#this music video messed with my vertigo | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

nothingsolutions · 3 years

Text

**2020 Short Film** screen play draft

Showcase life as a teenager in the 2010's. What defines this generation? What will we be remembered for?

Have random segments appear and "add" to the story but take you down another rabbit hole. Keep having people asking for more but still not having answers to their previous questions.

*Have the entire story loop.

Gut Feeling

Gut Feelings

Genetically Modified

Burn if Found

Disorder

FDA Approved

Stimulant

Sensory Overload

Inborn Pattern

MUSIC

Sooner or Later - N.E.R.D

(Perfect for drive home)

Everyone Nose - N.E.R.D

Purple Baguettes - 88GLAM

Dirt and Grime - Father's Children

Territorial Pissings - Nirvana

(Skating away from home)

Never Can Say Goodbye - Jackson 5

(Perfect for falling back in bed / ending)

The End Has No End - The Strokes

(Loading Docks)

Anti Matter - N.E.R.D

Partners in Crime Part Three - The Internet

(Playing loud in the car that almost hit MAIN)

She Works Out Too Much - MGMT

(Right when they fight / spinning)

Heavy Hitter - Jack Harlow

(Loading Docks)

Molly - Iann Dior

Hive - Earl Sweatshirt

Gonna Love Me - Teyana Taylor

My Pain - Lil Capi

Shoes - Lil Capi

Swim in the light - Kid Cudi

No Church in the Wild - Jay Z & Kanye

The Boy - Shannon and the Clams

Tongue Tied - Grouplove

La-La means I love you - The Delfonics

Dance yourself clean - LCD sound system (3:08)

I hope youre doing ok - Pity party girls club

Creep - Radiohead

Lose my sleep - Jacob Boring

Hometown - French 79

Between the buttons - French 79 (2:09)

Leaf Wraps - The Homies

Oblivion - Grimes

Cha Cha - Freddie Dredd

Switch: Six - Gums

Hottest in the city - Ty

Hell n Back - Bakar

Oof - Inner Wave

New Flesh - Current Joys

Pill - D.Savage

Wow, I can get sexual too - Say Anything

Angelic Hoodrat - Kenny Mason

Sometimes (feat. Swo) - Anxiety Attacks!

Vertigo - The Hellp (running scene)

Beans - Dirtboimil

Ghostbusters - Jayy Davi$

Paper Planes - M.I.A.

Lethal Presence - Night Lovell

Phone - Lil Capi

New House - Toro y Moi

Oblivion - Grimes

Float - The Neighbourhood

Love my Way - The Psychedelic Furs

The Sharpest Lives - My Chemical Romance

Last Living Souls - Gorillaz

Mystery of Love - Mr. Fingers

Mac Miller - Congratulations piano

((https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmXJpbIizUU) perfect for orange bag scene in field)

Blowout - Radiohead (last scene running down the hill)

CAST

Couple on Roof - Tori + Pablo

People in living room - Jackson,

People in Chris room - Chris, Arya, Capi

Kitchen Chopping carrots - Emma

Emma's Room - Cole

Plastic Bag/ Girl bumps into -

Bleeding Skater -

Puts down camera / in car -

Car Passangers - Levi, Casey,

*Concert

Audrey - Herself

Levi - Himself

Driving car hits Levi -

Dinner Scene - Emma +

Mirrored Dinner scene - Emma + Lookalike (Salena)

**Concept**

*Intro

\Audio: Angelic Hoodrat - Kenny Mason fade 2 Cha Cha - Freddie Dredd\

Beginning of the video is sitting in Emmas room. Shot from the opposite side so you can see the whole room and subject.

Very dimly lit (only red lights on) with music blasting.

Constantly zoom shots throughout the house with muffled music in the background to show where the movie starts. (Hallway zoom/ kitchen zoom/ bedroom zoom (Chris)/ all slow-motion with people interacting in the scenes.) People sitting on the couch/ playing Fifa/ coming out of the bathroom. Shot from outside the house to signify the volume of the music?

Cut back to subject on the computer in the right side of the room sitting on the bed.

The computer screen is glowing on the with the face of the subject. You can just see the subjects eyes over the top of the computer screen.

Close up on eyes scanning the room (slow down x35/ x45) name title appears (REF1) and goes back to typing (can barely hear the typing)

Through the glass window of the kitchen (low shot looking up) show sibling cooking something. You hear the chop of the carrots rhythmically just a little off beat to the music heard from Emmas room. Eventually she cuts one last carrot and walks to the room.

Cut to the same zoom shots but pulling back still in slow motion showing that the sibling is marching to the room.

Shot from inside the room is zooming to the door after you hear a faint knock and the Sibling passes the camera (rotate the camera) and slams the computer screen shut. As the computer screen is shutting close up on eyes slowly looking up.

Starts to scream and slowly closes eyes.

**Goes into the first transition.**

Goes black for a second but can still hear scream.

Goes back to color and MAIN is still screaming but you can only see the sky. (Head neck and blue sky)

!!!HEAD MUST BE IN THE SAME PLACE AS THE PREVIOUS FRAME!!!!

FOR CONTINUITY THIS IS A MUST Mid section head on the top line.

When the drop of the song CHA CHA - FREDDIE DREDD starts pan down in a parallax motion showing the subject is in public. Walking 'against the grain'. If everyone is walking one way have subject walk the other. Essentially getting in peoples ways.

When walking bumps into someone hard, abruptly, startling both people. By bumping into that person, the perspective is shifted to her.

@Her

Can see she's speaking but entire thing is bleeped out

(Hit each other and starts to walk away still on MAINS perspective and and she's passing she said what theeee and after it switches to her to see his perspective on the situation but then it just sticks with her.

Cuts to a kid almost getting hit by a car

'Life flashes before his eyes'

REF1

For introduction to character have a close up with face (only eyes) and name mid center

*REF: Screen Shot 2020-01-13 at 12.25.51 PM*

*Jean Jacket interlude

Back of jacket always in view from the middle of the rule of thirds.

Always shot so the jacket is right in the middle.

Only the back of the person at all times

Short shots Burst style

About 45 seconds spread throughout the video??

Or just one segment??

Shot ideas

*Making out see back of dude wearing the jacket dark shot

*Concert shot wearing the jacket walking through the crowd

*Wearing it in a house party with people doing shots around him

Burning candle to show the passing of time.

Shot with the LED light but only a circle of light.

Shoot with a projector over the subject

((

Make sure its apparent the music is coming from cole

As she walks closer it gets louder and louder and the music keeps on changing throughout the beginning shots

Shot of outside of Emmas house

Shot with 2 people 1 dude 1 girl

Dangling feet off of the house

To establish location

At sunset

Close up of them

Acting like a couple

Being close and messing around with the blasting

Music in the background

ZOOMING SHOTS THROUGHOUT THE HOUSE PULLING IN

See people all throughout the house

Playing Fifa

Gitar hero

Cooking in the kitchen

REF: 2

Low shot thru kitchen window you see (Emma/) cooking

Something. Low shot with light coming from behind her light

Coming out the window

Cut to shot of her back and see her

Cutting carrots and after a few chops she throws down the knife

And says "ughhh"

ZOOMING SHOTS THROUGHOUT THE HOUSE PULLING BACK

Showing Emma walking thru the house

Going to ""Coles room"" to shut the laptop

See people all throughout the house

Pass Gitar hero

REF: 2

))

2 notes · View notes

98prilla · 4 years

Text

Birthday

AO3

The next little part of my Darkside Logan series! Enjoy!

...

He wakes to a wild screech, glitter and party popper streamers raining from the ceiling, an incredibly loud noise maker going off, fireworks exploding against the ceiling, in pops of deep indigo and silver sparks. He raises an eyebrow as he sits up, stretching, lips twitching into a smile at Remus whooping and cartwheeling around his room, finally coming to a stop in front of him, clapping his hands and bouncing on the balls of his feet.

“Good morning to you as well, Remus. That was quite an impressive show.” He says evenly, the last of the glitter settling on the ground around him. “I do hope you’ll clean that up later, otherwise it’ll get everywhere.” He yelps as Remus pulls him to his feet and into a waltz, disembodied music drifting through the room, laughing as Remus spins him quicker than his mind can process, dipping him low to the ground. Then Remus swears, and he feels the balance shift, and they’re both on the floor, Remus landing atop him in a tangle of limbs, both of them erupting into startled laughter.

“Not that you need a reason, but this seems like extra effort, even for you. What’s the occasion?” He asks, once they both get their laughter under control, untangling from each other as Remus helps him back to his feet, grin wide and wild, practically vibrating with energy.

“Cygie! You really don’t know!?” Remus exclaims, linking arms with Cygnus as they leave his room, slowly walking down the hall to their kitchen.

“Hmm… nothing comes to mind?” Remus squeals, pulling him faster towards the dark commons, Cygnus’s breath leaving him in a rush as he takes in the state of the room.

It’s decorated with indigo and silver streamers draped in intricate knots across the ceiling. There’s an archway made of black and blue balloons over the entry way to the kitchen, sparkling silver stars dotting the walls, glittering tape tracing constellations in them. And across the wall, above the couch, is a hand made, hand painted, beautifully caligrohpied sign.

“Happy birthday, Cygnus.” Janus says, echoing the sign, emerging from the kitchen, wiping his hands on a towel, watching him appraisingly.

He can’t seem to find his words.

“Cyg?” Remus asks softly, coming around his front, taking both of his hands, and he realizes his eyes are watering, on the verge of tears. “Oh shit, did we fuck up? I’m sorry, was it the glitter? Was it the penis I hid in the happy bday sign?”

“WHAT?!” Janus squawks indignantly at that, and Logan lets out a laugh, shaking his head, because he loves these two, so much, and he’s trying to regain his composure enough to explain.

“No, I… it’s wonderful. I just… I’ve never celebrated, my birthday before. I never… kept track, with them. I… it’s been a year, already?” He asks, looking between Remus and Janus, who are sharing slightly horrified and slightly concerned looks.

“You never… they never did anything for you? Not even Patton?” Remus asks, his voice so high it’s nearly at a pitch only dolphins can hear. He shakes his head, looking away.

“There were more important things to attend to. I didn’t want to distract everyone. No one… remembered, anyway, so I just… stopped, keeping track.” He explains, not protesting as Remus pulls him into a tight hug.

“Well. Your happiness and self worth are very much more important than having a productive day. If Roman gets a full week of birthday shenanigans, the least they could have done was give you a day, sweetling.” Janus adds softly, joining the hug for a brief moment, before pulling back, wiping away Cygnus’s tears, a soft smile on his face. “you deserve it, Cygnus. You work so hard, darling. You deserve to be pampered and fawned over for at least a day.”

“Every day must be my birthday then.” He answers, smiling at Janus’s soft laugh, who ruffles his hair as he passes by.

“Oh, you haven’t seen nothin yet, my starry night! Today is going to be a nonstop orgy of Cygnus appreciation! To Breakfast!” Remus screeches, sprinting into the kitchen, from which loud crashing emerges a moment later, along with a muffled “I’m okay!” That has Janus shaking his head with an exasperated smile as he follows Remus into the kitchen, ready to manage whatever mess he’d made.

…

A year.

It has been a year. One whole year. Three hundred and sixty five days. Five hundred, twenty five thousand, six hundred minutes. Thirty one million, five hundred thirty six thousand seconds.

It hasn’t felt like that long. Or maybe it has felt longer, with all the changes taking place in the mindscape. He’s not really sure, but it sure is giving him a bit of a strange sense of vertigo, right now.

It’s almost impossible, to compare where he is now to where he was a year ago, two years ago. He’s… happy. He’s so much happier than he’s ever been before, he feels appreciated, he feels loved, he feels listened to. He’s not working himself to near death every single day without giving himself any breaks. He’s not pretending to be a machine, not denying his emotions anymore. He’s smiling, he’s laughing, he’s crying, he’s… learning, how to express himself, to understand his emotions, and always, always, Remus and Janus were patient and considerate and there for him.

His relationships with the others are also probably better than they have ever been before. He was right, when he told Patton so long ago that they would do better as friends than as family. That the distance would be good for them.

Everyone is making progress, in leaps and bounds, in acknowledging their own faults, in realizing their own shortcomings, in accepting their flaws and reaching out for help. It helps, he supposes, that there are now two sides who can, in a way, sense lies. Neither him nor Janus will let the others get away with denying their needs or wants, not when it’s important, anyways, and slowly, everyone is getting into the habit of simply… not hiding.

Patton is open, about his bad days. The days he calls ‘gray days’, where the world doesn’t seem to shine, where nothing feels right or good, and he can’t see a point to getting out of bed. He’s devised several signals, clear markers with everyone that show a day is gray, so he doesn’t have to say it, to speak it out loud, because even that is too hard, somedays, it’s easier to just leave a frowny face sticker on his door, and the first one to see it tells everyone else, who take turns spending time with him, coaxing him into activities, or at least out of bed, slowly driving the apathy away.

Roman is still trying to find himself. To rebuild himself, from the crushing defeat and existential crisis of the wedding, and everything it resulted in. He still struggles to admit when he’s struggling, still finds it hard to portray anything other than the happy, peppy persona, but he doesn’t pull back, run, anymore, when someone calls him out. If someone asks how he’s feeling, how he’s doing, Roman won’t paste on a smile and chirp out an answer. He’ll let his mask fall, and answer honestly. It’s too hard, yet, to bring it up himself, so the others are learning to ask, making sure to ask, making sure to not simply brush Roman’s worries or frustrations aside. He’s happier, too, Cygnus knows, the time spent writing with Thomas has him happier than he’s been in years, and more and more days the answer to how he’s feeling is on the okay side of the scale.

Virgil… has stayed much the same, outwardly. But he spends more time, now, with Remus and Janus, and… himself. They’ve talked, quite a lot, actually. He explained his history with the other two dark sides, why he acted how he had towards them, had explained too about his old, unhealthy, habits, how he still struggles, every once in a while, though he hasn’t given in and done it in years. He’d hugged Virgil then, it was maybe the bravest thing the anxious side had ever done, telling him that, telling him everything, apologizing for how he’d reacted, the first time he had appeared to all of them, as Ambition. He’d found it impossible, not to forgive him. Overall, he’d handled it the best out of any of them.

And Thomas.

He’s so proud of Thomas. He’s taken everything in stride. He’s making time for himself, making time to spend individually with every side.

He’s writing with Roman, and also with Remus, working with him to express his horrifying ideas in darkly comedic ways, countering Roman’s fairy tale quests and happy endings.

He’s watching movies with Virgil, or swapping music with him, listening to him spout off about his favorite bands, favorite lyrics. They’ve broken out the karaoke machine a couple times, singing at the top of their lungs, dancing like fools around the living room until they’re breathless from laughing. Virgil’s smile is becoming a more and more common sight.

He’s crafting with Patton, the fatherly side teaching him how to knit and crochet, which Patton is an expert at, fawning over every one of Thomas’s haphazard attempts at a scarf or pot holder. While their hands are busy, they talk, about anything and everything. They’re even attempting to learn how to cook together, though that often ends with the smoke alarm going off. They’re not allowed to cook unsupervised anymore, usually Virgil or Janus keeping things from getting too out of hand from the living room couch.

He’s playing video games with Janus, who loves to pick out the strange, indie games, the ones with ambiguous story lines, twist endings, choices that affect the game, affect the people in it. They discuss undertale for hours, Janus going on an hour long monolague of Flowey’s morality, his take on how much influence Asriel actually has on Flowy, when he’s soulless, surprised that Thomas pays attention the whole time, just as into the game as he is. They play A Way Out together, and Thomas actually throws the controller at the plot twist, shock on his face, as he’s forced to battle Janus, who is laughing the whole time at his indignant spluttering and shocked expression, Janus absolutely annihilating him.

And himself. Thomas hadn’t been lying, when he said nothing changed, between the two of them, just because he is now Ambition. Thomas hasn’t shied away from him, hasn’t excluded him. He’s made time for him, as well. He’d bought a telescope, and set it up in the backyard. They go stargazing together, Cygnus pointing out the planets, when visible, the constellations, passing comets, relaying their history and myths, Thomas asking questions at every turn, until their conversation was somewhere else entirely, talking about anything and everything. They’d also started a bit of a book club, as Thomas called it, though it was really just the two of them. Each month they took turns giving the other a book to read, and then they’d discuss it. He usually sticks to the classics, the three muskateers, moby dick, the jungle book, and he was a bit surprised at how fast Thomas took to them, how much he enjoyed them, enjoyed discussing them. Thomas’s choices surprise him sometimes, too. It’s not always another adventure novel, sometimes it’s the original book of Wicked, or a nonfiction book about the history of cartoon animation, he varies more than Cygnus would have guessed, and he’s surprised at how… entertained, he is, by Thomas’s choices, the ones he would never have picked to read himself.

But most importantly, most incredibly, were the others. Patton, Roman, Logan, Virgil. They had all, individually, apologized, for the way they had treated him, talked over him, ignored him, silenced him. And they were proving they meant it. Every day, they were proving they meant those apologies. They were listening to him. Listening to each other. Everyone has an equal voice, now, and everything feels… good.

So why, does it having been a year, make him feel so… strange? It’s not sadness, not even nostalgia, really, it’s… something melancholy. Something a bit happy, something a bit sad, something a bit wistful.

“Cygnus? Are you alright?” He blinks away his thoughts, realizing he’s been staring at his plate of pancakes for a solid five minutes without taking a bite. They look delicious, topped with sugared berries and warm syrup.

“Just… lost in thought. These are from your garden, correct? Hopefully the non venomous section.” He answers, looking up at Remus, who’s shoveling pancakes topped with caramel and rainbow sprinkles into his mouth, who swallows hugely, nodding.

“Yuppers! And I did pick the ones that won’t kill you, just for your b-day, cygie! At least, they should be mostly non toxic. Let me know if your tongue starts tingling.” Remus answers, and Cygnus chuckles, cutting into his pancakes.

“I will take that into account.”

…

He doesn’t know what he’s doing, when he wanders up the stairs, towards the light side living room. He doesn’t even intend to go there, really, it’s just… where he’s drawn.

“Ambition. We, uh, didn’t expect you, so early.” Roman says, peeking out of the living room, moving to lean against the doorframe, blocking his view of it before he could see anything.

“Roman. You are acting… strange?”

“Me? Wha? No, I’m being perfectly normal! Because you, Ambition, is here!” He sputters, saying the last sentence far too loud to be normal. He’s about to reply, when Patton’s head appears, shooing Roman out of the way.

“You, go finish the… the project! Ok, Roman?” Roman nods, scurrying back into the living room, Patton taking his place blocking the doorway.

“Is everything alright, Patton?” He asks, slightly amused, and only mildly concerned at a distant curse from Virgil.

“Uh huh! Just finishing up something! What brings you here, Ambition? Not that it isn’t good to see you, and you’re of course welcome here all the time, but why on this particular day at this particular moment have you chosen to come visit?” Patton squeaks, his tone rising in pitch until it was nearly above human hearing.

“Are you alright, Patton?” He asks, trying to gauge what exactly has everyone so on edge.

“Yup! Just waiting for the ok!”

“The okay for what?”

“We’re ready!” Roman calls, and Patton steps aside.

“The ok for this.” Patton says softly, stepping aside and ushering him into the living room. For the second time this day, all the air escapes his lungs, and his hands cover his mouth to stifle whatever noise is trying to escape, he can’t tell if it’s a sob or a laugh or something in between.

The room is decorated with glow in the dark stars, blue and white flowers climb the walls on deep green vines, blooming from the cracks in the plaster, filling the room with the sweet smell of summer. On the table sits a cake, carefully air blown a blue ombre, constellations carefully traced across it in silver gilding, it must have taken hours. He can feel the tears slipping down his face, knows everyone is trying to figure out what to do.

“Ambition. Can I hug you?” Virgil asks, stepping into his field of view, and he nods, letting Virgil wrap his arms around him, surprising even himself as he hugs back, face buried in his shoulder. He feels Roman’s arms wrap around him from behind, Patton’s joining a moment later, surrounding him in warmth.

“you remembered. I… you’ve never…”

“We know. I know, Amby. And we’re so sorry.” Roman murmurs, pulling back.

“I know this doesn’t make up for that, for all those years… but we thought maybe, maybe this could be part of starting over. Of being better.” Patton adds, smiling through his own teary eyes as he pats Ambition’s shoulder, before pulling away as well, Ambition finally emerging from Virgil’s embrace, swiping at his eyes.

“Yes. I would… like that.” He mumbles, still a bit awestruck.

“Oh, let’s get Janus and Remus, for presents!” He frowns slightly at that, stepping back.

“Did they put you up to this?” He asks, voice trembling, and he hears Janus’s soft laugh from the doorway.

“No, sweetling. This was all them. We didn’t tell them a thing.” Janus murmurs, appearing with a swish of his cape, Remus thundering up the stairs behind him.

“Nice digs! Not nearly as sweet as our decorations of course, but you tried!” Roman splutters indignantly at that, squaring off against his twin.

“Please! I bet I could plan a party better than you, any day!”

“Maybe if it was for babies. Can you even make a cocktail?”

“Of course! I know how to mix drinks, Remus.” Remus grinned, eyes swirling.

“I was thinking more of an entrée.” He replies with a smirk and shoulder shimmy.

“Remus.” Janus says, exasperated, glancing at Patton.

“It’s alright. He’s just excited! I’m sure you’d throw very interesting parties, Remus. If… if you promise not to make it too scary, maybe you and Virgil could team up for a Halloween one.” Patton suggests, laughing as Remus squeals, launching himself into Virgil's arms, who catches him instinctually in a Scooby-Doo like hold, before dropping him like a hot potato.

“What the heck, dude!?”

“Can we? It’ll be like old times, you and me, creating horrors and monsters and creeping lurking things? Pleaaaaase?” Virgil snorts as Remus bats his eyelids at him, rolling his eyes.

“Yeah, sure, whatever.” He mutters in agreement, trying to contain his own grin as Remus whoops, spinning him around in a circle, already babbling about ideas. It’s good, to see them laughing together.

“I believe someone said something about presents?” Janus drawls, resting a hand on Cygnus’s back, gently leading him to sit down on the couch. Instantly, everyone else crowds around, clamoring over who gets to go first, and he’s crying again, because not only are they giving him attention, they’re fighting for his attention, and he supposes he should feel guilty about liking it, but Janus has rubbed off on him, a bit, so he just smiles, instead.

Before anyone else can, Roman shoves a box into his hands, grinning at having gotten in ‘the first gift’, everyone settling as he stares at the shimmery blue wrapping paper. Tentatively, he peels back the paper, removing the cardboard top of the small box, eyes widening.

It’s a large, blue star sapphire, embedded in a silver filigree, hanging from a silver chain. He lifts it, slightly awestruck, turning it over as his thumb feels grooves against the back, tilting his head to decipher the writing, discovering it’s his name, Ambition, in circular galifreyan.

“Did I get the spelling right? I looked up several guides, but there’s a lot of rules and such.” Roman asks, no doubt nervous at his silence.

“It’s… it’s perfect, Roman. Thank you.” He says softly, slipping the chain over his head, the pendant resting just above his heart. He looks up in time to see Roman’s blush, his expression so tenderly soft, looking at him, that he clears his throat and looks away.

“Me next! Ours are a set!” Remus interrupts, shoving another box into his hands, slightly larger than the previous one, though much the same weight. “Ro had the idea, and we coordinated our results!” He chirps, as Cygnus pulls open the box, a soft grin already on his face.

It’s a silver circlet, with a teardrop blue diamond that will sit in the center of his forehead, and engraved along the inside of the circlet is more galifreyan, this time that reads ‘cygnus’. The band is thin and light, but sturdy, and he knows the engraving must have taken a long time, to do by hand, requiring a lot of patience and focus.

“It’s wonderful.” He murmurs, slipping it onto his head, finding the weight odd, but rather comforting. His past self would have scoffed, at these items, said he didn’t desire to play pretend, to play dress up, and what was the point of them? But he knows better, now, has more confidence in himself and expressing himself, now, and he knows he’ll rarely be seen without them on, he loves them already.

“Wow, ok, well, way to make a side feel wholly inadequate. Um, here, I guess.” Virgil mumbles nervously, depositing a tissue paper wrapped item in his lap. “It’s not much, compared to, that, but-“ Virgil cuts himself off with a shrug, toeing the floor nervously as he unwraps the paper.

It’s a photo. He’s in the kitchen, head thrown back, laughing. Remus is a blur of green movement in the background, chasing a blur of red, a pot is boiling over on the stove, Patton frantically stirring it, trying to scold the twins from over his shoulder, and somehow Janus is hissing from atop the fridge, clearly having climbed up there to escape the shenanigans below. He smiles, running his thumb over the frame, touched that Virgil had thought to capture that moment, one of the first moments of happiness since everything had happened, one of the first times they’d all been together, and all let themselves go.

“I love it, Virg. I… thank you.” He murmurs, low and sincere, and a small smile creeps across Virgil’s face as he nods, tension leaking out of his shoulders.

Janus is next, his simple, a book Cygnus has been meaning to read for ages, but he knows it’s really an invitation for a debate, or perhaps to set up a lecture in the mindscape theater, an open invitation for a day spent ranting and raving and arguing and debating, until they’re both too tired to continue, losing their thoughts mid sentence, trying to string together coherent points at three am. He sets it aside with a small nod and smile, all Janus needs, to know he’s understood, and appreciates it.

Patton is last, but not least, not in the slightest, as he sits down on the couch beside him, nervously running his hand up and down the couch.

“Mine’s a bit… a bit of a group project, I suppose.” He says, handing the package to Cygnus. It’s bigger than the others, with a bit more weight to it, as well, a card taped atop the paper wrapped package. The front has a rough drawing, of all of them together, holding hands. Inside it says ‘Ambition. You’ll always be a part of my heart. Happy birthday, kiddo. Love you.’ With doodles of butterflies and stars and planets.

He's already smiling warmly at that, as he carefully sets it aside, opening the package to find a large book. On the cover is space for a photo to be inserted, and he recognizes it immediately, it’s a selfie Thomas took with all of them. The cover is patterned in silver constellations, the background a deep blue, and curiously, he flips it open, finding the cover is signed by Patton, Virgil, and Roman, who have all written short notes to him, expressing their support, their love, their pride, in who he is becoming, in his own self. His hand is shaky as he turns the page, finding it decorated with stickers and intricate doodles outlining the edges of the pages, the edges of the photographs, each of the three of them recounting what was going on in each picture, leaving their own commentary, witty and sarcastic and heartfelt, on each photo of him smiling, them as a group, him stargazing with Thomas, Him and Janus in the debate room, eyes flashing as they argue, him on stage, wearing safety goggles, Remus helping him with an experiment, him and Patton, decorating cookies, Roman dragging him through the imagination, to search for dragons, a thousand memories and moments and smiles, genuine smiles, all put in one place, all outlined with drawings, all filled in with their words and laughter and remembrances, and he’s shaking, again, a hand over his mouth as he puts the book aside, not wanting tears to stain the pictures, to smear the ink, he wants it to stay perfect and pristine forever, he hadn’t realized they were taking pictures, hadn’t realized they’d cared to memorialize his happiness, hadn’t realized that those moments meant just as much to them as they did to him. Hadn’t realized how much they meant it, when they said they truly, deeply, cared.

“Oh, kiddo. Can I?” Patton asks, arms open, and he nods, letting Patton sweep him up into a hug, letting himself squeeze back, breath hitching. “I love you so much, Ambition, and I’m so… I’m so proud of you. I’m so proud of all you’ve done, and how far you’ve come, and much you pushed all of us to be better, you’re so good, Amby, you’ve always been the best of us. And I’m just… I’m so glad, to see you so happy, kiddo. That’s all I’ve ever wanted, for any of you, is to be happy. You’re a part of this family, kiddo, and we love you, we all love you, so, so much.” Patton murmurs, as he feels others joining the hug, surrounding him in warmth and arms and soft assurances from all sides, overwhelming him, with their support, their love, their affection. It’s everything, this is everything he’d ever hoped for, been too afraid to ask for, been denied, as Logan.

But this… they’d done this. All by themselves, they’d done this, they’d remembered, they’d gone out of their way, to do this for him, they’ve been doing it for the entire year, every day, and he realizes, suddenly, that he’s started trusting them again. That he wants this to truly be a new start, this, today, here, is the last bit of proof that he needed, to show him they mean it, they mean their words and promises about doing better, they mean their I love you’s and affection, they put weight behind their words, and followed through, and he thinks maybe it’s time he does the same.

So despite himself, he pulls away from the hug, smiling at the mild cursing that comes with the twins trying to disentangle themselves from around him, taking a moment to wipe away the tears from his eyes, to take a deep breath, to compose himself. His heart is pounding, irrational fear biting at his heels, and he thinks Janus understands, the leap of faith he is about to take, can sense what he is about to do, and he slips his hand into his to steady him.

“I… have something, I would like to say.” He says, softly, voice a bit tremulous, but the others all give him encouraging nods, and once again, he’s shocked at the difference between now and then, everyone staying silent, giving him space to speak, willing to listen. “I know this hasn’t been easy. I know… I know it hurt, in a lot of different ways, everything… everything that’s happened. But instead of pulling further away, this pulled all of us closer together, and I’m… I’m proud, of everyone, for it. You’ve all grown, so much, and I just… just thank you. Thank you for meaning it, when you said you would work harder, listen more, be better. Thank you for doing it, for showing it, for giving me, for giving each other, the room to grow. The support that was necessary, for that growth to happen.” He pauses, taking in a deep breath, feeling everyone’s eyes on him.

He realizes suddenly he’d never gotten a proper name reveal before. Before, when they all chose names, he just picked the easiest one to remember, he hadn’t seen a point, to personalizing it. And Patton had called him Logan in front of Thomas, thus accidentally stealing that moment from him, that choice, to share it or not. He’s never had to worry, about a reaction, about the weight of it, about the consequences. Then Janus squeezes his hand, and he exhales, looking up at each of them for a long moment, seeing the question, the hesitation, the dawning understanding where this is going, in Virgil’s eyes.

“So I think… I think it’s time we start over, properly. No more hiding. No more secrets. No more… titles. My name… my name is Cygnus Ambition Sanders.” He’s barely finished the sentence, when Patton is barreling into him once again, wrapping him in a tight hug, tears falling though he’s grinning hugely as he pulls away, eyes shining behind his glasses.

“Thank you. Cygnus, thank you.” Patton says softly, practically bouncing in excitement, the air radiating with his joy and delight and heart stopping love.

“It suits you, teach.” Virgil says simply, though he wears one of his rare, open, lopsided grins, eyes warm and soft as he looks at him, somehow warming his heart more, because he knows Virgil understands, what it means, how much it means, that he’s shared his name. Virgil has been there, in much the same position he himself is now in, and he relaxes slightly at his approval.

“Cygnus.” Roman murmurs, seemingly a bit dazed by the revelation, though the name sounds like music on his lips, making Cygnus’s ears burn red, as Roman sweeps him up, spinning and dipping him, a mirror of Remus this morning, god was it only this morning? And he remembers once more just how similar the twins are, though they’re both loathe to admit it. He laughs as Roman sets him upright once more, pressing close in a moment long hug, steady and firm and grounding. “thank you, Cygnus. You’re so brave, and we’re so, so lucky, to have you with us.” He murmurs, before stepping away. “See Remus! That’s how you do a dip!” He yells at his brother, who’s grinning ear to ear, laughing.

“But it’s so much more fun to drop them!” Still, Remus sweeps him into a hug as well before skipping off, trying to steal frosting off the cake, if Virgil’s indignant screech and subsequent pounding of footsteps chasing is anything to go by.

Janus pulls him close, pressing a soft kiss to the top of his head before leaning forwards until their foreheads touch, resting against each other, his hand stroking back a stray piece of hair, lingering against his cheek in a pleasant warmth.

“Proud of you, lovely. You’ve done so well, Cygnus, you really have.” He smiles, not pulling away.

“You know this doesn’t change anything, correct? I’m not moving back. I’m not leaving you and Remus. I will never.” He murmurs back, a promise, ringing with truth, and he feels some of the tension washing out of Janus.

“Of course. Now, let’s cut into that cake before Remus decides to shove the entire thing into his gaping maw.” He laughs, stepping back, letting Janus lead them back into the fray the party has become, smiling at the single candle atop the cake, Patton struggling with the lighter, before Virgil gently pries it away, lighting the candle in one go, despite muttering about it being a fire hazard and the whole house going up in flames, Janus wrangling the twins out of their chase to sing happy birthday, both of them trying to outdo each other with riffs, though they finally do actually finish the song together, harmonizing the last few lines.

Staring at the lit candle, at the joyful, expectant faces around him, Cygnus realizes he only has one single wish, as he blows out the candle.

That every day, could be this perfect.

34 notes · View notes

atruththatyoudeny · 4 years

Text

Monthly Reads | July 2020

Happy 28th! As always, my undying love goes out to all the amazing authors this fandom still has. You are all incredible! Thank you for sharing your work with us ♥ Here are all the 21 fics I read and enjoyed this month:

⋙ The Murmur of Yearning | MediaWhore | historical - no smut - arranged marriage past rape/non-con - implied/referenced dubious consent - minor character death - slow burn - 93k Four years ago, Harry Styles was forced into a marriage of convenience to enrich and ally both his and his promised's families. The sudden, and slightly suspicious, death of the Marquess of Haxshire, however, brings great disturbance to Crescentfield Hall and, as his late's husband's closest male relative, Harry unexpectedly finds himself the head of a family he never felt he belonged to. Between a meddling distant cousin hellbent on inserting himself in Harry’s life, his wicked and mistrustful mother-in-law and his late husband’s advisors refusing to help or take him seriously, Harry struggles in the fight to keep what he’s earned and make the Estate finally feel like home. Luckily he doesn’t stand completely alone and finds himself an unlikely ally in Mr Tomlinson, the elusive Land Stewart who has been taking care of the property in the shadows for years. Louis Tomlinson is caring, patient, and unlike everyone else, he doesn’t seem to think Harry committed a murder.

⋙ Donor-Conceived | jaerie | a/b/o - omega/omega - friends to lovers - intersex omegas - pregnancy kink - unplanned pregnancy - fertility issues - miscarriage mentioned - male lactation - lactation kink - 31k When Harry receives the worst news of his life, it's now or never if he wants to carry a child of his own. Without an alpha, it's a daunting idea. But after it's a go, he finds another omega having a child from the same donor and become fast friends. It is only logical that they raise the boys as half brothers, making sure their sons keep up the relationship with the only connection to their anonymous father. It seems like the perfect plan but life doesn't always work out that way.

⋙ Just a touch of your love | anonymous | a/b/o - touch-starved - past abuse - past rape/non-con - miscommunication - anxiety attacks - 12k “What if something happened to you? What would I say to Niall?” “Nothing, he would have to wait to see my corpse on the news like everyone else.” Deadpanned Harry. Louis’ gasp was all the answer he got. Ok, so that might have been a bit too much. With a calmer voice, he said, “It’s really fine. I’ve walked to the tube countless times, I can handle myself. Just go home and tell Niall to stop mothering me.” Louis was finally walking by his side and gave him a sideways glance before talking. “He doesn’t know, does he? Of your, uh, condition.” Harry tensed and his breath became erratic, but he didn’t say a word. Louis continued. “His nose probably hasn’t picked it up, and you’re lucky Liam’s also a beta, but it took me a minute to confirm it. Your scent is gettin’ so…” He seemed to struggle to find a word. He didn’t finish the sentence, but the emotion in his voice made Harry’s tummy churn. -- Or, Harry is a touch starved omega trying to get through it on his own. Louis happens to be the only alpha around to realize it and offers to help.

⋙ We're Not Who We Used To Be | jaerie | trans female character - trans Harry - childhood friends - friends with benefits - transitioning - gender dysphoria - body disphoria gender identity - first time - self-medicating - reference to depression - 7k Louis comes back to his childhood home and sees an old friend who has changed quite a lot since the last time they saw each other.

⋙ Sincerely, Yours | anon | strangers to lovers - military - 25k Prompt:Historical AU where Louis is a soldier on his way to first deployment and Harry is working at a diner. They meet there when Louis is waiting for the bus, Harry tries to cheer Louis up and agrees to write to him while he's deployed because Louis doesn't have anyone else to write to. People kinda make fun of Harry for writing to (and falling for) a virtual stranger but otherwise everything is great until Louis stops writing. AKA travelin' soldier by the Dixie Chicks but gay and with a happy ending.

⋙ Ever Since I Tried Your Way | anon | historical - 1940s - 1950s - farm/ranch - internalized homophobia - hurt/comfort - emotional hurt/comfort - fluff - smut - gender exploration - body worship - 26k Harry had been kissed before, but never like this. He’d shared sweet, curious kisses behind bleachers and in soda shop booths, one or two more daring ones in cars parked on dark suburban streets, but the girls he’d kissed had never filled him with the desperation that erupted from Louis’ touch. He parted his lips and pulled him closer, as though he could breathe Louis straight into his lungs, as if he could swallow him. He wanted to consume Louis the way he consumed the body and blood of Christ. He wanted to place Louis on his tongue and feel him dissolve into a frothy mess of starch and saliva. He wanted to gulp him down until his teeth were stained purple and he was drunk on him. He wanted him in some violent holy way that made his hands shake where they were twisted in Louis’ shirt. In 1949 Harry left his bride at the altar, running away from the only life he'd known. When a kindhearted farmer offers him a ride in his truck and a place to sleep the two find themselves inexplicably drawn together. Isolated on Louis' farm with nobody but a field of dairy cows to intrude, the men are finally able to explore the parts of themselves they've spent their lives hiding away.

⋙ sleeping on our problems | falsegoodnight | a/b/o - college/university - mpreg - friends with benefits - angst - slow burn - hurt/comfort - 67k I’m in love with you, Louis thinks. He feels empty, weighed down by his sadness and the loss of Harry inside him just moments ago before his knot finally went down. There’s moments where he’s sure Harry feels the same. Like now, when he’s gazing down at Louis with so much adoration and tenderness. It’s like they’re both on the cusp of something more, but neither of them ever say a word. His confession is on the tip of his tongue ready to slide out like honey, and yet he remains silent. They both do, looking at each other and recognizing the reluctance mirrored in each other’s eyes. It’s then that Louis realizes they’re both scared. - Or Louis sleeps with Harry and they have more than just catching feelings to worry about.

⋙ in a world alone | falsegoodnight | a/b/o - Swan Lake AU - historical - royalty - magic - curses - friends to lovers - slow burn - mpreg - 51k Harry’s breath catches as the glow grows bigger and bigger until he’s squinting his eyes and blinking at the sudden intense brightness. He closes his eyes, rubbing at them helplessly. When his eyes open again- he gasps, grip loosening on his bow as he gawks at the sight before him. Because the swan is gone. And in its place is the prettiest omega Harry has ever seen. - A Swan Lake AU

⋙ The Baby Whisperer | jacaranda_bloom | strangers to lovers - prior mpreg - neighbours - fluff - smut - kid fic - 19k Harry’s newborn baby is having trouble sleeping and nothing he does seems to work. Tired and alone and at his wits end, Harry is at a loss until a new neighbour arrives to turn his world upside down. OR the one where being neighbourly takes on a whole new meaning.

⋙ was in no hurry, had no worries | defencelouis | strangers to lovers - car accidents - smut - daddy kink - 21k The year is 1999 and Harry can’t stop dedicating songs to Louis on the radio. Or the one where Harry hits Louis with his car.

⋙ Strong Enough | jacaranda_bloom | enemies to lovers - exes to lovers - angst - smut - divorce - 21k “So…” Liam starts, and Louis instantly knows where this is going. He’s actually glad it’s Liam that's dragging the subject out from the shadows and into the light. Louis turns to face him, mirroring his position on the couch and nods, ready for him to continue. Liam takes a deep breath. “Have you spoken to Harry recently?” Five years after Vertigo goes on hiatus, the band comes back together for a benefit concert. Can Louis and Harry work through their complicated past, or are some wounds too deep to be healed?

⋙ What's It Gonna Be? | zeldasayre | high school - 37k Louis looked thoughtful for a moment. “When are you meeting with Clare again?” “Thursday,” Bebe said, looking over at him, the ice clinking in her glass as she stirred it with a long spoon. “Why?” He grinned, narrowing his eyes. He took a long, dramatic pause, sipping his lemonade, and then said, “Scheming.” aka I've watched Shura's "What's It Gonna Be?" music video one too many times. ((Or, Louis and Bebe, best friends since childhood, have crushes on two of the most popular kids in school, and in an attempt to increase their respective chances, Louis befriends Harry Styles, quarterback of the football team, while Bebe befriends Clare Uchima, head cheerleader. Only... the plan... doesn't go exactly as planned.))

⋙ There Goes My Life | anonymous | older larry - colleagues with benefits - mpreg - unplanned pregnancy - smut - lactation kink - 8k Metallic taste in the mouth, check. Aversions to favourite foods, check. Nausea without throwing up, check. A heightened sense of smell, check. Sore and sensitive nipples, check. It had felt as though Harry had been ticking off boxes from his own mental checklist and every new addition brought him closer to an existential crisis. Pregnant. Everything over the last few weeks began to make sense; thoughts he pushed from his mind because he was too busy, and to be honest too scared, to think about. Getting knocked up from a few-night’s-stand was something that happened to teenagers and/or uni students, but certainly not to a forty-year-old Member of Parliament such as himself. *** Or, the one where Harry is single, a Member of Parliament, gets knocked up and has to deal with navigating motherhood in his forties. And Louis? Well, his life is about to change forever as well. This is a tale about colleagues with benefits and the consequences that can come with that.

⋙ Mother I'd Like to * | anonymous | implied mpreg - MILF Harry - 4k “What’s up, dad?” Oliver asks Louis, standing in front of Harry in a way that hides his friends from the view. “Is there something wrong with your mom? Your friends are staring a lot.” Oliver goes beet red at that. He groans and hides his face on his hands. “Oh my god. Oh my god.” --------------------- Written for the prompt: Harry’s and Louis’ son is like 16, so he is hanging out with his friends and his friends are teasing him about how hot his mother (aka harry) is, just like the 1D boys always did with Harry about Anne. The son feels super uncomfortable and Louis is super confused why these little teenagers boys always stare at Harry’s body when he is cooking for them whenever they visit until he finds out they think of Harry as the hottest milf in town (more humor than actual sexual references pls, this is supposed to be more funny than awkwardly sexual :D)

⋙ An Invincible Summer | Brooklyn_Babylon | farm/ranch - historical - 1940s - period-typical homophobia - adoption - minor character death - epilepsy - homophobic language - smut - 44k Never content to stay in one place for long, a few months down south researching for his novel seemed like an idyllic, slow-paced summer to Louis. He wasn't ready for the blistering heat, the backbreaking work of watermelon picking, or how stifling the attitudes in rural Georgia would feel. And he definitely hadn’t anticipated falling in love with the farmer’s son. The summer of 1946 would turn out to be everything worth writing about.

⋙ a trail of honey through it all | faeriestyles | strangers to friends to lovers - mild violence - D/s undertones - 27k The boy in front of him, well really, the man in front of him, was like something out of a confusing wet dream. Built, tall, tan and muscular, his skin glistened with sweat after a long day of working outdoors with his hands. He was wearing a cut up old American football shirt, the bottom hem was torn and the sleeves were cut off to the point where the t-shirt was really just a loose tank top. The shorts he had on had clearly been full length jeans at one point, and were now just crudely cut off above the knee. His white socks were pulled up too high on his calves, and the brown work boots he had on were old as fuck, the leather peeling along the edges of the soles. Curly brown hair stuck out from the edges of his backwards snapback, and there was a smudge of grease wiped along his brow bone. The smattering of hair along his jaw proved that he hadn’t shaved in a week or two, the hair growing in thicker across his upper lip and around his chin. His sinfully bowed mouth was pink and plump, and Louis was suddenly hyper-focused on the way that he chewed at the toothpick stuck between his lips. He looked like he needed a shower. Louis wanted to lick him. Or, the TPH fic we’ve all been waiting for.

⋙ The Recklessness in Water | LarryOn | light angst - smut - 50k Louis Tomlinson is miserable. He's stuck on a family vacation at a lake cabin in New Hampshire when all he wants to do is bemoan his sorry existence and wallow in his sweatpants. As if the humidity and mosquitos weren't bad enough, he becomes the singular target of an obnoxious lifeguard named Harry.

⋙ baby blue | soldouthaz | cowboy AU - famous/not famous - angst - hate to love - enemies to lovers - smut - hurt/comfort - minor violence - 39k Harry Styles takes his time coming out to greet them. Louis only knows what he’s seen on file and what he’s heard them talking about, but he fully lives up to the image he had inside of his head. He saunters down the front steps of the farmhouse in his Levi’s, brown snakeskin boots curving out from underneath the denim Louis’ sure he had specially made. He’s got on a plaid button-down tucked into the jeans because of course he does, curls spilling out from either side of his cowboy hat around his sunglasses and country-tan skin. “Harry Styles,” he drawls, extending a hand to Louis’ manager, “Pleased to meet ya’ll.”

⋙ with no way out and a long way down | we_are_the_same | royalty - soulmates - strangers to lovers - fluff - angst - no smut - emotional hurt/comfort arranged marriage - 31k Prince Harry is ten when he receives his soulmark.

⋙ adjudication | bottomlinsons | royalty - historical - enemies to friends to lovers - enemies to friends - love letters - betrayal - slow burn - light angst - arranged marriage - 75k Harry's been engaged to Princess Charlotte of Ryde for as long as he can remember. He's come to know her, to love her, through the letters she's sent him over the past three years. But when the wedding finally arrives, Harry quickly learns that nothing is as it seems. With his crown and country at stake, Harry must decide who to trust in this strange new land. And the sly Crown Prince of Ryde doesn't seem inclined to make things easy.

⋙ Something to Prove | trysomecats | a/b/o - enemies to lovers - mpreg - smut - 9k Louis is the first and only omega to work at Red Valley Medical Center. Despite being more than qualified, he still faces prejudice for his career choice everyday. From patients refusing his treatment to condescending alpha doctors intervening with his work, practicing medicine in Boston is more challenging than Louis had ever thought it would be.

#fic rec #28th appreciation #monthly reads #monthly fic rec #my reads #larry fics #completed fics

28 notes · View notes

bookenders · 5 years

Note

What’s your new graphic novel? (And what kind of experimental literature?)

Hi Hi @therainsoakedwriter! Thanks for the ask!

This is my new baby. I’ve wanted to get it the past 4 times I’ve been in the bookstore but it just went on sale and I got excited and broke my no-books-until-you-finish-the-shelf-of-unread-books rule. I am so pumped to read it. It looks so cute, and it’s all blue! I love artists.

Thank you for asking about my weird interests!

So I took an experimental lit class and I got kinda into it. Stories told using existing mediums in new ways, using new mediums in fun ways, digital storytelling, hypertext fiction, the French Nouveau Roman, etc. I like weird.

[Also, hypertext fiction is fiction that is also told outside of the text. Like, House of Leaves has a companion music album that the author’s sister, Poe, made. Or a story you navigate through hyperlinks.]

Some examples from what I remember:

House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski

One of the more famous experimental novels. Very weird, did not super enjoy it because I am a scardey cat and I stopped with 100 pages left because I didn’t want to finish it out of spite. Does a lot with the printed book. The one you see people reading upside down and sideways. Jorge Luis Borges short stories

I’m talkin’ “Garden of Forking Paths,” “The Library of Babel,” “Funes the Memorious.” Stories that question literally everything about stories and information and physical space. GoFP is about quantum mechanics, ish, and messes with time and space. LoB is about a literally infinite Library and how it would be organized. There’s even a website where you can navigate the library (not sure if it still works, though). It’s trippy. Alain Robbe-Grillet stories and films, and Alain Resnais films

Time is meaningless so why tell stories in chronological order? Or spacial order, for that matter? #NORULESIf on a Winter’s Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino

A story about “you,” who has purchased and is reading If on A Winter’s Night a Traveler, but because of how books are put together in the warehouse, your copy contains not the whole story, but the first chapters of several different stories! Now go figure out why. Very meta.Patchwork Girl by Shelley Jackson

You like Frankenstein? How about a hypertext retelling of it? With a female monster and Mary Shelley? It comes on a memory stick. Very cool.And some weird movies:

Decasia: the State of Decay, Upstream Color, Run Lola Run, eXistenZ, 12 Monkeys, Vertigo, Memento, It Felt Like a Kiss, Code Unknown

My projects for the class were all about point and click video games. I have a post on interactive love stories, and I’m working on a game recommendation post right now. I’ll spoil it though:

Anything by Free Bird Games: A Bird Story, To The Moon

Digital: A Love Story

The Stanley Parable

#ender answers #luminosity2 #therainsoakedwriter #storyteller saturday #about me #graphic novels #recs #book recs #film recs #experimental literature #experimental fiction

4 notes · View notes

murderonthemattress · 6 years

Text

undefined

youtube

So I don't talk about my migraines on Tumblr. I reblog posts somtimes but don't talk about my own. This might be a little long and will end up talking about CBD and other things that have helped me when I wasn't sure life ever got better than several migraines a week.

From the ages of 14 - 26 I had a migraine every day. They included this like sensory auras (I would feel like my sinuses were tingling, sometimes my front teeth would feel like they were buzzing); non-fluent aphasia; vertigo; nausea; neuralgia in my face; sometimes I wouldn't be able to make sense of what my eyes were seeing; sometimes I couldn't see out of one eye unless I covered the other; sometimes I couldn't feel half of my face; simple motor skills, like writing, were difficult.

So life sucked a lot for a long time. I finally got a doctor to believe that I was hurting as bad as I claimed in my 20s. They connected me to a neurologist. We tried a ton of stuff. Blood pressure medication, anti-seizure medication, Alzheimer's medication. Acupuncture. Triptans (they make another appearance here too). Other things I can't remember. A lot of stuff. I got the migraines down to three a week on average. It was like having a life again. My neurologist looked horrified that "only" three migraines a week was "having my life back". It really felt like it.

Last year I started taking CBD oil to see if it would help. It wasn't going to hurt me and I was/am afraid of getting Botox. (I had three ovarian ruptures in a year when I tried the Mirena; I am allergic to the med they give you when you can't have penicillin; I developed tendinitis from a common uti med; and can't take any Triptans because they make things worse. Essentially, I'm not confident about "rare side effects" not impacting me).

CBD oil let me go to the beach for the first time in 8 years. I can go to movies and concerts and not spend the next day or days laid out. I can go hiking with my hubs -or even on the train to and from work- and not need a baseball hat, sunglasses, and possibly, to take my migraine abortive meds. I haven't had to lay down on my office for with all the lights off until an emergency contact could come get me and drag me home.

It's not a cure-all. I still get migraines sometimes. When the weather is weird and the barometric pressure is a crazy mess. Sometimes just Because. But it's only once or twice a month now. THAT feels like having my life back.

I also came across the YouTube video I linked above the other day. I had to leave work early because of a migraine. I couldn't stomach the noises on the train, but regular music (sometimes certain types will help. Calm soundtracks. Metal. I never said my brain made sense) wasn't helping. I searched for "Migraine relief music" and tried a few in desperation. The one I link worked really well for me, between my meds, and my hat to darken the train lights. I tried it again the other day and found it helpful again.

I'm not sure if it'll help anyone else. But my head has been acting up a lot lately. Because of the weather in Boston maybe, because I've been having some other health stuff going on that's had me at urgent care/the hospital four times this week. Because my brain is vengeful. Whatever.

Mostly, I've been thinking a lot about my brain lately because I've had to and wanted to share something. Because not everyone has been as fortunate to find a doctor that listens, or has the ability to access and utilize health insurance. But people that read this can access the internet and maybe this link or something like it might be helpful in some way.

#migraine brain #migraine #hospital #hospital mention #women's healthcare #health #cbd #cbd oil

10 notes · View notes

meditatemoremedicateless · 6 years

Text

Dear Kate, (You did WHAT at the Party?)

Fandom: Life is Strange

Pairings: Chasemarsh, Ambermarsh

Major Tags: Fluff, Comedy, Possession, next-level fake dating

Words: 2551

Summary: Kate is a senior at Blackwell Academy trying to live a normal, happy, Christian life, graduate highschool, and write a slew of children’s books. Katie, the amnesiac ghost of Rachel Amber living in her head, is a party girl with a fondness for bitchy girls and men twice her age. This time, Katie macked on a pretty girl she probably shouldn’t have, and now Kate has to deal with the mess.

Dear Kate,

I woke up when you were doing physics homework yesterday at 6:00 or so. It's not due until Monday but I know you hate not having your homework done right away, so I finished it. I didn't read any of your books for Lit but, well, you wouldn't have remembered it if I did. Also, Max wants to borrow your your copy of the October Country, and I said yes, so I hope that's cool. I didn't actually lend it but I said you would, so pretty please? She seems nice and I want her to like me.

There's a party starting at 8:00 (it's actually 8:08 rn but I wanted to make sure I finished the physics homework) that I'm going to. I'll try not to drink too much so you don't have a hangover again. Sorry about last time, again. Have a nice Friday.

X O X O ~ Katie

Edit: Apparently you asked Dana to the party! I'm so proud of you. Dana seems very nice. I haven't asked if you like girls or not so I'll try not to do anything you wouldn't do.

Unlike most days, there was another message after the first.

Dear Kate

hey so i kkind of drank too much don't be mad at me. also i smoked a little but just a little i don't even smell. Drink a glass off water, you'll feel better. also makeup. sorry

The drinking had been kind of immediately apparent thanks to the whole throbbing headache and difficulty focusing. The makeup comment was a little harder to decipher until Kate checked herself out with the mirror next to the door and found that her mascara and lipstick were smeared. Also, obviously, they hadn't been removed before bed. Despite the fact that Kate had repeatedly asked Katie to not wear mascara or to go get them some waterproof mascara (Katie never included it in her notes, but Kate often woke up to find she'd been crying), here it was, a mess on her face again. Of course.

Dear Katie,

Seeing as you knew that the physics homework was due Tuesday, I assume you looked at my planner and saw that I have a test today this afternoon. I know you don't get very often but I wish you would be more considerate of how your actions affect me academically and socially. How was Dana?

Kate stared at the message for a few minutes, struggling to find a way to make it sound less aggressive. It was past 9:00, and chances are she wasn't going to have a chance to take a decent shower, nevermind study for the Music lab test. Maybe she could talk to Max at lunch about it? What if Max had been at the party and seen how she was acting? What if things were weird? Max could get pretty awkward as it is.

Kate sighed, and deleted the message.

Dear Katie,

I'm glad you had a good time last night, and thank you for doing my Physics homework. That was very considerate. Please try to drink water between drinks - these hangovers really suck. If you are awake around noon tomorrow, we have a tea date with Max downtown. I'll give her The October Country today in class.

Also, I've been thinking, if you'd be up to it, I might like to teach you violin. I'm losing a lot of practice time, but I also want you to have your own life and I'm not going to make you if you don't want to learn. I thought I could upload some tutorials onto Youtube or something and you'd have my notes.

How was Dana?

I hope you have a good day,

Kate

It was 9:28. She could eat a granola bar and take a quick shower before English. Hopefully this wasn't going to be another morning of her crouching in the shower waiting for the vertigo to stop as she missed her first class.

Kate decided to take a nap through lunch as her form of studying for the Music final. Her headache had gone away, but she still felt like garbage, even moreso because she hadn't been able to focus at all through AP Lit. However, just as she finally dropped into a blissful power-nap, there was a knock at her door.

She groaned, but Max and Dana were the only people who ever came to talk to her in her room, and they were both pretty soft-spoken and quick to disengage, so this shouldn't be too bad.

"Come in," Kate called, pushing herself upright. Her elbows cracked in her response. She just tried to focus on looking awake.

"Oh, hi Victoria," Kate said.

"Hey," Victoria replied. She just stood in the doorway for a second, then asked, "Can I talk to you for a second?"

What could Victoria possibly want to talk about? Did Katie say something mean to her again?

Kate shrugged slowly. "Yeah I . . . guess. Come in."

Victoria nodded in response, stepping inside and closing the door behind her. Kate expected her to just say something real quick and leave - maybe lean back against the doorway all haughty and make some snide remarks about her behavior. But, instead, she walked across the room, pulled out Kate's roller chair, and sat across from Kate. It left them on an even elevation for probably the first time of all conversations they'd ever had - Victoria loved being taller than other girls, it seemed. Or at least she made use of it.

Kate just sat there, too unfamiliar with the situation to even suss out how to start.

Victoria took a quick deep breath, then put on a suspicious face. "Okay. I thought we should talk about the party."

Of course you do. Did I push you in the pool or something?

"Oh . . . okay." Kate paused, then added, "You first?"

Victoria leaned back in the chair, crossing her arms over her chest. Now that was a more familiar Victoria look.

"Fine. Were you fucking with me last night?"

Kate opened her mouth to reply, but Victoria kept going before she could get a word in, "Because I want to let you know: if you post this on social media, or so much as tell it to your friends, I will end you, you got it?"

Victoria was always sarcastic and cutting, but her cold, venomous tone now chilled Kate's body and made her mouth run dry. Katie had gotten her into some deep, deep shit and she hadn't bothered to mention it. Posting something on social media? Had Katie taken pictures of Victoria in some compromising situation? Video-taped her doing drugs? What could she possibly have done to piss Victoria off more than Kate already had?

I can fix this. Victoria just has to tell me what I did and I'll fix it. No questions asked.

Kate put on her best concerned face, which was pretty easy, because she didn't want Victoria to make her death look like an accident one sunny morning on her way to church.

"Yeah, no, totally, I get that. I just, um. What are you talking about? Last night is kind of . . . hazy."

Kate wasn't sure how to guess if she could have plausibly lost memory from how bad her hangover was, but her hangover had certainly felt pretty bad.

Victoria just glared. "Real cute, but you weren't drunk. At least not at first. And, look, I can take it like I dish it, if you were flirting with me to make me uncomfortable, fine, be gross and weird. But you - you crossed a line last night."

Kate's eyes widened with shock and her mouth held just a little bit open. "Oh no," she said. "Did I sexually harass you? That's so rude, I'm-"

"No, no. I mean, yeah, kinda, but what the fuck ever. I mean when you kissed me, asshole." Victoria clearly flinched on the word 'kissed', but Kate was already busy sinking into shame. Well, shame and confusion.

"Oh, god," Kate replied, looking down at the ground. She needed an explanation - fast - that wouldn't get her in even more trouble. "I just . . . I guess I just didn't really think about it. I'm not really myself when I drink, I'm sorry." That much, at least, was true.

Victoria sighed. Clearly, that wasn't good enough for her. She looked down at the ground, too, letting her hands fall down into her lap. "Then why . . .?"

Kate looked up, her heart sinking. What more could there be?

Victoria tried again, "Then why did you say, 'I've been waiting to do that', huh? That sounds at least a little premeditated, don't you think?"

Will Katie ever stop digging ditches that I have to climb out of?

Wait. What if she . . .

"That's because . . . I . . . uh." Kate swallowed.

This is a gamble. If I'm wrong, there will be hell to pay.

I guess this is what you get, having two lives at once, huh? It never works out smoothly, even for the people who can remember what they're doing.

Kate and Victoria's eye contact was too much to keep stalling. She just had to take the risk, or else she could be messing up something important for Katie. Even if she didn't like the idea . . . Katie must be so lonely.

The thought made Kate's eyes glass up, and she reached up to wipe the moisture away. "I . . . like . . . you."

Victoria's expression fell - softer now, but sad. She let her gaze drop again. "Are you a lesbian, Kate?"

"I dunno," Kate replied. The truth, again, was easier.

Victoria nodded to herself, and leaned back in the seat again. She looked off now, towards Kate's mirror instead of her face.

"I'm sorry," she said.

Kate couldn't look at Victoria anymore - she just felt ashamed. She was putting them all in a shitty situation by saying that, even if Katie would have meant it. Even if, somehow, Victoria reciprocated Katie's (hypothetical) feelings, Kate still controlled her body a good 75% of the time. What could they possibly have with her here?

"I get what you're going through, you know," Victoria finally said.

Kate looked up. She was hunched over, rocking in place just a little. "You do?" she asked weakly.

Victoria nodded. "Yeah. It's . . . tough in a place like this. And it's worse if someone you like is mean to you."

"Oh." There was a lot in that, but very little that Kate knew how to respond to. It's not like Victoria had been more open with her than a clam's shell before now.

They sat in silence for a long while - maybe a minute?, it would tough to tell. Kate wanted to sleep. She wanted to be out of this situation. She wanted to talk to Katie.

Finally, Victoria placed her hands on her knees and stood up. She looked at the ground, then at Kate. "Look, no promises, but I'll try and stop being such a bitch to you."

Kate held back a chuckle, finally relaxing a little. Maybe something good could come out of this after all. "Thanks. I'd like that."

Victoria nodded, a grimace briefly on her face, and she walked to the door. As she opened it up and stepped through, however, she paused.

Kate looked after her curiously, and Victoria craned her head around to look back at her.

"And . . . if you need anything," she said. She blinked, hesitating, and added, "Just text me."

She closed the door after herself, and Kate fell back onto her bed.

"Dammit," she whispered to no one but herself.

Kate did not wake up to find a new message until Saturday night, around midnight. She couldn't have missed much time, because she finished her homework around 9:00 and had just started watching Youtube videos. Still, what she found was . . . maybe not what she had hoped.

Dear Kate,

OMG. KATE I'M SO SORRY. I WAS TOTALLY MESSING WITH HER - I JUST THOUGHT SHE'D BE TOO EMBARRASSED TO TELL ANYONE OR TALK TO YOU. MY BAD DUDE, MY BAD. Please let me know how I can make this up to you - I really didn't think this would come back to bite you on the ass. I promise I'll do your laundry for a month, and I'll do homework over the weekends. I know that doesn't really fix your problem but at least I can make your life a little easier.

No, on a not-unrelated note: I'm glad Victoria's going to start leaving you alone. I'll stop being mean to her behind her back and stuff so things won't seem weird. Maybe if you or I go out with someone she won't think you have a crush on her anymore?

Other stuff -

1) I will try harder to not get you hung over.

2) I'd love for you to teach me violin! Maybe we could start at an easier time though, like maybe Thanksgiving break or Christmas?

3) About Dana: Oh no! :( I knew she didn't go to the party but I didn't know she was having a rough time, I just thought she bailed. I'll make her cookies or something. Or, I guess, I can't really cook anything, so I'll steal some extra muffins from the cafeteria I guess.

4) I'm glad tea with Max was nice. And tell her happy birthday for me! I didn't realize I missed it. And just to like, put my cards on the table here, @my comments above about dating someone so Vic wouldn't be so worried about you crushing on her, I'd be willing to hang out with Max more if you like her. You haven't really said.

5a) I'm sorry I'm coming into your life at such a complicated time. I mean, I know it's complicated for me, too, but not so much about sexuality. Luckily, whoever I was just thought people were real hot. Which I guess may not be great for us if we're in an abstinence club.

5b) About that - if I wanna fuck someone what's the protocol? I don't want to fuck up your life but I'm also not abstinent. They didn't really cover this in sex ed. Or I may have just missed that.

5c) I know this is super weird but does your version of Christianity prohibit masturbation? Like I'm going to anyway but is it cool to make jokes about it with the kids in the support circle?

6) I know this may not be helpful but Victoria is very strong and tall and a very soft kisser. I may not have been serious but she might be! We're really cute! Or if there's anyone you like, I'll do my best to help you out and keep your cover. Or my cover. Whichever.

If there's anything more I can do to make up for fucking things up with Vic just let me know. I'm really sorry. Please tell Dana I'm looking out for her and give her a hug for me if you see her, okay? And if anyone hurt her, I'm pretty sure I know how to do violence, so just like, hit me up.

X O X O ~ Katie

Kate sunk her face in her hands to think about how messed up her life had become, and then went back to bed.

#life is strange #fan fiction #kate marsh #rachel amber #victoria chase #ambermarsh #chasemarsh #possession #comedy #fluff #next-level fake dating #ben writes stuff

35 notes · View notes

tramsstudyblr · 4 years

Text

Korean (& Korean-related) Favorites

To boost my own motivation to continue studying Korean. Here’s a couple of lists of some of my favorite things. (under a cut because otherwise this will be too long!)

Favorite youtube channels (language resource related):

All things Korean (Only been making videos for about a year, but has a lot of really informative videos both in regards to language but also culture)

Talk To Me In Korean (They have so many videos + a whole website, of language resources. Everything from grammar to pronounciation, and miscellaneous other topics. Also they have been producing a ridiculous amount of content these past 6 months on their youtube channel, so it can be a bit overwhelming/daunting, but I really recommend this channel)

Learn Korean with GO! Billy Korean (a lot of grammar lessons, as well as general advice and reccomendations for studying, videos about culture. Has a livestream every sunday where he does an indepth lesson on a grammar subject. Splits everything into beginner, intermediate and advanced learners. Has a new series of videos for beginners. Also practice videos for intermediate and advanced learners)

K-waterbottle (not really a language resource as such, but he explains korean memes)

There are a lot more channels out there, Billy Go has two videos recommending other youtube channels. But I haven’t gotten around to checking them out.

Favorite youtube channels (other):

영국남자 Korean Englishman/Jolly (In theory they could I guess be used as a language resource since they have subtitles that are both in English and Korean. But mostly, they are entertainment. English guys introducing Korean food and culture, also Ollie is trying to learn Korean, and that is frequently hilarious. They are super funny and I adore their channels.

Some South Korean vloggers I follow to:

planD플랜디

Mejoo and Cats

냥숲nyangsoop

댕은Daengeun

수린 suzlnne

이욜 eyol

하루한끼 one meal a day

Favorite variety shows:

The Great Escape (Three seasons of a group of Korean celebrities taking on the most ambitious elaborate escape “rooms” you’ll ever see. The budget for this show must be astronomical. Its one of my comfort shows actually, I love this show. Its funny and delightful)

New Journey to the West (My most favorite variety show. I love and adore it! Group of Korean celebrities, dress up, travel to places [though for the most recent seasons been confined to Korea for various reasons] and play games. Its a heartwarming as well as funny show, and the castmembers feel like they are family. Some of them have actually worked together for almost 20 years, including the producer, so they really do have a familiarity with each other, but even the newer kids are welcomed in the family). It also has spin-offs!

Kang’s Kitchen (The cast get to run a restaurant, with all the ups and down. It’s a bit more serious as they really do focus more on doing their best instead of being funny, but they still do manage to be funny, no the least because of the ways they mess up. Its actually even more heartwarming and a comfort show for me)

Various shorter spin-offs, featuring different pairings of the cast on their youtube channel

(one of the writers on NJTTW is also a writer on the drama Hospital Playlist, so there are also videos related to that show on this youtube channel, but I haven’t watched that drama so idk much about them)

I Can See Your Voice (Okay, so the synopsis of this is a bit... iffy I know. But the actual show actually manages to be geniunely uplifting at times, despite it. The general idea is that, celebrity guest, along with an expert panel have to guess who in a line-up of complete strangers, are the tone deaf and the talented singers. And everyone in the line-up then gets to perform. And I know it sounds like its just a set-up to laugh at the people who can’t sing. But all of the tone deaf performers just seem so game for it and getting to perform on stage on TV must be a powerful incentive. I started out just watching it for specific guests, but then the last two-three seasons I watched all episodes regardless of guests, because of the interviews with the people participating, its very refreshing after mainly idol/celebrity focused things I’ve watched, to listen to ordinary people and their stories)

Favorite K-drama:

(disclaimer: I have a bad habit of starting to watch a drama and then quitting before I’ve watched all episodes. But I do have a few I finished!)

Memorist (I finished this one recently. Crime drama with a lot of twists [some more expected than others] I appreciated it for its focus on plot and not really having a explicit romance angle since I wanted to watch something for the mystery. Anyway it was really quite good and entertaining)

Because This Is My First Life (I love love love loved this drama! A romance I could really get invested in)

It’s Okay That’s Love (You ever watch a kdrama that deals with mental ilness in a way that isn’t wildly offensive? This one is actually pretty good)

Moonlight Drawn by Clouds (I love this drama. Or do I love the way this drama played out in my head more? Tricky question. It’s a great drama either way [though the one in my head is slightly better].)

Favorite Korean Movies:

Masquerade (2012)

The Good, The Bad, The Weird (2008)

Jeon Woochi The Taoist Wizard (2009)

Parasite (2019)

Spellbound (2011)

The Handmaiden (2016)

The Man From Nowhere (2010)

The War of Arrows (2011)

The Grand Heist (2012)

The Merciless (2017)

Train To Busan (2016)

#Alive (2020)

Assassination (2015)

Secretly Greatly (2013)

The King and The Clown (2005)

Favorite Korean Music:

(I will not link to youtube music videos because then we’ll be here for an eternity and this will never get done. But I will list some songs) I got into kpop/kvariety all of this two years ago, but I was for some reason mostly drawn to groups that had been around for some time.

Groups

Block B (Don’t Leave, Yesterday, One Way, A Few Years Later, Toy, Her, Jackpot, Very Good, Movie’s Over, Be the Light, Romantically, Mental Breaker, Walkin’ In The Rain, Like This)

Winner (Millions, Ah Yeah, Remember, Well, Raining, Movie Star, We Were, For, Air, Fool, Love me Love me, Island, Really Really, Immature, Baby Baby, Don’t Flirt, Color Ring)

Sechskies (Road Fighter, pom saeng pom sa, Come to Me Baby, Couple, Yegam, Heartbreak [original and remastered versions], Reckless Love, Round & Round, Something Special, Smile, Backhug, Drinking Problem, Be Well, Vertigo, It's Been A While, Sad Song, Three Words)

Super Junior (Make You Smile, Ahora Te Puedes Marchar [okay so neither of those two is in Korean, but I love them!], Animals, One More Time, I Do, This is Love, Stars Appear, Islands, Evanesce, Bonamana, One More Chance,)

Buzz (Thorn, Tree, Coward, My Love, Don’t know Men, The Love, The First Summer in 8 years, Just One, Travel to Me)

Dreamcatcher (Chase Me, Good Night, Fly High, You and I, What, Deja Vu, Scream, R.o.S.E BLUE, Boca)

Speed [Sadly disbanded before I even found them, but I spent like a week obsessively watching every youtube video of them performing Don’t Tease Me. And after listening to some more of their songs I found I liked them] (Don’t Tease Me, Pain the love of heart, One Day, It's Over, That's My Fault, Luv Ya, Never Say Goodbye, Why I'm Not)

Miss A [sadly also disbanded before I found out about them] (Hush, Bad Girl Good Girl, Only You, Good-bye Baby, I Don't Need a Man, Breathe)

Solo

Park Kyung (of Block B. He has like 10 solo songs, I love them all and are by far my most played songs. So I could list all of them, or just leave it at this)

Kassy/케이시 (Listen to This Song[seriously, do listen to it, its so comforting], True Song, Tock Tock, The Day Was Beautiful, Story of Nightfall, When Love Comes By, Let it Rain)

Eun Jiwon (of Sechskies [and many variety shows]) (I'm On Fire, Hooligan, Same, Hate, Worthless, Trauma, 8t Truck, Never Ever, Adios, While Buzzed/Fuddled)

Bonus (random songs I like)

Park Hyoshin - Wild Flower

Park Hyoshin - Snow Flower

Sejeong - Flower Way

Twice - What Is Love?

Crayon Pop - Bing Bing

Vixx - Error

Zico - Human

Zico - The Language of Flowers

Zico - Being Left

Zico - Balloon

Wonder Girls - Why So Lonely

Wonder Girls - Nobody

Seventeen - Clap

BTOB - Way Back Home

g.o.d - The Story of Our Lives

g.o.d - A Funny But Sad Day

Gaho - Start

Lee Hi - Breathe

Urban Zakapa - I don't Love You

IU - Love Poem

Crush - Beautiful

Ailee - I Will Go To You Like The First Snow

J-Walk - Frappuccino

Melomance - Gift

I could probably spend another week or two adding songs to this list, so lets cut it short now.

1 note · View note

rivermoose-vlogs · 7 years

Text

I’ve done this award twice already (The SunShine Blogger Award and Sunshine Blogger Award#2) but it changes each time due to its nature, so here it is again.

Sorry this took me so long to get to…

I was nominated by two lovely humans this time Alex @ Lord of the Trekkies and Raquel @ Rakiodd Books. Go check out their blogs! And thank you both so much!

The Rules

Thank the person/persons that nominated you and link back to their blog.

Answer the 11 questions your nominator has given you.

Nominate 11 other people and give them 11 new questions to answer.

List the rules and display the award

Questions From Alex @ Lord of the Trekkies

What is your favorite part of blogging?

I’m not sure. I like connecting with people. I like talking about books. I like having a hobby. I’m not sure I have a favorite part.

Do you like to read? Why?

Yes I like to read.

I have a book blog…It’d be weird if I didn’t.

And I just do.

What is your favorite song?

I can’t pick favorites of ANYTHING. I have lists of favorites – not all times.

I’m currently listening to:

What is your OTP?

Again – I CAN”T pick favorites.

I have an OTP per book/fandom, not in general.

What is your NOTP?

Ditto above.

Though the Harry/Hermoine pairing particularly annoys me.

What/Who is your spirit animal?

Well, my patronus is a dolphin.

And I’m a Moose.

Take that as you will.

If you could have one famous author (living or other-wise) to write your biography, who would you choose and why?

*Paniked screaming because I can’t make decisions*

JK Rowling – just so my name would always be used in conjunction with Harry Potter.

Jeopardy or Wheel of Fortune?

Jeopardy! I love that show!

And I’ve never seen Wheel of Fortune…

Who is your favorite villain of all time?

Again. Not great with favorites. You need to give me a context. In superhero films? In books? What?

BBC Moriarty is great though.

And Crowley.

Do you like Disney?

Who doesn’t?

What is your opinion on Loki? (From The Avengers, Thor, etc.)

MY PRECIOUS CHILD!

Seriously though, his comic redemption arc in Young Avengers/Agent of Asgard is one of my favorites!

Questions From Raquel @ Rakiodd Books

Which do you spend more time watching, TV or YouTube videos?

TV probably. But I do watch a lot of Youtube…

What’s something your parents lied to you about when you were a child?

SO MANY THINGS.

Though the best all came from my dad. He told me things like “You’re mother is your stepmother” – I think because Cinderella made me cry. He also told me I was adopted from an alien family (and that I was found in a trash can).

If you could be in any band, what band would it be and what instrument would you play?

Listen. I have absolutely no sense of rhythm/music. And lack the ability to read sheet music on a fundamental level.

I took Guitar as my elective in Sixth grade and it was the worst thing ever. Mind you, being left handed and forced to learn right handed as the school had no left handed guitars probably contributed to that, but still.

I have always wanted to learn the drums though. Though I wouldn’t want to join any of my favorite bands because I’d just mess them up (but can I still meet Brenden Urie?).

What mythical creature would you want as a pet?

A hippogriff. Or alicorn because my sister and little cousin would die.

I’d say a dragon – but it’d probably eat me…

Do you have any weird body skills, what are they?

Okay, get ready.

*Stretches and cracks knuckles*

I am double-jointed, which means I’m the Queen of weird body skills.

Notably:

I can shift my knee-cap out of place, and bow my leg in the opposite direction than its meant to go, and manually move my kneecap. More so in my left leg, since thats the knee I sprained, popped out of place, popped back in myself, and walked on for a week before going to the doctor about two years ago. If freaks people out.

My shoulder is also weird. I can twist my arm so my elbow is in the front – my dad says it makes my arm look like a chicken wing, and my shoulder is visibly out of the socket (at least partially). I once fell off a stool in class, and my (Biomedical/Anatomy) teacher thought I broke my arm because it was twisted all the way around from how I fell. I stood up, twisted my arm back, and kept doing my work and I think I scared her.

What’s your favorite 90s song? Or early 2000s if you’re too young.

I’m probably technically too young – I was born late 1999, and have a soft spot for more early 2000’s than 90’s music.

But reading this question, a song popped into my head. Not my favorite if I think bout it, but the one that popped into my head:

What’s the worst movie you’ve ever seen?

I can’t think of one of the top of my head. Though, I find really terrible movies hilarious.

I will say I hated Plague Town – one of the few movies to ever give me nightmares, and it was terrible. Every character was stupid beyond even horror movie standards and it wasn’t even a good horror movie. Not sure why it freaked me out so much.

Do you have a giggle trigger? Something that always makes you giggle or laugh, a certain word, joke, funny face, etc.

I mean, a lot of things make me laugh. But I’m not aware of a specific “giggle trigger”.

If you ruled a country, what would your country be known for?

100% literacy, great Special Eduction programs, and a functional Healthcare system.

I can dream right?

If you had a time machine, but it could only go from the past and back OR to the future and back to the present, which would you prefer?

Future – it would be cool to see things! But like, REALLY FAR into the future.

Which are you less likely to “survive”, no coffee or no internet?

I have to say no internet, because my GPA would no survive sans google.

Though seriously, I’m non-functional if you try and talk to me without caffeine.

Questions For My Nominees:

What’s a series with a cover change you love? A series with a cover change you despise?

Most currently anticipated book?

What book on your physical TBR causes you the most shame?

Give TV recommendations based on 5 of your favorite books!

How do you take your coffee/tea?

What were your favorite books and TV shows as a child?

Show us a picture of your bookshelf!

Favorite video game/visual novel?

What have you learned from book blogging? What advice would you give new book bloggers?

Favorite and most hated YA book tropes?

What do you think are your best blog posts? Link so we can check them out!

I Nominate:

Louise @ Genie Reads

Casey @ Adopt-a-Book-AUS

B @ Icebreaker694

The Orangutan Librarian

Drew @ The Tattooed Book Geek

Sophie @ Blame it on Chocolate

Kayla @ KDrew The Bookworm

McKenzie @ Bookish Things and Tea

Lashaan and Trang @ Bookidote

Megan @ Bookslayer Reads

Danielle @ Books, Vertigo and Tea

Ryann The Reader

Sunshine Blogger Award #3 I've done this award twice already (The SunShine Blogger Award and Sunshine Blogger Award#2) but it changes each time due to its nature, so here it is again.

#blog award #blog tag #book blog #book blogging #book tag #books #harry potter #questions #sunshine blogger award #tag #villains #ya books

1 note · View note

monstrousthingsrp · 7 years

Text

Time Period Quick Reference:

Courtesy the lovely Erin (@incre-et-painture) we now have a handy-dandy little reference to help us all “flow with the times” without having to struggle between either spending precious time researching or winging it and hoping for the best! She actually lived in England during the period in which our game is set, so if you have additional questions about the setting she’ll be happy to help you out--

Although keep in mind that this is an alternate universe. As such, specific individual facts and historical events may be different. So don’t worry about getting bogged-down in the details; after all, this is a world in which The Cold War was replaced by The Worldwide Witchunt Wars. There probably was no Cuban Missile Crisis; there may not have even been a Space Race! We’ve left particular historical details vague enough that we can tailor them to suit whatever plot-points we all decide to develop.

So just as with the timeline, view the following as a reference guideline, not a checklist to obey!

Technology:

This is probably the most important one for us, as unlike most Potterverse games we’re actually playing in a world where your character very well might have access to the sort of technology that we take for granted in our current lives -- albeit several generations older than what we’ve got on hand now!

Most computers operate using ethernet cords to connect to the internet, laptops weigh an extremely portable 52 pounds, basically, and camera phones are cutting edge technology. The pictures taken with them are notoriously grainy at this stage and definitely not the crystal clear video we’re used to.

Most mobile phones operate on a “top up” method where you pay for minutes. They’re called track phones in the U.K. Also, most people are paying per text message sent, but it’s still a popular method of communication. You can top up your minutes in most convenience stores and by calling into your provider’s number. There aren’t any smartphones, apps, and other things like that. Public payphones still exist, although they are fading out by this point.

Travel is done by taxi, bus, and tube. Lyft and Uber do not exist. Londoners love the Tube and definitely travel that way frequently. For frequent travelers, Oyster cards are refillable cards that are similar to the Metro cards we use in the US. In fact, 2004 was the first year that Oyster cards existed. They can also be used on the bus and train, but not on taxis.

Please also remember that trains are a popular method of travel for Europeans. They’re also very reliable and a great way to get around. (As for whether people would be comfortable sharing a carriage with someone who’s got stars by their eyes, well...)

Pop Culture: Sport

As much as it breaks my heart, Manchester United won the FA cup in 2004. (Mod Note: her Erin, maybe in this messed-up world West Ham isn’t a total lost cause? I mean, sport doesn’t have to have happened the same as it did in reality, and we’ve got so many crazy things going on here already -- wealthy Weasleys, werewolf-friendly Blacks, a living Regulus...stranger things could happen, right?)

For those of you interested in talking football, here are the league tables for that season. Please keep in mind that different teams are in different leagues so, if your character follows a team, make sure you know who they play. :)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004%E2%80%9305_Football_League

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004%E2%80%9305_FA_Premier_League

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004%E2%80%9305_Football_League_Championship

Pop Culture: Telly

The Television lineup in Britain in real 2004-2005 contained the shows:

Little Britain

Spooks

Eastenders

Still Game

Dr. Who (the new series had just started, but the reruns were still extremely popular and well-loved by a majority of British people)

Casualty

The Doctors

Holby City

River City

Blue Peter

Strictly Come Dancing

And news is broadcast on the BBC News

For a comprehensive list, please see this article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_television_programmes_broadcast_by_the_BBC

Please pay attention to the years listed for each program to make sure that it’s applicable...and feel free to make up shows of your own that might exist in this reality! Just keep in mind that TV in England was a much smaller, lower-budget, more contained entity than the overwhelming glut of channels going on in America.

Pop Culture: Music

This will be a painful trip for some of us. After all, I think we’d probably all rather forget that Kelis ever proclaimed that her milkshake brings all the boys to the yard. However, it’s a sad fact that she did, and this is the time when it happened!

Now again, we are living in an alternate reality here, so feel free to make up other songs and singers and groups -- both mundane and magical; maybe the Weird Sisters and Celestina Warbeck don’t exist here (and maybe they do) but there are surely still some magical musicians (maybe some taking advantage of the “dangerous” aura their magic grants them, while others might try and downplay it) so please, let your imaginations run wild! Maybe this Brittany Spears never sang Toxic but rather Cursed...maybe this Goldie Lookin Chain wrote Wands Don’t Kill People, Rappers Do. Who knows, have fun! The following list is for reference so that you know what kind of music and what kind of bands (probably) exist in this world and this time. And, maybe, to give you all a trip -- pleasant or otherwise -- down nostalgia lane. Enjoy!

Here are the Top 100 Songs of 2004 in the UK:

01 Eamon ~ F**k It (I Don't Want You Back)

02 Eric Prydz ~ Call On Me

03 Anastacia ~ Left Outside Alone

04 DJ Casper ~ Cha Cha Slide

05 Usher featuring Lil' Jon & Ludacris ~ Yeah!

06 Frankee ~ FURB (F U Right Back)

07 Kelis ~ Milkshake

08 Mario Winans featuring Enya & P Diddy ~ I Don't Wanna Know

09 3 Of A Kind ~ Baby Cakes

10 Michelle McManus ~ All This Time

11 Britney Spears ~ Everytime

12 Michael Andrews featuring Gary Jules ~ Mad World

13 Destiny's Child ~ Lose My Breath

14 The Shapeshifters ~ Lola's Theme

15 Outkast ~ Hey Ya!

16 LMC vs U2 ~ Take Me To The Clouds Above

17 O-Zone ~ Dragostea Din Tei

18 The Streets ~ Dry Your Eyes

19 Busted ~ Thunderbirds / 3AM

20 Usher ~ Burn

21 Britney Spears ~ Toxic

22 Natasha Bedingfield ~ These Words

23 Ozzy & Kelly Osbourne ~ Changes

24 Boogie Pimps ~ Somebody To Love

25 Kelis ~ Trick Me

26 The Rasmus ~ In The Shadows

27 Band Aid 20 ~ Do They Know It's Christmas?

28 Nelly ~ My Place / Flap Your Wings

29 D12 ~ My Band

30 McFly ~ 5 Colours In Her Hair

31 Girls Aloud ~ I'll Stand By You

32 Cassidy featuring R Kelly ~ Hotel

33 Jamelia ~ Thank You

34 Peter Andre ~ Mysterious Girl

35 Maroon 5 ~ This Love

36 Eminem ~ Just Lose It

37 Rachel Stevens ~ Some Girls

38 Khia ~ My Neck My Back (Lick It)

39 Christina Milian ~ Dip It Low

40 McFly ~ Obviously

41 JoJo ~ Leave (Get Out)

42 Deep Dish ~ Flashdance

43 Lemar ~ If There's Any Justice

44 J-Kwon ~ Tipsy

45 Will Young ~ Leave Right Now

46 Sean Paul featuring Sasha ~ I'm Still In Love With You

47 Brian McFadden ~ Real To Me

48 Girls Aloud ~ Love Machine

49 Katie Melua ~ The Closest Thing To Crazy

50 2Play featuring Raghav & Jucxi ~ So Confused

51 Twista ~ Sunshine

52 Sam & Mark ~ With A Little Help From My Friends / Measure Of A Man

53 Robbie Williams ~ Radio

54 Blue ~ Breathe Easy

55 The Black Eyed Peas ~ Shut Up

56 Twista ~ Slow Jamz

57 Busted ~ Who's David

58 Ice Cube featuring Mack 10 & Ms Toi ~ You Can Do It

59 U2 ~ Vertigo

60 Girls Aloud ~ The Show

61 N*E*R*D ~ She Wants To Move

62 Christina Aguilera featuring Missy Elliott ~ Car Wash

63 Nina Sky ~ Move Ya Body

64 Anastacia ~ Sick And Tired

65 Maroon 5 ~ She Will Be Loved

66 Ja Rule featuring R Kelly & Ashanti ~ Wonderful

67 Goldie Lookin Chain ~ Guns Don't Kill People, Rappers Do

68 The 411 ~ Dumb

69 Usher ~ Confessions Part II / My Boo

70 Special D ~ Come With Me

71 Kelis featuring Andre 3000 ~ Millionaire

72 Keane ~ Somewhere Only We Know

73 Duncan James & Keedie ~ I Believe My Heart

74 Jamelia ~ See It In A Boy's Eyes

75 Natasha Bedingfield ~ Single

76 The 411 featuring Ghostface Killah ~ On My Knees

77 Franz Ferdinand ~ Take Me Out

78 Gwen Stefani ~ What You Waiting For?

79 Basement Jaxx featuring Lisa Kekaula ~ Good Luck

80 George Michael ~ Amazing

81 D12 ~ How Come

82 Kylie Minogue ~ I Believe In You

83 4-4-2 ~ Come On England

84 Jay Sean featuring The Rishi Rich Project ~ Eyes On You

85 Avril Lavigne ~ My Happy Ending

86 Rachel Stevens ~ More More More

87 Enrique featuring Kelis ~ Not In Love

88 Ultrabeat ~ Feelin' Fine

89 Jennifer Lopez ~ Baby I Love U

90 Green Day ~ American Idiot

91 The Streets ~ Fit But You Know It

92 Sugababes ~ Too Lost In You

93 Victoria Beckham ~ This Groove / Let Your Head Go

94 Ronan Keating ~ She Believes (In Me)

95 Shaznay Lewis ~ Never Felt Like This Before

96 Britney Spears ~ My Prerogative

97 Ashlee Simpson ~ Pieces Of Me

98 Busted ~ Air Hostess

99 Outkast featuring Sleepy Brown ~ The Way You Move

100 The Black Eyed Peas ~ Hey Mama

For the rest of 2004 in music in the real world, please go to this wikipedia entry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_in_British_music_charts

Random Stuff:

Since the standard closing time for a pub is 11 PM, that’s when “Needles” closes. There are after-hours nightclubs, and people probably go to them, but Needles does its last call at 10:45.

Prostitution is not illegal in Britain, but running a brothel is. Basically, a person can sell themselves, but you can’t sell other people. (I just feel like this is useful information.)

Gun Control Laws had banned both automatic and semi-automatic weapons. Rifles were still allowed for those with hunting permits.

Courtesy Millie @theinvisibleboi: 2004 is also the year Facebook launched (although at that point it would have still been restricted to school e-mail accounts) and the Olympics were held in Athens, in case anyone wanted to feel old! (Probably wix would not be allowed to compete...but if anyone wants to create some kind of controversial Olympics history or event for this world, or otherwise alter history to conform to to AU, please feel free!)

Again, please use this wonderful collection of data that Erin has so helpfully provided us with for as general reference, not uncompromising and stone-set facts that you must know, utilize, and memorize! None of us are expert historians and unless you do something really obvious like reference an iPhone or One Direction, we aren’t going to call you out on it -- especially when an “error” might just be a difference between this world and our own. This is just to help you get in the “vibe” of the time period, not information that you’ll be tested on later. So don’t panic, stay loose, and feel free to get creative!

Thanks once more to Erin for putting this together for all of us, and remember that if you have questions about anything else regarding England in 2005, please feel free to message her and she’ll help out as best she can!

#hp au #hp au rp #hprpg #hp roleplay #bio rpg #world building

3 notes · View notes

wendynerdwrites · 7 years

Note

Im glad that u also like archer. Ive been rewatching it (im on s2) and i feel guilty as a feminist for liking it so much :( i know a lot of the jokes are supposed to be ironic but i still feel bad for laughing, and my bf has made comments abt "how can u laugh at that as a feminist" (he isnt one, hes using it as a gotcha). How do u feel about this? Any advice for separating myself from toxic fandom to just be able to enjoy something problematic? Love ur blog btw happy friday 💋💋

Thanks, and don’t worry, anon: You’re not a bad feminist.

It’s funny you ask this, but I used to have an entire essay series on this exact topic, and on Archer, particularly!

My philosophy is: don’t ignore the problematic, examine it. Use it as a springboard for analysis so you can learn more about the issue conveyed. Use your problematic responsibly! Because, let’s be honest, there ARE no unproblematic pieces of media. So just use it to educate yourself instead. For instance: my love of West Side Story (starring Natalie Wood as the Puerto Rican Maria) got me to learn more about the issues of white-washing.

Being a feminist is not about being perfect, it’s about learning and being open to examination and learning. Use your fandom for good!

Laughter is the balm for the soul. And listening to your boyfriend telling you how to be a feminist… less so. Kind of the opposite.

My old articles are lost, for the most part, but under the cut, I’ve pasted them for reference and included a great video on satire that also very easily applies to this discussion (just substitute feminism with the Holocaust)

Our Faves Are Problematic (And So Can You!)

Nothing and no one is perfect, so isnt it about time we learn how to call out the things we love?

We are all familiar with guilty pleasures: those things we like in spite of ourselves, that we are ashamed to admit we enjoy. Usually the term is applied to something we enjoy despite a perceived “lameness”, or because we’re not the right demographic for something. For instance, I still have a deep, abiding affection for Sailor Moon: that colorful, stock-footage-laced Japanese phenomenon that still gets me shouting “MOON PRISM POWER!” when I’m in the right mood. Yes, childhood is over, and yes, the show’s American dub did give me incest panic as a child, but I can’t help but love it.

But then there is the more difficult brand of guilty pleasures guilty pleasures that involve actual guilt instead of “mild embarrassment”. I’m talking about problematic faves the stuff that we love despite it containing clearly objectionable material.

willing18

(Image copyright Vertigo Comics)

…This is a panel from Bill Willingham’s Fables. The character there is Bigby Wolf, one of the main (anti) heroes of the story and the character the writer identifies with most. The person Bigby is waxing poetically on pro-Zionism to is someone literally called “The Adversary”.

Fables also happens to be one of my favorite comic book series on the planet.

Safe to say the issues surrounding Israel, Palestine, and the Middle East are a bit more complicated than that. And my own feelings on the matter are far more complicated. But this glorification of Israeli military policy is… um… in very tame terms… uncomfortable. After reading this, I resolved to only check Fables out of the library: a way for me to enjoy these comics in a legal way without financially supporting these ideas, however indirectly.

There are other problems with Fables: a lack of ethnic diversity, some murky racial and class commentary, and instances of some objectionable tropes, but there is a lot to recommend of these books as well. The stories are fantastic, the art brilliant, the characters well-fleshed out, and there is a definite progressive take on issues like gender and sexuality. But as much as I love this series, there is no getting around the fact that these stories have issues.

No excuses.

But it’s not just Fables that has disappointed me in the past. I am now and forever a Trekker, yet despite how horribly sexist episodes like “The Turnabout Intruder” are, or the very troubling anti-Semitic coding of the Ferengi. The Star Wars prequels famously had racist caricatures with the Trade Federation and the infamous Jar Jar Binks.

In the world of media, there’s no shortage of problematic content. From the novels of Robert Heinlein containing pro-fascist commentary, to HBO’s Game of Thrones misogynistic adaptation decisions, there’s nothing that is quite free of some messed up messages, subtle and blatant alike.

Now, when we talk about such media, we don’t merely mean triggering factors (i.e. the presentation, portrayal, or discussion of potentially traumatizing issues like domestic abuse, racism, hate crimes, substance abuse, or sexual assault), but rather how these matters are portrayed. A piece of media, such as Marvel and Netflix’s excellent Jessica Jones series, can portray certain issues (such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and mental illness) in a respectful, progressive, and sensitive light. Thus, while the content of the show can be triggering, the skill with which they portray these matters keeps it from being problematic.

In contrast, something like Game of Thrones, which portrays sexual assault in a thoroughly insensitive, exploitative, and misogynistic manner, is highly problematic.

Unfortunately, progress has been a slow-moving process, with many issues such as race, gender, sexual identity, mental illness, substance abuse, and violence only being examined in a more nuanced way fairly recently. As a result, almost all media is problematic in one way or another. Especially since even today, the majority of executives crafting, publishing, and greenlighting books, shows, comics, movies, and other forms of media are in fact cisgendered, heterosexual white men.

So what do we do?

Good news: here at Fandom Following, we don’t believe in dropping something you like just because it’s problematic. Why?

Because knowing, examining, and yes, even appreciating problematic content can be incredibly important. While certain content can be damaging, it can also teach us a great deal. Not only about current issues, but also about how to go about discussing these matters, and constructing narratives in general.

The racial issues in things like Star Wars and Star Trek can teach us much about how coding works, and how to avoid reinforcing stereotypes. The exploitation of women and rape on Game of Thrones can open up a dialogue of how to portray these things properly and improperly.

There are three tricks to enjoying problematic media: 1) Recognizing that there is an issue, 2) Being ready for a dialogue, and 3) Not ignoring or silencing the complaints about said issues.

Well, we here at Fandom Following have decided to tackle this issue head on with a series called “Our Faves Are Problematic (And So Can You!)”, where we will be exploring specific media franchises, creators, and works and, specifically, the problematic content they contain. In this series, we’ll be examining the issues, talking about why they’re important, discussing what this piece of media did wrong, how to approach the issue in a more progressive way, and the best ways to go about discussing the issue itself. Various writers will be contributing to this project, and we’re excited to present this feature to you!

So let’s get down and dirty, people. We all have our problematic faves. Let’s talk about them.

My Face is Problematic: Archer

Honestly, doing a post like this on Archer, a show which is deliberate in its dark humor, is a bit hard for me. Not because I like the show, but because I think there’s true validity in the argument that humor and narratives about really messed up, problematic stuff has its place. The show exists to be as outlandish and absurd as possible. The extremes and the awfulness of the characters’ personalities and their actions is the point.

I VUZ BORN IN DUSSELDORF AND THAT IS VY THEY CALL ME ROLF!

Joking about awful things, awful circumstances, and awful people is hardly new ground for comedy to cover, nor does it send a poor message, necessarily. Mel Brooks wrote a movie in which one of the characters was a Nazi, who wrote an overblown pro-Nazi musical produced by men deliberately trying to make a flop. Springtime For Hitler, as it exists in our universe, is not problematic. The Nazis are the butt of the joke, in which any pro-Nazi sentiment can only function if it is wildly fabricated and over-the-top, and even then, it will still be taken for satire. Because Nazis are utterly terrible, they built their movement on total bullshit that they dressed up in shiny boots and Hugo Boss uniforms and German exceptionalism and “glory”. This song-and-dance number about “Don’t be stupid, be a smartie, come and join the Nazi party” only ever deserves to be a joke, as the Jew who wrote it can tell you. Nazis fucking suck and it’s hilarious that anyone would ever suggest otherwise.

There’s justice in reducing Nazis to self-parody, and doubling down on that by making a joke about them being reduced to self-parody. Especially when said self-parody and depiction of it is crafted by the very people Hitler tried to destroy. No one enjoys or masters mocking Nazis like the Jews. Plain and simple.

Joking about awful things and how terrible they are can be a good way to process things and not allow them to hurt you anymore. Comedy, at its core, is a defense mechanism against horror and pain. There’s a reason slapstick is a classic subgenre of comedy that people have built entire careers around. Laugh at terror and pain to make it go away. Unfortunately, some of the things we manage to find humor in can really make you wonder if were all just terrible and have no limits.

Angela’s Ashes is a memoir by Frank McCourt about his impoverished, abusive, dangerous childhood in Ireland. In it, he chronicles his own starvation, life-threatening illness, abuse, and suffering at the hands of alcoholism and brutality from adult authority figures. He was a child laborer who went days without food while his father drank away the family’s money and abused the rest of the family, who often came down with horrifying illnesses as a result of the terrible conditions he lived in, and spent his formative years suffering along with all the people he loved. Three of his infant siblings die within the space of a chapter. We get a glimpse of the time when his father, overjoyed at the birth of his daughter, finds the will to stop drinking, stop mistreating his family, go to work, provide for his family, and just generally be a better person so that his children don’t have to suffer. For a short period, the McCourts have food, heat, and happiness. Then the baby promptly dies and Frank’s father is back in the pubs, once again squandering any pay he manages to acquire on alcohol and returning home at three am to scream at and beat his wife while his remaining children try to cover their ears and sleep on the cold ground.

Along with being praised for it being a both an unflinchingly brutal depiction of poverty and a testament to the triumph of the human spirit, the book is also praised for its humor.

Remember: Angela’s Ashes is a true story written by the very man who suffered through all of these horrible things. And it’s considered a pretty funny book. And the author who, once again, is the person who actually suffered all of these horrible things, actually did intentionally try to make people laugh as they read about that time he was in the hospital with Typhoid Fever and enjoyed it because it was the first time he’d been in a place where he was fed regularly and got to sleep in a warm bed.

Hilarious.

That being said, there’s satire and dark humor, and there’s just gratuitous, shock-jock bullshit. There are jokes that are terrible simply because of what they’re about and how they’re handled. George Carlin said that anything can be made funny, even rape, if you imagine Elmer Fudd raping Porky Pig.

If we can build entire films and musicals about how any pro-Hitler sentiment can only ever be taken as satire, isn’t that proof that you can joke about anything?

Yes, you can, but that doesn’t mean you should try, that the joke is funny, or that it’s alright, necessarily. Maybe Elmer Fudd, Porky Pig, and Springtime for Hitler prove that anything can be made funny and that’s okay. But if that’s true (and no, I’m not saying that it is), that still doesn’t mean every attempt at making something funny is either acceptable or funny.

Springtime for Hitler is not a get-out-of-jail-free card for any attempt to make a terrible subject the object of humor. Standards need to exist.

Unfortunately, the line between good or acceptable dark humor and simply gratuitous, insensitive, inherently problematic jokes can blur. The excuse of humor can only go so far. Yes, make light of Nazis. But there’s still a point where “humor” is used an excuse for people to act like assholes. And it’s an excuse that is used all too often. Radio Shock Jocks have been using that excuse to help reinforce racism and rape culture for quite a while. Whether certain dudebros like it or not, there’s a point where it stops being gross-out and just starts being gross.

Which brings me to Archer, the animated spy comedy on FX that premiered in 2011. Like many comedy series like Seinfeld or It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, a major part of the premise is that certain characters are, quite simply, terrible people. These characters and their abhorrent behavior is the joke. And, as the show is about spies, these terrible people are often put into highly dangerous, outlandish, and traumatizing situations.

So, the main characters, by virtue of their profession, spend a lot of time killing people in cold blood. Or trying to seduce or manipulate enemies. Or engaging in clandestine operations of sabotage that harm a lot of people. Horrible, violent things are going to happen, things violent enough to serve as narratives on their own. But most of the characters are as awful as the situations they encounter, so the horror is amplified. And it’s a comedy.

Indeed, in the first episode of the fifth season, we get the whole main ensemble recounting all of their actions and experiences working for the spy agency ISIS that we’d witnessed over the course of the show’s run at that point. Drag racing with the Yakuza, knee-capping the Irish mob, encountering human traffickers, 30 year affairs with the head of the KGB that only ended when the guy was blown up because one of the ISIS members had choke sex with the victim’s cyborg replacement, actual piracy, paying homeless people to fight for spectators, defling a corpse, defiling a different corpse, sexual assault, kidnapping the pope, blowing up oil pipelines, “smuggling Mexicans”

Yeah.

There are comedic arcs about cancer, illegal immigration, kinky S&M bondage murders, cocaine addiction… a lot of stuff, basically.

Now, take those situations, and add in characters who get aroused by things like homeless people, being choked, sex with food, and the thought of their mother dying. Who spend their weekends starting fires, making hybrid pig-people, rubbing sand into the eyes of their employees, competing in underground Chinese Fighting Fish tournaments, and calling in bomb threats so that they can get a table at a fancy restaurant. You get the idea.

And it’s all totally awesome and hilarious and god damn it I kind of love these characters.

This show has a season-long sub-arc about one of the main characters getting so aggressively addicted to cocaine that she not only consumes (literally) half a ton of it in the space of a few months, but almost gets her head chopped off for buying amphetamines from the Yakuza with counterfeit money. It’s one of the most incredible things the show has done.

Pictured: An absurdly self-centered man feeling genuine dismay and concern over his friend risking her life to achieve an unrealistic standard of beauty.

The title character has a butler named Woodhouse who practically raised him. One of the first interactions we witness between them is Archer not only threatening to rub sand into Woodhouse’s “dead little eyes”, but making him go out and buy the sand himself and check if they grade it, because he wants the sand to be coarse. He’s also done things like make the man eat a bowl of spiderwebs and deliberately keep him in the dark about his brother’s death and funeral.

Another character is a mad scientist and possible clone of Adolf Hitler who kills a young intern by giving him a drug designed to turn him gay. That’s one of the less disturbing things Dr. Krieger has done.

Frequent gags on this show include one guy repeatedly getting shot, another character repeatedly getting paralyzed (it’s complicated), people trying to remember the inappropriate puns that they wanted say as one-liners, the horrific abuse and neglect Sterling Archer has received from his mother his entire life, and basically everyone being a sex-maniac.

There are plots revolving around mind-control, drugging people, and hypnotism. You can imagine the paths some of those episodes go down. Yes, there is a character that has tried to sexually assault one of her sleeping co-workers. And later deposited two unconscious, naked coworkers in a bathroom stall with an octopus, in an episode that has already made tentacle hentai jokes. Yes, the openly gay character on the show is often the target of jokes about him being gay or a woman from his coworkers. Yes, the female lead, a black woman, is referred to as a “quadroon” at one point by one of the characters.

Yes, the following exchange of dialogue does take place in an early episode:

“Oh my god, you killed a hooker!”

“Call-girl!”

“No, Cyril, when they’re dead, they’re just hookers!”

And yet… Oh my god. How it manages to play around with stuff in an amazing fashion. For one thing, it is amazing how often this show skewers micro-aggressions and fucks around with stereotypes. And, despite how unabashedly messed up it is, the writing in it actually manages to be oddly pro-social progress in ways that most modern media doesn’t even seem to be aware of.

I take pride in my sex work and I will not put up with your bullshit!

For instance the “hooker” referred to in that exchange? (spoiler alert: she wasn’t really dead) She’s Trinette, and she an unbelievably refreshing and strangely progressive depiction of a sex worker. While she’s a minor character, every time she shows up, it’s awesome. Trinette is a sex worker who is unashamed of her job, a woman who truly does take pride in and enjoy her work, who does not put up with poor behavior from her clients, and is just generally awesome. She call people out and makes them pay for any mistreatment she receives, from calling out micro-aggressions by insisting on her preferred terminology for her profession (“Call-girl, you puke!”), shaming men for their sexual misdeeds (“How can you cheat on Lana bare-back?!”), demanding restitution for any injuries or threats she’s suffered (Threatening Archer into giving her his car after he fakes her death and stuffs her in a rug to fool Cyril into thinking he killed her), and determining her work and clients (“What about Trinette? She said that? Damn it!”). When she has a baby, she gives it her last name along with his father’s (“Magoon-Archer”) and she unapologetically proud of her Irish heritage. She’s easily one of the most functional characters in the show, and every one of her appearances on the show manage to defy at least one whore-phobic trope a minute. She’s the best.

Then there’s the show’s handling of race, which is mixed. While arguably the most important female character in the series (the show, despite its name, is very, very much an ensemble, especially as the series progresses. But in the early episodes when they focussed on fewer characters, she was the one who got the most screentime) is Lana Kane, a highly-competent (for ISIS) African American woman who is really, really well-developed, there is also the fact that she’s the only POC in the main cast. Granted, part of that IS the point. One of the earliest episodes is “Diversity Hire”, where, aside from Lana, the spy agency is so overwhelmingly white that they hire a “diversity double-whammy!” Conway Stern, a black Jew.

“Sammy Gay-vis Junior!”

Now, granted, that doesn’t sound great the way I describe it, but there are so many great moments in this episode alone. For instance, when Mallory Archer, terrible woman and owner of the spy agency mentions their lack of diversity, Cyril, the tragically white accountant and “nice guy” puts his hands on Lana’s shoulder and says he thinks they’re pretty diverse, a statement Lana finds hilarious. Cue Sterling Archer, other horrible person, telling Lana she’s “black-ish”, then responding to her offense at this with “Well, you freaked out when I said quadroon!”. The framing of this entire discourse is that Cyril and Archer are fucking idiots and Lana is of course taking offense because, duh, she should. The episode proceeds with a lot of references and discussion about racism, highlighting casual racism in a nuanced, funny, and organic way. For instance, Archer’s relief that Conway didn’t sleep with his mother. While Archer freaks out about anyone sleeping with his mother, regardless of race, Conway believes it’s racism on Archer’s fault. And in no way does the narrative act like he’s overly-sensitive or irrational for thinking that. Because the stereotype about black men seducing white women and fear from white men about this is still a very real, pervasive thing that has somehow managed to survive in our “enlightened” times. Of course Conway encountering a guy who displays a downright violent fixation on whether or not his new black coworker is sleeping with his mother will assume it’s a race thing. Because why would anyone be so preoccupied with such an idea? In that situation, it’s almost certainly based on the long-standing paranoia white men have about black men’s sexuality “conquering their women.” It’s one of the most common varieties of anti-blackness in existence.

Of course, since it’s Archer, who has kidnapped a LOT of people under the suspicion that they were having sex with his mom, we know this is the one case that it isn’t racism. It’s Archer’s disturbing, Oedipal relationship with his mother. He even kidnapped and threatened his role model, Burt Reynolds, for dating his mother. When he says “Not in a racist way” to Conway in this episode, it’s actually true. He’s just honestly that screwed up where his mother is concerned.

Conway’s conclusions on this, regardless, are still framed as a totally understandable. To the point where the episodes suggests that it would make no sense for Conway to think otherwise. Part of the joke is that no, Archer isn’t a horrible racist at all. He’s way too screwed up for his actions to be motivated by racism.

And before anyone asks, no, this wasn’t the “episode that acknowledges that racism is a thing.” You know the ones… The episodes that talk about race and why racism is bad to prove to the audience that they’re not racist, then proceed with the rest of the show, which never acknowledges race and racism again. There are frequent instances of highlighting racism, from violent outright bigotry to common micro-aggressions to clueless white people demanding how the thing they just did/said could POSSIBLY be considered racist! They’re not racist! How is THAT racist?! Cue Lana face-palming.

I just really, really like this. It doesn’t just end there, either. Racism is called out pretty frequently on this show, and not in a cliche, strawman way. Nor is it treated like something that only exists in the form of aggressively bigoted bad people shouting slurs and holding cross burnings. Nope. The “heroes” of this show just say shit that you could easily imagine someone saying in real life, shortly before getting defensive about any racism on their part. It’s treated as a common, pervasive thing that Lana and other PoC have to deal with every day, and the offense they take at it is treated as nothing short of sympathetic or justified (even in the cases of misunderstandings, like with Conway). This includes Mallory telling Lana to “put [the race card] back in the deck!” as reminder of how much of an unapologetic douche Mallory is.

It’s made clear: people say and do some super racist shit on a regular basis with realizing it or meaning to, and regardless, it’s still uncool and people have every right to get upset and call you out on it. See: Ray’s bionic hand at the end of season six.

Lana’s reactions and how they’re framed is usually pretty awesome. Mostly they come in the form of small, reasonable confrontations, which are never framed as an overreaction on her part. The fact that she “freaked out” when Archer called her a quadroon is framed as “well, duh, of course, she should.” Then there are instances like when she, Archer, and their child visit a high-end nursery school where they encounter a pretty obvious racist. The guy ignores and dismisses Lana at first, then expresses surprise at the fact that she’s the mother of the child (despite the baby being black), remarking about the “times we live in” and telling Lana “good for you!” when she informs him that yes, she is the mother, not the nanny or the maid.

Not all of the racism stuff stems from Lana being back, either. They skewer bigotry against Latinos on a pretty regular basis. When an Irish mobster rants about Latinos (he doesn’t refer to them by that name) “taking American jobs!”, Archer immediately calls bullshit, recalling actual history of the Irish being accused of that exact same thing during the mass immigration of the Irish to America during the potato famine, and it’s just as shitty and bigoted to say such things about immigrants now as it was in 1842. He is extremely irate about a mission ISIS is assigned to do on behalf of border patrol to arrest people who just want to get a job, and he ends up siding with and befriending the Mexican illegal immigrants he encounters. All of this while aspects of certain Latinx cultures are often highlighted, often very favorably (“Ramone is Latino, so he’s not afraid to express affection.”)

That being said, there are still a lot of issues in the show. The lack of diversity is definitely an albatross around this show’s neck. Especially so many seasons after the “Diversity Hire” episode. While I do praise Archer for not treating racism as a thing that is rare and only needs to be addressed in one twenty-minute block of time, it is telling that the lack of diversity at ISIS is never addressed again.

Then there’s the approach to sexuality. The show loves gross-out sex humor, especially regarding Krieger. And the depiction of sexuality is actually pretty mixed. On one hand, the openly gay character in the show adheres to a lot of stereotypes about gay men: he mocks Lana about her “knock-off Fiacci drawers”, his go-to alias is “Carl Channing”, his free time is spent at raves, and he loves to make effeminate poses. He’s also a frequent target of homophobic jokes and remarks. His outrage at this is treated as being every bit as valid as Lana’s, but it doesn’t change the fact that their main gay character is basically ALL of the stereotypes, as are a number of the other gay characters.

“Alright! Were off to get our scrotums waxed!”

Then there is the sexual assault. Which, once again, is called out for being what it is, in defiance of many common biases (such as the idea that female-on-male sexual assault isn’t a thing). But this show is way too flippant about this.

While I consider Archer to be very sex-positive, allowing every character, regardless of sex, age, or orientation, to be comfortable and expressive about their sexuality without judgment (a lot of jokes, yes, but not any that come off as particularly shaming). Almost every character, male or female spends a fair amount of time naked or scantily clad. We see Archer stripped down just as often as Lana. And the fan service isn’t relegated to just women who adhere to the typical youth and weight obsessed eurocentric standards we all know and hate.

Pam, who is a big woman (and often the target of fat jokes, which the show always treats as nothing short of detestable) is a total sex goddess who grows to be utterly confident in herself as a woman to the point where she’s giving Mallory (one of the most desired women on the show) advice. When she reveals that she keep ingesting cocaine because it’s made her thin with big boobs, Archer is utterly dismayed, telling her she was way better off the way she was, acting horrified that she’d risk her life to be “hot”, and just generally freaking out about Pam’s desire to be thin. It manages to avoid being cliche or empty given that Archer considered Pam the best sex he ever had before she got thin, to the point of blowing off assignments just to have sex with her, because she’s just that awesome. After she gains the weight back in season six, she’s still sexy, making Archer’s jaw drop in the episode “Edie’s Wedding.” She’s also unapologetically pansexual, which is awesome.

Mallory, meanwhile, is still actively sexual and treated as desirable. While sex and sexuality are always sources of gags and jokes on Archer, never do the jokes about Mallory’s sexuality ever come across as ageist. Sure, some characters make ageist comments on the show, but it’s never treated as valid. Mallory is still treated as being extremely sexy and confident about it. While Mallory is generally a horrible person, her enthusiastic sexual agency is never once treated as a flaw or something disturbing or gross. What’s disturbing, gross, and worthy of ridicule is her son being so preoccupied and reactionary about his mother having a sex life. It’s clear: if you have a problem with Mallory having a lot of sex and enjoying it, you’re the one with issues.

Even the one young, thin, white woman in the main cast gets to be unapologetic about her kinks. It’s really only a problem when her desire for choke-sex motivates her to lead a KGB cyborg to the ISIS safehouse. Or when she coerces Cyril into sex. And generally acts like a violent, awful person.

Essentially, there’s no tolerance for shaming women for being sexual. All of it, regardless of preference, age, size, or race, is nothing but fun and should be enthusiastically represented. “Can’t talk, got a pussy to break!”

Being a predator is shameful. Having belly rolls is not.

Who on Earth finds this funny?

But, then there’s the flippancy about sexual assault. There ARE gags about Pam and Ray dropping their pants when encountering an unconscious Cyril. And sorry, but the framing of it is all manner of screwed up. There’s tons of sexual coersion as well. Another one of the most problematic instances comes in an episode of season two, where Archer is repeatedly sexually assaulted by a sixteen-year-old German socialite. The show goes out of its way to make it clear that Archer explicitly refuses consent, that he’s being violated, yet the show treats this as funny.

While I get that this is a comedy show and that in-depth exploration of the trauma of sexual abuse isn’t going to be something they can spend a lot of time on, the option they should have gone with is, you know, not base an episode around a german schoolgirl raping the main character. It’s not funny, guys. It’s not necessary. It’s actually just uncomfortable and off-putting.

The show mentions things like alternative gender identities, emotional triggers, and sexual exploration in ways that treat these things as totally valid, which is good. It also frequently portrays poor people as jokes in and of themselves, which is a lot less good. While materialism is lampooned frequently, it’s not treated as a joke in and of itself the way poverty is.

The way the show often portray legitimate abuse for laughs also often goes overboard. While the show does a good job of exploring and following through on all the ways Mallory’s abuse screwed up Archer, there’s a point where the volume of “abuse humor” gets to just be downright gross. Dark humor is one thing, not being able to go an episode without a “Haha, ten-year-old archer was abandoned in a train station at Christmas!” joke is, uh… Not great.

Archer is an awesome, immensely watchable show. But it’s not one I always feel clean watching. It’s a show that celebrates extremes, yes, but there’s a point where certain lines are crossed and it’s just problematic rather than gallows humor.

Archer is one of those series that really makes me struggle to distinguish the gallows humor from the simple tastelessness. To give pause to the idea of problematic content being the “point.”

The line blurs with Archer. A lot. It often manages to distinguish itself with the things it gets right, especially since they often do well on things that most shows, movies, and books are often terrible at. And that’s enough to buy it some goodwill for when they screw up.

But seriously, guys, please stop treating sexual coercion and child abuse as bottomless gag wells. I would have really preferred to have Pam and her awesome sexuality without her sexually assaulting Cyril and Ray. It’s not funny or clever or edgy. It’s just gross.

youtube

#archer fx #your fave is problematic #anon #feminism

11 notes · View notes

breakingarrows · 6 years

Text

Media Journal Week of July 16-22

Ace Combat X: Skies of Deception

My love for the Ace Combat series is deep. Shattered Skies remains one of my favorite games of all time for its depiction of an occupied city from the perspective of a child who has grown up and is writing about his life during this troublesome time. The Unsung War is one I haven’t played as much or as recently, but I have fond memories of the tight group of fighter pilots you form progressing through its very long campaign. Ace Combat X has a story that has failed to engage me so far, but makes adjustments to gameplay missions that are keeping me interested. A special weapon requires you to keep the target in your reticule until it makes contact, which is suddenly a much more engaging mechanic than the simple lock on system. Missions require you to avoid enemy radar, defend sections of a ground force, eliminate enemies with on and off radar/lock on capabilities, and wipe out the enemy before they can make it to a certain location. This variety has already gone far and beyond above previous entries in the franchise, and make the portable entry feel like it wasn’t held back by the hardware, even if the missions do feel like they contain way less enemies and dole them out in waves during specific ones. The narrative from the civilian perspective this time involves a journalist who seems a bit resigned to his post covering a one sided war that is just now tipping in favor of my playable character’s nation. The journalist discovers the poverty the rogue nation is experiencing is fueled by their leader siphoning foreign aid into the military and pushing war as a means of funding his own production company which, sure, I guess nobody else found that out beforehand. It feels early and that there is still more ground to cover, but it lacks the immediate engagement of Shattered Skies, whose introduction had our narrator treat his parents deaths as passively as Yellow 13 did when he shot down the fighter that crashed into their home.

Demon’s Souls

I still laugh whenever I think about the title. Due to playing Dark Souls with Trevor for a video series I have been itching to spend more time with that series, but can’t with Dark Souls since that is cheating so after watching hbomberguy’s video on Dark Souls 2 and some other ancillary media I ended up booting up a new game in Demon’s Souls whose servers have been put to rest. Nevertheless I found myself enjoying the game and cutting through the early content at a much better pace that I expected, mostly thanks to a two handed Bastard Sword, my latent knowledge from my original playthrough, and the occasional guide hint from my phone. I made it through 1-1 and 1-2 with relative ease, got to the boss of 2-1 after some difficulty and decided to start 3-1 and made much more progress by myself than I ever had before. Something hbomberguy discussed was about playing the game “right” which wasn’t so much a disdainful statement towards those who are playing “wrong” but more about adjusting the way you play depending on what the game is throwing at you, such as when and when not to use a shield, lock on, dodge rolls, etc. This is why I chose a Barbarian class to start out instead of the usual shield and armor focused classes I always gravitate towards. As soon as I found a two handed weapon I knew I wanted to try to take my armor-less barbarian as far as she could go using large weapons and rarely holding a shield up. And its worked out pretty well. Despite dodge rolling sometimes feeling a little cheap, such as getting hit when dodging backwards more often than not, I still have found that I like making my way around enemies for openings more than blocking and attempting parries with a shield. I still have one on-hand in case of emergencies but I would say a large majority of my playthrough has been either two handed or with a catalyst for soul arrows in my left hand.

Final Fantasy VII

This was also inspired by another source, this one being the Abnormal Mapping two part episode covering this PlayStation classic. I’ve always had a fond love of Cloud’s adventure, especially the first disc, and decided to start a new game on my PSP in order to relive that magic once again. The beginning sections are as charming as I remember, and also remind me how silly the game can be. The sprites aren’t exactly the most detailed and rely on exagerrated movement to show emotions. This is mirrored by the dialogue. Wedge, Biggs, and Jessie continue to endear me with their attempts to break through Cloud’s tough guy facade. They’re so genuine in their mission as well as their attempts to befriend someone who, even when I choose the less mean dialogue options, still comes off as aloof. That is what makes their loss so impactful when it happens, Cloud never truly opened up to them even though that was all they desired was another friend for their group. Jessie and her gadgetry, Biggs and his own tough guy facade, Wedge who wore his feelings on his sleeve. These were characters I liked and wanted to learn more about and see succeed in their goals, but instead they get killed off by Shinra and are never really mentioned again, another casualty of Avalanche’s war. It even manages to fit this loss into the tone, which can very often get silly as I previously mentioned. Things like Cloud’s crossdressing quest where he scavenges female clothing items from various individuals throughout the wall market have humor to them, even if the actual crossdressing is treated as just something people do without unnecessary judgement from those aiding you. Barrett punches Biggs into the camera, the weapons shop at the intro has various characters referencing the gamepad and save points and treasure chests talk directly to the player explaining their purpose and function. While a majority of the mood, as supplemented by the music, can be very melancholy, it also makes time for more lighthearted affairs which I really appreciate.

Rage

I finally booted up Rage. I’m not quite sure why. I own it so I guess I should get my $2.99 worth out of it. I think the installation was longer than my playtime overall. I played the introduction and the bandit hideout mission. It was okay. That texture pop-in really is a bitch though. The movement feels good even if the pistol feels like it has no bite to it. I’ll get back to this one eventually.

North by Northwest

Another Hitchcock film where a hapless advertising man gets mistaken for a spy and gets involved in some hijinks. Holds the annoying feature I also didn’t like in Vertigo where some woman instantly falls in love with our male lead for no real reason other than the plot demands it. Even then the plot doesn’t really demand it, it just happens? Despite that North by Northwest is still enjoyable even if it seemingly goes on for so long. We reached what I thought might end up being the wrap up but it just continued onwards. Watching Cary Grant bumble around was a lot of fun, especially considering he didn’t even understand the script which Hitchcock loved apparently. The part early on where he is driving drugged is really hilarious. A Fun Fact TM Catelyn informed me of was that Grant is left of center frame for pretty much the entire film, which I feel has some deeper meaning to it but I have’t found or thought of anything yet to explain it.

Godzilla King of the Monsters

They’re making another Godzilla film and the first trailer released and its, fine. The monster on monster action looks like it will be good, as does the shots showing the size of the monsters when compared to humanity which is neat with current CGI. Something I’m still not a fan of is the continued insistence to place human characters into these monster films. Godzilla (2014) suffered mainly for placing a character I couldn’t give a fuck about as the center lead and not giving Godzilla much time. This one is apparently seeking to rectify the latter problem but I’m not seeing much improvement for the former. For one instead of a generic white guy soldier lead they have a preteen who, wow if you wanted to go in the wrong direction you sure have done it. Also we have some women talking about how humanity is a sickness and the giant monsters are presumably nature reacting to remove us, which, is just them spelling out one of the major themes of Godzilla The Franchise: that Godzilla was nature’s reaction to humanity’s capability for destruction. Shin Godzilla’s interpretation has that haunting last image because it was evolving to become the most destructive force possible: its own twisted version of humanity. As a group working together we are capable of much good but also much destruction, and so Godzilla was evolving to take advantage of that power as well for our destruction, and we just barely managed to stop it in time. Shin Godzilla is so fucking good and I hate that most people focus on the silly looking 2nd form.

Speaking of Hideki Anno

Evangelion 3.0+1.0 teaser

Someone got offhand footage of a short teaser clip for Rebuild 4 showcasing Mari in her Unit with new rotating arms shooting and spinning above a red sea with the Next Time remix music playing. It gives a window of 2020 for its release, which, okay sure. I’ll believe it when I see it and the teaser itself doesn’t really do much for me. The Rebuild movies have been up and down. 1.0 is a good remake of the first batch of episodes. 2.0 does its own thing and I really love the finale for that one. 3.0 diverges greatly and I think is kinda a mess. It has been awhile since 3.0 though so who knows what the fuck Anno has planned for this next one.

I discovered this cut of a Return of the Jedi trailer that imagines a world in which David Lynch directed the third Star Wars film and its great.

I mentioned hbomberguy earlier but I wanted to point out his videos are really, really well done. Great editing and humor skits thrown in the midst of great analysis works on movies, games, and media at large. I especially loved his Serious Sonic Lore Analysis that features a very creepy but also hilarious cosplay.

Goodnight Moon has been putting out a bunch of ASMR videos if you’re into that (which I totally am). Her babblebrook series is fucking stellar and I am super invested in seeing whatever she does next with it.

I was reminded Firefest was a thing Mega64 thankfully attended.

I glanced through that Uncharted fan film and came away with the realization that those characters really are just tropes and whatever could be done with them has already been done over the course of five separate games.

Metric released their first single from the upcoming untitled Album named Dark Saturday and its pretty great.

JJJ in the Sam Raimi Spider-Man films is the best.

#Criticism #writing

0 notes