Tumgik
#can she be a lead in not an indie but that's still art so we can get her emmy..
genericpuff · 7 months
Text
no but listen, rachel has truly embodied herself as persephone because she's constantly trying to "distance herself" from her past as a medical fetish artist but then keeps the name that's affiliated with her medical fetish art-
Like, I can't believe I never noticed it before tbh, but that was the thought that hit me while I was explaining to someone on reddit what the name "used bandaid" meant and why it was weird that Rachel is STILL using it on her print cover books, even now when she just recently set up a new Facebook account with her REAL NAME and not the used_bandaid penname (I feel like this is an attempt to "legitimize" herself in the industry but idk).
Tumblr media
But that leads me into talking about how she keeps lying about LO being her first webcomic project and that really pisses me off. And yes, this is related to the used_bandaid thing, just bear with me here.
A lot of my contempt for this is for reasons that go beyond her, I just hate the notion that people should succeed on their "first try" and that's an idea that's often sold by people like Rachel who spin these grandiose stories of how they were just "trying it out" and suddenly wham! Fame and fortune! You can achieve all this and more if you just xyz!
Literally, in every interview I've found over the past couple years, she always heavily implies that LO was her "first attempt", that she had never used Webtoons prior to LO, and that she was just "dipping her toes" into the medium. None of this is true, she's literally been drawing webcomics since the early 2000's (possibly earlier but the earliest documentation we can find is of The Doctor Pepper Show), LO wasn't even her first webcomic on the Webtoons platform (that goes to The Doctor Foxglove Show which she ended up dumping a chapter in to work on LO almost immediately after starting it on Tumblr) and as much as she'll claim she "couldn't pay anyone to look at her work", she had landed a number of gigs that got her work out there, had been printed in anthology collections, and IIRC she had even won some small local NZ awards for her comics prior to LO. Shit, there was a local beer brand that had her art on its labelling.
Tumblr media
But it really feels like she's trying her damn hardest to hide all that, never mentioning or implying that she did anything prior to LO, that she was just a "struggling graphic artist working in retail" until LO happened.
So why keep the penname that's directly affiliated with that past identity ??
It boggles my mind, honestly, especially considering she had gone by MULTIPLE usernames back then, some of which were actually pretty sane that she could have used instead (such as Rach Alex, which she uses in her FB groups, and Rachel Royale).
I wouldn't blame her if she was trying to hide her old medical fetish stuff, whether she didn't want it affiliated with her new LO branding or if she's just embarrassed by it, I can totally empathize with that because god knows I wouldn't be all that proud to show off the cringy shit I got up to during my early days on the Internet. But if she IS embarrassed by it, you'd think the last thing she'd want to keep is the name that's directly affiliated with the thing she's embarrassed by. Almost like a certain pink protagonist who goes by the name she earned after doing the thing she doesn't want to talk about.
But if she ISN'T embarrassed by it, then why lie?
Why paint this picture that LO was a one hit wonder, that she lived on "struggle street" until she found fame and fortune on Webtoons?
Oh right. Because it's a better story.
Because it's way more romantic to be some struggling indie darling who "came from nothing" and achieved fame through one big idea. Because it looks good for the platform who's trying to attract people to their app and website on the promise that you, too, can be a success story simply because you followed the exact same perceived steps that you saw another person follow and advertise.
If you can't tell from my tone, I really fucking hate this kind of disingenuous wish fulfillment advertising. It's manipulative, it's cruel, and it sets people up with expectations far beyond their scope of reaching, both due to the luck and "being in the right place at the right time" involved at best (which is a HUGE factor in stories like these that people never talk about), or through joy-killing comparison at worst when you don't achieve worldwide fame on your first try and wonder why everyone else did (spoiler: they didn't, they just want you to think that because it makes for better headlines and it gets you using whatever product they're affiliated with.)
If Rachel doesn't want to be tied down to her past, that's fine. But it's incredibly irresponsible and flat out cruel to lie about that past existing at all because it sets a horrible precedent to those who look up to her and want what she has.
And I say all that because I've seen what happens to the people starting out who admire these creators who painted the picture that they were just successful right off the bat. It's not a fun headspace to be in, it's robbed many creators like myself and others of their joy in creating, and it's really all just a ploy to get you to spend time and money and energy on a stupid corporate phone app that profits off your emotional investment and labor. Don't fall for it. Pretending like the Act of Wrath didn't happen doesn't remove it from history.
Anyways, I was gonna leave it at that, but then I ended up doing another rabbithole deep dive through her Wayback Machine and found album art she had illustrated for NZ band PorcelainToy. Enjoy this piece of her "dark era" art that still exists without needing to use the Wayback Machine.
youtube
133 notes · View notes
ladykailitha · 11 months
Text
All My Roads Lead Back to You Part 5
Hey, all! It’s been awhile since I posted anything with this one and since I’m a couple chapters past where I left you, I figured I’d give you this as a little treat.
Hurricane Robin makes her landing in Indy early and stirs up trouble. She means well, but what she doesn’t know could hurt Steve. And Eddie.
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4
***
Mandy was positively buzzing. “I can’t believe our dads went to school together!” she told Edie at lunch. “That’s so cool. I guess I never really thought about how they knew each other.”
Edie shook her head. “Yeah, because it’s so weird. My dad has always hated talking about high school. All he’ll say about it is how much of an ass he was and how he’d changed. So I guess it makes sense that I wouldn’t have heard of people from those days. I mean other than, you know, all of Dad’s other friends.”
Robin, Nancy and Jonathan, Dustin. They all knew Dad in when he was in  high school, but they never really talked about it. Not really.  
Harri picked at his sandwich. “Dad doesn’t like talking about high school either. The only thing he’ll talk about is his D&D club, The Hellfire Club and the fact that he left Hawkins because of a witch hunt that almost cost him his life.”
Edie and Mandy nodded. That had tracked with what their fathers had told them.
Kenny shifted nervously in his seat. “Now I feel left out...”
Mandy threw her arm around him and kissed his cheek. “You’ll still be the best keyboardist this stupid town as ever seen.”
Kenny giggled. “Yeah okay.”
“Love you, Kenny,” she said with a grin.
Kenny blushed. “I love you too.”
Edie cooed. “There’s just something so special about a lesbian and her male straight best friend.”
Kenny picked up his roll and threw it at her. “Fuck off!”
Edie giggled. They chatted all throughout lunch, but toward the end, she realized that Harri had been silent the whole time.
“Hey, H-man,” she said bumping his shoulder. “What’s up?”
Harri shrugged. “I don’t know. I just have this feeling that there is something deeper between our dads than what we can see on the surface.”
“Yeah,” Edie said with a sigh. “They went to school together, became friends, and then what? Never spoke to each other again for twenty years? There is something that doesn’t add up.”
Mandy nodded. “I can ask my dad. I think he’d be more willing to talk about it then Mr Munson and Mr Harrington would.”
“That sounds great,” Edie agreed. “I’m going to go do some digging into Dad’s high school days and see what I can turn up. And maybe pump Aunt Robin for info. She loves talking.”
Harri just sat there with his head hanging between his hunched shoulders. “It’s just after Papa died, Dad has been so closed off from everyone else for so long, throwing himself into work. And now suddenly he’s out here and...I don’t know.”
Edie rubbed his back. “I know. It’s just so sudden and scary and it’s like we didn’t know our dads at all.”
Harri nodded. “I mean I knew that there was this part of his life that he could never talk about, but this feels different from that. That shit, whatever it was, was scary, but this just feels...sad.”
They settled into an uneasy silence until the bell rang to go to their next class.
*
When Edie got home from school she could hear raised voices coming from the kitchen.
“I just don’t like how he just swanned back into your life,” Aunt Robin was huffing.
“So he moved back to Indy,” Steve replied. “It’s not a big deal.”
“The hell it’s not, Steve,” she snapped. “Did you know he was in town?”
Edie heard her dad sigh. “No and I don’t care either.”
“Did Jeff know?” Robin growled.
“Probably,” Steve conceded. “And as I didn’t ask, I didn’t expect him to tell me. It’s a large school, Robin. The likelihood of our kids becoming friends was astronomical.”
“Not with both of you still friends with Jeff it wasn’t,” she argued back.
“She met him in her art class, Robs,” Steve said. “She probably didn’t even realize that Mandy and Harri knew each other. This isn’t the vast conspiracy you are making it out to be.”
“Steve!” Robin cried.
And that was when Edie decided to make her presence known. “Hey, Dad.”
Steve and Robin turned to her in shock.
“Edie!” Robin cried. “Hey, sweetie!”
Edie gave her a hug. “I thought you weren’t coming until the weekend.”
Robin looked at Steve sidelong. “Let’s just say there was an emergency.”
Steve threw his arms in the air in frustration. “Eddie coming back into my life is NOT an emergency.”
Edie slid into her spot at the counter. “Oh? Do tell.”
Steve glared at Robin for putting him on the spot. “Edmond Munson is my greatest, what if...okay? I didn’t realize I had had a crush on him until after his band got the record deal and moved to California. It is what it is. I met your mother and the rest is history.”
Robin rolled her eyes. “More like your parents threw her at you.”
Edie winced. She had never met Clint and Marilyn Harrington but Dad’s friends didn’t like them.
“Hey!” Steve growled. “She played the role of sweet and caring all too well, or do I need to remind you that you had a crush on her, too?”
Robin flushed angrily. “You promised you would never bring that up!”
“Yeah well,” Steve bit out, “that was before you decided one ten minute encounter with someone I haven’t seen in twenty years was enough to cut out of work early and fly out today!”
He stormed out of the kitchen in a huff.
“Steve!” Robin called after him but he didn’t even so much as slow his steps. She turned to Edie. “Where do you think he’s gone?”
Edie shrugged. “His bedroom probably. He had a migraine yesterday and this definitely didn’t help that.”
Robin deflated. “He didn’t tell me that...”
“What did he tell you?” Edie asked leaning on her intertwined fingers and batting her eyelashes.
Robin sighed. “Only that Eddie’s son recently joined your band and that he had come over to the house to pick him up.”
“So leaving out aaaalllll the salient bits,” she said with a secret smile.
Robin narrowed her eyes. “And just what do you know, Miss Thing?”
Edie pursed her lips and tapped them with her forefinger. “If Dad wanted you to know, you would. But let’s just say...” and she made sparkles with her fingers and mouthed the word ‘boom,’ like fireworks. “On both sides.”
Robin’s eyebrows went up. “Both?”
“Oh yeah,” Edie said. “You remember how Kyle looked when Dad and he started dating?”
Robin nodded.
“Mr Munson looked just. Like. That.” Edie jumped off the stool and patted Robin on the shoulder. “I don’t know their history, and maybe it’s better that I don’t. But if you fuck this up for Dad, I’ll tell him about the chocolate ice cream incident.”
Robin’s jaw dropped in shock. “You wouldn’t dare!”
Edie grinned. Steve had this favorite light blue sweater that was so soft and perfect for when he had migraines because it never interfered with his aversion to touch. Everyone liked stealing it because it was so comfy. About three years ago, Robin spilled chocolate ice cream on it while she was wearing it and the stain never came out. He mourned that sweater. And it was Edie who had caught heat for it.
“Let this...” Edie said, waving her hand around, “whatever it is run its natural course. Don’t interfere and I won’t tell him. But if you try and fuck this up for them...Dad gets told.”
Robin glared at her. “Why is this so important to you anyway?”
“Because for the first time in years,” Edie said, glaring right back, “Dad woke up the day after a migraine being able to function. And I don’t care what was the cause, but it obviously had something to do with that man. And if Dad’s life improves by even the smallest...” she held up her finger and thumb close together, “tinsiest bit then I won’t let anyone fuck that up. No matter who they are.”
Edie stormed off to her room to sulk. She had never been so mad at Aunt Robin before, but she had upset Dad and that put her in Edith Harrington’s bad books as far she was concerned.
*
Robin buried her head into her hands and sighed. All right, so maybe she had overreacted a bit. But Eddie coming back into Steve’s life was a big deal. Like huge.
She pulled out her cell phone and pressed and held the number five.
“Robin!” Dustin said brightly. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
She sighed heavily.
“If this is about Steve or Eddie,” Dustin bit out, “I will bill you for therapy.”
“So you have been in contact with the weasel!” Robin said triumphantly.
“You call Eddie that again and I’ll hang up.”
Robin thudded her head on the counter. “Why is everyone taking his side in this? He hurt Steve!”
“You know,” Dustin said. “I’ve never been able to figure that one out. How did Eddie hurt Steve?”
Robin threw her free hand in the air in frustration. “He left. Just as Steve was starting to find his footing with Eddie, he just up and left. Steve still won’t talk about what happened between the night before Corroded Coffin left for Cali but two weeks after that he’s thrown his lot back into with his parents. You know, the people that have done nothing but hurt Steve his whole life?”
“Holy shit,” Dustin said. “You don’t know.”
There was silence on the line for a couple of minutes before:
“Fuck.”
“What don’t I know, Dustin?” Robin begged. “Tell me please.”
“I can’t, Robbie,” he said quietly. “It’s not my story to tell. Look, I want to tell you. God. This makes so much twisted sense. Eddie didn’t hurt Steve. And Steve didn’t mean to hurt Eddie. It wasn’t intentional. But you know Eddie, he can hold grudge like no one else.”
Robin lifted her head from the counter. “Edie thinks that I should just butt out and let this thing play out on its own.”
Dustin hummed. “I’m with her on this one. But talk to Steve. Ask him the questions you have instead of assuming Eddie was in the wrong, okay?”
Robin sighed. “Yeah, of course. I’ve got some serious grovelling to do.”
“Yes you do,” Dustin agreed. “And I’m sending you my bill for this session of therapy.”
Robin laughed. “Yeah, yeah. I’ll pay your damn bill.”
“Bye, Robbie,” he said and hung up.
She bang her head against the counter top again.
Fuck.
***
Part 6 Part 7  Part 8  Part 9  Part 10 Part 11  Part 12  Part 13 Part 14  Part 15  Part 16 Part 17 Part 18  Epilogue
Tag List: @spectrum-spectre @estrellami-1 @zerokrox-blog @artiststarme @swimmingbirdrunningrock @gregre369 @pyrohonk​ @trashpocket @goodolefashionedloverboi @chaoticlovingdreamer @maya-custodios-dionach @messrs-weasley @val-from-lawrence @plyerice27 @mightbeasleep @thedragonsaunt @chaoticlovingdreamer @trashpocket @sapphirecobalt-1 @a-little-unsteddie @i-must-potato @danili666  @carlyv @rozzieroos @wonderland-girl143-blog @itsall-taken @steddie-as-they-go @lillemilly @callas-shitshow @bisexualdisastersworld @renaissan-vvitch @immortal-iratze @bookbinderbitch @thylatrek @lilacrobin @nightmareglitter
185 notes · View notes
hostess-of-horror · 11 months
Text
I've been binge-watching some indie horror games...
Specifically, Amanda the Adventurer and Poppy Playtime.
But I want to talk about Amanda because I have made a theory based on the lore behind it.
[Major Spoiler Warning! Plus, I will be delving into some disturbing or at least unsettling subject matter! If you feel uneasy or don't want to be spoiled, please do not proceed!]
Amanda the Adventurer is the creepy yet tragic tale of a man who had big dreams of bringing joy to local children. Still, he and his adopted daughter were manipulated by the higher-ups of a greedy corporation, which ultimately resulted in cursed VHS tapes that we the player have to solve.
Now, this interesting tidbit of lore seems pretty vague but straightforward, right? Well, it could be if there wasn't a spindly eldritch demon that attacks us when we don't do what Amanda says or mess up any of the puzzles.
We can all understand how Hameln, the corporation that got the rights to the TV show, took advantage of Rebecca Colton, the actress who played Amanda, but there's something that had been bothering me...
Why demons?
Why is Amanda the Adventurer demonic, and what were (or is) Hameln's true intentions? What was happening behind the scenes during the recording session in one of the secret tapes found in the game?
I may not have a concrete theory on this, but I have come up with two possibilities:
The CEO of Hameln struggled to get the corporation back on its feet so much that they made a deal with the Devil to do so but with a hefty cost.
Hameln, somehow, discovered that it was scientifically possible to use demonic energy from Hell and convert it into everyday objects, such as TVs (think of the video game, DOOM).
I do believe that these two theories can be one and the same, either the CEO makes the deal with the Devil and gains very strong yet evil powers or science had evolved into discovering the presence of Hell that Hameln decided to use it to their advantage. Either way, it's all fucked up.
In the recording session tape, we can hear Rebecca saying these words: "Bye yell. Bye yell. Bye yell... Pie man. Pie man. Pie man... Baa Lamb. Baa Lamb."
These words are not just some random words for Rebecca to exercise her voice with... They are the Infernal names of demons used in Satanic rituals.
"Bye Yell" is Bael, the first of the Ars Goetia and Head of the Infernal Power
"Pie Man" is Paimon, the 9th Pillar of the Ars Goetia and the Spirit of Arts, Music, and Punishment.
"Baa Lamb" is Balaam, the Hebrew devil of avarice and greed.
Hameln is tricking Rebbeca into summoning extremely powerful demons to make way for Amanda the Adventurer's "dynamic voice reaction." In other words, they're using the combination of advanced technology and Satanic rituals to create the most interactive kid's show ever to exist.
But that's not the end of it! No, it gets much worse...
In the very first secret tape we find in the game, there's a home video of a mother trying to get her daughter, Lauren downstairs for her birthday treat. But Lauren remains unresponsive, her eyes glued to Amanda the Adventurer. Once the mother tries again, she discovers that she's gone and the front door is left wide open.
Hameln's dynamic voice reaction technology is luring children into leaving their homes and brainwashing them into doing whatever it desires.
There's even a bigger picture to see here: Hameln's ultimate goal is to lead children astray from their parents and their homes in order to collect more victims. More "actors and actresses", including the unfortunate people who tried to bring light to the crimes, mean more souls for Bael, Paimon, and Balaam to consume. An insidious trade deal for money and fame...
----
Another theory I have is the real identity of the Entity, the demonic monster that attacks us at one of the game's endings.
Okay, I know what you're thinking, "But that's Amanda, we know this already! That's her real form! What are you talking about?" And I'd say you're right... partially.
Yes, the Entity we encounter does have some likeliness to Amanda (the little buns on its head), but I don't believe that it's really her.
In the "Everything Rots!" episode, Amanda says at she "sometimes feels [herself] rotting" but "it's far away now." Most would assume she's talking about her body rotting in some buried grave somewhere, but there's a slight detail that may suggest that's not true. Why would Amanda (or rather, Rebecca) say that "it's far away now"?
Rebecca may be stuck within the hellish VHS tapes as Amanda, but her body isn't. We mentioned the recording session tape earlier with her chanting the Infernal names, and this, I believe, contributed to the existence of the Entity. Considering that Hell and demons exist within the in-game universe of Amanda the Adventurer, chanting the names of very powerful demons would attract their attention, right?
What if Hameln, during their production of the TV show, made Rebecca continue this ritualistic "practice" via experimentation and it ended up summoning the Entity? And to add salt to the wound, Rebecca Colton, or rather her corpse, ended up possessed?
Amanda's "true form" is actually the body of a young orphan brought to life as a demon, roaming the earth to satiate its bloodlust and terrorize anyone who comes across the tapes.
Not convinced? How about this?
When the human body dies, it goes through the decaying process, which consists of five stages:
Fresh (Autolysis)
Bloat (Putrefaction)
Active Decay
Advanced Decay
Dry/Skeletonized
Once the body gets to the Advanced Decay and Dry/Skeletonized stages, it rots away until it's a leathery, gray husk of a human being.
And what color is the Entity?
Tumblr media
Gray.
----
Now there you have it! My theories and takes on Amanda the Adventurer! I may be taking on some really far stretches in some areas, but I hope you all really appreciate these theories as I did!
128 notes · View notes
indiaalphawhiskey · 2 years
Note
If Harry is stunting for his acting career then won't it go against him that the relationship isn't convincing to most people? We laugh about how he is doing the bare minimum but won't Hollywood look down on that? It's not making a good impression. Why isn't Ariana stunting for Wicked? She has as much to prove. Harry has also said that he has declined movie offers. If he's so desperate to make it, wouldn't he be taking on anything? Not a small indie gay movie like MP.
I’m going to answer this really quickly because I feel like your questions are an oversimplification of the situation.
1. Stunts have primary, secondary, tertiary, etc. goals. The primary goal of fauxmance stunting in Hollywood is usually visibility. It’s to keep Harry and Olivia’s names in the press, and top of mind, while we all wait for DWD, MP or whatever other projects they have. In this specific case, visibility is priority, because visibility translates to PR, tabloid articles, social media mentions, etc etc, which leads to buzz about Harry and Olivia as people and whatever projects they’re tied to. They don’t need to be convincing as a couple to obtain that visibility. In fact, one can argue, the less convincing they are as a couple, the more gossip it drags up, the more buzz they get online in fan spaces, tada! Hollywood achieves their goal. This stunt isn’t an audition, it’s not there to measure Harry’s acting skills.
2. Ariana is very publicly newly married. She can’t stunt. Moreover, Wicked is an adaptation of a Broadway Musical, Ariana has classical Broadway voice training, is known for her vocal range, and has made her fortune through singing. Ariana has also acted on TV before. She’s not a wildcard for this part and it wasn’t a gamble to cast her.
3. I didn’t say Harry was desperate to make it, I said Harry wants to break into Hollywood, and doesn’t have a lot of acting experience. Just because Harry is a novice doesn’t mean he has to take whatever is offered. Clearly he’s still approaching this expansion of his art strategically, as he has the right to do. But, knowing that he doesn’t have as much leverage as he would in music means that he likely has to be more flexible about negotiating. He has to be willing to do what it takes (outside of production) to bring in an audience, so studios can feel confident about taking a risk on someone with limited professional experience. That means he has to be open to participating in PR and Marketing gimmicks. Like fauxmances.
4. I really don’t think ‘fame’ is the backbone of the reason Harry wants to break into Hollywood. He has that in spades. I think Harry wants to go into acting because it’s another challenging avenue to be creative, and because he wants a chance to play out stories that mean something to him, which is, for me, the best reason to go into acting. So, I doubt he’s choosing his projects solely based on their predicted commercial success. Yes, I’m sure that’s a factor, because this is still a professional career, but I do think he’s making the effort to choose things based on his interest.
(Also, while My Policeman is a smaller queer indie film, it certainly seems to be getting a much better reputation than Warner Bros. super highly funded Hollywood Box Office baby Don’t Worry Darling so… 🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️ seems like Harry’s instincts were on the money there, anyway.)
141 notes · View notes
key2earth · 4 months
Text
finally getting myself tgt so here's a lil plot post for ziying! sry for the slow replies & dms i'll be up & running over the weekend 🫡 as alw pls like 2 plot ( or if we're alr plotting, we can incorporate these ideas too! )
i've had this idea of ziying having a longstanding okay-to-bite agreement w a couple of students! it could be outta curiosity / she's doing smth 4 them / they're j good pals but point is, they're okay if she bites them or they donate a lil bit of their blood to her? this means that she's more familiar w their abilities / appearances than most others ( cue training montage ) which could lead to some fun convos / dynamics about how the other person's power works too!
evo folk - someone who wants her OUT of the org!! or is trying to rehab her into a better treasurer? the end goal is for zy to realise she prob ought to dip bc evo's not for her OR maybe be convinced that she should give this a genuine shot by your muse?
t4ds: (a) fake enemies bc it's fun to swipe at someone knowing that u don't mean it (b) goodie two shoes she luvs 2 terrorise (c) someone who thinks she could be persuaded to play double agent or snitch on evo & ruin their campaign... they've seen her skimming off the top from evo alr so what's a lil more?
red hall plots incoming!! (a) genuinely i think she's that lil rat stealing food from the common pantry... u could hunt her down. (b) also someone who's always passing her by at 4ams & there's just a shared camaraderie between u. (c) casual besties who would backstab each other 4 the good rooms (d) girl friendship but the girls are kissing
fellow art students! (a) she hates u bc ur art is ugly to her rip (b) u hate her bc her art is faux edgy 12yo deviantart vibes or other rlly good reasons (c) the person she prays to be paired w for every assignment & will threaten her way into it. u could be down w it or mayb its one-sided??
ex besties / exes whose rls has fully soured? they both feel wronged, the anger is there & maybe they still fight ab it for old times sake. they hate each other & as a fun bonus, know how to make it hurt
zy is the annoying indie rock gal who listens to bands where she's the top 0.01% listener bc they have 30 fans at most. but so are u! or ur judging her??
fwb but she's embarrassed ab it bc u don't fit her attempt at a cool goth image... u keep ending up in the same clubs / places ( sometimes by coincidence, sometimes not ) & zy's not admitting she likes ur company!!
she's always down for a good time & very susceptible to reverse psychology. ur muse has figured this out ( for good / evil purposes up to u )
6 notes · View notes
semper-legens · 5 months
Text
154. Berlin, by Jason Lutes
Tumblr media
Owned: No, library Page count: 558 My summary: Berlin, 1929. A young art student arrives in the city for the first time, ready to learn and make her life in the big city. But there are rumblings in the background, political struggles about to boil over. Communists and Nazis are clashing in the streets, a violent conflict that leads to lives lost. The city's Jewish families are aware of their safety slipping away, bit by bit. And things can only get worse from there... My rating: 4/5 My commentary:
This one was a bit of an impulse grab, I'll admit. I always like to take a punt on the graphic novels that come through work, particularly when they're more indie titles (by which I basically mean not Marvel or DC) and they look interesting. This is a graphic novel set in Weimar Republic Berlin, after World War One but before the rise of the Nazi party, following a small group of disparate people and their lives across the different strata of German society. We have a young woman who comes to the city to study art, and ends up with an older man…and then a fellow female student. A reasonably well-off Jewish family struggling against the rising tide of antisemitism. A single mother who gets in with a Communist group, then ends up being shot at a protest and leaving her young daughter to the streets. And those are just a few of the graphic novel's expansive cast. It's got a lot of ambition - but how is it to read?
Overall, really good! Weimar Republic Berlin is a really interesting snapshot of history, and I think this graphic novel really captures the spirit of the time throughout its disparate characters. For example, while the Jewish family are doing okay, we can see Germany becoming more and more antisemitic as the story goes on, and know the context for what is about to happen. We get the points of view of centrists, socialists, Communists, nationalists, and straight-up Nazis - the latter never being portrayed as in the right, overall the Communists are more sympathetic in their portrayal, though nobody really comes up smelling of roses. One thing I found really cool was the portrayal of the LGBT+ scene. Weimar Germany was as close to a good place to be LGBT+ as one might get in this time period - sure, you're still doing illegal things, but there was a bit more community and tolerance than in other places. We see this with the student and her girlfriend, who the reader might be forgiven for assuming she's a man in early scenes, as she dresses in a suit and has short hair. There's a hint that there might be something trans going on there, something the character doesn't really have the language to explain, but is nonetheless present. We also get to see the hot new thing - jazz, by authentic Black musicians! And also the perils of being a Black American in this kind of place. History is messy, and sometimes ugly, but there's joy and hope to be found - though the story here is often grim and realistic, it's never without light and happiness, which really balances the more serious moments well.
But then there's my criticisms of the book. Largely, this boils down to the ambitious scope - there's a lot of characters being juggled here, both invented and real, and it's sometimes difficult to keep track of who's who and what everyone's story is, particularly when their lives intersect. In all fairness, I could always remember the main bullet points, such as the student, the young orphan, the Jewish family, et cetera. It's just that there were a lot of people to keep track of, not helped by the fact that many of them are drawn pretty similarly or don't have features that are particularly distinct from the others, so with my admittedly-poor memory for faces it was often a struggle to fit names and stories to faces. I will admit that's partially a me problem, however. But really, that's all there was to mar my enjoyment of this graphic novel. There was a lot to like here, and I'm really glad I picked it up.
Next, back to my favourite ever book series, to see what fresh bulls--- the House of Night can bring.
4 notes · View notes
gamerdog1 · 9 months
Text
Bocchi the Rock Season 1 Review
I’m just gonna come out here and say it right away: I’m not a fan of the ‘Cute girls doing cute things’ subgenre. I know it’s got it’s fans, and not everything someone else likes is going to be something I like. Still, when it comes to picking out a new series to try, I’m quick to dodge all series where the main characters sit around and basically do nothing. Good media, to me, is about things that don’t happen in real life, so something like K!On is too mild for me. 
Tumblr media
So, color me surprised that this month, I found a ‘Girls do nothing’ series that actually got me engaged and entertained. This month, I was assigned the series Bocchi the Rock by my friends at my university’s anime club, and what I initially expected to be another snooze-fest hyped up by legions of diehard ‘moe’ fans, turned out to be a heartwarming story of overcoming Social Anxiety Disorder through the power of friendship.
Tumblr media
Bocchi the Rock stars Hitori Gotoh, a 15 year old with crippling social anxiety who has a passion for the guitar. Hitori, (who later gains the nickname ‘Bocchi’, a pun on the Japanese word for loneliness), spends her days in her closet, posting covers of popular songs on Youtube and dreaming of stardom. A chance encounter with other musicians her age thrusts her into the world of underground rock bands, where she becomes a guitarist for an indie band, and faces her anxiety head-on. 
Tumblr media
What struck me immediately about this series was how often Bocchi’s anxiety was brought up, and not always just for a gag. Her social anxiety makes even the smallest interactions a struggle, from trying to join a conversation with classmates, to making plans outside of school. Yes, the series uses some of these moments to lighten the mood with a little bit of comedy, but overall, its clearly not trying to minimize her struggles or make fun of her. 
Tumblr media
Bocchi’s anxieties often lead to catastrophizing, linking even the smallest perceived slip-ups with total annihilation. In one episode, we see what she thinks will happen if she tries getting a job: she gets flustered dealing with a customer and stumbles over her words, someone films it and it goes viral, she is called into court to testify for the crime of being weird, and then given the death sentence. Scenes like these are cute and light-hearted gags, but also can't help but make you feel bad for her. They give a greater insight into how her social anxiety affects her, and do a better job at representing social anxiety than your typical ‘shy kid’ archetype.
Tumblr media
Bocchi’s fantasy sequences are also the highlight of this series, because of how experimental they can be. These scenes are probably the most discussed aspect of this series, and for good reason. There aren’t many anime out there that switch art style this often, just for a quick bit. Bocchi the Rock uses zoetropes, stop motion, clay figurines, live-action footage, and much more to break free from the monotony of cutesy style in order to convey the main character’s feelings. Its not every day when you see an anime girl revert back to her 3-D model and smash into a pile of untextured polygons. 
Tumblr media
The animation in this series is also quite good. I was pretty shocked to see the girls playing their instruments in a somewhat accurate and realistic way, which you’d think would be a low bar for a series about a band. The studio behind this series clearly put in the extra time and effort to animate the guitar and drum playing accurately, and are clearly proud of it, with the amount of close-ups they show of the instruments being played. It almost makes you wonder why other music-centric series aren’t like this...
Tumblr media
Bocchi the Rock’s weakest aspect, however, is it’s characters. In most ‘Girls doing nothing’ series, cuteness is prioritized over deep character writing, so main characters often lack any negative traits. These series are content with re-packaging simple character traits, knowing that giving the characters a chance to show any negative traits will take away from their perceived cuteness or ‘wholesomeness’. The same, unfortunately, can be found in this series, as the four main girls stick to the common character archetypes of the subgenre, and don’t make much of an effort to deviate from them.
Tumblr media
Nijika, the blonde, is little beyond the peppy heart of gold, the face of the group. Kita, the redhead, is never shown to be anything more than the perfect, pretty popular girl that everyone adores. Ryo, the blue-haired one, has some level of character flaws, as she reveals herself to be terrible with money, and ends up owing her bandmates lots of money by the end of the season. However, beyond Bocchi herself, we rarely get to see the bandmates presented outside of their archetypes. Perhaps in season 2, we could get to see the characters reveal more about themselves, and struggle with things from their own lives?
Tumblr media
The series’ story has a decent flow to it, following Bocchi and her band’s journey from obscurity to their first big break. At times, I felt a bit lost, wondering when the characters were going to move to the next big event instead of doing little thing, but that’s about par for the course when it comes to these types of plots. The plot revolves mostly around performances, interspersed with downtime in between, where we see the characters socialize, go shopping, or peek into Bocchi’s home life. While the show in general does little in terms of building suspense in these in-between moments, Bocchi’s internal monologue paints a clear picture of how important each performance is, making each one feel like a battle she must face. 
Tumblr media
With a season 2 on the way, I can only hope that this series continues down the path its headed, and tries to improve where it lacks. Its a ‘Girls doing nothing’ series that isn’t afraid to give one of it’s characters crippling social anxiety, and lets her have flaws beyond just being clumsy in a cute way. I can only hope that the rest of the cast gets the same treatment in the future, which I believe will lead to a deeper story, and therefore, a stronger emotional core. Overall though, Bocchi the Rock is a funny and light romp that occasionally takes a detour into downright zany visuals, and we are here for it. I’m not usually a fan of cute girl-centric series, but perhaps I’ll make an exception, just this once.
Tumblr media
3 notes · View notes
thepermanentrainpress · 10 months
Text
THE PERMANENT RAIN PRESS INTERVIEW WITH THÉO AUGIER BONAVENTURE
Tumblr media
Théo Augier Bonaventure has been immersed in film for much of his life, with his career taking stride over the past five years after a move to Paris to pursue cinema studies. He is passionate about his work and the characters he plays, including his role as Florian Simon in Netflix’s new series, XO, Kitty. The highly anticipated spinoff to Jenny Han’s beloved young adult To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before franchise introduces some fresh faces into the fold, adding layers to the story, while having their own to tell. 
We spoke with Augier Bonaventure about his eager pursuit of the arts, connecting with Florian on a personal level, experience and knowledge gained from XO, Kitty, and feeling like himself in his fashion. 
The following interview contains spoilers for XO, Kitty.
I have known I would become an actor since I was 4 years old. I haven’t really thought much about it, I just always knew this is what I would be doing with my life. Then, at 13, I discovered a French indie film called Pieds nus sur les limaces. I fell deeply in love with it, and made the conscious decision that I’d be making movies for as long as I’ll be alive.
Did you have a creative upbringing and family, and were they supportive of your move to Paris to pursue acting?
My family isn’t in the arts. They were supportive of my move to Paris as long as I’d also go to college. So I went to university to study cinema. When I moved to Paris at 18, I was very busy : acting school, university, and I was also a waiter because Paris is a very expensive city compared to Athens.
Did you have any nerves making the move? What factors went into your decision?
I had absolutely no nerves because I wanted to live in Paris so much that I didn’t think it through. It wasn’t easy the first two years, to be honest.
I wanted to live in Paris because I really believe in living an artistic life. I want my life to be filled with exciting projects, artistic friends and long talks about movies and ideas. I felt that I could live that here in Paris, and I do.
Tell me about your studies in Paris; what did you major in, and what valuable lessons did you take away from your classes?
I went to college to study cinema, but I was consciously keeping a distance between what I was taught and what I decided to make of it. I think there can be a danger into over-intellectualizing films and ideas, and I didn’t want to start thinking in any way that was not mine.
On the other hand, I had the time of my life at my acting school Laboratoire de l’acteur. My teacher, Hélène Zidi, really strengthened my passion for acting and taught me a lot, and I intend to make her proud. She is very important to me.
You wrote and directed your short film Haut et Fort in 2017. What did that experience and project teach you about yourself and your capabilities as a filmmaker?
I self-produced and directed Haut et Fort before having set a foot on any set as an actor. I just wanted to tell that story and didn’t want to wait. In English, the title translates to Loud and Strong. I did it for myself. I used to be very shy, and I wanted to get loud. It taught me that I am absolutely capable of leading a project, and that I have so, so, so much to learn, both as an actor and filmmaker.
Are you still writing, and do you have that desire to do more work behind the scenes?
Acting is what I love doing most in life. It’s what I’m born to do. But there are some stories I want to tell myself. I intend on continuing to write because it keeps me grounded. I’m very focused on acting right now, but I will, for sure, do more work behind the scenes.
You star as Florian Simon in XO, Kitty. What can you share about your audition and casting process?
I love auditioning. This is the only project I’ve done having not met anyone in real life before filming started. Since I live in Paris and the producers were in Los Angeles, all auditions were done either through self-taping or Zoom. It was pretty funny because, due to the time difference, I would have auditions at midnight. The audition process lasted 3 months, so that was nerve wracking. But good things take time, right?
youtube
How familiar were you with Jenny Han and the To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before franchise?
I had of course heard of To All The Boys franchise because who hasn’t? But I hadn’t watched the films. Before taping for the first time, I watched all three movies with a friend and we had such a great time.
What conversations did you have with Jenny and Sascha Rothchild about Florian, and how were they as resources and leaders?
I really think my characters through. So, before flying to Seoul for filming, I had prepared an extensive list of questions and suggestions I wanted to talk about with Jenny and Sascha. And they were so open and interested in what I had to say that it made me feel very confident. They are amazing, honestly. They clearly know what they’re doing and they want you to feel as free as possible. And that’s the best thing that you could ask for as an actor.
Florian is French and Greek. Was this incorporated into your character before or after you were cast?
When Jenny Han learned I was half Greek, she told me she was interested in adding that layer to Florian. I was thrilled. I’ve never had the opportunity to act in Greek before. I’m just putting it out there for Greek filmmakers : I want to make Greek movies.
What backstory were you either told, or created yourself for Florian in terms of his upbringing? What are his goals, values and major personality traits?
One of my favorite parts about being an actor is when I’m preparing the role and creating the character in my mind. I consider this my secret, the little things I keep to myself. In a lot of ways, my job is to play secrets. And secrets aren’t supposed to be told. So I’ll keep his backstory for myself. But I can share that he’s not as confident as he wants to appear.
What major similarities or differences do you see between yourself and Florian?
I think we both dress pretty well. We’ve both been through our parent’s divorce, though I was younger than him when it happened. And I’m (kinda) ashamed to admit, I used to cheat too in high school. A lot. I also think that’s why I wanted to become an artist. You can’t cheat if you want to be an artist.
His parents are going through a divorce, and Florian faces a lot of pressure with his grades and a possible custody battle for him. What emotions did you draw upon?
I too am a child of a messy divorce, and I do know how it can play with your head. And make you feel guilty of things that are absolutely not your responsibility. I tried to reconnect with that wounded part of me. And I think I did. Acting can be pretty healing in that way.
What was your favourite scene to be a part of, and why?
The one where I’m arguing with both my parents over the phone. There is a lot going on in this scene : Florian’s trauma from the divorce, his fear of being abandoned, his shame over his own sexuality that comes from his family, his fear of losing Q and the life he has created for himself, his anxiety over his grades slipping. Being French and Greek, it was interesting for me to be able to act in both languages. It is also the scene that really crystalizes Florian’s and Q’s love story and need for each other. I love this scene.
What was your favourite scene that you were not in, and why?
One of my favorite scenes is when Yuri is arguing with Jina in episode 9. It feels really sincere and Gia and Yunjin are heartbreaking in it. Gia really is brilliant when she officially comes out to her mother and says : “I’m gay. Full stop. End of discussion.” She really is a great actress.
It’s revealed that Florian cheated on his finals, and he doesn’t feel much shame or embarrassment as he’s “not hurting anybody.” Do you think there’s any redemption on his part, or is he happy with the decisions he made? What factored into his decision?
I think he does feel embarrassed about what he did. He just doesn’t show it. I wanted Florian to be somebody that was very uncomfortable being vulnerable. Also, when he finds out he took Dae’s spot, he really feels bad for his decisions, because that was not his intention at all. He just wanted to stay at KISS. His wrong action was therefore created out of his love for Q. And I personally can forgive a lot of mistakes that are made out of love.
A large part of Florian’s storyline is his relationship with Q. How long do you imagine he’s known Q for? What do you think intrigued him about, or attracted him to, Q?
Florian is quite new to KISS, so I don’t think he’s known Q for more than a year. I think that what attracted Florian to Q is the fact that he’s a really chill guy, something that Florian really isn’t. I think Q grounds Florian in a lot of ways.
Tumblr media
Off-camera, they begin to build their relationship before Florian “proposes” and they become official boyfriends. What do you think strengthened their bond and connection?
Honestly, in my mind, a lot of it was making out in secret places at school, like in the library scenes. I also think they got pretty good at watching scary movies as a way to end up cuddling. I’ve also imagined that Florian would show artistic French movies to Q, not realizing Q was falling asleep every time.
What was it like having Anthony Keyvan as a scene partner, and did you discuss your characters’ relationship?
Anthony’s been in the business for a while so I was very admirative of his confidence on set. He was a great partner for me, always fun. We did discuss Florian’s and Q’s relationship, but the most important part was just hanging out and getting to know each other as people.
Did you work with an intimacy coordinator for your scenes with Anthony, and if so, what can you say about the importance of these positions in a production?
We worked with a wonderful intimacy coordinator, Kristina Arjona. In France, we are only just starting to have intimacy coordinators, so it was a first for me. As a young actor, you want to do your job really well and you want to be very professional. So, I have had times in the past where I did things I wasn’t very comfortable with, but didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to sound annoying.
I had a conversation with Kristina about this and she reassured me that this is exactly why she was there. So that we never feel uncomfortable. It gives you a lot of confidence and a sense of safety to know that you have the right to say “no” to anything you don’t feel aligned with. And that you won’t be judged for it. Considering all that we have heard in the last years about this industry, I believe intimacy coordinators to be extremely important. I learned a lot thanks to Kristina.
What are Florian’s first impressions of Kitty, and how does that perception of her change through the season?
The story I told myself was that Florian viewed Kitty, in a way, as his little sister. I really loved our dynamic in the party scenes, when Florian and Q are helping her hunt for boys. I think Florian actually becomes prouder and prouder of Kitty the more she goes after what she wants.
What can you say about Anna Cathcart, and how she led the show as Kitty?
I’m going to quote Lady Gaga to answer this question : Talented, brilliant, incredible, amazing, show stopping, spectacular, never the same, totally unique, completely not ever been done before…
Seriously, Anna is as amazing as you can imagine her to be. Kind, professional, always on time, deeply interested in her character, aware of what’s going on. She cares about how other actors feel on set. That doesn’t always happen. She’s a brilliant person. And you just have to watch the show to see for yourself how brilliant she is as an actress.
If renewed for a Season 2, what might you be interested in exploring with Florian’s story?
I think Florian is dying for Q to understand and forgive him. So, I’m interested in seeing if they can work it out and try to find common ground despite their different values. Also, reading the many messages I’ve received since the show was released, I realize that a lot of people are connecting with Florian’s struggle with his parent’s divorce and how he feels like doesn’t belong in his own family. I think we should dig into that.
Are there any other specific storylines you’d be excited to see expanded upon?
Like many of us, I want to know what’s going to happen between Kitty and Min Ho!!!
You filmed the series in Seoul, South Korea. Describe your time in Seoul and their culture. What are some of your favourite memories, and how did you build a connection with your castmates?
Seoul was wonderful. The people were so kind. I’m a fan of iced coffee and you can buy it anywhere in Seoul. The food was absolutely amazing. A lot of the bonding with my castmates was literally done through eating tons of food together. I can’t even remember how many Korean barbecues we went to.
Tumblr media
You also have a love for fashion and modelling; how did this originate, and how would you describe your personal style?
I love fashion but I am not a model. Fashion is a very recent interest. I think it started when I started asking myself some questions about artists I admire. Like : Would David Bowie had been David Bowie if he didn’t wear what he was wearing? I believe that the clothes you choose to wear can have a profound impact on your life. I would describe my personal style as a current ongoing experiment.
We know you love CELINE. What do you admire about this brand and why does it align with you and your fashion sense?
I think [CELINE creative director] Hedi Slimane is absolutely brilliant. I would love to work with him in the future. I think he is an artist and that he understands artists. I feel like myself when I’m wearing CELINE. And I want to feel like myself for the rest of my life. 
Are there any specific designers or brands you’d love to work with?
I’m also working with Paul Smith. They are extremely talented and kind people. CELINE and Paul Smith are good for me. Also, if Valentino wants to give me a call, I will answer!
Do you have aspirations to walk a runway at a fashion show or during fashion week?
No. Though I would love to play a very troubled model in a film. Have you seen the film Gia with Angelina Jolie? She’s brilliant.
You have the young adult fantasy film Silver, upcoming. What can you share about this project and your character, Grayson?
I think this film is going to be really good. Helena Hufnagel, our director, is amazing. She’s beyond talented. That goes for Jana McKinnon too, our leading actress. I am proud of my work on that film, and I can’t wait for the world to see it. 
If you could be any ice cream flavour, which would you be and why?
I’d be cookies and cream. With huge pieces of cookie dough. Melted chocolate on it. And if possible, a warm brownie under the whole thing.
-
Thank you to Théo Augier Bonaventure for taking the time to answer our questions! The future is bright for all facets of the arts, in film and fashion, and we look forward to what’s to come. 
To keep updated with the artist, follow him on Instagram. Watch Season 1 of XO, Kitty on Netflix. 
-
Photo credit to: India Lange (clothing provided by Paul Smith), Netflix, and Guillaume Plas (clothing provided by Hier Vintage) 
3 notes · View notes
spectrallik · 1 year
Text
A Joyride from Beyond the Grave
Diving deep into my favorite troubled webcomic
Tumblr media
Cover art for Caelum Sky Volume 1 by @alradeck
In the world of webcomics, 2022 felt like the year of the endless scene. No less than three artists I've been following got stuck in a lengthy, difficult sequence for months on end. One finally escaped a few weeks ago, one looks like he's found a way out and will be there soon, and one is still trapped with no clear way to fix what he's started.
That first one, Cælum Sky, fascinates me the most. Since its debut in 2019, it has been a strong contender for my favorite webcomic in recent years. But when it got stuck, it got stuck. It took over 100 pages and nearly 2 years to break free from its endless scene, and the frustration took a huge toll on both the author and the readers.
How did something this brilliant end up in such a rough position last year? What made this webcomic work so well in the first place, and what stopped working during that time? What lessons can I (and you) as writers learn from this artist's struggles and triumphs? In these next few posts, I will answer all of these questions.
Tumblr media
Cælum Sky is based on an indie novel that was first serialized here on Tumblr in the mid-2010s. The story is centered on the two dueling leads. Neri, the red dino-looking thing, is an escapee from the underworld. Raziel, the guy with the white hair, is an angel who does the spiritual equivalent of pest control. When Neri reincarnates into a demon that is "haunting" (read: tearing apart) the home of a young widow and her spiritually gifted toddler, Raziel is sent in to exorcize the demon, and their worlds collide.
Cælum Sky builds off of its source material masterfully. From page 1, the tone and style are nailed down. Just like the protagonist, we're thrown into a world we know nothing about, right into the middle of a desperate battle for survival.
The action is beautifully chaotic, the pacing relentless, and the whole thing is rendered in this painterly art-style that's bursting with color and life. It's a bold opening statement: this comic will be a wild joyride, and you get to be on board.
Tumblr media
After the first confrontation, the narrative shifts, and a few chapters are spent on Neri and the family. She is spiritually bound to the house, and so she has to find some way to figure out what she really is and make peace with the humans living there.
We figure things out at the same pace that Neri does. She becomes a sort of guide into this world. This is a great way to develop the narrative in a natural way while keeping the pace high. That tension, that mystery, is always there, but it creates space for deep character development along the way. That's so critical - plot is nothing without character.
By the end of Volume 1, we deeply understand who Neri is, as well as the humans in the house. Their stumbling attempts to understand each other make us feel for them. This all builds up to one of my favorite moments in any webcomic, and that's saying something.
Tumblr media
So, to sum it up: the intense pace, strong character development and worldbuilding, and a mastery of tone and style are what make this webcomic so brilliant.
What I've shown so far covers the first 100 pages or so, and takes us to April 2021, when the endless scene began. However, there were a few cracks in the foundation that hinted at where things were heading. But this post is getting long enough, and I need to get to bed. So tune in next time where we'll get into the hard parts.
... by the way, I did mention that this webcomic has two protagonists, right?
This article is dedicated to the 50 bots following me. Because of you, I get to pretend I have an audience.
4 notes · View notes
taiblogcomics · 1 year
Text
Help! I Need Somepony!
Hey there, desperation for puffed corn cereals. Almost out of this backlog, but we still got a couple to go! And now, let's get into this one, eh~?
Here's the cover:
Tumblr media
Of the new Mane 5, I think Hitch is probably the most unappreciated. It's probably because he's the token dude, and it's a series for little girls. He also doesn't have that "little brother" energy that Spike had, he's an older dude in a position of authority. But maybe us millenials in the periphery demographic relate to him (forget that he's also a cop for a moment). Like, look at this cover. He's an indie music producer, he's moving, he's building a deck. And he looks exhausted/astonished to just contemplate doing all these things. That's peak relatability~
We waste a whole first page on establishing shots of Maretime Bay, showing Hitch waking up. Hitch exposits to himself how it's the first day of autumn now, and thus the Harvest Festival is that day. Like, who is he talking to? The birds? I know he can talk to birds, but I don't think he needs to exposit to the birds that he's the sheriff and that he's frozen in there and we're out here. (Yes, you can expect me to make that reference any time his being the sheriff comes up.) Anyways, today he's hanging up that sheriff badge to instead pick up some headphones and spin some records.
Just as he's ready to head out, Sunny comes rushing in and spills his records. She's excited for the harvest celebration, and Hitch is also eager to bring in the noise, bring in the funk. Sunny's here for a reason, though. She's got a favour to ask, you see. Izzy needs some supplies from the sporting goods store, so if it's not too much trouble, can he swing by on his way to set up his booth? Hitch agrees, because he's all about helping. That's basically what his job is. This isn't too much trouble. Sunny thanks him, and she heads off to set up her own booth.
A casual aside mention of Discord to just remind you that this is part of an ongoing plot later, Hitch arrives at the sports-shop. It's genuinely kind of huge, so it takes a while to find the rings Izzy needs. Eventually he does, and there's no quest to cast them back into the fires whence they came, so he's able to leave. Now at the fairgrounds, he's approaching the stage where he intend to set up. But then... a wild Izzy blocks the way! She leads him to her ringtoss booth, but also imparts on him another favour. He agrees, because he's that kind of guy.
Hitch heads over to the arts-and-crafts store, passing by Sunny's tug-of-war setup on the way. And here's where you get a very rare sight indeed: Sprout from the G5 movie. Remember? He was, like, the main antagonist of the movie and set up to be a prominent secondary character, and then he just wasn't. You can tell, because this is issue 7 of the comics, and this is the first time I've mentioned him. Anyways, he continues to suck up to his mother, and then mud from the tug-of-war splashes all over him. Maybe he's better off not appearing in things~
Anyways, Hitch gets Izzy her crafting supplies, which was a mercifully smaller store, thankfully for him. By now Hitch is getting a little annoyed. He loves to help and is glad to do so, but now it's getting in the way of doing his own thing. Just like this sudden parade that's appeared behind him while he was in the store. And wouldn't you know it, Pipp is dancing on a big float right at that moment, and she spots him in the crowd and drags him onstage. Guess what, she needs a favour. Just a quick one, of course. Her AV guy didn't turn up, so she needs him to record her song for social media.
Now Hitch is running pretty late, but he still can't turn his friends down. It just wouldn't be him if he didn't help out. And speak of the devil, here comes Zipp. She needs another partner for the obstacle course, as her usual one has passed out from eating too much pie. Ah, relatable. Hitch almost wants to put his hoof down here, but Zipp does something unexpected: she says "please". And oh boy, is it ever an obstacle course. What was that show called? Wipeout? It's basically that. And now Hitch is very late, and hasn't even begun to set up yet.
But when he finally gets to his booth... It's almost all set up already. And his four friends step out and reveal that they felt a little selfish about monopolising his time, because he has difficulty saying "no" to folks. So since he spent all day helping them, it's their turn to help him for a change. Even Sprout turns up to help (which is more of just bossing the others around, but that's fine). And thus the evening closes out with Hitch putting on a big Deadmau5-type pony head and DJing the night way for the whole festival~
This is, honestly, a pretty good issue. It’s nice to focus on Hitch, who doesn’t get a lot of love, as stated earlier. And it’s a pretty good lesson: help others, but don’t forget to help yourself. Or maybe: if someone does you a kindness, return it. Either one, really. They both fit. No, the only problem here is that once again, we’re doing the slice-of-life filler stuff after we already amped up the stakes with the Discord plot. It seriously gets all of just a single line’s mention here. This issue would be fine as a standalone. But putting it in the middle of a storyline makes it filler instead. Discord’s about to destroy all magic! But it’s not so urgent that we can’t have a day for a harvest festival, hmm? Again, good issue all on its own! Just doesn’t work within the larger narrative surrounding it.
2 notes · View notes
standing-wave-mag · 23 days
Text
Let’s Hear It 2024 Showcases Vancouver’s Most Promising Musicians
Tumblr media
On a cold March evening in Vancouver, 4 beloved venues heated up for a night of local talent. From the prestigious Fox Cabaret to the intimate winery La Fabrique St-George, people gathered from all corners of the city to taste a flight of 18 talented local bands in 30-minute increments.
While I wish I could’ve cloned myself and attended all 18 often overlapping shows, I was still able to discover a handful of music I didn’t know existed until that very night, which is something uniquely special. Every artist brought something new to the table that had locals hook line and sinker. Here’s a rundown of each show I was able to attend.
FOX CABARET – Parlour Panther, Haleluya Hailu
The night all started at the historic Fox Cabaret in Mount Pleasant, the former porn theater-turned-venue. Known as the hottest venue in the city (according to the MC, in temperature not vibes!) the space was surprisingly chilly. But the spirits were high as guests piled in ready for the first band to hit the stage.
Tumblr media
Four-piece Parlour Panther opened the night, engaging the crowd with dreamy indie pop tunes. Lead vocalists and instrumentalists Frankie and Lee have been making music for a decade now, and this was evident as their chemistry filled the entire room. They promoted their new single “BLOOM,” a bass-heavy but light indie pop tune about self-change. Just observing from the floor, you could feel the intense love reverberating amongst the band members; this is what they enjoyed the most. They were the best choice to kick off the night on a positive note.
Following this was the quick-witted and feisty singer/songwriter Haleluya Hailu. Hailu, her drummer and guitarist all walked on stage wearing brightly coloured construction vests, with the singer waiving a light saber-esque red wand around the stage.
“We're here to construct sounds for you!” she joked.
Tumblr media
The singer has a distinct R&B flavor with a trilly powerful voice that launches her music into new dimensions.
Hailu showcased singles such as the floaty “pinball,” and crowd favourite “MANIC PIXIE PACIFIST.” Using the infamous trope, the singer wants you to know she is a force to be reckoned with.
Boldly, she quips at the crowd to boo her. She gave out her next song “Useless” to all Vancouverites, defining her relationship with the crowd as one of love-hate (but mostly love, we can only hope).
RED GATE - POSH COAT, LEO D.E. JOHNSON, SLIGHTEST CLUE
Next to open its doors was Vancouver’s beloved DIY music and arts hall Red Gate Arts Society. Upon arrival, the venue felt like a closed down fire hall. But once inside, it opens a dimension where all music and art is free to thrive–it’s like a breath of fresh air from the larger shinier venues that have been popping up lately. From the holes in the ceiling, to the cartoon eye stickers placed on the speakers, this venue is brimming with charm.
We were just in time to hear Posh Coat's final song. The trio, hailing from nearby Victoria, has so much potential to be a superstar band, describing themselves as “a cold front of Arctic Monkeys from the north.” It is astounding they currently only have 3 singles out at the moment, but their standout talent and energy is evident. I can’t wait to see what’s next for them.
Following Posh Coat, powerhouse singer/songwriter Leo D.E. Johnson took to the stage, absolutely blowing everything out of the water. Simply accompanied by an electric guitar and a drummer, Johnson’s voice evoked such a primal appreciation for how transcendent music can be. Blending soul with rock n’ roll, the non-binary artist expresses intense lyricism involving identity and belonging, allowing his voice to be all-encompassing. 
Tumblr media
He performed my personal favourite track “Beneficiary,” a 7-minute ballad featuring growling rock vocals in the chorus combined with softer soulful verses; this perfectly showcases Johnson’s versatility as a vocalist and lyricist. To me, Johnson is the most promising and talented new Vancouver singer and songwriter we have.
Tumblr media
To complete my personal Red Gate sandwich of performances, 4-piece band Slightest Clue was up next. What piqued my interest was the background of each band member, and how they shouldn’t work: “a stage actor, a hook-obsessed recovering choir girl, an electrical engineer, and a guitarist who played for (and left) ten other bands before deciding this was the one for him.” Their biggest draw is how they really shouldn’t work as a band but somehow do, in a post-punk garage kind of way.
The Vancouver misfits were eager to play songs off their latest EP Carousel, chock full of drippy post-punk hooks and word-vomit ramblings between verses. Lively bassist and vocalist Hannah Kruse asks the crowd “have you ever had a crush like, really really bad? ‘Cause I have,” before launching into the heavy garage guitar obsessive single “Why Can’t I Call You.” 
Tumblr media
Another highlight was the “Carousel” single, featuring a back and forth vocal war between Kruse and lead vocalist Malcom McLaren accompanied by screaming guitar solos. Despite their mismatched union, the band is quick to show that they work in such a unique way that draws any post-punk indie rock fan in (seriously, I can’t stop listening to their music, even days after their show!).
La Fabrique St-George - JADE LE MAC, CARA BATEMAN
The final venue to open its doors for the evening shows was the smallest and most intimate of all the venues: winery La Fabrique St-George. A small queue of people formed a line outside, as the venue was at full capacity for a short burst of time, showing just how much Vancouverites were flocking for the local talent. Eventually, as people trickled in and out, we were let into the narrow hall. Unlike the grandeur of the Fox Cabaret, or the boldly artsy halls of Red Gate, La Fabrique held a more sacred and somber tone. Concert-goers sat cross-legged on large colourful pillows  in front of a small stage, or around long tables drinking wine.
Jade Le Mac was next, perhaps the most popular and youngest of all the artists in the festival. Armed simply with her powerful steady voice and an accompanying guitarist, it’s easy to see why Le Mac is so renowned among teenagers and young adults; she is the voice of youthful angst. Her lyricism and bubbly personality leads me to believe she is Vancouver’s own Olivia Rodrigo.
Tumblr media
It’s clear she’s passionate about everything she writes, sharing stories and background about each song before launching into it. For the short set, the singer jumped between albums “Constellations” and “Confessions,” showcasing just how versatile she can be in sound: from the starry-eyed softness of single “Constellations” to the pounding anthemic “You’re Not A God.” Le Mac has the spark to launch further into superstardom.
To round out the night, the final artist to hit the winery stage was the charismatic and compelling Cara Bateman. Described by her friend as a “35-year-old teenager,” the artist walked out in pink sunglasses, cowboy earrings, and a silver glitter top. What makes Bateman stand out the most is her ability to genre-jump: using a primarily singer/songwriter base she can flawlessly transition from country to punk.
Tumblr media
The risk-taking singer launched into her latest single “Time To Be A Bitch,” an electric-guitar heavy anthem about setting boundaries and self-defining. But later, she seamlessly transitioned to the moody and jazzy “I Wrote This for You.” Each song was stripped down with piano and guitar accompaniment to match the low-key tone of La Fabrique.
To me, these two artists with their stripped down sets were the perfect way to end the night. Of course, many were headed to the late-night bonus shows at the Cobalt featuring more local artists such as NIKKAELA and PEAK. While I ended my night at the winery, I’m sure the aftershow was just as much fun as the entire evening.
MusicBC’s Let’s Hear It Festival is only in its second year of operation, but judging on how fast tickets sold out, it’s clear the people crave a glimpse into Vancouver’s newest and best local music. This is the festival to fill in the gaps, the perfect palette of music that allows local audiences to connect with emerging artists.
0 notes
sunnydaydevs · 3 months
Text
PINNED POST 🌻
Hey, I'm Sunny and I am a slowly budding indie game developer and long time tumblrite - though most of my time on Tumblr has been spent in Fandom places, of course my works here may be influenced by games I have played and novels I have read (aren't we all?) but they will be 100% original in as much as anything can be.
The blog is still WIP as far as hard coding things in; real life is a bit of a trial at times but I'm working around it as best I can.
If you want an in depth run down of my current works, you can check it out here, and if you'd like a quick overview to know what I'm about feel free to click the read more below or hop into my askbox or messages. I can be slow to respond, but always eager! Can't wait to get to know some more people who share my interest.
(And now, a little bit about my current projects -- this may change over time.)
Twine IF: All the Queen's Men
My main project, currently getting a ground-up overhaul to implement more details and ideas as well as futher fleshing out characters. It's going to be a lengthy project but I'm really invested in writing it. All the Queen's Men sits where a dating sim meets strategy rpg, (If any of them become a VN, it will be this one.) The premise is that a war has been dragging on for years and the Queen of Etheria (player character) was widowed without an heir not so long ago. The royal council sees this as an opportunity for her to remarry not just for an heir, but to strengthen Etheria's position in the war. The choices made by the player Queen will have global influence, but she will also have to live with it personally. What is the price of peace? How many paths could lead there?
Twine IF: The Crown Will Fall
Formerly laid out as an RPG Maker game, The Crown Will Fall quickly became something I realized needed more description and detail than I could properly provide with RMMV. The story remains a fantasy rpg, character driven and of course strongly dependent on player choice. The premise is that the once kind and just ruler of the kingdom [player] lives in has grown cold hearted, cruel and dangerous in his paranoid assumptions, and started turning against his own people. In the grief-stricken aftermath of the destruction of your hometown, you make a vow to see justice once more. Whatever that means in the end.
Twine IF: Rewind
Rewind is a story I almost wrote as a novel before realizing what I really wanted to do with it was explore the reader's decisions and choices - something I'm seeking out now with Twine, though it's currently down the line on priority. You play an amnesiac, nonbinary person who has only the barest snatches of potentially unreliable memories and a slew of notes with no context. But with undeniable power under your skin and a world in crisis, it looks like you're going to have to take a chance.
RMMV: Homesteader
Homesteader might well be the prelude to a larger game down the road but it does stand alone. The difference being that Homesteader by itself is more of a farming / crafting sim and the full thing would be RPG meets strategy game. As it stands, your parents have been called out of retirement to aid the king once more. As your training is incomplete, you're left to finish it when they drop you off at an old fortress they'd served at. Being given the land they had left behind, it quickly becomes clear that there are going to have to be a lot of renovations and hard work to pay them off while spending time on your training, in hopes of reaching full knighthood under the guildmaster's guiding hand within three years.
Pixel Art: Farm Assets
So I am a huge fan of the farm sim genre. I've been playing Harvest Moon games since the days of the Gamecube and GBA (my favorite remains the GBA's A New Beginning though MFOMT gets a shoutout for nostalgia and DS Cute is really good) and I have logged... a lot of time on Stardew Valley, even more since I discovered mods. So I decided I would make some assets for people to enjoy, They may or may not go up on Itch depending on how happy I am with them and if I make a cohesive set.
Godot 4:
No project here -- yet! Still working on learning the program. I'd like to do some basic stuff first? minigame type things, puzzles, things that test the logic of the system against the logic of my brain.
1 note · View note
mlsofh · 4 months
Text
If I Wrote It - Helluva Boss
Hello Wayward Sinners!
I have a mini series I will be doing called "If I Wrote It" and it will cover how if I wrote Helluva Boss what would I change, and what would I keep. Lets be real: I can never compare to the ground breaking work Viv has done. She is truly a master of the indie animation renaissance we are seeing in motion right now. I love and adore her work! Same goes to Brandon Rogers who is a hilarious creator and equally ahead of his time. He is a fantastic content creator. Now we should start on our first episode of "If I Wrote It." Firstly, as an artist I have to comment on the designs of the characters. I don't mind them, on the contrary, for indie animation they're really great! I have to take into account that this is an animated series, and thus, characters should be generally animation friendly to get it out as fast as IMP does (I refer to the cast of Helluva Boss as IMP. I can't help myself.) So, we can start off simple with coloring and design details. We know details aren't too big of an issue as Viv does load her characters with quite a bit of detail. Characters having a sizeable amount of detail is a great thing, especially in the simplistic art style she does have whenever it comes to the actual body models of characters. Let's look at Blitz first. Blitz's character design is actually one I wouldn't change. For an imp like him, I love his design. It makes sense, and is cohesive with how he is as a character. I personally believe he is one of the best designed characters right next to Loona, and Crimson. Next, we have Loona, the adopted daughter of Blitz. I wouldn't change her design too much either, maybe make her more covered and as the show goes on she gets to the outfit she has now. It could be a thing that Loona opens up slowly and that leads to her wearing the clothes she really likes. Also, I will say I would age down Loona to seventeen, and make her fifteen when Blitz adopted her. This would allow for her to have that puppy crush on Vortex and become closer to Octavia which is a pretty big key point in an episode. Having Loona not be old enough to have that maturity, and grow throughout the series is something I would've rather seen. She acts more like a mid to late teenager in the show. This would also leave room for Blitz to grow as a dad and realize he doesn't need to be over protective of her. Bonus: The hellhound party episode would be so funny with Blitz finding out she snuck away to a party only for him to get shitfaced. M&M need a major tuneup I will say. Knowing that imps are supposed to have biological specifics that make them different from the other sex, this means M&M by all standards could look like siblings. Thankfully their designs differ enough in show to where we know they're not. Their designs still need a tune up, as they almost blend in like background characters when they're part of the primary cast. Lets start with giving imps from other rings skin differentiation, not anything extremely out of the red, but maybe having warm reds vs cold reds. Making Millie lean into a warm orange or vibrant red. Next, Moxxie. Giving him a red that leans into cooler colors like green or maybe a dulled yellow under the red of his skin tone could add to some variety amongst imps. We could also have Millie be built stronger than him, and more athletic, while he is more skinny and uses guns/far away weaponry. Highlighting his intelligence with weapons. This can be further highlighted whenever he meets Striker. We will tune back in for Stolas, Striker, Octavia and more next post, Stay tuned!
1 note · View note
existentialmagazine · 5 months
Text
Review: The cosy pixellated shop management game ‘Tiny Witch’ feels like a solo-campaign of ‘Overcooked’ with a mystical twist
With just a four-person Brazilian studio team focused on premium pixel art style games, the developers and publishers Creative Hand have previously worked on smaller indie gems like Make The Burger and There Will Be No Turkey This Christmas that perhaps have gone under your radar. Now sharing their newest game Tiny Witch, the group look to appeal to cosy gamers everywhere - as long as you’re also up for a challenge.
As cute as its title and appearance may lead you to believe, the management game Tiny Witch is actually quite chaotic beneath its surface. With your character Sophie dreaming of running her own minion store for the dungeon masters that pass her by, she’s swiftly left cursed by a mysterious cat offering her dreams on a platter but with a cost - never being able to leave the store until she reaches high magnitudes of success.
Though perhaps unideal, this is still what Sophie had always been yearning for, and that much is clear in her dedication to make it work. With passing day and night cycles, it’s your job to take care of the customers that visit by creating and combining differing resources before they lose their patience and leave. From activating spells, unlocking new recipes and preparing the best minions in time, there’s a lot to juggle and a lot to unlock the longer you progress.
Later down the line, your minion-crafting store can be relocated to a forest, a cave and a desert, along with a magnitude of new things like resources and a pounder, as well as different stages such as a wrapping stage where you can buy decorations, pets, and add new work tables. With a lot of incentive to get it all done and meet your goals, Tiny Witch makes sure to give you your moneys worth in terms of content down the line.
Much of the whimsicality and appeal of Tiny Witch comes from its art style though, encompassing the warm pixelated visuals that gamers have grown to highly adore over the past few years, specifically after the rise of Stardew Valley. Making the game appear visually cosy with gorgeously vibrant shop decor and unique, cute character designs, you’ll perhaps almost be lulled into a false sense of security that this game is somewhat calm. Mixing together a chaotic amount of gameplay with textures that fill you with ease, Tiny Witch does a great job at bringing together two styles that couldn’t seem farther apart.
While there is so much to love about Tiny Witch, it does fall short in a few ways. For one, the difficulty at times feels almost unfairly unbearable, giving you too many customers that you cannot possibly serve with the limited resources available to you. This difficult only continues to ramp up too, offering no slider to make it easier or ways to aid you in your continued failures.
Overall though, Tiny Witch has a lot to love in a small package. From beautiful visuals to addictive gameplay, you’ll find yourself pouring a lot of hours into this title without even noticing it pass. While it has its flaws, we can only hope with continued love and support the developers will take on board feedback and continue to grow the game to incredible heights.
Tiny Witch is available to play on Microsoft Windows, purchasable here. Existential was kindly provided with a Steam code for this review.
Written by: Tatiana Whybrow
Photo Credits: Screenshotted on PC.
0 notes
evco-productions · 2 years
Text
Does “So Bad It’s Good” REALLY Exist? (Repost from Quora)
I like a lot of different movies for a lot of different reasons. But I’ve never once watched a movie and said to myself, “That was freaking awful! I wanna watch it again!”
For years, I’ve been fascinated with the cult followings of movies like The Room and Troll 2, but I wouldn’t say I’ve been fascinated with them in a good way. More in a “what the hell are these people thinking?” way.
Let’s start with Troll 2. This is not a movie I’ve seen, but I’ve seen its legacy through the lens of the 2009 documentary Best Worst Movie.
This documentary depicts a small but very enthusiastic fanbase behind an objectively terrible movie (if there ever was one, this is it). In several scenes of this documentary, we see a group of Troll 2 fans gather to watch and celebrate the movie. While a documentary could feasibly be edited to give its audience false ideas, what I saw in these scenes was a fanbase that seemed to have no idea they liked a bad movie. They talked as if they truly, sincerely believed the movie was a masterpiece and its leading man a god.
However, I’m not convinced that anyone is quite that stupid. The fans’ unbridled enthusiasm was a little too over the top to be believable, and the documentary left me thinking that these people are so desperate to feel their place in the world is unique that they are willing to spend their lives heaping praise onto an artistic travesty just so they can say, “I’m not like other guys/girls. I like Troll 2.”
In contrast to this impression, the people who enjoy Tommy Wiseau’s The Room seem to fully understand and acknowledge that it’s a piece of literal garbage (as in: every existing copy of this movie belongs in a dumpster). But they still adore it, or at least behave as though they do, to the point that someone thought it would be a worthwhile endeavor to create a movie about the making of The Room, starring A-list actors, no less! Like Best Worst Movie, I felt The Disaster Artist toed the line between telling a strange story and celebrating a miserable failure.
Can a movie actually be “so bad it’s good”? How can such a thing exist?
It’s not that I don’t want art to be subjective, but if the collective We cannot agree on a few basic rules of filmmaking, the whole industry had might as well crumble. There must be a general understanding of what’s good and bad within the process of creating a movie or else nothing will make any sense. You can’t add two and two and get any number you want. If you think otherwise, then you’re an agent of chaos, a dog chasing cars.
I’ve never wanted to believe a movie can be so bad it’s good. I think it’s a terrible thing that there is some poor indie filmmaker out there in the world, making good movies with the budget he or she has and getting no recognition, while Tommy Wiseau is a small but notable part of contemporary pop culture. He does not deserve that position, even ironically, because his movie was not made with any sense of irony. The Room is no Attack of the Killer Tomatoes! or The VelociPastor. It wasn’t made to be bad on purpose. Wiseau truly believed he was making a work of genius, and for that, he should be ashamed.
This is the same reason I don’t find anything funny about The Room, and to a lesser extent, Troll 2. The fact that these movies are accidentally cringeworthy isn’t funny to me, it’s just sad. They were made by people who love movies—or at least like movies enough to try their hand in making one—and those people turned out to have no talent. It’s not funny to laugh at them for that, it’s just meanspirited. And it’s not funny to cement The Room into pop culture when some other, better movie that actually deserves a spot in our collective memory remains undiscovered.
But unlike the “rule about rules” which states that We must agree on some objective standard of quality when it comes to movies, there is no rule like that for humor. There’s pretty much no way to determine that one thing is objectively funny where something else isn’t, and that’s why I have to relent in spite of myself.
Who am I to say someone can’t find The Room funny? If you call The Room “so bad it’s good,” and by that mean “so bad it’s funny,” I cannot argue. That makes sense for you. The only way I could argue would be if you thought it was somehow actually good, which case you’d just be plain wrong. So wrong, in fact, that I wouldn’t even feel the need to support my claim that you’re wrong with examples of the poor filmmaking techniques on display in Wiseau’s little gem.
While I’ve messed around with a camera and made a handful of knowingly bad skits myself, I’ve never had the aspirations to get serious and try to make a real, unironic movie. If one day I did, and that movie were to join the ranks of The Room and Troll 2 as “so bad it’s good,” would I accept the label and pretend I never wrote this entry? Almost certainly, but I think there would always be a small part of me that would nag at the larger me forever, acting as a constant reminder that I was not a successful artist with a loving fanbase, but a failed artist with a foolish fanbase.
Let’s just hope that day never comes. Knock on wood.
0 notes
luuurien · 2 years
Photo
Tumblr media
Sarah Kinsley - Cypress
(Electropop, Indie Pop, Dance Pop)
The latest EP from Sarah Kinsley is her best body of work to date, a technicolor swirl of psychedelic dance-pop and the thrilling emotional narratives heartbreak can bring. Cypress' incredible polished production combined with Kinsley's improved voice and layered songwriting makes for an experience that simply can't be beat.
☆☆☆☆
Though Sarah Kinsley has lived in New York most of her life, Cypress is steeped in the imagery and mythos of the West Coast. Named after the trees dotted all across California's cities and highways, there's a glowing sunlight filtered through Kinsley's midnight cocktail of rich synth tones and hustling pop songs that makes for a whole different experience than the orchestrally-decorated sound of last year's The King or the full on chamber arrangements of her debut EP The Fall, a new point in Kinsley's discography where it feels like new miles of new ground is being broken. Taking hold of electronic production more than ever before, Cypress' production is huge and richly layered, dropping many of the defenses she used to put up in her music and letting the music flow more passionately than ever. "Can we make art and still save a part of ourselves?" She asked Clash in early May, and Cypress answers that with a resounding yes. While parts of her past music's sound have been removed and modified to fit Cypress' gushes of hot-blooded emotion, it's still the same person behind the music - she's changed, but it's still Sarah Kinsley completely. Firstly, Cypress sounds absolutely exquisite, Kinsley taking her ability to layer and perfectly mix her orchestral compositions on previous EP's and translating it to a more electronically-minded, brightly-lit synthpop sound that works perfectly with her strong and gripping voice. Lead single Hills of Fire sees her swooning atop a shuffling 80s drum pad, bright strings and horns, and shimmering 80s synths that light up the sky in beautiful iridescent blues and greens, Kinsley spilling her desires and fears out onto the floor and lighting them up with kerosene as each chorus is even bigger than the previous one. There's not a quiet moment to be found across Cypress' five tracks, even the heartwrenching finale Lucky Drive lavishly outfits its ballad structure with dark background harmonies and distorting vocal effects that make what would have been a beautiful, but simple ending into one of the most stunning songs in her entire discography, wonderfully complex in sound but barebones in structure. What Was Mine throws a more usual pop tune into the mix while preserving the EP's feverish sense of speed, and centerpiece Green is by far the best song she's ever put out, a perfect built from simple acoustic tune to a massive arena song with backing harmonies, massive horns and an electric guitar solo - all the saccharine things that usually make a song feel like it's trying to be bigger than it really is - but the emotions Kinsley sings of are so intense and urgent that this is the only sound that could ever possibly convey them. It's a short EP that doesn't leave much up to the imagination, Kinsley's more forward sound here pushing her music down onto you with the pressure of an avalanche, the Northern lights colors of her music blanketing her all-out attack on the senses with grace and spellbinding beauty. She's given herself to the sky, letting her emotions pour out into the ether and not trying to hide their size and shape anymore. She's hurting, she's reflective, she's freed from heartbreak and held back by it, everything that she couldn't say before Cypress gives her the chance to materialize into the world. It's a powerful tool to wield, and Kinsley knows just how risky it can be to open yourself up artistically as much as she has here, but that doesn't stop her for a second. Cypress is the most sure of herself Sarah Kinsley has ever sounded, and every moment of it restates just how mercurial a talent she truly is.
0 notes