#not my art; DJ was drawn by a friend

[mezamun]

Trainer Card for my Pearlshipping fankid, Delia Jr!

Credit to @pkmn-downtheline for the template.

She's equipped with a backpack/A.I. hand built by Clemont to protect and provide for her. Having earned a Junior Trainer's License at 6, she's been raising her starter, Kommo-o, for several years prior! She travels through Alola to collect Z-Crystals and challenge the League!

She's accompanied by her Ash's Pikachu's son, Pika! Though, with his many years of experience under his belt, battling with her father's inherited Pokémon would be rather unfair. So, he mostly acts as a guide and guardian to her and her traveling companions, for now.

[artastic-friend]

How we feeling DJ community?

(watermark is there to avoid thievery, final keychain won't have that tho ofc)

[sleepykas]

Realizing there's so much art and fic I haven't posted I'm so sorry y'all

[toxicanonymity]

the green

WC: 2.4k... I guess to find a scene, I had to find a world, then I didn't want to trim the fat because I liked it 😔

PAIRING: Ezra x f!reader; ft. others.

A/N: For @iamasaddie's writing challenge 4.0. I got Ezra: Aquarius, (i decided dark) Rave AU. Some of you write Ezra dialogue so well and true to character. That is not my forte and I didn't force it, but he speaks differently than others.

WARNINGS (not exhaustive, read at your own discretion): I8+ stefon voice: "this club has everything." drugs, surrealism, dark atmosphere*, sex cult vibes, public nudity, jacking off, manhandling, cumshot (dubcon), slapping, choking, spitting. Infidelity. You have a daddy. *I'd say "mild" horror but there's a mummified body in passing. A few cameos. It gets weird. unrefined chaos.

FIC ART: Amazing visual by @aurorawritestoescape

Drawing by @romana-after-dark

The Green was the one place your daddy explicitly forbade you from going. He never said why, but you assumed because the club entrance was down in the catacombs.

There were countless urban legends of doped up partiers getting lost, only to be found years later. One was discovered in a remote ossuary curled up with a faded can of New Coke. A picture had circulated – The poor soul’s shrunken legs were bent, knees drawn to their chest, yellow leggings stiffened and soiled under a pink leotard which by then fit like a paper bag.

—

When your friend said that’s where you were headed one night, you tried to convince her into going anywhere else. The problem was, she was obsessed with a DJ at the Green.

“I don’t get it,” she protested. “I know it’s not because you’re scared.”

“I just can't,” you pleaded futilely, and then she caught on when you wouldn’t meet her eyes.

Her jaw clenched, and her nostrils flared. “Let me guess,” she spat. “Because you’re letting a married man control your life.”

“Come on,” you pleaded.

“Billy may be a slut, but he's not married,” she bragged of the DJ.

. . .

An hour later, you and your friend were both high, dancing near the front of the crowd. In the humidity, you took off your bra, leaving a snug, mesh crop top and leather miniskirt. By then about 10% of the crowd was nude or close to it.

A song faded out, and a dense fog began to billow into the crowd. The fog smelled thickly of vegetation and masked some of the body odor you had been inhaling all night. The crowd quietly murmured, and with a few scattered whistles of enthusiasm.

As the fog settled, Billy the DJ put on a soothing binaural beat and introduced his mate, Ezra. As the crowd whistles and cheered, Billy hopped down from the booth and made a bee-line for your friend.

“There she is,” he murmured into her neck and wrapped his arms around her. “Is your friend joining us?”

“No,” she answered without looking at you. “Her daddy wouldn't like that.”

“Oh,” Billy looked you up and down, impressed. “Tell me ‘bout that later, love?” Billy winked at you as she dragged him away, leaving you alone.

–

Ezra stepped onto the stage and commenced with. . . spoken word poetry.

You didn't have the presence of mind for it, but the crowd was captivated. They knew him. As he droned on, some of them dropped to their knees, including a tattooed young man next to you in nothing but a sweatband. On the floor, he bent forward in child’s pose, arms stretched toward Ezra as though in worship. Through the remaining fog, the man’s glow-in-the-dark butt plug caught your eye.

Ezra had a mesmerizing voice. “Yes,” he echoed over the beat, and you found yourself tuning in. “Yes, feel my tongue penetrate you. Feel my words inside you!” You felt him opening something in your chest.

You scanned the crowd. The effect he had on these people was — The back of your neck prickled, and your exposed nipples hardened.

And then, you felt eyes on you. Not just anyone's. Your breath hitched. In the corner of your eye, Ezra was looking right at you. His voice became more tranquil: “I am already inside you.” A zing of pleasure shot through your chest, and a tingling heat spread through your loins. “Be not afraid,” he cooed. “Look at me while I penetrate you.” Your knees felt weak with need. You slowly looked up at him. He was sweating profusely through a worn, gray T-shirt and tactical pants. He dabbed his forehead with his wrist and ran his fingers through a shock of white hair. “yes,” he nodded, not taking his eyes off you. “Let me in deeper, little bird.”

“Let him in,” a few people murmured.

Ezra nodded, and his eyes sparkled as they briefly surveyed the crowd before coming back to you. He allowed a moment of silence, and over the beat, you could hear scattered moans. In your peripheral vision, the guy with the glow-in-the-dark butt plug was sucking cock while jerking himself off.

“Eyes on your god,” Ezra sharply demanded, and your face heated up as your gaze snapped back to him. Your eyes connected and locked together. It felt like you knew him. Like he knew you. You knew each other. You had to.

Ezra wet his lips, and everyone watched as he began to rub himself through his pants, looking right at you. Your eyelashes fluttered at the sight. His presence seized your whole body. Your breaths were shallow. The low beat thumped and hummed, with you in the tightening grip of his gaze.

From behind, you felt the wind of a stranger’s breath on your ear. “it’s okay,” she reassured you. “I’m gonna hold you for him,” the stranger slotted her hands under your arms.

“All over you,” Ezra continued, “the hands of my words, sliding over your skin.” He breathed heavily over the beat. You felt him. Pressure swelled in your depths, and you could hardly keep your eyes open. “Your god’s tongue, tasting the salt of your neck.” You really felt him. Your lips parted, and your clit twitched. “Yes,” Ezra nodded as he slowly rubbed himself, and the thick outline in his pants made you squeeze your thighs. Your body went nearly limp for Ezra's voice, and the stranger held you with your back against her chest. You could feel her nipples through the mesh of your top.

Ezra continued, “Your god’s cock, in the cunt of your soul.” And oh, you felt it deep. He unbuttoned and unzipped his pants, and the crowd cheered and pleaded, “yes, Ezra,” “please, God.” He held his cock in his hand, shapely and majestic.

Desire flooded your body, buzzing and throbbing with the beat of his obscenity. Your mind was full of him and so was your body, it felt. You had room for nothing else. Someone stepped toward the stage, and Ezra let them spit on his dick.

The stranger holding you pushed you forward, bringing you closer to Ezra. Ezra pointed at you with his free hand. As you arrived at the stage, a familiar darkness fell over his eyes, and your heart skipped a beat at the weight of recognition.

You snapped out of the spell. There was something off about this, something wrong about him.

He had someone else's face.

Someone you loved.

Your stomach turned as you stood there beneath Ezra, and he pumped his cock, with the crowd cheering him on. His eyes froze you in place. You willed yourself to move, as though stuck in a nightmare. It was just a bad trip, you told yourself. This wasn't real. It was the drugs.

“It's okay,” the stranger reassured you, and somehow, it helped you breathe easier.

Ezra breathed heavier, and his hungry eyes settled on your chest, making your nipples harden nearly to the point of pain. Goosebumps erupted from your chest and spread over your body.

“The seed of your god,” he panted, chest heaving.

“The seed of our god,” a few voices echoed.

Ezra bit his bottom lip and stroked himself faster.

“Especially for you,” Ezra spoke the words right into your soul, and your body throbbed out of control.

If it was a nightmare, if it was the drugs, you had nothing to lose by surrendering yourself to pleasure.

“Open your mouth,” the stranger urged you. And you did. You opened your mouth and closed your eyes. Ezra's sounds of pleasure became more pronounced. You couldn't be sure how long you stood there with your mouth open. The sound of Ezra growing ever closer to climax had you drawing in a deep breath through your nose and shuddering.

Soon, you smelled his musk and felt the humidity of his loins near your face. He groaned, and a thick rope hit the back of your throat. The warmth and tang of it was too much to bear. You squeezed your eyes tighter shut and saw stars. As your body spasmed, the stranger tried to hold you steady, but the cum that followed went all over your face and chest.

“Good,” Ezra praised when he finished emptying himself onto you. “Good,” he repeated.

The crowd cheered.

You opened your eyes and your body cooled with a wave of guilt. This is what Daddy wanted to protect you from. The spell of another man who bore a striking resemblance to him. You weren't yourself, it was the drugs, you repeated in your mind.

“You okay?” The stranger asked and you nodded.

“Now let them feast,” Ezra concluded and stepped down off the stage, his dick tucked away but his pants unbuttoned. People reached out to touch him as he came through the crowd but kept enough distance that he proceeded coolly, slowly toward the cave entrance.

Soon, you had hands all over you, too. Hands and tongues. People swiping at your skin, licking your face, desperate for a taste of him. You shut your eyes as they drew aftershocks of pleasure from your depths. After a minute, the stranger shooed them away. “Congratulations,” she said, and let you stand on your own.

Meanwhile, Billy and your friend had returned for him to resume his DJ duties. Your friend was dumbstruck by the scene. Billy looked more impressed. “Your first night? Alright, wow,” Billy marveled. “You must be special, love.”

It wasn't lost on you how this annoyed your friend. You pushed past both of them without a word and spotted Ezra's silhouette against the cave wall.

—

Ezra was uncharacteristically silent as you approached, simply taking in the vision of you, disheveled from the touch of strangers, unraveled from his words. He looked pleased with himself.

As you opened your mouth to speak, you hesitated, unsure you wanted to know the answer to your question, or how real this was. You asked him anyway, “What's your last name?” and your heart raced in anticipation.

“I don't have a last name,” he claimed.

“Bullshit. Is it York?”

Ezra drew in a deep breath through his nose and observed your face. “Mmm.” He glanced at the ceiling with a chuckle. “Well heavens, little bird.” His eyes turned regretful. “I surmise you belong to a particular agent of the federal variety.” He raised his eyebrows. “And if my calculation is correct, I sincerely–”

“--Apologize,” A handsome black man with short, greying hair interrupted. In an exaggerated motion, the man pulled up his sleeve to look at his watch. “A little late,” he stated with a glare, punctuated by a pout and raise of his eyebrows. Then, his hand engulfed Ezra’s neck with startling speed and precision. Ezra choked, and the man calmly held firm, beginning to explain, “In approximately 30 seconds, the blood flow to your–”

A different man snatched you by the arm from behind. The grip of his large hand was a familiar, painful comfort. You could feel the bruises forming on your bicep as he physically dragged you away.

“Daddy,” you whimpered. “I'm sorry, I–”

Mr. York didn't speak a word to you until he had you well into the catacombs, away from the club. You could only faintly hear the music start up again. He put you against a cold, rough wall, rolled up the sleeves of his powder blue button-down, and put his hands on his knees as he looked you in the face. His gaze was soft but ominous. It unsettled you.

“I'm sorry, daddy,” tears welled up in your eyes.

Still nothing from him.

His nostrils flared with a deep breath. You'd prefer if he yelled at you, smacked you around. As though reading your tears, he slapped you across the face. Your hand flew up to your cheek instinctively but he swatted it away and simply looked at you as the sting faded. He didn't have to ask the question: What the hell were you doing there?

“I didn't want to come,” you cried. “I didn't wanna–”

“You shouldn't be here,” he stated firmly, and you nodded.

“I know, you said not to come, didn't know it was cause, I didn't know about–”

“Who knows best?” He asked.

“Daddy,” you answered earnestly, “Daddy always does.”

He gave a short nod, then grabbed your jaw and studied each of your eyes. “High off your ass,” he grumbled. Then he sniffed the air. Still firmly holding your jaw, he brought his nose to your cheek, then dragged it down to your neck. There was nothing like your daddy’s touch, even when he was mad. Sometimes especially if he was mad.

He growled and stood upright, bringing his other hand to your neck so he had one hand on your jaw and the other firmly but gently on your throat. He demanded, “What did he do to you?”

“Nothing, he–”

He slightly pressed his finger and thumb into the sides of your neck as a warning, then released them.

“He masturbated and–”

“Did he touch you?”

“No.”

Your daddy brought his face almost to yours, just far enough away to still look in your eyes. When he seemed satisfied that he had the truth, he squeezed your jaw and said, “open.”

You breathed a sigh of relief and opened your mouth. He spat on your tongue and you swallowed it gratefully. His hands released you and he cupped your cheek for a moment before looking back behind himself, getting ready to leave.

“I'm sorry,” you repeated.

“McCall will take care of him,” he muttered.

He pulled you off the wall and led you out of the caves with a firm grip on the back of your neck.

–

In the back of the SUV, Mr. York was sitting on the driver's side, and you were face down sprawled across the whole bench seat. You put your head on his lap, facing his crotch. He laid a hand on your forehead for a minute, but you kept crying and rubbing your face on his pants, and he was tired. He stared out the window, despite that your microskirt had ridden up to where your ass was half covered. “Daddy,” you whined.

“Stop,” he commanded with a spank. Then he squeezed his hand between your legs and your thighs opened for him. He pushed your panties to the side and slid his middle finger into your cunt. “Be quiet.” He wedged his other hand under your cheek and fed you his thumb. He closed his eyes and held you still.

For the rest of the ride, you laid still and drifted off with his finger inside you and his thumb between your lips.

--------

-------

Thank you for reading 💚

[miralure]

Two Best Friends...?

Mackenzie Shaffer (22, she/her, bisexual) and Addison Fischer (22, she/they, lesbian) have been best friends since high school. Both bullied for their alternative style, they bonded over similar interests and took comfort in each other. Since then, they've done everything together. With the money they saved up from babysitting in high school, as well as their current jobs, they decided to move out of home at 19 and rent a townhome in Del Sol Valley. Mackenzie works as a makeup artist for Sim Revolt, an alternative magazine company located in Del Sol Valley. On the side, she posts her makeup looks to Simstagram and Simstok, where she has over 500,000 followers. Addison works as an Animal Shelter Worker in Brindleton Bay, the next town over. When they aren't working, she sometimes DJs at local goth clubs, and advocates for animal rights. Mackenzie is starting to find herself drawn to a charismatic musician named Damien Murphy, who often frequents alternative clubs they go to. Meanwhile, Addison is grappling with her unrequited crush on Mackenzie. They couldn't deny the jealously they felt when she got excited over Damien, but they tried to be a supportive friend. After all, would she be willing to risk her friendship over a "tiny crush"? (she's trying to gaslight herself - they're literally in love with Mackenzie)

Mackenzie Shaffer | Art Lover, Bookworm, Geek, Cat Lover, Clumsy. Aspires to be a world-famous artist, particularly a makeup artist.

Addison Fischer | Animal Enthusiast, Cat Lover, Hot Headed, Geek, Music Lover. Aspires to be a Friend of the Animals (although her land-lord won't let her have any pets...)

I'll be posting my new townies and their homes for my new, aging off save file, called the Elitherial Save :) I hope you all like them as much as I do! Check the tag #elitherial save to keep track of all my townies!! Also, I'd love to put them up for download so you can determine their story, or use them however you like (I won't be playing these townies). If you'd like me to send me an ask!!

Fischer-Shaffer Residence - 3 Vacuous Green | Vacuous Green Townhouses by SweetieWright_84 on the gallery

[cyberscratch]

'evil'/anti artstyle meme! inspired by excessive-moisture's post doing this same thing!!! i showed it to my friends and asked them to give out my own art traits and basically a list of things i should not do.

the result is this art style! soft colors, less purples, very round and soft, thin lines + no line weight, no trademark things like how i draw fur and mouths PLUS slightly different desighs to fit the style more! (for example spamton being drawn more like his shop sprite)

i drew several characters i'm known to draw a lot / mean a lot to me just to see them how different they are from when i draw them normally! HURTS to not have an oversaturated drawing, uegugh.... but coloring was the most fun part! i love working with colors! the worst part was the lineart because i got SO BORED. fun challenge anyway!

little explanations on each character under the cut since this is a multifandom + ocs post and i wanna short talk about my silly guys ever (my, what the kids call these days, blorbos,)

since this has multiple characters not everyone may be familiar with, here's a tiny bit of info on everyone

frostbite = my fursona! they're a bat / dragon mix. they're holding a mango! nothing much to say since they're just my sona. me, y'know?

spamton = you know him! it's spamton from deltarune chapter 2 !! he's a shopkeeper and a secret boss in the game where he appears in his 'NEO' form. he's based on scam e-mails and ads!

my freak of a son = toontown corporate clash oc - he's a goopy low baller that i call my son. or rather, toontown version of frostbite and i call him their son. regular frostbite as shown in this image and frostbite are separate. he was made using one of high roller's attacks.

scratch = my deltarune sona and self insert! they're the fourth member of sweet cap'n cakes. they're a dj! they're inspired by cat headphones, soundboards and karaoke machines! they're who this blog is named after :P

high roller = from toontown corporate clash! he is a cog 'manager' who only appears during a yearly event 'april toons'. she is a show host and a fusion of two characters ('dave brubot' and 'buck ruffler'). it's show is also the boss fight you fight when they're around!

cathal = full name cathal ray toby bravecog aka the multislacker, also from toontown corporate clash. he is a manager you can fight in-game after completing a set of 'kudos' tasks. they are the VP's son and are based on crt tvs! they're known for being 'lazy'.

blank = (full name blank b. addison) a deltarune oc for my big deltarune au named datapack au. he is an addison who got corrupted by a swatchling mask - which is a new concept introduced in my au. he used to sell movie related trinkets and was a stand-up comedian.

[britishsass]

Time for (another) swap au :3

Hello, AHIT fans, I happen to be one of the people who's spamming the tag on AO3, so it's time I appear here to post some art and au stuff here as well.

I've been making a swap au!! Because I can. And I thought too much about how Conductor and Empress are alike, sooo... My friend @legallymean and I have been making some stuff for it in the background! Can't wait to show you guys everything we've come up with.

Here's the swaps:

Hat Kid <- -> Snatcher

Mustache Girl <- -> Queen Vanessa

Bow Kid <- -> Moonjumper (though Bow has more relevance here, and MJ is still sir-not-appearing-in-this-story)

Mafia Boss <- -> DJ Grooves

Conductor <- -> Empress

Alpine Nomads <- -> Subconites

Goats <- -> Fire Spirits

(All other minions are kept with who they belong with, of course!)

To start off with... Here's Bandit, aka Swap!Conductor!

From before most people's memories, this outlaw's been swiping things and fighting people without any remorse. He's known for keeping most everything to himself in a little desert house near a speakeasy he runs, but he does seem to have some sort of plan with the things he's stolen. He trusts few, and respects even fewer. Though he has a gun on his hip, he prefers his knives, and most frequently brings them out against CAW, who has been trying to catch him for many years. (Of course, that's not working too well-- It's been decades, and Dead Bird Junction is still running under the thumb of the Bandit, even now...)

Grooves seems to resent him, refusing to discuss the topic of the Bandit; while Stationmaster is friendly with him, even including him in a few of his movies as a stunt owl and villain, though no one knows what she had to pay him for that... That, and what he's really up to with all those stolen things.

~

(Okay, housekeeping: shoutout @thenotorioushmk for bosskids au having the cutest art ever!! :3 Also for just reading and commenting on my stuff okay thankoo

Also, giant thanks to my friend Cecil for listening to me ramble and idea-bouncing about this one!! Genuinely would have 0 idea how to write Stationmaster without you, my dude)

Finally: I will just be posting this au in art for a bit. There are some fics, but I'd like to leave posting them until after I have everyone drawn, and since I've only drawn two characters so far, and still want to fix how the other looks a little... Patience, please?

In the meantime. >:3

[inkabelledesigns]

This trend of drawing Hatsune Miku from a variety of cultures has me thinking about many things. Like old doll collabs where people rendered her different outfits in doll custom form. But it also has me wondering how I can participate. Like, I've never drawn Miku before, but I'd like to try to. But I'm very insistent on staying anonymous, so I can't really draw her where I'm from if I want to post it. But I almost wonder if maybe, my way of doing this could be pulling from a time instead of a place.

What did fashion look like back when I was at the height of my Vocaloid phase? Gosh, when was that? I was a middle schooler back then. My own fashion was not great, but I had fun. XD I had an extensive phase of wearing colorful bandannas in my hair then (the pink cupcake one got so much use). I remember going to my very first convention with a Miku shirt on. One of my best friends introduced me to a form of larping, there was dancing to anime music, very sweet vendors, it was an interesting day. I wonder if that might be fun, drawing Miku tied to memories I have of where I was when I was into her and all her friends. This same friend and I look nothing alike, but for school spirit week, we dressed up for twin day together, like twice. One year I made us custom Vocaloid shirts with my newly acquired Photoshop and iron on transfer skills. X'''D They were so cheesy, but I remember being so excited. They were Rin and Len Kagamine themed, because they're twins and Len was my favorite. And I put the 02 from their arms onto the sleeves of each shirt. Theirs was positioned the same as Rin's, and mine was on the same side as Len's. It meant a lot at the time. It's just the sort of fun, slightly cringy thing you expect a middle schooler to do after learning you can customize stuff like that. XD I miss when I made my own shirts like that a little bit.

Vocaloid music fueled a lot of my love for art at the same time I drew Sonic fan art. I listened to it a lot as I drew. Okay, so like, I was supposed to meet with the school social worker once a week as part of my 504 plan, but she often ditched me, so most weeks I just had a private study hall in that office. Well, my global history teacher popped in at some point, and I was just sitting there doodling after having finished my homework. And I don't know why he said this, maybe I had pigtails in that day, or maybe I was smiling a lot, but he seemed very content as he said I looked like the girl on my shirt, which was that same Miku shirt. And I smiled and thanked him, but I never really got what he saw. I'm the furthest thing from a svelte hologram idol with teal eyes and long hair (hell, I had a really short bob for most of that time, it was my goal to look like Xion from Kingdom Hearts). But I guess, looking back on it, maybe I looked happy like Miku does. And what a nice compliment to get, for someone to think you look happy while creating. I was very happy. I think I was drawing my DJ character at the time, Drizzle Drop. I don't think I've ever posted her online. Maybe I ought to. XD She had a lot of blue in her palette, kinda like Miku, but not the same shade.

I dunno what I'll do with any of this, if I even have the energy to draw Miku, but it sure does make me smile to think about the time I enjoyed a lot of Vocaloid. Maybe I ought to turn the old playlist back on today.

[defjux]

100 of my favorite beat tapes. by no means an all inclusive list but these are just some recommendations in no particular order in case you're looking for something to bump. let me know what you think and if you have any favorite beat tapes or instrumental albums that i should check out. you can click on the name of one of the projects below and it'll take you to bandcamp/youtube/soundcloud or wherever you can hear it. i could also do another one of these in the future if anyone is interested. peace. Chart with names included 1. Oh No - Oh No Vs. Now-Again 2. 10th Letter - Primitive Shapes 3. cOlD sElTzEr - AHOY/LANDHO 4. Vik - (sub​)​conscious 5. Ohbliv - Lewse Joints VI 6. Dak - youstandit / leftrecord 7. Adventure Time - Of Beyond 8. Dutchy - Traversal 9. Delofi - CLOAK 10. Whoarei - Thoughts Blunted 11. foisey - NowOrNvr. 12. Grap Luva - Neva Done 13. Maker - Maker vs. Now-Again 14. Dday One - Heavy Migration 15. Budamunk - Baker's Dozen: Budamunk 16. brainorchestra - Labrynth Winds 17. ewonee - Molecular Structure 18. Dirty Art Club - Basement Seance 19. Rah Zen - Midnight Satori 20. Devonwho - Betaloops 21. Dr. Quandary - Wayfarers 22. SadhuGold - The Gold Room 23. Dimlite - Runbox Weathers 24. spacemayor - guilt milk 25. S.Maharba - Pure Eternal Light 26. Dr. Who Dat? - Beat Journey 27. A.M. Breakups - Out of Four Came Many Soldiers 28. Dibia$e - Sound Palace 29. Paul Hares - Blurred 30. Dil Withers - Studies 31. Sir Froderick - The Eclectic Spanking of War Babies 32. Paul White - Paul White And The Purple Brain 33. DJ Rozwell - NONE OF THIS IS REAL 34. EAR.DRUM aka QTHREE - DEAF RAY 35. GrayMatteR - Tao Te Gray 36. Damu The Fudgemunk - Vignettes 37. Kankick - Warped Dis Strict Project, Vol. 1 38. The Midnight Eez - The Midnight Eez 39. dakim - sleeptight 40. K, Le Maestro - Lab Sounds 41. aaronmaxwell - aaronmaxwell 42. Mecca:83 - NinetyFour 43. EvillDewer - Caliginous Sky 1​.​5 44. Swarvy – Shadows Remixes 45. Dirty Tapes - DT002: OHBLIV / DIL WITHERS 46. Spectacular Diagnostics - Raw Visions 47. EDAC - DITTOS 48. George Fields - Beyond Realm 49. Bluestaeb - Everything Is Always a Process 50. Massimo e Massimo - Massimo e Massimo

51. Tuamie - Masta Killa 52. LuvJonez - Messengers 53. Ill Sugi & Tajima Hal - Illmahal 54. olasegun - JUST A SLICE 55. Ahwlee - dead[ist] 56. EYTREG. - Chasma. 57. Eludem - A.dvanced B.alcony M.aneuvers 58. Elder Orange - All My Friends Believe in Ghosts 59. Small Professor - A Jawn Supreme 60. Bugseed - Quiet Times 61. Kutmah - A Tribute to Brother Ras G 62. Shamana - To All Hell 63. ΔKTR - LALA 64. AshTreJinkins - Zone of the Enders 65. SPELLWRKS - Transitions 66. Wowflower - feverdream 67. Jansport J - Soulfidelity 68. Jitwam - selftitled 69. Kenja & RXN - C O Z Y 70. ELWD - TOO MANY DAYS 71. lo_tek - It Will All Make Sense One Day 72. z. - torn 73. Astro Mega - WARP LOUNGE 74. phedee - i hope you're doing okay 75. TMCT - LAND CRUISER 76. Poptartpete - 8 cavities 77. Jemapur - Dok Springs 78. D-Styles - Noises in The Right Order 79. Nosmo King - Drawn Out 80. Fuzzoscope - Earwax Shelf Life 81. Javier Santiago - Javi's Beats Vol. 4 82. AKEEDRO - House Of Spirits 83. Odeeno - Diamond Sand 84. ILLingsworth - Worth the Wait 85. PRGMAT - HAPPY HERBAL HARVEST 86. Kent_Williams & iLL SCOTT - Golden Coast 87. TOSHIKI HAYASHI(%C) - b(ackr)oom sounds 88. Kenny Keys - Everything Must Change 89. Emapea - Zoning Out Volume 2 90. Dpee - Garbage Day 91. Letherette - Brown Lounge, Vol. 1 92. Fuzzoscope - Earwax Daydream 93. Elusive - Headspace 94. nipple tapes - aaa 95. Randal Bravery - Hamaon 96. RND1 - Brain Clustrs 97. Scruffnuk Dust - Moods 98. Meaty Ogre - Grenades! 99. yungmorpheus - A Glimpse Of Power 100. Nothing_Neue - RE: Collections

[erigold13261]

Anon who can’t draw here. Why do you think NSR and Psyconauts characters all look so queer(affectionate) and attractive? (Attractive as in top tier character design) i would like an opinion of an artist

Love you!

Well it all depends on the person looking I would say. Someone who is a bigot and likes these games would deny that any of them look queer. Others might say a character is horribly drawn if they aren't sexualized. And then some people sees a "bad" character design (one that seems to be universally hated) and still love it to bits.

However, I do think that a large portion of the eccentric-ism of each game, in both design form and storytelling form, is a huge factor of why "less normal" people like these games (so people who aren't cishet or neurotypical). Both games really play with shapes and colors along with darker topics (even if it's just implied). So already there will be a disproportionate amount of "not normal" people already in these fandom spaces.

That alone counts for a large portion of people seeing these characters as queer, which can affect the media as a whole as people who look up fanart/fic of these games are now seeing more queer headcanons or art that shows off things they didn't realize were subtly implied or referenced to in the game.

But also, with in-game reasons, I would say Psychonauts having a canonically gay couple does help make other characters look queer, or at least accepting of queerness (which helps people see those characters as some flavor of queer even if it's not fully implied or something). Then there's the fact that those games talk about mental illness, healing, getting support from your family, love, all things that a lot of queer and neurodivergent people want in media without it being made a joke or villainized. (Plus the added angst is something that really helps people connect and possibly project onto characters).

Similar reasons for NSR, where the game kinda promotes shipping in the sense of Sayu talking about love and May with 1010 (and all the retweets and shares from Metronomik being cool with ships) so already there will be people who ship queer relationships, which then get promoted by the game company, leading people to see this as a soft canon. And even though I think Eve is the only confirmed queer person (She's demisexual, but correct me if i'm wrong about the others being or not confirmed) there are still a lot of queer coding in these characters (one being Neon afraid to dance/not liking his body and wanting to make 1010 look more masculine, which can be seen as trans-coded, at least to me).

The story itself of NSR is also something that resonates with queer and neurodivergent people. It is about overcoming an oppressor, making amends with friends and family, learning how to communicate, dealing with mental illness as well. The story itself is a big factor of people liking this game, since gameplay can be lacking at times. The characters have depth but also allow for a LOT of manipulation in their story and behavior as they are not as fleshed out compared to like Psychonaut characters.

I am starting to lose focus. I probably have more to say about NSR but I'm gonna go into the design/visuals for now.

Design wise, the characters are unique. Psychonauts plays around with shapes really well, especially when constructing hair and facial proportions. And NSR, though a bit standard in how it presents bodies, still has unique silhouettes and character designs (especially with DJ and Mama), not to mention the colors are vibrant and not natural (psychonauts tries to stick in a more "realistic" color palette at least in the real world but still plays around with their colors).

So like, the attractiveness/top teir character design, comes from strong and unique proportions along with cohesive color design. Shape theory is also a really good thing that goes into character design. Like my favorite thing about NSR is how physically different Eve is, even though she is a human (supposedly) she is built differently to show how she feels like an outcast. And then you have characters like Helmut who, even though still fits in with the rest of the cast, is extremely big but still shows off how soft he can be instead of being intimidating with his size (also love the fact that he's probably the biggest extrovert and still has anxiety/panic attacks).

Even just the color of the characters is important. 1010 have super bright and saturated colors to them, but only one color each and black and white covers most of their body to give breathing room to their designs. As Sayu's phases progress, more and more colors appear, but all the colors are complimenting each other instead of fighting for dominance.

Looking just at Helmut, both mental world and character design. Lots of colors and shapes are being used, but nothing is fighting for dominance a lot of the time. You are still able to see where you need to go most of the time in the game, and Helmut's design has a breathing room for the eyes to rest on (such as the black of his coat and his face area).

So yeah, the combination of character design (visual and vocal) and the story really are the main contributing factors for a lot of these characters being well liked and either queer-coded or canonically queer. Hopefully this made sense, I basically just woke up so yeah lol.

[haemocyaninz]

Would you be up for telling me about Juno? He looks rlly cool :3

^_^ tyyy i love talkin abt my guys

Juno is a quiet guy that mostly keeps to himself. But like in the I dont want to talk to people way rather than the im shy way. Most people around him dont know much about him and hes happy to keep it that way. He owns a place with his much more outgoing brother, Coda, in town where alot of ppl hang out and DJs at his booth. He really really likes music as an art form (specifically rap, jazz, and alot of other stuff he’d rather not say). Juno likes tones of other stuff too hes just really repressed and doesnt want anyone to see anything abt him outside of him being quiet and in the background (bc he has mad problems).

He’s a fruit person with berries for ears and a stem on his head (bc i thought the design was fun) and has juice powers that I dont want to explain rn bc im still tryin to figure it out myself lol. Think of water bender ig but with juice that comes from his body/blood type situation.

Juno’s not a very friendly guy at first but he learns to open up and actually enjoy other peoples company as they enter themselves into his and his brothers lives. He gets to know both Hiro and Buggy as close friends in particular. Hiro thru his ways of being the perfect balance of being someone to push him out his comfort zone while not scaring him in the process just on account of how Hiros a little odd but socialy observant. Buggy and Juno are very different personality wise but they share a love of music that he doesnt really have with anyone else. And eventually he gets to form a less strained relationship with his brother (that he kind of raised) after the trauma they endured before they moved into the home they live in now. Something like seeing Coda as more of a peer than someone to protect and care for now that they are adults.

[Image ID: A digital drawing of a chibi version of haemocyaninz’s oc, Juno. Juno is drawn with a stem coming out his head, a short afro, headphones on his ears, a heavier build, a shirt with the words “Body Rock” on it, and sweat pants. He stands in the middle of the image with a black expression with headphones on while 2 smaller versions of him walk around his legs. The left one holds his headphones and smiles and the right one pushes his arms out and grins. End ID.]

I rotate Juno in my mind all the time im glad u like him lets rotate him together 123 go.

[kursed-arcana]

Takeuchi Naoko's Chocolate Christmas Review

Chocolate Christmas is an adorable romantic comedy that feels in tune with classic rom coms such as You Got Mail and classic Christmas movies, while also having that delightful Takeuchi touch. Reading this is a real treat, considering it was her first published work.

The two leads are actually in love with eachother without knowing it. After spending a lonely Christmas eve listening to the radio Ryoujo happens to catch the debut broadcast of a lonely hearts style show, Choclate Night. Learning that the DJ, Choco,a lso feels alone and that it's his birthday, she decides to deliver a Christmas cake to him and proclaims herself his first fan. Over the next year l, she regularly listens to his program and sets out to bring love to others, much like him. The story then picks up with her getting a job at the same radio station as him, hoping to meet him. She has fallen on love with the man herself, and her cake and declaration last Christmas ignited the same feelings in his heart. Without knowing it the two are drawn together, both in their everyday school life and their life at the station, all without initially realizing who the other person is.

Does this mysterious type of love ring any golden bells?(read the story for the reference!) That's right it plays out similarly to the initial love story of Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Moon! If you're a fan of the dynamic between Uasagi and Mamo them you'll probably be a fan of this story. Much like how sailor moon begins with them bickering, yet being drawn to eachother, so too does this love story.

Their status as the person special to the other, isn't revealed at the same, leading to some great romantic tension as they impact eachother in significant ways. Ryouko and Choco (real name Keiki) continue to influence eachothers behavior and build eachother up into better versions of themselves. By the end of the series, they have both developed a new found appreciation for eachother, Christmas Eve and the Chocolate Night program,

What can I say other then Takeuchi truly has that special gift to write a compelling romance. Its a shame she hasn't released a true blue long running rom com. This is a great holiday read and is sure to illicit feelings of satisfaction in her eternal fanbase.

Her art is as stellar as ever, and her character designs attractive and fashionable. There's not much to dislike in the story that gave this book its name.

I do recommend reading it carefully though. The fan translation available on mangadex is a little shaky in some spots and I think the dialogue was switched for the two leads on page 53 of one of the abailable translarions. At least it appears to be in the wrong word bubbles to me. I also recommend temporarily switching to a alternate translatiom due to the fact page 5 is missing from one, and instead features a page from near the end of the manga in its place. However I believe the fan translation is overall better on on the other. I would say the sites hosting the translations I recommend using but I don't think that's allowed.

Fingers crossed that we one day get an official release or an anime movie!

Now to briefly mention the second story in this vollume release. Wink rain is a fun bonus but I honestly don't have a lot to say. It's not bad, but it didn't really resonate with me personally. Part of my issue with it is the 2 fantranslations I found for it both appear to have a fair amount a faults. Or maybe it's just the way the story unfolds that sometimes makes things a little confusing. I found it less rom com, more teen angst over being the third wheel ina. Friend group after two parties get together. There is a love story unfolding for the main girl but it kind of ends anticlimactically. Or it felt that way to me due to the fan scanlation.

It's definitely worth a quick read regardless. It has great art as usual and cute characters!

[dankusner]

DIED OF AIDS...

AIDS Use when referring to a very specific stage of HIV disease. Do not use “died of AIDS”; rather, use “died of an AIDS-related illness” or “died of complications of AIDS” — or describe the circumstances. See HIV below for further guidance. She was diagnosed concurrently with HIV and AIDS.

Behold, sequins, tuxes and a kilt

Try searching for the most powerful gay man at Turtle Creek Chorale’s Cyndi Lauper gala

On the first day of Pride Month, a rainy Saturday, around 500 guests lined the second floor of the Omni Hotel for “Rhapsody 2024 With Cyndi Lauper,” the annual gala to benefit the Turtle Creek Chorale.

Women were there — in sequins and satin and shiny jacquard dresses so long they scraped the carpet — but the men took center stage.

They wore sharp designer suits with pocket squares, chic paisley jackets and Tom Ford open collars.

One attendee paired his tux with glitter platform heels. Another wore a kilt.

“Black-tie formal,” it turns out, had only been a starting point.

The Turtle Creek Chorale has been a staple of the Dallas arts scene since its debut 40 years ago.

The gay male singing group of 200+ tends to wear black tuxes, though they’ve been known to cut loose in flashier costumes.

My date and I were so unfamiliar with galas we actually looked up the word (“a social occasion with special entertainments and performances,” not that helpful), but any lingering social anxiety melted as we joined a gathering where no fashion flex was wrong.

DJ Rockstar Aaron stayed true to his name in a neon-pink mohawk, fake eyelashes so long they were nearly bat wings, and a black-and-white rubber suit that looked borrowed from a cartoon character.

“Klaus Nomi,” DJ Aaron told me when I asked what he was wearing.

An East Village art star in the 1970s, Nomi was a countertenor from Bavaria known for outlandish costumes, and Aaron, who lives in Denver but travels the circuit working events like these, wears his Klaus Nomi suit when the dress code calls for black tie.

Inside the ballroom, the lights throbbed purple, tables draped in white tablecloths with pink and white desserts lined up at each seat. But the open-bar reception in the hallway stayed boisterous, and my eyes were drawn by top hats and white tuxes.

I asked a fellow reporter to point out the most powerful gay man in the room.

Her eyes told me this was an impossible question, but she kindly directed me to Terry Loftis, the chief advancement and revenue officer of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.

“Powerful?” Loftis asked, chuckling, a bit confused by the prize he just won.

At the very least, he’s impressive. A Booker T. Washington grad who went on to produce The Visit and Bandstand on Broadway, Loftis joined the DSO in 2022.

He introduced me to his partner, Jon Adams, a playful Nordstrom stylist in a flat-brimmed fedora and a long pink jacket.

He sipped a dirty martini, his hand in a fingerless pink mesh glove — very Cyndi Lauper She’s So Unusual era.

Apparently someone was handing out those gloves, which I hadn’t seen since fifth grade, but I never tracked down this wily benefactor.

Finding the most powerful gay man in a room of powerful gay men turns out to be a tricky endeavor.

“Do you mean influential?”

Loftis asked, trying to play my game.

He pointed me toward a debonair man from the Cathedral of Hope, but I lost the guy in the crowd and wound up chatting with a striking gentleman in a black-sequined tuxedo.

I mean, wouldn’t you?

Ethan Skinner was my vote for best-dressed.

A 2013 Brown graduate, he’s the VP of finance at a bank, where he definitely does not dress like this.

“It’s a black-sequined animal-print tuxedo lined with velvet,” he told me, but when I asked him to help me find the most powerful gay man in the room, he drew a blank, so he consulted his friend John McGill, who turned out to be pretty powerful in his own right.

McGill is a brand consultant for MENSA and Visit Dallas’ LGBTQ strategy (he also used to do PR for The Dallas Morning News ).

“Well, Morgan’s not here,” McGill said, referring to Morgan Cox of the Human Rights Campaign.

His eyes roamed the crowd. “Robert Emery runs The Dallas Way,” he offered, referring to the organization “leading the effort to gather and preserve the untold and under-told stories of the Rainbow Community of Dallas,” according to the website.

“Eric Johnson and Mark Parker are a power couple,” McGill continued.

“One’s a doctor and one’s an educator, and they’re huge fundraisers for the Democratic Party.”

But we couldn’t find anyone on his list.

My date and I headed into the cordoned VIP area, emptying out as folks took their seats for dinner.

“You can tell we’ve upgraded by the shoes,” said my companion as I stared at glossy brown leather like the kind in the display windows of NorthPark Center’s high-end stores.

I approached a cute middle-aged duo in expensive-looking glasses who resembled each other, in that way longtime couples often do.

Ryan and Brian Walton-King moved to Dallas from Atlanta 11 years ago, but they told me they were useless for my game.

“We know none of the gays!” one explained, as the other laughed.

They showed me pictures of their two girls, 8 and 11 (both adorable).

Gay life, after all, is not one note — the social scene, clubbing, fashion — but a harmony of them, bachelorhood and fatherhood, wild times and domesticity, one of the beautiful stories about gay life in the 21st century.

Dinner was better than most galas, which in my limited experience tilt toward goat cheese salads and roasted chicken, not that there’s anything wrong with that.

But standard tickets were $600, $1,000 for VIP Premium, and cold rolls are a hard swallow for that kind of scratch.

(I received free media access.)

A deconstructed plate of burrata, prosciutto and Parmesan crisp was followed by short rib with a rich risotto, then those darling pink and white desserts, chocolate cake that tasted as good as it looked. The live auction was head-spinning, bids of $5,000 and $10,000 flying into the coffer with the swivel of a white fan.

By the end of the evening, nearly $900,000 had been raised for the Chorale’s stated goal to “entertain, educate, unite and inspire.”

It was past 9 p.m. when Cyndi Lauper took the stage in a cool and wildly colored pantsuit.

It couldn’t be easy to coax a largely silver-haired crowd onto the dance floor, but Lauper is a pro.

A few bold souls shimmied at their table for “She Bop,” but by the time Lauper performed “Time After Time” about an hour later, at least 100 of us were flanking the stage at the front of the ballroom, swaying and singing to the chorus.

If you’re lost, you can look and you will find me, time after time .

A few days later, she announced that her upcoming tour would be her last.

But let’s be clear: That woman still brings it.

For the finale, the Turtle Creek Chorale joined Lauper onstage for a performance of “True Colors,” the 1986 Lauper hit that became a gay anthem.

My date and I were sitting at the back of the ballroom by this point, my aching feet sore from the high heels.

Lauper told the audience she was singing for her friend Gregory, who died of AIDS, and I thought of the gay men I knew who passed away from that now-distant plague, one of whom was a founding member of the Turtle Creek Chorale.

I was in middle school when my mother took me to see our friend Rodger Wilson sing with the Chorale.

But not long after that, AIDS took him, too.

As much as the evening was a celebration, it was inevitably a remembrance of what we’d lost.

It was nearly 11 p.m. when my date and I headed to the valet, taking one last look around the place. “Tell me what you see,” I asked him, as he scanned the guests lingering in the hallway: men holding hands and sipping cocktails. Women and men laughing together.

“Old love and young love,” he told me, and with that, we called it a night.

[scientistservant]

What's funny about Norry and DJ claiming I draw Kaa adult art is that, one, none of that stuff on my Twitter is actually mine, it's all on my likes and obviously from other artists. And two, I've actually been nervous about drawing adult art of my f/os and self-inserts 'cause I've never drawn any before?? Even when it comes to writing I haven't really gotten to actual intercourse, unless if RPs with friends count.

[phoenixblack89]

Ya know you'd think someone who does a lot involving the Internet for their work (promotion and selling etc) would be aware of reverse image search.

Rant ahead.

Especially when they're claiming they're the original artist.

I mean I knew for sure id seen some of the art my friend claims she's the original artist of is by other people. I figured that it was merely practice (this was a few years ago now bare that in mind it's around 2014 time before I even started posting mine online again)

However around 2020 she began selling pieces she'd drawn on fb and at car boot sales (think of craft fairs but not just craft if youre not from the UK) and made a fair amount of money. Enough to begin to do her current business of handmade paint as well as her actual legit job of being a promotion assistant for a disco/bouncy house/dj business.

And she stopped selling her art and didn't post it anywhere but would show me. And it got me a tad suspicious cos she seen me posting mine and while I don't have a massive following for my art the few people who interact make me smile if I've had a bad day.

She recently began asking if I'd help her get back into the swing of social media for her artwork. She said she didn't have time for taking photos of her art and do the business photography, I offered to go and take the photos and send them via email. Which I did because I'm a good friend and wanted to be supportive.

However....

I did notice that her style was inconsistent. You can tell when my friend has truly drawn something and when she's copied. I mean this in the nicest way but she can not for the life of her draw faces.

All her humans look like pugs. There's not a lot of facial definition around key structural places like the eyes and nose. The nose is always a big give away for me. I have given her pointers on them in the past and I can see a little improvement. And she does have some sketches that I can see she's worked on and made notes on to make progress.

It's kinda like she gave up on her art and didn't improve past senior school with it. That is probably the best way I can describe how I see her skill level. It's stuck in final year of school.

Now the art thief issue is that she loves anime, and Disney, and pokemon, and digimon. And I have reverse image searched her art work of these fandoms.

All are available to find online with much better quality of work.

There's also a rather well known youtuber whose arkwork she has taken and sold for her own profit. Which I cannot prove as she cleared the fb profile she used to sell it on completely recently.

And I know she is still doing this type of behaviour currently.

I really don't know what to do about this. I've asked her point blank before are you tracing/using this person's such and such as reference and got told a short sharp no. Same as when I ask if she's still sleeping with her employer really.

I rarely show her what I'm working on for this exact reason.

She's also the reason why I don't have any of my artwork prior to 2006. She borrowed my file to draw one of my earliest ocs and her mother threw it out cos she had the bright idea to put my artwork (a very full arch lever file full) into a carrier bag to bring back to me instead of leavijng it on her desk. Her mother assumed it was trash and away it went. It's the one thing I will never forgive her mother for EVER!

[riting]

Bad Stars True West by Amanda Horowitz

DJ Hills on Bad Stars True West

Two images have stuck, like pin art, in my memory.

The first is Jess Barbagallo as Cricket, knife in hand, toaster between his legs. Despite the chord, dangling, obviously unplugged, I still flinched when Jess dropped the knife into the toaster. A fear leftover from childhood. There was a time when I was sure a toaster would kill me.

The other image is of an open briefcase, wet pasta spilling out into a bathtub. Wild and so earned it felt inevitable, this moment comes after a verbal tennis match in which Arne Gjelten performs both mother and father, voice and body contorting to fit an idea of gender that is as slippery as it is ever-present.

Bad Stars True West is a game—like the ones I hope we all once played with friends—where a train track-rug bears very real possibilities for travel. This game-nature allows danger to lurk so innocently at the edges of the play.

We are all in danger. We are all having fun. Anything can happen. Every moment is a surprise.

Boundaries are fuzzy in Amanda’s world. Images and words bend around us, reshaping themselves, beat by beat, into familiar things made unfamiliar.

Outside the gallery, Hollywood, too, feels even less tethered to reality than before. I’m still in child’s play mode. Each person I pass on the street has a little cowboy inside them. There could be spaghetti in anyone’s briefcase.

DJ Hills is a writer for the page, stage, and screen. They are the author of Leaving Earth (Split Rock Press) and their play TRUNK BRIEF JOCK THONG was shortlisted for the Yale Drama Series.

Stacy Dawson Stearns on Bad Stars True West

Sam Shephard holds a wiggly warm spot in my dirt. In the 80’s, I was a young teen and already starting to feel out of place in the creative boxes available to me. The play Cowboy Mouth showed up. Shepard and his unique troping of the American West plus asphalt and addiction tripped my switch so I tried it on, acting out scenes and making costume designs for characters I didn’t understand. I was just a kid and had no idea what addiction and love do to each other, no idea about the thin line between obliteration and inspiration, no idea how hard it is to stay free when you cross the threshold from childhood to the big A. But I learned that Sam and Patti Smith were lovers who had written and acted that play out together, so maybe the line between fake and real was a dotted line. Is it a coincidence that Patti Smith made her public debut as a poet at St. Marks Church on the same day I was born? Funny that I would debut artistically there, too, 20 years later performing on the 2nd floor at the Ontological Hysterical Theater. Dotted lines on road maps worn thin from thumbing connect disconnected folk to one another. Ghosts of the living and dead love churches that act as theaters.

I moved to NYC 6 years after my first exposure to Shepard and saw a flyer wheatpasted to a mailbox for a production of Cowboy Mouth. The theater was a basement in the East Village. Ghosts love basements, too. The mythical Lobster Man character was played by a guy with no clothes on- very unlike the Lobster Man costume design I had drawn years before, but much more honest and economical. I couldn’t believe how weird and normal the play was and how easy and hard it all seemed at the same time and how it made sense without making sense. I figured that Shepard was my uncle and these folks were my cousins: children of an America made of narcotics, disfunction, TV, and asphalt. It felt good to sit without lies for a while.

30 +years later I’m in a small gallery space in Hollywood seeing a play by a playwright named Amanda Horowitz that spawned somehow from Shepard’s True West. Ghosts are ok with galleries. Sam wrote True West 9 years after Cowboy Mouth- but with Uncle Sam it’s all just one play, really. Different acts. I came because I wanted to see Jess Barbagallo, who is a rock star of an actor just like Malcovitch or Shepard himself but braver, more vulnerable, tougher, softer. Shepard no longer lives in flesh- he is a ghost grampa who passed out and left the car keys on the dresser next to his drumsticks. He is sitting with me on these metal bleachers a block away from the Boulevard of Broken Dreams, fading in and out of vision depending on the angle of my glasses. On the stage, wild ones with their hearts pushing through their shirts are taking his car on a joyride into new territory: a wormy place of what we do when fucked up romance and being sad about wasted people is no longer enough. They run off the road in a town called Almost Hope, population 3.

Bad Stars True West is a beautiful evolution of Shepard Country where surviving the death of relationships is worth trying. Where the threat of being run over by a train is no worse than the threat of not being run over by a train because worms survive and thrive. Where mother and father are an actor who has noodled himself into a Mobius strip: self-contained yet unwieldy, feral yet capable of being studied. Jess is not the only star in this trio; Arne Gjelten and Sophia Cleary end up rocking my world, too.

On the sidewalk after the show, Jess and I talk for a minute about the ways we all put out for our own art, and how great it is when projects feel necessary and fullfilling. Part of me feels like saying “feels like old times,” but I don’t want to. Nostalgia sits too close to atrophy for me, so I choose gratitude for this hijacking of Sam’s direction, saying in my mind: “Thank you for acknowledging that we are way beyond the era of hopelessness as a statement. Thank you for not being snarky and guarded. Thank you for discussing platonic love and heartbreak.” In his day, Shepard did not write to celebrate abuse and codependence per se, but at some point in the rotation his plays stopped being exposed wounds and started becoming reliquaries. I am not saying these plays have lost their prescience, I am saying we have a hard time being present*. Sometimes textual legacies need not be revivals. Enter Horowitz et al on the dusty horizon of Shepard Country. Having eaten the old plays like worms in a corpse, they split in two and regenerate their own heads. They fill a bathtub with spaghetti, they lay down on the tracks. Mom becomes an artist but maybe she always was and we didn’t notice. As still night falls on Almost Hope, USA, we don’t know where this is going, but we feel like we just might get there.

*Say a little prayer for Buried Child to erupt through the floor of the Supreme Court soon in a showdown of the undead! We can dream, can’t we?

Stacy Dawson Stearns (she/they) believes that artists support societal well-being by modeling and instigating collective creative practice. A Bessie Award-winning artist known for her work with Big Dance Theater, David Neumann, Hal Hartley, and Blacklips Performance Cult, Stacy has choreographed for pop icons Debbie Harry and Ann Magnuson, House of Jackie, and The Vampire Cowboys, and has performed and presented in 10 countries in venues ranging from NYC’s Lincoln Center to Tblisi’s Teatr Griboyedov. Stacy develops new media with Channel B4 and uses her curation and programming to serve communities and further social justice, representation, and accessibility initiatives as a CultureHub LA 2023 Fellow.

Bad Stars True West by Amanda Horowitz was presented at STARS Gallery in Los Angeles on July 13-16, 2023. It was performed by Jess Barbagallo, Sophia Cleary, Arne Gjelton, and Beaux Mendes as the "plein-air-painter." All photos by Jonathan Chacón.

Amanda Horowitz is an interdisciplinary artist working between performance and sculpture. She writes and directs theater projects with experimental and collaborative methods. Past performance projects include: The Plumbing Tree (co-written & directed with Bully Fae Collins, 2018-19), Suddenly, This Summer (2019) and Bad Water True West (2022). She is currently a 2022-2024 Playwright-in-Resident at Rutgers University.