#actually set in my world and can give you previews of some of the things I'm working on. Currently resuming my Game after abandoning it

[indignantlemur]

My dear Indi, I need your expertise !

Do you have any ideas or headcanons for Andorian outfits, from lighter to warmer? What would they look like in general, what texture is most appreciated or considered fashionable ?

Thanks ! 💙

Hello Zier! Let's see what I can do for you! Fair warning, this one is going to be image-heavy.

For the most part, Andorian fashion in my headcanons isn't unified. Different folks prefer to wear different things, same as Humans, but there are broader elements that are quite common.

Firstly, we know from ENT and subsequent appearances in the modern Treks that Andorians tend to wear a lot of leather, often embossed or tooled to have a particular sort of feel. The samples below from Discovery give me powerful 2009-2013 Gareth Pugh vibes.

Beyond that, the only other time we see Andorians is when they're in Imperial Guard or Starfleet uniforms, which mostly just gives an overall impression of leather, suede, and future-kevlar.

The Andorian ambassador in "Terra Prime" had a very different feel from these, of course, and that shiny outer robe ultimately inspired Thoris' official get-up.

By contrast, some super early screen tests and comic book depictions for everyday Andorians look rather different, however. We've got draping fabrics, robes, tunics, some thigh high boots, and what looks like bits of armoured studding and chainmail. That's quite the departure from the other depictions!

And then, of course, we have Shran's post-Imperial Guard coat. This one gets its own mention, because that coat is fabulous.

Honestly, this isn't a lot to work with. It's better than nothing, of course, but the different depictions feel very disjointed and all over the place. There's no sense of unity in the designs across the board.

So, from there I looked to real-world fashion to help me build a better idea of what I wanted my Andorians to actually look like outside of a uniform. As much as their depictions would lead us to believe that Andorians have an oddly prevalent leather kink, that's really not practical. Leather is a useful material, and certainly a heavily carnivorous population would end up with quite a lot of it, but surely that can't be everything they wear. So, I started looking around for things that felt like they fit the vague aesthetic we were given to work with.

Below are some samples from the ungodly huge pinterest board I keep for ideas and references for Andorian fashion. I think these mostly hit all the key notes for my headcanons.

A lot of these images are very bland in terms of colour, particularly by Andorian standards, but I think you should be able to see what I've drawn inspiration from.

What I ended up with was a combination of future-fashion elements, and influences from places like Japan and India - with a heavy slant towards using leather, silk, velvet and occasionally soft, drapey fabrics. Heavy ornamentation, such as embroidery, is very common but lacework on clothing is actually quite unusual. Andorians tend to find it catches on their chitin and tears too often to be worth the fuss.

In particular, I really like the idea of layers, off-set or asymmetrical necklines, and elements of structural/architectural fashion for Andorians. Tooled leather is very popular, as well.

Another detail about Andorian fashion that I've mentioned a few times in other posts is that they like to show off their chitin patterns. Often this is done using leather as the medium, but embroidery is also a perfectly acceptable option. Often times, these articles of clothing (usually outerwear but not always) will have a Clan sigil somewhere on it as well, but it's not at all a requirement. These practices accomplish a couple of different things:

Firstly, it offers prospective playmates a tantalising 'preview' of what's underneath. Andorians are not shy about these things, nor do they understand why aliens think they should be. Some Andorians find particular types of chitin patterns very attractive, while some are averse to partners with what they perceive to be too much or too little chitin - or worse, chitin patterns that are far too similar to their own, which would suggest a shared lineage somewhere.

Secondly, it shows off Clan affiliations, especially for Clan members who were not born with their Clan's 'typical' chitin pattern. (Married individuals will often wear things that show their affiliation to both their birth Clan and their marriage Clan, as well, though these are usually ornamental items such as jewellery or hair pieces.)

Thirdly, wearing one's Clan affiliations stamped on their sleeves can sometimes serve as a conflict deterrent. Some Clans are just not worth picking a fight with, and knowing who's who ahead of time instead of after someone says something spectacularly stupid tends to save lives. Since the Unification, the need for these sorts of deterrents has dropped substantially, but it's never entirely gone from Andorian society.

This is not to say that I imagine that all Andorians wear the same things. Being able to express individual preferences is very important, especially in a society where most other individualistic pursuits are seen as counter-productive to the harmony and unity of a community.

Shral, for example, deviates from the norm by preferring dark colours and minimal ornamentation. To other Andorians, his sartorial choices are almost conspicuously bland. On the other end of the spectrum, Thelen adores vivid colours - neon oranges, shocking yellows, acid greens - and fully embraces the bombastic colour palettes his people are known for. Thoris is doomed to be trapped in billowing robes he'd much rather burn in a steel drum behind the embassy under cover of darkness, but he prefers layered tunics, boots, and breeches that don't inhibit his movement. Vrath is in the middle of the road, favouring bold colours and practical clothing but never quite able to resist bits of ornamentation that give her wealthy Tha'an Clan allegiance away. Miraal, on the other hand, adore soft, draping fabrics and wears very little leather, or any other similarly heavy materials, and she prefers to wear minimal ornamentation so as not to distract from her wares.

In terms of seasonal clothing, Andorians can tolerate very broad rangers of temperatures, and they have thermal regulators built into much of their clothing. They can get away with quite a lot, in terms of weather, but a heavily cultivated sense of caution generally prevents them from wandering out into surface conditions wearing anything less than full winter gear - though, naturally, their idea of full winter gear is rather lighter than what a Human would go in for. In extreme heat, Andorians have no problem wearing as little as possible - often to the consternation of other species who do not share their total lack of nudity taboos.

Regarding colours, I headcanon that much like how Vulcans view green as a traditional mating colour owing to the hue of their blood, and Humans view red much the same way, so too do Andorians with the colour blue. Just wearing blue alone isn't an invitation for anything, but it is very noticeable and considered a very attractive colour. Wearing a particularly fetching shade of blue while lurking in a bar and being very noticeably single, however...

Andorian silk is a luxury item, and one in high demand. Made from cocoons harvested from a domesticated relative of the infamous Andorian ice borers, it's ten times stronger than Terran silk, rendering it resistant to slashing and piercing damage. It can be woven into heavy brocades or crafted into a diaphanous, organza-like material, or blended with other fibres. It almost always has a slight iridescent or even metallic shine to it, a highly coveted property, and it is ludicrously expensive.

Hope this helps! <3

[icewindandboringhorror]

I’m always paranoid of my tumblr being deleted or malfunctioning or something like that someday, so here’s other places to find me/follow me, just in case lol

~ instagram - https://www.instagram.com/lucalicatte/

~ main youtube - https://www.youtube.com/c/LucaLiCatte

~ games/sims youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@cloudycatte

~ facebook page (I rarely use this because I hate facebook but.. it at least allows text posts better than instagram does, so idk maybe I’d use it more if tumblr went away? lol) - https://www.facebook.com/cloudycatteart/

~ Other Links (stuff I don’t use often/isn’t Main enough to list here, like twitter, neopets, other tumblr sideblogs, youtube channels, etc.) are here - http://icewindandboringhorror.tumblr.com/otherlinks )

[originalartblog]

"Nawy what do you MEAN quick-ish 3D render it's got scratches and everything and I thought this was real for a minute!!"

Well, first, thank you very much that was the intention ❤, and second, you see, all speed is relative, and between finding my references, modeling, texturing and lighting, on top of having to learn how to make convincing gems, it still took me quite a few hours. I, however, cut corners everywhere for speed, and I wouldn't put this piece in a portfolio in its current state.

But! for the curious, I thought I could do a simple breakdown of how the witchcraft happens, without using too much specialized language to make it more accessible. In short,

In this case, I’m talking about a 3D model that was textured (colours and stuff) and then lit (lights on!) to make a pretty final picture. The objective is not to make a tutorial, but to put in simple terms what a 3D artist does to make something go from this, to that:

(people curious and/or trying to see if this interests them welcome)

I'm skipping the 3D modeling part altogether, since it isn't where most of the magic happens here. Just know that to be able to add colour and stuff on a 3D object, you have to go through the process or "unwrapping" it, which is like doing those foldable cubes in reverse

and then we can draw on it!!

Now, the good stuff:

Surfaces (metal, plastic, fabric, wood, skin, etc.) have different looks that make you able to differentiate them on sight. To make something look realistic, you have to try to replicate real life into the 3D world (duh.)

The software developers took care of the hard part (math and coding), so as artists we can play with the parameters available to make something pretty. What those parameters are depend on which "recipe" we're using. One of the most common "recipes" for realistic results is called PBR: Physically Based Rendering, named that way because it's trying to replicate real-life light physics. In this case, the 4 basic parameters are called albedo, roughness, metalness, and normal.

Albedo is the base colour of the surface (easy stuff). Roughness is to determine if a surface is rough or shiny. Metalness is to say if something is made out of metal or not. The normal is there to add all those tiny details you don't want to or can't sculpt on your 3D model (engravings, fabric bumps, etc.)

The roughness and metalness are black and white images because the information you're giving to the software is black = no and white = yes. It's easier to understand in the metalness image, where everything that is NOT a metal is black, and everything that IS a metal is white.

The normal is a bit more complex, but in short, it uses the colours green and red to know what is up/down or left/right, and will help the software fake relief on top of the model. You don't make it by hand; it's computer-generated from other stuff I'm not getting into.

With the technical stuff out of the way, we can actually use these. There are specialized softwares that will let you preview the results of each parameter in real time, so you can see what you're doing easily. This is what I have.

That software comes with some types of surfaces that are already set up, like the fabric in my piece, which was already 85% good for me straight out of the box. Then, it's up to me to use the tools available to decide how shiny a surface is, if there's dust or scratches and where, what colours things are, if there's metal parts, etc. That's where you can see a 3D artist's skills.

And finally, you bring it all together into a specialized software that can render 3D stuff and use those images on the corresponsing parameters, and then light the scene.

Because it all comes down to this: the light! For something realistic, light is vital to get right. You can pour your heart and soul into those tiny scratches, but if you don't light the scene correctly, well...

So we carefully light the scene to get some nice highlights to make the textures look good and highlight our subject (it's basically a photography studio inside a computer)

And then we add some camera effects...

and voilà! pretty picture!!

... and if you somehow did notice something different with the bolo tie from my last post, I did find out while taking all these screenshots that I messed up my initial renders in a way that made everything darker than it was supposed to be and that's why my gold looked so muddy...

I hope this was interesting and that you learned a thing or two!

[anim-ttrpgs]

The Eureka Kickstarter Pamphlet

It’s not much of a secret that my career and future financial stability is riding on the upcoming Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy Kickstarter (April 10th-May 10th) being successful and hitting as many stretch goals as possible.

If you would like to help a disabled person have a viable career, and see more work from myself and A.N.I.M. in the future—well, first of all, back the Kickstarter on April 10th, but secondarily, spread the word so that others can at least know about it and may back it themselves.

Besides just telling people about us and reblogging our posts, a really helpful way for you to spread the word would be to go to this link here (it’s the same link as the one for downloading the free demo) and download the EurekaPaphlet3pg-1 PDF. It’s a foldable pamphlet you can print out and give to anyone who has an interest in TTRPGs at school, at work, at a con, etc. You can even print out a bunch of them and leave them at your local card&hobby store. These pamphlets even include QR code that will give anyone scanning them access to the free Eureka demo. Also, since it’s a PDF, you could also just send it to people online without actually having to print it out.

(Make sure when you do print it out, that you print it out double-sided!)

It’s a nice pamphlet with some of our best art on it, and does a good job of getting right to the point of what Eureka is.

If any of y’all could hand this out and/or show it to people, it could mean a world of difference for making Eureka and A.N.I.M. a viable career path for someone who struggles to hold down any “normal” job.

Set a reminder for the Kickstarter launch here.

See a preview of the Kickstarter campaign here.

Join our Patreon for just $5 and get perpetual updates on the in-progress prerelease version of Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy and several adventure modules.

Visit our website or go to our itch.io page (follow us there too so you'll get notified when the game fully launches) for more information and a free demo! Also, in case anyone didn't know, the free demo isn't just a small chunk of the game anymore, it's almost the full game. Like, everything. If you previously downloaded the demo that kept most of the game hidden, go download it again to get access to all of that hidden stuff and more!

Interested in actually playing this game, and many others, with the developers? Check out A.N.I.M.'s TTRPG Book Club, a club of nearly 100 members at the time of writing this where we regularly nominate, vote on, and then play indie TTRPGs! At the time of writing this, we are playing Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy, and sign-ups are closed for actually playing it, but you can still join in to pick up a PDF club copy of the rulebook to read and follow along with discussion, and sit in on and observe sessions! There is no schedule obligation for joining this club, as we keep things very flexible by assigning multiple GMs with different timeslots each round, to try and accomodate everyone! This round, we had over thirty people sign up, and were able to fit in all but one! Here is the invite link! See you there!

[dailyadventureprompts]

Adventure Arc: A Song on a Silent Night

Before we begin I’d like to get personal for a moment. About a year ago I decided I was going to step away from this blog as a daily format and only post when I was really inspired to. It was a drastic step, but one I had to make because I was so burnt out and so deep in seasonal depression that I was on the edge of having a breakdown. Ironically, it was this specific adventure arc that did it for me, as I felt pressured to make something for the holiday season but literally couldn't get words on the page. Taking a break turned out to be the best thing for me. This past year has been great and I’ve actually had enough energy to not only do the projects that are important to me, but to also improve my writing.   My partner and I have written a narrative podcast and we’re shopping it around to producers at the moment, I couldn’t be more excited. (BTW if you happen to be in the business, give me a shout) In many ways it’s very cathartic to come back and finish this adventure. I’d even say it was easy, since I didn’t have the pressure I self imposed because I thought I needed it to write. I just wanted to say: Take care of yourselves friends. Nurture yourself and good art will follow. I am so thankful to have you all as my audience and I hope you know that no matter how bleak the season gets it’s an absolute joy to write for you.

It’s the coldest night of the year, and despite all the lights on in town no one is home. They have been snatched from their beds and their hearthsides by a sinister song that carries on the wind and has spirited them off to another world. Our heroes must follow, and in order to get their friends and family back they must lay siege to the sorrowful heart of winter itself.

Find out what led to these events, and their outcome, below the cut.

Into:   Some weeks before the disappearances begin, the party are sent into the cold to check on a missing mail shipment, only to end up clashing against a group of hobgoblins intent on ruining the holiday season. From there, acts that might be construed as harmless planks escalate into outright malice as it becomes clear the hobs are disappearing townsfolk, working off some sort of list given to them by an unknown villain. 

Adventure Hooks:

If you’re running this adventure arc as part of a longer campaign, consider previewing the hob’s lair long before the villains every arrive, an old ruin where fey and witches are said to revel during the new moon. Having a low level party venture out to the ruins for a test of bravery only to return months later as veteran heroes will show them just how far they’ve grown.

From deadly pranks to highway robbery, each act of malicious mischief committed by the goblins is accompanied by a list of names and seemingly innocuous offenses, evidently ripped off a far larger list in possession of their leader. The party are likely to collect more than a few scraps of these over the course of their journeys, and will be surprised when they begin to form together, laying out a series of disappearances that stretches back some years. 

The goblins’ leader Klatterbell was having such a nice time in the mortal realm before the party got involved. As a hob-knight in service to an archfey of sorrow and frost, the material plane was practically a balmy vacation destination compared to his patron’s foreboding frozen realm. This led to Klatterbell slacking off on his task of collecting mortals and develop aspirations of becoming a sort of yuletide bandit lord.  Aspirations the party can’t help but thwart when they riad Klatterbell’s fortress and set the captives free.  The fight can end either two ways, either the party is defeated, captured, and banished through the portal to the frozen realm of the bleakfather,  or the party is victorious, and as his last act Klatterbell rips a horn from his belt and plays a haunting and mounrful note that will be picked up by the wind and transformed into a haunting tune. 

Returning home from defeating the goblins and rescuing the captives, the party find the town deserted, the strange music unleashed by Klatterbell’s horn echoing in the roar of an approaching winter storm. With their rescued townsfolk in toe, the party will begin to explore the eerily empty town, discovering that the inhabitants seemingly got up from what they were doing and walked into the cold, proceeding enmass to the edge of the settlement where the snow erases their footprints.   It’s at that point that the frost giants attack, walking out of the enroaching storm like it was a curtain between worlds. They’re here to mop up any townsfolk where were not swept up by the enchanting song and whisked away to the feywild, and maybe do some looting while they’re at it. 

Regardless of how it shakes out, the party will have to assail the realm of the Bleakfather, battling their way through a boreal wind that will seek to rip all warmth and joy from their bodies. The only way of getting through this storm is to think back on the moments of joy and light they’ve experienced through their adventures: the festivals, the little kindnesses, the gifts, the pranks, the games, the songs, their friends: These things will lend them strength when the cold and the dark creep in to swallow them… battling their way up the mountain, to rescue the townsfolk and perhaps defeat the archefey himself. 

Future Adventures: 

It wasn’t only the party’s neighbors that were taken captive by the bleakfather, scores of innocents from across the realms were taken by the frostgiants as thralls, all living out their indenture over the feywild’s timeless years. Hospitality will hold for the winter, but come spring the heroes will need to set off to find these people a place to live. 

With their slaves stolen and their fortress breached, the ice giants will scatter, some returning in months or years later at the head of raiding parties as they too seek a new home.  While some may be hesitant to give up their supremacy and seek to subdue the locals wherever they go, others may wish to live only in peace. 

[jack-kellys]

notes from december performance post-previews that i somehow just wrote up last night in august 2023 whattt how did that happennn:

the way jack replies to “you’re seeing stars alright” feels way more in response to crutchie’s attitude- and when he talks abt his dad getting stomped on it’s not just a context reveal. it’s jack telling crutchie he’s self-aware, he understands his shit place in the world and his desire to change it. just that it’s nice to dream. ow

“time for dreaming’s done” isn’t said with a smile. btw. if u even care

jack stealing finch’s mirror gets me every time

katherine looks back at jack at his “im crushed!” with a little smile

i get that the only reason buttons helps with a lot of the tricks is because he’s the DC but that doesn’t make it any less sweet… he’s always with splasher lmao

jack is quite uncomfortable with the nuns, he doesn’t look at any of them

never ever over spalsher’s little head tilt after his big flip

oscar grabs race’s collar on “i guess he didn’t take care of me!”

morris goes to hit crutchie again after pushing him to the ground before jack stops him

love when race bounces on his toes when he thinks he says something funny

morris blows his cig smoke into davey’s face when he’s grabbing him the extra paper

henry imitates les with finch as his davey, hobbling up to weasel down on his knees

jack rolls his eyes after telling davey “it’s just business” after shaking les’s hand. like can u believe this guy lmao

“mine taught me not to starve” looking at davey like ‘wtf is wrong with you’ LMAO. like jack’s irked with davey actually judging for something so ingrained into jack’s life fr

“HEY!! who was that guy >:(!”

medda checks on jack’s hair and he giggles mid sentence :) like “mooom in front of my friends??”

kaths look of Disgust when jack goes “i admire smart girls” is soooo done. she’s finished w this mf

katherine stays on the set as it shifts into WWK’s scene, staring at jack’s drawing, totally absorbed. i just think it’s fun how when davey sees jack’s backdrop he’s stunned in the same way kath is at her portrait. anyway

jack goes toward finch during the “our union is hereby formed to watch each other’s backs” after leaving ike and finch sweeeeerves away from him. finch only comes on board when davey does actually

when jack’s on the wagon with the “what if the delanceys come out swinging” etc he does a small laugh when the newsies all yell their response like he’s surprised !!

katherine is positioned right above the world’s door as if she’s. inside. ofc initially we read it as her just observing from above but it’s her literal building too.

“specs, you take queens.” “thank you!”

buttons gives kath a friendly wave and race offers his water cup when katherine comes into jacobi’s. walks right past the water even as race keeps his hand out lmfao

tommy lifts elmer into his arms after kath says they’d make front page

“this is not some little vaudeville im reviewing” felt more significant

“give those kids and me the brand new century and watch what happens” is a Plea.

welliguessitdependsonhowyoulookatitifyoulookandseebrooklynthenthey’rewithushaha! then race guns toward davey to yell at him

davey is not afraid to yell when his nerves get shot —> when the scabs boutta get they shit rocked

“them? or them.” OSCAR WAVES LMFAOOO

piggyback for les from racer

fight time

-morris has it OUT for racer in the pre-cop half. literally think he gets smacked with the bat TWICE. he’s on the ground, watches splasher get smacked from the ground, and BOLTS UP and races over to him shoving past morris. insane

-jack only swings on the rope to make a clear path for davey and les actually bc that action is the only reason they get to that half of the stage

-finch and romeo teammates for LIFE. they fought like the whole thing together fr. only pair that stuck out to me for the whole length of it (and then of course they watch crutchie get taken from the audience ough)

-nah jack Is a good fighter thru this it’s just the seize the day moment w the delanceys that he’s shit at btw

-davey doesn’t fight literally at all the whole time :/ c’mon. uncanonizing this in my mind

-SPECS KICKS ASS !! he’s got a bat and everything!! fuck yeah!!

shut up jack wipes at his eye during santa fe at “guy can catch a break”

^guy who lets out a sigh of relief when the post card is still in his pocket. fuck off

act twooo

kath goes to racer abt where jack might’ve gone and he’s abt to answer before albert pipes up

race flicking davey’s hat to the side>

^also they keep chatting thru tap sequences i love it

kath holding davey’s hand while they talk in the corner during table movement

crutchie holds his side when he sings…

^the only part crutchie gets teary at is when he starts talking abt the boys/family :,)

“and a little something extra, just on account of im gonna miss you so-” sounds like medda broke off bc her voice got watery 🥲

“every newsie—who could walk—was out there selling papes” OW the rephrasing of that line

as soon as jack turns his backdrop around to show the strike painting davey walks away soooo fast to turn away

WWH reprise is such an argument. “WE’RE ALREADY WINNING!!” yell davey yell!!

^jack makes the most fuming, boiling angry face after “y’know why a snake starts to rattle 😌?”

davey initiates the spit shake when jack offers his hand

kath is Mortified watching snyder expose jack’s refuge history AND SHES SO MAD when pulitzer gets between her and jack omfg

“be glad you’re alive, kid” is spoken and cruel asf but wbk

morris’s laugh kills me everytime it’s so fucked in the head. goddamn

jack doesn’t let davey touch him when he enters the rally like he doesn’t want davey to look like he knew abt the betrayal beforehand….

scope runs RIGHT up to jack after spot pushes him and goes to yell at him LMAO… lucky has to drag her away

“is that really what it’s like in there? rats everywhere, and vermin?” is taken as judgement and not concern and jack fuckin jumps on it LMAO

the actual motion of disgust jack makes at “you just double crossed us to your father- your… father.” dead every time he literally flinches

“i just didn’t tell you everything!!” is said at the opposite side of the stage as jack and looking down and away. idk why she’s the only katherine that has ever played this line as guilty but i’m always so glad for it

“i’m not stupid.” “no-” “i know girls like you… don’t wind up with guys.. like me.” heathers voice: i will never shut up abooout this

jack seems very afraid of the word love?? during kath’s entire piece of STBI he stays away from her… and she def thinks she’s fucked up for a sec fr

wah this song is so tender :( they hold each other very softly

“hey! um… it’s good to have ya back.”

clarice’s spot also has a moment with race beside just letting the kids into the cellar together..<3 ik lillie’s has more tho

there is something so personal abt davey jacobs saying “bleeeed ‘eeeem” while looking dead into jack’s eyes

davey’s reckless hug once jack’s made the deal with pulitzer… every timeeee

FINCH CRUTCHIE HUG!! first to get to him and holds him the longest before race and jack come along :)

“new york’s got us. and we’ a family.” is said as such a statement of fact like crutchie just ends any argument right there. he just knows jack so fucking well.

:)

[rewcana]

do you spend many of your waking hours on social media? do you feel like it's a problem? in this world of late stage capitalism, your time and attention is actively being harvested by big corporations. it's.. not good. it also just makes you feel bad!

here are some tips that have really helped me reduce the amount of time i give to these apps & get in control of my social media addiction:

1. IDENTIFY PROBLEM APPS

you probably know which apps you spend the most time on. however, looking at real data about usage is very helpful because time spent on social media is very deceiving. keep in mind which apps you spend the most time looking at and interacting with for the rest of this list.

2. TURN OFF NOTIFICATIONS

this is probably the easiest thing to do and it makes an immense difference. it's up to your discretion which notifications you want to keep on (turning on messaging notifications but turning off algorithm and interaction notifs for example) but, the most effective way to stay off problem apps is to turn off ALL notifications.

3. TURN OFF NOTIFICATION SOUNDS

i always keep my phone on silent. i understand that not all people have that privilege but, if you're able to i would highly highly recommend. it has helped me a lot with anxieties regarding waiting for notifications. i used to experienced the phantom vibrate and check my phone obsessively when nothing would happen. you can also just turn off notification sounds and vibrations for any non necessity apps if you don't want to jump to turning off all notifications.

4. CHANGE THE PLACEMENT OF PROBLEM APPS

i actually learned this trick from facebook when they changed the UI slightly so you had to be more intentional in interacting with the app. changing the layout of the apps on your phone really helps you catch yourself when you are automatically opening up apps that cost you time and attention. instead of keeping social media apps on the homescreen, keep it on a different screen, in a folder, & if possible out of the preview window for the folder.

if you want to expand on this more, you could keep a log in a notes app of every time you reached for an app that has since moved. you can even put the notes app in its place!

5. UTILIZE APP TIMERS

my experience is based on samsung app timers so i'm not sure how it differs in different makes. i really dont like my phone telling me i can't do something so i've set my tumblr timer to the highest end of my usage data (2hrs 10 minutes). another mindfulness thing that i like about using the timers is that when i'm switching between apps, my phone tells me how much time left i have (it's currently 1 hour 21 minutes, most of the 49 minutes i've spent writing this lol). i'm just a slut for data so i really like this aspect of the samsung app timer function and it's very useful besides this point.

6. DELETE APPS

okay, i know this seems drastic. but it doesn't NEED to be depending on your habitual problem apps. apps like youtube, instagram, facebook, and tumblr (to a lesser extent ime) (and probably others these are just the ones i have experience with) can pretty easily be transferred to being used exclusively on a web browser. if you use firefox it will even get rid of ads which is very important for overall sanity and for safe web browsing. one of the biggest plusses to moving from an app to a web browser is that it won't automatically play your platform's version of tiktoks. it also makes it more difficult to upload items which is a plus because it will hinder you from doing so and cut back on the loop of expecting validation from recently posted content.

opening instagram without immediately being enthralled by their endless stream of reels has made it SO much easier to control my time on the site. there are tons of plusses to transferring from app browsing to web browsing.

so on the more drastic side, if you are addicted to tiktok you maybe should just delete it. tiktok is intentionally designed so you can't use it in a web browser and can only use it in the app. i will talk more about tiktok and how evil it is later in this post.

7. MOVE DMS TO MESSAGING APPS

if a hesitation to turning off notifactions or deleting apps is from not wanting to miss conversations from online friends, i understand your pain. but, if you are serious about cutting down screen time on apps that are absolutely draining your attention, talk to your friends about switching to a different messaging app. i would suggest signal personally.

your friends may be experiencing similar problems with phone addiction and even if they aren't, if they care about you, they will make this accommodation to help you in this process. i get that this is very scary but i believe in you.

8. USE TIME ON YOUR PHONE FOR OTHER THINGS

depending on your goals for how you spend your time, there are plenty of alternatives to social media / other problem apps you may have. personally i have downloaded a bunch of books on my reading list and will divert attention from dopamine pumping social media to reading. you can find tons of free pdfs of books online and if you are used to reading on your phone, it won't be a difficult transition to read longer form narratives from short text posts.

there are free art apps, language learning apps, self care / journaling apps, meditation apps, etc. that you can use when on your phone. this may seem counterintuitive, getting more apps to battle certain app addictions. but, simply weakening the habit that brings you to the apps that you spend so much time on should help. but watch out for apps that claim they are to teach or better you but have social media built into them / other tricks that keep you glued to your screen. everyone is trying to mine your attention so be wary of all apps and the methods they use to keep you engaged.

9. DON’T BE AFRAID TO PUT YOUR PHONE BACK DOWN AFTER PICKING IT UP

idk if this is a weird one or not but, you know the feeling of going into a room to do something but you forget what so you putter around trying to remember? i feel like going on your phone when you have a phone addiction is often a state of that except the majority of the time you DON’T have a purpose to go on it. so even though it may feel silly, opening your phone only to close it right after is PERFECTLY FINE.

IN CONCLUSION, phone usage is pretty inevitable in this day and age. i've considered getting rid of my phone entirely but, between the expectation to be constantly reachable from employers to QR code menus at restaurants, it just doesn't seem reasonable to get rid of my phone completely. and i will readily admit its convenience and functionality is life changing and wonderful.

however in late stage capitalism, technology doesn't only work for you but it harvests you -- your data, your habits, your time, your attention, your wants, your needs, your thoughts. even leftist spaces with good intentions can trap you (doom scrolling). when i was becoming radicalized during the beginning of the pandemic i spent sooo much time online reading about all these horrible truths of imperialism, colonization, and capitalism, and i felt it was my duty to share these horrors with other people to radicalize them. but it was so unhealthy, especially when shit hit the fan (which it was like constantly doing) because everyone was posting about the horrors and it felt utterly inescapable.

after following some of these steps (which i did in stages over the course of a few years), my relationship with social media has improved greatly and my mental health is actually significantly better. all of this is based on personal experience and observation and this post is specifically for people who want to cut down on phone usage, it's not supposed to be a preachy post that's telling people they spend too much time on their phone.

it's also nowhere near complete. it doesn't tackle addictions to games on phones nor the notorious tiktok. i said i would talk about it later and here it is. i have a chalkboard in my kitchen and all it has written on it is "tiktok is the devil". i have never seen such a commonly used app that has such a degrading effect on all of its users. and it set a precedent to all other social media apps for autoplaying videos that demand user engagement. i was on tiktok for a little less than a year and the way that it would sap anywhere from 20 minutes to over 3 hours of my time when i told myself i'd only watch a few videos was insane. as an aspiring creator i felt that i needed to hop on it to get recognition but now, i don't see it as anything more than a tarpit to trap as many people as possible in its dopamine rich algorithm. but whatever, that's just my little rant. as a social experiment i think it's fascinating lol and i for the creators it's benefited im very happy for them.

anywayy, i hope this helps someone if it gets any attention at all lol. remember no one can make the decision of how you spend your time on or offline but you. not some stranger on the internet, not corporations, no one. you are in control of your time (well besides the whole having to work most of your waking hours to survive but that's what communism is for yayy).

[rosejigglypuff76]

Cookie Run Kimura AU - Chapter 7 (Preview)

Author's Note

My deepest apologies for being unable to write for a while. Due to me being busy with a lot of writing for my 2nd Term of my 1st Year of College I ended up getting a bad case of Writer's Block, due to my mind becoming mentally exhausted from various homework and projects. 😅🎀

Luckily the 2nd Term of my 1st Year recently finished a few days ago, and I'll be returning to my 1st Year's 3rd Term this coming May 8. But in the meantime, I'll try my best to complete Chapter 7 for my Cookie Run Kimura AU!

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

Cookie Run Kimura AU 🪴 Episode 7 (Preview) - Full Experimental Alchemist 🧪

Grandmaster Hotel, Sparkling's Juice Bar Wednesday, 5:41pm  in the Afternoon

"Hehe!! I supposed that was one dance within the starlights!", Herb politely chuckled while watching the reel that Sparkling posted on his Instagraham Page (Cookie Instagram Page) that ended up getting a lot of views within the first few hours alone.

As promised, Vampire sent the video he recorded on his phone to Sparkling. With the blonde teen himself both posting it and also adding the red-haired teen as a collaborator of the aforementioned reel.

"Wow! And it's crazy that you and Rockstar chose to stop the crowd from betting on either of you!", Cherry Blossom pouted in disappointment, "You won that match yet…"

Sparkling served the usual drinks to the rest of his friends, ending with serving Cherry Blossom her usual Sakura Milkshake. He sighed before replying with, "Even if Rockstar won instead of me, we both had the same idea regardless of the outcome. That being that there shouldn't be any bets, and that in the end we chose to dance for fun and sincere enjoyment."

"That's one reasonable and truly humble answer, Sparkling. It's cruel to see that there's not many cookies who have just as logical of a mindset as you, Herb, Cream Puff, and most of the cookies here...", Cocoa Butter (Dark Choco) calmly joined in the conversation as he drew on his calligraphy sketchbook.

The dark-haired teen gave an oblivious Cherry Blossom one silent side eye, drawing a quick sketch of one cute blue bear jelly plushie. The one that Herb won for him earlier in the arcade, which is also sitting right in front of him on the table.

Mango showed one big warmhearted smile, giggling at the amount of fun his friends are having. At the moment he was writing down the remaining few things on his notes from his phone, listing down everything the Student Council needs to do for the Science Fair.

"That looks like a lot of work that you wrote down.", Cream Puff spoke, taking a small little peek on Mango's list and overall sets of notes, "Working hard as ever, I see! Hehe!"

The young Student Council President himself nodded, double checking if there's anything that he needs to add or remove. Smiling kindly with complete satisfaction and happiness, "Everything is written down, and assigned the required things for each of us to do. Each is given a couple of tasks that's best suited for the five of us, both as individuals and as a team!"

One thing led to more chain reactions within the Blooming Friend Group. Most of them involve Herb and Sparkling offering their help to Mango and Cream Puff. A couple of times would have Cocoa Butter give some ideas as well, and Cherry Blossom followed along every so often.

Vampire would join in at times, recommending what the Student Council can do to promote the event in the Lotte World Tower and even make the event more widespread but reasonably limited to those in Cookie Biscuit City for a less stressful but amazing day.

That's when another idea sparked up in Mango's mind, "Hey Vampire? You're the Leader of the Science Club right?"

"Of course, Mango!", Vampire kindly replied, "If you need more help for the Science Fair, you can come to me or any of the members."

"I actually was about to ask!", the upbeat blonde cheered at the easy-going redhead, "WellyouseeweareveryopentobothofferinghelpandalsoreceivinghelpfromeveryonebothcookiesandcreaturesalikesoifyouarefinewithisitokayifyouandtheScienceClubhelpusoutwiththeScienceFairnextweek?"

"Let's just say everyone has that "Chibi Awe Face", that originated from those iconic Cookie Run Kingdom Korean Videos!", Herb thought to himself (and you) the moment Mango spoke that fast.

It took at least a few or so seconds until everyone was able to process what Mango just said. Ironically he's still easy to understand despite talking in one breath at times due to excitement.

"Mango? Is it okay if you talk a little slower please?", Cream Puff asked, blushing in embarrassment for her fellow Student Council member and silly-sweet love.

Mango blushed in embarrassment as well, chuckling with the same embarrassed look but was reassuring nonetheless, "Heh heh! Sorry about that Cream Puff. I guess it was hard for you guys to understand when I spoke that fast."

Vampire shook his head with reassurance, "Well actually, we understood what you said Mango. But we also don't want you to say it all in one breath, for your safety."

"Ah!", Mango showed a "Chibi Awe Face" of his own, kindly understanding the situation and in full agreement, "I'll try my best to keep that in mind. Thanks for telling me, heh heh!"

Everyone had a nice fun laugh, simply enjoying the times they have with each other and just in general having a great amount of fun times.

Needless to say, the red-haired boy eventually responded to the slightly younger of the two blonde teens in the room, "From what you mentioned Mango, that sounds like a great idea! I'll make sure that-!"

*beep boop*

Vampire briefly jumped out of his seat the moment he felt a sudden buzzing sound in his pocket. Calming down almost in an instant though, before proceeding to pull his phone out. Getting a recent notification of someone sending him a text message.

He sat there for a couple of seconds reading the text he was sent, before giving one deep but calmly chill sigh, "Sorry guys. But my little sister wants me to help her with something urgent at home."

*SWOOSH!!!*

It was ironically followed by Vampire putting down his payment for his drink at the counter, before immediately dashing out of the Juice Bar like his life depended on it.

This raised a bunch of eyebrows for the rest of the Blooming Friend Group. Both confused and worried of what urgent thing Alchemist texted Vampire moments prior to him bolting out of the Juice Bar. Of course, Sparkling and Herb are the most concerned. But Cream Puff was even more concerned and even scared for Vampire, "Is it just me… Or did Vampire look like he was hiding how afraid he's currently feeling about that text message Alchemist sent to him…?"

[createserenity]

A Day for Magic - fanfiction

This is the first story I wrote inspired by @mrghostrat's collage of kisses. It's based on the first kiss in the set, which I don't think was drawn with the intention of it being on a bench, but it happens on a bench in this fic anyway.

Thank you so much Bilvy for making such lovely artwork that did away with my writers block. Maybe I'll actually be able to make some proper progress with my wips now, at least if I'm not distracted by the ficlet idea I have for the fourth kiss (hello ADHD hyperfixation taking over my brain). Like the other fic, which you can find here, this is set post an imaginary season 3 where they've saved the world and are talking again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A Day for Magic

Read on AO3 here (preview below)

It’s a beautiful early autumn day, the warm afternoon sun slants through the trees, sending golden motes of light dancing across the lake as Aziraphale sits on the park bench and contemplates the scene around them.

Just up the pathway he can see the little ice cream cart is making good money from the passing foot traffic, the vendor taking advantage of the unseasonably warm autumn day before the winter sets in and nobody wants ice cream anymore.

Over near the lake crowd of ducks harass the Bulgarian culture attaché over the contents of the plastic bag clutched in his hands. Aziraphale can tell even from here that the bag contains frozen peas, or at least previously-frozen-and-hopefully-now-defrosted peas, and he feels his lips twitch up into a smile. Crowley will be pleased.

He glances over at the former demon sprawling out next to him on the bench, skating his eyes briefly over the sharp lines of his form fitting jacket, up the long neck, partly hidden by the red hair that Crowley has grown out again. He’s got half of it pulled back off his face today and Aziraphale thinks the look rather suits him, not to mention it has the advantage of being an exceptionally convenient length for Aziraphale to run his fingers through when the mood takes him.

They’ve sat like this in this park so many times before, but things are different now. Aziraphale sits closer, no longer confined to his side of the bench, and Crowley has one knee pressed against Aziraphale’s thigh, warm and solid. His arm is draped over the back of the bench and Aziraphale can feel the fingers of Crowley’s hand curled up against his back. The touch is nice – comforting without being intrusive.

Crowley isn’t paying attention to him; he’s gazing across the path and when he gives a sudden smirk Aziraphale turns his head to try and work out what he’s looking at. It’s certainly not the ducks.

He’s just in time to see a man in a sharp looking business suit rising to his feet, glancing around in a way that suggests embarrassment. Had he fallen over? It didn’t look as if he had and surely Aziraphale would have noticed if there had been a commotion.

His eyes drift down to the path itself and he sees something round and shiny, glinting in the soft autumn light.

“Really, my dear,” he murmurs, glancing over at Crowley again.

“What?” Crowley shoots him a grin. They both know he’s feigning the ignorance so Aziraphale just shakes his head and lets the corner of his mouth quirk up into a slight smile. He’s aiming for something that says, “I can’t believe you’re doing this, you incorrigible fiend,” but suspects the expression has taken a detour towards fond somewhere along the way.

Continue on AO3 here

[vivi-the-goblin]

Coolest thing I found out about Pathfinder 2e as I've slowly moved in is the adventure paths. The main paths have player handouts for free on the site. Most modern ones tend around 7-10 pages (though the early ones were practically books by themselves.) They give a synopsis of the themes of the campaigns, an explanation of any adventure-specific gimmicks, background info the characters would know, and all the character options like backgrounds and spells and such. If you have a home base or reoccurring starting town, they even give little maps with a few important NPCs, so the players can plan things out easier. Best of all, they let you know "hey, there are moments where diplomacy can shine, but you're spending a lot of time in dungeons so there's not a web of intrigue in this one." or "Hey, it's a magic school, but martial classes will work, ranger especially. We ask the GM to use the free archetype rule so martial classes can grab some magic."

1- That's just useful as hell and I don't know how I hadn't thought of that before. Like, it's a summarized session 0 for reference, along with some basic notes to tide them over for the first few sessions and some places they could poke around. Maybe I'll start making a list for my campaigns too, a little page or two of "here's things the character would know, here's the people in your home base, here's the world map as you know it." 2- I get that it's half preview so DMs know what they're buying, but putting the new spell options and backgrounds in such in a freebie for everyone is bold! You gotta have confidence in your adventure for that. Especially because the wiki, archives of nethys, seems to be officially sanctioned to slap every source book and free thing onto itself. 3- Reading through some of these...yeah they have good reason to be that confident. I figured that they wouldn't get worse since the ones I used to read in 1st edition, or what I read for Starfinder, but still! Granted, this is my type of book. I prefer a book to tell me everything I could want to know, flesh out all the characters, and let me cut out stuff I don't want. I don't like 5e's "here's a vague idea, ~you can make the rest whatever you like!~" It's just refreshing. Many of them go all the way to level 20, NPCs don't just vanish into air when you're done, wide varieties of themes between adventures. And again, consistently giving me rules and options and things to do instead of saying "lol just do what ya want?" Feels good. Though take with a grain of salt as I've yet to really run through these, just some cursory playtests to see how encounters feel. I'll follow up if opinions change, but I've run paizo books before to good success. 4- I'm really digging how the adventures come out in 3 to 6 books, often nearing 100 pages each. Like I know the actual reason, there's at least 1 per month with enough content to last that long or more, keep you on that monthly adventure subscription. However, if your party goes off the rails, you can just decide to not pick up that last book. Party decided they didn't like it? hurts a lot less when it was just the $20 for that opening section. And yeah, it's better to get them all at once so you can set up better foreshadowing...but you can just look at one of the many community guides for your section that will point out what parts will be coming back. Honestly, community support for most of these paths seem pretty good, both in guides and homebrew supplemental material. Glad to see that never changed.

[baleriontheblackkitten]

A Game of Thrones - Prologue

Aah the iconic prologue - which I adore. Fun fact: I actually read the first chunk of AGOT twice, the first of which several years ago, when I downloaded the free preview from Amazon. Since the free preview is a certain % of the work, and it was the preview of the box set of the entire series, it was actually several chapters!

Much has been said about the symmetry of the very first chapter featuring the "ice" threat from the north and the last featuring the "fire" threat from the east, while the rest of the book features no magic and the characters just go out and about busy with their political squabbles oblivious to what's coming, so I don't have anything to add to that. It's really cool, though.

The cool thing about the prologue is that you can read it from different perspectives, none of them "wrong" but that focus on different angles: the class angle focuses on how the lordling sends them all to their destruction, a microcosm of how the classist system of Westeros is going to lead its population to (near) destruction; the supernatural angle focuses on how the humans are just doomed, a microcosm of how the threat of the Others is, indeed, extremely "other" to human logic. I think they're both simultaneously valid ways to look at the chapter.

“We should start back,” Gared urged as the woods began to grow dark around them. “The wildlings are dead.” “Do the dead frighten you?” Ser Waymar Royce asked with just the hint of a smile. Gared did not rise to the bait. He was an old man, past fifty, and he had seen the lordlings come and go. “Dead is dead,” he said. “We have no business with the dead.” “Are they dead?” Royce asked softly. “What proof have we?” “Will saw them,” Gared said. “If he says they are dead, that’s proof enough for me.” Will had known they would drag him into the quarrel sooner or later. He wished it had been later rather than sooner. “My mother told me that dead men sing no songs,” he put in. “My wet nurse said the same thing, Will,” Royce replied. “Never believe anything you hear at a woman’s tit. There are things to be learned even from the dead.”

The reader with at least a bit of an inkling of what the series is about immediately notices the irony. The dead are totally something to be frightened about, dead is definitely not dead, and everyone is going to have very much business with the dead. Seeing dead people is really not enough to be sure they won't trouble you again... (I do wonder what it's like to start reading the book not knowing anything about what's going to happen, though. Imagine the shock when dead Waymar Royce stands up!)

The gender angle comes up, too. These men have been taught things from the older women who raised them, but they don't know how to interpret them. To be fair, the women themselves probably don't know what the things they were told from their own elders - mother after mother, wet nurse after wet nurse - exactly mean. But there's a wisdom there that is overlooked.

Dead men sings no songs can be interpreted differently. What Waymar Royce assumes it means, is that the dead don't speak and nothing can be learnt from them, and denies it is true, as the dead give clues to know some things. That is not untrue: there is a perfect logic to Royce's insistence they investigate the situation, his only mistake is to assume the woods are only home to things he knows.

But there's also the fact that the Others (whom I am not sure if we can call them dead men, structly speaking, but they do look like men and are definitely not alive in a human way, so) are unhumanly silent. Many times Will notes that they don't make a sound. They also make him silent: multiple times Will should cry out, warn his officer, but he doesn't, frozen in fear. The Others do speak and laugh, but in no human voice. Their "voices" sound like ice cracking, not anything that would resemble a song.

They sing no songs indeed - songs are the main source of knowledge in this world. Songs are how stories are told and preserved. Songs are community, they are society. The Others are the opposite of that.

There are references to these men having heard stories about what's in the woods (“There’s some enemies a fire will keep away,” Gared said. “Bears and direwolves and … and other things …”) but stories are a double-edged sword: in their age, most people dismiss it as women's tales, and ignore the warnings in them. And that's what dooms all of them, including later Gareth that is not believed.

Royce is right that there are things to be learnt from the dead; the lesson he learns here is his last, though.

He keeps making the correct choices if there were no supernatural enemies waiting for them. He correctly notes that the current temperature - in normal conditions - would not be cold enough to kill people. Fire would give their presence and position away to wildlings. He dismisses the other men's fears, mocks Gareth for being "unmanned".

He would be actually good for the job if not for the Others. One could argue that his attitude is detestable, and it is, but it makes sense for a teenaged lordling; if he had lived, he would have likely grown and learnt to respect the expertise of his common-born brothers. He's been in the Night's Watch for so little time! It's no wonder he acts like the brat he's been raised to be, like Jon will do at the beginning of his time in the Watch.

Additionally, being able to prod his fearful companions and make them act anyway instead of cowering in fear and running away is actually a non negative skill to have in normal conditions for a commander! He's been raised to be a leader, which includes overriding your subjects' hesitations. He also feels the pressure of it - he mentions not wanting to come back from his first mission with zero results.

Ser Waymar Royce does exactly what he is supposed to do. Brattily, but we can forgive him for that as he's a teenager raised to feel and act superior to people lower than him in the social ladder. With sexists remarks, but that does not make him special, he lives in a world imbued with sexism. He dismisses Gareth's fears, but it is not cold enough for them to reasonably expect to have issues with it, the Wall has been weeping …

Royce cannot turn back. It's his first ranging and he has a pile of societal expectations on him he cannot escape. Expectations about "real men", about commanders, about what a highborn man like him should act like. But also expectations about … reality. He has certain assumptions about how the world works, and the Others being real is not part of them.

They are all doomed because the lordling leads them to their death, yes. But the lordling leads them to their death because it's perfectly natural for him to do so given how their world works. They are doomed because the system - the social expectations and the law, later for Gareth - is structured in a way that gives them no alternative.

Blaming the lordling for his dismissal of the other men's fears is meaningless. The lordling's actions make perfect sense in the system. It's the system that fails them, because it has forgotten, or, better, relegated the truth to women's tales. (Remembering is a pivotal thing in the story.)

Another element that is highlighted in this chapter, and the series in general, is sight. Will's task is to watch. Watchers, the Others are called as the rest of them observe the first one and Royce fight. Royce's sword shattering blinds him. But then, The right eye was open. The pupil burned blue. It saw. Will, on the other hand, closes his eyes before being killed.

I am sure that the dead they rise are the Other's additional eyes. They can see everything the dead they rise "see" - just like Bloodraven's magic can use the eyes of the weirdwood trees, of animals, and possibly more (at some point Bloodraven mentions wind if I'm not mistaken), the Others can use the eyes of the dead, and possibly more (the icy wind from the depths of the north, I suppose).

It's poetic that one of Royce's eyes is destroyed by the shattered metal: it gives the Other who killed him three eyes, in a symmetry with the tree-eyed crow.

Speaking of sight, we could say that Royce was blind to the danger he's led them all into, and his blindness is what dooms him, just like his physical blinding is what dooms him to be killed for good. Next chapter is Bran, whose arc all revolves around sight, a supernatural kind of sight.

The next chapter also features the direwolf pup with red eyes being the one in the litter whose eyes are already open, a clear contrast with the blue of the Others and the dead risen by them.

There's also a character who is name-dropped a couple times in the prologue, Maester Aemon, who is physically blind and towards the end of his life deplores about having been "blind" to the truth of the prophecy (at least according to his assumptions at the time). In that case, he believes he's been "blind" to the fact that the one who will defeat the Others will be Daenerys with her fire, which is a reasonable assumption to make. But I wonder if he is right, and the thing to count on is really fire, as everyone expects - or sight. Again, the direwolf with red eyes …

Let's get back to the societal critique. To be fair the critique to the classist society of Westeros writes itself - the most experienced ranger should lead the expedition, not the green boy who is allowed to give orders to and mock other men just because of his high birth. (Additional note: the Night's Watch should "erase" its members' past, including their social status, and make them all "brothers" and yet it does not.) I'll focus on a slightly different angle.

The thing is that ultimately Royce's nobility does not matter. The fancy warm clothes his family's wealth provided for him do not protect him from the supernatural cold the Others bring; his beautiful jeweled sword shatters.

On one level we could read this as a commentary (and foredshadowing) that it's not nobility or wealth that can protect you from this enemy, but something else. But this also tells us something about Waymar Royce and the Night's Watch.

I don't remember if the Royces have Valyrian steel weapons, but even if they did, they would not give them to the youngest cadet son they sent to the Wall to get rid of him. Waymar is "higher" than Gareth and Will socially because of his status as highborn, but he is also a social "reject" sent to the Night's Watch.

The Night's Watch is where Westeros sends the men it doesn't want: Will was a poacher that dared steal from nobility (a popular trope in feudal societies, no need to elaborate on it); Gareth is said to have joined the Watch as a kid, so he was probably a street urchin caught stealing, or a kid his family sent to the Wall to have less mouths to feed.

Ser Waymar is a high born, but “the youngest son of an ancient house with too many heirs”. Maybe that's even why he's such a brat: he knows that he's supposed to be more "precious" socially than Gareth and Will, but ultimately he's on the same level as them, some unwanted guy sent to the ends of the world so nobody has to see him anymore. Maybe he acts like a bitch to his inferiors because that's the only way he has to feel superior to them, because he knows he means no more than them at the end of the day. A bit Theon-like, the boy who acts like an asshole to cover his trauma of being a glorified hostage.

One more note on Royce: the narrative highlights his innocence. Will thinks that his sword has never been swung in anger, which on a surface level indicates that he is no real warror that has never really been in a proper fight. But it also indicates that he's an innocent young man. Once he's dead, it sinks in Will how young he is. He's the first of the many boys dead too soon. He "becomes a man", in the logic of their society's view of manhood (which is not necessarily a laudable thing), in the very circumstance of his death. He faces his opponent bravely: in that moment, Will thought, he was a boy no longer, but a man of the Night’s Watch. He foreshadows Robb, the boy king, brave and dead, forever fifteen. He foreshadows Jon, also grey-eyed, also a brother of the Night's Watch, also dead by stabbing, albeit in very different circumstances.

Will also foreshadows Jon at the end, killed by his fellow brother of the Night's Watch (although in Will's case it was not Royce's choice, of course), and the last thing he feels is the cold.

Other details:

The warhorse was the wrong mount for ranging - foreshadowing for the realm engaging in war when it should be focusing on the threat from the north.

“Dance with me then.” - "dancing" is a word that is usually used in relation to dragons; here it's used in relation to the Others, establishing a connection between the two, fire and ice.

Ser Waymar Royce found his fury. “For Robert!” he shouted - doesn't it break your heart, how this boy dies in the name of a king that does not care for him, out of metaphor for a system that does not care for him. Westerosi society sent him to die beyond the Wall.

Also, Robert is just as unfit to lead Westeros as inexperienced teenager Waymar Royce is unfit to lead the ranging - the system does not care about putting the right person in the position of leading others. It's all about the violence inherent in the classist social stratification (and the even more factual violence of how Robert became the king).

Will rose. Ser Waymar Royce stood over him - this is just a kickass line.

The chapter closes with Will praying before getting killed, and then we transition to Bran's chapter, almost like he's the destination and/or answer to that prayer.

What are your thoughts about this chapter??

[mizukagami-takamagahara]

In response to my BBCF Lobby Sprite Edits, @cavewulf added the following;

Did you know the lobby sprites design first appeared in a game called magical beat, which had a collab with blazblue

I actually did not know about that! Though, inspired by your comment, I decided to do some digging. The trailer I found (posted by Arcade Belgium) even teases at the BlazBlue cameos, giving us a brief glance at Carl and Nirvana while previewing the game's Character Select menu, and showing silhouettes of Ragna and Noel toward the end of the video!

Magical Beat was released for the Playstation Vita in 2014, published by Arc System Works, just like BlazBlue. I did notice it as an option on the ArcSys games poll that ended just recently!

Magical Beat was (or is, I guess, one could still play it, though it's certainly faded from the public eye) a combination drop-down puzzle game and rhythm game. A fun thing I noticed was that levels in Magical Beat are comprised of ten stages, just like the Arcade modes in some of the BB games (though I think it was eight in Chronophantasma?)

The world of the game does seem to have some kind of story, taking place after the extinction of humanity. The three human-looking characters that seem to be the face of the game are actually "humanoid cyborgs" from some great war in the past... a character archetype that ArcSys seems to really enjoy using.

In addition to the game's original soundtrack, courtesy of Kikuo-san, the game featured 20 songs from the BlazBlue series, and 15 from XBlaze! The songs were released as DLC in sets of six (on average) that would also unlock an associated cameo character to play as!

The game also featured a small selection of music from the Guilty Gear series, but no Guilty Gear characters were featured.

Another interesting note; while I was working on this post, I noticed the Makoto sprite from Magical Beat looks a lot different than the sprite I used for my edits. Here's a comparison;

Magical Beat Makoto --

Makoto available on the Librarium Wiki, used for my edits --

Note how much more red the Makoto sprite here is! The difference in eye color! The Magical Beat Makoto also features slightly more detail, with a hair shine at the back of her head that our Makoto lacks. What's up with that??? I'm aware that the CF sprites have multiple alternative color palettes people can use, but it seems strange that out of all the sprites uploaded to the wiki, only Makoto's page lacks her original palette.

I decided to boot up my copy of Central Fiction to see figure out whether or not this was her default palette, but I had trouble getting online- I have CF on the Switch, so I have to deal with Nintendo's finickiness.

I reached out to Carl @goofballproximitysurveyor for some help, and it provided the following screenshot of Makoto's CF sprite --

Which is the same as her Magical Beat sprite! Aside from the fact that she's still missing her hair highlight thing. I wonder why that was changed. I haven't noticed it with any of the other CF sprites.

Welp. Moving on from that mystery.

I never did play Magical Beat myself. This was supposed to be a Magical Beat post, though, before I got sidetracked. If any of you did play the game and have memories of it, please share them!

[rings-of-power-realm]

10 star reviews about The Rings of Power 💚

The first season isn't even finished yet and already I have recommended this show to friends and family more than any previous media. Every episode so far (5 released) have surpassed my expectations, which were fairly high going in. As someone who has read all of Tolkien's published works (some more than I'd care to admit), anyone saying that "Tolkien is turning in his grave" has absolutely no idea what they're talking about. It was always going to be walking a thin line between creative choices and already established canon, but I can see, so far anyway, that they have absolutely aced it. If the show continues to be as great as it has thus far, I can see this being one of the all time great masterpieces of TV history, and for many years to come. It's incredibly rare that I won't have criticisms of some kind, especially for something I am passionate about, and the only criticism I have of the Rings of Power is that I can't listen to the sound track 24 hours a day, because I have to sleep at some stage. Bear McCreary has written a masterpiece worthy of being pinned up on the wall with Howard Shore's work from the Lord of the Rings.

                                                         🧝

Don't listen to the negative reviews. Some people have an idea of what something should be in their own mind. I too have read mostly all of Tolkien's books. You form a world in your mind from those words. It's yours it's personal. This show is Magnificent. It's a big bold dive into Middle Earth. Beautifully filmed and acted. The first too episodes are structured in a way to set a scene for the multiple storylines for multiple characters which as the series progresses will merge in to one common fight against the darkness. It's absolutely fantastic and if you don't watch it because of someone's snobby 1/10 then you will be missing out.   

                                                        🧙‍♂️

I can't believe people who are giving this such negative reviews. Who cares if it's not the way you think it should be portrayed because of your version of what you think you read from his original works. It is fantastically entertaining, incredibly well shot and produced, and while the story lines were slow to get rolling, and I don't necessarily think that some of the characters lineup with how they were portrayed in the Lord of the Rings movies later, it really doesn't matter. These are NEW. I can't wait for each episode to come out, I look forward to watching these every week, and I would love to be able to see all of them in the theater. The first two we saw through a free preview, and I wish I could watch every single episode on a huge screen! Enjoy them for what they are.

                                                          🏹

This is the first prequel I have ever seen that was not a disappointment. I love the acting, the faithfulness to Tolkien's vision, the use of reworked ideas/themes/dialogue from the Lord of the Rings, and the compelling worldbuilding. It is important to remember that this is an interpretation, not an adaptation, as this story is based on timelines in the Appendices to LOTR and not on Tolkien stories. Therefore, the showrunners had to invent story arcs and characters to flesh out the story. If they had note done this, then the show would be boring and empty. They did a great job filling in the gaps and told a story that I have already rewatched many times.

                                                         🧝🏿‍♂️

I almost didn't watch because of other reviews but I've learned to not even pay much attention to them. This feels just like Lord of the Rings to me. It could actually be its own movie. The acting is great, the scenery and graphics are amazing. I've been hooked and entertained since the first episode! Can't wait to see more.

                                                         🗡️

I was putting off watching this for a while but one night I couldn't find anything to watch and I put this on and now I'm glad I did. It's the first thing I look forward to after a long day of work. I think the plot is fantastic. I read a review that said they didn't know where the plot was going but how can you not? It's very easy to follow. I'm in love with the series already.

I am blown away by the quality of this production. There is nothing like it. Although it is not an original story written by JRR Tolkien, it is an interesting one; an important backstory.

Although the story unfolds slowly, like in most series, it has a decent amount of action and suspense. Watch it and indulge yourself in Middle Earth. And about all the criticism... This is my take: To me, there are two Middle Earths. (1) The original one that you have imagined when reading the books. (2) The world created by John Howe, Alan Lee, Peter Jackson, make-up artists, actors, etc., etc. This series fits right into the later one and does it justice.

                                                       🍂

Don't believe those fools who are giving bad ratings and negative reviews. I don't know why so much hate for this show. I'm so obsessed with this show right now and have watched all the six episodes non-stop and wanting more soooo badly. I mean the acting, the scenes, the dialogues and above all the VFX are soooo beautiful put together that will make your mind blown by this masterpiece. I've really enjoyed and didn't look away for a second while watching. It really took me to the place where I couldn't have imagine in my dreams. Please guys stop giving the bad ratings and reviews to a show like this one. This show deserve all the love and not the hate. We all should appreciate the work and efforts put in this show.

                                                        🔮

I think this prequel was beautifully done. The visuals are stunning, and story is excellent. There is a very satisfying last episode of season 1. I'm excited to see more. I had no problem adjusting and accepting the younger version of known characters, specifically Galadriel and Elrond. I think the acting and writing felt true to Middle Earth. I'm a fan of the books (Hobbit, LotR and The Silmarillian) which I read before the movies were released. I'm thrilled to have new Tolkien inspired material even if it's from the imagination of someone else, it is brilliant and a wonderful addition to the Middle Earth lore. There seem to be too many of the instant gratification society who were too impatient to wait for the payoff. Looking at the dates of many of the reviews is frustrating seeing that people couldn't reserve judgement until 10/14 after the season could be viewed as a whole. People have become to used to being able to binge a new show in a few days and not have to wait and dwell over what might happen and the new information presented in each episode. It has been exciting to see it unfold week by week. I'm glad for the return to this method of releasing a new series.                                                

Link to the 10 star reviews🍄

[mama-emeritus-i]

Hi!!! Can i request some Nihil (Young or old)

Headcanons? Anything can do fluff or smut

Thank you!

Of course! Young Nihil has me weak and I will use any excuse to talk about him! THis is both SFW and NSFW so minors please leave.

Young Nihil Headcanons (NSFW under the cut)

FLUFF HC

Okay, so in my mind there are 2 different Young Nihils- Dance Macabre and Kiss The Go Goat. Aka pre papa and post papa. 

He used to be a fuck boy, like would sleep around with as many people as possible, but when he met you his whole world was rocked. 

He used to do stupid things to get your attention, especially at parties. Whether it was getting drunk and jumping off the roof into the pool or just try to flirt with others to get your attention. 

When y’all finally got together, it took him a while to open up to you and take down the wall of “confident and outgoing singer” and you actually found out that he lacked a lot of confidence until he had his official “Papa” title

His favorite date night is going to the cinema then going back to one of y’alls places and drinking wine and just talking. It was a good way for him to wind down. 

He is also very good at bartending and making drinks, he loves to try out new ideas and you would often be his taste tester. 

He often uses pet names for you, but hates calling you “Babe”, “Bubba” or “Baby”- something about that always weirded him out. He did use these in public though, to make him seem more casual and like he wasn’t as invested. He probably leaned towards more classic pet names like “dove”, “Love” and a version of your name only he could call you. 

Loves PDA, this man loves to grab you by the waist, kiss your hand and cheek, will grab your ass in public, and have no shame in any of it. He loves when you sit in his lap when there are no chairs. 

This man is WHIPPED for you, which is weird for him since that has never happened to him before. 

SMUT HC 

Nihil has a breeding kink. This man has 4 kids- I think that is self explanatory. He loves watching his seed drip out of you before pushing it back in with his fingers, you know… to be extra thorough. 

He is all for quickies, anytime and anywhere… 5 minutes before a show? In between meetings? He will take you right then and there, even if its just to get a preview of what will happen later.

He may come off as this dark sadist, but in reality he is the textbook definition of a switch. While he can be dark, demanding, and possessive- he also wants to be tied to the headboard and ruined by you if you’re into that (especially pre kiss the go goat era)

I feel like he would be a bit possessive over you and gets jealous easily. Say you are at a party and someone comes up and offers to buy you something to drink; you can not tell me that Nihil wouldn’t drag you into the bathroom or a broom closet and mark up your neck- leaving bite marks and black and white paint in his wake. 

He’s totally into worshiping your body, like he wants you to know exactly how he sees you. Whether that be fucking you on the altar or in front of the mirror, you will know exactly what he thinks of you and he wants to worship you. 

I don’t think he’s a dirty talker per se- I do however think he will absolutely make noises. Growls, whimpers, all of it. Mostly just in your ear so only you can hear. 

Honestly I can’t tell if this man would bury your face in the mattress and degrade you and making sure you can’t walk for a week, or if he would be patient and more meticulous, praising you in a way that sets your whole body on fire. So I am going to say he will do both. 

I think this man can both give and receive, especially during quickies. He will happily devour you like a last meal with your leg over his shoulder and you pinned against a wall, but he also loves to see tears running down your face as you try to take him all into your mouth. 

[chirpsythismorning]

Predictions for Songs That May (or May Not) Be Used to Promote the Final Season of Stranger Things!

While in the process of making my ST5 Vision playlist (with up to 200 songs), I noticed I was subconsciously making categories. And one of the categories I found myself getting especially fixated on, was one for songs that I could actually see being used, in either the official trailer for s5, or some other form of promotion, whether that be a teaser, sneak peak, or even just a simple 10 second clip of all the main characters dramatically looking up at the camera.

As I continue to stress myself out over the near endless possibilities for this playlist, I wanted to share a few songs here right now which I think, with (some) good reason, could end up being used to promote the show, ie. what Separate Ways was for the official s4 trailer.

Now, I want to make clear that I'm just theorizing here. This is all educated guesses at best. Don't take my word for it and please refrain from getting bitter in the case that you dislike one or more of the songs. If you must know I predicted exactly ONE song that ended up featuring in s4 (Object of My Desire), despite only having like 20 songs on my 'ST4 Vision' playlist (and despite not even taking it that seriously last time), so please give me some credit here! TBH I myself don't even like all these, but I'm still willing to consider them after researching through all the options that are out there.

I also want to add that most of these songs require some imagination. I think it's likely that whatever song(s) they do end up choosing, they'll most likely be modified to sound slightly different than the original. It all depends on the vibe they want to go for. And while we wait for the final season, i figure it might be fun to see if we can guess some of the DNA for s5 by doing stuff like this, which is why I wanted to share!

Keeping all of this in mind, here are my predictions!

The Final Countdown (1986) Europe

Likelihood Rating: 9/10

Yep. I'm starting with the most obvious. Sue me. Honestly though, I don't really have any strong opinions about this one. Like, it fits. It's 'the final countdown' aka the final season. This song is most often used in intense environments, like sporting events, etc.. So there is this element of appeal in that it could be quite fitting for an official trailer, let alone a final season trailer. I have said in the past that lyrically there is some potential endgame byler coding in these lyrics, meaning this song would be fitting not only because of it's literal title, but also in a way that could foreshadow what may end up happening in the show itself (wouldn't be the first time). There's this mention of 'we're leaving together', 'missing her so,' as well as something a little more specific, '-- still we stand tall, cause maybe they'll see us, and welcome us all'. I could genuinely imagine this being used to foreshadow Mike and Will leaving for the city (together) at the end of the show, missing El who stays, and the audience maybe (hopefully) accepting that as a satisfying ending (also a Separate Ways parallel: here we stand vs. and still we stand tall).

I Don't Want To Set The World On Fire (1941) The Ink Spots

Likelihood Rating: 2/10

Yep. I'm going from the most obvious to the most obscure. Sue me. To be fair, I don't think this song is that obscure (you might even recognize it from angsty s4 Will Byers edits: here and here to name a couple). And although it is very old and therefore would not necessarily fit with the 80's vibe specifically, Stranger Things is no stranger to featuring songs that came out well before the setting of the show. In fact, almost every season, we get at least one major oldie. And so, I guess if I had to choose my prediction for the oldie to feature in s5, it would be this one! It should be noted that the preview Tumblr offers for this song does not do it justice (nor do the other previews listed here for that matter), so definitely listen to the whole thing before giving it your full consideration. I do think that the s5 promo version would indeed be modified quite a bit to match the vibe they want to go for. What made me sort of instantly transfixed by this song in particular, is that it sounds and carries itself like a love song, and that's because it is a love song, no doubt. But because of the lyrics, it also feels like it could be framed in an eery way (I've Got Five On It from Us comes to mind). I think by fully embracing the apocalyptic-toned lyrics, while also embracing the romantic-toned ones, they could invoke a really incredible feeling out of the audience. Now, when it comes to the lyrics, that's what really got me intrigued. "I don't want to set the world on fire" reminds me of the expectations for Will's character going into ST5, with much of the GA being convinced that Mike not loving him back is going to result in this villain arc for him, which will inevitably end with Will sacrificing himself (also Will Byers fireball homage). But the truth for Will, and just like the song also argues, is much less stereotypically violent and a lot more surprisingly pure. The truth is that Will, 'just wants to start the flame in Mike's heart'!! And so we've got flame in heart crumbs, with a dash of end of world crumbs? Sign me tf up.

Mad World (1883) Tears For Fears

Likelihood Rating: 6/10 -

I feel like we need at least one Tears For Fears song in Stranger Things. Although I'm convinced (delusional) that Everybody Wants to Rule the World will feature near the end of the series during a happy moment, solely because of how much that s2 behind the scenes video has changed the brain chemistry of the entire fandom, to the point where a lot of us have been convinced it was used in the show at one point. But for the sake of this list, I think song(s) used to promote s5 before it premieres, are going to be less 'uplifting good', and instead more 'eery good'. We're still in hopeless, assumed failed mission territory and so 'No tomorrow. No tomorrow' is quite fitting. While there is hope going into the final season (we've been reassured the ending is beautiful) there's still a battle ahead in the mean time. Unless they plan to change our relation to that song, from aww to OH SHIT (which they definitely could...), I do think Mad World sort of fits the bill in respects to the impending doom a little more than EWRW, which feels more victorious in comparison. Lyrically, Mad World reminds me of Henry's villain monologue at the end of Vol. 1. I also think it's a good example of a song that has some lyrics that fit very well, while other lyrics don't fit as much. And that's okay. In the past, there has been songs used for ST promo, and even in the show itself, that followed a similar criteria, where they even tweaked/removed parts of songs that didn't match the message they wanted to convey. So keep this in mind as the list goes, because I do think a lot of layers go into their final decision for song choices, especially in regards to promotional picks. And so in this case, I guess you can't go wrong with a birthdaygate easter egg either...

Crazy Train (1980) Ozzy Osbourne

Likelihood Rating: 5/10

This song is extremely well known, and I do think it has the range to mesh well accompanying badass frames of the characters fighting and surviving in the trailer for the final season, as it has been used a lot from this sort of hyped up lens before (fingers crossed Megamind is on the ST5 inspo board!). Lyrically, we've got 'mental wounds not healing, life's a bitter shame, I'm going off the rails on a crazy train'. 'Mental wounds not healing', could parallel to what was going on with El at the end of s3 and throughout s4, with her powers not working bc of the memories she was suppressing, and it could also be related to Max ending up in a coma at the end of s4 at the hands of Venca, with her going into s5 somewhere in between life and death. 'Life's a bitter shame', pretty much sums up a lot of what the characters were feeling in s4 (also Heroes crumbs mayhaps?). 'I'm going off the rails on a crazy train,'... I shouldn't even have to acknowledge the implications of them using this song, or any song that includes the word Crazy in the title for that matter, as the official song for the season... and so, I wont. TBH I feel like this song is a little too similar to Separate Ways, and so maybe it wouldn't get picked based on that reason alone? Or maybe the exact opposite? Maybe it would get picked for that very reason? Regardless, I could see it.

Have You Ever Seen The Rain (1970) Creedance Clearwater Revival

Liklihood Rating: 3/10

This is another example of a song that would need to be modified quite a bit in order for it to work with the vibe of the final season. However, I do think there is quite a bit here to work with. 'Someone told me long ago, there's a calm before the storm, I know, it's been coming for some time'. Those lyrics alongside some eery s5 frames, like, it works. And they feel deeper than just the literal storm itself, as everything likely to go down in s5, has indeed 'been coming for some time'... Also, if I'm being totally honest, any songs I can find that involve storms or thunder or rain, I'm there! And so this is just one in particular that stood out to me. This emphasis on rain pouring tremendously, while the sun shines brightly... I love it. Also we know songs by Creedance Clearwater Revival are very very capable of being covered and changed to something more creepy, Bad Moon Rising ring any bells?

Somebody to Love (1967) Jefferson Airplane

Likelihood Rating: 3/10

Now, ST has used a song by Jefferson Airplane before (White Rabbit), which is from the same album as this song Somebody to Love here. Although I don't necessarily think that alone rules out this song being a possibility, I still felt like it was worth mentioning. Lyrically, we've got, "When the truth is found to be lies. And all the joy within you dies. Don't you want somebody to love? Don't you need somebody to love? Wouldn't you love somebody to love? You better find somebody to love." This could fit very well with what's going on with El towards Mike in s3-4. Though I think she already knows the truth, which is that his monologue wasn't romantic and that he's sort of stringing her along with this falsehood, this song captures an emotion that I think is present with her still, and will be until they finally end things romantically. I also think the audience still hasn't realized the truth themselves, seeing as most of them assumed she loved the monologue. It's almost like the audience would also be discovering the truth aka the lie, and so if a song like this were to be incorporated in some type of promo, it could be interesting... El also very much deserves someone to love her the way she wants to be loved. Whenever someone finds themself in relationship, where they're giving 70% and the other is giving 30%, it might be time for the person putting in more to let go and remind themselves they deserve somebody to love them, truly. And this could also apply to every character on the show, as most songs used in promo apply to more than just one character. However, I do think the initial lyric at the start of this song definitely applies to El and her relationship with Mike, along with her desire to love someone and for them to love her back equally. Oh and also "when the garden flowers, baby are dead, yes and your mind, your mind is so full of red"...

Smalltown Boy (1984) Bronski Beat

Likelihood Rating: 1/10

I don't want to hear about how unrealistic it is, it's called manifestation. We all know Smalltown Boy is the very first song on Mike's official Spotify playlist, and so there has been a lot of hype in the byler community that it could potentially feature in the final season, aka the same season Mike's feelings for Will are anticipated to be revealed. To be fair, You Spin Me Round featured in s4 (at Rink-O-Mania where Mike was being an absolute gay disaster bc of Will) and was also on Mike's playlist, along with Mad World which I also listed as a prediction for s5 promo. Even still, personally, I can't really imagine this song in the show itself, as like non-diegetic nor diegetic sound. I could however imagine it being used outside of the show for some kind of promotion. I know all the Netflix socials release more than just teasers and trailers, but also like small snippets of promo, for example the one with the main party all looking up at the camera dramatically for ST4 promo. I could totally see a short clip of s5 Mike looking up at the camera all worried, and accompanied by that notable Smalltown Boy (Bronski) beat.

Should I Stay or Should I Go (1982) The Clash

Likelihood Rating: 7/10

Even though I try to not dwell too much over songs that have already been on the show, I feel like this is one of the clear exceptions. Should I Stay or Should I Go had so much importance early on, like it was literally the Running Up that Hill of the first season. And so if we're going to see a lot of things coming full circle, with us getting some big questions answered related to Will and the Upside Down, I think it's possible and even likely we could hear it on the show again. There's a bunch of popular theories that Will could get Vecna'd based on a decent amount of substantial evidence, meaning we could hear this song play on the show again in attempts to save him... However, it's probably not likely to play out exactly like this, since we know Vecna/Henry needs Will and doesn't want him dead (as far as we know at least). I do think it could also be used as promo for s5. There's one TikTok edit in particular that made me realize how awesome something like this could look. It would feel very much like we're back to s1 vibes if they used this song, and I think that since they've admitted to going back to their roots, it's definitely a possibility we'll hear it again. (Also another iconic s5 concept edit from this user bc they’re a legend!)

Down Under (1981) Men At Work

Likelihood Rating: 2/10

This is probably my most unique prediction of all, because although there aren't a lot of lyrics to go off of here, we don't really need a laundry list of lyrics, as it first and foremost depends on the style of promo the song would be used in. The title itself could parallel to the Upside Down, aka 'Down Under'. Lyrically, we've got, '--Can't you hear, can't you hear the thunder? You better run, you better take cover'. It doesn't take a lot to recognize this fits pretty well with what we're going to presumably be thrown into at the start of s5. I do think this would be another case of them having to edit the original drastically in order for it to work. But again, I could really imagine it working well for promo that's smaller in length. And if given really eery, edgy modifications in the ST version, I could honestly see it being pretty epic too. A lot of people know this song from other entertainment over the years, so it would be instantly recognizable, but also unique and engaging enough to impress viewers. Underground is another song from this album that feels slightly Upside Down coded, though not as well known so probably not as ideal for promo purposes. (Double also, Men At Work have a couple extremely Mike Wheeler coded songs, including, but not limited to: Who Can It Be Now and Man with Two Hearts)

AND that's all for now!

I'm curious to know if any of you can imagine one or more of these songs featuring on the show in some way? Or if there's any other songs you can think of that might work for s5 promotional purpose? So please don't hesitate to share! I would love more inspiration!

It's been a lot of fun making this playlist, especially knowing there's at least a small possibility in guessing some of the DNA of the final season in doing so. I feel like with previous seasons, it wasn't as easy to guess the music that might feature because there was just such a broad understanding of what was to come. Though, with this being the last time around, there's just so much to go off of in terms of the expected tone, especially with the whole 'end of the world' aspect.

As of now, I'm not sure if or when I'll ever post the ST5 vision playlist. I could see myself being able to release it in chunks, like I did here first with songs that I could see being used in s5 promotion. Some of the categories include themes involving catastrophic weather conditions/war, doors and/or locks, hearts, unrequited love, sleepless nights, magic/powers, etc. are just some of the few categories I have going on. If there's any in particular you're interested in hearing next, don't hesitate to ask!

[nellie-elizabeth]

What We Do in the Shadows: Go Flip Yourself (4x08)

I mean... absolutely hilarious in every way.

Cons:

This episode was relatively light on Guillermo, and I kind of missed having the Guide around, but honestly I don't have much I can really complain about! Oh, I guess even though Young Colin Robinson isn't my favorite part of the show, it was a little odd that he wasn't around for this, considering that it seems like the kind of boring show he'd be into as much as Lazlo. No acknowledgment that he also lives in the house was kind of odd!

Pros:

I just... I don't even really know how to articulate the cleverness of how this episode was framed and scripted and edited. It immediately sent me back in time to being a kid and watching shows on TLC, remember TLC? My favorite was Clean Sweep. Obviously now all this kind of thing is on HGTV which I don't really watch much of, but I still recognize the trappings of the genre. The editing, the logos, the way they'd show a misleading preview clip from the next scene after the commercial break, the intro song with the attempt at being bad-ass, played over clips of comically small renovations and stock footage of demolitions, the style of the interview, the moment of decision where we cut back to earlier moments of the characters considering their changes, the big "reveal" and how obviously disappointed they all were, the post-credits scene they all film for the purpose of getting like $1,200... I could go on and on. It all felt like a spot-on parody of something I wouldn't have even said I knew much about to begin with.

And then we get our plot twist, that Bran is actually Simon the Devious, who has created the entirety of this TV show, gotten Lazlo hooked on it, all to gain access to their home in Staten Island and steal back the cursed hat. I'll admit that the final scene where all this is revealed was a little less funny to me than all the parody stuff that came before, but I also think it's what will make the episode stick in my head later, and cement itself as a hilarious half hour. The sheer lunacy of the plan really shines through when you remember that the hat these two have been fighting over is in fact cursed and makes everything immeasurably worse for whoever has it. Simon immediately flies into a wall in bat-form once he has it. I feel like Simon's whole plan really speaks to the nature of vampirism in this world, the way you have infinite time to make some truly weird decisions and just run with them for as long as you need to. The gag where he lists all of his crew, the various vampires we've met in the past, really worked for me, as did Simon's continued disdain for Staten Island.

As far as our core cast, I love how even when the episode is focusing on this larger meta gag, we still get to see our favorites playing out their familiar roles. Guillermo is attempting to be devious and get something that he wants out of the bargain, once it's clear the vampires won't be saying no to the renovation, but in typical sad sack fashion he doesn't actually get the renovated room of his dreams. Nadja gets over-excited and acts impulsively, actually killing the co-star of the show before things get started, and has to use her hypnotist powers to clear things up for the crew and the viewers at home.

Marwa gets a prize for being the smartest: since she now likes whatever Nandor likes, she is really excited about Nandor's new wish for a "man cave," which Nandor definitely thinks is a place where he gets to hang out and get fucked by his guy friends, which is hilarious and perfect... anyway, she gets the "man cave" all set up and then locks herself alone in there, because since Nandor wants time alone in this room, so does Marwa. Honestly, that wish is the gift that keeps on giving. What you've basically got now is a setup where Marwa and Nandor have the exact same desires, but Marwa is just... much smarter than Nandor, and therefore is going to get her way more and more as time goes by. Genius! I love it!

As is always the case when I'm trying to write about this show, I really could go on and on in praise of its comedy, but describing jokes is never as funny as experiencing them yourself. So I'll just leave by saying my favorite gags were: Vampire Elvis, always a classic, and Lazlo's delivery of the words "New York Citayyyyy."

Can't wait to meet Guillermo's special friend next week!

9/10