#and 0 of that stuff is in stamp

[yellowocaballero]

I would love to hear your thoughts on how twelve is wolfwood actually, if you'd like to talk about it.

I read this originally as "Wolfwood's the Doctor now?" Which honestly valid.

But yes! The show actually leaves it pretty ambiguous how old Wolfwood actually is chronologically (and if you're thinking 'he's definitely in his 30s, then you're implying Trigun is clear about anything lol). I'm inclined to lean much younger, for both thematic reasons and just because he didn't act very mature.

If you compare him with OG Wolfwood - who was also aged up, but much less drastically - it jumps out. He wrestles Meryl like an older brother, and he's pretty eager and hotheaded. He has a lot of very cynical thoughts about how terrible the world is, but they're actually pretty unnuanced and simple - WW and Sasuke, spot the difference. He doesn't come off as somebody with a lot of life experience. He pretty much outright Big Brother Complex's all over Vash. He swapped out Livio for Vash, and that's why he ended up turning around to save him. The parallels were pretty there.

I'd also say that Wolfwood's flat cynicism and hatred of the world is portrayed as an 'immature' viewpoint, while Vash's faith and hope in humanity is portrayed as the 'mature' one. Brad says this explicitly. Vash also never really debates WW like in 98/Trimax, and he tends to retreat instead of engage him on an equal level. They don't engage with each other as two adults. Wolfwood clearly has the mind of the adult, understands the world as an adult would, and is able to function as an adult in the world - but I'm not really sure he has the maturity or life experience to be able to be treated equivalent to a full adult. College student energy.

Vash's youth makes him act a lot older than in 98. He hasn't solidified his persona or who he is yet. Meryl is an absolute kiddo and this is her coming of age story as she gains life experience and loses a parental figure. Knives is stuck in a psychosexual arrested development. And Wolfwood is a child in an adult's body, who never at any point acts particularly like his adult self. Tesla and Monev are tortured and murdered children. Stamp is, in a lot of ways, about the suffering and abuse of children in a cruel system and how this suffering, literally, causes them to 'grow up too quickly'.

As I said, Trigun rejects any solid certainties. I lean closest to the interpretation of Wolfwood as an overgrown kid and functional college student, because I feel like it's the most thematically cohesive and meaningful. I see ppl basically scribble over his backstory and status to make him an adult with zero caveats, but I always think...like, he was given that backstory for a reason. The change was drastic and it was done very purposefully. Why was that change there? How do we see that reflected in the drastically different Wolfwood? "Hey, Wolfwood doesn't actually act like an adult" is a meaningful observation.

This is not mutually exclusive with him being an adult for 5+ years, and this is not some sort of "Vashwood is problematic" dunk. It's frustrating to me that any mention of the genuine ambiguity about Wolfwood's age and maturity is interpreted as an attack of Vashwood, and the pushback gives some very definite "Wolfwood is for sure 35 with a mortgage" answers. It's ignoring some really important stuff about Tristamp. And the very frequent ship dynamic interpretation as Vash as the naive one and Wolfwood as the world-weary one absolutely just drains Trigun out of what makes it meaningful at all.

Hm meant for that answer to be shorter. As usual, there's a lot to say. Thanks for the ask!

#my asks #trigun #nicholas d wolfwood #god I remember watching the ww backstory episode and absolutely just laughing my head off #“THEY NUKED VASHWOOD LMFAOOO THEY /NUKED/ IT” #reader: apparently it was not nuked. #i did stop and look everywhere I could for people even discussing “hey how old is ww anyway” #and the only discussion I saw was people going “SICK of vashwood haters going on about their imaginary AGE GAP” #i did spend a while tossing any possibility around and eventually decided #if you have to argue that the character isn't a minor and if it's an actual debate #then that's the L #im biased. vashwood has a lot which is very beautiful and heartrending #and 0 of that stuff is in stamp #which is fine! but for me nothing that made Vashwood Vashwood was in Stamp

[phantomrose96]

Yknow I don't think I've... talked about the absolute smorgasbord of shit what's gone wrong with my condo since I moved in so

day 0 - hadn't moved in yet, was just moving items over, turned the sink on for just a moment. turns out the tube feeding into the sink faucet was full of holes (how???) and this caused a never-ending leak under the sink. the standing water rotted the baseboard under the sink

still day 0 - said leak and water accrual dripped down and damaged downstairs neighbor's ceiling ($$$). she has to call me to tell me about it.

I have to get a plumber out there next day (still not living there yet! empty place! I have to take off work). While waiting for plumber, I discover heat's not working.

Go to basement to investigate boiler. Seller didn't fix the issue they claimed they fixed.

Plumber looks at sink. Declares it full of holes. Says he can come back in a few days to fix it.

(Plumber postpones, then flakes. I chase down a different plumber.)

Plumber 2 says the issue is with the garbage disposal, not the faucet. Can come back x days later to work on that, and the boiler.

Plumber 2 comes back x days later (I have to take off work again), says "oh the disposal was messed up but also the faucet has holes." Says he can come back maybe the NEXT day with a new faucet

Oh also the smoke detector in the back hall is low battery beeping and I don't have a battery for it. It's constant, every minute on the minute.

I bike to a hardware store and buy a faucet and a battery ($$). Get lost on the way home. (All of this back and forth is by bike. I live in the city and do not have a car.)

Plumber replaces the faucet ($$). I replace the smoke detector battery but it's still beeping. Dozens of more stupid minutes later of going up and down and up and down stairs and dragging my big stupid ladder around, I realize it's the carbon monoxide detector which is hidden behind the door I need to open to even get to the back hallway.

Plumber services the boiler ($$$)

I move in. I have a less than great time emptying everything from my apartment, which doesn't have plumbing issues. On a bad foot to start.

Travel for Christmas. Come back. Now the first floor back-hall smoke detector is beeping. (At least I have a fucking battery. Get my big stupid ladder down the back hall, knock every wall on the way down, and replace that battery).

I get first month's heating bill (I'd been living there for 10 days if even.) $334. Jesus christ. Likely due to the boiler issue.

Electricity goes out for the evening, same day as I get this bill from the gas and electric company, because fuck you I guess.

Homeowners insurance log in doesn't work. I haven't received my bill, which I need to pay.

Radiators bang in the middle of the night. Something something about them being old or not level or full of ghosts. Cool I don't need to sleep or whatever.

I've received no correspondence from the bank about my first mortgage payment. It'll be due Jan 1st, which is a holiday, so I reach out early. They say it's in the mail.

I monitor my mail every day. I receive no mail. I contact again. I reach out to my old apartment building in case it's there (they can't tell me). I sign up for a bank account with them online. I jump through various hoops to discover the bank has my address wrong. The address of the place the mortgage is on...

They had the mortgage address right. They had my home address as identical to the mortgage address but with one number missing. No one noticed. They'd been sending my stuff to a non-existent address, or the back of a college warehouse, I haven't quite figured it out.

I jump through more hoops to pay my mortgage payment with a check in the mail (I had to go buy stamps and an envelope) (late, but they assure me there's no penalty, but are you sure.)

^This has all been about 2 weeks. btw.

(I get a therapist, and find my way to being seen by a psychiatrist, which I guess is good but jesus is it $$$. Still figuring out how to use my stupid HSA)

People on floor 1 move out. They've got contractors in constantly renovating the place top to bottom. I get all their paint fumes.

Sound proofing doesn't exist, turns out. I hear my downstairs neighbors' conversations. I hear their tv. I hear street conversations. One night it was pouring rain and I was woken up by the sound of something banging against the house. Like genuinely banging. I go outside and investigate - it's a car idling with their windshield wipers going. Windshield wipers. Why would that be audible. Walls made of paper.

Floor 1 contactors leave the back door open one night. Luckily I wasn't storing anything in the back hall and had the door to my interior locked.

I receive my next month's heating bill. $689. I call the gas company and they shrug. I call the plumber and he shrugs. I turn the heat way down cuz I don't know. I dunno. Something's wrong with the boiler but it just got serviced so I dunno. I have to call someone else.

Speak of the devil, cones appear immediately outside my building declaring there's going to be gas line work. For a month. They start with the jackhammers at 8am every weekday. It's gonna be a month. I miss the windshield wipers.

We have a weekend of arctic freeze. -30F windchill. I go down to the basement Sunday morning to do laundry. Floor 1 contractors have outdone themselves by leaving a window open. Pipe had burst in floor 1 and was pouring water down into the basement, totally flooded.

I have to call the plumber, and flag the Floor 2 people about it and they at least find the master water shutoff. I'm dealing with the plumber and I have no water for half the day and no laundry for me.

I want to lie down in a marsh for a bit.

#chrissy speaks #this isnt even touching on the stuff I am simply BAD at #like figuring out furnishing #which has been a whole fucking ordeal but thats because im bad at it so its not like i can blame anything else

[chris-continues]

Trigun Band AU

General HC’s + how you meet

TW: suggestive (just heavy kissing)

SPECIAL THANKS TO @h4venpha @sapphirescience @linkdedruid and @beanibon FOR HELPING ME BRAINSTORM ILY GUYS AND IF U WRITE ANYTHING BAND AU PLS TAG ME <333 (in all caps to indicate enthusiasm) (shakes violently)

TAGS: @millionsvash @macncherries @lune010 @astrathecowboy @captaintweet

Let me know if you want to be added or removed from the taglist!

You’re a classmate of Wolfwood’s in college and find out he’s apart of a rock/alt garage band named Gunsmoke with some of his friends- one day he’s frustrated that it’s his turn to do some of the managerial stuff and as he’s complaining to you about it, you suggest that you can take it up. You’re interested after all, and he seems chill enough so.. why not?

You meet him there with his brother, Livio (singer), who’s wildly cute and sticks to him like a social anchor, then meet Vash (drummer), Meryl (second vocalist), and Milly (guitarist) who are inside setting up (Wolfwood is a bassist)

Over time you do more gigs with them and have fun, soon pining after all of them lowk…

Wolfwood guides you with a hand on your back, Livio uses his hand to prevent you from bumping into anything, Meryl lectures you (she’s just worried about you!!), Milly grabs sweets for you, and Vash sometimes stands a bit close to you, gaze lasting a bit too long.

Also Livio’s lyrics start sounding a bit more romantic too :0 (I wonder why??)

Polycule begins!! (Livio and Wolfwood are platonic since they’re brothers) and they’re the best partners you could ever ask for

While getting ready for a show, you’re their “good luck charm” (meaning they kiss you right before a show)

Milly kisses your cheek, Meryl is too shy to do anything but will give your cheek a kiss if she’s nervous, Vash peppers kisses over your face, Livio is also usually too shy but Wolfwood teases him about it like “what, too shy to kiss your own partner Liv?” And then Livio pecks your lips and hides his face, Wolfwood pulls you in by the waist and kisses you then tickles you cause he’s a piece of shit (affectionate)

Vash will cheekily go, “And this song is for you, mayfly.” And wink at you. Whenever this happens, Meryl usually feels part of your secondhand embarrassment and adoration and facepalms

Songwriting sessions with them consist of Wolfwood and Vash tapping their knees and making dumb noises to make a beat that somehow eventually works?? And Meryl is like, “how do you guys do it?? >:0” cause she’s been tryna construct something for a hot minute.

Livio is actually pretty good at coming up with lyrics, constantly humming under his breath with headphones and finding inspiration. It’s really cute. Him, with his hair up and knees curled to his chest as he sits on the floor, hand tapping as he hums.

Milly does something similar w/ drum beats! Sometimes they’ll be sitting next to each other and doing it and their hands touch. He gets really flustered and she’s like, “Awww”

During these sessions Milly, Livio, and you often go on snack runs (they both have sweet tooth’s)

Making out with Wolfwood in the back room.. his tongue piercing is cool against your lip

Also both him and Vash have matching tongue piercings, they fucking love to tease their partners with it because GOD it’s something

Livio gets one a bit later (so far for piercings he has snake bites, vertical labaret, his eyebrow, + industrial and other ear piercings), no tattoo’s though.

Vash has a smiley, a bellybutton piercing, along with a few ear piercings (and his tongue piercing), but one drunken night Wolfwood dares him to get a tramp stamp. He also has an inner lip tattoo saying, “babygirl” in cursive lettering

Wolfwood has spider bites + tongue piercing and has a matching tramp stamp with Vash (it’s a heart design with flames coming from the sides)

Wolfwood and Vash asko have matching nipple piercings

Milly would have an industrial, Meryl with a septum + a few ear piercings. I think they both would keep it pretty light.

You guys potentially get matching tattoos? (Smth w/ angel wings?)

Wolfwood gets it on his back, Vash on his wrist (so he can always look at it) Livio also gets it on his wrist, Meryl on her sternum and Milly on her shoulder/bicep

#trigun band au #trigun #trigun stampede #chris writes #vash the stampede #livio tristamp #tristamp livio #nicholas d wolfwood #meryl stryfe #milly thompson #milly thompson x reader #meryl stryfe x reader #vash x you #vash the stampede x reader #Wolfwood x reader #gender neutral reader #polycule #polygun #polygun x reader #band au #band au vash #band au meryl #band au milly #band au livio #band au wolfwood

[jaimistoryteller]

Why Help is Needed 2.0

Hiya All

I hope you are all well. The vast majority of this will be under a read more simply cause it is long and covers the last few years for those who don’t know me and may wonder why I am in need of help so bloody often.

I want you all to know I appreciate all of it, whether it is share, donating, buying one of my books, commissions, or any other way it may be. Thank you all.

Jaimi

$0/902

as of 12/27/2022 10 pm

Post info on current situation

Share this post; my venmo, paypal, or cash app with a note about how it can help.

Paypal: cosmosbusinessventures@gmail .com or Paypal Me

Ko-Fi

venmo @JaimiST

Cash app $jaimist

GoFundMe: Help Jaimi Catch Up the Bills & Fix the Roof

Why 2.0? Cause half asleep me managed to delete it again. So gotta rebuild again.

Redo Timeline since I sort of deleted it, again, while half asleep. really shouldn't try cleaning my tumblr up while half asleep.

Still need to finish, but here’s a starting point!

Current Situation

Hiya All

Happy winter holidays or season, as you prefer.

It's been a long month between:

internet outages cause of snow storms

being trapped in the house cause a blizzard

sleeping more than I care to admit cause of a sinus infection, pain, and migraines [though I sometimes think it was just one long one with times it started to fade before something triggered it once more]

9 hour trip to hospital cause dad coughed so much it made his throat swell and caused breathing issues

vet appointments

doctors appointments

food stamps getting cut back for a few really stupid reasons

having to argue with the insurance multiple times

So, with all that being said, between mine and dad's account, we're $902 in the hole. While I am not as worried about his, he'll get his VA pension, I am worried about mine, as it came from getting meds, getting food, and paying a few bills. I need to get them out of the hole before the next round of bills, meds, and food is needs.

Any and all help would be appreciated! Thank you for taking the time to read this.

$0/902

Money Needed History

6/16/2022 - $721

6/1/2022 - $656 [got $144 of that]

6/25/2022 - $540 electric

7/14/2022 3 pm - $36/480

8/4/2022 - $472

8/31/2022 - $1147

9/6/2022 - $50 of 1147

9/22/2022 - $1796 

10/1/2022 - $1181

11/15/2022 - $981 of which $750 was thankfully covered

12/17/2022 - $232

12/27/2022 - $902 

House Stuff Needed

I may hate amazon, but right now I’ll deal with them if anyone wants to send stuff from the list:

Stressful Times Needs & Wish List

The list has two parts, or three, depending on how you look at it, as the first and second can technically be merged.

1. Necessities

Happybuy PEX Tubing Pipe 2 Rolls of 1/2 Inch X 100 Feet PEX Tubing

Gerber Plumbing Tub & Shower Set Three Handle Chrome

SharkBite 1/2 Inch Ball Valve, Push to Connect Brass Plumbing Fitting, Water Shut Off

Thomas & Betts B120AUPC 1G 20 CU in Zip Box W/N (Pack of 100) WIRE 12/3 NMWG 250' REEL

SOUTHWIRE COMPANY #28827455 250' 14/2 W/G NM Cable

14/2 UF-B Wire, Underground Feeder and Direct Earth Burial Cable (100ft)

I recently had to replace two of my three breaker boxes, which set me behind on bills. Why? Cause they had breakers melted and shorting, some that would be in the off position but still have power going through them, others that would say they were on and not have power. But the one melted to the breaker box? That was the really terrifying one. So I need to replace the wiring, as I discovered a lot of my wiring is 30+ years old. There are sections of my house without power. Hence the reason any help there is wonderful. 

Why not go to DHS and get an electrician to help? A couple of reasons - there is a lifetime limit on how much they will help with a house if you ain’t dying. I’d be expected to pay at least half, which cost more than me getting the stuff and doing it myself. Not a fan of strangers in my house and would be worrying my service dog [and probably them since Winston is a rottie] the entire time.

The other section of the necessities list is for plumbing stuff. My pipes are a disaster, I have exactly one working sink in the house, the kitchen sink. To turn my tub/shower on/off I have to go in Dad’s room and use the access panel on/off valves since the handles don’t actually turn off, and when I was going to take them apart to see if replacing the washer would do the trick, the wall started crumbling, so I was unable to actually do so.

2. Would be Nice

Highcraft ID234x50 Half Clamp J-Hook with Nail For Pex Tubing Pipe Support, 1/2 in, Black

Owens Corning "EcoTouch" PINK FIBERGLAS Insulation for Attic 15"x25', Unfaced

Pink Insulation Foam 1/2" Thick (6 sq ft)

(30) 1/2" Brass PEX Fittings 10 Each Elbow TEE Coupler Reducer Lead Free Crimp Cinch PEX GUY

Sterilite ClearView 3 Storage Drawer Organizer

Harris Diatomaceous Earth Food Grade, 5lb

Each would make my life easier in some way while I am working on things or to lower the bills long term.

3. Things to Help with Relaxing and Dealing with Stress

Derwent Colored Pencils, Drawing, Art, Metal Tin, Metallic, 12 Count (2305599)    

Black Widow Skin Tone Colored Pencils for Adult Coloring - Color Pencils for Portraits and Skintone Artists

Fuck This Shit: A Motivational Swear Word Coloring Book

You Fucking Got This : Motivational Swear Words Coloring Book

Butts, Bleps, and Beans Cat Coloring Book

Adult Coloring Book : 60 Stress Relieving Animals Designs

Mindfulness Coloring Book For Adults: Zen Coloring Book For Mindful People

Mandala Art

Mindfulness Coloring Book for Teens

Xyron Create-a-Sticker, 5", Sticker Maker, Machine, Permanent Adhesive

Markin Arts Stretched Canvas 8x10" 10 Pack Blank Canvas Board 

I try to spend a little bit of time every day coloring, partially cause my therapist suggested it after I mentioned it can be soothing, and partly because it gives me some time not looking at a computer screen and still relaxing.

Last but not least on the list is the Lowe's Gift Cards, they make it easy for me to go buy the supplies needed for the project I am most focused on or would be easiest. Considering my list doesn’t include any of the wood, screws,

History & Timeline

There is a lot of things that have happened to cause a large part of this current situation. This list has some but not all of the event that have happened in the last few years. If I covered all of it, we’d be here forever it feels like.

2009 July 7th - car accident that started my life downwards, I was passenger, had my ankle smashed requiring surgery. The reason I now have nerve damage.

2011 - had to have the metal that rebuilt my ankle removed as I developed an allergy to it after one of the screws shifted out of position, damaging a tendon and nerve as it did so. 

2012 December - stopped working full time, as I kept ending up in the hospital from simple injuries that could have been avoided if not always pushing through the pain. My right leg likes giving out cause the nerve damage.

2013 January to current - filed for disability, still fighting for it.

2018 February - my seventh concussion, screwed up my ability to use the computer or other digital devices for a long while.

2022 April 1 to June 14 - nine trips to the hospital, totaling 21 days in total, plus another 11 days dedicated to doctors visits. When not going back and forth to the doctors/hospitals was dealing with pain and sleeping a lot.

2022 June 18 to 21 - several days with migraine and migraine aura

2022 July - lots of storming, when not storming working on roof or sleeping off pain. 

2022 August & September - seven hospital trips, including one over night, and nine doctors appointments later, means I spent a lot of time exhausted when not working on finishing my damned roof up so it would not leak in the house. Two cats I hand nursed passed away as well, which was emotionally painful.

2022 October to November 14 - so much shit: doctor appointments, emergency vet appointment, dealing with migraines, power outage

2022 November 15 to December 10 - more migraines and pain, finally ended up at the clinic, had a major sinus infection, got put on antibiotics which knocked me out for the next week

2022 December 18 - spent my legal day at the hospital with dad after he coughed so much his throat started closing up. 

2022 December - that blizzard was fun

Proofs

[ID: screenshot of dad’s checking account -$571.83, my checking account -$211.90, and my savings -$119]

[ID: screenshot of my paypal $0]

#signal boost #boost #bump #help please #even a little bit helps #thank you #please reblog #Jaimi's GFM #finally doing some updates and explaining here #there is more info about why i need help

[theresattrpgforthat]

Any good stuff for psychic vigilantes fighting from the shadows? Apologies if this is too vague or if I’m asking wrong.

THEME: Psychic Vigilantes.

Oh boy oh boy I am excited about this ask!! Buckle up, this week's gonna be a good one!! I got some pulp action goodness, some horror, and some cyberpunk for you.

Psych-0 Team!, by John Pineapple.

A one-page TTRPG about psychic agents saving the world! Heavily inspired by the TTRPG "Lasers and Feelings”.

This is a game about being psychic secret agents, so it’s a very different feeling from being on the run from the law. However, I think it might be a good introduction to something a bit grittier, and could possibly be re-tooled to make you part of a secret vigilante organization as well! The game system is very lightweight, using only d6’s, and implements a staggered level of success, so not every win will look or feel the same. Definitely worth checking out!

Psi*Run, by Meguey & Vincent Baker.

Whoever’s after you, you know one thing: they will stop at nothing to capture you and you’ll stop at nothing to stay free. The holes in your memory vie for attention with your startling abilities - stay one step ahead of the Chasers long enough to answer your questions, and hope your psychic powers don’t go wild.

I don’t know much about this game specifically, but Meguey & Vincent Baker of Lumpley Games have made their stamp on the ttrpg scene with games like Apocalypse World, Under Hollow Hills, and Mobile Zero: Firebrands. Their approach to game design births games with mechanics that replicate emotions and genre mainstays very well. I expect this game to do the same for a game about being insanely powerful and yet always on the run.

Bellbottoms and Brainwaves, by Mekkekat.

The United States military has been conducting secret experiments on “willing” subjects in a program called PSY-CLOPS (Psychic Covert Learning Operatives). The program has successfully created a 6th sense in a  REDACTED number of subjects. This 6th sense can manifest within a subject in several ways, but all of these abilities are simply referred to as ‘powers’. The project has been funded for the past REDACTED years, but in last month, there was a problem. The Pentagon wants answers. REDACTED subjects have managed to escape.

This is a brutally short game that places you right into a cinematic 1960’s, with each character given a different suite of powers - and a different list of consequences that can get pretty brutal pretty quickly, so make sure you go over the possibilities with your group and apply safety tools in this kind of game. This game starts you out as on the run from a government agency, but go on the run long enough and you’re a vigilante by default, aren’t you?

The game itself is free, and if you want an online character keeper, I’ve made one here!

Syndrome, by Ill Advised Gaming.

Syndrome is a cyberpunk setting with strong elements of body horror in the vein of Scanners or Akira. High tech, low lifes dealing with illness in a society that fears them. Powerful and vulnerable in equal measure with only their fellow Nockers for support.

Built off of Caltrop Core and borrowing elements of systems like Apocalypse World and Unified Cutlery Theory, Syndrome frames psychic abilities as a metaphor for disability; in a world where data chips and facial recognition software are par for the course, psychics are off the map. Invisible. Marginalized. Perfect for both poverty and vigilantism. Syndrome is a pretty horror-heavy game, so I wouldn’t advise trying to run a power-fantasy in this game, but if you’re looking for a way to talk about living on the margins with some unique tools to strike back, it might be worth checking out!

Psychopunk, by Gormengeist. (@gormengeist)

PSYCHOPUNK is a TTRPG about being poor, being psychic, and murdering law enforcement. In order to play, you need a deck of cards, a d12, paper and pencils, and a can-do attitude. It's best with one game master [A.K.A the Scripter], and 2 to 5 players.

The year is 2022. Being poor is punishable by death- or perhaps worse- Time Prison. You are poor. But you’re also psychic, which very few lowly peasants such as yourself are. This means that where most people in your situation are rat meat, you are (probably) alive. For now.

If you want to keep it that way, you’ll need to evade the law, keep up on your Double Dollars ($$), and scuz some fucking corpos before they scuz you.

Another cyberpunk game about psychic powers, I love the pitch for this game. It’s mean to kick you down and force you to get back up scratching and bleeding and screaming. It comes with 12 life paths, 12 psychic abilities, 8 different signature enemies and everything you need to run deadly quick combat. Also it’s published by Gormengeist, who really knows how to find a theme and sell you on it. Check it out!

#tabletop games #indie ttrpgs #dnd #game recommendations #asks #psychics

[writing-for-life]

“Oblivion Is Not An Option”—A Musical Meta About Death’s “A Kind Word And A Friendly Face”

Send me asks about everything Sandman-related!

As some of you already know, my past life as a musician gives me a deep love for, and interest in, film music.

I already wrote a meta about the musical themes of Morpheus and Johanna Constantine, which you can find here.

In the spirit of actually creating the content we’d like to see, and also inspired by Sandtember Week 2023 prompt (Death) - The end of something, I’d like to talk about the musical leitmotif of Death today. And by the way, if you’d like me to cover any of the other Sandman musical themes: My ask box is always open (also for non-music related Sandman stuff. I’ve been sitting with this story for 30 years now, and I love to nerd out about it). I can’t promise how quickly I will be able to turn around these things since they need a bit of work and thought, but I definitely will get back to you.

First of all, let me start by saying that there are only four characters with a leitmotif (not every Sandman character has one) that doesn’t mirror, or even contain, Dream’s theme in some way:

Ethel Cripps

Hob Gadling

The Corinthian (video is time-stamped, which doesn’t always work on mobile. In that case, scroll to 0:55)

Death

Or

Johanna’s and Calliope’s motifs are interesting in this context. I won’t go into Johanna’s again here, you can read about it via the link.

Calliope’s motif sounds different from Dream’s at first listen, so we might be tempted to put her in above group. But on closer listen, Calliope’s theme, like Johanna’s, references Dream’s (at the very end, it starts at 1:26). One step further: It is actually his motif (somewhat) in reverse. Which is really heartbreaking if you think of it, because it mirrors both their connection and deep affinity, but also a pull into different directions. However, I might write more about this another time, since this one is obviously about Death.

Affective Tonality—Musical Keys Make Us Feel

“A Kind Word and a Friendly Face” is set in the key of a minor. In affective tonality, a minor is the key of softness and tenderness of character (if this is something that interests you, have a look at Schubart’s or Charpentier’s works on the matter), but also of sadness and melancholy (Charpentier calls it “plaintive”). It’s more difficult to make an affective tonality assessment for Dream, since his leitmotif changes key several times throughout the series, depending on whom he interacts with (it also changes slightly overall, depending on context). For this purpose, the main theme (“The Kingdom of Dreams”) would probably be the best to use for comparison. It is set in B major, about which Schubart writes, “(it is) strongly coloured, announcing wild passions, (...) despair and every burden of the heart lies in its sphere”, while Charpentier calls it “solitary and melancholic”. I think you couldn’t give a more accurate description of character of these two via tonality if you tried.

Sound Effects That Hint At Deeper Meaning

Another aspect of Death’s theme I’d like to draw your attention to is the use of what we call backmasking. I recommend you listen to the beginning of “A Kind Word and a Friendly Face” at above video link with your headphones on. You will hear a faint sound effect in the background that is actually achieved by playing sounds in reverse. I was fairly sure it was her own leitmotif, but just to make sure I’m not telling you rubbish, I actually sent it through my sound processor, and it’s eerie how Death’s motif sounds almost the same played normally and in reverse (only that the background “noise” becomes the melody when you play it backwards). I think this is a wonderful, skilled musical hint at the interwoven nature of life and death: The moment you are born, you are essentially on a journey to die. But “oblivion is not an option”—there is a reversing of time in using this effect, an ethereal quality that is also mirrored in other aspects of the tune, e.g. in using flageolet in the string section. You create this effect by not fully pressing your finger down on the string, hence creating harmonics of the fundamental (the “original note”, so to speak). One could almost say it’s the sound of the cosmos: There is a long tradition, going back to Ancient Greece, to connect the relationships between musical notes and harmonic ratios to the universe (and ultimately life). All life is regarded as iterations of what could be called “cosmic music”. This isn’t really as woo as it might sound, but it would lead much too far in a meta like this. If you’re interested, you can make a start here:

Or a bit more in depth…

Melody Lines And Cadences Are Seldom Chosen At Random

Last but not least, I’d like to draw attention to the actual melody line. Despite being set in a minor key (which tends to evoke sadness in many listeners of western music), we have a hook largely based around an ascending pattern: 1-2-(m)3-1-(7)-1-1 (you can hear this right at the beginning of the video in linked above).

Compare this to Dream, who is mostly based around descending patterns: 1-(7)-(6)-(5)-(4) (I already explained this a bit more in-depth in the meta about Johanna).

As you can see, it’s not just the choice of key, it’s also the directionality. One lifts regularly and is inherently hopeful, the other descends quite frequently. However, people perceive music very differently, so this is rather food for thought than exact science.

I’d like to end this post with an interrupted cadence, just like Death’s motif:

When a piece of music ends, we want to hear a resolution. Usually, this means that we go back to the tonic (I) in some way, either via a perfect (V—I) or plagal (IV—I) cadence. It just sounds like a song is “done” or finished. In Death’s case, this would mean returning to the chord of a minor. However, we finish in F major, which leaves us hanging on the VI. It’s what’s called an interrupted cadence: There is no resolution, no end. And perhaps, that’s what Death hints at when she tells Harry now he’ll find out (video is time-stamped at around 1:28)…

#sandman meta #the sandman #death of the endless #the sandman meta #neil gaiman #the sandman analysis #musical meta analysis #sandman soundtrack #sandman netflix #dream of the endless #morpheus #calliope #SandmanWeek2023 #sandweek2023 #sandtember2023 #sandman #netflix the sandman #the sandman netflix #sandman music #sandmancentral

[ffjj5]

Jikook and numbers...it continues.

In particular the number 13 and the date 11/08.

Today Jungkook posts on his Instagram story

The first thing I noticed was that the time stamp numbers add up to 13, 1+0+2+6+2+2=13.

Hmm interesting I thought, but then I discovered that this date is 13 days since Jimin's birthday on 13/10 and is 13 days until 11/08, which we know is an important date for Jikook.

Is this video clip they posted on 11/08/2015 possibly the start of the Jikook we now know and love?

And we all know the importance of GCF Tokyo 🥰

11/08 is even referenced in song recommendations

And recently one very poignant and emotional one which was Jungkook allowing us just a glimpse into his heart whilst Jimin was in hospital.

But back to today, after calming myself from my previous discovery I then found out the time the picture was posted...23:08/11:08pm KST,

we have seen 23:08 used by Jungkook before

23:08 KST is 05:08 Qatar time 0+5+0+8=13. 🤯

This man knows exactly what he is doing with the numbers. We can't be completely delulu can we??

He misses his Jimin and knew damn well Jimin would work all the number stuff out, they have probably already talked about it during a flirty, soft 'missing you babe' phone call.

I can't help thinking the wink, finger heart and puckered lips were not for us but we were meant to see it. Seems to be a theme with Jungkook lately 😄

The picture meant for us is this one...

Not this one..

☺️☺️

💜💛🌈

#jikook and numbers #jimin #jungkook #jikook #park jimin #jeon jungkook #kookmin #jm #jk

[mousedetective]

WE DESPERATELY NEED HELP!

We have very little food to eat when we're at Safe Parking and absolutely no food to eat while we wait for Safe Parking to open. My mom is $124 overdrawn and I also need, on top of food for us, food and litter for my cats.

We also have food that can be bought on our Amazon wishlist (ignore the Nintendo Switch stuff, unless you want to get it; it's for my sister to try and get for my son before he goes into housing). Like, we don't get any food stamps for another 12 days, my son is like a walking talking garbage disposal who is constantly eating, and all I can do is beg for help with limited amounts of posts because I can't sleep in the car well.

I am so freaking hungry right now, and I need help urgently. Please help?

$0/$200

#signal boost #mutual aid #direct action #crowdfunding #donations #please donate #please reblog #please share #please help #anything helps #amazon wishlist #paypal #groceries #food #urgent #emergency

[chayscribbles]

chayscribbles’ monthly writing update ☆ october 2023

☆ STATISTICS.

words written: my writing tracker spreadsheet says 21 543 but a lot of that was just rewriting The Gemini Heist in preparation for nano so does that really count

projects worked on: The Gemini Heist

proudest accomplishment: i was actually able to make a decision about what to do for nano weeks before november and i haven't changed my mind yet, although there are still 12 hours before november so who knows, really

☆ GENERAL COMMENTS.

sooooooooo i don't remember if i mentioned it yet but Andromeda Rogue is on a bit of a hold at the moment because editing was making me miserable and i think i need some time to step back. sorry to anyone who wanted to see it published sooner than later but i was struggling lmao.

anyways, i'll be doing gemini heist for nano!

more specific wip-related comments + featured excerpt below.

☆ COMMENTS: THE GEMINI HEIST (draft 0)

i'm gonna try to get the shittiest draft of this wip done for nano because it's been dragging on for sooooo long (i've had the idea simmering in my head since spring 2022 and started drafting in summer 2022) and i feel like if i don't just dew it i'll never get anywhere with it.

also because the longer it stays in that nebulous unwritten state the more i tweak with it and the most likely it is to break. i think i've broken it a few times already and had to restart lmao. if that makes sense.

anyways i'm hoping to at least get the general structure of the story down by writing the shittiest draft imaginable, an at least taht way i have something concrete to build on.

i did cheat a bit in october tho and rewrote the beginning chapters of gemini heist that i'd already written. partly to get back into the feel of this wip and partly to fix some stuff that simply didn't work anymore after nearly a year of tweaking, and it was driving me insane to know those discrepancies existed.

☆ FEATURED EXCERPT.

because it's halloween and because this update is kinda short, here's a treat: a slightly longer excerpt! this is before Illiana joins the Sirens on their mission, and she is not having a good time.

[Illiana] yanked on the handle. The door opened, and she stumbled into her musty-smelling motel room. Two plasma shots greeted her. Illiana dropped to the floor just in time to avoid getting the top of her hood singed. She blindly flung out her arm towards the silhouette standing over her bed. Heat pooled in her palm, exploding into a gust of violet light that struck her attacker in the thigh.  But they were not to be deterred. Charging at her with barely a limp, they thrust a weapon— they were moving too fast for Illiana to be able to make out what kind of weapon it was exactly— and fired again. This time, Illiana aimed for their hand, reaching out with her power, creating a brilliant arc that wrapped itself around their wrist. With a flex of her fingers, she tugged at the light like a cord as hard as she could.  The assailant stumbled forward and bumped their head on the corner of the scuffed up dresser. They let out a high pitched yowl, the weapon falling to the floor with a clatter.  Illiana was only able to catch a glimpse of the symbol stamped on the blaster’s side before she kicked it under the bed and out of her attacker’s reach, but it was enough for her to recognize the diamond crest of the House of Dyonas’ special guard.  Up until that moment, Illiana had been operating on an automatic fight response, but upon seeing the symbol, panic shot through her body. Disarming them was completely pointless, she realized.  The attacker proved it a second later as they slammed a glowing purple fist into Illiana’s chest. For an agonising moment, her ribs and lungs and heart felt like they were both blazing hot and freezing cold at once. It took a monumental effort to take in a single breath, as if a giant invisible hand were wrapped around her, squeezing, squeezing, squeezing. Through the haze in her mind, she managed to focus her own energy into her chest and explode it around her like a bomb, releasing her from their grasp. By Fiolsgadd, Illiana thought wildly, stumbling backwards into the doorway once the suffocating feeling passed and she could gasp for air. Kalen’s fiolsridder have found me.

☆ TAGLISTS. let me know if you want to be added/removed to any of them.

general taglist:

@nicola-writes @dgwriteblr @the-orangeauthor @onomatopiya @quilloftheclouds @ashen-crest @writeblrfantasy @celestepens @stardustspiral @pepperdee @extra-magichours @avi-why @lefttigerobservation @chazzawrites @bardolatrycore @innocentlymacabre

gemini heist taglist:

@florraisons @akindofmagictoo @cream-and-tea @nicola-writes @memento-morri-writes @antique-symbolism @rose-bookblood @afoolandathief @pepperdee @avi-why @zonnemaagd @chazzawrites @analogued @enchanted-lightning-aes @innocentlymacabre @kahvilahuhut @celestepens @cilly-the-writer @extra-magichours @onomatopiya @outpost51

🎃👻HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!🍬🦇

#chayscribbles writing update #wip gemini heist

[simplywylan]

so close (enchanted)

listen, this song is gorgeous. i will never, ever get over its beauty and how this long feels like falling in love. so, naturally, i have made an ENTIRE wesper scene to it in my head! let me lay it out for you.

WITH music time stamps :)))

-

it all starts when kaz comes to them with another silly little plan and they all need to dress up as fancy, rich people to get into a ball. a great big fancy ball, with lots of food, drinking, and most importantly, dancing.

so jesper and wylan are situated on the floor, right on the dance floor. they've been told to just blend in, don't look suspicious, pick up little bits of information. kaz has reminded them that, at ALL costs, they need to blend in, whatever is to happen.

the band starts up. everyone starts moving to dance, in their partners, all ready to go. wylan panics and is like 'shit, what do we do jes?' and jesper, without missing a single beat, grabs wylans hand and pulls him to the middle of the room, getting ready to dance with him. because, as kaz said, at all costs. (0:00-0:46)

the music finally kicks in and everyone starts to dance, including wylan and jesper. wylan has not a single idea what is going on, and just follows jespers lead, because he trusts him. trusts him that this is needed to get through the plan. (0:46-1:23)

so they start dancing, close together, flowing with the music as perfectly as they can. wylan had no idea that jesper knew how to dance like this, but hey, he learns something new every single day apparently.

wylan is just... heart eyes. the actual definition of heart eyes. he knows they're in the middle of something important, but he just help admiring how beautiful jesper is, how close he's holding him yet how soft his hands are on his waist. he's completely in love. suddenly, the plan doesn't matter as much anymore. its just him and jesper, on the dance floor, hearts and hands entangled with one another. (1:23-1:58)

they are both entirely entranced by one another, their eyes never parting. the rest of the room has picked up on this, the two handsome gentlemen dancing in the middle of the floor like they're dancing on clouds. naturally, the crowd starts to part as they spot this, just watching these two dance because it's all they can do. it's so natural. the crowd begin to watch in awe.

wylan and jesper dont even realise they are the only ones on the floor, all smiles and giddy giggles, just happy to be with one another. (1:58-2:18)

they are so incredibly in love with one another, it's unbelievable. nobody has anything seen something so pure and beautiful as this. as the music swells, jesper wraps a sturdy arm around wylans waist and picks him up off the floor, the two twirling around, having completely forgotten they are here to actually steal stuff. the only thing they seem to be stealing is each others hearts. eventually, as the music begins to soften again, jesper puts wylan down and for a moment, they stop. wylan wants to say so much, as so much, but he instead opts for the option he knows best; he kisses jesper with every ounce of love and wonder his body can produce. jespers hands are firmly holding wylans waist, wylans hands every so gently cupping jespers jaw, slightly pulling him down so that he doesn't have to strain on his tip toes. (2:18-2:30)

jesper is taken back, but smiles as they part. they rest their foreheads together and take a moment to catch their breath, before jesper whispers something to wylan that he at first thinks he imagines, and he looks at him all doe-eyed and surprised, about to burst with absolute joy. before wylan can respond or ask about it, the music starts up again, and jesper whisks him back into the dance, their bodies moving in perfect time. (2:30-2:46)

by this time every one is dancing again, but still keeping their eyes on these two love-struck idiots in the middle of it all. it is quite literally like the world revolves around them. again, its all smiles and giggles and stolen kisses, and wylan swears his heart is about to explode in his chest. (2:46-3:10)

as the music finally comes to an end, they slow to a stop, just standing and holding one another, their bodies pressed flush up against one another. kaz and nina are watching, hidden in the crowd that didn't join the dance floor. nina's jaw is basically on the floor as she turns to kaz, who actually has a bit of a smile smacked across his usually stoic face. its then she realises that kaz knew exactly what he was doing by placing them two on the dance floor together. she turns to him, smirking and says 'you had this planned all along, didn't you?' to which kaz just looks at her and says 'perhaps.' (3:10-end)

-

i am SO happy for people to take this idea and expand on it, give it edits, give it fics, give it art - whatever you want. because i love this, i am obsessed with it, and i need you all to know what i see when i listen to this song. hence why its in my wesper playlist.

#i know its long but READ IT #wesper #wylan van eck #jesper fahey #wylan x jesper #wesper drabble #wesper fic #wesper headcanon #wesper song #six of crows #soc #shadow and bone #shadow and bone netflix #give me mood boards too i fucking love mood boards #might make one myself lol

[lamarie-artsy]

A compilation of all the fandom buttons and stamps I've done so far!

only one animated one so far, but I'm hoping to make more soon ^0^ edit: I forgot I had two animated buttons, oops, anyway it's up now

you can also find them on the relevant sideblogs! I've posted most of them as I've made them but some of them are only on the sub pages on desktop.

edit 2: I have a personal site now that I'll be putting all my buttons and stuff on eventually, as of right now though it only has the glitter texts.

#if I make any more I'll add them in a reblog #88x31 buttons #digital stamps

[aeriedwelling]

atmos 6 23 and 93?

6. What do they like to wear?

tight fit shirts & shoes but loose fit everything else. (baggy jackets baggy pants. excellent combo. he is like a balloon to me <3 /silly)

23. Do they collect anything?

ooough. minecraft atmos definitely not, he's always anticipating the inevitable end of whatever world he's in, so he doesn't take the time to collect stuff

d&d atmos probably collects things :0 space campaign atmos would collect stamps from all the planets and cities he's been to :D

93. What kinds of things anger them?

being told how to do a job that he already knows how to fuckin do, thanks,

most other people, especially if they're being really annoying

people who fight first, ask questions later (he doesn't appreciate being attacked)

#asks #ghost beloved #oc atmos phere

[nullbutler]

Season 2 but it's only when Alois is around

so I just finished rewatching season 2! I made TO THE SECOND time stamps of every time Alois Trancy appears on screen (as well as a few other notable things, such as when the explicit/violent parts happen, when Luka appears, and a few lines that were worth mentioning). here is your Tumblr Alois Stan Season 2 Survival Guide! While it's not everything (I didn't write down the post-mortem Hannah eyeball scene) it is 95% of the Alois content in that season!

This was using the version currently avaliable on Netflix. if the season has been cropped or altered on other streaming sites, I don't know how helpful this guide will be! sorry about that! Also, while I tried my best to warn potentially triggering subject matter, and I'm pretty sure I got all of it, I am not 100%, so if you're going to rewatch the season, please get in a headspace where you know, there is a small chance you might see something. The worst, however, has been caught

TIMESTAMPS FOR THE CSA

EP#1 CLAWED BUTLER -- 0:00-1:14

EP#8 DIVULGING BUTLER -- 9:06-10:36, 12:36-13.59 18.35-18.46

EP#9 HOLLOW BUTLER -- 16:43-16:57

Episode 5-7 have a lot of Alois scenes, but nothing in relationship to his trauma, so if you want an entirely 'safe' and non-triggering viewing, those are your best bet! Episode 1 is also fine, if you start it directly after the opening

TMESTAMPS FOR OTHER DISCOMFORTS

If I were to try to keep track of all of this, then the list would be extensive and long BUT in regards to Alois in particular, a few scenes did jump out at me as being potentially a little ... weird

EP#1 CLAWED BUTLER --

9:27-9:42 (Druitt says something weird and pervy)

EP#8 DIVULGING BUTLER --

0:00-2:02 (Nothing explicit, but he is naked, bandaged, and the camera is...you know how the camera is. Some weird dialogue too, between him and Hannah and Claude. It's nothing too bad)

3:39-4:31 (The Hannah scene. Some people told me they were uncomfortable with the way he tackled her, even if it was just the camera being a little weird)

(If the triggering stuff really bothers you, just don't want Divulging Butler, that episode was...weird)

LIVE LUKA REACTION

EP#8 DIVULGING BUTLER -- 5:02-9:04

EP#9 HOLLOW BUTLER -- 11:45-13:15

EP#11 CROSSROADS BUTLER -- 14:58-16:25

EP#12 BLACK BUTLER -- 12:05-12:28

ACTUAL TIMESTAMPS

It'll take ages to jot these down, so here are the pictures of the notes I was taking. Every time Alois Trancy was on screen, I took note of it

Uhhh fun fact my therapist called me halfway through and I had to write down a number. That's what that scribbled out thing is. Haha...oh, if only she knew...

ALOIS OUTFITS

Also, as per something @hateweasel said, I decided I had to keep track of what outfits he was wearing throughout the episodes. And I can proudly say the little shorts only show up in episode 1, 2 minutes in episode 5, all of the scenes of him in the present in Episode 8, and all of the scenes of him in Ciel's mind palace in episode 12. So about 20 minutes total. This is out of the approximate 50 minutes of Alois Time in the series, with his other outfits cycling in at the maid dress, the devil costume, his normal outfit but with trousers, and then Ciel's outfit while he's possessing him, and then his clothes as a kid.

Here is a diagram. I made up those numbers. I could have added it second by second, and that was my plan, and I started, but it was really really boring

NOTABLE LINES

Some things I just found funny

EP#1 CLAWED BUTLER - Druitt says 'Among us' at 9:55

EP#5 BEACON BUTLER - Alois licks Ciel at 15:34-15:40. It should be noted he spends like 10 seconds proceeding that playing with Ciel's hair and Ciel DOES NOT pull away from him or even seem that disturbed. Huh.

EP#7 DEATHLY BUTLER - There's these shots as the two butlers fight each other where they show the boys reacting. We get 'live Lois reaction' at 6:12, 6:19, 7:39, 9:01, 10:18,10:38, 11:27

In the same episode, the piss line is at 15:23-15:50

EP#9 HOLLOW BUTLER - Ciel actually says he feels regret after Alois dies. This is at 10:10.

Alois's village is also revealed to be called Arachnophile. Ah.

Alois is dead at 20:39

EP#11 CROSSROADS BUTLER - while possessing the body of Ciel Phantomhive, Alois actually tries to hurt himself. It's kind of painful to watch. This occurs at 6:23-6:59, 11:57-13:07

EP#12 BLACK BUTLER - Alois speaks last at 12:05

#alois trancy #kuroshitsuji #black butler season 2 #black butler #claude faustus #ciel phantomhive #long post

[because-its-eurovision]

Wait so what happened between Finnish people and Lordi? This is the first I'm hearing about their reputation being trashed there :0

This is going to be one of my thousand-word essay answers, so strap in.

I also did not know how badly they were treated during the years following Esc until Yle published this article in May 2021. It is in Finnish and I can’t be bothered to translate the whole thing, but the article consists of our previous representatives Lordi (2006), Hanna Pakarinen (2007), Kuunkuiskaajat (2010), Paradise Oskar (2011) and Sandhja (2016) telling about their Esc experiences and how the Finnish public and music industry treated them during and after that (spoiler alert: it wasn’t great). The article was linked to the Finnish Esc forum and I remember us all being very shocked and upset because it was the first time we actually heard about the negativity and hatred Lordi experienced. I do think most of us just assumed their hype went away quietly. What follows is based on my own memories of the time as well as what the band has told publicly.

I remember the 2006-2007 being full on Lordi craze. Their merch and albums being sold at supermarkets. Lordi Cola, Lordi candy. Lordi themed restaurant in Rovaniemi. Celebrations, awards, statues. Squares and buildings named after them, their faces in credit cards and postage stamps. The Arockalypse being the most sold album of 2006, selling triple platinum. In Emma Gaala Lordi won Band of the Year, Song of the Year and Export of the Year, Hard Rock Hallelujah was the most played song of the year, everywhere you went you saw kids wearing Lordi shirts (...sounds familiar?😶)

The way I see it is that by just participating in the national selection, let alone Esc, Lordi had lost all the credibility they had left in the eyes of rock/metal puritans, selling themselves and whatnot because Eurovision a cringefest as we know. I don’t know if music based subcultures are as gatekeepy and stick-in-their-ass level of humourless as they used to be in the mid-to-late 00′s but I pray to satan they are not because that time was ROUGH and I think it might have something to do with what happened to Lordi. 

During those years I spent a lot of time hanging on metalhead and goth discussion forums (because social media wasn’t a thing yet) and I remember it being exactly oh you like this band? name their every song kinda tiring stuff. People arguing about genres and if some band was heavy metal, heavy rock or just metal, or if you could be a goth if you rode a bicycle (??) or listened to anything else besides Joy Division, or if you had the right to wear a band shirt if you couldn’t name all the members, or that if your favorite song from a band was a big hit were you considered a poser, or could a goth person like Nightmare Before Christmas merch or was it too emo, and so on and so forth, and everything was super serious. I remember people even throwing a fit when Children of Bodom wore Hawaii shirts in promo pics.🤦‍♀️So considering the attitudes of the era and the fact that Lordi had been a divisive artist already (can’t take anyone seriously if they wear a costume or are in character) long before Esc, it is in a way no wonder that the music puritans turned their backs on them. Goes without saying how ridiculous that is imo, but anyway.

Normies, aka not fans of the contest or the band beforehand, on the other hand jumped on the Esc boat for the year when Finland was the reigning champion. Our stupid little nation LOVES competing and being champions, so much so that we have a habit of inventing our own ridiculous contests just to win. Like, everyone wanted to get tickets to the live shows in Helsinki, more people joined the Finnish OGAE than ever before, everyone bought the Esc album of 2007 and so on.

And then when the glitter had settled, our hosting year was over and we didn’t do so hot at 2007 & 2008 Escs despite sending “heavy” entries, I guess that normies just returned to their default attitude towards Eurovision which is viewing it as embarassing, pointless, glittery, gay, good-for-nothing waste of time and money in which none of the music can be taken seriously because it’s Eurovision and thus by default shit. 

In the article I linked at the beginning Mr. Lordi tells how performing abroad and in Finland was like night and day. During the Deadache tour 2009 they sold out arenas in Central Europe but couldn’t sell even half the tickets to a club in Finland. Finnish audience spit at them, yelled obscenities, showed middle fingers, asked the band to play quieter or play the eurovision song. Like, I have no idea why you would buy a ticket and go to someone’s show just to be a dick. Teräsbetoni (Esc 2008) has also told in the interviews that at one point they had a group guys in the front row at their shows who just kept yelling GAY during the whole gig 😑

In conclusion: Finnish people got Eurovision hangover from the ridiculous Lordi craze of 2006-2007 and then moved on. Meanwhile Lordi had lost both their original fanbase and failed to gain a new one as the ESC hype went away, that’s how I see it at least.

I could go on a full length tangent about how the BC fever gives me not-so-positive flashbacks to Lordi graze, but I’m too tired for that. What I want to point out though is that I’m not that worried about BC getting the Lordi treatment for two reasons: they weren’t big before Esc so they had practically nothing to lose, and they didn’t win (THANK GOD). Niko & Joel have also brought up this in interviews which makes me admire how smart they actually are for always having known what should be the next move for the band. I also want to believe that Eurovision has changed from the campiest times (2000-2010) to more serious direction and simultaneously gained back the ability to produce global hits and stars again (Måneskin, Duncan Laurence, Rosa Linn) which is something we haven’t really seen since 1988. As a side note I’m really glad to see some of that bleeding into our national selection as well, because before BC and Bess the last time someone became successful thanks to our Eurovision NF and not despite was in 1989.

As @reunalordi importantly pointed out in their tags, this is/was what happened to Lordi’s popularity in Finland specifically. They still have a big fanbase abroad afaik and if someone knows more about their popularity/success nowadays, please do correct me <3

#me: I’m just gonna write a short answer because nobody cares #also me: IN THIS ESSAY I WILL #lordi #finland #eurovision #2006 #2007 #euroviisut #asks

[blazecola02]

Update

I should probably start promoting my stuff more often. I run a YouTube channel, mainly speedruns and challenge runs like beating A Hat in Time as Mustache Girl or doing no death runs. I have big plans for my channel, so if you're inserted, come on by :3

Don't have much content atm, but I plan on changing that soon. I actually just uploaded a new video today to get back in the groove of things:

Here's the vod of me going through AHIT as Mustache Girl, one of my proudest gaming moments:

Which is pretty much a follow-up to this video I made a while back:

#a hat in time #freedom planet #Youtube

[salt-volk]

Saw the post about "other sites" and I'm feeling ~salty~, so lemme give some context for where the bar is with pet sites to y'all. Maybe you've seen ads, maybe you tried playing it and quit because the tutorial is its own circle of hell, maybe you're a blessed person who has never heard of it: Sylestia. It's run by one (1) man. He codes the entire site, has exactly 0 help - by choice. People have literally offered to help him with coding stuff *for free* and he refuses to let anyone touch his precious code.  His ex girlfriend (yes you read that right) is supposedly the other admin - she barely ever shows up, posts games/events that are full of errors, once vanished in the middle of running a game, and has personally insulted players before because they dared offer feedback on one of her ugly ass designs. There is exactly one artist for avatar items and one for pets - one other artist is listed in the credits but it's unclear what regular work, if any, they do for the site. Over 200 different avatar items are released per year, and new pet traits debut anywhere between 4-8 times per year, AND the site is in the (glacially slow) process of redoing all the art for various species. The site is at least 98% RNG by volume - including items you pay premium currency for. Retired items? RNG only. Getting pets? RNG. Getting items period? RNG. And the RNG is also awful - people are constantly having to literally beg for rates to be adjusted.  Plenty of features for events are also just. straight up gambling - you can pay solid chunks of premium currency and walk away with items that are literally worth nothing. You think DV is grindy? Sylestia not only practically requires you to spend a full workday glued to it - including events that basically require you to literally not sleep for several days - the site owner is actively making new content to further encourage ridiculous amounts of grinding. Why? Because he's worried that older players will be bored without new content - so instead of fixing any of the old content on the site, or the site itself which is a mess, he makes new content that ALSO doesn't work.  As of December, the site will be in its ELEVENTH YEAR IN BETA. So when I say "not fixing old content", I'm not talking like, a couple glitches or iffy art. I'm talking *half the site is completely incompatible with the other half*.  And all of that my friends, is still somehow not the source of my salt.  Someone pointed out to the site owner that one of his avatar items was, perhaps, a bit racist. It was (I should say is, it's still on the site :) ) a stereotypical native american dress, CLEARLY based off of the stupid Pocahontas movie, titled "Pow Wow Costume". It was released with a Pilgrim costume in the site's early years. Pretty not great, yeah? Multiple people complained, provided him sources explaining why "Maybe don't keep this on here, maybe this isn't great".  He, is white. He responded by saying he a) would not remove it, b) did not think it was offensive, c) what about the Christmas items or St. Patrick's day items the site has aren't those the same, and d) he actually visited a reservation once so he knows it's OK to have those items, and e) native players should actually be HAPPY to have those items because it was to iNcLuDE tHeM.  I am not joking.  The site has 0 acknowledgement of pride month, not a banner, not an announcement, no items, no anything - it DOES however have an entire festival for the American Fourth of July holiday. The owner claims he doesn't like to have political things on his site, make of that what you will.  The owner also issued a mass ban on a bunch of people because they said some rude shit (about the racist items, the rng, his refusal to get coding help, general issues taking feedback, etc.) in a private, off-site discord server. How did he know what they said? Why, he asked some players in the server to *spy on the others for him*.   He edited time stamps out and published a bunch of the screenshots from this private server, out of context and who knows if they were edited, and threw a public tantrum about how the players were harassing him and secretly planning to destroy the site… by bitching in a private discord.  So yeah. Not excusing Anji's behavior, but happy to show y'all exactly how much worse it could be LMAO. 

#submission