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the-river-person · 3 years

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Worldbuilding Tangent Part 2

First bit here. Now I wanna talk about the Forest and Snowdin Town. Obviously the name is a pun based on Snowed in. But why is there snow there? They’re underground. It shouldn’t work like that. This one is gonna be a bit long because I’m prone to rambling, but I had fun... so yeah. (Also, a reminder that these are my own observations and analysis of the Game’s text and that despite my obsessive researching of caves and such, as well as my attention to textual evidence, it is still only my interpretation of how this area MIGHT work if we attempt to apply real world systems to a video game world that was almost certainly not made with reality in mind. It’s also possible that I misunderstood or don’t know enough about the trees or natural systems described and that things couldn’t work that way without some kind of magic, whether that of the Monsters or some natural source of it.) I’ve heard some theories about snow falling through openings in the mountain above them, and while I do think such openings exist, they aren’t likely to be the direct cause of the snow. This is because snow falling through them would need to be in single spots or piles directly beneath the hole and not evenly spread out like a winter wonderland. A second bit of evidence for this is that when we go to fight Papyrus, or in fact pass through that exact spot even later in the game, we are subjected to a fade out screen with a snowy pattern, which is implied to be a snowstorm of some kind. So some kind of weather exists here Underground. This lets us know that the specific cave Snowdin sits in is big enough to have its own weather system which gives everything a fairly even level of snow, freezes ponds into patches of ice, and coats the pines of the forest with a dusty white. When you first exit the ruins and have the purple stone wall behind you, there appears to be a thick forest of trees on on both sides, the right side appearing to be a drop off until you pass trees that go between screen and controllable character, indicating that this side has the same trees as the opposite side of the path. The trees of this part of the forest have no hint of green leaves or needles on them, which might suggest that they be high up on the tree itself. After some research on trees that could survive very cold temperatures and were fairly hardy but still seemed to match the image I see on screen, I’m guessing that these are either a fictional species of conifer, or they are White Spruce Trees which have lost their lower branches as their upper branches grew thicker to catch any sunlight streaming from holes and openings in cave ceiling. It is possible that these trees might be petrified and very old, but its unlikely as we see ordinary pines growing elsewhere in the Forest. There has to be natural openings for light enter into the Underground which are not enough for someone to see stars through, yet are big enough or plentiful enough that light for the forest to survive is possible. Due to the river we see in this part of the forest there is plenty of water for the trees to survive. Since there is no tree in the world that can survive a permanent winter, and no new trees can grow without some kind of melting of snow and ice, we are left with a few options. Either the trees are very old, which is possible since the average age of White Spruce is 250-350 years but trees up to 1,000 years have been found, or Snowdin Forest area has some kind of seasonal cycle with a very short warm season and a long cold season. However there are some problems with the idea of a cycling season. We know in the books of Snowdin Library this passage is found, “Fearing the humans no longer, we moved out of our old city, HOME. We braved harsh cold, damp swampland, and searing heat... Until we reached what we now call our capital. “NEW HOME.”” By which we know that the different biomes of the Underground existed before the Monsters lived there and are not a result of their magic. And though none of the Monsters we’ve seen actually require a permanent cold environment to survive, there is no mention at all of a warm season. Even the name of the area and the town is Snowdin, indicating that the snow is probably perpetual. So our cave must be big enough to have a weather system yet cold enough to maintain snow and ice for a long time even with openings in the roof for a Taiga Biome forest to survive. Ice Caves are naturally occurring cave systems that reach cold enough temperatures to form Ice and Permafrost. Several factors can cause or contribute to the formation of Ice caves. Two relevant types of these are Evaporative Cooling and a Cold Trap. Because the trees we see had to have had a period without snow and ice in order to spread their seeds and begin to grow before the eternal Winter of Snowdin, we can probably guess that at one point this cave was quite warm. It had a significant amount of water, though it was unlikely to be as wet as Waterfall. It was also home to mountainous areas and vast lowland areas as well as mostly limited sunlight. The Cavern was big enough to contain a weather system of its own, allowing for rain and humidity. Since we know that to reach the entrance to Snowdin Forest in the game we have to go down the stairs in Toriel’s home, this puts the First section of the forest at the same level as the ruined city we saw a glimpse of earlier in the game. But this part of the forest is actually situated on what might be some sort of cliff or mountainous area. The game’s path leads across the flat peaks of the area, but allows you to see brief glimpses of vast valleys with forests made from a more Christmas Tree like tree than the ones we see immediately outside the door to the Ruins. We also see the river briefly at the very beginning, but not during the long period where we are traversing the peaks. When it reappears immediately behind Snowdin, which is indicated to be at the other end of the cave with the rock wall immediately on the other side of the river, its becomes likely that the river followed the wall of the cave all the way around and that the player went the opposite direction across the highlands. The valleys themselves are far lower than the peaks you traverse, which would put them lower than even the City of Home in the Ruins. If Frisk climbed the mountain and fell to the Ruins, and the level below those is Home and the Snowdin Highlands, then the Snowdin Valleys are probably well below the normal ground level of the Surface world outside the mountain. Some have suggested that like the bridge into Snowdin Town, the background of valleys might also be painted murals done by Papyrus or some other monster. Due to the moving sprites of the tiny house and its occupant as seen from the cliff next to the Mysterious Door, as well as the fact that the landscape moves differently than the rest of the setting as the player walks, it’s absolutely certain that it is a real landscape and not a painting. Returning to the Ice Cave idea we have sufficient moisture to begin Evaporative Cooling, which involves water being warm enough for evaporation and causing warm moist air to flow out exits of the cave and cold dry air of Winter to enter the cave. Its possible that some of the entrances are high on the mountain, only allowing cold air to enter, but since the cave is so vast there would need to be multiple sunlight allowing entrances in the ceiling, and they can’t all be in the highest snowy peaks but in various places on the mountain and in the foothills. Our water would have been warmed by the same processes that keep Waterfall from freezing over from Snowdin’s cold in the present day, the thermal forces of Ebbot’s Volcanic core. That and sunlight would have caused Evaporative Cooling to kick into gear. Normally Ice Caves caused by Evaporative Cooling have yearly cycles where the flow of air reverses and warm air is sucked into the cave instead of cool air. Which at one point was probably how the cave worked, allowing for the growth of trees that would flourish in the Taiga like conditions that would have begun to form. The larger trees of White Spruce and the smaller trees, which are probably Douglas Firs because some varieties are estimated to live at least to 500 years and well beyond 1,000 at most, would have been able to grow from seeds fallen into this area and possibly enough to seed more. But then something happened which stopped the process. The area grew just cold enough to form a Cold Trap. This operates on a lot of the same principles, with convection drawing cold winter air into the cave while any warm air is sucked outward. The difference is that due to the cold air in the cave being significantly colder than the air outside during all points of the year, the process doesn’t reverse but remains static during the Summer and continues drawing in cold air during Winter. But how did the cave get cold enough to start that process? It was likely that the volcanic activity of the Mountain was greater at that point and then as time went on the Magma either cooled or receded further from the area, letting the evaporation stop during the coldest part of the cycle, kicking off the Cold Trap. So by the time the Monsters arrived it was growing cold and most plant life in this part of the Underground was dead or hidden in smaller warmer caves. The river flowed too fast to be frozen solid, and the trees were able to survive but not put out new seeds because no new warm season ever came. It’s possible that the Snowdin Cavern will grow colder and colder as time goes on, or it might maintain its temperature. I’m not sure exactly as far as that goes. But I do know that unless something changes the perpetual winter in the area all the trees will eventually die and the Forest will probably just be a lot of dead frozen trees, or they’ll rot with a bit of moisture and come crashing down. There are areas here and there as you make your way through Snowdin Forest where we see only the tall trees with mostly barren lower trunks within the screen’s view and only blackness beyond them. Both before and after these sections we catch glimpses of the vast valleys and hills of the cave, which means that these patches are not cave wall, but areas of mountain top forest so thick that the light is being obscured. One theory might suggest that the trees are attempting to grow towards the openings in the cave ceiling to get as much light as possible, or that only the huge trees in the areas directly beneath the openings were able to survive, leaving the smaller Firs to take over the lower valleys and hills, which makes sense since that species needs much less light than the White Spruce trees. Now that I’ve established some plausible explanations (Hopefully) for how this cave might work, let’s take a quick look at how much space is being used. We know that the Town itself is on a cliff at the edge of the large cave. In fact its partially inside the cave that leads to Waterfall.We know this because the River, which joins up with us again behind the town, has a natural rock wall behind it, suggesting that the town is actually more enclosed than most of Snowdin’s peaks, even if it is connected to them by a bridge. Our peaks are probably gigantic groups of stalagmites formed who knows how long ago and flattened or broken at the tops somehow, allowing for forests to take seed on accumulating soil. (It is possible that they are Hornitos or some other type of volcanic formations from Ebbot’s volcanic activity, especially since areas of the Underground were almost certainly initially carved out by flowing magma and then altered as water and weather took their toll over time. But most volcanic based Speleothems are significantly more fragile than limestone and water based ones, so its possible, but not likely. Aside from the town and the single house we get to see in the valley, we see no signs that this area is being put to significant use. It’s not a matter of not enough Monsters, because we know that hundreds of them dwell in the Underground and that more and more are crowding to the city, mostly in hope that they’ll be free to escape to the surface soon. There are some monsters and animals living in the forests themselves, but for all the sheer size of Snowdin Caverns, it seems mostly empty. There could be instances out of sight where Monsters have made their homes. Small caves dug into the side of cliffs and plateaus could be made into perfect little houses, and groups of houses, factories, or even greenhouse farms could be set up in areas the player can’t see in game. But it would all be conjecture as there is no in game evidence that this is so for the Snowdin Cavern.

#wow #this was very long #but it was fun #undertale #textual analysis #snowdin forest #snowdin woods #snowdin town #speleothems #mt ebbot #caves #caverns #winter trees #cold trap #ice cave #undertale theory #game theories #this isn't very organized cause i didn't have a plan #sorry if it doesn't make much sense

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passionate-reply · 5 years

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I love your album analyses, what inspired you to make them?

First of all, thank you! I am so glad there are people out there picking up what I’m putting down, as they say. I work pretty hard on these and put a lot of thought into them, so it means a lot to know they are being appreciated.

As for what inspired them…I mean, thinking through the sorts of stuff I talk about on here is pretty much something I do involuntarily, hahaha. My mind goes on tangents, connects things in funny ways, and I come to conclusions about stuff. I just naturally think about art and interpretation of art. When I was in high school, I took a course on (visual) art history and just fell in love with it because it was exactly what my brain was always good at. I ended up writing 20+ versions of the final paper assignment on every single suggested topic, because I had so many thoughts about all the art we looked at and wanted to get them all out there! So the actual “work” is in turning those ideas into verbal form (as a non-verbal thinker) and refining and clarifying what I’m thinking about into something that’s actually palatable and approachable for other people. I try to juggle making them accessible, by explaining background on things in reasonable detail, but also interesting to fairly enfranchised listeners by focusing on more obscure tracks.

Really I’ve always been extremely interested in music…and beyond just “interested” in some kind of academic sense, it really just eats at my soul and communicates with me on this deeply personal, emotional level that nothing else really reaches for me. Listening to music makes me feel like I’m the real me, and what I’m experiencing is the real life, or that that experience is “the point” of it all. Some of my earliest memories from being a toddler are the first times I ever heard “Sweet Dreams” and “Tainted Love,” and just being completely blown away and shaken up by them. They filled me with this sense of pleasure, dread, and confusion…but also a bottomless longing for more where they came from. I saw them as constituting some “world” that I desperately wanted to enter and become a part of. It was very much like seeing a reflection of my innermost soul, something I started to very heavily “identify” with from my literal earliest memories.

For a long time I’ve kind of been ashamed of that, or hidden from it. Mostly, it stems from the fact that there were elements of my upbringing that weren’t that great. My parents got divorced when I was about three, and my mom has never been a huge part of my life–that’s not necessarily super concerning to me, though, as my dad is mostly a great parent and since I was so young, I kind of always internalized it as “normal,” and I never stressed much about it. But the real problem was when my dad started seeing someone when I was eleven, and she was particularly bad news for both of us. Of course, you never really know what makes someone abuse others, so I won’t try to diagnose her with narcissism or anything else. It suffices to say that she went out of her way to do me harm and keep me from just about anything that made me happy. Eventually, this got to the point of not having food or a bed…but physical torture, you’re able to get over more easily than emotional torture. So I put the weight back on in foster care, but being kept from music and constantly belittled and maligned over my tastes and my level of engagement with it, that sort of always stuck with me on some level.

So since that time in my life, I’ve always been self-loathing about my love for music, because I internalized all of that pain, and all the times I was told I was being immature, my tastes would change and I’d find New Wave cringy someday, all of that. I was really afraid to dig deeper and spend more time listening and thinking about it, because I never let go of that fear that someone would take it away from me. Even though she also belittled me for my same-sex attraction and gender nonconformity, too, there’s a whole cultural narrative around that that made it easy for me to dismiss that and start living as queer and not giving a shit about it. Whereas with the music stuff, my experience was so strange and singular that it was, and is, hard for me to get past it sometimes. It’s still emotionally easier for me to talk about stuff like Kraftwerk and Ultravox that I wasn’t into yet during that time of my life, as opposed to the bands I really liked as a preteen, like Pet Shop Boys and Numan.

So, a big reason why I started writing Passionate Reply is that I wanted the ritual of putting myself out there on a daily basis, and letting myself get emotional over music and gush over what I really like. It’s healing for me because I’ve spent so much time not allowing myself to be myself, and on here I get to genuinely express my excitement and enthusiasm for music! It feels phenomenal. The only thing better than that feeling is knowing that other people are getting something out of my exercise, as well.

I guess the other component that sort of inspired me, and why I started doing this in this particular moment, is that I managed to score that ticket to see Midge Ure this past Tuesday, roughly a month ago. Ever since I bought it, I’d been jumping up and down with excitement, wanting to grab people in the street and scream at them about Midge Ure! It really made me realize just how important music was and is to me, because truly nothing else had ever made me so excited in my whole life. There’s just nothing that matters so much to me, or makes me so happy, in the entire world! So that really put into perspective how much I was hurting myself by being self-deprecating about music and its place in my life. It really spurred me to take it more seriously and start doing this! And now that the concert came and went, and I had quite frankly one of, if not the, most powerful and meaningful experiences of my whole life, that’s made me even more galvanized to do this.

Thanks again for asking, sorry for the long and possibly TMI response, but that is how my blog came to be and why I do what I do. Glad you enjoy my work.

#music #personal

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mysticsparklewings · 5 years

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Something of a Story String

romping through rose rows the rouge holds roamers ransom re-writing their wrongs out yonder, they yawn yearning for youth yanked from them you yearn for them, too grave group, so it goes much greatness gone to the grass, a goodbye garden but the "byes" come back they blow in on brisk breezes blooming in balance ____ What's this? It's not Inktober yet, what are the mini-magnets doing out and about? Over on deviantArt, I was encouraged by AlinaLeeArts to enter the String Me a Haiku Contest! hosted by HaikuWriMo, and while I have only basic knowledge and understanding of Haikus, I've been really wanting to play with the mini-magnets lately after reorganizing them into some new tins, and it sounded like fun. (And like a good way to fill out my upload schedule since the bigger projects I'm working on still aren't quite finished yet. ) So I decided I'd take a stab at, or at least see if I could come up with a concept I was happy with and take it from there. The contest rules state that an entry has to be made up of a string of at least four haikus, a Haiku for the uninformed being, according to Google, "a Japanese poem of seventeen syllables, in three lines of five, seven, and five, traditionally evoking images of the natural world." And that the haikus should use heavy alliteration, which also for the uninformed is, "the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words." This would pose a unique challenge for me because, as I said, I'm not very familiar with writing Haikus. I've read plenty of them, sure, and I think I had to write one at least once or twice back in K-12 school for English class or something, but other than that, if I've ever constructed one, it's been completely by accident. That said, I used two different syllable counters to check each of these before I ever arranged the magnets, so hopefully, they do indeed follow the 5-7-5 pattern properly, if nothing else! Alliteration is also not something I intentionally use super often, and that combined with the limited syllables and structure I think makes for a unique challenge even for someone more familiar with the haiku form. Something I learned very quickly while trying to do this: Every syllable counts, you don't want to waste a single one! Before I could get to actually writing the haikus, though, me being me, I needed a concept/theme to work off of. How would I pick letters to alliterate? What would the haikus be about? Since I want to use the mini-magnets (as is more or less my standard for short-form poetry) what should the background(s) look like? Will all four tell a continuous story or four short stories that go together? I have to have at least four haikus, but am I just going to do four, or will I maybe do a few more than that? I decided the easy way to break it down would be to have each haiku dedicated to a specific letter for alliteration, then make a poem based off of whatever I could come up with within that letter alliteration, as I worked I could go back and forth between the separate haikus to develop more of a story, and then once they were done or mostly done, I could decide on what I would do for the background(s) based on the poems themselves. This process did change a little bit, as I started off using a haiku generator to help me get more in a haiku-writing mindset. I did through that pick up one line, "seeing a balance," that obviously got translated a bit differently into the final version ("blooming in balance"), but other than that I really was still largely on my own. I'd toyed with a few other concepts, but none of them felt right or were really sticking with me. Then I got the idea to pick each letter for the haikus based on an acronym; a well-known combination of letters. That would also potentially give me a theme to work off of. Initially, I thought of ROYGBIV, the acronym for the basic seven colors of the rainbow. And I actually started working on trying to make my haikus based on that, but the letter "O" stopped me pretty short because once I had the letters, my idea was to do word-association like I normally do for the Inktober prompts; I'd list out some potential words to use that I felt somehow connected with the color and started with the same letter as the color. Frankly, there just aren't a lot of letter-O words that I could also connect back to the color, and the few I did come up with just didn't seem like they had a super compelling story hidden within them. But I did really like the idea of the colors because that gave me a good launching point for the backgrounds; I could just use the same color the haiku was based on within the background for it. It sounded like fun, even. So I didn't want to just totally ditch it. After giving it some thought, I figured the best thing to do would be to try using the four main colors everybody knows: Red, Yellow, Green, and Blue. If I still couldn't come up with my haikus based on those four letters, then it was time to pick a new acronym. Fortunately, even though I had my concerns about the Y in particular, I had a much easier time after that. (I mean, I already had most of the one for "Red," from the ROYGBIV stage, but still.) It's funny though, I thought "Blue" was going to be the easiest, based on my knowledge of "B" words, but that one was actually the one I ended up tweaking and re-writing the most. Probably because it was also the last one I did, and I had started to develop a vague story about yearning for life and visiting a grave in a cemetery, so I had to work within that theme. Though, that said, I think "Green" is actually the weakest of the four, as far as impact goes, despite it being the one that kinda hammers home the life/death theme the most. It was the most difficult one to balance my syllables appropriately because of the words I really wanted to use. Obviously, this "story" developed as I worked, so it's a bit more on the abstract side, but this is how I see what these four haikus say together; They're talking about someone, probably a young someone (I picked a girl for the background, but the poems could go either way), walking through a field of flowers and stumbling upon a nursing home, maybe with a couple of residents on the porch, and a cemetery nearby. Maybe connected to the home, maybe not. And the young someone stops and reflects on life, and how even once someone passes away, oftentimes we can be reminded of them, or almost feel as if they're still here, in the small things and little fleeting moments here there, like the petals of a flower or the whispers of a seasonal breeze in the air. They come back in those small ways, completing the circle of life, that essential balance of the universe. Of course, that's just one way to interpret it, and even then there are still small details that could be changed while still keeping the sentiment the same. Personally, that's one of the things I enjoy the most about poetry and the mini magnets--you don't always know what you're going to end up saying until someone else reads it and tells you what it says to them. As for those backgrounds, they're all fairly simple watercolor paintings. Once I had the poems and this vague idea of a story, it was fairly easy to come up with a background concept for each one to make them a little more interesting. Normally, I'd use sponged-ink backgrounds during Inktober, but I've been toying with the watercolor idea in the back of mind and this seemed like a good time to experiment since I was already pushing the envelope in various other ways. You can see pretty much exactly what I had in mind for each one, though I will clarify the green one is supposed to be a tombstone in the grass since it's the only one that I think might not be super clear right away. It could just as easily be a rock. For each of them, my process was very simple; I just picked 1-3 shades to make a gradient from the appropriate color, alternating each one slightly depending on what I wanted for the sky, and then I added the grass and silhouettes on top using a combination of watercolor and black pen. And then the very last one, "blue," got the added moon, stars, and some fireflies using gel pens (and a little bit of pastel for glow). It was the most complex, but "yellow," was actually the trickiest because I have not yet mastered the ability to free-hand a human silhouette. I had to sketch it out separately and then use my lightbox to transfer the outline and fill it in. And, funnily enough, the backgrounds you see here were actually meant to be smaller test-runs before making bigger ones and actually physically setting the mini-magnets on them to photograph. But I was so happy with how these small test ones turned out, I honestly didn't feel like I needed to make the bigger ones. So I pivoted a bit; I formed each mini-magnet poem on a plain blue piece of paper (a "blue screen" if you will to make it easier to separate the words) and photographed them, then used Photoshop to get each haiku onto its respective background. This ended up working to my advantage, as I could just focus on arranging the words to make the words properly and not working around the paintings underneath, and then once I had everything in photoshop I could move things around as necessary much more easily. I'm not super sure about the haiku part, but I'm really pleased with how the overall result looks, and especially happy with 3 out of the four backgrounds. So much so, I will be posted a wordless version of just the backgrounds to go along with this one for your viewing pleasure! fav.me/ddrqj28 I don't think I'll be placing in the contest (I could be wrong, but I'm aware I'm a little out-of-my-element here ), but I enjoyed the process and the end result, so it was still worth it in my eyes. It was really nice to have the mini-magnets out and put them to use again, especially since I've been having a craving to do so lately. And having them all freshly re-organized made using them all the more enjoyable. Though I'm still not quite sure in what form it'll be, I am very much thinking of doing more non-Inktober stuff like this with the mini-magnets going forward. I have so many of them and I enjoy using them, even when it's a daily challenge and running me a bit ragged. You might say I'm a bit of an addict. ____ Artwork © me, MysticSparkleWings ____ Where to find me & my artwork: My Website | Commission Info + Prices | Ko-Fi | dA Print Shop | RedBubble | Twitter | Tumblr | Instagram

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manjuhitorie · 5 years

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HOWLS Digest - Hitorie Skream! Interview

Interview by Hata Riee! Translated by Manju!

With evolution upon them, Hitorie show their fangs with confidence.

Summary: HOWLS

[First section: ygarshy fanboys over HOWLS. Discussions about the impressions and mindsets which went into the album. “Many of the songs on HOWLS are the result of my battles with painful, excruciating, frustrated feelings.” “Though in reality it was the most fun I've ever had, in regards to the music. We tried out things, we challenged new things... These bandmates right here, their ideas and curiosity were like saviors to me.”] [Second section: ygarshy fanboys over Ao and how liberating for his heart it is. Ao’s “We got shit-faced” backstory. Disclosure that Sappukei, Garandou Mae Zero Machi, Coyote and Ghost all were the result of unrestrained integrated jam sessions. Diligence in musically thrashing, all hail guitar cuddling! Members are glad that leader is getting nice and lax.] [Third section: The reasons those jams were able to cause such a bang. What values they had to throw away and which they had to adopt, such as simple melodies or not. Synopsis on the journeys they took to hone their new conjurations, to solve their frustrations and stagnations they felt with the band. wowaka being stupid and selfish by not sharing his problems per usual. STUPID. Band confesses to being socially awkward but still trying to understand each other subliminally.... Plus Idol Junkfeed lore/jokes, also SLEEPWALK]. [Fourth section: Overall the writer equates HOWLS lyrics to a discussion, with simple human language that is easy to convey. The power of words is more than just as a tool for expression, but music can help unlock those shackles of perception so don’t worry leader.... Balance, desires, future pavement laid - The “I think we’re so revved up that we could even explode right in this moment!” quote. It, it matches up with their new year’s resolution which was about living in the moment!]

Your new album blew my mind. Each song alone even has the power to strike into the minds of old and new listeners alike.

wowaka: Happy to hear it. Shinoda: It feels like we’ve created something really amazing. wowaka: Even after many years of finishing countless pieces and thinking “This is good I did good.”... This time I’m especially smiley and giddy about this piece. Yumao: We covered a way more broad scope of genre. ygarshy: It feels like the people’s album. wowaka: The people’s (laughing)?! ygarshy: Up until now, as an honest listener I couldn't consider our pieces an object of interest, but this time I could listen forever and ever I like it so much.

In our 2016 interview for the release of IKI, ygarshy you had also exclaimed “I’ve been listening to it forever”.

Everyone: Ahahaha! wowaka: Effort makes confidence. ygarshy: Though the undertones are different. With IKI I had the perspective of a musician looking back upon their work with pride, but this time I’m uninterested in that sense. I’m akin to an uninvolved consumer, honestly enjoying my favorite album. Shinoda: We ourselves barely understand this phenomenon.

Then let’s use this interview as a chance to divulge the mystery.

Shinoda: Let’s do it.

In between your most recent full album IKI, there was the release of the mini album ai/SOlate (2017) and the single Polaris (2018), but when did you first start considering the possibilities of an album?

wowaka: We had been on tour for ai/SOlate, The UNKNOWN-TOUR 2018 “Loveless", spanning over about four months... so it was directly after that. Our single Polaris was used as an ending theme for the anime Boruto (NARUTO NEXT GENERATIONS), which helped ease us into our next full album.

So you had been working on this album during the later months of last year.

wowaka: Yes. Between about July and October. Yumao: Though SLEEPWALK was an older song. wowaka: Ah, that’s true. Yumao: Windmill or Sappuukei even also, we had about one chorus in tow of each even before we began the hard-core production of HOWLS.

With IKI, wowaka said he went into a “I can’t stop writing songs” beast mode, but how did the pace pan out this time?

wowaka: I struggled a lot. Writing the songs of IKI had been prompting revelations within me, for the first time I was finding the meaning behind being human and the fact that I’m alive. It was like the first time I properly stood on two legs. Positive vibes were popping songs out of me. But in contrast, many of the songs on HOWLS are the result of my battles with painful, excruciating, frustrated feelings.

I do see the subject of solitude shows up frequently.

wowaka: Yes. Though in reality it was the most fun I've ever had, in regards to the music. We tried out things, we challenged new things... These bandmates right here, their ideas and curiosity were like saviors to me.

Were you able to pinpoint the album’s direction during the prototype stages?

　wowaka: “What am I to do with these feelings?” was my only sense of direction (laughing). Yumao: Though as we proceeded further and further, we did realize “We can add a bunch of different types of songs into this next one”.

ygarshy: The demo for Ao was made fairly early in the scheme of HOWLS production, and it was so good I wanted to cry. You can interpret it as a so-called breakup song, but it’s the first time we’ve ever done such. So no matter the circumstances, I want to show this song to the world, I want to show our band’s becomings to the world. That was my impression. It was then when I let go of any ego I had as a musician. And I'm now able to see the full picture, to figure out what elements may match up with what song… Which not only brought the album into broader territories, but also freed me from so many restrictions.

So Ao has had those lyrics ever since the demo version.

wowaka: Well it’s my first heartbreak song ever. ygarshy: It’s such a good song that, I had contemplated long and hard as to how best turn these emotions into something universally understandable. wowaka: My extremely personal experiences and universal concepts alike, they're both contacting by a hair’s breadth. As a result of me always spilling out my personal experiences in goops, I somehow truly am hoping that the band, our audience, and others alike will be able to take a plunge into the core of the person and the world within.

Was Ao a pivotal piece for any one else in the band also?

wowaka: I’m pretty positive that when I was recording my guitar, Ao was the most emotional. I felt "Ahh, this is what I’ve always wanted to do”. This is probably the extremity I’ve always been aiming for. The singing and the melody are in the dead center. Yet, at the antipode is…. something else also. Effort went into incorporating an almost elaborate aesthetic. If I could only say one thing about this song, I want to tell you about how the recording all began with us saying something like “What if we turned the volume up really crazy loud?”. I have an amp which normally never sees any action it’s so gargantuan, but I turned the knobs up all the way from the get-go. Shinoda: We got shit-faced.

It’s a ballad and yet you chose to start with the instruments loud, that idea is interesting.

wowaka: Because it's a ballad, that's exactly the reason why I wanted to have the intensity to equate it. Then through the process of trial and error, were we able to create a sound unlike ever before. I feel like we stumbled into a strange trance almost.

Shinoda: Up until now, I’ve always been the one who yearned to do the extreme. He (wowaka) has always been the one who acted as my safety net, but this time, his screws came loose too. wowaka: No matter as to how elaborately we made it, no matter as to how we may have thrashed open our gates, the message still managed to hold “We are who we are.” ygarshy: For me, I felt that as long as we have this song, everything we turn out okay. I was no longer questioning myself over trying to be this or that. During recording I pondered the question “What is my own ultimate talent, that only I have as a bassist?” and, the answer is that my bandmates and their skill. It makes no difference what I do: the bandmates around me are skilled so everything will turn out fine. That's why I'm no longer putting much time and worry into my bass playing. The song Sappuukei uses my first take, simply as was. And with Windmill I decided not to practice at all. wowaka: Is that so (laughing). ygarshy: I realized it works out well if I don’t think much and just return fire back directly at the moment. I think that’s all thanks to the existence of the song Ao.

I see. The mood which develops over the span of this album, it may be just as ygarshy says, it may be because you as Hitorie you discovered new methods and means.

Shinoda: Well basically, we had pitted ideas against each other and cherry-picked from there. Like the guitar in the background of Coyote and Ghost’s chorus is something which would’ve definitely never ever been OK-ed before. I was permitted to have a go at throwing myself into spontaneousness. Yumao: Hence, we’ve gained a lot more freedom bit by bit.

So I’m guessing you set your guitars loud for Coyote and Ghost also (laughing).

Shinoda: Yeah yeah (laughing). Yumao: It didn’t even have a prototype either, we just huddled together to say “Ready… Go!” and played from there. I’m positive that Sappuukei and Garandou Mae Zero Machi both took the same route also. I remember discussing “We need some fast songs huh”.. So that was when Shinoda went and cuddled up with his guitar at home. Shinoda: Though working from home comes with too many problems. After I come up with one phrase, the temperature of it won't match with the one before it, then I’ll jump into my own advancement, and before I know it it'll turn into an unsalvageable mess. The phrase I play behind the choruses all the time are already unique melodies in themselves after all. I’m amazed Leader is able to make vocals to fit on top of them. wowaka: Cause it’s not vocals behind the guitar, it’s the guitar that goes behind the vocals. Everyone: Ahahahaha! Shinoda: With this song especially, I didn’t know what the vocals were until the designated vocal day. So when I saw the lyrics, the mass of words on the page was astounding. “Is this guy serious!?” I thought.

Yumao claiming an 8-beat time on this sort of aggressive song was yet another surprise for me.

Yumao: If it were 3 or 4 years ago, I’m sure I would’ve played in the typical rock song 4/4 time. That idea also occurred to me but, my core values seemed to have changed.

Though you said you were ailed by how playing simple beats for the sake of the vocals unsettles your reputation as a drummer? During our interview for Polaris.

Yumao: That was true. But with this album I think I was able to find an answer or something. ygarshy: As we were writing, we often had moments where we’d agree that a simple phrase is best. Even if we have to tear away ourselves and our ideas, if it’s to conjure the melody conspicuous, in the end it still becomes one of Hitorie’s songs.

I’m starting to perceive how this album was able to evolve into such a masterpiece. It’s evident that each of your priorities and wants for the band have changed over the last 2-3 years.

wowaka: I just remembered now but, after our designated ai/SOlate tour, after trekking over oceans and roads, we had found a concrete resolution in regards to our progress as a band. Which ironically made us feel frustration over ourselves as music creators. The songs we make made us think “Ah, we’re kinda always trying to do the same thing huh...” We felt we had to change that, or else we’re headed down a slippy slope.

Ahh, I see how it is.

wowaka: Then something struck me like lightning, so I took a sudden solo trip all the way to India. “What will happen to my mind if I throw myself into a place completely unknown to me, where even my language is rendered ineffective?” I thought... So specifically what did happen to that mind, you ask? Well, nothing really actually. They say that your perspective on the world will change right. Nothing that powerful came to me. Yet that's very reason I realized “Ahh, I’m simply the human called me.” That sentiment is seeping into the album this time I think. The album is somewhat nomadic, it feels a bit pessimistic, it’s dry and arid… and overall just so fuzzy.

Back then, did you discuss that stale stagnated feeling with any of the other members?

wowaka: I didn’t. It was my own selfish inner implosion, like gaaah. So after the tour it was almost as if I went into shock therapy: going to India, going out drinking with people I don’t usually hang with, etc. Thinking back, I may have been in a bit of a daring phase.

Could that solve Shinoda’s initial puzzle of "We ourselves barely understand this phenomenon”? You each subconsciously clicked with a need to revitalize the band, and your hunt for more funk became your spunk.

wowaka: It’s true that after spending 5 whole years taking various shots together, our collective conscience was “What are we gonna do next?” Shinoda: It’s not as if we sat down and discussed it though, we each felt it in our soul. wowaka: We all suck at sitting down and talking to each other though. So even choosing a theme and sticking to it itself is impossible for us, instead we’ve taken to each doing whatever we like, and that’s the kind of band we are. Yumao: The bits and pieces we notice about each other, and the bits we don't, are half-and-half both in this album… That's why song-wise, there’s opening up and shutting up, both merging together as one. When we were writing we ourselves even saw where it was headed. And so the hope that “Maybe listeners will change their view on Hitorie after they hear this.” was hammered in.

—Onward. Shinoda participated in the production for Idol Junkfeed right?

Shinoda: When production was in a slump, I chimed in “I’ll make a song”. I was told “Just make it a high-spirited one” and so I went. Yumao: It has a Shinoda taste to it, but it also sounds as if it's parodying Hitorie. wowaka: It’s like a song written by a Hitorie fan (laughing). Everyone: Ahahahaha! wowaka: I don’t know if I said that right but…. Shinoda: Naw, you’re right. 'Cause I did lean towards that. I definitely did want to make it a Hitorie-sounding song. Yumao: These two handling the director job together was a refreshing sight to behold. The leadership was half-and-half but, the brains were slightly more on Shinoda’s side with it. Him going “This is good, but this is good too, I can’t choose what to do!” was hilarious. Shinoda: I did something I’m not used to after all (laughing). Yet, in the end it still became Hitorie. wowaka: If we put our strengths together, then it becomes our's. That fact was proven yet again by this song. Even if I’m not in the middle pulling the strings, this song gave me the confidence that “Ahh this band is capable of so so much”.

SLEEPWALK has a similar vibe to current trendy foreign pop music, that sound is by virtue of ai/SOlate isn’t it.

wowaka: It’s a direct descendant of ai/SOlate. It’s a song that exposes how much of a music fiend and too avid of a listener I am. Before we started album productions I had trained by making about a singular chorus. At that time I would never believe I would be showing that chorus to the band, rather off completing it as a one-off. In the sea of all the various styles in this album, I came to realize “If I write a whole song solo then it will truly seal the deal, that this has become Hitorie”. In the end I really did write it all by myself. Yumao: I had nothing to do with it. Shinoda: I didn’t do anything officer.

As his bandmates, did you want to do it as a band?

ygarshy: It was more along the lines of “We want to hear how it would sound, so please do it”. We typically play our instruments strictly based on wowaka’s demos, but no matter how much effort we put into being loyal to his original, there's parts which will alter. That's why we wanted him to make it exactly as he saw fit. wowaka: Even if I produce it alone, there's also the saving grace in playing it together during concerts.

So you're planning on performing this song together in upcoming concerts?

wowaka: I sense that we must.

Was there anything you kept in mind as you wrote the lyrics for the album?

wowaka: I feel it’s all a discussion. I've mentioned this in many interviews before but, confining words only to mean only their meaning - there's a me who holds utter abhorrence for the basic functionality of words. I feel like this world is wrong, handling words as nothing but tools and merely getting controlled by them. They don't really believe in the power of words. I'm still staunch on that idea but... Even so I know I have to face the reality of being understood by people. By the audience, staff, friends, lovers, parents, family alike. I had also talked about this in our past Polaris interview didn’t I, about how at the concert in Fukuoka I received a revelation from the heavens almost.

Ah, you said there was a moment when you figured out “This is exactly what I want to tell people!”

wowaka: Retrospectively that was huge for me. That’s why I aimed to tell people things this time, I poured special consideration into how to share word through song.

The lyrics of the final track Windmill, “I’m here where I belong/We are here where we belong”: it seems cohesive that you want to tell people this, now that it’s the 5 year anniversary of Hitorie’s debut.

wowaka: Yep. After all these years I have new stories to tell, and now that I’ve figured out how to write lyrics like those, I want a lot of people to see them, I want people who have never heard us to hear them. That’s how I’ve come to see it.

I see. After finishing this album, has it laid down the pavement for Hitorie’s future in any way?

wowaka: This year will mark seven years since we originally banded up, and after spending this much time together.. at this point our moments are human, our perceptions are human, our emotions are human. Hence we have no clue what lies ahead. That's why each member will surely figure out how best to push the band, and they'll show me the way forward. I think we’re so revved up that we could even explode right in this moment. ygarshy: Leader (wowaka) has learned how to say “It’s actually the best when you’re each going all-out on your own accords”. There were still times when he wanted us to play parallel to his image, but ultimately the times when we're playing freely, do turn out to be the best, he says. That’s ridiculously rivetingly huge. So we took that exact method with Coyote and Ghost and it turned out so good. If we continue just like this, I think the balance of our band will change exponentially. SLEEPWALK, the songs we are bursting out in, and Shinoda’s song alike, they all became one of Hitorie’s songs. So It gives me so much confidence to hear you say “It might just reach new listeners”.

~~END~~

youtube

Bonus video at the bottom!

To all viewers of Skream, we’re Hitorie! I’m the vocal/guitarist wowaka. - I’m the guitarist Shinoda. - The bassist ygarshy. - The drummer Yumao. wowaka: Us, Hitorie, in this 2019th… century…? Shinoda: Yes. wowaka: Are, this February, Shinoda: That’s it. wowaka: on the 27th, Shinoda: That’s right. wowaka: We're releasing our new album HOWLS! Shinoda: So give it a listen. (All members clap) wowaka: With 10 songs, that are all itchy…. Irritated.. Hairy? Fuzzy? Shinoda: Fuzzy. wowaka: Hmm, that’s still not right.. It’s more… animalish? Outlawish? ...Anyway, it’s fast-paced with sadness looming over, yet despite that, there’s still a bit of love and-. Shinoda: (Snickers). wowaka: My explanation is starting to make less and less sense (laughing). It’s thick, it’s good, we have confidence in how this album turned out. So we’d be happy if you could acquire it and give it a listen, please. All members: Please (bow). wowaka: Furthermore, starting on March 1st at Osaka’s Big Cat, and heading on and on to the final destination on June 1st at Shinkiba’s Studio COAST, we’ll be touring the country on Hitorie’s "Coyote Howling” tour. It’s our first tour in a damn while. So dear the people who will follow us anywhere- Or the people who may hate us- Shinoda: People who hate us? wowaka: There’s the chance they’ll come too right? Yumao: I think so. wowaka: For example when someone drags a friend along, who may not have much interest, Yumao: They think “It might be fun” and just tag along, wowaka: Yeah yeah, you might be able to have an experience like that! So by all means, come and play with us. Bye-bye~

#The tiny video at the bottom says volumes about their dynamics so I recommend #This isn’t emo I’m not getting emo. I’m not reading this right now I am on autodrive #automata mode i am numb yeah #DONT WAKE ME UP RIE'S RIVERTING GUITAR RIFFS #NOOOOO #Anyway... Thank you very very much for reading...#long post

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lastsonlost · 6 years

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When developer DICE revealed thatBattlefield V would feature playable female soldiers, depicting them as fighting on the front lines of World War 2, there was a swift and predictable backlash. Taking issue on the grounds of historical accuracy, there was a particular group of players who vehemently argued that women almost never served in regular combat on the Western Front.

Less predictable was the fact that Creative Assembly would make a point of changingTotal War: Rome 2, now several years into its life, to feature female generals. Again, a games studio found itself criticized by players who argued that women leading armies in the classical world isn’t historically accurate. What distinguishes these controversies in a landscape that too often features routine harassment of women working in games and complaints about feminist perspectives making their way into more and more corners of gaming is that, in both these cases, the complaints had a grain of truth to them. Both DICE and Creative Assembly were choosing depictions of history that were debatably ahistorical. In each case where we find appeals to "historical accuracy," however, we also encounter the flaws with historical accuracy as a concept. It's a term that supposes the existence of an objectively knowable past, a view which hurts more than it helps when it comes to understanding history.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance was staked much of its identity and setting on this idea of there being something concrete and quantifiable about the distant past. But in reality this was less proof of the game's commitment to historical accuracy than a refusal to question its own biases when it came to the ethnic and sociological history of Europe. In every case, we find an appeal to history as an objective source of truth and judgement about the past. This is naive. The fact is that history—how we view it, the stories we tell about it, the things depicted as normal as opposed to aberrations—is highly political.

The practice of history involves drawing from a pool of documentary sources to form arguments about the past. They’re always based on factual evidence, but these arguments are necessarily subjective. In other words, they’re profoundly colored by our politics. We’re all biased in some way, shape, or form. This explains why people often come to completely different conclusions after examining the same sources of evidence.

And that's where we tend to find backlashes. Consider Company of Heroes 2, which sparked an historical accuracy controversy when it came out in 2013. It wasn't a battle fought by transparently reactionary antifeminists, but was instead about some very real divergences in opinion about how historical evidence and statements should be interpreted.

Complete a few campaign missions inCompany of Heroes 2 and you’ll notice that soldiers are often shot by their own officers when told to retreat. Based on Joseph Stalin’s Order 227—the infamous "not one step back" directive that attempted to stiffen the resistance of a Red Army that was thrown back on its heels by the German invasion—this mechanic is definitely grounded in factual evidence.

The feature still presents a fairly problematic perspective on the past, though. Since retreating soldiers in the game are shot by communist commissars, the argument in Company of Heroes 2seems to be that Order 227 was the product of a political regime which failed to motivate its people. The systematic implementation of this mechanic also implies that Order 227 was routinely carried out. In this the game is echoing (sometimes explicitly) the most famous and dubious scenes in Enemy at the Gates, which depicts "blocking detachments" of Soviet machine gunners who massacre retreating soldiers There’s reason to believe that none of these assertions is entirely accurate. Stalin for example couched Order 227 in the language of patriotism as opposed to oppression; the passage about shooting soldiers for cowardice is one of a series of possible measures that the order allows for, along with more pedestrian measures like cashiering underperforming officers. Reports from the battlefield also indicate that retreating soldiers were rarely shot on the frontlines.

The developer behind Company of Heroes 2, Relic, was immediately criticized for this feature. Pointing to such debatable assertions, a particular group of players called on the company to change the campaign. Relic responded by claiming to have done its due diligence in terms of research. In other words, the developer believed that its game was historically accurate, and had its own evidence to back up its assertions. Who was right?

Though they drew different conclusions from the same sources, the fact is that both sides made valid arguments. The involved parties definitely saw things from opposing political perspectives, though, and wanted to emphasize different aspects of the story of Soviet resistance to German invasion. While some people saw it as evidence for an oppressive and inhumane regime, others took Order 227 as an appeal to patriotism in a time of desperate need, and argued that it was a disservice to the memory of the Red Army to depict its soldiers as being motivated largely by the constant fear of execution. Both views have evidence for them, and each view tends to diminish the valid points raised by the other. Your own interpretation may depend more on whether you're more interested in emphasizing the legacy of Stalinism or the combat performance of the Red Army.

What we choose to emphasize and what we tend to erase was at the heart of theTotal War: Rome 2 controversy. Creative Assembly decided to feature female generals in Total War: Rome 2 nearly five years after the game was released. Play with the latest patch, in other words, and you’ll soon see women leading an army. The change was purely cosmetic (and was itself a knock-on effect from how Creative Assembly revamped how family political dynasties worked).

Were there actually women in command? There are some cases: We know for example that Hatshepsut led an army in Egypt. Boudica did in Britain, too. While these were both powerful women, they were still members of what were probably patriarchal societies. But as an archaeologist with a background in Classics and Egyptology, I have to admit that female generals in the ancient world were probably few and far between. Convincing evidence to the contrary simply can’t be found. Women sometimes wound up on the battlefield, but they seem to have rarely taken up arms under normal circumstances.

The decision to feature female generals inTotal War: Rome 2 came under fire almost immediately. Players were soon calling attention to this nearly complete lack of evidence. Some of them wanted women removed. Responding to the mounting controversy, Creative Assembly stated that it saw the feature as being historicallyauthentic in a game that's never been exactly historically accurate. Since powerful women like Hatshepsut and Boudica prove that men weren’t always in command, there’s definitely an argument to be made that more female generals may have existed than we actually know about. Perhaps their deeds were simply never documented.

There isn’t actually much that we can say for sure about the past. History is mostly a matter of interpretation of available evidence (which itself is constantly evolving as new sources come to light). Some are better supported than others based on the available evidence, but interpretations of this variety are necessarily subjective. History is in, other words, political. It is under constant reconsideration as we attempt to correct blind spots and recover evidence or make hypotheses about what our sources don't tell us, or about what their own biases or blind spots may have been.

Does this mean that we can’t say anything about history? The fact is that we can only grasp at what actually happened by examining a variety of biased opinions and incomplete evidence about the past. This means that it can even be a good thing when games create a bit of historical controversy. Players just need to be open to seeing the past from a new perspective

There are also points where a more accurate depiction of a single aspect of history ends up fueling a legacy of erasure and indifference. If the choice is between a game in which women do not exist because historically they were largely excluded from playing an active role in a setting, and a game which embraces anachronism in order to include them, which is more important? Which depiction gets history "right"? It's also revealing that battles about "historical accuracy" so often about race and gender, and never about things like armies of Ptolemaic Egypt looking more like they belong in Age of Mythology than Total War, or the fact that Battlefield V shows V-1 rockets being used as tactical support weapons in 1940? What's being protected here is not the actual reality of the past (few players complain when ancient combat is made so fantastical it looks more like Lord of the Rings or The 300) but a popular historical memory that has consistently valorized Great Men and Martial Glory and ignored just about everything and everyone else.

The fact is that arguments about the past are often arguments about the present. Becoming a battleground for normative assertions about contemporary society, history stops being about what actually happened. We sometimes use and abuse it for our own purposes. In the case of Total War: Rome 2, the issue at stake was actually gender equality, and the way a popular game about the past has tended to depict the role of women (or not depict it). The same could be said for the controversy about Battlefield V.

Developers aren’t directly accountable to players for their political perspectives. They’re actually free to frame history however they like. Game makers have been doing this for as long as there have been games.

With its detailed depictions of the past,Assassin’s Creed is bound to come up in almost any discussion about historical accuracy in games. The developer behind the franchise, Ubisoft, creates incredibly realistic environments. Walk around Athens in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and you’ll soon see what I mean. The characters aren’t quite as convincing, though. Kassandra for example seems to reflect remarkably contemporary cultural values. Women may have been relatively empowered in Sparta, but there’s plenty of evidence to suggest that they were almost completely disenfranchised in every other part of ancient Greece. Could we call Kassandra historically accurate? This kind of question really misses the point.

Kassandra is a reflection of what Ubisoft wants the world to be—not the way it was.

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sam-miniature-pigeon · 5 years

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I saw Dumbo last Friday! On one hand, I loved it, on the other hand, I hated it. Here are my thoughts! (Spoiler warning!!)

When I was little Dumbo was my favorite movie. I would watch Dumbo 6 times in a day if my ma let me. I heard the announcement for Dumbo (2019) and was so excited! I noticed it was going to be directed by Tim Burton, got a little nervous, but mostly excited. I knew the story was going to change a bit because that’s usually what happens in remakes. However, this movie took change to a new level- it quickly stepped out of the label of “remake” and became it’s own, new idea. The movie starts off with the classic train scene. The train has its cute little face, it’s sunny instead of storming like in the original. The main theme kicks in and I’m bouncing in my seat with excitement. But, the second they stop the train, the movie itself derails- it’s not the Dumbo we grew up with anymore. Right away, I couldn’t even express my hatred for Milly Farrier, Holt’s daughter and one of the protagonists. As the movie continued, I hated her more! She completely pulled me out of the movie almost immediately and it was so hard to get back into it because she played such a big role. It’s not Nico Parker’s (the actress who played Milly) fault. She did a pretty good job of portraying her character, it was the writing! Her lines were copied and pasted over and over again. “It’s an experiment.” “We’re conducting an experiment.” “We did an experiment.” “It’s science!” “Science is so important.” And other like-phrases. Just the “I’m better than you” attitude and the “I’m the smart one” character was stretched way too much. Right when the kids discovered Dumbo could fly, “We were conducting an experiment!” You were playing with the elephant. The constant validation of “I’m the smart one” was too much for me. Once Holt is introduced, we see that he is a war hero who has lost his arm in battle. His kids have a very hard time accepting this and he becomes almost a laughing stock. All of this pressure of the world laughing that he’s missing an arm, while also being a failing father for a majority of the movie weigh down on him, but he never cracks even once. He maintains his role as a loving and caring father and an overall great guy. A very minor complaint, explaining human concepts to a baby elephant is wild. The only gripe I have about Joe, Holt’s son, is when he explains to Dumbo how to blow his ears out of his face. It’s so innocent and establishes a relationship between Dumbo and the kids, but...it’s a newborn elephant. What are the chances that it understands that? I enjoyed Joe’s character because he was fun and obnoxious! He was like 11? He acted like an 11-year-old usually does and it’s great! We have new characters, new personalities, new scenarios! Overall very fun. Instead of a car full of pretentious elephants harassing Mrs. Jumbo over her baby, there is no elephant personality except for Dumbo. Mrs. Jumbo wasn’t even part of the circus until a week or so prior to when the movie was set! Delivering Dumbo, I understand that Disney was going for a much more realistic movie, so I understand why we couldn’t have the stork song with all the baby circus animals being brought to their mothers. Dumbo is born and everyone immediately rejects him, which I suppose is the same in the 1941 version. Mrs. Jumbo got locked away for the same reason- attacking the audience/kids for harassing her son. However, I could have done without the “evil” caretaker who just harassed the elephants. The death of the caretaker was a big eyeroll because of course, mayhem happened. Of course! When you have an angry elephant, why would you harass it even more and endanger the audience? I don’t understand why that was thrown in there other than “Holt’s a good guy, look!” Along with this, I adore “Baby Mine,” because it’s such an iconic part of the movie. It felt less so in this remake. You don’t see the mother, that I remember, anyway. You don’t see the emotion of joy, sadness, and desperation to see her baby while locked away. As well as Dumbo’s confusion, fear, joy, and need to be with his mother after she’s been ripped away. It felt forced, as I should expect from CGI elephants and Miss Atlantis (the mermaid, played by Sharon Rooney) singing the song for whatever reason. Dumbo learns to fly. We see “Timothy” maybe 3 times in the whole movie. It really bothered me that he wasn’t in the movie at all. Even just having Dumbo befriend a mouse and have it around whenever he was resting would have been enough for me. Introducing him for no reason other than companionship while he was alone would be okay- especially considering this newborn elephant was alone for most of the movie other than two kids. The feather was of great importance, as an ode to the original, but he didn’t get it in the same manner, which is alright, but the way Dumbo had the feather the entire time made me very upset. Why did he swallow it? Why did Dumbo feel the need to inhale and swallow the feather even after he knew how to fly? He wanted the feather, felt he needed the feather, could easily fly and hold it, but he just felt the need to suck it up through the nose and swallowing it just for the hell of it? After Dumbo is discovered, the circus is offered an act, as well as a home for all the members, by V.A. Vandevere, the owner of Dreamland. It was a very cliche “I’m the rich evil guy who is here to use you” trope. I suppose Max Medici, the circus owner, was blinded by money and an opportunity to give his performers a better life. But Vandevere was clearly the antagonist from the beginning. Not just how he looks, but the way he talked, strange way he acted, etc. It was far too overexaggerated. From the second he offered an act, you think “Ok, he’s lying and stealing your discovery. He never cared about your circus until you got this elephant. He’s exploiting you to benefit himself and will keep you in the background or kick you out the second he gets.” After they join Dreamland, it seems that literally everyone who works there is also evil. But why? Abuse the baby elephant! This whole, huge park agrees! Everyone except for Colette Marchant is evil in Dreamland. Going into Colette’s character, the tension between her and Holt was overpowering. Even when they first met. She introduces herself and Holt immediately jumps to a “Soo...you single?” sort of statement. Subtly, of course. But the straight-up tension was insane, especially when they placed so much mourning at the beginning of the movie for the deceased mother and wife. Overall, I enjoyed her as a character. I think Eva Green did a great job and I think the character was written well. I don’t understand why we had to have her ride Dumbo? Was a flying elephant not impressive enough? Did we really need a pretty french lady riding it? I know that it had to happen to start a relationship between Holt, Milly, Joe, and Dumbo. As well as providing Dumbo the “training” for the climax of the movie. But as an idea itself, even though it served a purpose, I thought it was silly. Elephants on Parade was impressive. I thought it was very cool! I am okay with the fact that it wasn’t alcohol induced and fit pretty well into the circus-like performance. However, it’s unexplained if that was real? I thoroughly enjoyed the scene, but my mind was racing with questions of: How did they get the bubbles to do that? They’re bubbles. Is Dumbo imagining the elephants and it’s a normal bubble show? But why would he see or interpret things that aren’t happening if he’s never done it before? How would they essentially train bubbles to do that? And so on. Long story short, the circus is fired and only Holt, his kids, Max, and Dumbo will stay. It’s sad but fairly predictable. Once we discover that Dumbo’s mom is at the park, Vandevere orders to have her killed. Ok! If you didn’t already pick up on the fact that he’s the bad guy, we took it to the extreme of killing the elephant instead of selling her somewhere else. Of course, the circus team bands together to save her and they succeed, but the rest of the movie was plain nonsense to me. In Nightmareland, or whatever that section of the park was called, the animals looked so horrifically fake. They looked like animatronics or horribly funded CGI. Along with that, there’s literally no purpose in having live animals in that part of the park. Vandevere is portrayed as a manipulative entrepreneur who loves his fame and money. But does he not realize that it would be more cost-effective to not have live animals chained to the floor? Do inspectors not come to look at the park and think ‘You can’t have these animals chained up in here all the time!’?” Moving to the climax, the circus creates a plan to save Mrs. Jumbo and Dumbo from Dreamland and release them into the wild. The park catches fire due to a tantrum in the power towers by Vandevere, who is oblivious to everything burning around him. Dumbo lands with Colette to see his mother and makes the decision that he must first save his friends. Holt, Milly, and Joe are trapped inside of a burning tent until Dumbo miraculously saves them with an excessive amount of water in his trunk. He loses his feather in the flames and cannot fly anymore. Milly gives him a dramatic and symbolic speech about how he doesn’t need the feather to fly. A symbolic speech to an elephant. He understands and takes the kids to safety, weirdly knowing exactly where in town everyone would be. Meanwhile, Holt rides off on horseback. Vandevere chases him down and insists that he will lose everything he loves or something cliche. Holt directs Vandevere’s attention to Dreamland which is collapsing and engulfed in fire. The movie ends with a touching reuniting of the circus family, an introduction of the circus new and improved with no animals, and a scene of Dumbo and his mother in the wild meeting the other elephants as Dumbo soars above them. A number of issues I have with that: How do you not notice your entire livelihood burning and collapsing around you? Upon immediately complaining about this, my friend leaned over and went “Uhm...what happened to the people on the roller coasters?” And I suddenly remembered them specifically showing roller coasters full of people stopping with the power outage. Knowing how little big parks care about getting people out in a timely manner I said, “They either jumped out or I guess they died, oof. I totally forgot about them.” Along with unnecessary and unexplained death, while evacuating Mrs. Jumbo- where did the other animals go? Were they released? Were all of them except Mrs. Jumbo in holding pens? Did they burn alive? Are they running rampant through the streets, terrorizing people? What happened? The new introduction to the circus was nice. I enjoyed it. It promoted a good message of how they refuse to partake in animal cruelty and want to improve the circus. However, I really didn’t need Danny DeVito staring directly into the camera. It’s not a complaint or bad part of the movie, but it’s more of personal uncomfort because it’s so rare to see characters look directly at you. Finally, while it’s a good idea, there is almost no way that all the released animals would survive in the wild. Especially Dumbo who lived the entirety of his life so far in captivity. I feel like it’s safe to assume Mrs. Jumbo was also in captivity a majority of her life. Elephants are very intelligent and I’m sure they would teach them if accepted into the herd, but it drew concerns when I saw it. I remember bears and tigers and such in the 1941 version, where if they were released into the wild, would surely die. Despite this long “review” that turned more into a rant, I did enjoy the movie! On its own, minus the plot holes, I think it would stand as a great movie! I had a good time watching it in theaters, but I always have a great time at the movies. I enjoyed most of the characters! It was a fun and entertaining movie, which at the end of the day is what matters for kids. Dumbo had a mid-range review- 40s-60% or so. Which I feel is fair, even though reviews are often harsh. Going off the specific topic of Dumbo, I’ve not seen many live-action remakes. I’ve seen The Jungle Book, Beauty and the Beast, and Christopher Robin (if you would consider that a remake). I adored The Jungle Book, though Beauty and the Beast was ok, Christopher Robin was heartwarming, and I both liked and hated Dumbo. I’ve given up hope on Mulan, The Lion King looks pretty good (worried about cast), and Aladdin looks nice and more true to the story than the past few have been, but because of these past few and especially Dumbo, I’m worried on how it will turn out in the long run. In all honesty, Disney is just about only making remakes to keep their characters from entering the public domain. Which is kind of shitty. Thinking of Disney now makes me very sad knowing that it’s purely money-driven. I don’t know too much about Walt Disney, but I would like to think that he was purely into joy and entertainment for all. I wish Disney would go back to wanting to promote joy and entertainment (and maybe throw an animated movie in the mix every once and a while).

#dumbo #dumbo 2019 #dumbo spoilers #spoilers #Disney #review #dumbo review #rant #LONG POST #sorry!!!

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elexuscal · 7 years

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Prompt: Faded Blue Bloop meets Little Rebellions Bloop

For those who don’t know, Little Rebellions is a story by myself, which explores the lives and problems of Homeworld Pearls. While familiarity helps, it doesn’t need to be read to understand the following story; you just need to know it has a very different interpretation of Blue Pearl.

oOoOo

Counterpart

The chamber was dark, and cold, and silent, and filled with looming shadows.

Outside it was loud. Pearl could feel the vibrations through the floor— the shudder of explosions, the roar of flames, the panic of screams being cut off—

How many Gems were still standing?

Pearl shook her head. Couldn’t think about that. Had to keep moving.

She went deeper and deeper into the darkness.

Her intel had been good. It was right where she’d been told it would be. A little thing, an antique. An hourglass, all fine silver metal that glowed dimly, its inside filled with sapphire dust…

Would it work?

Yes. It would. But there was a very good chance that it would work in the same way as a mass-driver bomb.

Pearl pressed her eyes closed. Could she really do this? There was a reason not even the Diamonds dared dabble with time travel. A single ill-placed change, and everything could become so, so much worse than you could possibly imagine.

Nothing can be worse than this.

Too many tortured. Too many shattered. Too many lost.

And it shouldn’t have had to be. That was the worse part. The civil war had been brutal, but rebellion could have won. It nearly had.

But the Diamonds would not allow for that. So rather than lose, they had broken the board.

How many Gems were still standing? Surely no more than a hundred, in the whole galaxy…

Pearl could save all of them. Make it so it never happened.

An explosion nearly knocked her to her feet. The distant screaming grew louder.

She hardened her resolve. Her people were depending on her. She had to do this. There was no other option.

She held the hourglass to her chest, letting it touch her gem. She closed her eyes and thought: Change this. Rewrite this existence. Give me one where it didn’t go wrong. Where I didn’t lead us all to our own destruction. Where I can still make things better.

All noise cut out. All sight, all sensation. Except— except Pearl could still feel everything rushing past her, like she was moving at impossible speeds, yet floating in a void, winds sweeping past her, and through her, or her through them. She didn’t seem to have a body or a form at all, she could see things, entire worlds, entire nebulae, entire galaxies, just for instants- could-have-beens and might-have-beens, too huge to comprehend, to grasp, to remember— It went on and on and on for eternity, and for no time at all and then—

— it stopped.

There was wind. A normal wind, soft and gentle, carrying a scent she vaguely remembered. There was light. Normal, simple light from a yellow sun. The ground under her feet was springy. There were sounds in the background, soft, sweet sounds, and the suddenness of it was shocking.

Slowly, gradually, Pearl began to recognise the things around her. Trees. Grass. Birds. Insects.

Earth?

She had not been on Earth in millennia, and certainly never alone in its wilderness. Thankfully, she did not have time to become overwhelmed before she saw something familiar, grounding.

Blue Diamond’s Palanquin.

Pearl’s relief was short-lived. If the Palanquin was here, then no doubt so was its owner. Straining her ears, Pearl could hear it: Blue Diamond’s Song. It was strangely faint, but Pearl had spent her entire life in its presence, always wary of it, and it was unmistakeable.

It was accompanied by the sound of footsteps.

She had to get out of here.

In her hands was the hourglass- or the remains of it. Its bulb was broken. The stress of the reality alteration had clearly damaged it. Glass shards littered the grass below, and the sapphire dust was pouring out. Pearl frowned at it. Messy. Suspicious. But no time to clean or hide it.

On light feet, she headed for the treeline. Earth was good for hiding. It took her only moments to find a suitable bush to crouch behind, one which would block her from view, but still allow her to peer through the branches. It even offered enough cover to store the hourglass’s remains in her gem.

Looking out through the leaves, a figure came into sight.

She was short, chubby, dressed in blue clothing of an unfamiliar style. At first, Pearl assumed her to be one of the Earth’s dominant species, a human. But she had not survived so long by assuming, and when she paid closer attention— she noticed the figure was the source of Blue Diamond’s Song.

Impossible.

But it wasn’t. As the being bent down to inspect the sapphire dust, Pearl spotted a blue point of a gem sticking out from beneath the being’s clothes. Blue Diamond’s gem.

Pearl could have shook her head from confusion. What— what was this timeline? In this universe, had they found a way to trap Blue Diamond in a weak, ineffective body?

There wasn’t any time to think this over, because Blue Diamond was now coming closer.

No chance to retreat deeper into the underbrush. Pearl was quiet, but she wasn’t that quiet. Any movement would surely disturb the leaves, bushes, and sticks, drawing Blue Diamond even closer. It might make the bird chirping overhead take flight. So instead, Pearl took refuge where she always had: stillness.

It didn’t work. Blue Diamond stepped into the undergrowth, pushed aside the bushes, and stared right up at her. “Pearl?”

Pearl said nothing. Not yet. Wait and see.

“What’re you doing here?” Blue Diamond asked.

“Hiding.”

Blue Diamond raised an eyebrow. “Hiding? From… what?”

Pearl pointed up to the singing bird.

“… why?”

“It frightened me.”

Blue Diamond raised her eyebrows. “You’re scared… of Nari?”

Nari. Perhaps a type of bird. Pearl nodded.

“O…kay. Well, Nari’s not gonna hurt you. Why don’t you come out?”

In her mind, Pearl was smiling. This strange Blue Diamond did not appear angry or suspicious at all. And of course, why would she? Pearls were so easily frightened, after all. Of course she’d gone hiding in the bushes.

It would be easy to slip into this timeline.

As Pearl stepped out of the bushes, Blue Diamond asked, “What’s that blue stuff on the ground, d'you think?” pointing at the sapphire dust.

“I could not say,” Pearl murmured, which was true enough.

This Blue Diamond was strange. She did not press about the sapphire dust, even though it should have been a fairly easy deduction to make. Instead she just shrugged, laid down on the grass some distance away, and asked Pearl to join her. Pearl complied. Blue Diamond took out a book and began to draw. She spoke very little, giving Pearl time to think, to observe her surroundings, and consider them. Had Blue Diamond returned to this planet to grieve? If so, she did not seem very sad. Perhaps things had gone very, very different in this timeline.

“What d'you think Pearl?” Blue Diamond asked, holding up the book she was drawing in. There was a quite-realistic picture of what appeared to be an extremely rudimentary wheeled vehicle.

Very different indeed.

“It is very nice, my Diamond.”

Despite the compliment, Blue Diamond frowned. She opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off by another voice.

“Steven! Lunch is prepared!”

The voice was a Pearl’s voice.

Pearl turned towards it, because Blue Diamond had, and so it would not be seen as suspicious.

The Pearl coming out of the palanquin looked like her. Same hair, same color, same gem-placement.

This was not immediately shocking. There were many Pearls in the galaxies which had been modelled after her, by Gems emulating the fashion of their Diamond. Pearl herself had been an exact duplicate of an untold number of predecessors.

But then Pearl watched as her counterpart’s mouth dropped open.

And she heard it.

It was like an echo- but no, echoes came after the original. This Song was playing in time with hers, like two instruments in such perfect harmony that you couldn’t even determine the difference unless you focused on it.

This Pearl’s song was the same as her own.

This Pearl was her.

If you’re captured, reveal nothing.

If the rebellion had had formal rules, that would have been rule one. And Pearl would not betray it.

Blue Diamond and the Alternate Pearl interrogated her, and with every question, Pearl played dumb. Innocent. Confused.

“Where did you come from?”

The ground.

“Which Kindergarten?”

I do not know.

“Why were you spying on us?”

I was not spying.

“You were watching me from the bushes.”

I was hiding. I was scared.

“But were you sent by Homeworld?”

Homeworld?

“Who’s your owner?”

I have no owner.

This Blue Diamond continued to perplex. She did not get angry. As the interrogation went on, she wore an expression of increasing concern and confusion. Pearl did not trust this. Not for one moment. There was an angle there. A lie. A trap, a trick.

But she had her own tricks. It would only be a matter of time before Pearl found a way to escape. Blue Diamond had not hurt her, and neither had this Alternate Pearl, for all that she had brandished a knife. They underestimated her. As long as she had her body, she would be able to find a time when she wasn’t under surveillance, a chance to run.

But then the Lapis Lazuli arrived, and held her in a bubble of water.

“I know you are lying,” Alternate Pearl said, voice very soft. “No Kindergartens have been functional on Earth for millennia, and no Pearl farms were ever established here in the first place.”

Pearl said nothing. This was all true. She had heard it all from overhearing her Diamonds’ meetings.

She had realized, in the back of her mind, that Alternate Pearl must have too.

But she hadn’t expected her counterpart to use it against her.

Alternate Pearl held the knife up and continued. “You were not made on this planet, which means you came here somehow. And somehow, you have my Song. We will find out how, and why.”

“Pearl,” Blue Diamond said, tugging on Alternate Pearl’s sheer skirt. “I think you’re scaring her.”

Alternate Pearl said nothing. Pearl knew she was staring at her through thick hair.

The questioning continued for some time. Eventually the Lazuli sighed. “We’re not getting anything out of her.” She shook her head. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but maybe we should bring her over to Rose Quartz.”

Rose Quartz? Pearl thought.

“Rose Quartz?” Blue Diamond echoed.

Lazuli shrugged. “The Crystal Gems have a way with runaway Gems.”

The Crystal Gems.

Pearl did not believe it. Or she could not, until she was brought before rebel leader herself.

Had she betrayed the cause? Pearl wondered.

But no. There was no diamond emblem on her form, and in its place was that single, iconic star.

But still, Pearl did not trust her. For her entire life, silence had been her greatest protection, and it was not one that she would give up so easily.

Until another figure stepped out of the Crystal Gem base; a spear in one hand, an oblong white gem at her temple.

The Renegade.

Over five thousand years ago, Pearl was offered an outstretched hand and a choice.

In one lifetime, Pearl had looked away.

But in another, she had looked the Renegade in the eyes.

“You will need information from the inside. I can provide it.”

That had been Pearl’s life, during the War. To all appearances, a silent, dutiful figure, the perfect specimen. She was at her Diamond’s side at all times, never speaking, always listening.

She found ways to smuggle her information out. Sometimes in person— exhilarating and terrifying treks into the Earthen landscape, stealing away on warp pads, sneaking between trees— a chance to surround herself with fellow rebels. More often, especially as the centuries wore on, through other messengers. Quietly exchanged whispers or holograms, maps exchanged in passing, a hand signal or brush of skin.

Pearl passed on everything she could. Battle plans, construction locations, Gem production numbers, weapon delivery dates, star maps, the rumors circulating around Homeworld. She listened out for sympathizers, and helped them escape or defect. She helped change the course of the rebellion. Battles were won on the details she supplied. She helped secure victory, secure the planet Earth!

And then, in a single flash of light, that victory had been stolen.

It could have ended there. Perhaps it should have.

Pearl had longed for it. Oh, so many times. It would have been easy. The rebellion had failed, and surely that was more than enough proof that Homeworld’s ideals were the right ones. Every Gem a duty, every duty a Gem…

She could have been a Pearl again. She could have been a silent, dutiful figure, the perfect specimen.

But she’d decided to keep fighting.

It had been a long, slow, arduous progress. After the Crystal Gems’ defeat, no one wanted to step out of line. Too much fear, too much uncertainty.

But Pearl had listened. She had schemed, and planned, and reached out. She’d helped smuggle defects to safety. Helped hide illicit fusions from discovery. Helped sway the outcome of trials by altering evidence.

Over the course of millennia, she’d built up a network. Another rebellion, seeping into the very foundation of Homeworld society, reaching out its tendrils, ready to pull it all down.

And they had.

They had.

But the Diamonds were not ones to accept defeat.

It had all fallen down. All of it.

So in one final, desperate move, Pearl had tried to repair all that had been broken.

Pearl told these Crystal Gems- these few miraculously surviving Crystal Gems. She told them everything, and eventually, they believed it.

Pearl figured out the events of the Alternate Pearl’s life in bits and pieces, through implications and deductions.

She had rejected the Renegade’s offer. She’d remained the perfect Pearl.

She had given the Crystal Gems no information, no battle plans, no supplies. The Crystal Gems had fought on despite that, and fought well.

But they had still lost.

“What was even the point?” Pearl wondered allowed one night, staring up at the stars. “All my spying, my scheming? It was all for naught.”

“It wasn’t,” said the Renegade.

“Do not give me false flattery, Pearl. I can see quite plainly I mattered very little to your rebellion, and that I mattered too much to my own. What was the point, if all I did was lead my people to devastation?”

The Renegade did not answer. Merely looked away, her face grim.

Rose Quartz was the one who met Pearl’s eyes. They were usually so light, so joyful, but just then, there were familiar shadows in their depths. She said, “The point was we tried.”

Serving at Blue Diamond’s side was one of tedium and monotony and inescapable sadness. It had worn away at Pearl, threatening to dissolve her into nothing.

Her rebellion was what she had clung to. It had been terrifying and stressful and painful, but it also had been glorious, and those emotions had burned in her core, completely and utterly hers.

Pearl wondered what had kept the Alternate Pearl going all those years, had kept herself from simply eroding away.

Pearl had fought and fought and fought for her independence from Blue Diamond, and in the end, never truly won it.

Alternate Pearl had never fought at all. But she hadn’t needed to. Her Blue Diamond had just stepped away and let her go.

Pearl hadn’t been sure what to make of Steven Universe, the bearer of the Blue Diamond gem. Even after being given the explanation, it had seemed too ludicrous to be true. Suspicion had burned within her.

“Are you certain we are safe around… him?” Pearl had asked the Renegade, tripping over the strange pronoun.

The Renegade waved the question away. “Safe enough.”

That had reassured her somewhat. But the true reassurance had come from Steven Universe himself. Pearl had spent her entire life at Blue Diamond’s side, and knew she was no actress. This hybrid did things she never would have. Spoke to animals. Spent hours playing games and drawing pictures. Said ‘please’ and 'thank you’ and apologized if he hurt someone.

Pearl watched him carefully, at every opportunity she had. Watched him at lessons, carefully listening to Alternate Pearls words. Watched him tear up from a sun burn, and then giggle as he let Alternate Pearl rub a soothing cream on his back. Watched him wrap his arms around Alternate Pearl and bury his face into her waist.

It should have been a relief, to know there was no Blue Diamond left in this timeline, that she had been replaced with someone so much better.

But watching such moments simply filled Pearl with another emotion, nameless and dark and painful.

Pearl spent much of her time in meetings with the Crystal Gems. They were not war meetings, as such, since there was no war going on. But they had the same atmosphere.

It was an exchange of information. Pearl gave them everything she knew about modern Homeworld— its politics, its technology levels, its size, its weaknesses. Every single scrap of information the Crystal Gems might be able to use in the defense of their planet. The Crystal Gems, in turn, listened carefully to her tales of her own attempted rebellion, each win, each tie, and especially, each loss. They gave her new perspectives, insight into what went wrong, and how it could go better.

Pearl wasn’t sure how much help either of them were to the other. After all, neither of them had been victorious. But it was all they had.

Never once did Pearl allow Steven Universe to sit in on the meetings. He may not have been Blue Diamond, but that did not mean she trusted him to know all her secrets and her tactics. Just in case.

She never let Alternate Pearl in either. Not when she’d surely just run and report everything she heard to her Owner.

Eventually the stories dried up, and there were no more discussions to be had.

Pearl found herself looking for ways to fill the time. The Renegade began to train her in combat— it was not a skill she’d ever had the opportunity to learn before. Garnet guided her in the basics of fusion. Rose Quartz invited her to help out in the gardens, tending to plants. Amethyst always encouraged her to 'lighten up’, showing her around the planet and guiding her through human culture. Over time, Pearl improved at all of it.

It was enjoyable. Very much so. In fact, it was the most pleasant time she’d experienced in the entirety of her long life.

But it all felt aimless.

“I can give you a ship.”

The words came so suddenly, so startling, that Pearl nearly punched the speaker in the face.

Instead, she grabbed a hold of herself. Forced her face back into neutrality. Looked at Alternate Pearl right in her hidden-eyes and said, in her softest, most polite voice, “Pardon?”

“I can give you a ship,” Alternate Pearl repeated. “Blue Diamond left a number of Roaming Eyes for Steven’s use.”

“Why would you do that?”

“You do not want to be here.”

Pearl said nothing.

“You try to hide it,” said Alternate Pearl. “But I know what to look for. You’re anxious. You want to return to Homeworld. Finish what you set out to do.”

There was a long, long silence.

Finally, Pearl spoke. “Why do you care?”

“I—” began Alternate Pearl.

“You didn’t care when the Renegade offered you a place in the rebellion,” Pearl said, her voice rising for perhaps the first time in her entire life. “You evidently didn’t care after the Crystal Gems fell. You didn’t let yourself care! You were too scared! Too selfish!”

“Maybe,” said Alternate Pearl. “But I didn’t destroy our entire civilization.”

Cold fury rushed through her, all the colder because she knew it was true.

“How do you know these things? Who told you?” Pearl certainly hadn’t, after all. Had one of the Crystal Gems, after she’d deliberately asked them not to-

“No one,” said Alternate Pearl. “I am not stupid. I have ears, I have eyes. I have basic common sense. I would never be foolish enough to meddle with time, not unless I was truly, truly desperate. It’s a matter of simple deduction. The only thing that would drive you to it is if there was absolutely no other choice. You started a war that destroyed us all, and now you’ve come here to try and start it again.”

“Then why help me go back?” Pearl demanded, the words coming out hot and loud.

“For now Earth is a safe haven,” said Alternate Pearl, “but it will not be for forever. Homeworld will be expecting the Cluster to emerge, and when they come looking for it, they will find us. It is in all our interests that when the time comes, we have an ally on the inside.”

So even now, that Alternate Pearl was still motivated out of fear and selfishness.

But was that so different from her? When the Renegade offered a hand to her, had her mind been filled with lofty ideals?

No. There had been fear— fear of Blue Diamond and her punishments, but fear too, of being away from her, lost in the wilderness of a strange planet. And there had been anger, too, and resentment, and the savage thought of the satisfaction she’d feel, if she took everything from the ones who owned her.

Pearl told her alternate self, “Very well. Give me the ship.”

“I will,” said Alternate Pearl, “if you promise me something in return.”

Pearl balled her fists. She nearly snapped, That wasn’t the deal!

But there had not been a deal. Alternate Pearl had simply said that she could provide a ship, not that she necessarily would.

A distant part of Pearl’s mind appreciated this tactic. Get somebody to want something you could give, and then use that desire to control them. It was one she herself had utilised on some of the less willing rebellion members.

Most of her mind was simply infuriated.

She refused to let that irritation show. Pearl said, “Tell me what you want.”

“To not harm Steven.”

“As long as he has no intention of harming myself or my cause, I have no intention of harming him.”

Alternate Pearl stepped forward, gave the smallest shake of her head. “That is not enough. You must ensure that in the chaos you will stir, he will not be caught in the crosshairs.”

Pearl pressed her lips together. There was no promising that. This alternate self did not understand: on a scale as grand as revolution, the safety of any one individual did not matter. Even— or perhaps, especially— the 'child’ of a Diamond.

But she wanted that ship.

“I shall do all that that I can to protect him.”

“You had better,” the Alternate Pearl said, and though those words were soft, they reverberated with something so cold and deadly, they hardly seemed to belong to someone so sweet and delicate. “If you make those same mistakes this time, you will be putting Steven in danger. If that happens, then you will not have a chance to escape again. Because I will find you first. And any pain that was inflicted on him, I will inflict upon you, three times over.”

She could do it, Pearl realized. This other Pearl was her, and if Pearl herself was capable of it, then so was this reflection.

If the rebellion was what Pearl clung to, to keep herself whole, it seemed she had found what this Alternate Self’s anchor.

And for a moment, she wondered— wondered what it would be like to care about a single individual so deeply, to care about a Diamond that deeply, to feel there was anyone deserving of such devotion—

But she pushed those thoughts away. They hardly mattered at the moment.

“I understand,” Pearl said.

There was a silence as the Alternate Pearl surveyed her. “Then you can have your ship.”

It was only a few short Earth days later when Pearl found herself in the cockpit, giving one last look over the equipment that would take her from the peaceful, wild beauty of Earth into the hostile, strict regime of Homeworld.

She could wait. There was nothing stopping her from taking a little more time, enjoying the freedom, the safety, a little longer. But no. Every moment she delayed, the more opportunities were lost. She would need to start reaching out to contacts, contacts who in this world, she’d never made. Build up a reservoir of informants, of safe houses, of intelligence. Begin to leverage the uncertainty that was no doubt brewing in Blue Diamond’s absence.

“You do not need to go, if you don’t want to,” Rose Quartz said.

“But I do.”

“It’ll be dangerous— an unowned Pearl, you’ll be so exposed—” the Renegade said.

“There are ways for a Pearl to blend in.”

“Yo, are you sure we don’t want us to come with ya? We can help keep ya safe!” Amethyst said.

“You would simply stand out.”

“But when the time comes, if you call for our help, we’ll come,” Garnet said.

“That is appreciated.”

Pearl had expected parting words from all of them. She had not expected Steven Universe to come too, hands buried deep in his pockets. After that first day, the two of them had barely exchanged a handful of words. The blue diamond gem was poking out, barely visible beneath his shirt.

“Be careful,” he said. “Just— try not to get hurt.”

“I will try,” Pearl promised, her voice much softer than she had expected.

To her surprise, the hybrid rushed forward and gave her a brief hug, before quickly backing away.

His body had been surprisingly soft and warm.

Everyone gave their goodbyes then, and Pearl watched as they all left the ship, looking back over their shoulders at her. Eventually the only two remaining was Pearl, and her alternate self.

“Go well,” Alternate Pearl said.

Pearl nodded.

Then she too left, and Pearl was left alone, to set off into the stars.

#steven universe #su fanfic #fanfic #faded blue #little rebellions #blue pearl #pearl #swordtheguy

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ciathyzareposts · 5 years

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My 10 Most Controversial Opinions

Counting down to my ten-year anniversary in February 2020, I offer this quick retrospective on my 10 most controversial opinions. I base this on the number of comments I’ve received arguing back at me when I’ve made certain statements, as well as what people have said about me on other web sites.

I was originally going to title this article “10 Reasons to Despise Me,” but I feel like we have enough invective slung back and forth about fairly trivial issues. Indeed, if you find yourself “despising” me for any of these opinions, I would suggest that you’re taking the entire subject too seriously.

10. I think there’s a “right” way and a “wrong” way to play even single-player games.

In my entry on “Cheats & Liars,” I used an analogy with crossword puzzles. The “point” of a crossword puzzle is not to fill in the blocks with letters; it’s to use your knowledge, intuition, and puzzle-solving skills to interpret the clues and derive the only possible answer. Thus, you are doing crossword puzzles wrong if you use a crossword puzzle dictionary or some other source to help you finish the puzzle. An unfinished puzzle is preferable to a puzzle that you finish by cheating, because at that point you’ve sacrificed the ability to ever finish it properly.

No one disputes that people should follow the rules when it comes to competitive sports. I can’t ride a bicycle along the route of the Boston Marathon and expect the same recognition–or any recognition at all–when I have the fastest time. Nor is there any other aspect of life where we say that it’s okay to break the rules if no one else is watching. A practitioner of a religion, an alcoholic in recovery, or someone on a diet does not get to argue “but I was alone!” when he (respectively) neglected his morning prayers, drank himself under the table, or ate an entire cheesecake.

Playing single-player RPGs may be a solitary activity, but that doesn’t mean there are no rules. Sure, breaking them doesn’t harm anyone but you, but then neither does breaking your diet. That doesn’t mean it isn’t at least a little shameful when you do it.

9. I wouldn’t mind if modern RPGs still made us take notes and make maps.

The other night, I was playing GreedFall with Irene. Some NPC was giving instructions to a character about a potion, and she said something like “note the ingredients carefully.” Irene immediately reached for a piece of paper and a pen, and I laughed. I don’t care what the NPC said, I knew there was no way the game was going to make a player depend on an external note to properly finish the quest. I was right, of course.

But I wouldn’t have minded if the game had required us to write down the ingredients. I would have welcomed it. I miss the days of gaming with a notepad and graph paper by my side. Quest markers have ruined modern RPGs. Even “hardcore” modes generally don’t turn them off.

Playing Might and Magic involved a lot of real work.

8. I don’t like music playing during my games.

That’s not the same thing as saying “I don’t like game music.” I very often admire the compositions; I just don’t want them playing during the actual game. I think this is largely because I’m very music-oriented generally, and I see listening to music as an active experience. I only want it playing when my primary task is listening to music. To me, “background” music is like having someone constantly talking at you while you’re trying to focus on something else.

So I play my games with the music off. Sorry. I know–I miss so much. 7. I don’t like games about rape.

You wouldn’t think that one would be so controversial, but on at least one site it makes me a laughingstock. 6. I don’t like Japanese graphics.

I don’t know if it’s because I was born too early or because I never owned a Nintendo, but for whatever reason I missed out on the era where Japanese animation and tropes became normalized among American youth. I look at the result and I’m baffled. (There was a time when I would have said “disgusted,” so perhaps I’ve made a little progress.) Part of the issue is the artwork itself, perhaps more of it has to do with what the artist chooses to depict–and what players are apparently okay with. If I’m going to play a racing game, I want to race racecars, not goofy little go-karts piloted by mustachioed plumbers. If I’m going to pit monsters against each other in gladiatorial matches, I want them to look like monsters, not characters from the Island of Misfit Toys. And if I’m going to play an action-adventure, I want to play a classic hero, not an effete little elf with bare legs and a pointy hat.

I have a lot of readers that want me to play Chrono Trigger. I’ve watched videos of it. It looks like a bunch of children running around. If I was a fan of the game, I would not be clamoring for my review.

5. I think computer RPGs are superior to console RPGs.

The primary issue is the nature of the input. A controller naturally limits the possibilities of a game. You cannot offer the complexity of NetHack‘s or even Ultima‘s interface with a controller (at least, not without annoying nested menus), nor can you move, look, and click with the same precision as a keyboard and a mouse. Entire styles of gameplay, such as Ultima IV‘s keyword-based dialogue, or text-based inputs for adventure games, or even most point-and-click adventure games, become impossible on the console. Nowadays, because successful games must be offered on both computer and console platforms, these limitations functionally inhibit even computer RPGs.

Then again, I do occasionally like playing a game on the couch, with my wife, next to the fireplace. If a keyboard is better than a console controller, a console controller is better than any attempt I’ve ever seen to make a keyboard, mouse, and PC setup work from a comfortable position with a television. So there are situations in which the console is better than the computer. I just prefer action games in those situations.

Even I admit: time for a console RPG.

4. I don’t care about voiced dialogue–in fact, I wish it would go away.

I’m convinced that voiced dialogue, more than any other factor, is keeping modern games from greatness. The necessity of getting an actor into a studio to voice every possible line of dialogue is what prevents developers from creating more quest dependencies, creating alternate endings, fixing bugs, and including a lot more NPCs in games that feel very sparse without them. It also keeps the character’s chosen name from ever appearing meaningfully in the game.

The Infinity Engine games had the perfect balance. Key dialogues were recorded with voice actors, but most of the time the text was unvoiced. It shouldn’t have progressed beyond that.

3. I don’t mind about re-use of engines.

I mostly want new content, not an entirely new gameplay experience. I grant you that a few series have taken it too far–the Gold Box comes to mind–but in general I think developers should be getting a lot more use out of interfaces and mechanics already developed. It never bothered me for a second that Might and Magic VIII had basically the same interface as Might and Magic VI. I doubt any fan agrees that the “upgrade” in Might and Magic IX did the series any favors. I think it’s basically insane that developers only issue two or three expansions for titles like Fallout 4 or Dragon Age. I would pay as much as the original game for a new story set in the exact same world using the exact same locations. Surely, I can’t be the only one.

2. I don’t hate Bethesda–or, at least, I don’t hate them for the same reason you do.

I love nonlinear, open world games, and there’s no one that’s shown they can do them as well as Bethesda. I don’t mind if some of their other features are a little rough around the edges. Many, many years ago, in the midst of the most addictive period I spent with the game, I opined that Skyrim was “perhaps the best CRPG I have ever played.” That got quite a reaction from my own commenters and commenters on other sites.

I later had reason to regret the statement; I was basically high when I wrote it. It was the equivalent of telling some guy you practically just met, “you’re my best friend, and I love you, man” when it’s 3:00 AM in a bar and you’ve both been drinking gimlets all night. But having qualified the original statement somewhat, I have to admit that it’s still one of the best CRPGs I’ve ever played. If that upsets you, I’m sorry. It gives me what I’m looking for.

That said, I do hate Bethesda a little. Not because of what they produce, but because of what they don’t. Skyrim sold over 3 million copies in its first two days. It won “game of the year” from practically every magazine and site that offers that award. It ultimately made over a billion dollars. What the hell kind of management decision delays the next game in the series for over ten years?! I’ve rarely seen a company that financially irresponsible with its intellectual property. George Lucas before he sold Star Wars to Disney comes to mind, but even he allowed a generous Expanded Universe.

Sometimes I wish I didn’t have my chibi hangup and I could be a fan of Pokémon or Zelda instead. Lovers of those franchises must lose track of all the main series games, expansions, off-shoots, and remakes. You know who knows how to run a brand? Marvel Studios. In a decade, they issued 23 films and 11 television shows, plus associated web series, comic books, and novels, and still none of its fans are complaining of “oversaturation.” Bethesda needs to sell to Disney, hire Brandon Sanderson, or otherwise do what it takes to get their heads out of their asses and start producing.

1. I not only think Fallout 4 is better than Fallout: New Vegas, I think it’s much better.

I say this believing that New Vegas is already an excellent game. But I listen to its fans describe how much better it is than Fallout 4 and I don’t know what they’re talking about. How can they argue that it has more factions, when 4 has essentially the same number? How can the argue about role-playing choices when all your choices in New Vegas collapse into the same battle at the same location? Do they honestly think that Boone and Cass and Gannon are more memorable than Nick and Cait and Deacon?

One of the 10 best NPCs ever.

Every time I get into an argument about this issue with someone, I offer basically the same list of why I think 4 is a better game:

No ridiculously low level cap–no level cap at all, in fact

The ability to keep playing after the end of the main quest, with bonus content depending on what factions you went with

A much larger, more open world with more locations to find; the game really rewards unfettered exploration

Boston is a huge, dense city rather than Vegas’s three buildings

The Settlement/building/settlement defense system

A perks system that actually encourages different character builds

Better item crafting

Much cooler power armor (with jetpacks!)

No invisible walls

An excellent “survival” mode; I can’t imagine playing without it

Flying around in vertibirds

Along with the jetpacks and vertibirds, just a more “vertical” game in general; there’s a lot to find on building tops and elevated highways

Behemoths and mirelurk queens

A gun that shoots actual cannonballs

The ability to call artillery salvos on enemy fortifications

Can blow off enemies’ individual body parts, allowing for more interesting combat tactics overall

Against this, I accept the arguments that the dialogue system isn’t very good and that whoever nerfed the deathclaws ought to be fired. Beyond that, Fallout 4‘s superiority is so obvious to me that I feel like I must be living in another universe when I get into a discussion with most fans of the series.

So there we are: my 10 most controversial opinions. Everyone will probably be enraged at something. Even if you don’t agree with me, I hope you admire my honesty and the risk I’m taking with my Patreon account.

Coming up: Ten years of upsetting people with more controversial opinions, starting with fans of the Arkania series.

source http://reposts.ciathyza.com/my-10-most-controversial-opinions/

#retro games #dos games #retro #crpg #adventure #amiga #oldcomputers #8bit #16bit #blog #repost

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rockthecotswolds · 6 years

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Rocking Day in the Life of...

Amanda Hanley, Interior Designer

We catch up with Amanda, who has been breathing life into residential interiors for 30 years. She has a fabric and wallpaper studio in her shop in Burford, which is full of bespoke furniture and beautiful items for the home.

So Amanda, what made you want to become an interior designer?

It just happened organically. In my early years I worked for a variety of companies, gaining lots of experience. I particularly enjoyed working with a kitchen design company, which is an area I specialise in now, and I trained with a fabulous interior designer - he had buckets of STYLE! I now find it very easy to visualise how a room, or indeed an entire house, should be - it seems very natural to me. I absolutely love what I do and have a feeling that my enthusiasm spills over to my clients.

Do you have any particular favourite places in the Cotswolds that inspire you?

Waterperry Gardens in Oxfordshire is absolutely beautiful; acres of stunning landscaped gardens and herbaceous borders - the colours are amazing! There is also a plant centre, garden shop, and the courses they run there are very inspiring.

I also love the Sculpture Studio, where I learned life sculpture. The teacher, Val Adamson, is fabulous, and I could spend all my time there if I had the chance.

Tell us about “Amanda Hanley by Design” - who’s behind the scenes?

I have been working as an interior designer in the Cotswolds for some 30 years now and am lucky enough to have established a wonderful network of suppliers and talented local tradesmen. The products we supply are all very carefully selected and our furniture is hand made in Britain, ensuring it’s of the highest quality. I am very particular in my standards and will only accept the best.

My son Matthew joined me three years ago to run our showroom on Burford High Street. He has gone from strength to strength, has a very creative eye and our clients adore him. We laugh a lot! He needs to have a great sense of humour when I bounce in from trade shows, boasting my new finds.

My assistant Cathy has exquisite taste, is great fun to work with and has great attention to detail. In the background we have a lovely marketing and admin team, who are extremely patient with me and (I think) really enjoy coming to work. We are quite simply a happy team, and our clients can tell that we love what we do.

What’s a fairly typical morning and afternoon for you?

To be honest, the days are all completely different, but always very busy. For example, this morning we interviewed a potential new member of the showroom team and had three client meetings, all requiring close attention, involving sourcing sofas, footstools, chairs, upholstery, wallpaper, etc. Not to mention the 100 emails waiting to be opened… So, fairly full on! An unglamorous working lunch normally happens around 3pm, and the afternoon today comprised a huge amount of admin and organisation of deliveries, meeting reps and assisting customers; a lot of running up and down stairs for me!

My job is extremely varied and you become very good friends with your clients and get to know them well. They trust you and want you to be really honest with them and give them guidance; I have absolutely no hesitation in telling them if I think something is wrong or even too expensive. I love it when my clients come in and just say: "WOW this is amazing, I want everything in this showroom!" It makes us feel proud of what we have achieved.

The days are long, however, it is so exciting to see how we are growing and developing - we’re about to start selling online, which is very challenging but could be incredibly rewarding.

What made you move to the Cotswolds, and has it helped with work/life balance at all?

I moved out of London around 20 years ago, thinking there may be a quieter pace of life. I can honestly say I was wrong - it’s exceptionally busy but great fun. Over the years, I have seen the Cotswolds change and I would definitely not move back to London. However, I am there most weeks at Chelsea Harbour Design Centre, sourcing fabrics and wallpaper for clients, so I guess I’m getting the best of both worlds.

Lewis & Wood at Chelsea Harbour Design Centre

Where would you recommend grabbing a bite to eat, in and around Burford? Are there any local pubs or bars we need to know about?

The Angel at Burford is lovely because it’s within walking distance, has delicious home-cooked food and a lovely fire, so warm and cosy in the winter. It is a very traditional pub and my sons tell me the real ales on draft are excellent, and the landlord and landlady are delightful.

The newly-opened Lynwood's Cafe in Burford is a regular stop in the morning for coffee and cake, and on a Friday evening it’s always The Spice Lounge, where you receive a fantastic welcome and the food is wonderful.

What’s been the most challenging and rewarding part of your job so far?

The most challenging part is to learn to say “no”! Unfortunately, that never happens, so it just seems to get busier and busier. Interpreting client’s requirements is always challenging; it’s all about psychology, perception and creativity. But I simply adore the job, I love meeting people, and there’s not a day that goes by when I don’t want to go to work.

Mulberry Home

Are there any items that you’ve brought into the shop recently that you’ve got your eye on?

I would have every single item in the shop at home! When I visit trade shows and suppliers I only buy what I like. They find me very honest as I only want the best for my clients. I love colour, texture, unusual collections and eclectic pieces; it should never be boring. Printed velvet is a favourite and the Mulberry Home fabrics and wallpapers are just stunning.

What would you say to encourage anyone looking to style their home, but without a clue where to start?

I would (of course) say come to our showroom and look at the fabrics first, so we can get an idea of what you like and the style of your house. We would then look at wallpaper, wall colours, flooring and start to build a scheme. It is amazing how much you can tell from someone’s choices, and then have the confidence to guide and help them inject their character and personality into their home. That’s what we do and we’re here to help the interior novice design their perfect home.

The scheme must link one room to another, but also be practical and within budget. We have many ways to help save, rather than spend, money – it’s a misconception that interior designers must be expensive!

Cole & Son at Amanda Hanley by Design

How do you unwind after a busy day?

A gin and tonic followed by something delicious for dinner with the family.

15% off GP & J Baker, Mulberry Home, Threads and Baker Lifestyle at Amanda Hanley by Design for the month of October 2018 for Rock the Cotswolds friends and followers*

*Please mention Rock the Cotswolds when visiting Amanda Hanley’s showroom at 69 Burford High Street, OX18 4QA

#interior design #burford #fabrics #mulberry #soft furnishing #reupholstery #joinery #curtains

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virtualfaceengineer · 6 years

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The 5-Second Trick For Website construction

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longforgottenunofficial · 7 years

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The Death Coach

Let's continue with our probes into the cultural background of the various ghosts and ghoulies populating the Mansion. Some are mere visual puns and have a thin background (Great Caesar's Ghost, the Phantoms of the Opera), others can be traced back to a single famous ghost (The Brown Lady of Raynham Hall, the Phantom Drummer of Tedworth), and some take their cue from a more general historic or folkloric setting (the Victorian "mummy craze," the numerous legends about ghostly hitchhikers). Sometimes "mere folklore" veers over into full-blown myth, carrying an almost religious portent. That's where we're headed today, as we turn our gaze toward the Hearse Tea Party in the graveyard. Here it is in magnificent 3D, in two sizes, and once again, it's worth it to do the "magic eye" thing, as the depth of field in this one is particularly enjoyable.

The man in charge here seems to be the coachman.

All you have to do is Google "phantom coachman" or "death coach" or the like, and you'll summon up tons of folklore. This is a major ghost. He's a fully mythological figure in Irish folklore, the Dullahan, driving the Cóiste Bodhar ("coach-a-bower"). The Dullahan is a headless coachman who works in coordination with the Banshee and takes you away when you're about to die. Interestingly, it is widely agreed that the most satisfying treatment of this figure in modern pop culture is in the 1959 Disney film, Darby O'Gill and the Little People. (Mansionites particularly enjoy the Banshee in this film because a couple of its wails were either added to or taken from the Disney sound library and emigrated from there into the Haunted Mansion's Corridor of Doors.) Here he comes...

Get in.

Another interesting cinematic treatment of the Death Coach is in F.W. Murnau's classic, Nosferatu (1922). En route to the castle Dracula, Jonathan Harker is whipped across Transylvanian no-man's land in a phantom coach. This suggests that poor Jonny is in some sense leaving the land of the living and passing over into the land of the dead.

Check HERE for another 1921 treatment of the Death Coach, this time in a Swedish film. Plenty of "real" phantom coaches have been reported. Part of the ghostly doings at Borley Rectory ("The Most Haunted House in England") involve unseen coaches and thundering hoofbeats passing by, or glimpses of a ghostly coach with a headless driver. The Edinburgh Royal Mile has its very own phantom coach, they say. The phantom's appearance varies. Besides the headless coachman, there's a monstrous one, a Grim Reaper-like skeletal one, and a fairly "normal" looking one. Asked to create a Phantom Coachman mask/wall sculpture, the folks at Dynamic Design International (who have done some work for Disney) came up with this as the classic look:

Likewise, the vehicle varies. Usually it's a proper black stagecoach, but often in popular depiction it's a hearse. Was any of this in the background as Marc Davis designed his tea party ensemble? Alas, the paper trail is much thinner this time. His concept sketch looks pretty much like what we ended up getting.

However, there are depictions of the Death Coach in pop iconography that are remarkably similar to Davis's graveyard hearse in appearance. This is from a 1954 comic book:

If you have your parents' permission, you can read the rest HERE, but be forewarned: that stuff will rot your brain. Anyway, this is all fair game, as we have already seen that Davis was not above taking inspiration from horror comics.

Davis's driver is a lot less gruesome, but he is, literally, a phantom coachman, and he's presumably the one who brought these folks to the graveyard (i.e., the place of the dead). The similar hearse dropping off guestly ghosts in the ballroom originally was going to have a friendly driver too, to judge from Davis's concept art.

Essentially, what we've got is a cheerful Charon. That's definitely how Collin Campbell read Davis's graveyard drawing when he did the cover of the "Story and Song" album. (You'll note that Collins combines elements from both of the Davis concept pieces above.) The phantom is providing a taxi service in this painting that is not essentially dissimilar to his function in the scarier treatments.

Davis obviously wanted to get away from the scary phantom coachman and make him a light, comic figure. Indeed, the Davis/Collins coachman looks like a cross between Mr. Magoo and W. C. Fields. Other Disney artists have also treated this character and this topic. One interesting example is on the back cover of the 1970 Magic from the Haunted Mansion souvenir book. That artist clearly interpreted the graveyard hearse as the Death Coach:

When Imagineers in the 90's kicked around ideas for improving the Load area, one of the new concepts called for a full-blown Death Coach in a large window. Notice that once again it's a hearse, not a stagecoach, but this time the Grim Reaper version of the coachman is used:

It's a thinner trail this time, but I'm willing to put down the coachman at the Hearse Tea Party as another spook with solid roots in established ghost lore. It is most curious that we humans are consistently interested not only in the afterlife but in the means of transport from this world into that one. When we're not talking about angelic escort by walking or flying, we're seeing visions of boats and coaches. A carriage approaches, to take you into the boundless realm. Part of the journey is the mode of transportation itself, it seems. And for that last trip, there is no longer any need to pull down on the safety bar.

Originally Posted: Sunday, July 4, 2010 Original Link: [x]

#long forgotten #haunted mansion #death coach #hearse tea party #phantom coachman

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