#so he has similar features to zach

[elongang]

(CW:scar)

wowww omg 2 posts in 1 week?!?!?? Anyways *ahem* enjoy Toodles with my own little spin :DDD (i apologise that it is a bit messy lololol)

[kaythefloppa]

Wild Kratts - Our Blue and Green World: Part 1: Review [Spoilers]

Welp, here it is, the Wild Kratts TV movie (not to be confused with the feature film they've been teasing us with since 2021). There's been a lot of hype around this special and season, especially with how much the latter was being hyped up during the hiatus. Let's see if the blue and green bros were able to deliver: Spoilers under the cut

Well, this is certainly an attention grabber!

This entire live action intro is shot and edited like an animated Wild Kratts episode, it's glorious.

Woah, intro change!

They said the thing! They said the thing!

HELP THIS IS SO RELATABLE. Also, THE BOYS ARE FIGHTING

Lmao I don't think they do it very often, but using animals/nature in their insults is very creative.

Also, whooping crane episode when?

This entire song is mercifully short. Like most character sung songs in Wild Kratts, it's not good, but this at least is clever in its lyrics and its visuals. It feels like a Disney reference at best and I am content with that. I also ADORED seeing the Draco and Walrus Suit return again. It's arguably the best musical number in the series. No, that is not saying a lot.

MARTIN WHY ARE YOU THE ONE WHO'S MIFFED YOU NEARLY MUFASA'D YOUR LITTLE BROTHER

CHRIS WHY ARE YOU MILDLY INCONVENIENCED YOU GOT ACRAPHOBIA FALLING FROM THAT HEIGHT

When I first saw the clip, I thought that they were going somewhere with this, like they'd activate Peacock Powers at the end when they recognized the compatibility and blue and green. But nope. Wasted potential is an understatement.

Also, where the fuck are they right now? In a previous shot there was Target the Chameleon, implying that they've been to Madagascar, but that is an Indian peafowl, and as far as I'm concerned, they don't live in Madagascar. Were they just having an off-day? These animals have little to nothing to do with the plot when they really shouldn't have, so I don't see why they couldn't have just shown a projector image or something.

Remember when I joked about the Wild Pony Power Suit returning in S7.... fuck you Apollo.

Man, they are eating it up with the animation here. It's hard to tell with screengrabs but man, is it fluid.

The first half of this episode is mixed. While it feels like the brothers are incredibly stubborn, it also does make sense for them to be this fixated on their favorites. So I can totally buy this. It could've been insufferable to watch, but it wasn't.

As if YOU haven't spied on them since the first time your dorito-headed ass showed up on screen

Did you find that funny? Because not only do they do a similar joke like that later on, but they follow through on that joke in the most unexpected way you will shit your pants when you first ingest it.

Oh my god if they make a Creature Power Suit off of that bird, I will take back any diss I've made, that is so beautiful.

Good to know that Aviva put the button near the chest and not near the back.

Maybe it's just me but this is kinda pushing it. Chris is literally getting his organs crushed, I think that should matter more than A) being right or B) trying to get 2 people to stop fighting.

I'm loving the callback and what this leads up to but ew, all this does is remind me about how ugly bright the color pallatte in S6. Really glad they fixed it in S7.

HELL FUCKING YES

This episode finds really unique ways of showing how the two different biomes are interconnected. It's like Rainforest Stew's (very brilliantly handled) message only to a larger degree. Kids can learn a lot from this.

I fucking love this episode, man.

Honestly, the way they write Paisley in the first half of the episode is very in-line with her character. Most shows that do what this episode does has them be out-of-character as a set-up, but here, she's just roasting the fuck out of Zach. Once again, recontextualized entirely in the climax.

HOW THE FUCK DID HE GET TO MADAGASCAR FROM THE GODDAMN AMAZON IN ONE AFTERNOON THAT IS LIKE MORE THAN 1,000 MILES AWAY?? ARE ANACONDAS THAT FAST?????

Also, INDRIS!!!!! :D

I was frankly expecting this to horribly backfire but spoilers, it doesn't. This actually winds up working. Common Aviva W.

To be continued.... will the blue and green rivalry end? Will one prove superior over another? And will they be able to stop Zach and Paisley and save the planet earth? And will this change the adventures of the Wild Kratts team forever? Stay tuned for part 2!

Pros:

The live action segments.

The animation of the earth's model.

The musical number not being ass.

Paisely's catty behavior.

The Anaconda Suit.

The inventive ways they show how the stability of the Earth is complex. There are a lot of ways it functions and thus a lot of ways it needs to survive

The comedy.

Cons:

The villains do not do anything until the second half of this episode. In fact, they're left completely in the backdrop. I expected them to make their prescence known and for Aviva to invent the discs to get them together for the SAKE of fighting the villains. But no. It makes the stakes feel hollow, which is the opposite of what they should be gunning for in an hour long special that they hype the shit out of.

CONCLUSION:

It was an "okay" set-up. It did live up to some of the hype it had, but not all of it. Honestly if it wasn't for the second half of this episode, this movie would be mediocre or slightly above average, but no. They do pick themselves off the ground and... they do jump the shark. But we'll get to that next time

[vocallywritten]

Season 2 of Play It By Ear is even better than the first season, and I will stand by that.

I liked the first season, but it honestly didn't have the same magic as the Mountport episode. That's not super surprising, since Welcome to Mountport was a lightning in a bottle kind of success and that's really hard to reproduce.

None of this to say that the first season wasn't good. It absolutely was. But you could tell they hadn't quite figured out the best format yet. Since Jess and Zach had their podcast with the same conceite as Play It By Ear, I'm sure that the folks at Dropout wanted to differentiate their own show from the podcast in some way. It seems like in the first season, they did that by having a more rigid set of prompts.

The prompts in the first season were a lot like the Mountport episode in that they were designed to guide the story. And of course they upped the ante by asking the actors to include certain changes to the music, or funny choices, which is kind of a natural progression from the "include this phrase" that Game Changer did.

But they also seemed to want to let the actors have more freedom to improv on Play It By Ear as well, which would sometimes clash with the more rigid directions Mano was given.

I imagine Sam decided not to host this show even though he did chose to host Game Changer's other spin off, Make Some Noise, in part because he wanted to make room for other talent on the dropout platform. (And also because hosting three shows is a lot.) But that's also a tricky situation because I think part of the appeal of the Welcome to Mountport episode WAS Sam's presence. His enthusiasm and the way he hyped up the cast was part of the charm of the episode.

So when Play It By Ear premiered, I'm sure there were people who were disappointed Sam wasn't there. However I think Mano was an excellent choice for host. He has a very similar energy to Sam's (in that he seems super happy to be there and hypes up his fellow cast members) without needing to act like Sam. They didn't get a Dollar Store Sam Reich to host this show, but found someone who brought the appropriate energy to the hosting role, is what I'm saying.

In season one, I kinda got the sense that Mano, on occasion, struggled with how rigid the format was because it put him in the position of needing to police the narrative a little bit. And it kinda sucks that him just doing his job and trying to keep things on track also kind of detracted from the quality of the show a little bit. I maintain that this was not his fault, or anyone's really. Again, I think the show just needed time to find it's footing and get the format down.

Which brings me to season two. This season it looks like the prompts are a little more general, or will suggest styles of music, rather than dictating a lot of story beats. I think this was absolutely 100% the right move.

Jess, Zach, and their costars all have a lot of experience doing exactly this, so giving them more freedom to take the story where ever they want is the best direction to take the show.

I think that this slight change to the format has also done wonders for Mano's dynamic with the rest of the cast.

Again, I think a huge part of the appeal of Mountport was how genuinely wholesome it was. Like everyone seemed very supportive of each other and like they were all having a blast being there. So I think Play It By Ear should have a similar, wholesome dynamic to be a true spin off. Last season, though it wasn't /too/ often, there were moments when Mano, as host, had to play up a little playful antagonism with the cast. But the whole cast vs host, Drew Carey-esque dynamic is already pretty well represented by Sam and his collegehumor cast. Dropout didn't need another, similar situation there, especially when the pilot episode very much did not feature that cast vs host relationship at all.

I think season two lends itself to a much more natural dynamic. One where Mano is guiding the story, rather than dictating it.

I did genuinely enjoy season one, but this season has really had a consistent spark that I haven't really seen since that first game changer episode.

The cast, crew, and of course the band are all doing such a marvelous job and I can't wait to see what happens next!

[deadcactuswalking]

REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 21/09/2024 (The Weeknd, Tate McRae, Chappell Roan, Teddy Swims, Playboi Carti)

For a fourth week straight, Sabrina Carpenter is at #1 on the UK Singles Chart with “Taste”, and it seems like everyone on the pop music roster has returned this week. Welcome back to REVIEWING THE CHARTS!

content warning: language, brief discussion of Palestine, allegations, queerphobia

Rundown

As always, we start the episode with our notable dropouts, those being songs exiting the UK Top 75 - which is what I cover - after five weeks in the region or a peak in the top 40. This week, we bid farewell to: “Red Wine Supernova” by Chappell Roan (I’ll explain why towards the end), “Houdini” by Eminem, “Pink Skies” by Zach Bryan, “Like a Prayer” by Madonna, “i like the way you kiss me” by Artemas and “The Man Who Can’t be Moved” by The Script. It’s not that large a list of songs, but these are all pretty big hits during the past year, this is almost a clear-out week of some summer tracks.

As for what takes those songs’ places, well, we have plenty of new arrivals to fill that void but there are also some notable gains, and returns, for that regard, with “Fortnight” by Taylor Swift featuring Post Malone back briefly at #75 from when it dropped out to #76 last week (“Gata Only” has company, I see), and a much more interesting re-entry with Charli xcx bringing “Talk talk” back to #24. The song peaked at #47 on album release week, but with the Brat remix compilation announcement, Charli released alongside it a new, mediocre version of this track featuring Troye Sivan - who’s credited by the Official Charts Company, for once - and Dua Lipa - who’s not credited by anywhere. As for the gains, we see solid boosts forEDM to-be-hits “TOO COOL TO BE CARELESS” by PAWSA at #66, “Cry Baby” by Clean Bandit, Anne-Marie and David Guetta at #51 and bizarrely enough, the song I literally nearly forgot to review until the episode was finished last week has scooted up to the top 40 - “Embrace It” by Ndotz is at #36 because, sure, I get the appeal. Other than JADE’s “Angel of My Dreams” at #19, however, much of what we need to talk about in the top 40 is relegated to tracks debuting there this week.

As for our top five, “Die with a Smile” by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars continues a rise at #5, but the rest should all be standard: Sabrina Carpenter has “Please Please Please” at #4 and “Espresso” at #3, Chappell Roan has “Good Luck, Babe!” at #2 and of course, Sabrina also has “Taste” at the very top. Now there are many… interesting debuts up and down the charts, mostly in the top 40, but we start with, well, maybe the least coherent.

New Entries

#72 - “KEEP UP” - Odetari

Produced by Odetari

Okay… so, this might require some explanation. Odetari is a rap-singer from Texas who has been carving out a place online, particularly TikTok, through his success in bringing some underground hyperpop-adjacent trends into a more mainstream place. Alongside other acts like 9lives and 6arelyhuman, who, trust me, have names just as alien to me as they are you, his work encompasses distorted club beats using a similar bitcrushed technique to “hexd” or “surge” music, rapping like a digicore artist over Jersey club, and generally, being high-pitched and annoying. Bizarrely, he’s been popping up mostly on the US dance charts for a year or so now, and has attracted an audience that probably belongs in some form to the “scene revival”, with his woozy, punched-up rave beats and Auto-Tuned vocal fitting right into that sound. “KEEP UP” has crossed over to a more general audience to give him a breakthrough outside of his demographic, so part of me was hoping he did something a bit different in this one. Uh, no.

This is far from a bad thing necessarily for as much as I feel like I’m some boomer trying to hear most of this guy’s material, there’s something about this track in particular I actually really enjoy, and I think it may just be up to the fact that it is so relentlessly catchy. The self-produced saw sounds straight out of the NES, sure, but it’s overwhelmed by the punchy hardcore kicks, which soon evolve into a drum pattern so distorted it becomes a bitcrushed mesh alongside Mr. Odetari’s hook which has already made itself home in my head. Genuinely, it’s an annoyingly catchy, stuttering hook that has such a good first half to the main melodic idea that it doesn’t matter that the second half of the phrase trails off into barely-words bullshit. It’s nothing new, it’s just addictive, and I think I understand the virality now, even if I get the feeling that I don’t fully “get it”. As for the lyrics, Odetari is genuinely not saying anything. There is no lyrical conceit or motif to the song, and I am absolutely confident in saying that I’m not missing anything in that regard, as the verses, similarly full of vocal manipulating and stuttering ad-libs crowding the mix, sound like loose freestyles he decorated with production to fit in with the one good idea he had: the undeniable chorus. I also enjoy how this is one of few songs to do the cheap, TikTok-variety slowed-down outro with tact and reason: the transition is solid and exciting, the synths take on a new, eerie tone with the pace shift, and the third verse - or I suppose, bridge - is the most focused on the song, being a whole lot of flexing but more cohesive than anything else he has going for him. So, yeah, oddly enough, I really enjoy this, though I don’t think I’m fully there into delving into the Odetari back catalogue. If you can call having barely two years worth of singles and EPs a back catalogue.

#59 - “Disco” - Surf Curse

Produced by Jarvis Taveniere

Surf Curse are, fittingly, a surf punk band from Nevada whose back catalogue has been bubbling under for years now: they seem to have very little success, even now signed to a major label, with their new output but every so often, their years-old songs will get a viral buzz and streaming traction, with some popping up on the charts. I actually covered them way back in 2021 when this happened for the first time with “Freaks”, a song that was originally released all the way back in 2013, but hey, it’s been three years since, I’m sure that people have caught onto their newer work and no, this “new” song is five years old and has already sold 95,000 copies overall. I liked “Freaks” for as much as the Nick Rattigan-fronted band could get me to like a lo-fi indie snippet that didn’t have much to it, so I was honestly hoping to get a refresher on these guys that involved actually fully-fledged songs. This is closer, even if it’s barely longer than “Freaks”, mostly because of a more professional mix, though still with some imperfect lo-fi elements that punch it up a tad, though the song is still barely there. The lyrics about seeing a girl at the disco and being in adoration about the way she dances are… unbefitting and ultimately not interestingly phrased, the stop-and-start rhythm in the chorus’ end is not that inspired, almost expected, and the main riff just reminds me of “Freaks” again, which the entire song resembles quite a lot, and maybe a bit of early Vampire Weekend. Some of the lyrics come off as somewhat obsessed or creepy, especially given the allegations that followed the year after this song’s release, but it doesn’t have the rougher, darker edges of “Freaks”, which I relistened to and still enjoy, to integrate that into its appeal. I have heard better in indie surf-rock, but I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that the least interesting of it is what ends up charting. I guess it’s okay, but it’s definitely not original or even likeable.

#47 - “Tony Soprano 3” - Nines

Produced by RQ1of1 and JC3

UK rapper Nines is back with an album on the 27th, and what better way to announce a forthcoming project than with completing the trilogy of his “Tony Soprano” series of freestyle-liked tracks just meant to serve as Nines talking his shit to convince you to care about the project on the way. The last installment peaked at #10 but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t upped the quality with this latest edition and… well, the spoken part at the start seems to indicate this forthcoming record is his last, but other than that, there’s absolutely nothing of interest here. Nines is sloppy as always, with a vocal mix that is obsessed with stuttering and other effects that seem completely unnecessary for a song that should be about bars, of which Nines has very little, over this basic trap beat that admittedly has a nicer loop this time. There are sone nice references and I do respect ending the track by calling out social media for allegedly shadow-banning his account after he showed support for Palestine, but considering the rest of the track is about how he thinks he’s the GOAT and this is tacked on clumsily to the end, it instead appears somewhat self-serving, unfortunately. Overall, like I say about most of Nines’ tracks that end up charting, I don’t think it’s much of note at all, but this one is perfectly serviceable outside of odd production choices, which is more than Nines sometimes provides so that’s something, surely.

#32 - “ALL RED” - Playboi Carti

Produced by F1LTHY, Lukrative, Lucian, Ojivolta and Twisco

Atlanta legend and trap pioneer Future has just released his rawer, messier set of hype anthems, MIXTAPE PLUTO, which may have an impact next week but more importantly for us today, makes this lead single from Playboi Carti nearly entirely obsolete. Carti has been teasing singles for the entire year and a bit from an upcoming release, I AM MUSIC, but much of this has been on YouTube and other platforms instead of the major streaming services, whether that be for sample clearance, label nonsense, general “mystery” or because the guy hates his fans, probably a mix of all of the above. A lot of those newer songs and leaks have featured Mr. Carter experimenting with his voice in strange ways, but primarily using his newer, deeper voice he introduced on “FE!N” last year, to mostly boring results outside of “2024” (released in 2023), I like that one, though that features a mix. There is something really funny to me, therefore, that after a mish-mash of genuine experimentation and unwarranted hype and acclaim from fans and industry alike, that his proper lead single is just a Future impression on a F1LTHY beat. The beat’s obviously hard-hitting enough with his twisting synth loops and bass-heavy menace that comes naturally with F1LTHY territory though with six producers credited here, two of which being the very creative Ojivolta, I did expect more detail or at least some progression here beyond just plugging some new synth flares in and out. Carti is in typical lyrical territory, though I don’t think I understand the main conceit of the chorus that his neck tattoo is shutting anybody up, exactly, because if anything, the Satanic imagery is what gets people talking about the mysterious and violent “red” aesthetic Carti’s been working with since he discovered rage beats. He does end up sounding more distinct from Future on the one verse, but by that point it’s just a middling Whole Lotta Red leftover. I can’t call it bad because there is energy and intensity here to justify its existence, I just feel like it could have been much more.

#28 - “Bad Dreams” - Teddy Swims

Produced by Julian Bunetta, Matt Zara and John Ryan

Colour me surprised that Teddy Swims is sticking around. “Lose Control” seemed out of nowhere but is one of the biggest songs of the decade so far, despite sounding like pretty much nothing out, and “The Door” is the kind of follow-up that he probably needed to show an upbeat side, so I was interested in this newest single, not from his breakthrough album, that might just be the deal-maker - or deal-breaker - for if Mr. Swims can continue his hit-making career past that one good year, as this was released last Friday and didn’t have the slow burn of the others. Given the high debut, I have a feeling the Swimster does fill a void and will be here to stay, but as to how I feel about the song, I am somewhat disappointed in the producers going for a more typical, 2020s subdued indie-pop guitar lead and tone amidst the more classic soul groove, because whilst it mixes the guy better into his closest contemporaries on the charts - he’s closer to Sabrina Carpenter of all people than anything - it also takes some of the loveable bombast from his prior hits out of the occasion, with the malformed post-chorus, consisting of a weak “woo”, rising strings, and stray claps accompanying some brief phrases that feel more like vocal riffs than a fully-written conclusion to the chorus, wherein he longs for his partner not to leave him because without them, he gets “bad dreams” - probably more so referring to how distraught his mental health can be without relying on someone else. Obviously, he sounds great, though he has some room to belt here and shows some restraint, which could be odd for that kind of content that almost comes across as begging, so I feel like even his vocal performance is slightly underwhelming here… which sums up the song in general. It’s fine, it’ll be successful, but it also doesn’t seem like the most memorable third act to me.

#21 - “Pink Pony Club” - Chappell Roan

Produced by Dan Nigro

We switched out our Pokémon, so to speak, with “Red Wine Supernova” and thanks to the three-song rule, Chappell Roan’s fourth-biggest song currently has dropped out from the top 40 and been replaced with the third. OCC are ridiculous, but to be fair, this rule was built to prevent album bombs, not the - somewhat unforeseeable - case that an artist would have an entire album be full of sleeper hits that have been out for at least a year but seem to all have a domino effect on each other until she’s one of the year’s biggest new stars. Those following this year would know I’m still somewhat torn on Chappell’s hits thus far, not really fully convinced by them outside of “HOT TO GO!”, and honestly mostly for somewhat nitpicky reasons, songs just not connecting nearly as much as they should for me due to lyrical gripes or structural oddities that put me off from the entire package and I’m glad that we finally have one that’s a bit simpler to explain: I think it’s boring. With that said, I really enjoy the idea of the lyrical narrative here, functioning as the clearest example of her album’s story regarding the young queer girl in Middle America - Tennesee in this song’s case - longing for the fictional, openly gay nightclub “the Pink Pony Club”. Her attendance would disappoint her mother but might be worth it for the joy and self-realisation, and she eventually progresses into actually being at the club and promising that her hometown still means a lot to her.

Now, like all Chappell Roan hits, here comes the “but”: I don’t actually like the way the lyrics progress with little variety that changes tenses but doesn’t have a meaningful impact on the content despite her journey, there’s not much nuance to how Tennessee is depicted outside of just the generic hometown she loves but has to get out of. More detail to why either Tennessee or Santa Monica actually matter, or if there are any specific areas outside of the fictional club that stand out to her journey, justifying why Tennessee still matters and not just her mother’s love. It relies in part to a sociopolitical content that it barely discusses, and it extends its length with an incessantly catchy and incredibly well-performed chorus but one that fails to have more of a gut-punch impact like it could, alongside solos that more often than they should go for warping down instead of soaring like they should when working in an 80s synthpop and AOR framework. The staccato string and synth stabs in the pre-chorus are cool enough but the mix stays too minimal with its gated drums to really have that full feeling, to make the club actually seem like either a dream or alien to the Tennessee girl. It even fades out like a classic 80s song, which is just a cop-out nowadays, and whilst I do have these specific problems… the main thing they all contribute is taking my interest out of vocals and drums that I otherwise would really love, making a song that, to me, is kind of a bore. I know I’m not making any friends by being consistently critical of Chappell Roan on Tumblr of all places, but I’m sorry, she still doesn’t excite me the way she has many others.

#14 - “It’s ok I’m ok” - Tate McRae

Produced by ILYA

I won’t even try and resist the easy joke of Ms. McRae outright stating what could well be my opinion of the song and her artistry in the title of the track. Thankfully, I don’t really agree with that statement - last year’s Tate McRae album was far from OK, more just outright garbage, but this one could be better. As in, this song really could be better, it’s not enjoyable at all. I’m nicer to late 2000s and early 2010s crunk-influenced pop but the mix emphasises this thin high-frequency DJ Mustard synth before emphasising an even more annoying sound, a clambering drum loop that completely demolishes the mix outside of Tate McRae herself, who was clearly listening to Ciara because she’s whispering incoherently about relationships, except without her Petey Pablo. It’d be The Kid LAROI, by the way, which should show how far we’ve fallen as a society. This half-rap chorus is honestly kind of pathetic in its attempt to sound carelessly “cool”, mostly because of the layers of background vocal riffing that refute that, and I genuinely could not make out half of the second verse so I’m not sure if I should even be trying to dig into the kiss-off where McRae - lying to herself, presumably - allows her partner’s new girlfriend to just take him because she’s TOTALLY over it. It’s not a bad idea for a song, I could see these lyrics working, maybe in a peppier context, but this production’s too dire outside of a genuinely nice atmosphere in the echo-drenched, sprawling outro, which really just sums up and repeats the song’s main conceit in less time than the rest of this mediocrity. Once again with McRae, I think I’ll pass. Also, Ryan Tedder is a co-writer, do not think you are safe on this one, Mr. OneRepublic, I’m actually pinning most of the blame on you just because I know your track record.

#12 - “Dancing in the Flames” - The Weeknd

Produced by The Weeknd, Max Martin, Oscar Holter

The Weeknd is back… but he’s also seemingly going away for a long time. Abel Tesfaye is finishing his trilogy that started with 2020’s After Hours, continued with 2022’s Dawn FM and now concludes with 2024’s Hurry Up Tomorrow out later this year. At a concert in Brazil, the singer teased a multiple of songs, including a Playboi Carti collaboration that has gone pretty viral but naturally in the era of TikTok slow-burn marketing, and the fact that Carti doing a normal, respectful and successful rollout for an important release, like The Weeknd has a track record of doing, is unheard of, that one will hate until the album, and for now, we get the Max Martin lead single because… who else? The two never miss together in making something that will most likely be a hit but I understand how one could be tired of the 80s synthpop pastiche by now and whilst this is anecdotal, I do feel like there was significantly less hype, at least from what I’ve seen, about not necessarily the album, which is still exciting for everyone, but this song in particular, which is yet another one of those pastiches. It’s got the same gated drum effect though they feel a bit thin outside of the fills, it’s got the same cute synths but with a much wonkier lead this time around, and whilst Abel will always sound great on record, he also phones that chorus in a tad, and it sounds especially so in the droll verses, with his now signature “Hey!” added in seemingly as a reminder that yup, this is the “Blinding Lights” guy. I don’t know about this one, it just seems like a mediocre rendition of something he’s done before that also misunderstands part of his appeal, with poetic but unsubstantial lovelorn lyrics that hint towards being more about his relationship with the music-listening audience given the reference to his “final odyssey”. It does intrigue me to where that outro is leading on the album, with the pattering out of the song into a darker atmosphere that will give this overly light and fluffy song some more balance, but other than that, I don’t care about this one way or the other.

Conclusion

That seems to kind of just be the theme of the episode: a lot of generally okay songs but mostly filling in for what I’ve already heard before. We really have three unique songs then a set of reruns, like the network ran out of new shows midway through the primetime block. Embarrassingly enough, Odetari runs away with the only song I even like here, “KEEP UP”, as the Best of the Week, whilst Tate McRae takes Worst of the Week for “It’s ok I’m ok” - though it may not sound like it in my review, “Disco” by Surf Curse was awfully close as the Dishonourable Mention, what a lazy and off-putting song. As for what's on the horizon, I could hazard a guess that Future and maybe Katy Perry land a song each, but it's a long shot regarding everything else. For now, thank you for reading, rest in peace to Tito Jackson, and I'll see you next week!

[calextheneko]

Tales From Switch City: Zach's Tale

Oh my gosh, it's the thing I actually do, write furry TF fiction stories. So real quick plug before the rest of the story. You can provide support for these.

Support me on Patreon! Patreon Link Or buy me a Coffee! Ko-fi Link Join Calex's Transformation Station on Discord Discord Server Official Calex T-Shirts Buy My Shirts! Physical Books and eBooks Buy my book!

And you can read more stories on my FA and personal webs site as I'll only be uploading new stories from here out because there are over 1000 stories by this point not even lying I do not have the energy for that kind of backlog.

With all that, let's begin with our preamble. This is part of a series for Patrons called Tales from Switch City. Normally Switch City tales are patreon exclusive, and when I'm not laying in bed dying come out once a month. As I am currently laying on my death bed been hard to write and get things done so patreon has been paused pretty much all year. You can still pledge $1 to get access to all the old Switch City stories. And once Patreon opens again, for $5 you can add your OC into the pool of characters to be used for the stories and sign up for stories that interest you once they start up again.

In the meantime, I owe a substantial word count to people, wasn't able to do 13 Tales, my usual annual Halloween series this year or last, so this seemed like a nice bonus I could offer patrons to cash in word counts on if they wanted to be part of this series, or save their stored word counts for other stories they wanted, as well as a way to introduce the world of Switch City to people outside patreon who may not know it exists.

What is Switch City? A city built on a nexus point in the multiverse. As a result, the walls of reality bend and people constantly slip into other universes in Reality Shifts due to thin these boundaries are, and suddenly find themselves in strange and often radically different worlds.

So basiclaly it's an isekai series with each story taking place in a different universe version of Switch City and an excuse for lots of transformation and shenanigans.

Without further ado, tonight's tale. Zach, trying to drive to the grovery store undergoes a Reality Shift and finds himself at an abanadoned festival full of delicious food instead. Aware that thi is suspicious as heck, he decides to get out of there, but leaving may not be as easy as he wants. And is that truly want he wants?

Special thanks to @lockelyfox who has been helping me with edits while I'm sick and barely hanging in here.

And now, our feature presentation.

Tales From Switch City

Zach’s Tale

By CalexTheNeko

Switch city: a strange place built on a Nexus between worlds.

There are an infinite number of universes and timelines, and an infinite number of versions of yourself. Under normal conditions you would remain oblivious to these other timelines, unable to ever enter or witness them. But, where there is a nexus, and the walls between realities are thin, it is possible to cross over even without knowing it. 

These events are called reality shifts, and occur quite often,  yet most people don’t even notice it, for many timelines are quite similar. For example, you may crossover into a timeline where back in the third grade your favorite color was red instead of blue. A difference between your realities to be sure, but one that may not have had any major impact on your life, and as a result nothing would be discernibly different when you entered your new reality. However, some timelines are radically different. Some have magic, some have advanced technology, and some are so distinct that your imagination could not even conceive of their very nature. And so, sometimes you may find yourself in a reality that is unfamiliar, with rules that don’t make any sense, and there is seldom an easy way back.

Zach was a young man with messy pale brown hair, sporting smart glasses on his face, and dressed comfortably in a hoodie and jeans. Today he was simply running to the grocery store. A very mundane task that suddenly became anything but. Zach had no way of knowing that a reality shift had occurred, but it was clear there was a problem when the asphalt roads were suddenly replaced by dirt roads and the grocery store that should have been just around the bend was replaced by some kind of festival.

His first assumption was that he had somehow turned onto the wrong road, and simply wound up at some local fairgrounds instead of the store. But as he looked through his rearview mirror of his car, he saw a thick forest behind him that he had not driven through on his way here. It was highly doubtful that he would have driven straight through the woods without noticing. Though he might occasionally get lost in his thoughts, no one was that absent minded. So what was the logical conclusion? Was this a dream, or maybe a stress induced vision? Who could say? Either way this clearly wasn’t the grocery store. 

He decided the best thing to do would be to try to drive back the way he had come in the hope that he might see something familiar. But, as he shifted his car into reverse, the engine stalled and refused to work. Then all the electronic displays in his car turned off. It was as if everything in the car had died all at once, leaving him stranded here.

He  pulled out his cell phone to try to call his roommate to come pick him up. It would likely be a challenge to explain where he was, since he didn’t know himself, but it was a challenge he would never have to face. Much like his car, his cell phone was completely dead and would not power on. This was bad, but not impossible to resolve. If there was a festival going on, there had to be people here somewhere, and surely he could find someone who would let him borrow a phone so that he could call and get a ride. Worst cast, they would at least be able to tell him where he was so he could give his roommate accurate directions.

Zach got out of the car and walked into the festival grounds. Rather than aisles of groceries, there were various food stands. In place of the produce section, he could see rows of carnival games. And where the store’s ‘Employee Only’ stock rooms should be was instead stages for various shows. Yet, despite the fact that there was obviously an ongoing festival, there was not a soul to be found except for Zach himself. He was greeted by the alluring aroma of delicious food. There were all kinds of different dishes many he did not recognize but it was clear most of them seem to be of Asian origin. He saw plenty of stands selling various forms of noodles and rice including ramen as well as dumplings and mochi based sweets. The scent was heavenly and torturous at the same time. He suddenly felt as if he was starving and the food became the most tempting thing in the world.

“Hello?” He called out as he looked around the stands. “Is anyone here? Is someone running any of these stands?” Zach’s question was met with only silence. There was no one to purchase food from, and yet all the food was freshly made as if it was sitting there just for him to eat.

The lack of people around was unsettling to say the least. Despite the fact that he could not see anyone, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was being watched. He felt the hair stand up on the back of his neck, but the allure of the food seemed to be overpowering his hesitation. It was almost as if it was magically beckoning him to eat it.

“Nope!” He exclaimed as he turned around and started to walk back towards his car. People did not just stumble across empty festivals with food made just for them. He’d seen this movie before. With no idea what this was, or why it was here, it would be a violation of the most basic rules of common sense to just eat food simply sitting out. For all he knew, the food could be poisonous or drugged in some manner. Even if it wasn’t, the food couldn’t possibly be intended for him. He wasn’t a thief, and he was too smart to fall for some nefarious plot.

As he made his way back to the car, the trees surrounding him began to wrestle and sway. Something was coming. He tried to quickly get into his car but found that the doors had somehow locked themselves. That would, of course, be ridiculous, so he thought he must have just hit the lock button on his fob by instinct when he left it. Strange that  it still worked while everything else in the car had failed, but maybe that meant his car wasn’t completely dead. He might even be able to get it going and get out of here, wherever ‘here’ was. However, as he pressed the unlock button, the doors refused to unlock. So the key fob was also dead. Well, he still had the key!. He quickly placed that into the door handle and turned… and it snapped in half.

“Oh come on! That doesn’t even make sense!” Zach threw his hands up in the air in disbelief. There hadn’t even been any resistance when he turned it, it simply snapped inside the lock. Now he was going to need a lockpick to come out, or get the car towed! This was unbelievable. No, something strange was clearly going on. He reconsidered his earlier thought that this might be a dream, but everything felt so real. As if the problem with his car wasn’t bad enough, the rustling from the trees was getting louder. Whatever was out there was getting closer. Zach continued to try to turn the remnants of the key in the lock, pulling on the car handle to try and open the car, but it wouldn’t work. Should he run? Hide? If so, where could he even go? Behind his car was far too obvious, and it wasn’t as if the festival stands were going to provide any better cover. He briefly considered smashing his window when out of the blue, they arrived.

“Congratulations!”

Several pointed ears popped out of the brush cheering in voices that Zach could understand. The strangest part was that he knew that they were not speaking English, and yet somehow he was able to understand their foreign words. “You’re the first mortal in over two centuries to pass this test.” A golden fox with nine tails spoke as it walked out of the brush in front of the others and approached him. “For your ability to resist the temptation of taking that which belongs to the spirits, you deserve a reward.”

“Talking… foxes....” Zach muttered, as he stared at the golden fox in front of him. Specifically, he was focused on its nine luxurious tails. “So fluffy...” Without another thought in his head,  he reached out a hand to try to pet one of the captivating, soft-looking appendages.

“Ah yes, they are remarkable, and quite fluffy.” The fox responded, clearly amused by the situation. He allowed Zach to touch one of his tails without resisting. “It was our intention to invite you to partake of the feast with us, and join in our celebrations as a reward for your temperance. But, based on your reaction, I suspect there is a different reward that you might find suitable.”

Zach felt a gentle, comforting warmth flow from the tail he was touching. It traveled through his hand and into his entire body as easily as water flows gently down a stream. In moments, it almost  felt like his body was covered in a soft, warm, fur coat. It was at this point that he realized that the clothing he was wearing was starting to feel uncomfortable and itchy. He looked down at himself. The sensation of being  covered in fur wasn’t just internal; he literally was covered in fur now, or at least starting to be. Brown fur was growing in patches all across his body, making his clothing more and more uncomfortable. Without thinking, he quickly took off his shirt and breathed  a sigh of relief as some of the discomfort was relieved. In his shoes, however, was where he was experiencing he most unpleasantness. It was almost painful.

He quickly dropped to the ground and pulled his shoes off just in time to see a set of small, sharp claws rip through the edges of his socks. He attempted to remove them, but  they couldn’t maintain their structure as his feet were now changing shape. They were extending, covered in brown fur, and, surprising absolutely no one, and to many a people’s delight, he had cute little toe beans!. It wasn’t difficult to figure out what was going on at this point. While some people might have been terrified by the fact they were turning into some kind of animal, and others might have gone into denial, all Zach could feel was a sense of ecstasy.

Having a pretty good idea of what was going to come next, Zach quickly pulled his remaining clothing off. The lower half of his body had already finished covering itself in fur, and now the tip of his tailbone was extending outward, rapidly forming into a tail. With a quiet ‘fwish’, the single tail split into three, which then all in turn split into three more, giving  him a total of nine tails. Rushing upward from the base, the fur filled in thick on each and every one,making it just as fluffy as the kitsune before him.

It was at this point that Zach's glasses fell right off of his face. He tried to catch them, but as he extended his hands he saw that they were hands no more.  He was instead flexing vulpine paws without opposable thumbs. Without a way to actually manipulate them and put them back on, they simply fell to the dirt, leaving him wondering why they had even fallen off in the first place. As he reached his new paws up to touch his face, the answer came quickly. In fact, he was surprised he hadn’t noticed it sooner! The front of his face had pushed out into a long, pointed snout which intruded into his vision. There was no doubt what had caused them to be pushed off of his face. As he further inspected his changes, he also found that his ears were not where they should have been. Instead, they were now much larger, triangular in shape and had relocated themselves to the top of his head.

The changes were complete. 

From an outside perspective, there was no trace of humanity left in Zach, other than his blue irises. For all intents and purposes, he was now a normal fox. Except, of course, for the fact that he had nine tails.

“Whoa!?” He tried to stand and quickly fell over. His brain had not yet realized that he was quadrupedal, and couldn’t stand on two legs anymore. He readjusted, cautiously trying to stand once more, this time on four legs. “This is so cool...” His nine tails began to swish from side to side, and as he did, a wisp of fire lit on the tip of each tail. He looked astonished as he realized that he had created fox fire, and he focused, bringing his tails together as the motes of fire all joined together into one the size of a basketball. Flashing a mischievous grin, he started to wonder what other magic he could do. But the thought quickly turned to concern as he realized he had no idea how to extinguish the flames.

“Uh, a little help here- I think I might have made a mistake?” He pleaded, looking at the golden kitsune who had granted him this boon.  

“Oh dear. Perhaps I was a bit too hasty in my assessment of your initial capabilities.” The golden fox lifted up a paw, quickly pushing it against Zach’s nose. In an instant the fire went out. But not only that, the golden fox appeared to grow larger.

That wasn’t quite correct. Everything around him was getting bigger. But, far more alarming than that was the fact that his tails were slowly disappearing one by one. That wasn’t fair, he liked having multiple tails! Sure, before today he hadn’t even had one, but now he knew the joy of having multiple. With that amount of fluff, he could have curled them up and used them as a bed for a nap if he wanted to. But as he continued to shrink, his tails continued to vanish until he had only a single one left, and he found the golden fox towering over him. He tried to speak up, to object to this gross tail-based injustice, but instead of his complaints, he only produced a series of yips and yaps instead.

“Relax, little one.” The kitsune chuckled. “You’ll get all nine of them back in time.” He curled his own tails around him as he sat on his haunches, looking down at the smaller fox. “It occurred to me that giving a human the power of a fully grown kitsune may have been a slightly daft idea. That is far too much firepower, both literally and metaphorically, without the experience or understanding necessary to make use of it.” He lifted his paw and lightly bapped Zach on his head, “So I reduced your form to that of a kit. You’ve spent, what, twenty summers as a human? That’s basically an infant in our comparatively longer lifespan, so this form is more appropriate. Do not fret, you’ll still be capable  of a little bit of magic as you are now, but we won’t have to worry about you accidentally burning down the entire forest.”

“Yip?” Zach tilted his head. The explanation was actually calming. The idea of being a young kit, rather than an adult, was one he found appealing on further consideration. Sure, it came with less magic, but it also meant less responsibility. And, echoing that sentiment, it meant that he could play more. Speaking of play, he wasn’t sure if it was all the excitement of the various changes he just underwent, but he found that he had an abundance of energy and needed desperately to expend it on something. He could chase his own tail, but the nine, shifting tails of the golden fox were much more alluring. He swayed his tail rapidly back and forth, crouching low against the grass… before he pounced onto the golden foxes’ tails, wriggling around and biting at them!

“H-hey!” The gold fox stammered, “not so hard. You may be a kit, but your teeth are sharp!” Despite his words, the amusement was obvious in the golden fox’s voice. He began to shift and sway his tails around to intentionally tease the young fox making a game out of it, so that Zach had to work for his newfound prey.

“Roawr!” Zach gave a playful growl as he continued to chase the golden fox’s tails. Somehow, this simple little game was more fun than any video game or other hobby he had engaged in in his entire life. Maybe it was just because he was so young, or maybe it was simply that tails were just that awesome.

“Quite the playful little scamp aren’t you?” The golden fox asked amusedly. “Well, it’s good to see you take to your new form so naturally,  rather than sulk about it. You know, the humans who fail the test, we punish by turning them into small animals. As mice, squirrels, or other small creatures, they then must participate in games and races during the festival. We place bets on who will win. It’s all rather good fun. They get changed back after the festival is over, of course, we’re not monsters.” The golden fox grinned as he continued to watch the kit continue to chase after his tails, nearly pinning one to the ground. 

He continued, bemusedly, “Of course, you might be the first human we’ve actually gifted our form to in, hmmm, well, longer than I can remember. And, well, I’m a couple thousand years old. We normally allow those gracious enough to honor the spirits to participate in the festival as a guest, rather than an attraction. But you seemed so fascinated with my tails, I thought you might enjoy some of your own.” He was so caught up in his story that he hadn’t noticed the small kit even once transfixed on anything other than chasing his tails around. “Hey, small one, are you paying attention to me?”

“Yip?” Zach paused from his play to look up at the golden fox with curiosity.

“Heh.” The fox chuckled, resuming his expository history lesson. “ No doubt you’re wondering when you’ll have more tails again.” He splayed his own out as if making a point, “Many  of us get our second tail around the time that we turn about a century old.” He held up a paw and flexed a single digit to once again make a point. “However, for us  kitsune,  our age is not actually tied to the flow of time but to our state of mind. Your age will reflect your demeanor. . Act childish, and you will remain so. Act maturely, and you will gain not only maturity, but more power. I will warn you, some never grow old enough to gain a second tail, though that is usually by choice. If that is yours, we will respect it. That being said, since you were already an adult, for a human, you could rapidly grow as you learn our ways and train to control your new powers.”

“Roawr!” Zach gave another playful growl and pounced on one of the gold fox’s tais while he was distracted. He had tried to listen to most of what the other fox had told him. His big take away was that he never had to grow up as long as he didn’t act like a grown up. And that definitely had its appeal, even if it meant that he wouldn’t get all nine fluffy tails.

“Yeouch!” the gold fox shouted, though his grin made it clear that his cry of pain was fake. “Given your current behavior, I’m guessing you’re in no hurry to get back to adulthood. Honestly, that’s probably for the best. After all, the more time you spend as a kit, the more time you have to learn. And you, young one, have a lot to learn before you should have access to all of our power” Though the golden fox had figured out that he was enjoying being young once more, he hadn’t quite caught on that Zach planned on never growing up. That would probably become obvious after a century or two.

“YAP!” Zach gave an impatient bark and looked at the older fox expectantly. The fox had stopped teasing him with his tails and the game wasn’t as much fun anymore.

“Still in the mood to play, eh?” The golden fox barely held back his laughter. “Well, maybe you can play with something that spares my tails from your teeth. After all, there is a festival to attend, and now you can attend it as one of us.” He turned and looked towards the numerous stands just beyond Zach’s now abandoned car, “I’m sure you’d enjoy partaking in many of the games, as well as meeting some of the other fox kits among the clan. So, how about you let go of my tail for a bit and I’ll show you a few wonders?” The golden fox did not wait for a reply. In one swift motion, he turned his body in a circle, moving his tails out of Zach’s reach. Before he could give chase once more, the golden fox bit down gently on his scruff and lifted him into the air.

The young kit squirmed for a bit, but the fox had him good. There was no escaping his grasp. For now. Despite that, Zach could not help but be excited. His little fox kit tail was wagging so fast, it was in danger of coming off. There were just so many things to be excited for. For starters: he was no longer human; that was a huge improvement right there! And, of course, he wasn’t an adult, another huge improvement. Then, throw in the fact that he had been freed from the tyranny of pants, that he didn’t have to grow up again if he didn’t want to, that there was a festival of games and food to enjoy, and that he was going to get to start his new life among this kitsune civilization, and he honestly couldn’t think of a better end to the day! The only real downside to this was that he wouldn’t be able to play video games anymore. But, honestly, while video games were fun they paled in comparison to the simple joy of chasing a tail. On top of that, he was quite certain that once he met kits his own age, he was going to learn so many new games that were fun and exciting. Who knew what mischief that he might get into with his new friends once he learned a bit more about how kitsune magic worked. Even if he was just a tiny little fox kit, he still had a spark of magic. And a spark of magic meant that he could cause a hint of trouble.

He was, in fact, so excited to enter this new life that he forgot about what brought him here in the first place.  It never occurred to him that he’d even left his own world, stepping into one where the very rules of the universe had changed. Circumstance had led him to fit in, but the same would apply to the things he brought with him. By the time he returned to next year’s festival, his car would be nothing more than a fern covered boulder.. It wouldn’t even occur to him that the two were one in the same, or  that his car had undergone some kind of transfiguration.

And why should he think about such things? This new life, it didn’t matter if it was in a new world or his own, he only knew that it made him happy. The philosophical ramifications of his current situation might be something to keep someone else up at night, but to him, they simply weren’t important. What was important was that he was able to enjoy his life to the fullest. 

And he chose to do just that.

The End

[littleladymab]

FebruarOC - Elżbieta

MY DARLING GIRL WILL SOON RETURN FOR SEASON 2!!!!! Once again keep your eyes on @sagasofthesunlessreach for those details but please enjoy the rebroadcast of S1 for her introduction 8') 

Um so yeah I love her a lot! And at the top, a huge shout-outs to Zach for inviting me to play in the campaign even though I was (and still am) the pathfinder baby of the group, and being patient as I fumbled through learning how to play on stream. Not nerve-wracking at all. 

Elżbieta is an Investigator that I gave the "Bounty Hunter" background to in order to flavor it as she was sort of like a Witcher, someone who hunted supernatural creatures because no one else would (or could). You know what they say about a vampire, right? Its greatest enemy is a dhampir! Aka a half-vampire. 

(Not-spoiler alert, Elżbieta is a dhampir). (Worst kept secret, but it's one of those things where all the players were in on it so it was hard to make it feel like a secret, you know?) 

Her father is a bum-ass vampire who has gone and fucked off (her words)! She doesn't know where he is! Her mom sure as hell isn't telling her! So she's using her monster-hunting background and investigative know-how to hunt him down. Does she find any clues about him? Well, I'm going to have to suggest you listen to find out ;) 

For her physical appearance, I had just finished watching Netflix's Shadow & Bone and Daisy Head as Genya was just BIGGEST INSPO. In a lot of Slavic folk-culture (and beyond, tbh, but I was pulling from a lot of Slav culture), red-hair is indicative of demonic lineage and they were considered witches or devils etc. And she's got flame-red hair, which she would try to keep as inconspicuous as possible, hiding it beneath a broad-brimmed hat. Pair that with a paler than usual (for a land with no natural sunlight) skin, and, well, she has perfectly normal teeth and blood why do you keep staring at her like that? 

Mechanically, the first time I built her in 2021 it was before both the guns and gears and the book of the dead contents were released for Pathfinder, so I relied some on 'ghost hunter' dedication and haunt lore, which didn't quite fit the setting (it was useful Once), and had her start to take feats from rogue dedication at the end. But since it's an in-universe year between the two campaigns and I have these two new books to play with, I'm able to instead give her the "undead slayer" dedication which is MUCH more her speed for flavor and give her gunslinger dedication at later level! Which is specifically that she bothers Sorren to teach her how to use guns better because she picked up a musket in session 1 of the campaign and tbh didn't go back (Elżbieta voice "is this how you flirt????"). I think I used the nightstick once? I super wanted her to have a firearm but didn't know it could be a thing (and it was a roughshod thing at that) but now! Officially able to use gunslinger abilities. 

She came into this campaign as a "lone wolf" of sorts because well, she's a dhampir and doesn't trust like that. She wanted to find her dad and kick his ass. But now things have shifted slightly and she's looking to take down the bad guy with the power of friendship and this gun she found. But more seriously, she's interested in creating a space for half-bloods like her (or just generally non-humans in similar circumstances). And if that involves taking down the bad guy then so be it. They're the ones that are helping perpetuate the stigma against people like her! 

Her glow-up for S2 is going to be no hat and wearing her hair in a ponytail. Look at her go, not being afraid her defining features anymore!

Here's the character card with art by Bitmap that just is TRULY peak Genya Saffin vibes, and here is art I got done of Elżbieta and Sorren by Jack! And can't forget her pin board. 

And, last but not least, please enjoy rocking out to her playlist! AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, GO LISTEN TO SAGAS OF THE SUNLESS REACH @sagasofthesunlessreach!!

If you want to see the S2 Hero Forge mini I made and see her character sheet, they're up for free on my patreon!

PS If anyone can get me a copy of "Essays on Russian Folklore and Mythology" by Felix J Oinas for not $60 you'll be my favorite. 

[incorrectgallaghergirlsquotes]

Aside from the height, what do you think are Zach and Josh's differences when it comes to looks? Do you think Zach looks more handsome than Josh?

Don't mind me here, just further procrastinating my essay writing (I will regret this).

So, I know Cammie says that in the elevator reflection Zach looks kinda like Josh. I personally have never imagined them looking very similar. I'd even go a step farther and say that Cammie is kind of an unreliable narrator in this moment. Like when you break up with someone you can see them anywhere and in anything. She said 'yeah this is another boy so if I look at him in this weird, elevator reflection he looks like that other boy'. This is also 16 year old Zach, fresh from Blackthorne so he's got his hair as like a buzzcut and still has time to grow into his features a bit more.

I imagine Josh with light brown or blonde hair and either blue or again light/honey brown eyes. Maybe hazel? Probably straight hair.

Zach I always picture with darker hair than Josh, either dark brown or black and it probably curls when it gets long enough. His eyes I also imagine as darker. I'll die on the Zach has green eyes hill but canon says they at least have to be dark so a dark brown is also acceptable lol

As far as who's more handsome it comes down to preference. We obviously get more of Zach and I like him more so it's probably him but I'd be willing to bet that by conventional standards the spy guy is probably more handsome than the guy next door but they're both fine in their own right.

[allylikethecat]

Ally!!! tuesday update is phenomenal as always! i liked thw “im here every tuesday” part it was very meta of you lol (even if it wasn’t intentional) This story is incredibly angsty atm and i have no complaints. To be honest the vibe is kind of reminding me of Queer in the sense that Matty is watching a mysterious man at a bar and getting wasting at the same time i also assume he’ll keep going back to that bar to try to see this mysterious man again. all i have to say is that you’ve got my attention and i’ll be listening to noah khan so i can get the full experience (any suggestions in where to start???)

🥤

Ahh Smoothie Anon!! It's a joy as always to see you in my inbox!!

First off, thank you SO MUCH for giving my Noah / Matty fic a chance - I know that there isn't really an audience for it but WOW am I having SO MUCH FUN working on it! I was kind of going through a rut with my writing and working on this fic has fully pulled me out of it. I'm glad that you liked the "I'm here every Tuesday" line lol Fictional!Noah performed at the bar every Thursday and Sunday in the original draft, then I was reading it over and I was like WTF Ally he should OBVIOUSLY be there every TUESDAY because TUESDAY is your day lol

I'm going to be honest... I haven't actually read Queer (I am silly spicy romance / romantasy trash) so the fact that they have a similar vibe is completely accidental but I will happily take it! Let's just say that Fictional!Matty will be meeting that mysterious bar stranger sooner rather than later 👀

AH Welcome to the emotional turmoil OMG I would say Noah's most recent album Stick Season is a great place to start if you're just getting into his music. The most popular songs off that album are Stick Season, and Dial Drunk. Homesick is another popular one and my personal favorite. Other favorites would be Forever, Orange Juice, and Growing Sideways. Call Your Mom is a tear jerker and No Complains is extremely Matty coded. From Busy Head my favorites are: Young Blood, False Confidence and Mess. From I Was / I Am my favorites are Bad Luck, Godlight, Hallow and Howling. From Cape Elizabeth it would be Maine and Anyway. Live from Fenway also features the previously unreleased song Pain Is Cold Water and I am absolutely obsessed with that live album - I was at Fenway Night One and it was a religious experience. But AH Noah Kahan!! I am so obsessed with him it's not even funny. I will admit though, the song featured in the middle of the chapter is actually Something in the Orange by Zach Bryan (it came on shuffle while I was working on the chapter and it just felt right? Noah and Zach Bryan also collaborated together for Sarah's Place which is another great one!) I've been very in my folk/country era working on this fic!

Sorry for all of the rambling omg I just LOVE talking about this fic and Noah and just AH thank you so much for reading and sending me this ask and being so wonderful and supportive. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the next few chapters and also what you think about Noah's music!!

Thank you SO MUCH again!! I hope you are having a wonderful day and a fantastic rest of your week!

❤️Ally

[april-pad]

Batman v Superman - Movies That Divided Us

Not all movies bring us closer. Some movies have managed to drive a stake deep into our cinematic fantasies leaving fissures behind. So did the highly anticipated Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, successfully forcing us to cheerlead our own "Rocky". Pitted against each other, two of DC Comics' best heroes face off in a battle of technology against superhero powers.  Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is a Warner Brothers production released in 2016, in the DC Comic Extended Universe.  The movie presents the birth of the Justice League, featuring the appearance of Wonder Woman. As usual, this battle is carefully choreographed by Superman’s arch-enemy, Lex Luthor, who continues his quest to destroy Superman.

Production and Direction Batman v Superman

As early as 2013, the creation and production of this movie were in discussion. Director Zach Synider worked with writers David S. Goyer and Chris Terrio to create a more aggressive Batman. Played by Ben Afflick, Batman fought Superman who is prepared to do everything to stop Zod, interpreted by Henry Cavil. Pre-production shooting got underway in Los Angeles in 2013. However, the main work started in 2014 in Detroit, with shooting extending to Illinois and New Mexico. The movie premiered in Mexico City, Mexico on March 19, 2016, before a worldwide release on March 25, 2016.  The movie made historic performances at first but, when critics began to land negative reviews, the movie's performance retracted. However, the box office was a success for Warner Brothers, grossing US$873 million.

Batman v Superman - Unfavorable Reviews

The main actors performed superbly well, with both characters showing a vivid display and an excellent action sequence. The story, however, was not to the liking of the fans, we have seen a division of fans extended to the critics, who evaluated the movie with a fanfare base, rather than theatrical standards. Nobody wants to see Superman defeated, not even by Batman.  And that has been the center of the negative criticism, even today at the time of this article, fans still ask ‘Why did Batman defeat Superman?’ ‘’ Watching it makes it clear that the people involved had no idea what they were doing, and should never have been put in charge of a project this size to begin with. The story makes no sense, and the whole reason Batman wants to kill Superman is contrived. Batman and Superman hate each other because they both cause collateral damage and human death, and neither one ever sees fit to point out their similarities, or try and talk to each other about their different perspectives. That would have been too interesting, so of course, Snyder didn't include it’’. Steven Beshel, Rotten Tomatoes “I'd like to start by saying that I’m a big Superman fan, and have been ever since the Christopher Reeve Superman films. So, watching Henry Cavill don the red cape made sense, he looks the part but Man of Steel fell a bit short for me, it wasn't bad but it wasn't great, just ok. It was a bit like having your bowl of porridge thrown against a submarine - It was necessary but left me confused, alone, and damp.’’ The movie should have had better success at the box office but having your lifelong hero beaten upon by a simple human, may not swell within your taste. Somehow, Zach Snyder overlooked this.     Read the full article

[thisaintascenereviews]

The Rise Of Zach Bryan (And What It Means For Country Music)

Zach Bryan is country music’s most surprising superstar this year; forget Oliver Anthony and his subpar working class “anthem” that also shames (overweight) poor folks on welfare, Zach Bryan really is the artist that should have been blowing up for the last few years, and I’m glad he finally did. As of writing this, “I Remember Everything” from his self-titled album, featuring Kacey Musgraves, is both of their first number one single, let alone debuting at one. At the time of this writing, the song got overblown by Doja Cat’s “Paint The Town Red,” and I can’t be upset by that, because it’s the first time that a hip-hop song has gotten to number one in the last year, but his self-titled is still number one. I’ve certainly contributed to it, as I’ve been listening to it constantly, but in all serious, Zach Bryan’s rise to fame is such an interesting one to me, because I never thought it would happen and this is (hopefully) going to lead to something very exciting within country music.

Zach Bryan is not the type of artist that Nashville would typically be pushing, but to understand why, we need to rewind time about a decade. The era of “bro-country” started in the early 2010s, thanks to artists like Florida Georgia Line, Luke Bryan, and the very much maligned Jason Aldean, who had a minor hit of his own earlier this year that I won’t mention, but these artists all had (and still do, at least the ones still around) the same kinds of ideas and sounds throughout their music — women, trucks, beer, and that’s it. Bro-country was not known for its intelligence, and country was the butt of jokes for many years afterwards. Hell, it wasn’t “cool” to like the genre, and every time you spoke about it, you almost had to “defend” yourself. A few outliers came up around the same time, bucking cliches and conventions, such as Kacey Musgraves and Chris Stapleton, but they were hard to find.

At the same time, there was a bubbling underground movement that was found in certain states and scenes, such as Kentucky and Texas, and people started to take note that country music was doing some interesting things away from the norm. History tends to repeat itself, as the 1970s saw a very similar thing happen when “outlaw country” was becoming popular, and Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, and Johnny Cash were defying country norms at the time by releasing gritty and raw albums, but the same thing is happening today. It might not be in the same sense, even though a few modern outlaw artists have gotten popular in the underground, but a lot of underground artists are finally getting their time in the spotlight. Just a few years ago, Zach Bryan and Tyler Childers were just underground artists that the mainstream didn’t know or care about, but now they’re huge.

Pop-country is still very much a thing, but it’s not as pop-leaning as it was just five years ago. It seems like both Nashville as a whole and the mainstream is embracing more traditional sounds and styles again, and Zach Bryan’s new album means that people are on board for a sparse, raw, and folk-infused country album that is very poetic and somber in tone. Maybe we’ll get more artists in this vein, whether it’s in the country scene or the mainstream. Country has had a great year, especially for the mainstream, and maybe it’ll continue, but even if it doesn’t, the country scene is alive and well, so I’m excited to see and hear what comes out next.

[mmorgmonster]

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Has a lot of popular Animes that you can watch.

[liturgusakrattorum]

runes story infodumping while i eat lunch :3 this ended up being a bit long so i’ll put this under a read more LOL

AtroCorp Biotechnologies is part medical company, part wildlife research startup. founded by Dr. Cassius Castellanos, the company's spent over 50 years finding ways to help humans by learning how animals have evolved to survive and incorporating it into their medical technology. Dr. Castellanos unfortunately passed away about a year ago, leaving his son, Corvus, to take up the reins.

during this year's international villains' convention, AtroCorp announced a partnership with Pave Nature, Inc. to build several new branches of its company. alongside that, both companies revealed a fantastic new technology AtroCorp had unearthed: Creature Power Runes. AtroCorp itself had been researching them for years beforehand, but they'd recently discovered the existence of several more beyond the few they already had.

Paisley, being this year's convention spokeswoman, introduced the Hunt — an international race among the villains to locate the remaining Runes. Whoever got their hands on one was free to use them however they wanted (they sell for incredibly high prices!). This obviously got the attention of Donita, Gourmand, and Zach, each for their own reasons.

Donita found that the Runes could be used for her new jewelry line, and the animalistic features that contact with one of them tended to create was the perfect way to accessorize her work. Gourmand believed the Runes could be refined into exquisite spices that he could sell at the next location he opens.

And Zach -- ever the robotic genius -- knew he could use the Runes to power his animal-based technology, should he find a way to tap into their full power. Plus, they were a hell of a lot easier to wrangle than live creatures.

Meanwhile, the Tortuga Crew (none the wiser to the Hunt that had been announced just a month or so before) have been doing their own research into the three Runes Aviva had found prior to putting the team together. At the time things kick off, the crew is in possession of the Arctic Wolf, Peregrine Falcon, and Cheetah Runes.

The crew gets roped into everything when Zach attempts to steal the Runes from them; Martin and Chris learn about the Hunt after stumbling upon Zach’s plans on his ship. The crew realizes. Hm! This could get ugly if the Runes end up in the wrong hands. And so they make it their goal to get their hands on whatever Runes they can before the villains do.

A majority of the story follows the crew as they travel around the world and do their thing (kinda similar to what we see in the canon show, except there’s that overarching plot of piecing together what’s happening in the background). Alongside doing their field work, Chris and Koki are working together to discover the origin of the Runes, although much of their research has turned up very little. The two of them have at least narrowed down their search to somewhere in the Western Hemisphere, but the exact location is still unknown.

Coincidentally, much of their progress comes from their run-ins with Pave Nature and AtroCorp. After discovering multiple excavation sites around the world, the crew learned that the two companies are looking for the same thing they are. (Also coincidentally, Aviva seems particularly uncomfortable every time the crew encounters AtroCorp...)

So far, Martin and Chris are the only ones who can use a Creature Power Suit. Aviva’s inventions are mostly compatible with the Runes, although there’s still a lot of malfunctions she needs to fix. The more the bros test em out, the better of an understanding she has of how Rune technology works. This actually ends up becoming the basis of the Creature Power Disks later :]

[chris-hartley]

Tell me about other choice based games, also have you ever played oxenfree?

Ooh boy. For starters, I saw this and went "oh god where do I start" so that's a warning for what lies ahead. PS: Have not played Oxenfree and don't know what it is but I will look it up.

This is a spoiler-free zone unless otherwise stated in the headings btw :)

I know you know about Until Dawn so I'm not gonna touch that. But that being said I have to mention the Dark Pictures Anthology since that wasn't listed in the post :D.

THE DARK PICTURES ANTHOLOGY

The Dark Pictures Anthology is another choice-based game created by Supermassive Games, which made Until Dawn. Where Until Dawn was 8 hours long, The Dark Pictures games are all much shorter, with Man of Medan and Little Hope around 4 hours, and House of Ashes being at 6.

Each one of the Dark Pictures games is based roughly on a real-life event. Man of Medan is the Ourang Medan ship, Little Hope is the Salem Witch Trials, and House of Ashes takes place during the Iraq War. And the upcoming game Devil in Me is rumored to be based on the murder hotel of HH Holmes. Of course, with each came the fabrication of the threat/monster.

The games themselves are hit or miss. Personally, I enjoyed House of Ashes the most out of the three, followed by Man of Medan, and then Little Hope (I hated the ending but won't spoil it). I think one of the reasons I did like HoA best, is because of the length, they were able to build the characters more and make you like them and wanna save them, which the other two I felt lacked in that department.

In the end, the way they set up the games was very similar to Until Dawn (and on the off chance someone is reading these and doesn't know), one of the big components of all choice-based games is that you can save or kill any number of the playable characters: Alex, Julia, Conrad, Fliss, and Brad in Man of Medan. Andrew, Taylor, Daniel, Angela, and John in Little Hope. And Eric, Rachel, Salim, Jason, and Nick in House of Ashes.

The one tie-through of those games is the recurring character The Curator (who fans flock to partially due to his dump truck ass). He warns you of what's to come in weird puzzle-like riddles, can flat out give you hints, and overall in my opinion seems like you're talking to The Grim Reaper or Death. In his office he has a bookshelf where there is a series of books with symbols on them to represent the four games (which I will have tattooed on me now!): a little ship for Man of Medan, a stick figure doll for Little Hope, an eclipse for House of Ashes, and a compass (although I keep wanting to call it a protractor) for Devil in Me.

Anyway! That's the Dark Pictures. On to the next one... one that hasn't even come out yet lol.

THE QUARRY

So this game is the next game slated to be released by Supermassive Games (on June 10th). It has been released that the game is a "spiritual successor" to Until Dan and like that game, follows a stellar star-studded cast featuring David Arquette as Chris Hackett, Justice Smith as Ryan, Ted Raimi as Travis, Brenda Song as Kaitlyn, Halston Sage as Emma, Skylar Gisando as Max Binly, Siobhan Williams as Laura, Ariel Winter as Abigail, Evan Evagora as Nick, Miles Robbins as Dylan, Zach Tinker as Jacob, Lance Henriksen as Jedediah, Ethan Suplee as Bobby, Lin Shaye as Constance, and last but not least Grace Zabriskie as Eliza.

The game is announced to be 10 hours long and the first 30 minutes (aka the prologue) have been released on IGN. The Quarry follows 9 summer camp counselors (Max, Laura, Ryan, Dylan, Nick, Abigail, Emma, Jacob, and Kaitlyn) on the last night of camp at Hackett's Quarry, and some spooky shit starts happening.

Also the character Eliza has been confirmed to be almost a Curator/Dr. Hil type of harbinger of things to come which is kinda cool.

From what I've seen of the teasers and stuff, my theory is that it's werewolves and possibly a situation of the campers being hunted by humans (think The Most Dangerous Game). But nothing is confirmed that's just what I think.

From what I've seen, I'm VERY excited for this game's release. 45 days so the hype is building!

HIDDEN AGENDA

Ah yes, the shortest choice based game. Created by Supermassive Games to show off a functionality of the PS4, which I don't think was used for any other game, lol.

The game follows Becky Marney (played by Katie Cassidy) as she investigates the claims that the guy they've had in custody/on death row for being The Trapper killer-- calling card boobytrapping the bodies of his victims to kill the first responders too-- claims he isn't the actual trapper but has been taking the fall for his friend Adam.

Throughout the very short 2 hour game, you play as Becky and Felicity Graves who are trying to figure out if the claims of the alleged Trapper are true. Once again it plays into the choice based to where both of the characters can die in an attempt to solve the murders.

It's a fun game! It's just built as a party game with the feature using your phones as the controller and the functionality to (when playing as a group) have Hidden Agenda's in order to get people to react one way or another to choices, although there is a single player mode where you don't have that but it's still on your phone.

Anyway you can watch my stream here!

Onto another developer! Quantic Dream (or David Cage). I remember watching one playthrough of Until Dawn and someone comparing it to Heavy Rain, which is next up.

HEAVY RAIN

Heavy Rain was (from what I know) the first game to follow through on the "your choices actually matter" as far as choice-based games go. It was released in 2010 and follows the story of Ethan Mars whose son has been kidnapped by the infamous Origami Killer that has been taunting the city for years. The calling card is that the kid goes missing in broad daylight and the father of the sons (it's always boys) receives a series of trials they must go through as a test to see if they're a good enough dad to save their son. Each trial succeeded gives Ethan a few entries into a really sucky Hangman game that when fully completed gives him the address of where his son is.

That being said, you also play as Madison, a reporter who is writing an article about the Origami Killer and accidentally falls in love with Ethan, Norman (or as I mimic his Boston accent, Nahman) Jayden who is an FBI agent sent to investigate this serial killer, and Scott Shelby who is a private investigator hired by the parents of the missing kids to help the police in their investigation.

Over the span of the game, you complete the trials as Ethan and investigate the crimes as Jayden and Shelby, ultimately finding out who the killer is and bringing them to justice.

And the best part? You can kill or save all of them in a number of ways (including Ethan's son who you never play as but still).

I played this game a few years ago and while the graphics have aged with time, it is still a fantastic game and if you haven't played it (or watched a stream) I recommend it. Here is my personal stream of the game if you wanna check it out.

DETROIT: BECOME HUMAN

In 2018, Quantic Dream released its most recent game, Detroit: Become Human, which much like Heavy Rain makes good on it's promise to create a game where your choices do really matter. And this time, the graphics are UNREAL. It's roughly 10 hours long and follows the city of Detroit, Michigan way in the future (I'd say nearly 80 years from now but I don't know the exact date). In this future, we have developed a humanoid Android robot to do pretty much every job for us that we don't want to/can't do for ourselves.

The game follows 3 story lines where you're playing as the androids Kara (played by Valorie Curry), Marcus (played by Jesse Williams), and Connor (played by Bryan Dechart). Connor is a police assistant android whose mission is to help figure out why androids are slowly becoming sentient ("deviant") and exhibiting human-like traits like having emotions. Marcus, who has become deviant and with a group of others, begins to lead a resistance to show humans that they just want to be treated as equals (noted: your resistance can be peaceful or riot-like depending on your choices). And Kara starts off as a nanny/maid for a family but rescues the little girl from her abusive father and runs away in search of a better life for both of them.

Their stories start off separate but soon overlap with Kara ending up seeking help from Marcus, and Connor hunting down the shelter of deviant androids who are apart of the resistance. And like all the others, you can kill or save all three of the main characters along with the non-playable side ones (North, Simon, Josh, and Luther).

Once again. 10/10 game. My stream is linked here.

BEYOND: TWO SOULS (spoilers)

Another game by Quantic Dream, Beyond: Two Souls is different. Where as the other games give opportunities for the characters to die throughout the game and alter how it ends that way, Beyond has a pretty strict choice based nature.

The plot is you follow Jodie (played by Elliot Page) as she grows up and learns to make sense/become friends with the entity she was born linked to. She starts off as a child who is undergoing tests led by Nathan Dawkins (played by Willem Dafoe), eventually gets recruited by the CIA, and falls in love. The whole time you're playing as Jodie and her entity Aiden (pronounced eye-den not like how you'd normally say aye-den).

Eventually the game builds up as Jodie begins to learn where Aiden came from and why they are bonded and it ends with a big choice.

Either die and join Aiden in the afterlife, or live and have her ties to Aiden be severed. If you choose to live you also have the choice of being able to be in the established romantic relationship with CIA agent Ryan (played by Eric Winter).

Not gonna lie the first time I played the game I had to sit and stare at the screen after it ended cause it hit differently personally for me (as someone who also lost a twin prior to birth-- like Jodie with Aiden). But it was still fantastic nonetheless.

LIFE IS STRANGE (spoilers)

2015 was a good year for games. Because it gave us Until Dawn, and Life is Strange. LiS is the first game of a series created by Dontnod and Square Enix. It follows protagonist Max Caulfield as she discovers she has the ability to rewind time because she witnesses her best friend Chloe Price get shot at the hands of Nathan Prescott (the entitled rich kid).

She rewinds and manages to save Chloe, but her choice creates a ripple in time as she begins to see visions of the town of Arcadia Bay destroyed in a huge tornado.

The game goes on and on as you (along with Chloe) investigate the mysterious disappearance and eventual discovery of the murder of Chloe's "friend" (*cough* girlfriend) Rachel Amber.

But as you continue playing, you keep having to use Max's rewind powers in order to save Chloe's ass more than once and that leads to the dramatic choice at the end of the game: Sacrifice Arcadia Bay (and everyone living in it) to save Chloe, or Sacrifice Chloe to save the Bay-- also called Bay or Bae due to an option to be romantically involved with Chloe throughout the game.

Personally I think that ending is amazing because it really says a lot about what people value as they choose which one to save. It's a phenomenon known at the Trolley Problem and honestly so interesting. It's one of the reasons I love watching people play it for the first time/discussing the choice with others.

LIFE IS STRANGE: BEFORE THE STORM

Ah yes, Before the Storm, which was an interesting addition to the LiS universe. It's a prequel to the original game where you instead play as Chloe Price in the year prior to Rachel's disappearance while she is also dealing with the grieving of her father's death and mother's eventual remarriage with the security guard David Madsen.

Where as the main LiS game is split into 5 episodes, this game is only 3 (with an optional 4th as part of the deluxe edition). And in the original 3, you basically get a glimpse into Chloe and Rachel's friendship/relationship if you choose that path.

You witness Rachel's parental issues and the drama that comes with that, an accidental wildfire, you get to participate in Blackwell's production of The Tempest, and play DnD with Chloe's friends Steph and Mikey.

As for episode 4 (titled "Farewell"), you get to see the day that everything goes wrong for Chloe. Max announces her family is moving to Seattle on the same day that her dad dies in a horrific car crash. This episode made me BAWL my eyes out, mainly due to the fact it ends with Max leaving Chloe a tape in which she promises to keep in touch with her after she's gone, and in my playthrough of the main game, I chose Bay and therefore they never see one another again after she leaves.

Overall, the game is a great addition to the series. And it really gives a glimpse into Rachel Amber's personality and why exactly her and Chloe were so close. You can watch my stream here.

LIFE IS STRANGE 2

Not gonna lie this game is heavy, topic wise. The story follows brothers Sean and Daniel Diaz who are on the run from police after an incident of police brutality that left their dad dead (which resulted in Daniel discovering he has telekinesis powers and accidentally killed the cop who killed his dad.)

The two of them, now wanted criminals, start hitchhiking down the west coast of America heading for Mexico where their dad's family lives. Along the way they run into a LOT of trouble. They work on a pot farm, accidentally have a run-in with a religious cult, and reconnect with their mother who'd abandoned them years prior and stay with her in her desert commune.

One thing I really liked about this game is while it exists in it's own space, there are callbacks to the original LiS game (being able to see Arcadia Bay in either ruins or thriving, and getting to interact with David Madsen on the commune with different interactions based on the ending of main game). Also I felt it delivered more on the choices mattering. Where as I felt LiS's didn't matter aside from the ending one, this game mattered a lot more and had several endings.

Throughout the game you're playing as Sean (the older brother) and depending on how you choose to essentially raise Daniel while on your journey, the game can end in a number of ways which I really liked. Even if the looming topic was very heavy.

LIFE IS STRANGE: TRUE COLORS

The last one! Woo! If you've read this far consider me giving you a pat on the back cause good god did I write a lot about these.

True Colors follows the story of Alex Chen, a young girl who moves to Haven Springs, Colorado to live with her brother Gabe whom she hasn't seen in several years to being separated in the foster care system.

Everything seems too good to be true, and it is. After a shady event in the mountains of Haven, Gabe ends up dead in a horrific matter (not a spoiler it's in the trailer) and now Alex is in a new place with a load of strangers as she attempts to figure out how to navigate the loss of her brother.

And it wouldn't be a LiS game without a superpower, though Alex's is a little less farfetched. She's an empath, who can sense people's emotions and if they are too strong, can become overwhelmed with them.

You go through the story, learning all about Haven's (shady) past as you search for exactly why Gabe died. You become friends with the locals, and possibly even have a romantic relationship with either the rugged (and handsome) park ranger, Ryan Lucan, or the town's local nerd and radio DJ Steph (who is the same Steph that is friends with Chloe in Before the Storm-- a great call back!).

The game also had an option to have a DLC (called "Wavelengths") in which you are playing as Steph along her journey and transition from living in Arcadia Bay to living in Haven Springs and you get to actually be a radio DJ which was my fav part. It also confronts her dealing with the fallout of the events of the main game and how she processes it.

That's all about the games I have played!

THE OTHERS

So I may have a lot of experience in these games, but there are still some I know that exist that I have not played yet. Those being Twin Mirror (created by Dontnod), The Walking Dead series, and I guess now Oxenfree -- I assume it's one as well. I do own Twin Mirror but haven't played yet, and the other's are on my to-buy list!

Thanks for reading!

Sorry I go on about this! This is just scratching the surface.

[multi-level-shipper]

About Poppy Playtime. (5-9-22)

TL; DR before we start; MOBGames is continuing to say horrendous and blatantly false shit (detailed below), and therefore I won't be purchasing any more Chapters, or other related content and merch. I encourage others to do the same.

Zach and Seth Belanger

Circa 2018, Zach Belanger (CEO of MOBGames) had been verbally picking apart Ekrcoaster's animations in the MOBGames discord server, and Animation Sins (run by MOBGames) was continuing to feature his videos on their channel when he had specifically asked them to stop. YouTuber theft king went in and confirmed with discord user Faint Turnip (who still had Zach on their friends list) that these statements are legitimate [Timestamp: 1:00.] The insults directed towards Ekrcoaster included these lovely gems:

So Zach was saying spiteful, vitriolic shit to a kid that had come to work for him. Charming.

There's more.

Zach posted an official apology statement to the Poppy Playtime Discord on May 3rd. 

They started the NFT’s because everyone else was doing it. They did rectify the situation appropriately, but their initial judgement was downright idiotic.

“Ethan (Ekrcoaster) was rightfully upset, and told his fans that Animation Sins (run by MOBGames) was bullying him.” You were. You were bullying him. 

What future endeavors? He isn’t involved in the animation community he started in anymore because of you.

Meanwhile, Seth Belanger (CCO) made a similar statement on May 4th addressing additional controversies surrounding MOBGames.

"That character is not portrayed to be a minor in our videos or in the FNAF games themselves."

SHE IS A CHILD IN THE GAMES. THIS IS BLATANTLY FALSE.

Furthermore, you didn't change anything about her design in your videos that "made her an adult." You gave her double D’s and called it good. Don’t feed your fans these fucking bullshit claims. It's so insulting.

Seth also cites the “online negativity surrounding our past” as the reason their employee’s morale is being hurt. So instead of taking the accusations seriously, you’re going to blame it on people who are calling you out? I suppose I shouldn’t expect anything better, given your previous statement. 

Closing thoughts;

I love the game itself, (almost everything about it,) and the other hardworking people involved. But the way everything has been swept under the rug, ESPECIALLY with the release of Chapter 2, is atrocious.

I'm so tired of this.

[midnightstar-90]

Hidden~ Eddie Diaz x Nash! Reader

A/N: I am starting a taglist. If you want to join let me know. Also, I know the ending to the last part was strange, but I'm setting something up. Just... You'll see...

The Accident

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

5 Minutes Before The Crash

Eddie's POV

I was very confused about how I feel. I just met a girl that I might like, but I'm trying to fix what I had with Shannon. I had to talk to someone. That someone ended up being Buck. "I'm just so conflicted. I want to be with Shannon, but I felt something when I talked with Y/N. I mean, Shannon is Christopher's mother, but Y/N and Chris clicked right when they say each other," I told Buck while restocking the truck. "You got all that from watching a girl walk your son to class?" Buck asked, giving me a confused look through the truck window. "Your one to talk. You still stay in your "girlfriend's" apartment, even though she has been in another country for 2 months," I say back. "You asked for my opinion, so don't catch an attitude. Also, Abbie will be back," Buck argues.

I just look at him and raise my hands, showing him I'm surrendering. We finish restocking the Firetruck and head upstairs. We sit down in the lounge. "But, if you want my opinion. I think you should get to know this girl. Don't ruin your relationship with Shannon over a girl you hardly know. Even though she is Christopher's teacher, she may not be all you thought her to be. I mean, you did get this feeling from her picking up Chris from the office." For once since I've been here, Buck gives good advice. "Thanks, man," I thank Buck. The bell rings, and we both groan and roll our eyes.

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Bobby's POV

'She's here. I know it could be anyone, but I have a feeling. I don't think she would forgive me. Even before the fire, I didn't give Y/N the attention she deserved. Maybe it was best I stayed away. She could have been one of the victims of my stupidity. I think I should find her and explain.'

The same things have been going through my head ever since I heard Buck and Eddie talk. How do you tell your family that you have a secret daughter? The bell rings, making me leave my thoughts here for the sake of the victim.

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Flashback to 2000

Narrator's POV

Bobby and a 7-year-old Y/N sit in a cafe in Minnesota. Bobby ordered a coffee and a danish, and Y/N ordered a hot chocolate and a cookie. Times like this made Y/N happy. She had alone time with her father, and he wasn't working. "Daddy, where were you last weekend?" Y/N asked her father with a slightly sad tone. "Well, I had to work. You know my job can get busy." Bobby didn't know how to tell his daughter that he found someone.

It had been 2 months since Marcy and Bobby started dating. Bobby didn't know how to tell his daughter that there is someone else, but he did know that he would have to tell her someday. Today was the perfect day.

Bobby decided to lay the information on his daughter calmly. "Honey," Bobby started getting the attention of his daughter, "Do you remember when I was talking to the lady that had a niece on your soccer team? Well, she and I talked, and we went on a couple of dates." Y/N's face lit up. She instantly went into excited mode.

"How did they go? You have to tell me everything," she was basically jumping in her seat when she realized, "Wait, that was 2 months ago. Why am I just hearing about this now?" Bobby chuckled at his daughter's playful antics. "Well, I had to make sure she was awesome for my beautiful princess." Y/N giggled while drinking her hot chocolate.

Y/N accepted that she couldn't be the only person in her father's life to make him happy. What she didn't know is that, when his second child was born, she wouldn't get the same attention. It only got worse.

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The 118 exits the truck, seeing the 3 car collision.  The crash was in the middle of an intersection. The cars were in a 'T' position. Athena Grant meets with the fire captain to give him the rundown of the issue. "Car one is the cause of the crash. Car one crashes into car two, causing car two to push into car three. Cars one and two have one driver each. Car two with light head injuries, but car three has a woman and child about the age of four, both unresponsive."

Hearing the information, Bobby sends Buck and Chimney to check on cars one and two. Eddie, Bobby, and Hen head toward car 3. Eddie makes it over and sees Y/N. Eddie calls out Y/N's name, worried.

Bobby curiously looks into the car and sees the girl. She looks just like the girl he left in Minnesota but grown-up. He looks in the back and sees a little boy with some of the woman's features. 'I have a grandson?' Bobby thought to himself.

Eddie calls out to Y/N again. Y/N slowly opens her eyes. "Eddie... my son... Zach... help him... first," Y/N tells the firefighter with a raspy voice. "I'll get the boy. You get the woman"

Buck and Chimney make their way over. Eddie tries to open the door, but it doesn't budge.  "The door won't open. Will the back open?" Eddie asks. Buck goes over to the other side of the car and opens the door.

Bobby gets the boy out and passes him to Chimney to get checked out. Buck and Eddie try and get Y/N out from the back. Hen checks Y/N out. "Miss, can you hear me," Hen says checking Y/N's pupils. Y/N responds with a groan and a slight nod.

While Hen and Chimney check out the mother and son, Eddie sees something. Y/N's phone lights up with a missed call from 'Mom'. Behind the notification, Eddie sees a picture of Y/N and a man posing in their Navy uniforms. So far, Eddie got the impression that he and Y/N had a very similar background.

Y/N and Zachary were both put into the ambulance. Athena walks over to Bobby. "What's wrong? It looks like you've seen a ghost," Athena asks with a chuckle. Bobby keeps a very serious look and says, "I did. That was my daughter." Athena looks at Bobby with a serious/confused face and asks, "What?!"

Tagist: @jjpogueprincess @notanordinaryprincess95 @wiypt-writes

[imbellarosa]

Let’s Talk Calm-ly about Two Loves

OR: When you’re a grown man who writes stories for a living, you definitely wrote your own weird bedtime story, too. 

The TLDR here is that H has taken one specific listener around the globe, notably to Tokyo and Jamaica. He quotes an old Victorian Poet who was an awful human but who’s lasting legacy is the phrase “a love that dare not speak its name” which is - you guessed it - a reference to queer love. He also is super excited to spend what seems like the foreseeable future with this listener and has bought a little house with a garden of daisies with them and it’s very sweet and domestic. Anyways this is a wild time and it’s all under a cut because it’s...really a lot. 

Anyways I think the people I owe thank yous this times around to are @queenlokibeth​ who had to listen to me scream about this for a while, Astrid, who screamed with me when this came out, and “M” who convinced me to finally get to work in this fandom. And, of course, all of the lovely people tagged below who’s work I used to build my argument. 

1.) Who Wrote “Dream With Me”? 

Well, not H, or so the story goes. Two other people (Steve Cleverly and Sanj Sen) did! I mean, right, okay, for a while I was like...that seems like an odd choice for a man who didn’t want to hand Two Ghosts over to his own band because it seemed too personal. He wrote on every song in both albums’ he’s released thus far, because he seems to be passionate about telling the stories he wants to tell (even if he won’t tell you explicitly what they’re about). But for a while, I was totally going with the flow there, and the rest of this analysis would still stand: the writer of this story definitely referenced a poem by Lord Alfred Douglas and Harry’s own songs. 

However, I then read this fun quote from the Co-founder and CEO of Calm: 

“Well,” he said, “The the Harry Styles one is interesting because that came purely from Harry Styles himself...we took the approach of creating a sort of musical epic poem – he doesn’t sing, it’s spoken with poetry, but there’s a sort of musical sound bed to it and it’s pulling on things and themes that Harry’s fans really adore about him and associate with him. So his story was driven really by him – we really created a concept around him.” 

-  Chris Advansun, July 7th, 2020 via @hlupdate​

And I thought, hmmm. This does not sound like a project that he was not involved in creating. From this point on (July, 7th 2020), I began to think of it as a three way co-collaboration between him and the other two authors. But this confused me a bit, because there was largely a nonreaction from the fandom. I was waiting for an actual transcript, because I always fall asleep to these meditation stories, but it was being referenced to as some sort of Y/N fic, which was...honestly not what I expected, but also not implausible, thanks to the ~lovely~ image this man has had since the age of sixteen. But also, twitter seemed to be concerned by other things at the moment, and no one was analyzing the story. . 

In fact, I messaged a friend the day that this story dropped, because it had been kind of a shit show day on Twitter. Rumors were sort of flying about everyone and everything: had Liam shaved his head? Was he engaged? Had he and Maya broken up? Were Zayn and Gigi engaged? Had they broken up? Did Niall have a girlfriend? (this one was true lol). Were Elounor engaged? Were they pregnant? Had they broken up??? My personal fav was the bald Liam rumor, which he promptly put to rest in LP Act 1 by...having a huge mane of hair. 

So then I thought - huh. Why has today looked like this? I’m not saying that there aren’t days that twitter goes wild because of boredom, because there definitely is - the articles about secret meetings in Italy that are coming out this week (8/12/2020) are proof positive. So that definitely does happen, but it doesn’t usually happen on the days that there’s a lot of content. And maybe I’ve just been starved for content in this fandom, but I would consider a 40 minute video quite a bit of content. 

Then the transcript dropped. I’m using two as references - this one on Wattpad and also @carl-and-pearl ‘s version here (thank you so much for the transcript!!). We’re going to get into a more detailed description of what’s going on in the story, but the first thing I recognized immediately is that it was first person POV. I knew that going in, based on the number of Y/N jokes going around on twitter. Then I read it aloud, and I realized that it read like a letter. Like an experience specific to the writer and the reader. And while that’s not super uncommon to write about an experience from the author’s POV - I listen to a podcast called Nothing Much Happens: bedtime stories for adults which has a similar concept - I thought it was odd that they were trying to include both the author and the listener. I completely understood why the y/n jokes were pertinent. But at the same time, it felt like something had snagged in my mind - like a particularly annoying splinter. 

The conversations I was having around this story - completely based on the content, concept, and my own instinct - was that this story contained specific references to one person. I thought that it did read like a love letter, and that most identifying features would have been taken out, but the essence remained. Which, once I thought about it, was something that H excelled at doing. Think about Sunflower Vol 6 and Adore You and Canyon Moon and even Watermelon Sugar and Golden.  Ask yourself, What do I know about the person they are about? They have skin that browns, they have a secret, they have mesmerizing eyes, they’re willing to dance in the kitchen with him (to dancehall), they have a belly, they’ve been through hard times, they’re witty, they have an accent, and they have lips. I know - super specific right?

So the splinter grew into a thorn - what was I missing? And then - when I was looking for something completely different - I stumbled upon this old interview Harry did with Zach Sang and the Gang Show back in 2017.  For context, he was being asked about Sweet Creature. As you can imagine, it’s hard for people to believe he wrote such a beautiful love song when he hadn’t ever really had a long term relationship (two hearts in one home?? Who did you move in with, you can imagine them asking. When did you have time?). So what did he have to say about this?

"In my opinion,” he explained, “I think most songs are written for one listener. Maybe there's one thing in there that only they'll notice about them.... It's so much easier to say something in a song than it is to say it to someone and I think it's really amazing to be able to communicate through that and be able to wrap up everything that you want to say in three and a half minutes and say it in a song."

- HS, May 3 2017

By this time, please believe that I was screeching. Seeing this felt like he put into words the exact feeling I had about “Dream With Me”. It felt like a nod to someone that I didn’t know, which made the story hard to listen to, tbh. Although, I will say that when I did finally listen to it, it knocked me out and gave me odd dreams so. Once was enough for me haha! 

So my new operating theory is exactly what Advansun said: I think that H was the primary writer/the driving force behind the story. Because of the references I’m about to run through, because it feels like the way he tells stories, and because they admitted to him being more involved than they originally claimed. That’s going to be how I write the rest of the analysis - under the impression that H had a direct hand in the story that was being put forth. However, I think that the analysis itself would stand whether or not he wrote any of it. It would just be a more tenuous reflection of him than I believe it to be. 

2.) How Do I Love Thee? In Two Ways. 

Before I jump into the story, let’s talk a little about the poem that I want to compare it to: Two Loves, by Lord Alfred Douglas.  Let’s be clear this is not at all a defense of who Bosie was - he was a terrible person, particularly in his later years, when he’d converted to Catholicism and turned his back on his younger self, and his partner, Oscar Wilde. He was violently anti-Semitic, and turned his back on his own community. I want to get this out of the way because I very much believe that we should examine artists for who they are. That is, after all, what I am trying to do here. 

But his poem Two Loves has often been used - much to his disappointment, I’m sure - as an exploration of queer love in Victorian times. A line that I will be exploring more deeply in a second was in fact used against Oscar Wilde in his trail for indecency . He attempted - unsuccessfully - to explain it away, but it was too blatantly about their relationship for even the British Victorian society to ignore. I really, really recommend a read of this poem, because it is - despite it’s author - a good piece of work, which explores the themes of shame and love and longing between two men in that time. 

I’m going to start with my own background, as someone who’s analyzed fandoms before. I first came across this poem in the Sherlock fandom, with this analysis by @the-7-percent-solution​, when I was running in that fandom, and she explains the poem brilliantly in just a few lines. I’m going to take a little longer to run through it, but if you want a concise explanation and a brilliant meta, I encourage you to run to their blog and check it out. That fandom taught me most everything I know about catching symbols and recurring themes and “clueing for looks” and I love it desperately, still. 

But we’re here to talk about this fandom, so on with the poem! Essentially, the poem outlines a dream the speaker had: In his dream, he’s standing in a field with flowers - beautiful ones of all kind - and he meets this young man with clear blue eyes and bright red lips and they kiss a bit and have a picnic, and it’s all lovely. If you think I’m kidding, I’m really not. Please, read it for yourself. 

Anyways, after they did they did the whole picnic thing, the speaker and his date go on a walk in this field, where they come across two figures. The first is described as, 

“...fair and blooming, and a sweet refrain Came from his lips; he sang of pretty maids And joyous love of comely girl and boy, His eyes were bright, and 'mid the dancing blades Of golden grass his feet did trip for joy; And in his hand he held an ivory lute With strings of gold that were as maidens' hair, And sang with voice as tuneful as a flute, And round his neck three chains of roses were.” 

- Two Loves, 1894

The speaker, however, was drawn to the second figure: 

“He was full sad and sweet, and his large eyes Were strange with wondrous brightness, staring wide With gazing; and he sighed with many sighs That moved me, and his cheeks were wan and white Like pallid lilies, and his lips were red Like poppies, and his hands he clenched tight, And yet again unclenched, and his head Was wreathed with moon-flowers pale as lips of death. A purple robe he wore, o'erwrought in gold With the device of a great snake, whose breath Was fiery flame..”

- Two Loves, 1984

Of course, the speaker immediately asks the second man who he is. The second man says, “My name is Love”. The first man corrects him quickly: 

“ He lieth, for his name is Shame, But I am Love, and I was wont to be Alone in this fair garden, till he came Unasked by night; I am true Love, I fill The hearts of boy and girl with mutual flame.”

-Two Loves, 1984

The second man sighs and acquiesces, “Have thy will. I am the love that dare not speak its name.” 

It was, of course, this last line that really gave the meaning of the poem away. It was the line that was put to Oscar Wilde as proof of a romantic relationship, it was the line that went down in history as a way to refer to queer love, and it was the line that first stuck out to me when I was reading “Dream With Me”. 

The reading here is clearly that “Love” is the love that is acceptable to society - easy, sweet, and cherished. “Shame” is the love that happens in secret - beautiful, alluring to the speaker, passionate, anxious ( as can be seen in the clenching and unclenching of his hands), and proud. He refuses to call himself as anything but what he is. The first man may call him Shame, but he refuses the name, and instead, offers a qualifier to his own descriptor. He is still love, he is just the love that can’t be spoken about. 

3.) Walking in Golden Fields of Sunflowers

Now let’s talk about “Dream With Me”. I’m ignoring the first few stanzas (from the line “Have you ever wondered” to “What the two of us can find”.) because those are pretty standard introductory paragraphs to a guided meditation. So we start with the line “Let’s travel now to moonlit valleys...”. 

I’m going to do the same thing I did with “Two Loves” first. I am going to describe literally, in general terms, what happens in the story. Warning, I change pronouns from “they” to “you” because the whole thing confuses me, but note that I’m always talking about the speaker and the listener: 

So after doing the standard intro, the speaker and the listener take a walk through the woods enjoying nature, particularly the grass, the trees, and the blue sky above. You’re already clearly in love. Then you’re magically on a raft, with cherry blossoms all around you. If you want a good visual for that, here’s a site that has pictures from a boat rental in Tokyo where you can snuggle on a raft in the  Chidorigafuchi moat. And then suddenly it starts raining, and they (you) watch the rain for a hot second, and then the scene magically shifts again, and you’re under a porch (although I guess it could be the boat rental’s porch. They do usually have covered areas). 

Kind of furthering that theory, they then lounge by the shoreline, skipping stones and hanging out, looking at the snow capped mountains. In case you’re curious, because at this point I sure was, you can see mountains from certain areas in the city of Tokyo. 

Anyways, then it’s snowing, and you’re magically in a cabin, just chilling by the fire, and you fall asleep again. You wake up somewhere else.

Where are you now? Well, you’re on a tropical island filled with palm trees. As an American, my mind immediately jumps to the Caribbean, but I suppose it could absolutely be in the Mediterranean as well. The island has white beaches, mangroves, a turquoise ocean, and a gorgeous, peaceful atmosphere. 

If you’re curious as to what a mangrove looks like - and I certainly was - they are a group of trees and shrubs that live in the coastal intertidal zone and Jamaica is doing a massive restoration project involving primary school children to regrow this vital part of their ecosystem. More interestingly, there currently exist no mangrove forests in the Mediterranean, so my initial feeling that this scene would take place in the Caribbean was correct. On that note - again, because I was curious - Jamaica has gorgeous white sand beaches with turquoise oceans. 

But I’ve gone off topic again! After you’re minds are “in tune” once more (trying to find a heartbeat, anyone?), you reappear in a meadow, with beautiful flowers of all kind, where you are now walking hand in hand through a field of sunflowers, which give the feeling a “warm and golden hue”. Then you come across a little farmhouse with daisies poking out (clearly I have no way of locating this anywhere in the world, but I assume that the UK has both sunflowers and daisies). It’s an empty house which was loved and left because of the passage of time, which inspires my favorite line in the poem: “ The thought of passing time inspires/A feeling that grows stronger”. It’s just...really sweet to me. 

So, of course, they do what anyone would do when they come across an empty farmhouse, they go inside. And there, they begin to fall asleep, reflecting on all they have just seen, referencing other scenes of the poem: “ Moonlit valleys, Burdened forests, Gazing at the ocean. Summer meadows, Tranquil sunsets steeped in emotion”. 

The next few stanzas are just going to be copy-pasted, and then I’ll go into them a bit, but this is the end of the poem, so they’re the final reflections;

“The tenderness we feel When we are close Two minds as one Surrounds us and connects us But we’ve only just begun.

For now we dream together Of all there is to follow. And know that sleep will keep us safe From now until tomorrow.

Maybe all the memories That we’ve gathered here tonight Are all dreams now remembered Or wishes in plain sight.

No matter what They’re with us now. For this night and forever. And every time we close our eyes They’re yours and mine to treasure.” 

- HS, Dream With Me, via @carl-and-pearl​

And that’s it! The literal story, in short, is that you started in a forest, then went to Tokyo (maybe) and then Jamaica (perhaps) and then back to a field of sunflowers and daisies in the UK (which is also a guess, it could be Italy or France or Idaho for all I know, but let’s call it an educated guess). 

4.) My Dream Journal

So now that we know what happens in the story, how do we interpret this? Well, There are a few lines in the poem that I want to draw your attention to: the first takes place in the first part of this story, when you’re still in the forest. This is, I must say, the most direct reference to Two Loves in the whole poem/song/story. Both works are describing a walk in the woods with your loved one, and, in a fun reference in the middle of the story, Dream With Me says

The shimmering reflection Shows us smiling from above. But what we think But dare not speak is L-O-V-E love.

-Dream With Me, 2020

Remember that line I mentioned before? I am the love that dare not speak its name. Right, so that’s almost a direct quote. It also has a really fun nod to “I Would” (Would he say he’s in L-O-V-E?/Well if it was me then I would), but I digress. 

This first part of the narrative, I feel, really sets up what the rest of it will look and feel like, in the same way that “Golden” sets the tone for Fine Line. (You didn’t think I was going to make a post about Harry and NOT mention Golden, did you?? If you did, I’m disappointed!!). So  let’s take a look at what’s happening, and the language he’s using to describe it. 

One of the best things about this poem is how vivid it feels. Of course, I’m about to argue that it’s vivid because it was based in reality, but let’s talk about the sheer amount of detail he uses to describe the place he’s walking through. The valley (canyon lmao) is moonlit, the grass and the leaves make mosaics of green, you’re walking by the heather (the symbolism of heather is good luck, admiration, and protection), the sepia sunlight breaks through the trees. 

You know what it kind of sounds like? Sweet Creature. You’re about to roll your eyes at me! I can feel it! But listen, okay?  

“Sweet creature Running through the garden Oh, where nothing bothered us But we're still young I always think about you and how we don't speak enough”

Which, to be honest, sounds like what they’re doing. They’re walking through the garden in the sun, not daring to speak about the Love that he (they both) feel, and instead refering to it in veiled Victorian terms. 

And then we head to Tokyo! I know that you’re about to ask me why I think it’s Tokyo versus...idk, anywhere else? Well, for one, he went to Tokyo (to let it go) publicly in 2019. He was there for a few months, and there are some great pictures of that time: 

Look! Here he is with his club owner friend and his dog, and a fun red bandanna! But let’s be honest, the dog really steals the show here. But wait! there’s more! More dog content, too!

This was on Jan 31st, 2019, and he’s taking the dog for a walk! Very cute! If nothing else, he spent a lot of time with dogs in Tokyo! And the city fits the description of the story. So I feel rather comfortable with my interpretation that this first date is a memory of this trip - or another - to Tokyo. 

So what did “you both”do in Tokyo? Well, chill on a raft while the cherry blossoms flutter around you, clearly. You also refocused your purpose. What did he do in Tokyo in 2019? Well, he took time to think about and write songs for the album he was about to go record. Kind of like refocusing on what’s next, right? And then, in the story when “you both” had time to think amongst the lake and the water and the rain and the moon, and you’d come to the conclusions you needed to, you left. What did he do when he did the things he needed to? Well, he left, too. 

And where did he go? Well, in real life, I suppose he went to do his job. But, in the story, you’re meant to be falling deeper and deeper into sleep, so it’s sort of like traveling backwards, you see? Like counting down to one. So you end up on this island with turquoise ocean and mangrove forests. I’m calling this Jamaica. Why? Well, the description fits, for one, down to the four types of mangroves that exists within its ecosystem. 

And - probably the biggest reason - I can place him there, too. Here’s him in 2017:

I added this picture because the water around him....looks rather turquoise, doesn’t it? Kind of like he’s enjoying his time on a tropical island by the beach?? Oh, and here’s another one!: 

The red bandanna makes a comeback! 

So what are you doing in Jamaica, according to the story? Well, you’re hanging out, basically. Enjoying the beach and each other, of course!  What else? To be exact, “[Your] thoughts dovetail and unify/ In tune two minds together”. I’m so glad that you’re tuned like an old guitar now! Congrats! Really happy for you! 

What was he doing in Jamaica three years ago? Why, he was recording his first album, or so the story goes. I’ll tell you something: finding press for that album was literally the most difficult part of this whole analysis. I got a fair bit of the tattoo roulette with Kendall Jenner, and some things about Carolina, but the interview with Zach Sang took me like an hour and a half to find again to link. The fact that a lot of it has been buried is...not great, for posterity purposes. He’s going to want that one day. 

But I’ve gotten off track again! We gotta go back and finish our story, right? What happens now? Well, this does: 

hahahaha okay, I’m really sorry, but I had to. I’m not, actually, making it up though! According to the story: 

“ As minutes turn to hours We drift off somewhere new. And visualize a stairway To a door we now walk through”

- Dream With Me, 2020

So maybe Louis was just...demonstrating for you. 

Anyways! Where do you walk out to? A golden field full of sunflowers. You walk for a minute, then come across an old house with daisies popping up out of the garden. And that’s where the story ends. I guess you’ve made that farmhouse feel like home. 

Now to the little reflection he does on the outro. The lines I want to bring your attention are: “The tenderness we feel when we are close two minds as one surrounds us and connects us but we’ve only just begun” and “Maybe all the memories that we’ve gathered here tonight are all dreams now remembered or wishes in plain sight.”

Let’s talk about the first sentence first. In the context of finding a home that could be a shared home, and a future, this is very much an “end of the story, beginning of our lives” sort of thing. You’re back from all over, and it’s time to settle down, and see what’s next. 

And now the second sentence. I think this is the one that really drives my point about this story being a collection of memories he has - that’s what he calls it. The story is “gathered memories” that might also be called “remembered dreams” (think of how people say of vacations, “oh it was a dream!”) or you might call it “wishes in plain sight”. This feels in line with the rest of the story. In this stanza, he’s sort of letting you in a bit. If I’ve read this right - and I really think that I have - he’s giving the larger context for the story. It’s a collection of memories he’s had with someone he loves. 

5.) Cool! Can you prove it? 

I mean, I’d argue that if you read this far, I have proved it, but let’s make some more links, shall we? This was called a “muscial epic” that was “driven by him”. I’d argue that if I know my Victorian literature (thank you, Sherlock!), then he definitely does. Then there’s the fact that he quoted it, so. That did happen. And he knows what it means. And even if he didn’t, there were two other people on the story. Someone was more than capable of catching that one, and the fact that they didn’t speaks to intent. They want you to think of that phrase when you read this poem. They want you to think of that walk in the woods while you’re going on this one. 

And, as for my assumption that this is for and about one person, well. Think about it. He said that he writes his songs for a single listener. I’m not saying it’s the same listener each time, let’s get that right, but it is always just for one person. With that, and with the assumption that he’s been involved in the writing of this story, I’d say that the same rule applies. He went with someone to Japan and Jamaica (J^2 haha). And, if I had to guess, it was the same person. 

Why, you ask? Well, for one, if that weren’t the case, then this poem would no longer be for one listener, it would be for multiple. And, for another, imagine how awkward it would be to listen to it with his current partner and have to explain “oh, yeah that was the super romantic vacation I took with someone else” . And, I suppose that because I think that attitude of “refocusing” and “dovetailing” and “tuning” and getting excited about imagining all of the tomorrows with your partner speaks to a long term relationship breathing easily, you know? 

I’m also going to argue that describing the aura around the house as “golden” was intentional, especially when paired with the location - in the middle of a field of sunflowers. Those are both direct references to his songs. And those two songs are particularly linked by the number 28. The third song that features 28 is Fine Line the song, but that’s a different story. Anywho! “Golden”’s bridge just repeats the word ‘golden’ twenty eight times (if you go here , you can count the bridge) and “Sunflower Vol. 6″ ends the song with 28 “boops” (believe me, I wish I was making this up. I’m not.). So then, once again, you’ve linked a story to two already linked songs. 

And, even if you don’t buy the intentional repetition, they’re linked another way, aren’t they? The color scheme and the sun symbol. Sunflowers were named because of their sun-like appearance. They turn to face it. They symbolize loyalty and adoration. And then, of course, the sun is - say it with me - golden. And it - like the person in golden - waits in the sky, beautiful and dangerous and constant. And here that symbol is, in a farmhouse in the middle of nowhere. At home. 

This whole story feels like you’re taking the time to find that heartbeat that you think you might have lost, and sort of coming back to a space where you understand that this is what you want, now and forever. It feels like finding a home that could be yours forever, and it feels like walking through some of the moments that remind him of that. 

It really is rather lovely, if you think about it, especially since he has a tendency to attribute “home” to people rather than place, in his songs. So it’s like. Going all around the world and always being at home.