#does this count as april fools art

[soggystyrofoam]

my favorite isekai

[thechibilitwick]

damn shizuairi looking a bit different these days

[toxicxsugarxart]

Do you love the color of the sky?

[be-compromised]

Annibirthday Comment Fest

It's our comm annibirthday on Monday - the be_compromised livejournal was created 6th May (first post 7th May) 2012. We are 12! Inspired by the Zero Comment Challenge and a chat on our comm discord, we'd like to gift comments to creative works with zero (or few) comments, hopefully spreading some joy, appreciation, and encouragement in our corner of fandom.

How Does Comment Fest Work?

From the 6 to 31 May, to comment on creative works with zero, or only a few, comments. (We're not setting a limit on this but maybe 12 or less in keeping with the theme if you're the kind of person who likes a guide.) We'd like to focus on clintasha works, or works featuring Clint and/or Natasha to support our corner of fandom. One way of doing this is to search works on AO3 for clintasha and sort by comments, but we're all ears for other ideas. We appreciate recs of any works featuring Clint and/or Natasha which will boost those comments! You can leave recs in a comment to the DW post, on the comm discord recs channel, or link to a rec on tumblr and we'll reblog on the comm tumblr.

Of course if you're inspired please feel free to comment on works that could use more comments in any fandom, and to keep going after May! Those just won't count towards...

The Comment Fest Challenge

We know poeple like fun, no pressure challenges, so (inspired by the tumblr April fools boops) the following comment fest achievements are up for grabs:

- comments on 12 creative works - recs for 12 creative works, of those you've commented on during the fest - a daily comment throughout the fest or comments on 26 creative works in total

These are on the honour system. Comments on all creative works counts, not just fic. Please free to put forward other achievements, suggest fun achievement titles, create badges, and otherwise have fun with this!

Suggestions For Leaving Comments

If you're feeling stuck here's some suggestions for leaving comments. Feel free to share guides and other top tips!

If you reached the end of a fic, lingered looking at fan art, or replayed a fan vid, then just simply saying that you liked it will very much be appreciated! If you'd like to expand on that, you could add one/a few things that stood out that you liked. And if you liked it enough that you decided to bookmark it to view again, the creator would love to hear that too.

> I really liked this! / I really enjoyed this! / Thank you for writing this! > I liked when... / I especially liked... / I loved the bit where... Could be with a brief explaination of the part you mean, or you could just copy and paste your favourite line(s). For art and other creative works maybe you liked the colours, the way the character's hair was drawn, the timing of the music and the visuals in a fanvid. > This part made me laugh... / Argh, it was so sad when... Creators love to hear your reactions. That can be copy and pasting lines and then adding 'I loved this!', 'ARGH', Clint, no. CLINT, YES.', an emoji... > I've bookmarked this to appreciate again / I loved this so much, it's one I'll reread! / I've watched this vid ten times and I'm gonna watch it again > Or you can take a page from the lovely firlalaith's book and leave a string of hearts: 💜💜💜

If you have any questions please comment on the DW post or @ a mod in the discord, but as always the things to remember are to be kind and have fun. Happy Annibirthday folks!

[deityoftherain]

what do you call each of the winners of the life series?

Mine personally are.

Grian-Sun

Scott-Stars

Pearl-Moon

Martyn-Mars (Mars is also the god of war)

Scar-Potion (Unless you know it perfectly, it is a surprise what it will do)

Cleo-Supernova/Black hole (IDK which one to go for, Supernova bc fire, Black hole Bc destruction)

But what do you think?

Ooooo those are lots of fun!! I think Sun-Stars-Moon (which I heavily agree with) is set in stone at this point, but I see a lot of people debate after that. I mostly go off what I see other people do since I don’t have that sort of say on what gets decided or “official”.

I will say I enjoy Mars for Martyn a lot so that’s probably my favorite I’ve heard for his.

Is Potion a celestial body? /gq For Scar, I’ve seen eclipse and earth, both of which I enjoy. I think I’ve also seen Pluto. The part of me that enjoys scarian really likes eclipse because Grian is the sun and he had that thing with Pearl, who is the moon- I think I just solidified that I like the eclipse the best for him. Earth is probably easier to depict in art though!!

Cleo as a supernova is really silly! Since it’s April Fools, I wouldn’t count it in the grand scheme of things unless it’s desired for whatever fan creation people want to mess with. I’m still hoping for a Cleo win, along with Joel and Gem! Simply because it was April Fools, I like the idea of Pluto because is it considered a planet or not? Does her RL win count or not? If they won outside of RL, I wouldn’t like Pluto as much. I don’t have an opinion besides that, but a supernova is really cool because Cleo is a bit of a spitfire, their hair is red (fantastic reason I know), they have the tendency to be an arsonist, and they really stand out!

I think that would be my view on it, but I love all the winners art no matter what the artist does! Thanks for asking, this was fun ^^

[meidui]

i'm answering all 30 fic writer asks as seen on kelly@fohatic's blog 😽 HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE I LOVE YOU SO MUCH

1. What’s something new that you tried in a fic this year? How did it turn out and would you do it again? fool's gold was a 1872 fic and it was one-sided dialogue but with no quotation marks, so it was supposed to read like somebody from timely was telling you about what happened! i liked it but i don't know if i would do it again because it's just stylistic, i think it worked for 1872 because it suited the small town setting

2. How many fics did you work on this year? (They don’t have to be finished or published!) i have too many wips but i posted 56 fics on ao3 this year!

3. What’s something you learned about yourself as a writer? that i dilly dally a lot to avoid writing smut scenes and that the discord sprinting bot is my best friend

4. What piece of media inspired you the most? probably endgame because we had the @stevetonyisendgame exchange and prompt fest this year, so i rewatched it a lot and ended up writing lots of endgame-adjacent/post-endgame!! they're so soft in that movie i can't help myself

5. What fandom(s) did you write for this year? all marvel except for one fic for game changers! i foresee house md fic in 2024

6. What ship(s) captured your heart? stevetony has always had my heart does that count

7. What character(s) captured your heart? i love steve rogers even more than i did last year

8. Did you write for a new fandom or ship this year? new ships!! i wrote steve/thor and steve/natasha for the first time for captain bottom bingo and steve/peggy for the first time for steggy secret santa

9. What fic meant the most to you to write? nobody saves me, baby (the way you do) because kristina@samcky had an unposted draft of it that she let me rewrite 🥺 so it meant a lot to me because she's all over that fic and i just love her with all my heart

10. What fic made you feel the happiest to work on? i think it's a tie between winged and how porcupines kiss because they're so fluffy! although this might a little biased because @capnstars drew the cutest winghead!steve art you've ever seen in your entire life for winged and @itsmaybitheway drew THIS PRECIOUS PORCUPINE!STEVE AND ARMADILLO!TONY for how porcupines kiss 🥺

11. What fic was the most satisfying to finish writing? probably hell and high water because i worked on it slowly for months which usually doesn't happen, and it might even be one of my favourite fics that i've ever written so i was really proud

12. What fic was the most difficult to write? Did you finish it? i don't think anything was difficult to write but new york is a hell of a town (and i'm brooklyn down) was so silly of me because it's set in august, but i wrote the first part in april and the second part in october and didn't really work on it during the actual summer 😶 like what was that?? why did i do that?? i'm so sorry

13. What fic was the easiest to write? into the forever and beautiful sky! it's a rocket-centric fic with rocket & steve friendship, i wrote it right after watching gotg vol 3 and it's just feelings vomit ahahah

14. What were your shortest and longest fics this year? my shortest fic was fool's gold which was 546 words and the longest fic that i wrote by myself (not just this year but also ever in all my life) was a rose by any other name which was 11.6k words! without caveats the longest fic is heartbreak prince, which i wrote with @areiton and it was 12k words!!

15. Rec a fic you wrote or posted in 2023 a beast of a burden is really special to me so i want to rec that one! because i wrote it for the endgame exchange that i loved so much and it was for mrsgingles, who is my favourite stevetony artist, and it reminds me of this summer, and it also feels like the truest love letter to endgame that i've ever written

16. What were you go-to writing songs? i don't have any! usually it's whatever i'm already listening to or a movie or show that i'm watching, but i listened to exo's lotto on repeat when i wrote hit the lotto because that's what the fic sounds like in my head and taylor swift's timeless when i wrote once in a lifetime because it was based on that song

17. What were your go-to writing snacks? NO TIME FOR SNACKS WHEN THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO NEED TO KISS

18. What was the hardest fic to title? maybe lovelorn and nobody knows? i started working on it before 1989 tv came out and it didn't have a title for way too long, the google doc was literally just called "there are still beautiful things steve pov" and then it took me like 20 minutes of comparing 1989 vault lyrics to pick one 😭

19. Share your favourite opening line from the ice is getting thinner under me and you (a hockey au)

Steve is supposed to be at a bar downtown with the rest of his team. Steve is not supposed to be back in the emptied out stadium, his back slammed against the lockers with Tony's tongue in his mouth.

20. Share your favourite ending line i added the second last line for context but this ending line is my favourite because time has always been against steve and peggy, so i feel like the best show of how happy and safe they feel together is that they finally don't have to watch the clock or worry about time slipping through their fingers anymore 🥺 this is from from we were born to be national treasures

When she laughs, eyes glittering, he has the most peculiar feeling that he was always meant to end up right here, kissing the maroon lipstick off Peggy’s mouth, swaying under the sprig of mistletoe they never took down from Christmas as someone starts to shout a countdown to New Year’s. She cups his face and he smiles into the kiss, and neither of them bother watching the clock.

21. Share your favorite piece of dialogue from if my wishes came true (buckynat)

“You got that written down in your notebook?” “I don’t need to write you down to remember you, Natasha Romanoff.”

22. Share an excerpt from your favorite scene there were so many close contenders aahh but my favourite scene has to be the one from catastrophic blues when tony finally catches steve!!

“Then don’t make me hurt you,” Tony says, raising his palm and lighting up his repulsor. “I know you know what this does. You’re unarmed and backed into a dead-end alley. You’re not winning this one, kid, I can tell you that for free. Take off your mask.” The Vigilante glowers and stands his ground. “My whole life is dead-end alleys. I’m not taking off my mask.”

23. Share the final version of a sentence or paragraph you struggled with. What about it was challenging? Are you happy with how it turned out? the whole end part of near-death cliché took some wrangling just because i was trying to make it sound like something kang the conqueror would say haha

“I’ve killed a lot of Avengers and it all starts to blend together,” Kang says, “but I remember you because you always end up fighting for him. I admire the consistency. It’s rare.” “Him?” “You could be with Steve Rogers,” Kang says almost empathetically, and it’s like he has gently wrenched Tony’s heart out of his chest. When the repulsors on his palms falter, Kang continues in the same disarming tone. “I could send you back to the battlefield. You’d open your eyes and he'd be there.”

24. What's something that surprised you while you were working on a fic? Did it change the story? this is hilarious to me because the recurring motif in but saving what we love was supposed to be steve and tony calling each other's bullshit over the years but it ended up being overshadowed by star wars. so much star wars, in fact, that it warranted a "star wars references" tag

25. What did you use to write? (e.g. writing programs, paper & pen, etc.) google docs

26. If you had to choose one, what was THE most satisfying writing moment of your year? all of i thought the plane was going down (how'd you turn it right around) for two reasons! one is that i feel like maleness informs a lot of their lives and experiences and for a while i didn't really get the appeal of genderbending them, but then i read all of isozyme's lesbian stevetony fics and i had an epiphany about genderbending being an opportunity for character and relationship study, and two is that once i had said epiphany i realised i actually had a lot to say so i wrote captain eve rogers in one go and now i love her so much

27. Did you do anything special to celebrate finishing a fic? hmm i don't think so!

28. How did you recharge between fics? i don't think i really do that either

29. If this were an awards show, who would you thank? oh my gosh. with all the sincerity in my heart, every person who gave me a kudo or a comment or is subscribed to my ao3, recommended my fics or my blog, said in a reblog/tweet/discord message/dm that they liked one of my fics or it made them happy or they were excited about reading one, follows me on tumblr or looks at my gifs or likes/reblogs my posts, runs fandom events, shares their beautiful fics or art or edits with us, all the members of the steve rogers defense squad, truly everyone who i've had an interaction with (except the steve antis and bots in my block list 😠) because i'm so grateful to have this community and that we met because we love the same thing and we can make each other's days better. deactivating for 10 months was the right thing to do but i'm so happy to be back this time because of you

30. What’s something that you want to write in 2024? some of these have been cooking in my head for so long that they have TITLES

that famous happy ending (enchanted au)

play house (wandavision au)

plausible deniability (rival lawyers au)

wild and beautiful (feral/tarzan steve au)

yoga instructor steve and discharged air force pilot tony

prequel to kristina's beautiful ocean's 11 au, Give me a kiss before you tell me goodbye

[flufftober]

🌸 Fluff Monthly ~ April 🌸

Happy April Fools' Day... but don't worry, this is not a joke, it really is the bingo card for this month 😉

🌸 Each month of 2023, you will get a new bingo board which will have the following mix of prompts:

the month itself, which you can either use as an actual prompt or as your typical "free space" on bingo boards

two prompts (more or less) related to the month/time of year

and two general prompts

🌸 Whenever we prompt a line from a song, you can either use it as such or you can simply listen to the song and let it inspire you for your creation. This month's song is I Have Nothing by Whitney Houston

🌸 You can fill as many or as few squares as you want - and you can also fill one creation with multiple or even all prompts!

🌸 Since this is a year-long event (with the exception of Flufftober itself, of course), reblogging will not happen daily! It will happen the first three days of the month and then every weekend.

🌸 Aside from these special event rules, our usual blog rules still stand (you can find them under the cut).

🌸 Posting

Please use the tag #fluffmonthly

Since tags are wonky sometimes, make sure to also tag @flufftober in your post

To make reblogging easier, make sure to add the following tags: #fluffmonthly #[fandom] #[ship and/or main character(s)]

If you're posting on ao3, you can add your creation to the collection Fluff Monthly

We hope you will all enjoy this little event and that we can keep our blog active over the entire year 🥰 so as always:

🌸 Happy Creating 🌸

🌸 Usual Blog Rules & FAQs

No inc*st or p*dophilia - we can't keep you from writing it or creating art for it but it won’t be reblogged.

No hate or ship bashing - we’re all different and we all love different things. As long as it doesn’t go against rule #1, it’s allowed.

Tag correctly! Trigger warnings (including cheating!), ships, ratings, (pure) smut, etc - it’s all fine as long as you tag it.

There’s absolutely no word count restriction, write as little or as much as you like.

In regards to art, anything goes: drawings, paintings, collages, mood boards, gifsets, videos, playlists… the sky’s the limit (though not really…)

While we can’t force you to write fluff or create fluffy art, please try to keep in mind that this is a fluff event 😉

You can start writing and/or arting as soon as you see the prompts.

You can create for as many or as few squares as you like, even if it’s just one; you can also create multiple entries for the same square.

You do not have to stick to one ship or even one fandom - switch as often as you like to or even write for multiple ships for one square.

The ship does not have to be a romantic one! Friendship and family feels are more than welcome (but this is not a way to get around rule #1!)

This event can be combined with other events as long as the other event allows it.

Late entries are always welcome, even if it is months later.

All fandoms and ships are welcome - fanon and canon - as long as they’re of age (in case you want to add smut) and not related.

[thehorrortree]

Deadline: April 1st, 2024 Payment: Royalties Theme: Speculative Fiction about Tarot Tarot cards have long been looked upon as a window to the past and future of human existence. Fortune tellers of old have utilized the power within the cards to advise or warn away inquisitive souls from the potential folly of their choices. What happens when the power of the cards escapes into the realm of humanity with the desire to play out their core intentions on the unsuspecting? A mortal once controlled the power of the past, present, and future. In his innocent desire for companionship, he made a mistake: he got too close to his creation and lost control. The foolish mortal’s artistic magic escaped the confines of the cards and trapped their maker to pursue their magical intent. Walking carnations of the major arcana of the tarot are free to roam and manipulate the mortal world without the constraints of their maker, who has been recreated as The Fool. The Magician, the first excommunicated card, will do anything to free his friend from the confines of art. But can he convince the others to put aside their petty urges and use their magic to help, even if it puts their livelihood at risk? Or have the cards become too accustomed to life in the modern world to allow anything, or anyone, to send them back to a one-dimensional life? The tarot is the only magic left in the mortal world, and they’ve had their way with it for a long time… We’re looking for new, previously unpublished stories that take us on an adventure and leave us wanting more. Genre: Speculative Fiction Word Count: 5,000 – 10,000 Opening Essay by: TBD Edited by: Charity Ayres Anchor Author: TBD Due Date: April 1, 2024 Email submissions to: threeravenspublishing @ gmail dot com with “Tarot” in the subject line Payment: Stories selected for publication in the upcoming Anthology(ies), will receive a percentage of sales divided equally between the contributing authors. MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSION GUIDELINES We are looking for amazing stories from any genre that are fun to read and will take us on an adventure of epic proportions. Please download our standards template by clicking here ***NOTE*** We publish genre fiction with aspects of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror. If your work does not include one of these aspects, we are less likely to pick up the title unless it is of exceptional quality. What we are NOT currently accepting: Poetry Single-author collections of short stories. Hard and fast rules of what not to send: Fan-fiction: Just simply don’t. It will be immediately deleted or tossed into the recycle bin. Gratuitous Sexuality: (i.e. smut, softcore porn) (Please, we know that there is a market out there for stories in this genre, but it’s not for us. Contact our affiliate, Tanglewood press for submissions in this genre at tanglewoodromance (at) gmail.com Gratuitous Abuse/Violence: While we at Three Ravens Publishing understand that graphic situations can alter or otherwise move the plot forward in ways that the reader may not expect when properly used, these elements should not, however, be the primary focus of the story. (i.e. torture porn). Discrimination: Again, whether racial, religious, social, etc., when used properly as a plot device can become a powerful tool in the authors arsenal, but should in no way become the focus of the story unless you’re writing something along the lines of “Schindler’s List”, “To Kill a Mockingbird” or “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”. And we do understand that to be perfectly accurate, period pieces will contain such things because historically, that is what happened. It’s sad, but it’s the truth. Message Fiction: While we understand that everyone has their own stance on a myriad of subjects that can become very emotional and heated, we will not publish message fiction. Message fiction is defined as: Fiction that attempts to convey a sociopolitical message, as opposed to mere escapism. That being said, message fiction can crop up from many different topics.

The cut and dry of it. If it doesn’t add to the story, don’t do it. If the story itself is a platform for you as the author to get up on your soapbox, then don’t bother submiting the piece, because we don’t want it. Special Note: RPG and game-based stories: We do accept these types of stories; however, your submission may not violate any game’s copy written, or trademarked, content. (refer back to the line above on fan fiction. We do not want it and will not accept it.). As an example, you might have a character running around in one of the popular online multiplayer games. You might want to write a story about your character’s adventures. That, in itself, is fine. Do not mention characters, creatures or the game world itself. Rename them to something of your own creation. We do understand that the muse may strike at any time and that ideas can come from anywhere. So please, before submitting, ensure that what you have submitted will not violate any copyright or trademark laws. Reprints/previously published: We accept previously published works as long as you have the rights and can provide proof (if necessary). Other than that, we really want to see what you have. Payment rates: To be determined at the time of the contract and will be in the range of 50-70% of sales, and competitive with other publishing houses. The hard and fast rules of Submissions: If sending a Query letter, include a full synopsis of the story, the first three chapters as a writing sample and links to your social media pages. Response time may vary. Expect a reply within 9-18 months. We would prefer to see complete manuscripts that have already been somewhat edited by the author. Note: A contract offer will not be made based on a Query alone unless the work is of exceptional quality. Offers, in general, will only be made on completed works. Your submission must include your (Legal) name and your (Publication) name if using one, email address*, postal mailing address, and telephone number on both your cover letter and the first page of the manuscript. Include a plot outline if possible. *Also include links to all of your social media pages Spelling and grammar checkers are great, but they are not foolproof. Review your work for flow and content prior to submitting it. Minimal formatting, please! Indent paragraphs; single or double-spaced text is fine, though we prefer to use 1.15 spacing, with no extra lines between paragraphs; center chapter headers and scene break indicators (###, ***, etc.); use page breaks only at the end of chapters. For emphasis, choose either underline or italics and use it consistently throughout. Use straight quotes and apostrophes, … ., –, etc, no special characters, please! Times Roman 12pt is highly preferred. Make it readable, or we won’t read it. It’s that simple. If something specific requires special formatting then explain it in a cover letter. Please download our standards template by clicking here. Electronic Submissions: Neither disks or thumb drives will be reviewed, so do not send them unless requested. Our preferred method is by electronic submission, but we will accept a printed hardcopy. Attach the manuscript as a Rich Text Format (.rtf) file. Any other format will not be considered. Send the manuscript as a single file (do not break it into separate chapter files), so any synopsis and contact info needs to be in the file with your manuscript. NOTE: Any viruses attached to your submission will send your manuscript straight into file-13. (For non-military members, that means the trash can.) Hardcopy Submissions: (for those who cannot submit electronically) Standard manuscript format only: double-spaced, one side of the page only, 1/2″ (i.e., 0.5″) margins on all four sides of the page. We will consider photocopies if they are dark and clear. Title, author (last name only is okay), and page number at the top of each page are mandatory. Include your name, mailing address, and telephone number on the first page.

Hardcopy manuscripts identified as “disposable” will be recycled. Disposable submissions should be accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped, letter-sized envelope for our reply (please ensure proper postage has been supplied!). Manuscripts intended to be returned should be accompanied by self-addressed packaging and sufficient postage. We will not be responsible for any manuscripts lost or damaged in the mail. Return packages will not be insured, tracked or otherwise paid for by Three Ravens Publishing. Via: Three Ravens Publishing.

[stuckygeekevents]

The new art challenge!

March 11th - April 1st: April Fool's Day

For this second challenge, the prompt will be:

pranks

Your job will be make a moodboard/fanart/gif based on this! Please include the name of your aesthetic when submitting.

Deadline

All submissions need to be turned in by the 1st April, till midnight (on your timezone!). For submitting, shoot me a DM!

Prize

Winners will now get a special role to wear around the server until the next challenge!

What to use

Any collage or editing app/software you can find. For fanart, paper or on tablet is okay!

Submissions

You can submit one entry. It must be your original work. AI works are not accepted. You may create gifs of your work if you are able (digital video functions or stop motion), but that does not guarantee a winning spot. This MUST be a work you have created for the purpose of the challenge, unless specifically noted otherwise.

Collaborations/Help from others

You can ask for help from other server members. Just be aware that only the entering participant will get the points, not every collaborator.

Descriptions

You may provide up to 200 words of description to go along with your work, but this is not required. We love hearing about your concept! However, a written description will not affect your entry's chances of getting a winning place.

Forbidden content

No NSFW imagery. Nothing with your personal information on it. No AI works Failure to adhere to these guidelines could potentially disqualify you and result in your post being deleted. If you are unsure what counts, please ask.

Let me know if you have any questions!

And join the discord server!

Have fun

[lakesandquarries]

End of year ask! 1-5, 8, and 25!

Song of the year?

well according to spotify it was We'll Never Have Sex by Leith Ross and. yeah

Album of the year?

okay didn't come out this year but i discovered it this year. April Fools by The Scary Jokes is the album ever. as for albums that DID come out this year, Inside by Mother Mother slaps sooo hard

Favorite musical artist / group you started listening to this year?

oh okay HERE is where i can shoutout The Scary Jokes but also. Kim Petras

Movie of the year?

Hmmm Everything Everywhere All At Once was fantastic. also really like Bullet Train. and One Piece Film Red obviously

TV show of the year?

oh fuck i don't watch many tv shows. uhhhhh does Mob Psycho III count. if not i think....the only other actual tv show i watched was Stranger Things

Game of the year?

I didn't....really play any.....i am a fake gamer. idk i got pretty obsessed with 2048 does that count

Did you create any characters (in games, art, or writing) this year? Describe one

I DID i made ocs with my bf @tyisreallygay :3 their names are Cas and Azami and Azami is mine and she's a faerie who lives out on a little farm with her pet goats daisy and tulip and a bunch of chickens. she's very sweet and soft and likes plants and cooking :)

i first designed her in the sims so here she is!!

[noloveforned]

after a few days laying about "in recovery" i'm happy to be back at wlur from 8pm until midnight tonight with a new theme! tune in to see how we'll start off all our shows this spring.

last week's show is now up on mixcloud. it was the heart themed show in honor of the cryoablation procedure i went through last week to (hopefuly) eliminate a pesky heart arrythmia i've dealt with for the last twenty years. two hours of songs about heartbeats and broken hearts that fit into the old no love for ned motto from the nineties- "cause happy rhymes with crappy".

no love for ned on wlur – april 19th, 2024 from 8-10pm

artist // track // album // label the magnetic fields // epitaph for my heart // sixty nine love songs // merge scraps // suddenly y'r in my heart // classic shits // bedroom suck records allo, darlin' // my heart is a drummer // allo darlin' // fortuna pop! count florida // can't break a heart // choose your own... // (self-released) the art museums // dancing with a hole in your heart // dancing with a hole in your heart 7" // slumberland ubangi // the heartbeat // oh no, i'm pregnant! // hawk axeman // rocks in my heart // derry legend // flying nun beex // (my heart goes) beat beat // the early years, 1979-1982 // beach impediment gino and the goons // break your heart // do the get around // drunken sailor prom nite // play rough with my heart // dancing to this beat // barfbag terry and louie // (i'm) looking for a heart // ... a thousand guitars // tuff break toy watches // hole in my heart // brisbane bands of the early eighties compilation // brisbane music graveyard mod con // is your heart a joke? // modern condition // poison city old 97's // murder (or a heart attack) // fight songs // elektra magnolia electric co. // john henry split my heart // the magnolia electric co. // secretly canadian bob dylan // someone's got a hold of my heart // springtime in new york- the bootleg series, volume sixteen (1980-1985) // legacy c. albert blomquist // never had a heartache hurt so hard // c. albert blomquist // (self-released) mirah // engine heart // you think it's like this but really it's like this // k cat power // metal heart // moon pix // matador patsy cline // does your heart beat for me // a portrait of patsy cline // decca al green // how can you mend a broken heart // let's stay together // hi quantrells // can't let you break my heart // home schooled- abcs of kid soul compilation // numero group mavis staples and eddie floyd // piece of my heart // boy meets girl- classic stax duets compilation // stax nick lowe // only a fool breaks his own heart // the convincer // yep roc spiritualized // broken heart // the abbey road ep // arista the rolling stones // doo doo doo doo doo (heartbreaker) // brussels affair, live 1973 // polydor pylon // feast on my heart // gyrate // db the skeptics // you've got a heart somewhere // you make me sick 7" // frantic city the remains // heart // the remains // epic martha // heart is healing // love keeps kicking // dirtnap spazzys // you left my heart in the garage // aloha! go bananas // fur bat fangs // heartbeat // bat fangs // don giovanni veronica falls // my heart beats // waiting for something to happen // slumberland blondie // heart of glass // parallel lines // chrysalis dirty projectors featuring dawn richard // cool your heart // dirty projectors // domino

[vargaslovinghours]

Good morning, bedhead

Bonus:

[aerequets]

Know it's a weird question, but I'm genuinely curious! What shows do you watch? From, I watch every day, to I watch when I'm remembering a sad scene from it, if you don't mind?

OOOH an interesting ask! admittedly i don't watch a lot of shows, but there are a few that i really like!

(these are in no particular order, just as i remember them)

1) Shadow and Bone

this is a fantasy series; the first season doesn't have much romance but features a great cast and follows 2 storylines: one for Alina and one for the crows. this is mostly for people who have read either the Shadow and Bone or Six of Crows series (or both), and since I read all those books before watching this show I can't tell you what it would be like to watch it as someone who doesn't already know the universe. BUT the books are my absolute favorite and i love LOVE LOVE the characters sm. it's on netflix and it recently came out (like late April i think?) and it's already been renewed for season 2 since it was so crazy popular!

2) Camp Camp

WARNING: this looks like a kid's show. IT IS NOT A KID'S SHOW. yes, the main characters are 10 year olds at a summer camp, but still. do not be fooled by the cutesy animation either. you'll see like, a minute into episode 1 that it's definitely for older audiences. it's so funny though and the character development rocks! and found family. who doesn't love found family? there are 4 seasons so far and the first 3, as far as i know, are for free on youtube. i watched all 4 seasons for free on the roosterteeth website (with adblock. apparently there's a ton of ads)

3) The Good Place

man this show is so good. if i was ranking the shows this would probably be #1... I think? i'm indecisive but hhhhhh i love it sm ok? amazing cast, i LOVE the world, the storyline doesn't drag out, it's seriously philosophical too. so many good lines from this show. just whole good episodes. i love tahani so much and AAGHHH i should rewatch this. basically our 4 main characters have died and they're in heaven... or are they?

4) The Dragon Prince

fun fact, i watched this before i watched ATLA! it's usually the other way around for most people because this show is lead by some of the same people who made ATLA, so some of the fandom transferred. it's another fantasy cartoon series (this time kids can watch LOL) and there are 3 seasons so far. i love the art and the soundtracks, and the messages throughout about prejudice and war. lots of people had issues with clunky animation in the 1st season (which, now that i rewatch, i can't believe i didn't notice it before) but it gets better and honestly, the art is pretty enough that it wasn't a dealbreaker for me. it features ATLA references and the main dude is voiced by sokka's VA, so if that matters to you...

5) Fairy Tail

ok, hear me out. i know this is kind of a train wreck but this was my THING in middle school before i got into mlb. it's rife with fanservice, plot holes and a bunch of deus-ex-machinas but it holds a special place in my heart. (probably solely because i was into it as a young kid.) BUT i still really like parts of the worldbuilding here, and when it gets emotional Oh Boy is it emotional. i also found the art pretty and tried to replicate it for an embarrassingly long time. oh well. realizing i have not yet given a summary, fairy tail is another fantasy and it's about a magic wizard's guild called - drum roll please - Fairy Tail. who would have guessed?

6) Nailed It!

does this count? LMAOOOOOOO it's so different but i just love watching people fail at making baked goods. (if you don't know, they bring inept bakers to try and replicate super difficult baked goods in very limited time. great chaotic energy)

this got kinda long! like i said i don't watch a lot, so there's only 6 recs and they're all pretty different from each other. i would probably have more anime on this list if i hadn't stopped watching after middle school, but some titles i can think of off the top of my head that i enjoyed are Soul Eater, Noragami, OHSHC, Akagami no Shirayukihime.

now if you asked me about WEBTOONS i would give you a butt-ton of recs. but this isn't about that <3

[105ttt]

Hi sorry if this was already asked before but could you explain a little further abt the things devsis has done?? I haven’t heard abt a lot of the stuff you mentioned I don’t mean to sound rude or anything I’m just genuinely wondering

I can tell you mean it genuinely, it’s okay! I’m happy to answer because you want to know. I’ll go through everything I said.

The Valentine’s 2021 fanart video, posted on the official CR YouTube channel, is a compilation of fanart drawn for Valentine’s Day that fanartists submitted. Some of the art submitted was chosen BY DEVSISTERS and put in the video, but not all art made it in. Two pedophilic ships, Red Bean x Snow Sugar and Roguefort x Walnut, were featured in the video. Red Bean x Snow Sugar was featured TWICE. Snow Sugar and Walnut are confirmed to be children while Red Bean and Roguefort are HEAVILY implied to be adults. Devsisters allowed the pedophilic ships to be shown in a fanart video for a holiday primarily about romantic love, therefore putting their seal of approval on these pedophilic ships. Despite fans saying it should be taken down, the video is still up as of today.

Related to the video and Devsisters’ promotion of fanart on official Twitter accounts, they are known to promote fanart that whitewashes the Cookies. This applies to not only Cookies like Cocoa and Mint Choco, who are clearly black, but also Cookies that are tan, like Alchemist. This approval of whitewashing has been going on for literal years, and when an artist was called out for a piece that Devsisters promoted, Devsisters sided with the artist and claimed that they should be respected rather than made to understand why whitewashing is bad.

Both the Dreamy Cookie Land event and the 2021 April Fools GingerBrave Trial contain sections that are known to harm photosensitive people by either giving them seizures or seriously hurting their eyes and causing immense discomfort and pain. While Devsisters altered the maps in Dreamy Cookie Land to make them less likely to hurt these people, the 2021 April Fools Trial has not changed. Devsisters should have made sure these maps were safe BEFORE publishing them to thousands of people (or more).

Devsisters misgenders its own characters on official Twitter accounts and in game notifications. Squid Ink Cookie was referred to as “she” on a Puzzle World Twitter post, despite this Cookie never having pronouns anywhere in the game. Mocha Ray Cookie was referred to with “she” in a game notification despite having no pronouns listed anywhere in the game, including cutscenes. Devil Cookie was referred to with “he” in a Twitter post despite the game canonically using only “they/them” for them. In addition, a statement from the Thai branch of the Devsisters team claimed that you can use any pronouns for a Cookie since they are born sexless (and they conflated sex with gender). This gives transphobes the “right” to misgender canonically nonbinary characters. Lastly, before the Guild update and before OvenBreak, Dark Choco and Cinnamon had no pronouns. After the Guild update, Cookies referred to Dark Choco as “he”, and in OvenBreak, Cinnamon’s Story uses “he” for them. This erases two canonically nonbinary characters, as cis people will see “he” being used for them and assume they are male rather than he/they nonbinary people.

Devsisters is not subtle about their homophobia, as well as their goal of appealing to cishets who hate gay people. They show their homophobia in how straight ships are treated compared to gay ships. Firstly, in the Valentine’s fanart video, there were mostly straight ships. I believe I counted only 4 or so gay ships, and 3 of these were either selfcest or pedophilia. Despite the majority of the art being shown being heterosexual, many people who regularly follow the CR tag on Twitter and Instagram claim that there was a lot more gay ship art submitted compared to the proportion shown in the video. The gay ship art shown was also ambiguous enough that cishets who hate gay people wouldn’t get mad at Devsisters, while some of the heterosexual art was blatantly romantic. Secondly, the treatment of ships like RaspRose and PrincessKnight, popular straight ships, is much better than the treatment of popular gay ships by Devsisters. For example, RaspRose got a merchandise item in a set of cups that also featured a cup with Sea Fairy and Moonlight and Orange and Lime. The RaspRose art on the cup is explicitly romantic. The art on the Sea Fairy and Moonlight and Orange and Lime cups are ambiguous or platonic instead, despite both of these ships being historically far more plausible and popular than RaspRose. Finally, Devsisters has been gaybaiting with Madeleine Cookie and Espresso Cookie in Kingdom, but they refuse to make them canon because that would be gay. Gaybaiting is homophobic in itself for using gay people as a way to advertise something without fulfilling the promise of gay representation. It’s also worth mentioning that they once gaybaited with Milk and Purple Yam on Twitter, but the art shown was not romantic at all, and only the caption hinted at a ship (and the caption was vague enough to be interpreted as the Cookies merely appearing in an art piece together).

Multiple black CR fans have spoken out and said that Purple Yam Cookie is a racist caricature of black men, ESPECIALLY when he is juxtaposed with Milk, a white man. Indian and Middle Eastern CR fans have spoken out and said that Yogurt Cream Cookie and Lilac Cookie are caricatures of Indian and Middle Eastern people. These are not debatable. Google the history of the portrayal of black men in non-black media, and you’ll see what I mean for Purple Yam. The evidence that Yogurt Cream is a caricature comes from the very fact that people compare him to Aladdin, specifically Disney’s version of the tale, thereby showing that their only exposure to Indian and Middle Eastern people is stereotypes in white media. Note also that Dark Choco Cookie is the stereotype of a solemn, lonely, strong black person, and this has leaked into the fandom so much that people draw them unrealistically buff and mostly draw them suffering from angst instead of having any actual character.

There was an IRL sex crime in South Korea perpetrated by a club called the Burning Sun, and a certain Guild named itself after that club and changed their usernames to the names of the people who committed these crimes. They were only forced to change their names by Devsisters AFTER people protested. They were NOT forced to disband the Guild or banned from the game. Keep in mind that these people named themselves after a REAL-LIFE SEX CRIME that harmed REAL WOMEN AND GIRLS, and the only punishment they got was a forced name change. Fuck Devsisters.

Lastly, the trigger joke. Back when Ion Cookie Robot and Cyborg Cookie were new, the official CR Twitter account made a Tweet captioned as “triggered”, and below that caption was a GIF of Ion Cookie Robot becoming angry and shifting to their Red Dread Costume, thereby implying that Ion Cookie Robot was “triggered” and became unreasonably angry. This was posted during the time when ableists were using the term “triggered” as a “meme”, which harms people with PTSD. The Tweet was deleted, and another Tweet was made that apologized for the previous Tweet, but this was only after backlash from fans. However, notice that Purple Yam Cookie is also a trigger joke. He has PTSD from being burned alive in the Oven for so long, and as a result he is easily angered (anger is his stress response). The game treats this as a joke and minimizes his suffering just because other Cookies were in the Oven (before coming to life). His anger is treated as unreasonable and unwarranted, and it’s treated as a joke. Does that sound familiar? Now take into account that his anger is juxtaposed with Milk’s “kind”, “gentle” demeanor. Yikes.

BONUS ROUND:

DevSam, a worker at Devsisters, once said that GingerBrave had a Costume in LINE that was a “sexy cat costume”. GingerBrave is a minor, and the Costume was literally not sexy at all. Why did they refer to him as sexy if he’s a minor??

Images from an official CR account showed a person dressed as GingerBrave giving gifts to a person dressed as Pink Choco Cookie, a Cookie associated with romantic love. This can be easily interpreted as romantic and is therefore pedophilic because GingerBrave is a child and Pink Choco Cookie is an adult. Why post this at all??

Buttershell Fox referred to Maple Panda with a word that was VERY close to a slur against black people in the original text of the Secrets of the Hidden City cutscenes. This was only changed when a popular Twitter user let everyone know about it and asked people to email Devsisters about it.

I can provide links and screenshots for proof if needed, but please DM me or send an ask to ask for these. I’m definitely forgetting other things they’ve done that are bad, but this already should be enough to raise eyebrows.

[grailfinders]

Fate and Phantasms #Gudako: Gudako

Happy April Fools! We were going to do Scathach today, but this thing crawled into my home and it won’t go away until I make a build of it. So here’s Gudako.

Check out her build breakdown below the cut, or her character sheet over here!

We’ll then return to our regularly scheduled Scathach.

Race and Background

Ritsuka Fujimaru is a human, but you’re an awful little gremlin with a penchant for lechery. In other words, a Lightfoot Halfling. That gets you +2 Dexterity, +1 Charisma, and makes you Lucky, Brave, Nimble, and Naturally Stealthy. This means you can re-roll ones on attacks, checks, and saves, have advantage against being frightened, can move through larger creatures, and can hide behind them as well.

We’re also making up a Gambler background for you, giving you proficiency in Deception and Insight. 

Ability Scores

Even if you’re a weird awful version of FGO’s master, you’re still FGO’s master, so your Charisma is pretty freaking good. After that is Constitution- I don’t know how you survived the end of that last book but you did, so that’s probably con based. After that is Dexterity. It might just be the art style, but you’re kind of noodly, and incredibly fast. Your Strength isn’t amazing just yet, you’re still kind of a nerd. After that is Intelligence, then Wisdom. You play a gacha game. Enough said. 

Class Levels

1. Sorcerer 1: Mages in the Nasuverse are kind of a weird mix between sorcerers and wizards, but since you never really learned about magic that means you’re 100% the former! 

Thankfully, being a sorcerer opens us up to the gacha of the magic world, Wild Magic! At first level you can cast Spells using your charisma, and first level or higher spells can activate your Wild Magic Surge. After casting such a spell, you roll a d20, and on a 1 you then roll on the big ol’ table and get weird magic stuff. If you’d rather roll more often, your Tides of Chaos can force the issue. You can spend it to gain advantage on an attack, check, or save once per long rest. That being said, you can speed things up at your DM’s discretion, recharging the tides with a mandatory roll on the wild magic surge table.

Speaking of spells, you get a bunch of cantrips here. Friends and Mage Hand will improve your relationship with Mash, Prestidigitation takes care of all of that “actual magic” stuff, and Message lets you use your phone like a phone. Weird, I thought this was a gacha console?

For first level spells, Chaos Bolt brings the gacha into your combat, with the spell’s damage type based on the damage roll you make. It also has a chance of bouncing off and hitting another target for theoretically infinite damage. Expeditious Retreat will give you that gremlin speed you’re known for.

Finally, you get proficiency with Constitution and Charisma saves, as well as the Arcana and Intimidation skills. You just kinda give off this aura, y’know?

2. Sorcerer 2: Second level sorcerers become a Font of Magic, giving them sorcery points equal to their level that they can spend to make new spell slots. You can also do the reverse, but that won’t be useful until next level. You also learn how to bring out a creature’s hidden desires with Id Insinuation, which forces a wisdom save (DC 8+chr mod+ proficiency) or the target is incapacitated and takes psychic damage. There’s a reason your little eggplant has trouble fighting you off.

3. Sorcerer 3: Third level sorcerers get Metamagic, ways to use your sorcery points to enhance your magic. You strike me as a buster meta player, so Empowered Spell will let you get the most damage out of your spells (and also let you cheat a bit on Chaos Bolt). You also learn how to skip the casting animations on your spells thanks to Quickened Spell, turning an action casting spell into a bonus action.

On top of that, Hold Person lets you hold a person down while you have your way with them. By that I mean attack them, duh. Get your mind out of the gutter.

4. Sorcerer 4: Use your first Ability Score Improvement to bump up your Strength. Trust me, it’ll help out later.

You can also cast Create Bonfire for the survivalist in you, or you can Mind Thrust on the people you’re holding. It’s still nothing lewd, it just deals psychic damage, and if a creature fails the intelligence save it can’t take reactions until the end of its next turn and has to choose between moving, taking an action, or a bonus action next turn.

5. Sorcerer 5: Fifth level sorcerers get third level spells, and Conjure Lesser Demon lets you summon Mephistopheles to the battlefield! Actually it’s just eight manes or dretches, but it sounds like it would summon Mephistopheles. Those demons are just as loyal as Mephy though, so... keep your distance.

6. Sorcerer 6: Sixth level wild mages can Bend Luck as a reaction, adding or subtracting 1d4 from any check, save, or attack you wish near you. Now you really have protagonist powers! You can also cast Haste now for additional gudaspeed.

7. Sorcerer 7: Seventh level sorcerers get fourth level spells, and Conjure Shadow Demon does exactly what you think it does. You can conjure a shadow demon- I think Cursed Arm would probably count for this? Also, this demon’s slightly more cooperative, but it will probably turn on you after the fight’s over.

8. Sorcerer 8: Use this ASI for more Charisma. You can also Conjure Barlgura, which also does exactly what you think it does; conjures a barlgura. What, you don’t know what a barlgura is? Yeah right, everyone knows barlguras! They’re so iconic I don’t even have to tell you which servant they’re like!

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

What the hell? It’s been eight levels already and we haven’t even summoned a four star yet! I’m so salty I’m gonna....

9. Barbarian 1: Going into barbarian lets you turn your gacha salt into Rage, giving you extra bonus damage on attacks, getting advantage on strength saves and checks, and you get resistance to physical damage types. You also get an Unarmored Defense, letting you continue your fight even in the nude.

10. Barbarian 2: You can now make Reckless Attacks, gaining advantage on all attacks for the turn at the cost of taking attacks at advantage for the round. Your Danger Sense also gives you advantage on dexterity saves that you can see coming. You might think that’ll help when Berserker of Learning with Manga turns on you. You’d be wrong.

11. Barbarian 3: Did you think the gacha was over just because of a class change? Hah! Thanks to Tasha’s, you can set down the Path of Wild Magic at third level, giving you Magic Awareness, an action to sense magic within 60′ of you proficiency times per long rest.

More gachaly, you get a new Wild Surge when you rage. It’s a smaller table than your sorcerer surges, but it’s more consistent. It’s the friend point gacha to the other’s quartz gacha.

You also get Athletics proficiency from your Primal Knowledge, for better sprints.

12. Barbarian 4: Bring your Strength even higher so hitting people is actually a good idea.

13. Barbarian 5: You get an Extra Attack each action now, and your Fast Movement adds 10′ to your movement speed, making you not the slowest person in the party any more!

14. Barbarian 6: At sixth level, your Bolstering Magic lets you spend an action to either A) add a d3 to a creature’s attacks or checks for 10 minutes, or B) regain a creature’s spell slot, with the level based on the roll of a d3. You can use the second one once per creature per long rest, but your total number of uses is equal to your proficiency bonus each long rest.

15. Barbarian 7: Seventh level barbarians let their Feral Instinct take hold, gaining advantage on initiative rolls. You also can ignore surprise by raging. Your Instinctive Pounce lets you move up to half your speed when you rage. You like pouncing.

16. Barbarian 8: Use this ASI to bump up your Constitution for more health, more AC, and stronger rage spells.

17. Barbarian 9: Your Brutal Critical gives you an extra die of damage when you deal a critical hit, as you rub gacha salt in the enemy’s wounds.

18. Barbarian 10: Your last wild magic goody is the Unstable Backlash- when you take damage or fail a save while raging, you can roll on the wild magic table and replace your current effect. More gacha, MORE GACHA! 

You also get more Primal Knowledge for Survival proficiency. I think you kinda ended society as we know it in at least one timeline, so you’ll need it.

19. Barbarian 11: Your Relentless Rage gives you a guts skill of your very own! When you would normally drop to 0 hp you can make a constitution save to say at 1 hp instead. The DC increases each time, but resets on short rests.

20. Barbarian 12: Your final level is another ASI for more Strength. Hit people, it’s real simple.

Pros:

You are just so random, which makes it hard to strategize against you. Your enemy can’t know what you’re gonna do if you don’t!

You’re pretty beefy, but you can also send in a demon squad to cause chaos in your stead when you’re feeling lazy.

Halfling’s lucky is so useful it honestly deserves its own pros spot. Nat 1s are for nerds!

Cons:

Mixing conjuration and rages is never going to end well, especially when those conjurations want you dead.

You’re so random that you can’t really strategize for anything. Yeah, it won’t be boring, but you can’t be as precise as other builds.

For a lot of this build, your shortness can be an issue when it comes to mobility. Being the slowest person in the party when running from demons (that you may or may not have summoned) is a serious problem.

[bopinion]

Book of the month / 2021 / 04 April

I love books. Even though I hardly read any. Because my library is more like a collection of tomes, coffee-table books, limited editions... in short: books in which not "only" the content counts, but also the editorial performance, the presentation, the curating of the topic - the book as a total work of art itself.

björk :archives. A retrospective

Klaus Biesenbach

Monograph / 2015 / Schirmer/Mosel Publishing House

Iceland, the land of geysers, the largest volcanic island on the planet. Home of the Icelandic pony with its exclusive gait of the tölt and the most active literary community in the world. Soccer mecca and most sparsely populated country in Europe. Icelandic names - for example the highest mountain Hvannadalshnúkur - are hardly pronounceable, although the alphabet does not even know many common letters such as C, W, Q and Z. There is a separate holiday for seafarers and a division of time into 3-hour periods starting at midnight. 16 German cities each have more inhabitants than all of Iceland, which has therefore its own dating app to prevent relatives who are biologically too close from mating. It's a fascinating country.

Given the size of the country, it's probably no wonder that Iceland's pop cultural influence internationally is rather limited. Despite the Nobel Prize for Literature winner Halldór Laxness, whose work I don't know, and the crime series The Valhalla Murderers, which I know thanks to Netflix. But wait - wasn't there something else? Yes, that's right, Iceland has a globally successful Gesamtkunstwerk named Björk. Her contributions to music, video, film, fashion and art have influenced a generation worldwide.

Björk Guðmundsdóttir, born in Reykjavík in 1965, has made a name for herself as a singer, music producer, composer, songwriter and actress with a broad interest in different types of music, including pop music, electronic music, trip-hop, alternative rock, jazz, folk music and classical music. To date, she has sold over 20 million albums worldwide. Certainly not only because of the seemingly endless variability of her compositions, but also because of her voice, which one can confidently call unmistakable. She causes goose bumps, whether you like her music or not.

Little Björk attended music school at the age of five and was taught singing, piano and flute, among other things, for ten years. One of the teachers sent a recording of her singing the song "I Love To Love" by Tina Charles to a radio station. The broadcast was heard and liked by an employee of the Icelandic record publisher Fálkinn and subsequently offered her a recording contract - when she was eleven years old. With the help of her stepfather, who played guitar, she recorded her first album. It contained various Icelandic children's songs and cover versions of popular titles, such as "Fool on the Hill" by the Beatles. The album became a great national success.

At 14, Björk formed the girl punk group Spit and Snot, the maximum contrast program to the children's songs. This was followed by the fusion jazz group Exodus, later Tappi Tíkarrass and Kukl (Icelandic for witchcraft), with whom she developed her signature vocal style. First foreign tours to England and West Berlin followed. Then in 1986 came the formation of the band Pukl, later renamed The Sugarcubes. The first single brought respectable success in England and USA, The Sugarcubes reached cult status. The first record deal with Elektra Records led to the album "Life's too good" in 1988, making them the first Icelandic band ever to become world famous.

The transformation into a total work of art began in 1992 at the latest with Björk's move to London. The first solo album, appropriately named "Debut," became the album of the year according to New Musical Express. Now even Madonna wanted to have a whole album written by Björk, but it remained with the title track "Bedtime Story", she remained true to herself and her love of experimentation. The New York based news magazine "Time" named her the "high priestess of art" and in 2015 put her on the list of the 100 most influential people on earth. She rounded off her visual extravaganza, that even her wardrobe was prominently featured in the major retrospective at New York's Museum of Modern Art (MoMA).

Schirmer/Mosel Verlag is an art book publisher in Munich founded in 1974 by Lothar Schirmer and the commercial artist Erik Mosel. Schirmer became friends with artists such as Cy Twombly and Joseph Beuys at a young age and began collecting their works. By buying and reselling art prints and drawings, he earned the start-up capital for his publishing house. With his publishing debut, he ensured the rediscovery of August Sander, a visual artist of the Weimar Republic. There were various publishing collaborations with the MoMA, and in 2015 there was also the retrospective mentioned above. And of course, in keeping with the protagonist, the publication had to become a work of art itself.

"björk :archives" comes in an elegant slipcase containing six parts: four booklets, a paperback and a folded catalogue raisonné poster with the covers of all Björk albums. A closer look is worthwhile: first there is a thematic introduction by the editor and exhibition curator at the MoMA, Klaus Biesenbach. Then an illustrated essay by Alex Ross, music critic of the New Yorker, which deals with Björk's creative dissolution of musical and aesthetic boundaries. Another by Nicola Dibben, professor of musicology at the University of Sheffield, on Björk's creativity and collaborations. And the collected e-mail correspondence similar to a pen pal relationship between Björk and American publicist, philosopher and literary scholar Timothy Morton.

The book itself, the centerpiece of the edition, is about Björk's seven major albums and the characters she created for them. Poetic texts by Icelandic author Sjón, with whom Björk has long collaborated, are joined by a veritable treasure trove of illustrations: Photos of live performances, stills from the music videos of masters like Michel Gondry or Spike Jonze, Björk in stunning costumes by designers like Hussein Chalayan or Alexander McQueen, and PR shots by star photographers like the duo Inez van Lamsweerde & Vinoodh Matadin or provocateur Araki.

The design of the publication quotes music scores and comes from the renowned Parisian design studio M/M. It all adds up to an extraordinary visual masterpiece, a tribute to the magical world of Björk. And that at an hardly believable price of € 19.80. A reviewer on Amazon (no, you shouldn't shop there - support local businesses!) sums it up: "This is a collection of art, stories and references very well organized and assembled with care. The price does absolutely not represent how valuable this product is, I am positively surprised." Positively surprising - that could truly be Björk's mission statement.

Björk's music itself is so rich in pictorial statements that it doesn't really need any exuberantly creative videos to go with it. Therefore, according to Slant Magazine, her best video is her first, relatively simple one: "Big Time sensuality" from her "Debut" album purely shows her joy in music. Here's the link:

https://youtu.be/-wYmq2Vz5yM