#lore injection would be a fun thing to play with

[nemo-draco]

Bendy: Secrets of the Machine Thoughts

Putting them under a spoiler cut for readability

So far, there is a lot of intrigue regarding GENT and their role, as well as the potential return of the Nightmare Run characters.

GENT's involvement so far as been more on the sidelines in the games. It's implied they have similar issues with the supernatural, and they are running experiments with the ink the Machine produces, the books also backing this up with the reappearance of Archie Carter. However, with the new character. Riley Wells, introduced, it creates a more interesting layer to this, in that it is implied that she was recruited by GENT shortly following her dismissal from JDS. Now, if she is a villain or a victim is up for debate. It could be that they hired her as a test subject similar to Archie Carter and her metamorphosis was just far more severe as a result of the traumatic experience in her childhood, or perhaps she provided the specs that ended up producing a real-life version of "Bloodwheel", the more monster-y version of Gaskette that even gets a whole song in Riley's flashback.

Riley's story is also interesting in that it provides a canon explanation for why the Nightmare Run toons are more monstrous, though it really only does so for Gaskette. She's never shown drawing any of the other bosses, just him. Which makes me wonder if maybe she was part of the character design for only him, and the others are all going to get their own stories later on in the game. I really do hope they go this route, mostly because it would be a nice callback to the no longer available Nightmare Run, and you could have some real fun with the bosses 'backstories', depending on how involved you want to be.

Can think of a few things immediately off the bat: Chester being another example of a childhood fear turned into a debilitating trauma, except involving someone who has thalassophobia strong enough to rival H.P. Lovecraft. Kind of paves the way for a lot of spooky imagery involving the ocean, ocean life, and ink.

Dewey at first seemed a little comical to think about in this context, after all, a fear of librarians seems extreme, though thinking more on it my thought is that he's the product of a different type of emotional stuckage. Instead of a fearful person, perhaps Dewey was created by a very angry person, someone who had a lot of trouble controlling their temper and would frequently blow up at seemingly minor issues. After all, Dewey's main character trait seems to be his temper, as we remember from his character card that he has a disproportionate reaction to Bendy knocking over some books. Granted, between the fact that the exact quantity of books is never mentioned, and a cartoon being a cartoon, it makes me wonder if Bendy might not have knocked over a few books, but more likely a few stacks or even whole shelves worth. I mean, what's funnier, a few books coming down or the library getting a spontaneous remodeling job thanks to a careless patron?

...It's probably not so fun for the librarian, but you get my point. So, potentially, we have someone who has a temper problem creating this character as a way to offset their issues. It might just be less helpful and creating a bit of a feedback loop, where they're constantly ruminating over their problems rather than addressing and moving on from them.

Canoodle was another one that eluded me a bit, though there are two potential driving forces that could have fueled his creation. On one front, junkyards aren't exactly friendly places sometimes, and it would be easy for some sort of accident to happen that could produce some sort of negative association, though there is also the fact that a sentient can being in a junkyard creates this almost weird mental image. You'd think that'd be a dangerous place for him, and this is somewhat proven true if you beat him in Nightmare Run, as he's promptly crushed and disposed of. So, perhaps a preoccupation with death, or a person who is constantly cheating bad or dangerous circumstances? It's something, and it could definitely be interesting played out if that's the direction they're planning on going with this.

There are also plenty of other fun moments and little easter eggs for fans, so either way, we do get something fun. I would honestly be over the moon if they did something for all of the Nightmare Run toons though. Gaskette is a good nod, and Riley's backstory intrigues me given the circumstances, and especially the apparent involvement with GENT. Kinda makes me wonder if they're, in a sense, keeping tabs on people who were associated with JDS, people who maybe would have some stronger ties to the art being produced there and potentially have a bigger reaction when the ink is used on them.

It's something to think about, for sure. If anything, I'll enjoy using these puzzle pieces in my own work.

[charliemwrites]

finally came back to sneak a peek of you after reading the a/b/o fic you wrote a while back with Saint and the asks and lore you're wonderfully sharing to us made me think of a smol female alpha (OC) that ends up being put in the 141 with good ol Sainty-boy. i'm with 5'1 anon here since i myself am 5'0 so i was thinking of injecting the shorty gene into her (probably the lowest height that could be allowed in the military). something something based on the protective and creative poodle breed.

idk how g you are with OCs but i can't help but think of this alpha somewhere in the middle of the spectrum that's playful and mostly more bark than bite unless it threatens her and her pack. someone who is more like a playful gremlin because she KNOWS that since she's the medic, she has some leeway to be a lil annoying (plus, a little chaos in such w stable pack light be interesting idk).

despite all her huff and puff tho, she's a bit touch-avered but also pretty touch-starved so she backs away whenever someone tries to touch her too much even if she's not afraid of touching others (bordering atypical on alpha etiquette). maybe the team teasing her and using her as a leaning table or hiding stuff up to the higher shelves sometimes whenever she's being annoying in retaliation? idk idk idk the idea is making my mind buzz a lot and would love to hear your thoughts about it if you're interested.

-- 📖

Hiya!!! I love ocs, I love when they interact with mine, and I adore this concept!!!

I think Saint would treat her a bit like an unruly pup for the most part, esp when it comes to omega 141. They’ll observe and keep an eye on things and so long as the omegas are comfortable and everyone is having fun, Saint won’t be offended or aggressive about her playing with the rest of the team.

The only time they would be likely to intervene on any roughhousing is during their pre-rut or if someone is injured (including the alpha medic).

They’re also a lot more casual with other Alphas, so your medic had best be ready to get scruffed for misbehavior, as well as scented fairly often. It’s normal for Alphas on the extreme end to be tactile and let other Alphas “win” during play so they’re not discouraged from doing so again.

Eye contact with Saint would also be a bit risky for her depending on what behaviors she’s exhibiting at the time. If they take it as aggression or a challenge, she might get growled at, or even hear their teeth click behind their muzzle.

[otakween]

Digital Monster X-evolution

If those janky Digimon World cutscenes were a whole movie, it'd be this. To be fair, I think outdated CGI has a lot more charm than a lot of the higher quality but soulless stuff they put out nowadays. Plot-wise it was nothing special, we've seen this plot a zillion times by now. They just injected it with some new gimmicks. I did find the main character charming enough. I honestly wouldn't mind seeing another attempt at an all-CGI movie as long as that didn't become the new default (slippery slope lol).

Notes:

Although the plot of this film was really simple they managed to add some convoluted lore anyways...because Digimon. Just when I was thinking "that was confusing" I saw that this wiki has a 900 page long (not really lol) explanation/play-by-play. Maybe I'll read it when it's not my bed time: https://wikimon.net/Digital_Monster_X-evolution

Of course they had to open the movie with Leomon dying (really?) Why is that a thing? I've never felt emotional seeing any Leomon die tbh lol

I think Dorumon and his digivolutions have really strong designs. His rookie form kinda looks like a furry version of Monodramon. I've been playing Digimon RPG (the MMO) and just by chance ended up with him as my partner (I actually thought I was getting Impmon lol). Fate!

Not a lot of levity here, the script took itself very seriously and the characters spent most of the film just being existential and talking about the meaning of life. Kinda heavy for a silly little monster battle film.

Legit got a little emotional when Dorumon was being bullied, but it's really easy to feel sad for a furry little creature

The CGI actually held up better than I thought it would for the most part, the mecha digimon especially looked awesome. The only "AH! KILL IT WITH FIRE!" moment was Andromon -shudder-

(Of course, Andromon is ugly in any form, but this is definitely his worst).

Weird seeing Omegamon vs. WarGreymon. I was also surprised to see Magnamon in the Royal Knights. He just seems more beast-like to me than the other knights.

Tokomon was one of those "is it cute or is it annoying?" baby characters. I'm leaning more towards cute, but there were moments where I was like "alright, that's enough of him" loi

Dorugamon kinda reminded me of Toothless. I wanna pet his big nose :3c

They just couldn't resist, they had to call something in this franchise "Yggradsil" didn't they

(They also used other Norse names, the same ones used in Ah! My Goddess).

The funky X-forms of digimon were fun, very angular. It reminds me of the newer Pokemon games how they keep adding new gimmicky forms. I'm sure we'll be seeing more of these. I guess in a way, this is a more realistic "evolution" since it has to do with the digimon reacting to their environment by developing antibodies.

I saw people complaining that Frontier only had two Royal Knights, well I guess they made up for it a bit here. Are they always gonna be working for the villain side? I wanna see a series where they're the heroes!

It was neat seeing Silphymon again. I get excited when 02 characters show up cuz it's kind of the underdog season in my mind.

The villain digimon (aside from the royal knights) weren't very well explained they just kinda showed up, caused havoc, then went away. The only reason why I have a name for any of them is cuz I read the wiki. I guess it would be hard to naturally fit in all the names...

The name "Alphamon" was kind of an eyeroll. They're running out of epic names lol. (Also, it just makes me think of alpha bros nowadays). The design is nice tho, it's got the black w/ gold highlights thing that I liked in Frontier.

Lots of badass cape shots in this (see my final screenshot above)

At the end of the movie the digital world was destroyed and then restored (Frontier much?) It wasn't really clear what that meant for the digimon. Did they all just resurrect via digiegg? Were they recreated exactly as they were before the world's destruction? -shrug-

Pretty sad that this movie never got any love in the states. I wonder if there's a fandub out there somewhere.

Apparently Digimon World 4 is related to this movie so I'll be playing that next!

[dastardlydeacon]

Gonna be asking some questions about UT/DT since chapters 3 and 4 revitalized my obsession with these two games lol

With Tenna being a gameshow host and chapter 3 being mostly gameplay focused, has there been any thoughts or ideas on what the d-sides version would be like? Would Tenna still be a gamehost?

2. Does Kris still live with Toriel in deltarune? If so, is she still a teacher at the school or does she have a different job?

3. In the d-sides geno route, its safe to assume we'd be fighting the regular bosses like papyrus, undyne and sans. Would there be any other bosses included?

4. Is flowey similar to how he is in regular undertale?

4. Whats sans' and toriels relationship like in d-sides deltarune? Is it similar to what we got now or different?

5. Since deltarune takes place around autumn time, what season would d-sides deltarune take place in?

6. With the releases of chapters 3 and 4, has there been any changes in regards to the lore of d-sides undertale/deltarune?

7. What role does d-sides gaster play in undertale/deltarune? Since he wasnt a scientist (i think do correct me if im wrong)

8. Lastly, out of all the tracks we got from chapter 3 and 4 whats the top 3 you liked the most?

1) tenna is still the same in terms of his general concept but instead of being presented like a live show, he treats kris, susie and ralsei like actors

2) kris lives with asgore now, who can easily support kris and himself due to his successful flower shop, flower king. toriel is the sole worker at a failing bakery. she still holds contempt for asgore but would love to get back with him, however she doesn't want to seem desperate, so she's still a mean to him, while dropping "subtle" bread crumbs that she'd be open to the idea of rekindling. asgore doesn't want to be rude to her, but does not wanting to remarry her.

3) a large part of what i had in mind for no-mercy was that everyone got a boss fight. i love undertale, but my ONLY nitpick with the whole game is that no-mercy only has 2 boss fights. i know its part of the whole "empty atmosphere" thing, but its a big issue for me and makes no-mercy as a whole interesting but ultimately boring as hell to play imo. (with 2 big spikes in fun, but paci was consistently fun.) when you clear out the mines (the ruins), toriel dons her own armour and attacks frisk, hoping to defend her kingdom. you can whittle her down to really low hp, at which point she flees. for papyrus, frisk attempts to make a slice for his neck, but misses and kills the bird instead, which sends papyrus in a rage. he's not trying to kill frisk, but definitely goes way harder than he intends to and can end up killing them. (unlike his paci fight, where he just whittles you down to 1 hp and forces himself to stop.) undyne still goes undying but its executed slightly differently since she's no longer in the guard. mettaton just gets an actual neo figut. the last 3 bosses would be fought back-to-back-to-back. for alphys, i was inspired by that old alphys neo fight and ebhh. she'd inject herself with something to strengthen herself, and that on top of being fueled by depression and anger gives her a powerful internal transformation, so she looks the same but is actually way more powerful. she'd be fought at the end of the core. sans is mostly the same, no surprise there. he's at judgement hall. the final boss would be in new home, and it'd be asgore and toriel fighting alongside each other, combining their strength to take you down. i can't imagine they'd talk that much during this fight.

4) no, bns originally started as an underfell take, and while i HAVE changed things majorly so its not underfell anymore, flowey is one thing that stayed around. with the general idea being that the environment turned way harsher, flowey tells frisk that he's been treated terribly by monsters of the underground, and joins them on their adventure. he doesn't really help with attacks at all, but can provide some funny commentary during some areas. during no-mercy, he solves all puzzles.

5) never really considered that before, but i'll say winter because winter is freaking cool.

6) surprisingly, no. we did change spamton a small bit, so now he can actually have a past with tenna, but otherwise everyone is about the same.

7) still the royal scientist. he's incomprehensible. no one knows what he really looks like.

8) idk any track names but the tv land area theme, chapter 4 battle theme and knight battle theme in that order are my favorites for sure

[monster-fucker-book-club]

Moon Blooded Breeding Clinic

By C.M. Nacosta

Y'all. Don't even ask why I read another Cambric Creek. I guess I liked the concept of this one enough to believe again - and I guess that's my main problem with this series. The ideas are good. Really good. Maybe even great. But the execution is just not what it should be. It's not even that Nacosta is a bad writer (though maybe they are). I'm sure there are folks out there who LOVE Cambric Creek. I just think this series doesn't appeal to people like me who like to smile and laugh and play and have a good time.

Spoiler-free Summary

Girl MC is DIVORCED and INFERTILE and SAD. Boy werewolf MC is ALONE and JOBLESS and SAD and COVID is real and Cambric Creek is doing EUGENICS and everyone is miserable. Who gives a shit.

They fuck. Whatever.

Quick Review

Was it good quality? ★★☆☆☆

Did I enjoy reading it? ★★★☆☆

Monster-ness ★☆☆☆☆

Relationship ★☆☆☆☆

World Building/Lore ★☆☆☆☆

Plot ★★★☆☆

Expanded Thoughts

Okay so I'm being a little unfair. There is more to the plot than just misery but boy oh boy do the girl and boy MC's spend almost the entire first half of the book being sad.

The whole concept of this particular novel is that in the Cambric Creek-verse, werewolves are the pinnacle of fertility, both due to their moon-cycle and their knots. Capitalism took one look at this and decided they could make some money by making - you guessed it - another ultra-clinical "medical" business. We learn in this novel that mixed-breed couples often have difficulty conceiving due to anatomical differences. Our Girl MC, for example, struggled for years to conceive with her lizard-man husband, despite his double dicks. Apparently, some species are just biologically incompatible with each other.

It is in this morbid reality that we join our MC Girl, as her bff - who she met in a fertility clinic - informs her about her new pregnancy and the new breeding program that allowed her dreams to come true. MC Girl has been divorced for a few years at this point, the fertility struggles being what ultimately drove her and her ex-husband apart, but she is not ready to give up on her dream of being a mother. She decides that what she needs is a baby and is willing to try anything to get it.

This is my first big issue with the book. MC Girl's only issue conceiving was her lizardman husband, and now that she is not tied down, certainly she could find a partner (committed or otherwise) to accommodate her. Of course, a fertility clinic in theory should provide a certain anonymity from their donors that would be appealing to someone like our MC Girl. She may not want the risk of an involved babydaddy or the pressure of starting a relationship for the baby's sake. HOWEVER, this all falls apart when you realize that she is choosing her own donor from a catalogue (with stats, traits, and faces included), meeting said donor, and banging his flesh body to acquire said fertilization. I feel like at this point, other than the protections provided by the clinic service, it would be way faster, easier, and cheaper to just do the damn thing yourself. Not to mention this clinic necessitates months of grueling hormonal injections to get MC Girl into the moon cycle and into heat. This process is not portrayed as very fun, especially when you consider that MC Girl just went through years of these kinds of treatments (moon-heat aside).

Regardless, the donor she chooses is, of course, our MC boy, who has a uniquely depressing life of his own. The outcast of his rich, famous, influential werewolf family, MC Boy chose long ago to follow his passion of travel photography, leaving the tiny town of Cambric Creek to explore the wonders of the world. His transient lifestyle is in stark contrast to the wolfy nature that has kept his other family members close by each other. Because of this, you would think that MC Boy is about to embark on the traditional Hallmark storyline - career-focused fella returns to tiny hometown to discover that what really matters is family. However, MC Boy lowkey hates his family? From page 1, we are introduced to an onslaught of family members in the Big Wolf Family. I think MC Boy has about a million brothers (well, it's like 5 but I couldn't tell you one from the other), and MC Boy spends quite a bit of time reflecting on the personal beef he has with each one of them. To MC Boy, a large well-known family is a cage more than a comfort, and any amount of comfort he gains from being near loved ones is quicky lost as annoyance takes over.

COVID is real, as previously mentioned in this review, and has put quite a damper on the jet-setting lifestyle - not to mention folks aren't prioritizing travel photography like they used to for some reason. This prompts MC Boy to return back home, mostly out of necessity. Paranormal folk are immune to the virus, leaving Cambric Creek functional in a way the rest of the world is not. This does, however, leave MC Boy with quite a lot of free time, as he is effectively jobless. Of course, he does not view this joblessness as an opportunity to spend time with the family he hasn't seen in months, or even to reacquaint himself with old friends or the town itself. No - as is customary for a Cambric Creek native, MC Boy takes this time to wallow in self-pity and masturbate. Relatable.

Well, I suppose this is a little unfair. MC Boy has so much free time on his hands that he decides to sign up for the Breeding Clinic as... an act of community service? A way to pass the time? Sure, something like that. MC Boy isn't even really sure himself why he chooses to sign up to donate. Most of his "reasons" feel like he is trying to convince himself that he has purpose in life as much as Nacosta is trying to convince us that this romance is acceptable. After all, there's nothing more romantic that two people at their absolute lowest and most desperate begrudgingly being drawn together out of sadness alone. Well okay, maybe a better author could make that a sweet storyline. But you get the point.

Of course, they click instantly and get banging even before the clinic appointment (again... this feels like an experience y'all could have set up for free and with no medical oversight...) and of course they get together as a result. Romance is truly alive and well in the Creek.

But alas, not all is well in the Creek, as we get to grapple with eugenics in this one. You may be thinking to yourself that certainly a town utilizing werewolf fertility to such a scale must be overrun with werewolves (or half-werewolves at the least). Ah, but of course not, my dear naïve pervert! You see, the Moon-Blooded Breeding Clinic ensures total separation of the donor from the donation by treating the newly-pregnant and the child with a werewolf-deactivating serum, ensure no werewolf genes activate - even when passed on. Both MCs spend a LOT of the novel grappling with how they feel with this process taking place in his town, not to mention participating in the practice themselves. Ultimately, as the two MC's get together, MC Girl decides that she loves her new partner's wolfiness and would want their child to inherit this quality. However, this is undoubtedly a cop-out of making a true ethical stance. As soon as our MC's are not personally affected by the werewolf culling, no second thought is given.

Ethica aside, the main thing that I love about this plot is that is reveals something beautiful about our dear author. C.M. Nacosta must have one hell of a Medical/Clinical Fetish. I'll buy the idea of a milking farm existing for the minotaur population, and I suppose I'll even buy the idea of using werewolf fertility to help prospective mothers. But this prospective mother absolutely did NOT need a clinic to do the task, nor did our sweet MC Boy need such a hobby. Not that every smut novel needs to make perfect sense, but c'mon. C.M. Nacosta will try to convince you that Cambric Creek is an idyllic small town with quaint coffee shops and walkable streets but really, Cambric Creek is the epicenter of sterile, medical infrastructure and cutting-edge scientific industry. Also, everyone has huge heavy balls. Ahh, Nacosta. Never change <3

Love Interest Rating

Both characters are miserable, and I hate them. MC Girl is terminally unsure of herself, wish-washing back and forth between every real opinion that she manages to form throughout the story. MC Boy is insufferable and self-pitying, plus he's just kinda icky. He can't seem to decide whether he's a sexy, single playboy or a doting family-man, leading to some uncomfortable scenes where he goes from thinking about how sweet his nephew is to lusting after his old fuck buddy in Japan. It's weird, and it's gross.

To be honest though, stronger than my dislike of our MC's in my dislike of the Big Werewolf Family as a whole. As we meet (or hear about) each character, we are first told about their worst traits. While this may be an attempt to make the pack endearing (who doesn't squabble with their family???), I found it more convincing. Like, yeah, I also wouldn't want to quarantine with these jerks. And all the scenes where Nacosta tries to convince us that this family is tight-knit despite their quirks just weirded me out. Why are they sending pics of their infected balls to each other? Why are we all so rude to each other all the time?

It is so clear from the writing that Nacosta fell in love with this Big Werewolf Family as they were writing and is certain that the audience will feel the same. You know that player at your D&D table that wrote a 15-page backstory about their super cool character who is just dying to lore-dump at a moment's notice? That's what Nacosta's writing feels like as we meet the Werewolves. It is here that the reader reaches the end of the novel, relief washing over them to be done with this crew of wolfy boys, only to be met with abject horror at the end note - Join The Werewolf Family in Nacosta's Next Novel! Oh God. There's more.

At least it is there that our novel concludes, with both MCs agreeing to postpone babies and travel the world together (like MC Girl always secretly wanted, didn't you know??). Thankfully (or maybe not), we at least did not get a cookie-cutter Hallmark ending. Frankly, I would leave Cambric Creek, too.

Recommendation

If you have a strong clinical fetish like Nacosta, this is right up your alley. Unlike Morning Glory Milking Farm, however, I found this particular book more confusing and insufferable as all characters compete to be the most annoying. I would give this one a skip.

[elvenbeard]

2069

"Is this all there is to this life? Should be recognizin' myself in the mirror better each day, but instead I feel more and more like I'm lookin' at a stranger..."

Vince ran away from home in 2067, aided by Jackie Welles whom he'd met the same year through a fateful coincidence. Jackie and his connections helped him gain independence from his family, and opened doors into a world Vince had so far only seen from far above and far away.

From one environment of buzzing neon lights into the next, although a much less polished one, he ended up in Kabuki. There he stayed for the next two years to come. Drifting from one dissatisfying odd job to the next he tried to build a new life from scratch. In some ways it was a very freeing experience. On file, his birthday was a different one now, aging him up just enough to get his mother off his back. He started HRT, got tattoos he'd always dreamed of, dressed more how he liked without fearing repercussions. He even felt comfortable growing his hair out, dyeing it darker... And soon he began to only introduce himself as "V" to new acquaintances, a nickname and advice given to him by Jackie when they first met.

In other ways though he felt just as out of place in Kabuki as he did in Charter Hill, if not more.

He knew little about life on the streets, was overqualified for what his employers asked of him, and unhappy, underwhelmed with his living situation as a whole. He'd never had to survive on a budget, struggled to make ends meet, or worried about food and rent before. Even Jackie had no solution to these problems - and merc work would never be Vince's style, even if it meant easy money. "Easy" always comes at a price later on...

Eventually, he ended up helping out at a niche tech store with ties to the Tyger Claws. It became the longest job he managed to hold before his pride got the better of him. After many heated arguments with the owner he decided to quit on the spot without much of a Plan B left. He had always done his best to stay away from trouble, gangs in particular, especially after a very unpleasant encounter with the Valentinos two years prior.

Despite his careful attempts to conceal his tracks though, keeping a low profile, and trying to make this new life work out for him somehow, his past began to catch up with him as the Unification War started to threaten Night City itself...

Vince through the years (2/9)

Welcome to more behind the scenes rambles! XD Today: Vince's cyberware and tattoos, of which many were part of him as of 2069 already.

Not too much intense editing required for this set, the lighting in that street is really nice as is with all the neon and stuff! Just off of Kabuki roundabout, where the tech store Vince worked at for the better part of a year was situated.

I did have some fun playing around with some filters for the glitch effect - it's not quite where I want it yet, but I was going for the kind of look V has on surveillance cameras in game, with his identity obscured and such!

During his time in Kabuki he didn't quite have the means that would have allowed for something similar. But still, he was keeping a low profile and taking a lot of not-quite-legal measures to obscure his whereabouts and identity as best as he could to get away from his mother.

Also, this is full headcanon territory and I'm not sure how compatible it is with Cyberpunk lore (I tried to find something online, stumbled upon an extensive cyberware listing from the 2020 rulebook and such)... but my personal headcanon for his piece of neck cyberware is that it's fashionware on the outside, but under the surface it's doing some hormone synthesizing and regulation for his transition. Y'know, a convenient alternative for the array of options we have in our time and age with creams and gels or injections. A one time solution installed in your body that from day one will just do its thing for the rest of your life, basically (with some checkups and upgrades throughout the years obviously).

Also, Viktor got it for him, installed and all, and while they were at it Vince was like "Vik, do you do tattoos, too? I have an idea for something..." and that's basically how he got his demonic grin neck tattoo on the same day xD

Also around that time he would have gotten the wings on his back done:

Very symbolic and a little cliché, but he doesn't give a damn (and he doesn't know it at the time yet, but Kerry will love it xD). The whole "setting himself free" that year in all meanings of the word was very important to him. And by 2069 he'd completed the look with his chin and face tattoos.

The trans-colours cyber-flower on his right shoulder was the first "proper" tattoo he'd ever gotten, shortly before running away from home even. The little, slightly crooked Ursa Major just below it was a stick-and-poke a "friend" did on him even before that, but he never had the heart to get it covered. It's awkwardly positioned and a bit wonky, but he still likes it as a symbol and reminder of his childhood. He had the dots filled in with rainbow colors a little ways down the the line though.

His left shoulder and the chest piece connecting both right and left followed a few years later! We'll get to that :3

[kevinsreviewcatalogue]

Review: Terrifier 2 (2022)

Terrifier 2 (2022)

Not rated

<Originally posted at https://kevinsreviewcatalogue.blogspot.com/2024/10/review-terrifier-2-2022.html>

Score: 4 out of 5

All Hallows' Eve and Terrifier were flawed, but fun low-budget slashers that were both elevated by their villain Art the Clown, their grungy atmospheres, and a willingness to trample over every line of good taste with their kills, their writer/director Damien Leone putting his background as a special effects artist to great use in order to make movies that looked like they cost a lot more than the pittances they actually did. What they lacked, however, was in their stories and writing, the former film having been cobbled together from three short films Leone had made over the years and the latter being chiefly a special effects showcase with only the barest framework of a plot to hold it together. Here, Leone got something close to resembling an actual budget, along with plenty of time to think about the kind of sequel he wanted to make after Terrifier blew up, knowing that another round of plotless, gratuitous violence just wouldn't cut it -- and what he decided to make can only be described as a slasher epic, a film with a 138-minute runtime comparable to a Marvel movie that not only considerably fleshes out Art and the lore surrounding him but also gives him actual characters to hunt and kill, most notably its heroine Sienna Shaw. And for the most part, it worked. It probably could've stood to have a lot of scenes trimmed down, but Art is still one of the greatest villains of modern horror, Sienna is one of its best heroines, the production values have been beefed up considerably, the kills are some all-timers that make the previous movie look almost PG-13, and the story adds just enough to make things interesting without taking away the aura of mystery surrounding just who Art is and what exactly is going on. Having now seen all three films featuring Art the Clown, I would recommend this as one's entry point into the series, not just because it's altogether a more lighthearted and "fun" film than its predecessors (even with the increased gore) but also because it's simply a better one, and easily one of the best slasher movies in recent memory.

The film starts right where the first one left off, with Art the Clown waking up on the mortuary slab after killing himself at the end of the last movie, as puzzled as anyone as to how he's still alive. As it turns out, there's a supernatural force at work that brought him back from the dead, represented by a creepy little girl in a similar outfit and clown makeup to Art who wants him to keep killing, Art of course being happy to oblige. Right away, this was a creative solution to the question of how you flesh out a slasher villain in the sequels without ruining his mystique. It's a tricky tightrope to walk, one that the Halloween and Nightmare on Elm Street franchises both notoriously fumbled as they gave Michael Myers and Freddy Krueger increasingly convoluted backstories that took away the basic, simple hooks that their characters were originally built around. Here, Art the Clown is still just a guy who likes killing people, the added story elements all falling on the Little Pale Girl, as she's credited as. Played by Amelie McLain as a more child-like version of Art who never directly kills people but otherwise haunts them and helps Art do his dirty work, there are hints as to just who she actually is (or at least used to be) but nothing concrete beyond the fact that she's more than just a mere ghost. She was an injection of supernatural horror into what had been a fairly grounded slasher story on the last outing, a Devil figure of sorts guiding Art while occasionally appearing to the protagonists as well, and proved to be a very intriguing and creepy addition to the story hinting that there was a lot more going on here than just your usual tale of a slasher villain coming back from the dead for the sequel.

There's more to a great slasher movie than just a great killer, though. My biggest problem with the last movie was that there wasn't much to it beyond Art the Clown, and it's one that Leone went out of his way to try to solve here, putting a much greater focus on a singular protagonist fighting him. And I must say, Sienna Shaw is easily one of the best final girls I've seen in a long while. Initially presented as unconnected to Art, Sienna is a creative but troubled teenager with a passion for costume design whose father, who died of a brain tumor that turned a once-loving family man into an abusive bastard in his final year on Earth, still looms large over her life. Her mother is constantly on edge, and her younger brother Jonathan has developed an unhealthy interest in true crime and murderers, particularly the "Miles County Clown" case from the prior year. It turns out, however, that her father, implied to have been an artist of some sort, may have possibly been psychic and known about Art the Clown, and the fantasy drawings he left behind included detailed depictions of some of the events of the last movie before they happened -- as well as a drawing of Sienna defeating Art.

What grabbed me about Sienna right away was her actress, Lauren LaVera. She spends most of the film in a sexy, badass "warrior woman" outfit she made for Halloween, and she absolutely lives up to it, LaVera putting her background as a stunt performer and martial artist to great use as she battles Art during this film's lengthy climax. Leone originally designed the character as something more akin to the heroine of a fantasy story for a different movie he was working on that ultimately never got made, and that shows through in Sienna's grit and toughness under pressure. There's more to a great horror heroine than just being tough, though. There's a reason why the phrase "strong female character" is a running joke among media critics both feminist and otherwise, and that's because it's all too easy for poorly-written versions of such characters to turn into one-note hardasses, clearly trying to be Ellen Ripley or Sarah Connor but missing the humanity that made those characters work. Sienna, by contrast, spends most of the film's first two acts away from Art and the action, the problems she has to contend with being of the personal and psychological sort, and here, LaVera shines and delivers the kind of performance that makes careers. Sienna felt like a capable survivor, but one who had been thrust into a situation she was in no way ready for and wound up getting as good as she gave. There are implications that she's slowly going insane as the pressure of her father's death and the breakdown of her family starts to get to her, especially once she starts having strange, violent dreams about Art that seem to predict what's happening in real life. Her seemingly being tied to premonitions of the future was a plot decision that could've easily gone wrong, but the way it plays out here, especially given the new mystery surrounding Art and the Little Pale Girl, it only adds to the feeling that there's a lot more going on under the surface than just a simple slasher story.

The surface, though, is plenty thrilling enough. Leone felt like he was on a personal mission to top the last movie in the gore department, starting right away with a kill that one of my co-workers told me caused him to stop watching just ten minutes in. I think I know the one, and I can certainly say that it doesn't even register in the top five most brutal moments in this movie. The all-time highlight, the one that typically comes up whenever this movie is discussed, is one that, if Mortal Kombat ever decided to add Art the Clown to its character roster (as it's done with various other horror villains), would probably have to be cut down in order to make the cut as the most graphic fatality in the game. The thing about Art here is that he doesn't usually just go for the easy kill, he likes to follow it up with more and draw out his victims' suffering for as long as possible. He'll land the killing blow and knock a victim down for the count, then reach for a different weapon and go for style points. There's not a lot of real tension when Art is killing people, but sheer excess packs a punch all its own. Leone has said in interviews that he envisions Art as having a supernatural ability to keep his victims alive so he can torture them for longer, and while this is never implied in the film itself (the human body can take a lot, and I just assumed that's what was happening), I certainly buy it. All the while, Art's sick sense of humor is out in force, with David Howard Thornton once again making him feel like a silent Freddy Krueger between his prop comedy and his often bemused facial expressions.

The drawn-out nature of the kills is, unfortunately, also reflective of what is probably this movie's biggest problem. Leone made a slasher movie that is two hours and eighteen minutes long, and there were a lot of scenes that could've been cut for time. It did help with the character development to give the story more room to breathe, but there were also a lot of scenes that overstayed their welcome and slowed the pace of the story considerably. I can handle a long horror movie, but there are limits, and they come when it feels like scenes were left in less to serve the story and more because Leone couldn't bear to cut anything, no matter how minor. The subplot with Victoria, the lone survivor from the last movie, is a case in point. While I have no doubt it will come back into play for Terrifier 3, especially given the mid-credits scene, that was just the thing: it felt like it was building up for a sequel more than anything, putting the cart before the horse and being another similarity this has with a lot of blockbuster superhero movies. Furthermore, while LaVera and Thornton were both great as Sienna and Art, the rest of the cast was a mixed bag. Sienna and Jonathan's mother in particular frequently overacted and came just one step away from a character in a Saturday Night Live sketch, and a lot of the supporting cast didn't exactly shine either.

The Bottom Line

If you can handle over two hours of absolute fucking carnage, then Terrifier 2 is for you. It's a modern slasher classic with a lot to like for horror fans, and I can't wait to see how the next movie plays out.

[chronicler-of-narrative]

Would love to hear more about Operator!Chronicler and Drifter!Chronicler :) any casual fun facts? Fav colour, drink, or food? (can be as close to Warframe canon or not lol)

Any embarrassing secrets only close friends would know about them? Any notable flaws they need to work on? I always find it fun to explore flaws in ocs when you’re struggling to flesh them out and also cause it can be silly lol!

Ok, starting with casual facts, I'm not sure I have many, but one meta fact is that operator!Chronicler originally started as a sort of character I would play for a warframe lore/worldbuilding exploration series on youtube, though that has unfortunately be abbandoned.

However, I can also mention that operator!Chronicler loves The Orb Vallis, its his favorite place in general and also and especially because of the wildlife.

Drifter Chronicler is still rather recent, but if i Remember any i'll reblog! (Also, the rest of the questions will be under a read more break)

As for embarassing secrets, operator Chronicler's entire character is actually built off of one! I already described it in a story I'll link at the end, but let's just say his past isn't the most honorable one, and that is actually the main reason he goes by that monicker: He doesn't wanna associate himself anyone with his past.

Drifter Chronicler doesn't really experience shame, like at all, there are a multitude of experiments some might consider sily or embarassing. Like that one cycle where he tried to defeat Kullervo by basically catapulting Tamms into his arena, or that time he was testing the jaw strength of Golden Maws and almost dropped Terra (the Rablid, thats how I called her) into one! (I came up with these on the spot, but you get the gist)

As for character flaws, oh boy do I have a lot to unpack.

For operator Chronicler, it's rather simple: He both has a severe guilt complex from his past, and also has a workaholicism issue. He's so laser focused on archival of information that he often loses himself in it and has to be broken out of his daze by others.

Drifted Chronicler is where we get to the main meat of character flows. Drifter Chronicler's time in Duviri didn't impact him the best...Instead of losing his emotions, he lost all sense of boundary. He kept each cycle busy with interesting experiments, so much so that now he literally can't differentiat between what's socially acceptable and what isn't. He'll start proposing very morally dubious plans, not out of any malice, but just because it piqued his curiosity and he still forgets that things won't restart the next morning (a go to example of an experiment like this would be inject a live infested charger with kuva, or exposing a captive batalyst to void-based technology and recording the severity of their pain. He's not doing it because he likes watching others suffer, he does it because he doesn't realize that what he's doing is actually damaging.

I also mentioned that he doesn't respect boundaries, and that also applies to people. Operator Chronicler normally handles the interviews because he knows how to be careful around others in speech, and tries his best to get enough info out of them without potentially forcing them to remember painful experiences. Drifter Chronicler on the other hand? Nope, zero style, zero grace. His conversation style can be best described with the analogy of him being a jackhammer, and the person he's interviewing being a slab of stond. He will ask for the nitty gritty details, ask you to elaborate, be pushy about sensitive issues. And all the while being blissfully unaware of the phsychological distress he's causing go the other party.

So yea. Thank you so much for the ask, and as a little gift, I'll link that small ao3 fic about operator Chronicler right now:

[carol-effing-danvers]

Good morning my loves! Let's play a game - give 10 of your favorite tropes in Fandom and then show me the character or pairing you most enjoy it with! I'll start:

1. Slow Burn

Hell yeah. Barnes and Noble. Starbucks. Rogers and Hammerstein. However you put it, these two already have the slowest of burns in canon anyway. *chef gesture* it's about the pining, y'know? And nobody can do it like these two do it. Every word that comes out of their mouths to each sound like wedding vows and it makes me wanna punch myself in the face.

2. Idiots to Lovers

Buddie. Again, this is basically just Canon? They're so dumb and I love them. Buck is a Disney Princess and Eddie is a grumpy old man in a very hot guy's body but somehow it works?

3. Fake Dating

Spideychelle. "My wife is a bitch - and I like her so much", but in actual relationship form. These two are also young enough to make the fake dating thing even more believable.

4. Time Loops/Groundhogs Day

MattFoggy especially but Daredevil generally. Matt's life is such an unutterably fucked up mess that he could frankly use about 8000 of these do-overs.

5. Flower Shop/Coffee Shop AU

Imagining this man in any customer service job fills me with unspeakable delight.

6. Gender Swap

Harringrove. I support anyone this horny on main tbh - but I love any woman who can and will murder me, too. Steve swapped, Billy swapped, both swapped, I don't care. They're hot, they're mean, they're absolute badasses and I'm here for it.

7. Arranged Marriage/Marriage of Convenience

SasuHina - I'm a sucker the quiet ones and I can't see any other way these two would end up in the same space.

8. Different First Meeting

Inject this directly into my veins. Please and thank you.

9. Fix It Fic

Hellcheer. You know why 😭 Don't touch me.

10. Case Fic/Mystery

Deckstar. Again, basically canon but I always love the ideas the fandom has for explaining angel lore and backstory because I'm a big fucking nerd 😊

Show me what you got and have fun!

[huebris808]

Dr. Hofnarr’s Horrible, No-Good, Very Weird 15 Years Of Being Dead.

a tribute to fanon interpretations/character study(?) that was going to be a bonus chapter in a post-canon/au comedy fic im working on! might come back to expand on this when i do start posting it (or if mpn gives him more background story lore that i’ll have to work with aoAHGHOAUGH)

happy madness day! :o)

“Where should I begin… Perhaps at the very beginning? OH! Christoff and I first met years before our Nexus days! Back in our freshman years of college, to be precise! You know, I was actually a theater major before switching to- ... A-Aah, too far back. Much too far... Let’s start from the point where the notes I supplied to you ended then, shall we? After our dissension...”

.. “Good luck, old friend...” ..

The first years on the run from Nexus was stressful to say the least. Hofnarr and Christoff had split up to better their chances of survival. He knew the process would be grueling, having talked to Christoff almost every night about it to calm his nerves. While he played calm for the cameras, Hofnarr truly wished he could have held him close one last time. No communications. No physical contact. Day after day, month after month, nothing. He would be separated from his husband for a very long time…

It wasn’t all bad after a while. He had a comfortable new apartment, went under a new alias, and his questionable new job paid him enough to buy food. His apartment even had cable! He could watch marathons of Slaughter Time whenever he got home! In hindsight, he wondered if that had an effect on his mental state at the time...

Hofnarr had taken the last of his S3LF regulator with him, having shipped them out to an undisclosed location prior to dissension. Dissonance exposure did a number on him and his research team, leaving them to track their “normality” through daily blood tests and injections. While they met their fates early on, Hofnarr had gotten lucky. That is, until the doses began to run out.

Stressful as it was, he knew what he had to do. Hofnarr rushed back to what remained of the labs, knowing it had been abandoned by now. It was ironic, he and Christoff’s work, the work that was turned against them, was the one thing keeping him alive. For days, he worked to make more doses from the materials he brought with him. But there was only so much he could do with limited supplies… Hofnarr made many attempts to prolong the inevitable, lowering his dosage amount, injecting it weekly rather than daily, but he eventually ran dry. 

Refusing to turn to darker alternatives, he felt the only thing he could do at this point is record his final findings through video logs.

“It was… interesting revisiting the footage, to put it nicely. Christoff had actually kept the video files on a drive after he originally found all my things in the lab! I barely remembered what happened back then, so I rewatched them out of curiosity.”

On the first night, Hofnarr recorded a message for Christoff. One filled with sorrow, but also with gratitude. For the time that they spent together. How special he made him feel. All the memories they made together...

On the next, he recorded a log detailing his findings during Project Nexus. The effects of dissonance, the Other Place, what it did to him and his colleagues, everything and anything he could.

The next, he reported on the progression of his symptoms. Fever, brain fog, insomnia, joint pain. He felt like his organs were melting, his skin bursting at the seams.

The next night he saw something and remembered. Scars. The scars on his head. That week he was in the staff hospital. He thought it was a dream but the scars were there. Phobos. Director Phobos brought him somewhere that week. He knew he felt off when he woke up in the office that night. He knew something was off when Christoff asked him where he was. He thought he passed out from over-working. That bastard Phobos. Nausea was replaced with rage as he began to scream, his throat becoming raw. What did he put in him? What the hell did he put inside him!?

On the last recorded log, he was face-down on the ground. Groaning as his body occasionally convulsed. Until the video feed eventually cut off.

His body would lay there dormant, dead, for fifteen years. 

But to Hofnarr, he felt like he was dreaming.

.. “LET’S GIVE IT UP FOR OUR NEXT CONTESTANT!” ..

“Huh?” The doctor sat up and looked around, the area around him pitch black. Wasn’t he sleeping just a moment ago? He got up and took a step forward in the seemingly endless void. “H-Hello? Who’s out there?”

“AWW, DON’T BE SHY NOW! ESTEEMED AUDIENCE, A BIG ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR OUR GUEST; THE UNFORTUNATE DOCTOR HOFNARR!”

A light shined down on him from above. A crowd seemingly began to cheer all around him. He was in the center of what looked like a talk show set. Hofnarr awkwardly scratched the corner of his face. “‘Unfortunate’? W-What do you mean? W-Who are you?”

“FIGHT FIRST, ASK QUESTIONS LATER!” The voice above him called out again. “AFTER ALL, IT’S…!” Hofnarr drowned out the noise while trying to think. It sounded familiar. Like it came from…

Hofnarr’s thoughts were cut short. He looked down at his torso. Terror set in as he recognized an entire stop sign had been lodged through his chest.

“DON’T GET COLD FEET NOW! THE SHOW’S ONLY JUST BEGUN!” 

The words echoed in Hofnarr’s mind as he frantically tried to pull it out, his vision growing muddled, his hands slipping with blood until…

He blinked.

No stage. No sound. No pain.

Nothing around except for a single white door in front of him.

He stood up again, cautiously reaching for the doorknob.

When he entered he seemed to be in a vintage styled home. It was a kitchen with checkerboard flooring, a table with two chairs, and cheerful music playing through a small radio. It smelled of pastry and medical equipment. Suddenly, there was a knock coming from the door. A familiar voice called from behind it.

“I’m home, dear.” “J-Jeb?!”

Hofnarr rushed towards the front door. Christoff wasn’t trapped here too, was he? “Jeb! W-where are we!? What is this place? What happened to-”

As he opened the door, the clapping returned.

His husband was there, briefcase in hand, his face replaced with a black hole dripping with an unknown inky substance.

He slowly began to back away as “Jeb” moved closer.

The applause, the laughter, was deafening.

Before he could question or run away, Hofnarr was hit by something. His vision blurred, but refocused to be face-to-face with something. It seemed to be a shadow of himself. He tried to run again, but was pinned down by his doppelganger. The clone raised a clawed hand above him and then...

Like waking from a nightmare, Hofnarr quickly sat up once again. He gasped for air, dripping with cold sweat.

Was this really happening? Was it finally over? Was he free?

And then the spotlight focused on him again.

“It… got very surreal. Despite fight after fight, death after painful death... I would suddenly be somewhere else! There was a gameshow, our old apartment, a cat cafe, a... strip club of sorts, a tea room filled with these small armless doodles I used to draw on my research notes trying to offer me snacks… One time there was a sort of singing contest, but I won’t bore you with the details of that one. But when I wasn’t in those places, I felt like I was fighting for my life. It felt like an eternity! And the strangest part of it all? It… it became addicting.”

At first, he felt as if Hofnarr used all of his energy, physical and emotional, to fight back. It reminded him too much of his escape from Nexus. But as time went on, he focused less on escaping and more on surviving. The more he fought, the more he began to lose himself. He was anticipating what sudden whiplash of combat would be thrown at him next. He chuckled at the thought of what excitement would be heading his way. He wanted more. The fights became too slow. Too predictable. Too boring. He began toying with whatever was thrown at him. Turning his shadowy hunters into the hunted. Why let his audience watch the same old fights all the time?

Suddenly, the fighting stopped.

Why? 

He was having fun, wasn’t he? He grew impatient.

“WHAT’S THE HOLD UP!” He yelled into the void, seething with anger. “AREN’T WE SUPPOSED TO BE FIGHTING? ISN’T THAT WHAT I’M HERE FOR?!”

He stomped his foot down, lodging something out of the ground.

The stop sign.

He looked over it curiously. How familiar…

Grabbing hold of it, quick flashes of memories appeared to him.

Nexus, the Science Tower, Phobos, the Other Place… 

A man with long hair standing next to...

Hofnarr… 

Who was that? Was that him?

No…

Only Tricky remained.

Footsteps echoed throughout the halls of the abandoned lab. Heels quickly clicking, cautiously stopping every so often. A lone Nexus Core agent entered through one of the doors.

Perfect timing.

“HAY! YOU THERE!!” A voice stuttered and glitched out, reverberating through the emptiness of the lab. The quickly soldier whipped their head around. “YEAH! YOU, STUPID. PLAY WITH ME!!”

“Who’s there?” The agent pointed their magnum towards the noise. “Show yourself!”

Gladly. The cackling figure emerged from the shadows, posing with a peace-sign, causing the agent to recoil. He grinned, slowly moving towards the cowering goon on the ground. They wouldn’t stand a chance.

“Who are you!?”

They couldn’t kill him.

“FIGHT FIRST. ASK QUESTIONS LATER! AFTER ALL…” 

CAN’T KILL CLOWN.

“IT’S MURDER TIME!”

..

“My body had been there, regenerating and repeating the enmeshment process for years. And by the time I woke up, I was a completely different person. I became a creature of unfiltered impulse… A personification of chaos itself.”

The room grew silent before Hofnarr spoke up again.

“I-Is it horrible to say it was… kind of cool?” He said with a nervous chuckle, twiddling his fingers.

2BDamned was quiet for a moment. They recalled the many times they had to stitch their comrades back together due to Clown Moments. They placed their head in their palms and let out a sigh.

“... You have the right to your own opinion.”

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

BONUS: songs i was listening to on loop while working on this instead of doing my damned writing assignment. Enjoy

lady gaga ft. dorian electra - replay

vestik - tricky's vengeance ft. monocronic

[roswellnmsource]

Roswell, New Mexico: Michael Trevino Promises Kyle Will Take a Stand

CBR: After portraying a hybrid werewolf on Vampire Diaries, what was interesting about playing a normal human in Roswell, New Mexico?

Michael Trevino: It was just that. To be able to play a human, with these supernatural elements happening around you, that you are not necessarily part of, but you are there to reflect the human reaction of that. Being a part of Vampire Diaries, I was in that supernatural element. With this, I couldn't get too far away from it in my career, but it's about reacting to those things. With Kyle Valenti, it's a role that is definitely more grounded for me, but hopefully it is grounded for the audience. That's their character they can identify with. How would you react to being in Roswell, New Mexico, hearing about aliens, figuring out that they are around and live amongst you, and that perhaps there are more aliens out there?

Kyle could have been a local cop, a lawyer, a business owner. How happy are you that the writers have incorporated his medical/surgeon profession into the narrative?

For one, you figure with these aliens being around and anything going wrong with them, there would have to be some type of medical element. The whole lore of alien and alien autopsies, we need to have a character like that in Roswell. For me, to be a surgeon and then worked into everything that's happening with these three aliens in Roswell, it's big for Kyle.

This season, Maria experienced a funeral vision, and it seems to be Kyle's body in the casket. What were your thoughts on that development and what it meant for Kyle?

For me, Kyle seems to be the common thread throughout all the storylines. I'm really happy about that, being on this show and that the writers have done that. Although Kyle seems to be the one helping put out all the fires and he's there for everyone, being a good friend and doing whatever is asked of him, it would make sense that Maria is having these visions. Kyle might, or might not, have something to do with that. We are going to see that play out. Kyle is on everybody's minds. We are wondering what's going on with him. Where is he? That makes the most sense because he's there for everybody else.

The writers have "maliciously" teased and taunted viewers by continually putting Kyle in harm's way. Has that been part of the fun of this mystery, that "will they or won't they kill him" at any given moment?

It's safe to say that nobody is safe in Roswell. I do like that they've kept choosing Kyle to tease a bit. There's a warm spot for Kyle. He's a good guy. I watch the show and I'm like, "Damn. This guy is doing his best and trying to be there for everybody. It's a nice feeling."

Considering Kyle was painted as a dick in high school, there's been a lot of growth and evolution from him into a better person.

Yes, I believe this Episode 3.09 is a big turning point for Kyle. We find out a little bit more of his backstory. He's finding that out in real time. That can be frustrating. We see that emotion in Kyle. But this is finally where he takes a stand. He makes a hard decision. He's either going to go left or he's going to go right. He's carved out his path. "This is what I'm going to do. This is how I want things to be."

Moving forward, how focused is Kyle on uncovering the unknown assailant, who injected him with that paralytic drug, which left him bedridden?

Where we find him, he's reached his limit. He's been there for everybody, and he tries to put out fires. But, in this episode, he's really frustrated and it's kind of taken a toll on him. The last time we saw him, he was in a hospital bed in a barn. It's, "What is going on? What is happening?" He wants more answers. We are going to see him get those answers. But, then also, frustrated because, "Why me? Why is this happening?"

Kyle also learns some startling information about his father, the code that he lived by and more about that creepy little radio. How is Kyle unpacking all of this because it's a lot to take in?

He's trying his best to process everything he's discovering. But like anybody else, he has this idea of what the Valenti code is, of who Jim Valenti is, of who is his father. We are in season three. We've come to find out Kyle's father isn't who he really thought he was. That hurts. That's got to be shocking to his world. Very jarring. I feel that we see that in [Episode] 3.09. There's a bit of information that is given out that is very important and catapults Kyle for the remainder of this season.

What do you feel keeps Kyle in Roswell? He's had the opportunity to leave and work in other cities…

For Kyle, there might be some abandonment issues because of his father not being around. With that, he doesn't want to do the same thing to others. We've seen how vital he is, how important he is to what is going on in Roswell. He doesn't want to run away from that. And let's talk about the lifelong connection he has with Liz. He doesn't want to leave her not only in harm's way, but stuck with this mess. So, Kyle is choosing to stay and figure out what is really going on.

What else can you preview about what's in store for Kyle in the last block of episodes?

Kyle is going to have a lot more to do with what's going on in Deep Sky. He and Eduardo will become allies and work together, to do what they have to do, with Jones.

What was it like having original Roswell star Sherri Appleby direct some episodes, as well as Vampire Diaries creator Julie Plec and your former co-star, Paul Wesley?

Speaking to Sherri Appleby, it was nostalgic. She's one of the OGs for the original. To have her come on board and direct an episode -- even for her -- I think it's a full circle in her career. It was a blast to have her on set and be taking notes from her, just because of the connection she has to this story and these characters. Roswell is on the CW. It's on Warner Bros. television. It's a family I have been part of for over a decade. To work with Julie Plec and Paul Wesley, personally, is a great thing. As the years have gone on, our careers are expanding. It's a beautiful thing to watch. This business can be challenging. It can be tough. To see us all, striving to do the best that we can, is great.

You've aspired to step behind the camera. What's the appeal and are you going to get the chance in Season 4?

Being in this television world for so long, this is a machine. It takes so many people to produce one-hour of network-episodic television. Being on these sets as an actor has been great and a privilege, and I'm grateful for it, but I want to expand and do a bit more. In telling these stories, I get very involved in the blocking of scenes or what's going to best service this story when we are in these scenes, doing rehearsals. I find myself figuring things out. I am interested in the camera moves. I am interested in where we are setting up lights. I am interested in everything. I want a shot at that. After Season 3, I shot a short film in Albuquerque. That was my first time directing and it was such a great experience. I am in post-production on that. I've put it out there. I've spoken to producers. I can neither confirm nor deny if I am getting an episode this [upcoming] season. I'm hoping I will be.

You are on a superhero-heavy network. What are your thoughts on playing in that sandbox?

Marvel has obviously been top dog for some time, but DC has been doing some really great things. I feel in this world of streaming, that these television series are just as great as these big-budget feature films. What they have is they can expand on their storylines with these comic book characters. I would love to do one because of the physicality that some of those roles require. I love doing stunts and I'm very athletic. Any type of role that has that physicality to it, I really lean into that. Any type of comic book role that came my way would be a dream.

[gra-sonas]

Roswell, New Mexico certainly knows how to raise the stakes. In the Season 3 premiere, Maria experienced a foreboding premonition that unfolded at a funeral, one that possibly placed Dr. Kyle Valenti in the casket. The Reaper came close to claiming Kyle after he was impaled and bleeding out -- until Max saved him. But then Kyle went missing.

Soon, Alex discovered Eduardo Ramos had been keeping a comatose Kyle tucked away safely, after someone had injected him with an unidentified drug. Now that Kyle is awake and back on his feet, he wants answers… but he might not like what he unearths.

Roswell, New Mexico star Michael Trevino recently spoke with CBR about Kyle's evolution, that funeral vision, the Valenti legacy and possibly directing an episode in Season 4.

CBR: After portraying a hybrid werewolf on Vampire Diaries, what was interesting about playing a normal human in Roswell, New Mexico?

Michael Trevino: It was just that. To be able to play a human, with these supernatural elements happening around you, that you are not necessarily part of, but you are there to reflect the human reaction of that. Being a part of Vampire Diaries, I was in that supernatural element. With this, I couldn't get too far away from it in my career, but it's about reacting to those things.

With Kyle Valenti, it's a role that is definitely more grounded for me, but hopefully, it is grounded for the audience. That's their character they can identify with. How would you react to being in Roswell, New Mexico, hearing about aliens, figuring out that they are around and live amongst you, and that perhaps there are more aliens out there?

Kyle could have been a local cop, a lawyer, a business owner. How happy are you that the writers have incorporated his medical/surgeon profession into the narrative?

Michael Trevino: For one, you figure with these aliens being around and anything going wrong with them, there would have to be some type of medical element. The whole lore of alien and alien autopsies, we need to have a character like that in Roswell. For me, to be a surgeon and then worked into everything that's happening with these three aliens in Roswell, it's big for Kyle.

This season, Maria experienced a funeral vision, and it seems to be Kyle's body in the casket. What were your thoughts on that development and what it meant for Kyle?

Michael Trevino: For me, Kyle seems to be the common thread throughout all the storylines. I'm really happy about that, being on this show and that the writers have done that. Although Kyle seems to be the one helping put out all the fires and he's there for everyone, being a good friend and doing whatever is asked of him, it would make sense that Maria is having these visions. Kyle might, or might not, have something to do with that. We are going to see that play out. Kyle is on everybody's minds. We are wondering what's going on with him. Where is he? That makes the most sense because he's there for everybody else.

The writers have "maliciously" teased and taunted viewers by continually putting Kyle in harm's way. Has that been part of the fun of this mystery, that "will they or won't they kill him" at any given moment?

Michael Trevino: It's safe to say that nobody is safe in Roswell. I do like that they've kept choosing Kyle to tease a bit. There's a warm spot for Kyle. He's a good guy. I watch the show and I'm like, "Damn. This guy is doing his best and trying to be there for everybody. It's a nice feeling."

Considering Kyle was painted as a dick in high school, there's been a lot of growth and evolution from him into a better person.

Michael Trevino: Yes, I believe this Episode 3.09 is a big turning point for Kyle. We find out a little bit more of his backstory. He's finding that out in real time. That can be frustrating. We see that emotion in Kyle. But this is finally where he takes a stand. He makes a hard decision. He's either going to go left or he's going to go right. He's carved out his path. "This is what I'm going to do. This is how I want things to be."

Moving forward, how focused is Kyle on uncovering the unknown assailant, who injected him with that paralytic drug, which left him bedridden?

Michael Trevino: Where we find him, he's reached his limit. He's been there for everybody, and he tries to put out fires. But, in this episode, he's really frustrated and it's kind of taken a toll on him. The last time we saw him, he was in a hospital bed in a barn. It's, "What is going on? What is happening?" He wants more answers. We are going to see him get those answers. But, then also, frustrated because, "Why me? Why is this happening?"

Kyle also learns some startling information about his father, the code that he lived by and more about that creepy little radio. How is Kyle unpacking all of this because it's a lot to take in?

Michael Trevino: He's trying his best to process everything he's discovering. But like anybody else, he has this idea of what the Valenti code is, of who Jim Valenti is, of who is his father. We are in season three. We've come to find out Kyle's father isn't who he really thought he was. That hurts. That's got to be shocking to his world. Very jarring. I feel that we see that in [Episode] 3.09. There's a bit of information that is given out that is very important and catapults Kyle for the remainder of this season.

What do you feel keeps Kyle in Roswell? He's had the opportunity to leave and work in other cities…

Michael Trevino: For Kyle, there might be some abandonment issues because of his father not being around. With that, he doesn't want to do the same thing to others. We've seen how vital he is, how important he is to what is going on in Roswell. He doesn't want to run away from that. And let's talk about the lifelong connection he has with Liz. He doesn't want to leave her not only in harm's way, but stuck with this mess. So, Kyle is choosing to stay and figure out what is really going on.

What else can you preview about what's in store for Kyle in the last block of episodes?

Michael Trevino: Kyle is going to have a lot more to do with what's going on in Deep Sky. He and Eduardo will become allies and work together, to do what they have to do, with Jones.

What was it like having original Roswell star Sherri Appleby direct some episodes, as well as Vampire Diaries creator Julie Plec and your former co-star, Paul Wesley?

Michael Trevino: Speaking to Sherri Appleby, it was nostalgic. She's one of the OGs for the original. To have her come on board and direct an episode -- even for her -- I think it's a full circle in her career. It was a blast to have her on set and be taking notes from her, just because of the connection she has to this story and these characters. Roswell is on the CW. It's on Warner Bros. television. It's a family I have been part of for over a decade. To work with Julie Plec and Paul Wesley, personally, is a great thing. As the years have gone on, our careers are expanding. It's a beautiful thing to watch. This business can be challenging. It can be tough. To see us all, striving to do the best that we can, is great.

You've aspired to step behind the camera. What's the appeal and are you going to get the chance in Season 4?

Michael Trevino: Being in this television world for so long, this is a machine. It takes so many people to produce one-hour of network-episodic television. Being on these sets as an actor has been great and a privilege, and I'm grateful for it, but I want to expand and do a bit more.

In telling these stories, I get very involved in the blocking of scenes or what's going to best service this story when we are in these scenes, doing rehearsals. I find myself figuring things out. I am interested in the camera moves. I am interested in where we are setting up lights. I am interested in everything. I want a shot at that.

After Season 3, I shot a short film in Albuquerque. That was my first time directing and it was such a great experience. I am in post-production on that. I've put it out there. I've spoken to producers. I can neither confirm nor deny if I am getting an episode this [upcoming] season. I'm hoping I will be.

You are on a superhero-heavy network. What are your thoughts on playing in that sandbox?

Michael Trevino: Marvel has obviously been top dog for some time, but DC has been doing some really great things. I feel in this world of streaming, that these television series are just as great as these big-budget feature films. What they have is they can expand on their storylines with these comic book characters. I would love to do one because of the physicality that some of those roles require. I love doing stunts and I'm very athletic. Any type of role that has that physicality to it, I really lean into that. Any type of comic book role that came my way would be a dream.

[cruddyborderlandstheories]

ahahahaha i was gonna write up a thingie about the alien guns and the fleshy vault monsters (you know because my theory that the eridians experimented on them then locked them up to suffer gains more proof the more I play) but as i was looking for references of alien weapons some official concept art did it for me in one picture so BLESS

so ahhhh idk i dont think if the eridians were that scared of the destroyer that they’d use it to make a series of weapon parts. just my two cents

NICE

yeah ofc the only thing written is ‘relates to vault monsters’ but that’s still a connection. 

plus the black/gray rocks are confirmed to be “eridian rocks” meaning that those rocks we see on the Destroyer in its official design, on the guns, making up the eridian fabricator, and all over the temples and vaults are all officially Eridian in design and are not just random rocks they found and used while making stuff

like these

and these :)

so the rampager probably is supposed to resemble an alien gun like so

teeth and horns and all

the destroyer really does look like just any other fleshy vault monster, eridian rocks and all jutting out of its pink/red fleshy bits. 

even has the same style of wings as the rampager just less ‘finished’

i still wanna know if these guys were created/mutated or not. i feel like that’d fit a lot of puzzle pieces together. 

i would bet they were at the very least experimented on, as nyriad says the eridians were curious to a horrible level so them creating these monsters then locking them away in vaults would not surprise me in the slightest (as ive stated like a billion times before i know im sorry). esp. with the destroyer being afraid of getting injected with slag. like. why else would it be scared

then these alien guns officially unofficially being connected to the vault monsters just kinda seals the deal there. if you were so afraid of the destroyer eating all of you and it wasn’t (somehow) a creation or experiment of yours when the f did you find the time and proximity (without being eaten) to build weapon parts based off of it.

and... portal parts to another dimension where humans go when they die, apparently.

hear me out: one giant pink fleshy monster conveniently covered in eridian rocks and teeth with an affinity to the elements is a coincidence. Three of them? Two from one game (Rampager, Gythian)? noooot so much.

so im still convinced they just locked these monsters away and peaced tf out and that was it, they left us and the guardians to fend for ourselves knowing damn well what humanity was gonna do when people started getting fed to a magic portal.

speaking of magic portals, note that the Machine is not only powered by the sacrifice of the Eridians (for some reason), but also the Vaults we visit thru power conduits connecting all of them. And isnt it funny that when we attempt to use the Machine, we explicitly don’t have to kill anyone to do so. And isn’t it funny funny that when Tannis studies it, the first thing she does is make a portal to teleport us somewhere different?

also on Minos Prime, when the Guardians send all the humans somewhere else (probably aren’t dead because Tannis says they just VANISHED, not died), is it possible they were trying to recreate the use of the Machine to close Pandora since the Destroyer had Tyreen slip its chains? If so, then them teleporting all of Minos Prime somewhere kinda makes sense, since the Eridians clearly aren’t dead and just teleported themselves home, away from their problems. fuckers.

okay im sorry i won’t get into it i won’t get into it any further you KNOW i’ll be here for weeks rewriting my old theories. go check out this post if you’re interested in all that. changing the topic now...

regarding the og picture, i had no idea the eridian rocks were based off tourmaline! i’d been curious about what they were made of since they were so weirdly shaped ever since my bl2 playthru when i really got into the lore. so much to crunchy in my brain now

i wonder... if schorl is what the base rock is based off of right...

eheh nice

Core could be based on quite a few of those since it appears to be either pure green (in the mines of Ashfall Peaks) or a mixture of green and purple (perhaps core energy taints eridium deposits?) but the other three (Eridian Crystal (red), Eridium, and Moonstone) are all pretty clear to me

something fun to think about for another time, im exhausted from today

[ohsweetflips]

I think Undyne's determination has less to do with like something that happened in the past and more like the overlap between determination as an actual physical thing VS a spiritual thing. Whereas the amalgamates were injected with determination by Alphys, Undyne makes her OWN. You've killed her best friend. You're going to kill the love of her life. You're going to kill her mentor. You're going to kill everyone. You've killed HER. But she still has to stop you. Everyone is counting on her 1/2

Undyne's whole motif is letting the monsters of the Underground achieve their hopes and dreams. Theres a reason she is the boss fight in Waterfall, the most backstory rich area in the game. Hope and dreams have just as much weight as determination does, its what helps you defeat Asriel. And Undyne the Undying's design mimics Asriel's because in Genocide SHE is the heroine, SHE is the determined hero that defies death in order to save everyone she loves via the hopes and dreams of everyone (2/2)

Sorry I just really fucking love Undyne Undertale fhfhfndkdk she willingly letting herself be used in an experiment to help her people is Very Good tho too hmmmm

!!!!

sorry ur abt to get a whole essay i love undertale so much.........

(also i use a lot of !!! for emphasis, not bc i’m yelling omg)

(also i’m letting you know this is an incoherent mess, it is 2am here akjsdkjsdjk)

but you can definitely be right!!!! tbh your idea seems much more par for the course than the spaghetti im throwing at the wall

even then, though, it’s stll so interesting bc like!!!! undyne’s courage is undeniable, and her fight to protect the underground plays Such a huge role in her whole waterfall arc. and, in the spiritual sense, she is absolutely determined!! that just makes me WONDER though bc, like, canonically, monsters Are Not determined! they don’t have that threshold!

and then, in looking at determination in the spiritual sense, what exactly makes undyne different? is it that her desire to live and protect the underground unlocks that threshold needed for determination? at one point, could monsters be determined, but then their millennia trapped underground biologically/psychologically stripped them of that? so then could any monster in the underground, when facing high enough stakes, have that determination? or is it just undyne?

bc then i think about the other bosses in either route, like papyrus, mettaton, asgore, sans. where undyne is the monster/boss capable of possessing determination, sans is probably the one least likely to have any threshold for determination (this is bc his entire boss fight is him realizing he can no longer be an observer, he is literally the last line of defense between chara and the annihilation of all monsters). mettaton is complicated bc as a napstablook turned corporeal, i dont even know where to BEGIN with him. but then there’s papyrus and!! it feels like he should be capable of feeling determined. in both the pacifist and genocide route, he is so assured that the human has some internal goodness. while, in the genocide route, that hope could be translated to fear, that still makes me wonder: under what circumstances could a monster’s determination be unlocked? is it not solely life or death? does it require some ulterior motives (aka undyne’s whole character being protecting the underground)? and like!!! it’s just so fun to think about bc, say it is undyne’s spiritual determination being unlocked, it’s so interesting that she’s the one differentiated!! that even papyrus, a character brimming with good and happiness and love, doesn’t have that determination, but undyne, who has a similar type of passion and goodness within her, does!!!

with experiment undyne, i will admit my theory is very much uhh wild! and unhinged! and, while my theory is much more playing in the “what if’s” of the science of artificial determination, it still makes me wonder! especially in the boss fight herself. ever since i first saw her genocide boss fight, i’ve always been a bit fixated on her eye, specifically the one w/ the eye-patch that eventually seems to have Some type of arrow power. while this definitely could have just been A Design Choice (and one i stand by!!), undertale is a game that reveals its complete lore when the pacifist and genocide route are put together. thus, in a hypothetical situation, i don’t think it would be out of the question that undyne’s eye could still Do that even in a pacifist route.

but even then, there are holes to poke! such as why doesn’t she use it? if undyne has been injected with artificial determination, why is she, frankly, normal until it’s a matter of life and death?

(to cut to the punchline before i get into my bullshit: i think it’s bc, at first, it seemed as if the artificial determination just Didn’t Work and had no affect, when in reality it needed to be met with spiritual determination as well)

and, again, i know i’m playing with a lot of hypotheticals right now, and mostly this is me just kinda fun bullshit theorizing, but i think it could have something to do with the fact that she has the threshold for spiritual determination! the reason i even think that she would offer herself up to determination experimentation is bc of the loyalty and love she has for asgore and the underground. i would argue that she is just as invested in asgore’s plan as asgore himself is, and she obviously sees him as some type of father-figure. so that alone gives her this Drive to do whatever it takes for the underground to survive.

so, therefore, i think in regards to this hypothetical experiment undyne, i think it quite literally is that spiritual determination threshold combined with artificial determination

and for that, i quickly want to talk abt the amalgamates and why they tie into this:

the timeline: corpses/souls injected with determination --> no reaction --> corpses wake up and act normal --> ??? happens  --> (quickly leads to) amalgamates

and so then that once again raises the question: what differentiates undyne?��

i think, for that, we then have to consider another question: if most monsters do not have the physical determination to continue living after death, can that determination be given when they’re already dead? monsters in general already have no threshold for determination, so can that be artificially made if it never existed in the first place? 

bc while alphys’s experiment, iirc, was to see what happened when a soul was injected with determination, i think the other much needed question is if monster souls could even Handle determination

and, while we do not know specifically what went wrong with the amalgamates (aka like How did they melt together), we do know that their physical forms really were not able to handle the artificial determination, imo most likely bc they do not even have a threshold for spiritual determination

but undyne is, as you have noted, different!

so, frankly, i think you’re right! i think undyne does have an inherent spiritual determination. it’s uncommon in monsters, but her want to save the world is enough to leave her determined

however, i think That would have just been enough to keep her alive

i think it’s artificial determination that gave her that final form! to reference  back to the amalgamates, they were all creatures whose powers we had seen before, but different now and, specifically, more powerful. that very same thing could be said for undyne! her powers are, essentially, things we have seen before, but fucking to Max Intensity 

AND THEN!! AND THEN!!!!!

when you do kill heroine undyne, she doesn’t turn to dust first

she melts first, and then turns to dust!!!!!

and, honestly, it’s that small detail that sent me down this rabbit hole, bc the only ever time we’ve seen monsters melted together are the amalgamates!

i think the main difference between heroine undyne and the amalgamates is the fact that undyne, at first, had No Reaction to the determination at first bc, since she most likely already had this secret threshold for spiritual determination, it wasn’t the Biggest of changes. it wouldn’t have had such a drastic reaction on her physical form bc, even if she didn’t know it yet, it wasn’t an entirely foreign substance

the amalgamates, however, aka monsters who had no spiritual determination, could only handle the artificial determination for an unknown amount of time before their bodies began rejecting the chemicals and becoming..... that

of course, then, this leaves me with even more questions, such as could undyne sustain this final form? would her body eventually give out, overcome by determination? was this form only meant for life or death situations?

and uhhh i think this is the end!! if you made it this far and are thinking to urself “damn you’re really an english major when you write like this?? this isn’t even comprehensible” do not fret!! i know this theory is kinda a shitshow, and it’s one of those things where i can keep myself up all night thinking abt this and talking myself in circles bc there are some points that i think have strengths and other points that are probably pretty weak

basically though!! i see the connection between artificial determination and undyne through the fact that her form actually changes, the reveal of her legit power eye, the way her attacks have been altered, and the fact that she melts at the end (akin to the amalgamates’ appearances) before poofing into dust

this has been,,,, a shitshow i am so sorry i hope this was at least somewhat understandable ajkdsjkdsjk

[hrodvitnon]

Here's a bit of a mixed bad. A: 1. What would Rodan think of Griffin’s suggestion of “Rodan’s Flying Circus”? 2. Considering you said earlier that floodifying happens when flesh is pierced and since Ni shish kabobed Monster X… you see where I’m going with this? 3. Does Viv essentially have three birthdays now? ItFoS: 1. What will Serizawa think of Viv’s encounter with Rodan? 2.Will Rodan eventually find Rick’s stash?

Ohohoho!

Abraxas

1. In keeping with his opinion of pilots in their jets being essentially “Aww! They think they’re baby Rodans!” the idea of a “Rodan’s Flying Circus” just sounds so adorably quaint to him. Of course, birds like corvids are so smart they shun cheaters and if a human helps one of them the whole murder considers that human a friend, so if the pilots figure out how to butter up Big Bird, and of course paint their jets red to match him, it might just activate his inner hen and he’ll warm up to the idea of having his own squadron.

Not that he’ll admit they’re his humans now, of course. Wouldn’t want to damage his reputation, would he? ;P

2. So, reading this question I panicked for a second because I completely forgot about that rule... and then relaxed upon remembering a certain particularly terrifying bit of Flood lore (and the Flood are already frickin’ terrifying): The Flood can choose to not infect a lifeform. This is something that has brought characters in the Halo universe to think a cure might be developed, but there’s no coming back from the Flood.

This also neatly ties in with Ghidorah’s *ahem* intentions towards Vivienne. Sure, Ni could just as easily turn his wrist-spike into a proboscis and inject a piece of Many biomass into Monster X’s center of mass and wait for something to pop out chestburster-style, but that would be too easy, too predictable. Too... gentle. At some point she’d become too mentally broken by everything that’s happened for it to be fun anymore, and of ALL THE HORRIBLE THINGS I’ve done to poor Vivi, the very last thing I would do is turn her into a daemonculaba. Do not look that up if you want to sleep or eat tonight.

3. Huh... I guess she does. Of course one of those she doesn’t like to think about, but the other she shares with San due to him not really having a birthday, and she wants him to have a special happy day to celebrate. 

In the Footsteps of Shamhat

1. At first Vivienne’s going to play it off as just her being really assertive and stubborn with Rodan because it’d be like a dad asking if his daughter if she’s getting, well, frisky with that loudmouth jock over there, and it’s just embarrassing. Serizawa isn’t sure he buys it, and it doesn’t help that Rodan’s being a cheeky little bushtit making remarks about how “hands-on” his encounter with Vivienne was, and it’s not until he checks out the CCTV footage when Vivi knows the jig is up. Serizawa sees the kabedon and it takes a while for him to pick his jaw back up.

Vivienne can’t look Serizawa in the eye for a bit and by the time they’re kinda comfortable enough to acknowledge it Serizawa admits he’s impressed that she’s still able to walk. Vivi takes her turn to be cheeky and says Rodan’s been helpful with improving her cardio regimen.

2. If he does, there are to be at least five officers on his person at all times armed with fire extinguishers in the event he opens his mouth to say something and inevitably breathes a 20-foot cone of fire.

[zombiemaids]

was chatting with @paleimitatorz​ earlier about aries and god i am so tired of these low-quality videos that offer nothing in substance or visuals. gorillaz has fallen into a habit of ‘teasing’ us with practically the entire video before dropping it and barely using any new angles, art, expressions, or palettes in each video. like... compare momentary bliss with feel good inc.

momentary bliss had noodle doing the same :P face in her only appearances, which means they probably flipped and edited the footage. feel good inc is just so... gorgeously animated - the camera panning, the lighting, the tiny crumbling parts of the windmill, noodle’s legs and hair and hand moving independently.

this isn’t a new thing - it’s been in play since at least phase 5 when they started combining real/animated on a larger scale but even then we had high quality animation such as 2d rollerskating or the band jamming out in tranz. now it just feels... so lazy, and so vulgar in comparison to past artwork that was rich and full of detail. and it’s hardly as if they don’t have the budget or money - p2′s videos were mostly the product of passion pictures and zombie flesh eaters which was a really small team, and they still excel over videos made by a now-indie-but-groundbreakingly-popular band that’s the child of two guys who are hardly struggling financially. like! you could make such beautiful videos and hire any animator you like! why aren’t you!

also you got so much from the old videos. they actually felt like videos a band would go out and make as opposed to the ‘chill hang out at some location #vibe’ the song machine ones have. older videos also gave us some story and lore - like, we found out that noodle has shaun ryder’s head in her room, and that murdoc is a shitty driver, and that russel can only be unpossessed when awake, and that 2d isn’t a fan of sealife. also song machine is supposed to be story-centered and we got... no story. which is just epic.

also we mentioned that murdoc, the guy who literally sold his soul to the devil himself, is somehow feeling... sad? that 2d left him? and therefore is injecting him with truth serum, like 2d wouldn’t just tell him or murdoc wouldn’t just force it out of him? i don’t know what the fuck the writers are on but it’s ridiculous to see murdoc be turned into this sad scared lonely little baby when in phase 1 he would have (and did) put the band’s life on the line for a chance at success. he’s gone from being genuinely pitiful and gross to a woobified caricature of himself and it doesn’t feel at all organic or fun.