point of stopping by every once in a while to see what he's working on and "no, I don't need your advice, I can do it myself" only needs to be said to him a few times in order for him to learn to withhold his opinions until Duke asks for them.

In the context of Mumbleshipping, I imagine that any time Duke or Kaiba talk about their inventions in any detailed way to Ryou, his eyes glaze over pretty fast, and bless him he's trying, but he doesn't have a brain for engineering or hard sciences, so this all goes in one ear and out the other.

[feydfuckernation]

Lion I was singing Joanna from Sweeney Todd cuz I’ve been hearing the josh groban version all over tiktok and now I’m contemplating fully getting into it. Where do I start??

(insert public apology for using boomer meme templates to get the point across)

would that i had finished the deranged comic sans powerpoint 101 for sweeney todd by now i would link it here but as it is it still needs a lot of work before i'm even remotely comfortable posting it hOWEVER that doesn't mean i can't still be of some assistance

(disclaimer: i am about to throw a LOT of information at you and you are by no means obligated to try and digest it all at once please instead do so at your leisure/your level of interest instead)

sweeney todd 101 cliffnotes version for people who want to get into sweeney todd by someone who is way too invested in this show

sorry to anyone who doesn't like the office this is the only cold open that matters to me in this particular stage of life rn

so for those who aren't already familiar with sweeney todd (or have a passing familiarity with it either via sweeney todd related tiktok content or other similarly related content consumption) one of the first things i would recommend starting with is the 2007 tim burton film since it's a pretty good place to start (and also easily one of the best film adaptations of a musical imo). you can find it on hbo max or on youtube for 3.99 if you don't have and/or want to pay for an hbo max subsciption. (you can also 🏴‍☠️ it because capitalism sucks. remember to sail the seven seas* responsibly!)

johnny depp and helena bonham carter in sweeney todd (2007) dir. tim burton

now if you're interested in other productions (and/or not particularly interested in the film) there's the 2014 half concert half staged proshot starring emma thompson as mrs. lovett and christian borle as pirelli that you can find on youtube for FREE (here is a link to act one and another link to act two AND a link to the opening on it's own because it is absolutely PHENOMINAL i genuinely can't recommend it enough).

emma thompson and welsh opera singer sir byrn terfel jones in sweeney todd: the demon barber of fleet street in concert 2014

there is also the original 1982 proshot starring some of the original cast such as angela lansburry (unfortunately len cariou, the original sweeney does not reprise his role BUT george hearn does a phenominal job in the role). you can find this one on amazon for 3.99 to rent or it and a plethora of other musical proshots on BroadwayHD for 11.99/mo but unless you're interested in watching other musicals and plays on BroadwayHD i would suggest renting it on amazon or 🏴‍☠️ it for free if you know where to look (i honestly don't know what pirating musicals looks like outside of yt bootlegs and i am still very very new to actual bootleg trading so you'd have to ask someone else)

the late dame angela lansburry and george hearn in the 1982 proshot version of sweeney todd

and finally, my personal favourite, the 2023 broadway revival. unfortunately we only have five singles that have (officially) been released (which you can find here on spotify) but we also have the official ballad of sweeney todd performace from this year's tony awards AND there IS a way to watch it if you are like me and can't afford to fly to new york and see it at the lunt-fontanne theater (just dm me for the details). this is quite possibly my favourite version of this story and if great comet wasn't already an indicator that josh groban is a great fit for broadway this DEFINITELY is imo.

josh groban and annaleigh ashford in the 2023 broadway revival of sweeney todd that i am definitely very normal about

other recommendations include sideway's video essay on the music in sweeney todd, christine baranksi's version of worst pies in london (and her criminally underrated version of a little priest with kelsey grammar in a 20th anniversary concert version that i would give my left kidney to see in full), imelda staunton and michael ball's version of a little priest from a 2012 revival, patti lupone as mrs. lovett playing the tuba in the stripped down 2005 broadway revival, lin manuel miranda's sweeney todd themed hamilton parody for broadway cares featuring the funniest jonathan groff cameo i've seen in my life (and the recent ham4ham version performed by the current 2023 revival cast) and my last braincell when confronted with literally any sweeney todd related content these days.

[twdmusicboxmystery]

The Daryl Dixon Official Trailer - So Epic!

@wdway:

Isn't it beautiful? Apparently we're supposed to have a long ten minute preview on AMC plus some time early tomorrow. I can't wait. Also the music in the preview link above is Clarie Lune which means moonlight.

@wdway

I've already watched this preview about four times and I foresee doing another four or five before I go to bed tonight. So beautiful and I'm so excited. Does anyone know what the big, good to see you, was? Was it as @twdmusicboxmyster predicted and simply seeing Daryl Dixon back?

@galadrieljones

Omg it’s so lovely, I love the Claire de Lune in the background. I need to watch it more!!

@wdway

Can't wait to see the long preview tomorrow. Or maybe tonight if someone bootlegs it from SDCC.

@galadrieljones

I’m going to rewatch, and maybe bring a little speculative analysis. Also, super excited about the 10min preview! If there’s a bootleg I may still wait, like if the quality is poor.

@wdway

Totally understand.

@galadrieljones

(Though who am I kidding LOL if it’s in front of my face I’m going to watch it )

I have watched it a bunch now, and it is so sweeping and atmospheric. I can already tell I’m going to really like Clemence Poesy and her performance. The little shot of her watching the train go by with the people screaming inside makes me think we will see her in flashback, and therefore, possibly Daryl as well. What he says about things happening to change you, and how she responds that they were both “broken until the world ended” conjures the past and how it has impacted them both.

It seems like we were somewhat on point, predicting that Daryl will end up at the Abbey where the nuns have taken Laurent into custody. He seems to be regarded as some sort of salvation for humanity.

One major twist will be, I suspect, the reason for why. Is he immune? We’ll know soon. I will say I love the idea of zombie-fighting nuns with their great big arsenal. Lol. They fight when they have to, to defend their flock. If anyone understands the nature and purpose of the Good Shepherd, it will be Trappist nuns.

It was very cute to me how Laurent was copying everything Daryl did. Daryl ran his hand through his hair, then Laurent did, too. Daryl took a sip of water, then Laurent did, too. I already want to adopt Laurent and save him lol.

The enemy faction, I am going to take a stab at it being related to the nationalist group that executed the French teams of scientists, re: the WB coda. If there IS a Davinci Code parallel here, then they would probably be aligned with Opus Dei, who are trying to eliminate proof that Christ’s bloodline lives on as a way of keeping control over the narrative they’ve worshipped for centuries.

My guess is that they want Laurent dead because Laurent may carry inside of him some form of the cure that was developed by the teams, which they executed. Laurent would be the holy grail. This is because if there is a cure, then they will lose control of the narrative, which is probably that the scientists caused the end of the world. Laurent, if he is the product of cure-based research, would prove that they could have saved the world, if they had not been executed.

The revelation that Laurent is immune would cause an uprising against those who killed the people who made him that way. My last bit of wild speculation is that the first season will revolve heavily around the plot with Laurent as a gateway into the research done by the French teams, which would then reveal that there are more people like him, all over the world.

We will also learn at some point soon that not all of the scientists on this project are dead. Of course, the Primrose Team was in the US when the end of the world happened. So was Dr. TB Ellis. Finding them would create more vectors toward the research that took place, which may have produced a cure. Of course, they will have to find these scientists, after they find that Paris is in ruins and that all the scientists in France have been executed. They will have to defeat the nationalist group and escape France back to America. As a plot, it is a bit of an inverse to Dead City.

Rather than rescue the boy from inside the evil organization, we are trying to deliver the boy into a cell that theoretically lies beyond the evil organization. Looking backward to Diverged. Perhaps Carol makes some sort of discovery pertaining to Team Primrose while Daryl is in France, and perhaps she goes after him to tell him what she found, because it’s just that important. That’s pure guesswork though.

I was also thinking, let’s have some more wild speculation on this glorious Friday, because it’s fun: What would make a bunch of nuns believe that a young boy is the savior of humanity? That he is their salvation? Catholics don’t take miracles lightly.

I thought, perhaps they witnessed him die and come back to life, not as a walker, but as the same person he was, only immune. This would have huge implications for TD. Because it could set up what happened with Beth very unexpectedly for Daryl.

Let’s say the nuns assure Daryl of what they saw. Maybe Daryl is skeptical, because it seems like he might be. We know he’s perhaps stopped believing in God at some point, according to what he said to Pope in season 11. And so Daryl is skeptical but he goes along with it because he trusts Isabelle and the nuns and he is taken with Laurent and he is chivalrous, so of course he will help them. But then say Daryl discovers that it’s not God, it’s science that cured Laurent and brought him back from the dead. Of course thematically that’s a whole theme: science vs. God, where is the line, etc.

He discovers the research at the laboratory, whcih lead to Laurent’s immunity, and he discovers that this research had been taking place in multiple sub-locations around the world, or even just in a couple of other places, one of them being Grady in Atlanta. Watching him put two and two together there would be extremely exciting and emotional. It would set things up nicely for season 2, which would revolve around escaping France and getting back to the USA to find these scientists and figure out what the hell is going on.

@wdway

Love this. I think your spot on very close to what we'll see. I have more thoughts, I will share those later tonight.

@galadrieljones

I’m going to add one more thing, which is that if this is anywhere near the truth, it could be possible that Beth was recaptured by the CRM after “dying.” Whether she’s still in their custody, I don’t know, but the Snow-White parallels suggest she could be. Just a thought.

 I also wanted to share just that I’m also thinking that it is possible he stowed away on some sort of freight ship and that’s how he got marooned. In the trailer, he’s fighting a guy in front of a sign that says, “Muster Station,” which is defined as “the place on a ship where passengers should assemble in the event of an emergency.” There are also multiple freight containers in the background after he jumps ship. So, seems like maybe, yeah, he was chasing something else entirely. I wonder what it was. Perhaps to do with Rick, but this will be the digression that leads him to his happy ending.

Also in the shot where he’s jumping ship, it looks like there are contrails, or vapor trails in the sky, like the kind left behind by aircraft. That could ofc be an illusion idk.

@wdway

Okay I just popped in and you need to go over to the regular safe zone group page and see what Domenica posted about her SDCC workday. She got a selfie with Greg N. She also said something that sounded suspicious to me of course she gushed about being a Bethyler and he said something to the fact that, well then, you're going to love the Daryl Dixon's, (I'm paraphrasing) spin-off something to that effect. Very open to interpretation.

@galadrieljones

Love this insight! Greg said, “Well then you should like the cool stuff that happens in the Daryl series.” !!

Ofc could mean a lot lol. BUT. She said she was crossing her fingers for a dream sequence which means even she, who isn’t TD, thought this could mean a Beth appearance.

Also isn’t Greg the one who spilled the beans about Grady being exploded and them all being dead a long while back? I think it was. Hmmm.

@wdway

Yes, that was Greg.

@wdway

What I actually came on is to ask you if there was a Fear clip floating around?

@galadrieljones

I haven’t seen anything, but I’ve been super distracted by the Daryl trailer. I’ll check around.

The reactions to Troy coming back are priceless lol

Plenty of ppl claiming we saw him as a walker, which, no. Also who would have thought that fans of a show about people coming back from the dead would be this incredulous about characters coming back from the dead

Maybe a test run for Beth. But ofc everyone would be stoked about Beth’s return except Carylers who will rightly be crying.

Fear setting the groundwork for plenty more fun resurrections that for sure.

Also it looks like there is no trailer for Fear 8b. One will not be released until closer to October…? Did they make some last minute changes????

I can’t really see any other reason? Unless they just couldn’t be bothered but that seems unlikely. Maybe they filmed some new stuff and don’t have what they want for the trailer yet?

@twdmusicboxmystery:

So, if there wasn’t a Fear trailer, what are these in reaction to? Was an announcement made about Troy?

@twdmusicboxmystery

Okay, I'm caught up. Finished watching DC and have the Daryl trailer playing on repeat as I type this, lol. Love the trailer! It’s great. I have thoughts on...everything. But I'll probably forget half of them. I'll leave DC for now, since you haven't finished it. But I think it has some very interesting implications, especially for the New York symbolism. And I may have some thoughts on a template they're using. Including how some of the Rick/Negan symbolism we saw during AOW might end up being fulfilled. I know I’m stating the obvious here, but they're definitely setting things up with these spinoffs.

As for the Daryl trailer, just like both of you, I need to rewatch a hundred times to get all my thoughts straight. But just a few first observations. Did we all notice that in this trailer, the captions say, I want HIM to know that I tried. So, the captions were wrong on the ones posted on SM? Also, people were wrong about the recorder. Or at least this trailer makes it look like they are. When he speaks, it looks like he's broadcasting, and people can hear him. Of course, we have to consider that the trailers can be spliced together in deceptive ways. So, maybe that one is still a question mark.

A note on how he interacts with Isabel. We all knew there wouldn't be romance between her and Daryl, but this is still worth noting. To me, the trailer proves the lack of romance. He interacts with her much in the way he would with Aaron or Carol. It's genuine and congenial--I'm sure they'll end up being close friends--but there's nothing tender or remotely romantic betwen them from what we see here. One of my favorite moments in the trailer is when she says the thing about Laurent reviving humanity, and he just tilts his head to one side. He manages to emote SO much skepticism in the way only Daryl can, lol. It practically screams "faith ain't done shit for us."

Which segues nicely into my next point. As you were saying above, Tarah, Laurent is clearly the Christ figure in this part of the story. Daryl's interaction with him (the hug) is far more tender than anything with Isabel. And obviously it's fatherly rather than romantic, but I can still see that Laurent and Beth will be parallels here, in the way that Daryl protects and cares for them.

It would be amazing if wherever he is taking Laurent, Beth is there, and that's how he first sees her. *sigh * cue a billion head canons* I agree with all you both said above. Looks so cute and epic and amazing. Love the music. Love the sweeping shots. Love the haunting little girl walker in the garden.

Love cemetery with crosses across the horizon. Everything looks freakin' amazing!

@wdway

I was wanting to show the tape recorder, it's incorrect this is Daryl talking about the Commonwealth, it's in America, not, It's an America, so sometimes these aren't perfect.

@twdmusicboxmystery, in this preview it does use the abbreviation 'em for them.

@twdmusicboxmystery

The one on Twitter says him. So they’re all different, I guess.

@wdway

That's why I say that we can't totally rely on what is written, that it could be a mistake by the person interpreting it. I will say what I watched was actually on AMC+. Right now they have all three previews available, the very short one with the overturned boat, the long 2 minute preview and the new one minute preview that was shown today. I will say I checked it out also in the longer preview when it first showed up on AMC+ and it also says, 'em.

Even in France we have X's. I thought this was a great shot too of the morning star he's carrying.

What I want to point out here is the hat. Remember the hat in Daryl's apartment an AZ. Hanging on the hook. We saw it when Carol went into Daryl's apartment with Dog in s10e21 Diverged.

I love the Beth floor. Black and white diamonds.

It's pretty bad when you’re truly hoping that the series live up to the promotional spots for it.

@wdway

Guys I loved everything that you wrote above describing this preview. Just a few thoughts about the previous in general. I'm really bummed that we didn't see one for fear. And I'm right there with you guys and saying how are people talking about the Fear preview when we can't view it. Maybe it was only for the people who attended SDCC.

Which doesn't make a lot of sense since you want to promote to a large audience and ny SDCC standards this year is very small because of all the strikes. If in fact Troy is in the preview and there's no reason why we should doubt it at this point that makes me even more excited about the teaser radios scene. Because what was the point of not clearly showing him when you announce hours later he was going to be in part 2. I feel more justified in my feeling that it was a tease for TD with that blonde hair.

@wdway

@galadrieljones

I love all your observations, @wdway. Especially the black and white floor. I can’t tell, but I thought maybe that Daryl had made a recording, then lost it, then it was found by the organization. To me, the thing they show looks more like tape player than a radio.

There also may be a theme beginning with recordings, imprints, etc. We know the French scientist watched a recording of Jenner before she was shot. We think that Daryl will discover something shocking via a recording as well. Computer hard drives, memory. Memory in general. I think and I hope this theme continues to vibrate under the surface of this story.

Yeah I saw the announcement about Troy via a secondary source. It’s a trustworthy account on twitter, but I don’t know where they got that info.

There really was very little information on Fear. Very odd if you ask me.

If they’re delaying the trailer until October, that would mean we’ll be well into Daryl’s spin-off by then. Maybe that’s why. Idk, maybe they made some sort of choice or change in terms of how the information in Daryl’s spin-off will impact Fear.

I do think Troy is returning, but I don’t understand what is with all the weird deflection and lack of information from tptb at this juncture. Why wouldn’t they make a formal announcement?

The rumor has been circulating for months, honestly. Just weird. Anyway.

@wdway

I believe it was in the article though that mentioned Laurent being 11.

@galadrieljones

That seems right! He seems like a cute lil 11yo

Still trying to figure out what the major surprises were supposed to be today though. If it wasn’t Troy, then what was it? What did we learn?? Maybe it’s just because we pay super close attention but other than the DD trailer which was amazing, there was nothing here we didn’t know, and even the DD trailer, while beautiful, was fairly expected. It didn’t contain any bombshells. I don’t even recall them mentioning Melissa McBride joining for season 2…?

@wdway

Them not mentioning MMB is going to be a real thorn in the carylers sides. They are so convinced that they're part of the fandom is going to be the difference between Daryl spinoff succeeding or being canceled. In their minds no one wants to see Daryl in France. The only way to save it is to let everyone know that Carol will be joining (The Carol&Daryl) show to save Daryl in s2.

@wdway

@galadrieljones

Well then LOL. I’m glad they didn’t mention Melissa. Again though…it’s weird! The information is out there. They must know.

@wdway

I left you a link, it's a very short article about what was discussed today in regard to part to a Fear. In this one it says that it was announced that it was Troy in the radio scene at the end of part 1. Then again there's some mistakes in this one also. They said that Fear Part 2 will begin the same night as Daryl's final episode on October the 22nd. Well apparently, these people cannot count 6 Sundays. Daryl's scheduled to end his the week before and then Fear Part 2 begins the 22nd.

@galadrieljones

Weird. Idk I think there’s got to be some confusion with what’s going on with Fear. The journalists are doing their best.

Or maybe it’s perfectly clear and just being poorly communicated idk.

[putschki1969]

Hello!! I am a big kalafina fan from Brazil! I wanted to know if you have any content (audio or video) about the live from Keiko and Hikaru on 23-10-29. Also, do you know why Wakana has never joined Keiko and Hikaru in these lives after the disbanding? 😭 thanks for your time 😊

Hello there!

Bad news: There's no official recording/footage of FJ Family presents ～ “JUMP OUT” LIVE vol.#1 and they will most likely never release anything. This was meant to be a pretty contained and intimate event. Due to the small venue, it was extremely difficult to get tickets, to the point where even some super loyal fans were not able to attend. I am not ruling out the possibility of a bootleg recording existing somewhere but if there is one, I've not found it yet. Japanese fans rarely make recordings and even if they do, they are usually not willing to share them with other fans. I know a couple of overseas fans attended the event but if they had gotten a decent recording they would have probably already shared it. But who knows, maybe there is some hope left. We'll have to wait and see... By the way, I don't really believe in withholding content so if I did have any content, I would most definitely share it on this blog. Feel free to follow me if you are interested in staying up-to-date.

As for Wakana, this is probably one of the most discussed topics on my blog because I keep getting questions about it. Sometimes I have to wonder if other fans are really so incredibly oblivious to the things that have been happening... I realise of course that not everyone can be as involved as I am but people must really have been living under a rock for them to not know anything about Wakana's somewhat precarious situation...Anyway, if you check out my #space craft tag on this blog, you will find a ton of posts discussing the matter. It will take some time to get through all of them but they offer quite a bit of insight so I recommend them to everyone who wants to know more about this whole thing. In short, Wakana is still signed up with Space Craft, former agency of Yuki Kajiura, Keiko and Hikaru. Those who remain at Space Craft are presumably encouraged to not associate with those who left and vice-versa. I do not know whether these are real, contractual stipulations or just unwritten rules but in true Japanese fashion, people are definitely very strict about following them.

[seancekitsch]

the tape: eddie munson x reader!

“One of our favorite customers just left one of her tapes here, you need to come by,” Robin says on the phone, instead of hello or any other pleasantry.

“Don’t you guys have a store full of tapes?” Eddie asks. What was so important about someone else’s viewing history? We’re they watching Wizard of Gore or something?

“Dude, no.” Robin sighs, exasperated even though she’s the one being vague, “It’s a cassette. It’s her band. I think Corroded Coffin officially has competition.”

Eddie barely throws the phone back on the hook before he’s dashing out the door.

Corroded Coffin having competition? No way, they were the only hard rock fixture in the county, Eddie was sure of it. The rest were all cover bands or groups trying to do what Blondie was doing, except worse because at least Blondie knows how to write a damn song.

The ride over is quick because Eddie disrespects the sanctity of all ‘No Turn on Red’ signs and pops one curb, and soon he’s throwing the car into park and basically jumping out to hear this so called competitors tape.

“Lay it on me, Buckley!” he shouts as he throws the door open. Steve gives him a quizzical look before Robin whispers a name to him and he nods in understanding.

“You’re not gonna believe this, I knew you had to see it,” Robin says, handing over the cassette case.

“Say 10 Mistress,” Eddie reads out loud, and then “OH!”

It dawns on him.

“Yeah it’s like a pun!” Robin exclaims. He just stares at her for a moment before he asks her to lead him to the nearest stereo. She takes him to the back office where Keith never is because he ‘has game with the ladies’ and ushers him to sit at the little table and chair set up back there.

“Just listen,” Robin commands, as if Eddie wasn’t already vibrating with anticipation over this goddamn tape. She shoves it into the stereo, presses down the big play button, and crouches down next to the table.

The music roars to life after a few seconds of noise.

The first song is full of heavy bass, hypnotic and pulsing while a female voice sings about devotion and love and giving your all to someone else. Okay, Eddie thinks, the lyrics aren’t really his thing but he can really get down with the instrumentals.

“Just wait til the end,” Robin insists, patting the top of the stereo again.

Eddie gives it a go, and he finds himself drumming along, tapping his forefinger and his thumb against the formica tabletop.

And then the song hits the end. Gone are the lyrics about love, now replaced by the woman’s voice shrieking while a man’s voice details the steps to a demonic sacrifice in the most clinical and doctoral way Eddie’s ever heard. Oh, this is fucking sick. The screams die out, and so does the music with tons of reverb and static. It sounds like something taboo, something people shouldn’t be listening to. Eddie wants more.

“Okay what’s the next one?” he asks eagerly.

“Something a little different…” Robin trails off, unsure of how to describe it.

Eddie recognizes it instantly as a cover of The Cramps’ new single ‘Can your Pussy do the Dog?’ which came out just that past year and in the UK only. Eddie had only heard it twice from a bootlegged vinyl he found at a flea market in Indianapolis, but he still had the record somewhere in his room. The woman on the tape has the same Elvis-like inflection as Lux Interior and uses some of her more shrill tones to her advantage. She trails off some of the lines with moans that have Eddie shifting in his seat.

“Is this song about…?” Robin asks for clarification, wanting to make sure she’s right.

“Oh definitely, she’s singing about girl-on-girl action,” Eddie confirms, punctuating it with a knowing raise of his eyebrows. That’s not what the original song is about, but with this female vocalist, it changes the meaning. Robin flushes and leans back on her heels a little shocked. That’s definitely unheard of in Indiana. There’s a wild improvised guitar solo not on the original track while a male voice howls, growls, and pants into a microphone like a rabid dog, and then the song abruptly stops.

The third and final song starts, and it’s another original. This one starts fast and aggressive, guitar ripping through the speakers and the woman’s voice punching out the lyrics. The song is angry, about the trappings of little towns like this one, about the trappings of being a woman, about the trappings of being different. It’s not metal, but it’s definitely punk that leans on the conventions of metal. Eddie fucking loves it. This song is the shortest, a screaming crescendo ending the song before the woman’s voice finally ends the song with no backing instruments.

“Fuck this place, and fuck me too.”

The cassette clicks to the end of its tape and stops, and once again it’s just Eddie and Robin sitting under the weirdly greenish fluorescent lighting in the back room of Family Video.

“Uh, wow,” is all Eddie has to say at first. He’s stunned. Was the customer the woman singing? If so, she has to be some sort of siren or banshee.

“She told me to show this tape to people and get the word out,” Robin offers.

“And you said she’s a favorite customer of yours?”

Robin stands again, looking a little sheepish.

“Well yeah, she’s got like, really good taste. And she’s not super mean when she shuts Steve down. And she’s got this really pretty hair and she smells like fall spices all year round and she’s really polite and….” Robin trails off, “And I’m rambling, aren’t I?“

“You’re giving me a lot to think about, Robs,” Eddie stands too.

“Does this Say 10 Mistress play any shows?”

Robin can’t help but beam at this question.

“They play The Corner Thursdays?”

“The— fuck the — the Corner Thursdays? Corroded has only been trying to get on that bill for months!” Eddie voice rises almost an entire octave as he works himself up over the information.

Robin just smirks, as if she’s proud of herself for delivering that information. Eddie’s quick to exit the back room, check his watch, and head out the door again with a quick nod to Steve, all while muttering.

“Fucking Thursdays, We’ll see how good this is live.”

Robin watches him leave, and slides in next to her best friend behind the counter.

“I can’t believe you did that,” he says.

“You put me up to it, Dingus!”

“We’ll see how playing matchmaker goes…”

[severeprincesheep]

Kate Bush ‎– Alone At My Piano (1976/77/80) Full Album

The 1976 demos

The Kick Inside Brother

Hammer Horror (3:31)

It Hurts Me [Feeling Like a Waltz] A Rose Growing Old

Stranded At The Moonbase [The Air Is Getting Low] Keep Me Waiting

Kashka from Baghdad (11:36)

Surrender Into The Roses [Coming Up] Carmilla

Oh To Be In Love (15:34)

Rinfy The Gypsy Playing Canasta in Cold Rooms

On Fire Inside A Snowball [Snow] Hot in the Ice

Dali Ferry Me Over

Where Are The Lionhearts On The Rocks

Violin (29:50)

The Craft Of Love Craft Of Life

The Gay Farewell Eddie the Queen

Something Like A Song In My Garden

Frightened Eyes (39:01)

The Disbelieving Angel (42:11)

Nevertheless You’ll Do (44:10)

Come Closer To Me Babe [Who Is Sylvia] Goodnight Baby

So Soft You’re Soft

The Rare Flower [Pick The Rare Flower] I Don’t See Why I Shouldn’t

While Davy Dozed [Davy] Hold Me

The 1980 demos

Babooshka #1 (piano & vocal overdubs) (57:47)

Babooshka #2 (rhythmbox & vocal + musical overdubs) (59:46)

The 1977 “Kick Inside” band demos

Don’t Push Your Foot On The Heartbrake (01:01:45)

Kite (01:04:37)

L’Amour Looks Something Like You (01:07:22)

Strange Phenomena (01:09:33)

Scares Me Silly (But It Gets Me Going) (unreleased song) (01:12:14)

Kate Bush - Alone At My Piano was originally released as one of the many unofficial bootlegs that have seen CD releases over the years. The original CD release of these demo tapes from 1976 was in 1988.

This is the "modestly remastered and expanded" version, which includes other solo demos from a few other unofficial releases that have all been cleaned up to get rid of some of the noise. I wanted to release just the original CD release but most downloads for this album floating around the internet include the bonus tracks.

"The 22 demos which Kate Bush recorded all by herself and her piano in November of 1976 can be found, as a whole or in part, on a number of bootleg CDs. The most common ones are “Cathy’s Home Demos”, “Practice Makes Perfect (Piano Demos No. 1)”, “If You Could See Me Fly”, and “Passing Through Air.

As for the “expanded” bit: I have added six tracks which can be found on the “Cathy’s Home Demos” bootleg. They are two further solo demos from 1980 of “Babooshka” (the first with Kate alone on the piano and some vocal overdubs, the second with Kate at the piano and a rhythm box and vocal + musical overdubs) and five demos with band from 1977, the so-called “Kick Inside” demos."

None of the titles are really official, so I just left them unchanged but put brackets around the alternate titles.

Since there are a lot of these demos already compiled into albums I'll be uploading more of these every once in a while. There are a lot of good ones floating around in single videos and I want to try to clear up any confusion.

Thanks for listening.

[marshmallowgoop]

WIP Game

Rules: In a new post, post the names of all the files in your wip folder regardless of how nondescriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them and then post a little snippet and tell us about it!

---

I was tagged by @hexfloog! Thank you!!

This is a game I actually played years ago, so I thought it'd be fun to look back at that and see what I've finished since then?

Things I Have Started and Am Determined to Finish

AMVs

I am standing by your side ❌

I am afraid I was made to be able to fall apart ❌

out of time japanese ❌

Essays

Ship bingo by ahasbands ❌

heishin ranking ❌

three days with heiji hattori ❌

detco blu-rays ✅

Fic

noir zine ✅

GIFs

crying in the club ❌

Other

HD English dubs ❌

Things I Might Maybe Finish (That I Might Not Have Actually Started)

AMVs

I prefer kick drums and red wine ❌

with you heishin ❌

shadows in the city ❌

I’m just a little messed up ✅

ryuketsu the movies ❌

you are someone else ❌

Essays

Forgiveness in Fiction (and the ‘Net) ❌

detco merch ❌

Fic

KLK fairytale AU ❌

GIFs

OP 5 HD ❌

best buds forevah ❌

Other

detective conan dub comparison ❌

Yeahhh.... 3/22 isn't so good, is it? But some current WIPs I'd like to get done in the next few months or so!

jimjam bday

subtitle process

nakamouri

coai mmv

secret summer

heishin scrap

Kazuha ribbon

Anime NYC

The Boy's Return of a Favor

(And this probably doesn't really count, but I've been thinking about making a post about how to buy Detective Conan films officially and attach your own English subtitles? Some of these skills I've briefly touched on already in my HD English dub process post, but I could go into more detail about how to buy from Japan when you don't live there, how proxy sites work/which ones I use, what you might be able to do if you don't want to rip a disc, how subtitles work on VLC Media Player, etc. I just feel a little sad seeing folks buy bootlegs when you absolutely and totally can buy Conan films officially and just attach your own subtitles—and it's really quite easy! (If expensive and time consuming.) I guess I'm mostly wondering if there's any interest at all in that. Because I realize I'm bonkers 😅)

I tag: @astravis, @cartoonsbyandie, @detectivefable, @meitantei-shitpost, @sapphicselkie, @srirachapop, and anyone else who'd like to do this! (But no pressure at all to play, of course!)

[selfshipconfessionz]

(u can call/tag me as leftovers anon!! i'll sign off with that name + 🥡 emoji)

i feel very conflicted about a lot of things. i'm at least a little possessive over my f/os, but i wish people could experience the same joys i do with them. at the same time, a lot of them are in some way obscure (4 r from an internet horror series with an anti-ridden fandom, one is from a vn, one's from a fanmade project of a fanmade project of a fanmade project of a video game creepypasta, and my most popular one is already in a canon relationship). there's also characters i'm considering as f/os, too.

they make me feel like i'm not as worthless anymore <33333 i've already had a lot taken from me in my life and i don't wanna lose them too. funny thing is that most of them are dead. (3 canonically dead, one suffering a lot, one dies a lot in mods, and one's a ghost).

and it sounds kinda stupid but for the ones who don't have official plushies i'd either buy bootlegs, something similar (eg. a daki), or just make my own plush. i like holding them but i feel sad cus i don't hold mine as much as i want to :(

sorry this was very long and rambly, hopefully i'll come here more often

-🥡/leftovers anon

.

[stargirlfeyre]

Elain breaking her bond definitely feels foreshadowed tons but I will say I know she’s going to sexualize THE HELL out of Az and Elain after reading how she wrote them in the bonus chapter. Which is great for shippers! But…Since I don’t care for the sisters (not Nesta’s biggest fan at all but I don’t mind her now) and even though I care for Elain more than Nesta I still don’t care ENOUGH to read another sexualized book like ACOSF ended up being. Not even for prudish reasons but the stan’s are already ALOT for Az’s ships that imagine how it’ll be if we get an ACOSF part 2. People don’t tak enough about how dreadful the timeline will become with ACOTAR becoming erotica smutt novels officially after another ACOSF. It’s why I could care less for Nessians they’re just deluded and to me have the most boring ship, but Elriel as much as I think they’re cute the timeline would get even worse.

Apart of me feels like Eluciens would be….a little less insufferable. Because Lucien’s not as erotic seeming as Az was. Like I’m sorry that over sexual Az in the BC is just not for me..Wanting to grab her by the throat, go down on her etc was the FIRST pov we got from him of her? IDK. It was a turn off I think esp after all the excessive sex in ACOSF. I’m not even a prude I love a good steamy read but..ACOSF part 2 is what I’m dreading after that scene between them. Lucien and Lucien stan’s suck mostly but it wouldn’t be all sexual and angsty I think they’d (I can’t believe i’m about to say this…) ..have a more interesting connection to read about. Elain and Az almost feel like bootleg Feysand with the Light and Dark contrast. Still cute! Just so many things I’m off about with them. And it’s weird bc I don’t even like Lucien..But I may like him with Elain if he doesn’t behave like Az. Idk! The scenes would be hot with Az but also idk why it turns me off so i’m conflicted. Though thinking of how he put Tamlin and Elain over Feyre in ACOWAR fucking up with Feyre ONCE again…It makes me think it’d be nice to see him not get here. So yeah i’m conclusion your girl is confused 😂 Masterbating to damn headache powder, that’s like a guy I know masterbating to Tylenol I bought him for migraines. Tf 😭 I feel like it’s supposed to turn me on Eps with how he looks but…it just doesn’t. And I love smut. So it’s weird.

I feel like the only time Sjm has talked about Azriel in an interview was to say that he’s a freak in bed. I literally cannot remember any other instance where she solely talks about him. It’s not just the smut that I’m dreading but the type of smut that’s going to be in acotar5. I have a funny feeling that mass is going to lean into the innocent girl + bad boy when it comes to Elriel and their “sex” life. I didn’t read one nessian smut scene because of how sjm wrote it.

To me it’s almost a guarantee that acotar5 is going to be filled with sex, sex, and more sex. I don’t want it to be like that and of course I hope for an actual plot that makes sense however I have no faith in mass😭. I feel like she doesn’t have any motivation to write these couples so she just has them fuck each other and call that a “connection”. She’s already set Azriel up to be a sexual being and his pov was just…? I feel like Elriel is a couple that is supposed to just be enjoyed on surface level. Like if I think too much about my head hurts.

Sjm has fucked up these characters so much that I don’t even know nor care who they end up with.