#also a beautiful article

[autumn-may]

Mostly spoiler free summary of my viewing experience

[plesiosaurys]

IMPORTANT SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY

COELACANTHS CAN OWO!!!

[robotpussy]

not to harp back to a few days ago but the whole "taking phone calls in public/loud music in public/playing music and videos outloud in public is rude etc. (the list could go on)" argument is not only absurd,

(not all public spaces are going to be silent its is unrealistic, outside cannot cater to every single person as everybody has different needs, but this is not me dismissing there are concerns for people who may have sensory 'issues' or may be bothered by loud sounds)

but has ties to racism and classism, especially considering that many nonblack and white people call the police about "noise complaints" on black and brown people and poor people because the music being played at a party is 'too loud' or music from a car is being played 'too loud', which leads to them getting arrested or killed.

It also has links to gentrification, it is known that people who do complain about a community being too loud are clearly not familiar with the cultures in that area and that loud noise being a nuisance is a clear sign you are coming into a culture that isn't yours

anyway i think some of you need to read the article linked because the influx of these types of arguments is concerning.

[aimasup]

sure i COULD ramble about how ai is one of the multiple things that check all the marks of humanity's seven deadly sins but would that be extreme

^^^ possibly insufficiently educated

[fruitsofhell]

Yall, its time to ramble about visual/environmental storytelling cause this is silly article is driving me insane.

I won't argue for if the game should have had more constant and involved cutscenes like Robobot or Star Allies, but what I will say is that this game is VERY rich in story through the world design. The Forgotten Land as opposed to say the Land of the Sky in TD or the entire galaxy of Star Allies is like, DROWNING in writing and narrative. It builds so much mystery and intrigue through the theming of every world and even individual levels, with exploring both how the people of the land originally lived and how it's being reclaimed by nature and the animals.

I think the closest things maybe is Robobot and Halcandra in RTDL, the former having great little designs that key you into WHAT Haltmann is doing and what makes it so toxic. Halcandra though is the ultimate grand-daddy, the contrast between it and the Lor, and Egg Engines and Dangerous Dinner is full of theming and clues about the nature and history of the planet. AND THAT IS STORY, THAT IS WRITING! Especially when compared to say Star Allies, where most of the levels of the levels are just ye average Kirby themed fluff with little to say about the Jamba or the state they've left the galaxy in. But when you play through the casino levels of Robobot, as well as delightful theming and level design, you see that Haltmann is erecting literally the most predatory entertainment centers imaginable. When you step off the sleek futuristic Lor into the scrapyards and wastes of Halcandra, you get fun intimidating final worlds, and a good grasp on *why* the people who made the Lor aren't around anymore, and may even start questioning why Magolor made such a great fuss of dragging you to this horrible place. Music is also deeply important to this storytelling. Each of the factories/towers erected in ever world of Robobot's theme is a remix usually of themes related to older mechanical levels, subtly clueing you into where Haltmann go their technology from. Outside the Lor rather than the comfortable motif of Green Greens is this almost comically suspicious and disoriented theme once you're stuck on Halcandra and returning to Magolor with more doubts about his words. The final level inside of the volcano house a theme that is teasing the twist to come, and the theme for fighting Landia before the big reveal is less triumphant, and more majestic and pensive. Possibly trying to evoke more hesitance than confidence, even if most people wouldn't catch on to that on a first run.

But the cooler thing, is that while Robobot has this cool theming at key levels, and RtDL does at the end, this type of shit is pervasive ALL throughout Forgotten Land. Every world and nearly every level is a unique, well thought-out set piece! You get to see abandoned towns, cities, malls, stores, factories, resorts, and an amusement park, each which serves as more than just a fun location, but a clear picture of the world and the state its in. This intent is made clearer through the music and tone that goes out of its way to not highlight the destruction of these areas but their beauty, wonder, and mystery through the eyes of an clueless animals and our favorite pink alien. The abandoned Alivel Malls theme is a track as upbeat and peppy as what must've played over it's speakers in it's hayday, because the hustle and bustle breathed back into it by the animals and Kirby just exploring this mysterious complex is just as lively. The theme of the Everbay Coast is peaceful and sunny despite the Holine ruins because it's as part of the scenery to the animals and Kirby as the picturesque palms and sands. And Wondaria!!!!!!!!! OMG WONDARIA WHERE TO EVEN BEGIN WITH EVERY FUCKING LEVEL AND THEME IN WONDARIA!!! THIS IS WHY I CAN'T TAKE THAT CLAIM SERIOUSLY - y'know when I cried at Forgotten Land? In world 3. Not because of a cutscene or a line of dialogue, but just from the sheer emotion the setting evoked in me. The sweet, laid-back, starry-eyed wonder that it expressed from Kirby mixed with my own sense of nostalgia being aware of what that place was, and how beautiful it was to see it rediscovered and adored by Kirby and the animals of the Forgotten Land. It evokes such a strong feeling of bittersweetness, of existential dread comforted by the knowledge that the simple joys and memories we create places like amusement parks to share will continue on as long as there is life in the world. And unlike some of my musings about past games, this was explicitly intentional. What truly brought the tears to my eyes was remembering an interview where the devs were explaining how they were trying to keep the tone light and Kumazaki said specifically they wanted to evoke peace and beauty rather than loss.

LIKE THIS IS WRITING! This is storytelling, this is intention. It's just subtle, but not at all unimportant, and it ties into the more overarching plot. It raises the question constantly of where the people went that is answered by Forgo, and expresses the dichotomy between the simple innocence of the animals compared to the ambitions of the people who abandoned them and that is now possessing their leader. It creates stakes for Elfilis and Forgo's intentions to destroy everything so beautiful and pure about the current world, but as it absolves the current world of guilt, it puts into perspective JUST HOW LONG Forgo must have been locked away that things changed so much. And as softly as the exploits of the original people are portrayed by the game, knowing their treatment of Eliflis and Forgo as a thing of entertainment and tool for innovation is sickening placed in contrast with it. Like back to Wondaria, the way it shows how much space travel must have pervaded the imagination and escapism of the people either before or after Forgo's arrival is insanely smart. And it gives me chills in the best way seeing Kirby run around images of cartoon aliens from a civilization who would never meet him. Of Kirby, Elfilin, and Bandana sticking their head into a cardboard cutout of an astronaut meeting an alien, with the text "wish you were here" above in a script they don't even understand. A SCRIPT THE WRITERS MADE FOR THIS GAME SO THAT THEY COULD ADD MESSAGES LIKE THAT INTO THE WORLD FOR KEEN PLAYERS TO NOTICE AND MAKE CONNECTIONS. Like it's insane. The dedication the Hal Labs has to stuff like this is maddening! It's so sweet and heartfelt and crafty, I'm so pissed off how little respect it gets because people don't understand visual storytelling!!!!! Saying Forgotten Land is light on story is preposterous, it might just be one of the most finely crafted stories the series has had to date, and is just a really solid piece of science fantasy writing in general honestly. It is packed with environmental storytelling that drives me Up The Fucking Wall, Man.

[kenobion]

Andrew Garfield for GQ+Saint Laurent

[queenlua]

choice excerpt, emphasis mine:

When Cavanaugh wasn’t killing time on the floor, she and many of her colleagues spent the days rehashing their arguments over the bill and fighting about matters of procedure. They only needed one Republican to vote against the bill for it to fail. All of the Republicans hated the filibuster, but several of them disliked the bill that had prompted it, too. They struggled to understand its relevance. They had campaigned on expanding broadband access, reducing property taxes, making the government more efficient — things they felt actually mattered in the daily lives of their constituents. They hadn’t run for local office because they wanted to take up arms in the culture war, especially not for a cause many of them had never thought about before and didn’t have much interest in thinking about now. “I’ve spent way more brainpower on this than I ever wanted to,” Senator Jana Hughes told me. One day, a freshman senator named Christy Armendariz led me to a bench in an empty hallway. She found it puzzling that a reporter from New York would come all the way to Nebraska to cover this affair. “I don’t watch the news or get the newspaper,” she said. “Is there anything going on I should be aware of?” I mentioned that other states had passed similar bills and that a federal appeals court in the same circuit as Nebraska had ruled one of them unconstitutional. “So is it a big widespread thing?” she asked. As far as she could tell, ordinary Nebraskans did not know about the issue. “I knocked doors for a year, and nobody brought this up.” She said she wished the bill had never been introduced.

state-level politicians are often, lbr, kinda dipshitty, but the wounded-deer-routine of oh-deary-me-i-can’t-possibly-know-anything-about-the-news is the exact type of dipshittery that particularly makes me go “aaaargh” and tear out my damn hair

and i find it extra annoying since i honestly believe you don’t have to be some hyper-lefty bleeding-heart to oppose this (vile) bill.  there’s a very solid, boring, small-c conservative case to be made against it, on the basis of, “why the fuck is the state senate passing laws prohibiting stuff that should really be left to the judgment of a doctor and their patients, the AMA and board certification and malpractice suits already exist to cover Actual Medical Abuses and this is not that, nuke the damn bill”

(and i don’t think that reasoning would even be particularly out of step with their base!  people like their local representatives, and “keep Big Government TM out of your child’s health decisions” is the kind of thing that markets well in that area, etc)

anyway, if anyone could make that case & weather whatever blowback came of it, it’d be a self-avowedly "not even into the bill in the first place” state senator who’s coming up against their own term limit anyway, who need not be especially accountable to the national party, and who works in a state where senators are very explicitly a part-time not-well-renumerated thing (so, like, worst-case scenario, you get primaried out of office—boo hoo, oh no your measly 12k a year is gone, seriously just get another part-time gig it’ll be fine)...

...buuut they’ve apparently all got jell-o spines and/or blackened coals for hearts, so,,,

[bloodiegawz]

What about Bo's relationship with Jade??

SCIENCE BUDDIES! THEY ARE FORAGING IN THE DIRT TOGETHER

Bo has never been particularly afraid of the twins, his first impressions landing somewhere between "distrusts" and "potentially dangerous so stay on guard", but they don't set off his anxiety as much as others might speculate. Most of the reason they're intimidating is because half the time they're playing with people while doing odd jobs for Azul, at least in Bo's eyes.

Jade's interest in Bo peaked upon the discovery of his (then) budding insect collection. A fellow nature-lover would surely be a pleasant recruit to his club, right...? Well, not officially, but Bo is a returning honorary member. They sometimes watch over each other's vivariums like a form of pet-sitting and love to chat about what "adventures" they got up to. Usually, if one has mysteriously disappeared off-campus, the other will have as well, and they'll return soon in less than stellar shape with bags full of moss. No need to worry.

Outside of their bond through being absolute fucking nerds, they don't typically hang out together if it isn't situational. Bo will, on occasion, seek out Jade for assistance with potionology or similar homework, but they tend to go their separate ways.

[myplasticadversary]

I've had trouble figuring which direction to go with girl George and girl Ringo in the main Sheatles universe, but I think it would go sort of like: Paul is the dream girl, John is the rebel girl, Ringo is the Mama Bear, and George is a bit the odd duck in addition to being the baby. She resents Paul paying more attention to John but also has her own unique connection with John as the two most physically unfeminine of the group, George with her facial hair and John with her broad square frame. George probably forms a bit of a crush which John weaponizes against Paul and then blows off, leaving George feeling hurt and humiliated.

[biracy]

To be honest I don't think there's a way to frame "instant gratification/cheap dopamine/whatever form of pleasure we have now decided is bad is bad" in a way that doesn't sound extremely reactionary to me lmao. Are sugary coffees and TikTok videos actually destroying society or have none of you actually deconstructed your ideas about pleasure outside of making shitposts about yuri

[krenenbaker]

... you ever realize something that makes you just stop and think for a moment?

because I just realized that many of the people I've become friends with (or close to) here... we know very little about each other.

I don't necessarily know their names. and only two people on this site know the name I usually use irl. only two or three people know what I actually look like, too (like, face-wise). and only a handful of you have heard my voice.

but we all know each other's other names. we know each other's preferences, and beliefs, and humour, and personalities. and many of us have become actually quite good friends.

idk, I've just been thinking that recently. it's interesting :)

[perenlop]

thinking about the animal literature class i took last spring that was pushed as a class all around symbolism but it ended up being an ARA focus and my professor and i were talking about my black beauty paper and she said something like “you dont think of all the ways the author is actually promoting animal harm though… like why doesnt she criticize the use of carriage horses at all? does she think its ethical for animals to work for humans instead of alternative means?”

well besides the obvious bullshit there… THIS BOOK TAKES PLACE IN THE 1800s!!!!!! THERE WERE NO CARS!!!

[acaesic]

now that im in salt lake city its time to blast dallons SLC/UT OR GTFO playlist. fuck yeah🔥

[sexynetra]

I’m on day 2 of my draw a portrait of Marcia a day with no artistic training or knowledge until I become good at art and specifically good at drawing Marcia challenge and I think it’s going very well so far :) it still doesn’t look like her but I think it’s a marked improvement from yesterdays drawing!

[1o1percentmilk]

"why do u like brutalism it's so bad for people it makes me so depressed" first of all i love hostile architecture i love death i love sorrow and i hate people. also i possess the ability to separate my fantasy from reality

[linguenuvolose]

December 2023