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ramshackledtrickster · 2 years

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Hello friend, do you have any ezioleo headcanons you're willing to share?

I know this has been in my asks for . A billion years so I am so so sorry /!)/‘shmSJBJDHS

It’s hard to come up with headcanons that aren’t already stated or agreed upon by the fan base already but I’ll try!!

This whole post is pretty long so I’m putting these under a cut

1. In my personal canon they get more involved and together towards the end of ac2 but there’s lots of confused feelings building up for a while — not really a hc but I’m just putting that out there. Also Rosa is supportive of them.

2. Leonardo says the most batshit things in his sleep. Ezio’s reactions range from concern, mild amusement, and existential dread depending on what sloughs off of Leo’s subconscious that instance.

3. Both of their love languages heavily involve physical touch, but Ezio’s also includes Acts of Service and Leonardo in turn loves quality time (and also acts of service considering he makes things for Ezio. But I think he’s most at home just talking about whatever interests him and doing whatever and Ezio actually lending an ear, listening and actively engaging). Ezio 100% gets Leonardo toys and puzzles for enrichment.

4. Leonardo is so thankful for Ezio introducing him to coffee. So so thankful. It actually helps him concentrate a bit more when his mind is too all over the place so yeah. Leonardo probably would like his coffee with lots of sugar and cream (and in a modern au, flavorings!!). Ezio’s surprisingly more well balanced especially with his comment to Antonio in ac2 about throwing in some cream and sugar because straight up black coffee was so bitter.

5. Leonardo and Ezio not only hug on sight but probably have a secret handshake. Probably more applicable in modern au but imagining them doing it in their capes and frills brings me unbelievable delight.

6. We know it probably took a little bit for Ezio to be comfortable talking about his emotions and venting to Leonardo, but Leo himself is pretty guarded as well and has a habit of bottling things up until it becomes too much and he gets in a self destructive spiral. I’m kinda basing this hc off the scene where Ezio off-hand insults the broken flying machine and Leo takes it very personally and starts pinning the blame on himself and getting mad at himself no I don’t see myself in this shut up. But yeah Leonardo is usually so jovial and eager to help and please and fix things and comfort that he neglects to take care of himself and his own emotional needs, probably also contributed to by the fact he’s trying to keep up a certain image? Since he’s trying to rise up in the world of art. But yeah Ezio learns to kinda be more careful with how he words things especially if it’s something that means so much to Leonardo, and it takes a while for Leonardo to feel comfortable enough with being honest with his more negative feelings, but hey they’re all human.

7. Leonardo loves getting referred to as Leo. He loves it. Dorky “oh my god we’re using nicknames?? !!” Type realization. It gets his attention every time, and Ezio loves seeing his reaction and how it rolls off the tongue. In turn, Ezio loves being called ‘tesoro’ or ‘bello’. Tickles the brain good.

8. Leonardo and Ezio have gone to carnivale together all decked out in masks and fancy clothes at least once. It fucking ruled.

9. Ezio loves listening to Leonardo. He goes from napping during codex decoding sessions to peering over his shoulder to actively asking questions and at some point Leonardo has to show some restraint and tell him to wait a bit because he keeps getting distracted!! And Ezio is encouraging his tangents and infodumping!! How dare he. But yeah Ezio could listen to Leonardo talk and share his ideas for hours and hours.

10. Leonardo knows how to wield a knife thanks to Ezio. He’s not the best at it but it’s enough to self defend and make a quick escape if he needs to. Ezio’s proud of his progress.

11. 8 times out of 10 Ezio enters Leo’s workshop through a window. I’m ignoring the game. Mental images of Ezio rolling onto the floor in a tired heap from the window or Leonardo preemptively yanking Ezio through the window to avoid other gazes is very entertaining to me.

12. Claudia hates having Leo in Monterrigioni. Don’t get her wrong, she loves him and absolutely loves their time together. But him and Ezio are IMPOSSIBLE ago navigate around. Joined at the hip. Endless “no you go first” “no You go first silly!” “Nooo you!”. They get so lovey-dovey and cushy and she can’t even tease Ezio for it because he totally embraces it. Trying times for our dear Claudia Auditore. This also applies with Tiber Island.

13. Leonardo loves to just,, study Ezio. Beyond the obvious physical appearance of him and counting the scars and all that stuff. Every micro expression, every detail of his body language and how he talks with his hands and his inflections and mannerisms. Every subtle thing. It makes Ezio so much more real to him (if that makes sense).

14. Leo loves Ezio’s hair and delights in playing with it and scooping his fringes out of his vision. Ezio loves playing with Leo’s hair too (also tangentially related but he knows how to tie a braided bun thanks to helping Claudia with hers all the time).

15. Ezio patching up Leo’s wounds. Ever since like,, ac2 time after Leo has done so much healing for him it’s nice to picture him doing that for Leo in return. Like if he gets splinters, or he knicks his hand on something, just accidentally hurting his hands or his back or knocking his head against a poorly placed wooden frame while working on his engineering pieces. He’s got his own share of cuts and bruises and calluses, and Ezio has tried his best to help with them.

16. Patching up Leo’s wounds part 2: Da Vinci Disappearance edition. Leonardo sports a prominent nose scar since the end of that game that lasts with him the rest of his life, and he tries to smile and turn it into a positive by saying hey at least we have matching scars now. Ezio finds comfort in Leo’s attitude but it’s still sad seeing how this resulted in Leo being tied to the assassin’s and their who,e business and the cultists finding him due to those ties (I think— I haven’t played the dlc yet so forgive me).

17. They spend less time together as their paths drift apart towards the end of brotherhood, and though they kinda ‘softly’ broke off, they still have had a soft spot for each other. They still make visits though! Leonardo sees little Flavia and an even littler Marcelo at least once, and he’s so overjoyed.

18. Later in his life as he settles down and finds time for himself, Ezio tried to salvage and re-make his own little models of Leonardo’s machines through the years as keepsakes. They’re not perfect, but they’re still pretty damn good. He loves showing them off to Sofia and his kids. He especially loves regaling his kids with stories of how they worked, and how he actually took flight in hi younger years (after a few failed attempts).

19. On Leo’s death bed, he’s wracked with last minute anxiety as he feels like he hasn’t done enough in his life or for the world. His final last words irl included something along the lines of being a disappointment to god, if I remember correctly. He’s scared, he’s distressed, he’s sad, he’s disappointed, but Ezio is there. He steps forward and cups his old friend’s head, telling him not to say that. Leonardo has done and made so much in his life, and has definitely made an impact on the world and people around him, and Ezio promises him that he would never be forgotten by time. He keeps his promise he made in Reflections, making sure his passing would be swift and painless. Leonardo, with a comforted and more restful mind, passes away peacefully, and Ezio closes his eyes and whispers “Requiescat in pace, my oldest friend”.

Hope these are alright!!

#assassins creed 2 #assassins creed #leonardo da vinci #ezio auditore #ezioleo #assassin’s creed brotherhood #ac leonardo #fanart #my art #headcanons

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cina-full-moon-xanadium · 1 year

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There’s a certain boldness, I think, to ending an Ultraman show - especially knowing you have another one coming and being neck-deep in Ultra Brother continuity connections by now - by having Ultraman just... give up his powers. To have him just give up being Ultraman.

With how the series is treated now and the various retcons it’s gone through, it’s very easy to just read into that now as Kotaro and Taro as separate beings who simply went their separate ways, but... the way the show had been treating it for almost the entire run, there really was little separation between the two; I think there was in fact a very strong implication that Kotaro was just the son of Mother of Ultra that was given his powers now he’s older. And that this ending is him realising how much he loves being a human, how he’s always loved being a human, and is making the strong choice to live as one in a way that mirrors the original Ultraman’s themes of humanity forging forward themselves.

It’s a very strong ending, I think; and I at least have to respect the sheer bravery to pull that. It’s a very wonderful, artful little ending and I really do love it. Anyway the show itself is just batshit insane

You’ll probably be able to tell that well enough even from the earliest point of my liveblog but, like, Leo is the show with the reputation of being absolutely crazy; I have some fucking expectations for that one, but there was no warning going into Taro that just about every episode would feel like your brain being fried in a pan; this is perhaps the most fucked an Ultra show has been for me outside of Ultra Q and oh boy is it an experience. An utterly fascinating bewildering experience that left me dumbfounded so many times. I really don’t know where to start? The episode where Taro pickles an alien, the one where he uses one as a mochi-pounding drum, the one where he fights Pinocchio, the one where he’s almost eaten by an 8-year-old, like-- just take any of these fucking episodes and put it in a livestream to scare your friends, it’s a guaranteed success!

On the whole if I try and, uh, quantify something like this; I guess I’d say middle of the road like Ace? Certainly liked it a lot more than Return of Ultraman, it definitely has its moments and episodes and I like some of what it goes for, but it just didn’t leave me with as much as Ultraman or Ultraseven. Looking forward to seeing if this little string of shows can turn things around right at the end for me...

#Sender of Strium

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clarenecessities · 8 months

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8/22/23

I have no concept of what the Renaissance era Medici did outside of art patronage but I really think that’s the ideal life under capitalism. I wanna be rich enough to finance some weird little fruit’s whole life in exchange for their fulfilling occasional prompts. I want to say “leo baby what’s popping” and for him to bend a horseshoe to show off for his retinue of twinks. I wanna finance his batshit inventions and formally adopt him so he can have a last name. I’m getting lost in this too-specific example do you think he’d tell me his thoughts on scuba diving if I showed him some autopsy videos on my phone

#daily clare

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stxiiir · 6 months

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Controlled chaos, or is it?

Hi.

It's been a while since I wrote, well, anything, really.

It's been much longer since I was 'one' with my feelings. Don't get me wrong, I haven't stopped being emotional. I just haven't had the time to explore why. Perhaps I've finally mastered the art of putting everything - my emotions, my issues, my etc - way way at the back of my head in hope it will sort itself out and getting comfortable with co-piloting my life. hA, what's new.

Anyways, I was supposed to continue some works from home tonight, but as always, I find a way to amuse myself out of my routine and get my head helplessly distracted elsewhere. This time, my blog from 14 years ago. yes, when I was 14. gaddamn.

I was on my way home from work this evening when Spotify did their thing, creepily delving into your subconscious and randomly shuffle a song that cages you deeper into your subconsciousness (?) In short, Spotify randomly played Arctic Monkey's Fluorescent Adolescent in Arin's playlist and Arin went batshit nostalgic crazy and paid a visit to her long-lost blog in hope to... i dont know...cringe the shit out of her sad posts over her two-timing-asshole-not-exactly-an-ex-boyfriend, Leo? not really, finding reasons to be nostalgic over her past life in Miri since the topic has been quiet heavy on her mind the past few days? maybe.

You know the cliche saying, when you're happy you enjoy the music but when you're sad you understand the lyrics? Well, that's Fluorescent Adolescent for me this evening. A 28 years old Ms Girlie on her Gojek ride home reminiscing about her younger self whilst still grasping on the reality that life is really different now. For starter, Ms Girlie is married but that's for another day~.

As I read through my old blog and listened to some songs that I purposely put as 'hint' for ze special someone aka ze asshole bf back then, I realized that I've grown. so. much.

I mean, yeah I am now twice the age I was when writing those sappy stories but I think a part of me still can't comprehend that I was her, I am no longer now, but I carry her with me everywhere I go. ok, my therapist is going to be happy with her bill after this, but like?? you know?? how could that be?? it's insane.

I think about those early moving days to Miri and how much I resented it; the not being able to speak English other than hello how are you? days, the pointless fights and yells with dad for making me lose out on the so called 'important' high school hang out stuffs days, the friendless-introverted-good grades-me discovering good movies and good indie songs in the comfort of my room days, the me passing out on my comfy couch from watching too much Disney Channel days, the mom dropping me off to the public library/tuition at Mr Daniel's that I skip for coffee bean with Iona days, the uni days that I don't really treasure except for when I get high by the beach on my own. Those seconds that turn into hours, hours into days, days into months and eventually years. The years I thought I'd outgrown have somehow found me occasionally searching for bits and pieces of it everywhere I go when I'm older... :'( damn excuse me while I go cry my feelings out. be back in a bit

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roseandpatchouli · 2 years

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someone is starting to act like a snowflake and gatekeeping a mental illness as if it’s their identity, lol. for the record, bipolar is chronic. i’ve had it since i was 13, when i was still borederline. I’ve shifted from therapist to therapist and currently go to a psychiatrist in which my entire fam also goes to. two of my 50 y/o cousins have a mental illness. i’ve been battling bipolar 1 for as long as i can remember, my dad is undiagnosed bipolar and a former addict, my 40 y/o cousin is dealing with severe depression that she had to resign from work, and needed my mom’s help break the news to her boss because she couldn’t do it on her on. i’ve been borederline diagnosed bipolar for most of my life, and it only finally went full swing during the pandemic and went batshit crazy from isolation. during mint, i cut myself during prod week with a pen, in the girls bathroom because i made a mistake (which wasn’t even mine) but and felt like i screwed up, like the mess was all my fault, i needed to go home and i missed the show, ofc i didn’t tell the prod team that. and the prod team hated me for it for the rest of the school year. i attempted suicide during my break when i was at home, by drowning two bottles of a big litre of isopropyl alcohol, yeah. i finished it. after that i was confined three times, 1 during college days, 2 during the pandemic for going violent. my 50 y/o cousin was the same, my dad’s had to pull her away from a family gathering where she had a panic attack, sent to the psych ward for 5. She’s a mom of a special kid and one teenaged son, who used to have anger issues. can you imagine how hard that is! when i was twelve, I watched her being dragged away from a family dinner while she was going manic. And the same shit almost happens and i relapse, sui attempt and manic attack where i almost hit my own mom on my own manic state a la rue. mx, i’ve had this chronic mental illness since 2014, my 50 year old cousin has had it longer, my dad has had it since the 80’s — you ain’t special and don’t own ownership of it. you’re not the first and only one to have it, and won’t be the last, funny how people call me the snowflake but you’re the one gatekeeping a mental illness that affects millions of people — don’t be a snowflake. at this point you’re the one who looks fucking stupid, because here i am, doing my own year of rest and relaxation. i’m already not on tiktok anymore, i’ve decided to stick with close friends and family and my socials are priv. i’m already going abroad in December to art school. i’m literally doing a my year of rest and relaxation rn, at this point idek pls u look stupid and if i’m defensive? yes i am. because at this point, ur painting yourself like the good guy trying to “help me?” when u first called me out, the only thing i saw was a mirror of your own self, and heck, i thought that was so manipulative, you’re the one trying to purposely piss me off and then deflect and say it’s not me, mx ma’am, i’m a virgo and leo moon, as a fellow astro you’d know what that’s like, as a virgo u can’t fool me and as a fellow leo u look fuckin’ stupid trying to do so. i was the one who did the same thing to you when you did to me, when u didn’t even consider for a fact at the time i was with my parents. thanks for the clout i never asked for, ig. oh and your mindset? you sound like a prepubescent teen, who’d fight with their parents constantly.

#vent #idek #but ifk yk #hi stalker #and now u gonna sue me for libel for u doing the same thing to me?#what a hypocrite

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bratz-kitten · 3 years

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Eva, since you have BIG DICK ENERGY, have you thought about possibly making a post about aspects and romantic partners you would be attracted to because of them. (i hope I explained it well enough) just a thought! take care

as in, who i feel attracted to because of my bde, or placements who i feel have bde? both options lead to the same answer, so. alright, buckle up

PLACEMENTS I’M DRAWN TO DUE TO THEIR BIG DICK ENERGY

leo suns: i don’t run but if the person is extremely cocky and annoying i might just jog a little.... olympics edition. i really like people with an unshakeable sense of self-worth and if a leo sun is anything is someone who WILL fight for that confidence. they’re so fun to be around even if most of them end up hating me due to severe personality clash. everything is all or nothing with them, it can’t just Be. they always have to blabber about their music taste and style and favorite art pieces and opinions and i am a hole for strong personalities

planets in the 4th house, especially sun and jupiter: strong protective instincts, everywhere they go they look to build (and lead) their pack. the most imaginative and philosophical people ever (sucking my own cock here, forgive me). attribute meaning to things that are already so meaningful within themselves. always seeking to experience the highest emotional experience, sometimes to their detriment by getting involved in chaotic situations. can make anywhere feel like home. secret crybabies. also make the most emotional gifts ever??? they can’t just buy you a gift they have to write a 10 page long letter to come along with it. lovers of books cats and cuddles

pisces moons: i am not gonna repeat for the 1000th time how much i love this placement, they are THE moon sign, they make me feel so emotionally vulnerable and that’s uncomfortable but so so hot. their brains...... oh my god their brains. it’s a whole 3 universes up in that bitch; their imagination.... they have the minds of a mastermind. they’re always excited about a book or game or anime and when they tell me about it i want to cry about how precious it is. they get me excited about things that i had no knowledge about previous to them talking to me about it

scorpio moons: dark tortured artists. slightly off-putting..... beautiful nonetheless. very dependable. i will barely know them but if they tell me it’s gonna be okay then it’s GONNA be okay. eye contact with them feels like snorting a line of cocaine (seriously i have never met people so into eye contact.... i went on a date with a scorpio moon once and at one point i had no idea what we were talking about i could only focus on the way his eyes were like. trying to look into my soul. dude it was scary but exhilarating)

mars in scorpio: they just... get it. so emotional. make a big fuss out of everything. sex has to be an insane soul-bonding spiritual experience for them. it cant ever be just sex. they cry a lot. feel a lot. big dick energy is emotional depth for me

libra risings: i can fix them

gemini mars: i can’t fix them. i will make them worse. and i’m down for it

mars-venus: these people are so fun slightly insane but they Get me. the type to joke about setting my house on fire if i don’t answer them for 5 minutes. the type to joke about getting married to me even if we’re just platonic and suddenly we’re getting the rings and a priest’s blessing and laughing our way through it. bad ideas and terrible thought-out plans but it always makes for great stories

mars-pluto: especially square. they’re very over-protective and even in friendships im drawn towards ppl like that because i know i can be very overbearing as well and the way they go batshit crazy when someone mildly offends you.... disrespectfully, i am a hole. also, they... have terrible ideas. i like tagging along under the pretense of wanting to make sure they don’t get arrested, but secretly i love it

mars aspecting the ascendant/sun/moon: look, i don’t have a hero complex. if anything, i have a lucifer complex (i’m here to sin and be sexy)....... but i am a sucker for people with hero complexes. they see the world as a fight they have to win, i want to be there when they do

no virgo in their birth chart: feels like heaven to me. okay let me reiterate: i love having friendships with virgo placements; most times, at least, but i don’t think it could ever escalate into anything more. they’re too controlling and i feel paranoid and suffocated about people trying to overpower me way too easily. i just... immediately run away as soon as they pull their controlling antics on me

uranus dominants: AHHHH!!! AWOOGA! okay at this point this is a post about how i want to marry myself, but truly. no one is more unpredictable than these people. as soon as you think you’re understanding them they pull a 360 on you and you’re back on square zero. layers upon layers.... upon layers.... upon layers? what is this, shrek? sexy and insane the bestest combination ever

saturn in the 1st/8th/12th house: i will follow them to the depths of the underworld if they ask me to

cancer suns: yes i do want to sleep with the enemy. no i will not elaborate.

#answered #astrology

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popculturebuffet · 3 years

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Quick Thoughts: Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl Reveal Trailer and Initial Roster

Whelp I didn’t expect to be doing another one of these so soon but welcome to quick thoughts where I give well quick thoughts on stuff instead of the longer form reviews I usually do.

So as longtime or even short time readers of this blog might know I love NIck. I don’t review shows from it as often as Disney or Cartoon Network, but it was still a beloved part of my childhood and still makes great shows today such as the Loud House, Harvey Beaks and Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. It’s horribly mismanaged, which is why two of those shows are no longer with us and the last of them is weirdly missing from this game, and have a long and storied history of screwing things over.. and i’m not exagerating when Mr. Enter, no matter your opinon of him now, did a whole marathon of every nicktoon almost every entry included the fact the show had been screwed over in some way.

But as anyone who knows my history with Disney will tell you just because I don’t sugarcoat a brand I like’s fuckups dosen’t mean they aren’t near and dear to me at the same time. I”m a grown up: I can have complex emotions towards a chlidren’s tv network. So I love it’s varied shows some of whom (Avatar, Harvey beaks again, Danny Phantom, Hey Arnold) are among my all time faviorites.

Now something readers of my blog probably WOUDLN’T know is I love Nintendo, they have their own fuckups like weird release strageies and never doing a remotely decent discount like the competition, but their still a company I love and since I only play handhelds most of the time are my primary source of good shit. So naturally Smash Bros is my faviorite franchise of theres. I love the idea of fighting games but often struggle with the combo heavy nature. So Smash Bros, having a roster of some of my faviorite characters ever, a plaformer style control scheme, and a deceptivley simple style that’s easy to learn and fun to master with the right character, is my shit. Sure I won’t rush out to buy every dlc character, but you better belivie I played the hell out of Ultimate, will likely go back to it again some day, and did buy Banjo and Kazooie because fuck yeah.

So yeah I needed to talk about Nick making their own smash bros clone. When I heard the rumors I wasn’t sure, mostly because Rumors can be just that.. but nope this game is happening and i’m all on board for it. This isn’t Nick’s first crossover rodeo in recent memory either also making a pair of Kart Racing Games: one I KINDA wanted to play till I looked at the roster, had a good laugh and lost that i want, and the other I really want to play as it seems like the first game if it were you know an actual game with a decent track selection, a deep character roster and an actual love of it’s properties.

So making their own Smash Bros was a logical step and one i’m here for. We haven’t had any of the big cartoon networks make one since well.. Cartoon Network, and Nick has just a deep a bench to pull from, one that will hopefully get CN to get their cast to throw hands once more.

For now though the idea of the vast history of nick all throwing hands with each other is amazing. Look i’m honest with myself: this looks like a decent smash clone,functional but nothing specail, but with the expressive character animation and solid roster you need for a game like this. I know going in i’m not going ot get Smash Ultimate quality of brawler, but i’m probably going to have fun with it.

The only downside I see so far is , like the Kart Racers, theyd idn’t seem to get ANY voice actors for this which smacks of laziness, especially since most of the voice actors for these characters are still active, and in some cases like Spongebob or Loud House are still working with you. So you have no real excuse for this, shame on you.

But yeah the game looks good.. despite the trailer being pretty bad. It’s just some generic music set to “LOOK WHO WE GOT”. And granted look who they got is really spiffy and i’ll be diving into that in a second, but it dosen’t give any of these characters a reall chance to show off how they play or how awesome they are. It’s just a bland montage of whose in the roster in the same 2 or 3 stages. And when you have 15 stages overall to show off that’s not excusable. Again i’m not expecting Smash level quality revelas, this game dosen’t have the marketing budget, but you have a really great concept and roster here, you coudl’ve revealed it better and this game better. The Kart Racers 2 Trailer was also mildly bland but it did show off the game better, showing off several tracks and how VASTLY improved the roster was, so you CAN make a good trailer you just didn’t. It felt like they thought the poitn of all the smash reveals trailers was here’s a character and missed all the style and substance to them.

That being said while the trailer was weak.. it was boyed by the fact this roster is REALLY damn good. Let’s face it I woudln’t even be talking about this game if the roster wasn’t this minty but they clearly learned from Kart Racers not to half ass it and while they learned the long lessons from Smash in how to promote the fighters they have, they learned the right lessons in having a nice mix of crowd pleasing faviorites for kids and vetrans alike along with a few deep cuts for said longtime fans. And this is JUST the intitial reveal roster: Given the Box Art isn’t out yet, I feel there’s more to come, especially since despite being perfect for the game there’s no one from the Avatarverse yet, but I also feel that Nick is saving that for a second trailer to announce the release date. But I can and will go into who i’d LIKE on the roster in another one of these sometime soon. -

Spongebob, Patrick and Sandy (SpongeBob Squarepants): I’m getting these three out of the way as their essentially to this what Mario and Co were to smash: necessary and inevitible. As for who was chosen.. it was as obvious as putting spongebob himself int he game. Sponebob is Nick’s mascot, Patrick is nearly as iconic and Sandy is well loved as well as the spongebob character most associated with buttkicking. Being an expert martial artist is both part of her character and a cerntral part of her character and relationship with Spongebob. So yeah not a lot ot say here: it was ineivible but I don’t mind at all having grown up with them and with my niece and nibling being huge fans.

87 Leo and 87 Mikey (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles): This one i’m mixed on. Not on the turtles being here: i’m a MASSIVE TMNT fan and i’td be stupid to leave them out since Nick Owns them, made the last two series, and they fit this kind of game like a glove, even having had their OWN smash clone to themselves once.

No my issue is obviously in the version choseN: The 87 turtles. Again I have no beef with the guys themselves, I haven’t seen much of 87 but I want to and they look really gorgeous and nicely cartoony. It’s just a REALLY weird choice. The 87 turtles have never been on a nick network due to rights issues, have never been associated with nick, and aren’t the ones most kids of EITHER DEMO would be familiar with: Grown up fans of nicktoons from the 90′s like myself would be more familiar with 2003, and kids and teens from more recent eras would be more familiar with 2012 and rise, which REALLY should’ve been the rep. I mean their weird shame of rise bothers me enough on a good day but not using EITHER show you actually made bothers me, it bothers me a lot. I’ll still probably play Mikey, i’m not made of stone and as I said I have no beef with the 87 turtles, I just wish nick had used the others or hell just gone all lin and used one turtle from each cartoon. I mean if your going to use stuff you’ve barely aired why not give me some 2003 nostalgia too huh? Though it could just be that since, unlike the rise and 2012 turrtles the 87 turtles have the same body type and colors it was easier to just do all 4 and just give each unique facial expressions. Who knows... I knows it was probably that.

Lincoln and Lucy Loud (The Loud House, Duh): Another pretty obvious one as The Loud House is currrently nick’s co-flagship show with spongebob. Still waiting for my diffrent world spinoff with Bobby and Lori guys. So yeah Lincoln isn’t a suprise and Lucy is only minorly one as it was a matter of “which sister”... and Lucy is one of the most popular. Neither really fit a combat setting.. but given this is a fun crossover game, that really dosen’t matter and in fact is kind of the fun: taking just the most insane matcchups imaginable and mashing them together. I mean this is a game where Lincoln and Lucy can beat up Leo and Mikey, why wouldn’t I want that kind of crack on my nintendo switch? I am hoping for Luna to make her way to the stage next as she was absent from Kart Racer 2 and would be really fun to play. Plus having ANOTHER bi fighter in the mix if korra gets in there would be awesome, let alone letting the two beat up or punch each other’s face. But again I could and probably will mak ea whole article about other possible fighters i’d want.

The Plesant Suprises: Nigel Thornberry , Oblina and Powdered Toast Man (Wild Thronberries, Ahhh! Real MOnsters1 and Ren and Stimpy) : Yeah while only one of these cartoons was a faviorite as a kid (Wild Thornberries)... I have nothing but respect for these choices. One of the funnest things about Smash is while you can see some roster members coming sometimes you get utter curveballs like Mr. Game and Watch, Pirana Plant and MInecraft Guy. They also go for more cult franchises like SNK or Earthbound (the latter of which is fucking awesome localize mother 3 already dammit) too among the big heavies, making it feel like a true tapestry of Nintendo’s history.

Nigel is the only one of these three that’s really obvious. He’s a meme, he was the best part of his show.. but it’s still just uniquely batshit to put NIGEL THRONBERRY in a fighting game. You better belivie he’ll be one of my mains.

Oblina is more a suprise because I thought they’d go with Icket, but instead went wtih the character who was more popular and had a really unqiue and cool design, so i’m pleased as punch to have her. Finally while I don’t have any real attachment to ren and stimply apart from Log, and really it’s hard to gain any now knowing i’ts creator was a pedophile piece of shit, the franchise is still a cornerstone of nick history, the rest oc the crew didn’t abuse power or not make deadlines or be a com plete piece of shit, and powerded toast man is genuinely great. I”d love to see Really Big Man too, clash of the weird superheroes, I love me a weird as hell superhero. This also speaks promisingly that w’ell get some real weird curveballs to come and i’m here for it.

The Rest: Helga, Zim, Danny and Reptar. (Hey Arnold, Invader Zim, Danny Phantom and Rugrats! ): Note i’m not lumping these together because their bad: their all graet nostalgic picks from timeless shows and with the rugreboot currently running on Paramount+, it’d be weird not to represent them.

And since I brought it up reptar is a fun chocie, another oddball but one more understandable as no one wants to beat the shit out of a toddler. Or rather no one playing the game would care you could because it’s a silly fighting game and a 12 and 8 year old are also beat upable, but someone would probably throw a fit somewhere. Plus again it’s a game where you can have danny phantom fight reptar. Shut up and take my money.

The rest are all great choices if ones I’m not suprised by: Hey Arnold’s an all time classic and being tough is a lot of Helga’s character, and again I can have her throw hands with nigel thornberry, reptar and a ninja turtle in the same match. Zim is another fan faviorite and fits the game like a glove and Danny Phantom is the one out of Nick’s three suprehero classics it actually still cares about so my boy getting in there isn’t a shocker, though his attacks lookw eird. Hopefully they green them up before the final prduct.

So yeah overall it looks really promsing and really fun and i’ll probably check this game out if I get enough money when it comes out or more likely put it on my christmas list. But I will get it somehow this i swear.. speaking of which put manny in the roster dammit. If you liked this.. thing consider joining my patreon for a buck a month fo exclsuvie reviews and ot help me review tuca and bertie, amphibia and more as part of my memebership drive.

#nickelodeon #danny phantom #the wild thornberry's #spongebob squarepants #hey arnold #teenage mutant ninja turtles #ren and stimpy #the loud house #ahh! Real MOnsters #rugrats

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keter-class-anomaly · 8 months

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@swampthing07 and @nico-the-overlord dared me to draw, and then post genderbent oncler with big boobs, so now EVERYONE gets to suffer.

Me 😔^^^^

#I don’t wanna fuckin tag this #onceler #help me #leo's batshit art #dares #cw oncler #lmao

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magpiefngrl · 4 years

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some soft reads from yours truly

Rules: Reblog your current favourite of your own creations, whatever is making you happiest at the moment - whether it’s a link or an extract or a Tumblr ask, whatever the hell you want. And maybe tag some other fabulous creators while you’re at it, to see what’s cheering them up at the moment?

@tackytigerfic tagged me (thank you!!). I’m in a weird mood at the moment and can’t read or write, so I decided instead of linking my fave to make a list of a few of my works that are fluffier and sweeter.

If the news is stressing you out, dear reader, may I humbly offer a few of my fics to soothe the anxiety?

The Miseducation of Draco Malfoy (drarry, Explicit, ~38k). Summary: Zacharias Smith writes a tell-all about the D.A. Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy are not happy about it.

It features: Harry and Draco doing community service Misfits-style, humour (I hope), the 90s (So.Much.90s!), Draco discovering the Muggle world, and Narcissa talking in Capitals.

The Full Monty (drarry, E, 10k) Summary: Harry poses for a naked Auror calendar and Draco goes batshit crazy with lust.

It features: humour, office sex, and an unusual pet, which everyone adores.

The Dare (drarry, T, 2k) Summary: Zabini dares Harry to go on a date with Draco Malfoy.

It features: what it says on the tin: 8th year, dare dating. Short and sweet. Funny maybe? You tell me.

Loser's Lurgy (drarry, E, 3.6k) Summary: In which Harry and Draco inhale Snarfalump pollen and Luna makes a batty suggestion.

It features: 8th year, sex pollen and one of my favourite sentences that I’ve written ever.

Advice for Leos (drarry, T, ~2k). Summary: Draco writes the horoscopes for the school magazine.

It features: 8th year, horoscopes, a kiss.

a single fire bright (wangxian, T, ~5k). Summary: Lan Zhan visits Burial Mounds with gifts for A-Yuan.

It features: kidfic, domestic, gift giving, yearning, so much yearning, fluff, i don’t even know who I am anymore.

O Captain, my Captain (drarry, 2.3k, E). Summary: Harry Potter shows up to Quidditch practice looking obscene in Muggle clothing. Draco is most displeased.

It features: bewitched joggers, Quidditch, sexy times.

Father and son talk (solangelo, 470 words, Gen). Summary: "Nico didn’t know the god of Death could cry."

It features: boyfriend meeting the family, tiramisu, Hades.

Tagging: @sixappleseeds @coriesocks @diligent-thunder @lqtraintracks @julcheninred @etalice @l0vegl0wsinthedark @zigster-art @celila-reblogs @shiftylinguini

#drarry #drarry squad #writebrl #drarry fics #my stories

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turtles-imagines · 5 years

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Things from TMNT Bayverse That NO ONE Talks About and Should Talk About

- Raph CANNONICALLY lets April call him “Raphie” as a pet name. He also calls April’s wasabi peas “O’Niel’s Rabbit Food”.

- Master Splinter is a Lionel Richie fan. Also the song Mikey sings to April at the end of the first movie is called “Happy Together” by a band called The Turtles.

- Donnie cannonically has a crush on April. April cannonically doesn’t notice Donnie’s said crush on her.

- It’s been 5 years and Mikey still probably doesn’t understand the end of Lost.

- Raph is a Vin Disel fan (aren’t we all) and is afraid of heights. Poor boy belongs on the ground.

- Mikey has a LITERAL hoverboard. Like LITERALLY. WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN I NEED TO KNOW.

- Tiny Leo used to cut pizza with his katanas.

- Raph is pretty good at sculpting. He’s also really good at knitting. He’s an arts and crafts nerd no one can convince me otherwise.

- In a deleted scene, Casey asked April to kiss him. Sure it was to somehow “distract” Vincent so that she wouldn’t notice him??? How does that work?

- Michael Bay literally almost made the turtles aliens and the fandom almost threw hands with his bitch ass. (I hate him, but I love him too)

- Bebop and Rocksteady’s first reaction upon becoming mutants was to check their manhood’s size. Literally.

- Correct me if I’m wrong, but we still don’t know if Sax is dead or not.

- There is a banned pickle commercial in Germany (I think maybe) about Raph’s dick that no one really talks about for some reason.

- How did Raph and Leo get their scars on their face? (Raph has a scar on his eye and Leo has a scar on his cheek)

- Vern LITERALLY sold BAGS OF HIS AIR LIKE WTF VERN YOU LITTLE BITCH.

- Donnie still snorts when he laughs, we forgot about this and the fact we forgot makes me really sad.

- Casey literally beat up the Allstate insurance disaster guy in a bar.

- There a Bumblebee reference in the second movie.

- Donnie wears a retainer and drinks Asian soda.

- April had a roommate, who probably moved out because everyone thought she was batshit crazy.

- Megan Fox (who I’m TOTALLY GAY FOR) was nominated for “Worst Supporting Actress” for her role in both movies (I HATE THAT I STAN ONE QUEEN AND ITS MEGAN FOX MEGAN MARRY ME PLEASE).

- Raph has only seen Batman once.

- The only two turtles we’ve seen without a mask are Mikey and Leo. (We saw Leo in a flashback and Mikey on the rooftop).

- There’s a hip hop Christmas album that I NEED TO HEAR.

- The turtles call Splinter “Dad”.

- Karai has GREAT cheek bones.

- Lil’ Mikey has seen a murder take place through the sewers.

- Most of the NYPD now knows about the turtles.

- There’s several references to the movie in the 2012 series. Mikey mentions that he met Megan Fox on a rooftop. Mikey also tries to recreate the elevator scene, only to be punched by Raph.

- In a deleted scene April meets the chick who played April in the 90’s movies.

- And most importantly, some people say a third movie IS IN DEVELOPMENT!!!

#leonardo #raphel #donnatello #michelangelo #casey jones #april o’niel #vernon fenwick #master splinter #karai #bebop #rocksteady #tmnt #teenage mutant ninja turltes #tmnt 2014 #tmnt 2016 #tmnt bayverse #fun facts

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lilysniche · 4 years

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I just saw someone's fusion art of Rottmnt Donnie and Raph, and a Mikey and Raph fusion and so naturally I thought of my favourite brother pair the disaster twins. So picture a Donnie Leo fusion but it's amplified they're more annoying traits. So like mad scientist Donnie with Cocky winner Leo who also makes one liners and is a massive drama queen. Just picture it. They have a more blue violet colored mask, a tech sword, maybe with two mouths one that purely cracks jokes and the other just spurting batshit crazy ideas, their skin is like an odd tealish green and they just cause havoc and Raph is just constantly trying to prevent them from blowing up New York because they possess enough crack head energy to do so. Basically just picture Raph trying to make Donnie and Leo argue so they unfuse because their fusion's energy is just... Excessive and jfc Raph can barely handle them individually let alone them teamed up with ultra disaster twins energy. Also I feel their shell would be of average strength since Leo's shell is a normal shell strength and obviously Donnie's is soft, but they still wear a battle shell cause Donnie is paranoid their shell isn't actually that strong. Just think of all that disaster twin energy now condensed into one being. It. Is. Madness. Also they'd definitely used the portal power to steal Uranium. Like it's not a possibility it's a given. Now the name is up for debate but I'm leaning towards Deo but Leonatello could be fun and shorten it to Leona. But please consider these possibilities.

#rottmnt fandom #rottmnt donnie #rottmnt donatello #rottmnt #rottmnt leo #disaster twins #rottmnt disaster twins #fusion #rottmnt fusion #tmnt donatello #tmnt leonardo #save rottmnt #ramblings #rambles

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coldvampire · 3 years

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get to know me tag

ok ok im like. 99% sure i got tagged in this by @bitchesofostwick @missiodine and @vampemoqueen

if my memory is wrong then fdgh consider this a tag to do it? lmao

name/nickname: chloe. don’t try to shorten this, any variation is annoying & i Will deck u.

gender: okay so its like. lady but nonbinary but Femme without being a Real Girl who’s made peace w the fact that it means the majority of the cishet world will think i’m one of them because i’m absolutely not masc in the slightest unless you count how abrasive i get with strangers who try to touch me in public or catcall me. it’s whatever that is fgfhgj

star sign: leo sun/cap moon/leo rising

height: 5″ish

time: 6:30 pm

birthday: august 16

favorite bands: bauhaus, type o negative, then comes silence, alien sex fiend, nikki’s wives, cobra starship, 3OH!3

favorite solo artist: ashnikko, kesha, lady gaga, doja cat, zheani, qveen herby, lorde

song stuck in my head: none rn actually! nice break!

last movie: i dont remember fdgfhg

last show: also do not remember dsfdgfhgj

when did you create this blog: summer 2020 bc i Remade c:

what do I post: my fics/art & a lot of reblogs of whatever im interested in atm

last thing googled: etsy taxidermy

do I get asks: sometimes! they’re usually for asks/prompts (that i fill out at a fucking snail’s pace) or something completely batshit about 3x a year

why I chose my url: art blog is luxecoffin, kinda got a theme going on here lmao. apparently it’s a dolly parton song too? which is cool i like dolly but gfhjh was unintentional on my end

following: 305

followers: 119, which is not bad for a few months of blogging

average hours of sleep: l o l

lucky number: 5

instruments: bitch i cant read notes lmao

what am I wearing: pajamas

dream job: UH something that doesnt burn me out creatively fdgfhgj just wanna pay my bills without worrying yk?

dream trip: wanna go to greece/italy to connect w my background fghgjh was raised w 0 sense of Any cultural identity & compounded by how im estranged from 80% of my family, it makes a weird sort of loneliness in a person.

last book I read: FANTASTIC QUESTION i dont remember

favorite food: whatever my body will allow me to eat in peace ghjk

nationality: canadian

favorite song: ma’am please dont make me choose

top three fictional universes: star trek, vtm, mass effect (yes i am just listing off hyperfixtions why do u ask)

i am Not tagging 30 people i dont even know. 30 people dfghj @ineed-to-sleep @verpine95 @mybookswerealltome @monstermarcie @mournholdmushroom @meishuu @galpalaven okay go hogwild

#why wont this TAG PEOPLE PROPERLY AAAAA

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dustedmagazine · 4 years

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Dust, Volume 6, Number 10

The Slugs

September seemed to be the month when all the records on endless delay finally got kicked out the door, COVID or no, ready or not here we come. We’re deluged with music, some recorded before the world changed, some clearly cooked up mid-pandemic. There are a lot of covers EPs, lots of solo material, lots of home-made lo-fi, lots of benefit comps, and who are we to complain? Better, instead, to reach for the headphones, load up the hard drive, pile on the LPs and do some listening. Here’s some of the stuff that caught our attention, as usual ranging all over the continuum, from traditional to edgy and experimental, from silly pop punk to enraged death metal to bookish electro-acoustic improvisation. Contributors this time out included Jonathan Shaw, Patrick Masterson, Jennifer Kelly, Bill Meyer, Derek Taylor, Ray Garraty, Tim Clarke and Andrew Forell. Happy fall.

Amputation — Slaughtered in the Arms of God (Nuclear War Now!)

Slaughtered in the Arms of God by Amputation

Given the degree of smugness that accompanies utterances of the phrase “Old School Death Metal,” it’s frequently instructive to listen to some. Right on time, the misanthropic bunch at Nuclear War Now! has delivered some seriously Old School sounds to our digital doorstep. This new compilation LP gathers both of the demos of Norwegian knuckle-draggers Amputation, along with a contemporaneous rehearsal recording. Likely the resulting record will be of principal interest to fans of Immortal, the long-running, on-again-off-again Norwegian black metal band that Amputation would morph into in 1991. The songs collected on Slaughtered in the Arms of God have some additional musicological significance, as they document the sounds of 1989 and 1990, transformational years in Norway’s metal scene. Mayhem and Darkthrone tend to get most of the attention, for reasons both good and bad; and like Darkthrone, Amputation made death metal before transitioning to blacker, more brittle sounds. The music on Slaughtered in the Arms of God is muddy, thudding and thick. Perhaps that’s the result of the primitive recording tech the band used, likely of necessity. But through the murk (and to some degree because of it), you can hear the influence of Stockholm’s fecund death metal scene, especially Dismember’s earliest stuff. Scandinavia’s metal currents run deep and dark. Whether that means that Old School Death Metal is intrinsically a good thing is a different matter.

Jonathan Shaw

Anz — Loose in Twos (NRG) 12” (Hessle Audio)

Loos In Twos (NRG) by Anz

I love the idea of listening to DJ mixes of original or all-new material; it’s probably why I still value, say, Ricardo Villalobos’ Fabric 36 so much. Manchester’s Anna Marie-Odubote, aka Anz, has been doing just such a thing annually since 2015 and really went wild with spring/summer dubs 2020, which compiled 74 tracks into nearly an hour and a half of new music. That would’ve been more than enough amid all of this (imagine me gesturing around vaguely), but “Loos in Twos (NRG)” on the venerable Hessle Audio imprint is an equally formidable, decidedly tighter release I played a lot at the start of September. Three club-ready tracks here break down acid, jungle and footwork, and while all three are heady breaks, the looped vocals and bongo of “Stepper” make it the one for me. Get those feet moving digitally now so they’re comfortable once the vinyl arrives in early October.

Patrick Masterson

Ashes and Afterglow — Everybody Wants a Revolution (Postlude Paradox)

Ashes and Afterglow drops pop punk melodies into deep buckets of fuzz, lets them bubble and bob to the surface before shoving them under again. The band is mainly the output of one Luke Daniel, who appears to have been in other band called Sea of Orchids, but neither outfit has left much of an internet trail. And sure, this is the kind of thing that could easily get shuffled under; it breaks no moulds. And yet shuffling “To Take a Look at the World,” has a heart-worn resonance, Daniel’s voice echoing in reverbed hollow-ness against surging tides of guitar noise. “My Yesterday Girl” churns a little harder, with a bright, pop-leaning sort of hopefulness hedged in by seething feedback. It’s not bad, but it never hits a melodic vein the way that similarly inclined artists like Ted Leo or Ovlov or Tony Molina do, and it never pushes the noise over the top, either. Neither pop nor punk but somewhere in middle.

Jennifer Kelly

Ballister — Znachki Stilyag (Aerophonic)

Znachki Stilyag by Ballister

A cake is still a cake, whether you put chocolate frosting and strawberries or white icing and a fondant roses on top. And while they don’t all taste or look exactly the same, a Ballister album is still a Ballister album, and the first Ballister album in three years does not mess with the recipe. Dave Rempis (alto and tenor saxophones), Fred Lonberg-Holm (cello and electronics), and Paal Nilssen-Love (drums and percussion) still trade in a particularly hard-hitting form of total improvisation. The changes are ones of emphasis — Lonberg-Holm sounds like he’s using a wah-wah pedal and deploys some especially slashing feedback tones, there’s a bit more space in Nilssen-Love’s intricate beat configurations, and Rempis left his baritone sax at home — and of location. Znachki Stilyag was recorded during the fall of 2019 in Moscow, Russia, which may explain why the big horn stayed at home. But the ones you hear still cut and thrust with broadsword force and rapier precision. This is a cake you can trust.

Bill Meyer

Vincent Chancey — The Spell: The Vincent Chancey Trio Live, 1987 (No Business)

Vincent Chancey likely isn’t alone amongst his peers in feeling exasperated by folks singling out his instrument as uncommon or unusual to jazz. It’s a form of damning through faint praise and one that feel

s even more lackadaisical with any time spent with his music. Chancey plays the French horn and he’s plied it in settings as diverse as Sun Ra Arkestra, Lester Bowie’s Brass Fantasy and Charlie Haden’s Liberation Music Orchestra as well as gigs supporting Aretha Franklin and Elvis Costello. It’s unclear whether the trio documented on The Spell was a working concern, but that hardly matters given how well bassist Wilbur Morris and percussionist Warren Smith gel with their convener. Spread across two sides of an LP, the concert recorded at a New York City art gallery covers four pieces, two by Morris bookending one apiece from Smith and the leader that stitch together very much like cohesive suite. An unadvertised surprise comes with Smith’s ample application of marimba alongside a regular drum kit. Recording quality isn’t optimal, but Chancey’s rich, rounded, phrases gain extra gravitas through the sometimes-grainy acoustics. Woefully underrepresented in the driver’s seat discographically, his acumen as both improviser and composer is easily vindicated by this limited edition (300 copies) release.

Derek Taylor

Che Chen — Tokyo 17.II.2012 (self-released)

Tokyo 17.II.2012 by Che Chen

Nowadays Che Chen has earned a measure renown as the guitar-playing half of 75 Dollar Bill, and all the praise is earned. But before that, he played a roomful of instruments in the True Primes, Heresy of the Free Spirit and duos with Robbie Lee, Tetuzi Akiyama and Chie Mukai. The through-lines to all these efforts is a willingness not to play things the way their supposed to be played, and a gift for supplying the right resonance in any setting. Since 75 Dollar Bill is a New York-based band made for social occasions, the COVID-19 lay-off has been especially hard — so there’s no better time to see what’s in those hard drives in the closet, right? Chen has released this solo concert from 2012 via Bandcamp. In Tokyo for a brief layover, he played amplified violin at a party held in the basement of someone’s apartment building. The amplified part is important; dips and swells of feedback count as much as in this 25-minute performance as the fiddle’s bright, plucked notes and rough, bowed tones. Chen moves purposefully from one mode to next, taking time along the way to savor the room’s lively acoustics.

Bill Meyer

Jeff Cosgrove/ John Medeski/ Jeff Lederer — History Gets Ahead of the Story (Grizzley Music)

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Odds are that even the estimable William Parker would be surprised by the prospect of a William Parker cover album. But that’s essentially what History Gets Ahead of the Story is as organized and realized by drummer Jeff Cosgrove. That the project is the province of an organ trio only adds to the potential consternation quotient. John Medeski officiates the Hammond B-3 console and saxophonist Jeff Lederer, doubling on flute, completes the combo convened by Cosgrove. The latter’s connections to Parker stem from a trio he was part of with the bassist/composer and pianist Matthew Shipp that disbanded in 2015 after fruitful collaboration. Parker’s personage and music left an indelible mark and the seeds for the present album were sown. Collective creative license doesn’t get in the way of soulful, energizing renderings of such staples as “O’Neal’s Porch,” “Corn Meal Dance” and “Wood Flute Songs,” but troika also cedes time for a triptych of strong originals that align aurally with their dedicatee’s inclusive tone world sensibilities.

Derek Taylor

Derelenismo Occulere — Inexorable Revelación (Le Legione Projets)

Inexorable Revelacion (FULL LENGHT 2020) by Derelenismo Occulere

This sounds like a rehearsal gone wrong. In the time of the COVID pandemic, Neo Apolion, a guy responsible for the music in this Ecuadorean duo, recorded a demo and sent it to the band’s vocalist Malduchryst with a message to do with it whatever he wants. Malduchryst took his band partner’s words all too literally. With complete disregard to the music he began vomiting a noisy, messy mass of screams to a microphone (has he never heard of a black metal with no vocals?). If it sounds totally batshit, you can rest assured that it is. This is what makes Inexorable Revelación actually great black metal. When a lot of metal bands these days are just Backstreet Boys with leather jackets on and with guitars, Derelenismo Occulere care about only fury and mayhem. Their Argentinean mix man Ignacio only adds more chaos to the album. The only flaw this tape has is that it is 15 minutes too long.

Ray Garraty

Whit Dickey — Morph (ESP-Disk)

Morph by Whit Dickey

Drummer Whit Dickey and pianist Matthew Shipp have been recurrent partners since the early 1990s, when they were both members of the David S. Ware Quartet. It’s fair to say that each man is a known quantity to the other, and that one of the things they know about each other is that they might still be surprised by the other’s playing. Dickey’s retreated from time to time in order to revise his approach, and while Shipp has often threatened to quit recording over the years, he has never stopped working or evolving. This double disc combines one duo CD and another that adds trumpeter Nate Wooley to the pair. Wooley’s done a number of dates with Shipp in recent times, but he and Dickey were musical strangers before they entered Park West Studios in March 2019. Without Wooley, Shipp and Dickey seem very free and trusting of each other, transitioning with dreamlike ease from abstracted gospel to sideways swing to restless co-rumination this the ease. The trio seems more considered. The trumpeter dips quite sparingly into his extended technique bag, favoring instead linear statements that instigate fleet perambulations from the pianist and more supportive, less overtly dialogic contributions from the drummer. Both sessions work, and their differences complement each other quite handily.

Bill Meyer

Dropdead — S/T (Armageddon)

Dropdead 2020 by Dropdead

Yep, it’s that Dropdead, the Providence-based powerviolence band that hasn’t released a proper LP since 1998 and was on a long hiatus through much of the 21st century. Since 2011, Dropdead has put out a string of splits, with heavyweights like Converge and Brainoil. But a whole record? Maybe the unrelentingly shitty condition of our political and economic conjuncture motivated the four guys in the band (three of whom have been affiliated with Dropdead since 1991) to write the 23 burners, rants and breakdown-heavy hardcore tunes you’ll hear across Dropdead’s 25 minutes. It’s a welcome addition. Bob Otis’s voice doesn’t have the shredding quality of days of yore — but that ends up being useful. You can hear the lyrics, and they’re drenched in venom and righteousness. The rest of the band hasn’t lost a step. Pretty impressive for a bunch of guys with that much grey in their beards. That said, they don’t pull any intergenerational, “we’re-older-and-wiser” moves. This is still music that wants to collapse boundaries, between stage and mosh pit, between races and genders, between species, even. Not so much class positions: “Warfare State,” “United States of Corruption,” “Will You Fight?” Late capitalism’s depredations still bear the principal brunt of the band’s anger. Things have gotten worse, and Dropdead respond in kind. They may be a lot older, but they’re even more pissed off.

Jonathan Shaw

Fake Laugh — Waltz (State 51 Conspiracy)

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Earlier this year, Kamran Khan released his second Fake Laugh album, the charming, playful Dining Alone, which made its way into Dusted’s mid-year round-up of favorites released in the first half of 2020. Khan’s third album, Waltz, is a very different beast, featuring just piano, vocals and the odd keyboard texture, casting his songwriting in sharp relief. Undoubtedly created in this stripped-down way out of lockdown necessity, it’s hard to listen to these wistful, melancholic songs without imagining where Khan’s knack for colorful arrangements might take them, given the chance. (As a tease, closing song “Amhurst” offers up a shimmering electronic melody and some sighing synth chords.) There’s no doubting Khan’s way with a tune, and his naked vocal, though occasionally showing strain, suits the mood. It’s understated and undeniably lovely, yet Waltz feels like a minor release for this talented artist.

Tim Clarke

David Grubbs / Taku Unami — Comet Meta (Blue Chopsticks)

Comet Meta by David Grubbs & Taku Unami

In the 23 years since Gastr Del Sol fell apart, David Grubbs has done many things that don’t sound much like his old band with Jim O’Rourke. And Taku Unami has worked in such varied settings and ways that the most persistent quality of his engagement with sound is its ability to induce question marks and ellipses in any train of thought intending to decode it. So, it’s both remarkable and delightful that this record, the duo’s second collaboration, sounds rather like parts of Gastr Del Sol’s Upgrade & Afterlife. The foundation rests upon the way two guys who can and do play intricate guitar duets make subtle use of other elements — creeping acoustic piano, humming synthesizer, urban field recordings — to make music that thickens atmosphere and accumulates mystery with such subtlety that you don’t notice it until you’re in it.

Bill Meyer

Guided by Voices — Mirrored Aztec (Guided by Voices Inc.)

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I know, I know, it’s another Guided by Voices record, the fifth since 2019, but hear me out. Pollard is still tapped into the fuzzy, rackety, melodic sap of the rock and roll universe, and he has only to knock his hammer a few times against the gnarled tree of life to extract more of what sustains us. Shorter version: he can do this all day, every day, without any noticeable let-up in quality. So, let us celebrate another batch of Who-like power chords, of rumbling drums and monumental bass thuds, of melodies that curve out delicately like spring’s first vines, then thicken into thundering climaxes and triumphant refrains. Let us give thanks again for inscrutable lyrics that drift off into poetry then pull back in the most ordinary artifacts of the spoken word. “I Think I Had It. I Think I Have It,” crows Pollard in a voice that has been blasted by time but come out more or less intact, and yes, Bob, you still do.

Jennifer Kelly

Edu Haubensak & Tomas Korber — Works for Guitar & Percussion (Ezz-thetics)

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The celebrated Wandelweiser aesthetic serves as a loose overarching impetus for the four interpretations of compositions by Edu Haubensak and Tomas Korber that comprise Works for Guitar & Percussion. Classical guitarist Christian Buck and improvising percussionist Christian Wolfarth ply their instruments through pairing and isolation. Essayist Andy Hamilton describes context by delineating a distinction between music (based in the language of tones) and soundart (which is non-tonal) and placing the duo’s interpretations in the opaque border between these realms. Repetition and timbral disparity frame Haubensak’s “On” while Korber’s “Aufhebung” applies scrutiny to microtonal diversity and temporal impermanence. Wolfarth fields Korber’s “Weniger Weiss” from behind snare drum, trading recurring stick rolls with varying segments of silence that compel ears accustomed to Western musical structures to consciously fill in the blanks. Haubensak’s solo “Refugium” finds Buck bending two closely tuned strings in an extrapolation of an Arabic maqam that feels tenuously connected to the form, at best.

Derek Taylor

Inseclude — Inseclude (Inseclude)

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Brad MacAllister of CTRL and Blue Images and Benjamin Londa of Exit have been working in the darkwave and chillwave scenes for several years and their first album as Inseclude is a long distance collaboration that mines the darker side of 1980s alternative and electronic rock. From Pennsylvania, MacAllister sent musical ideas to Londa in Texas who added guitars, lyrics and vocals to produce a set of songs that are well made and enjoyable if largely unmemorable. There are a number of contemporary bands doing similar things — Hamilton’s Capitol and Manchester’s Ist spring immediately to mind — taking the Cure, New Order, Sisters of Mercy template and why not? Unfortunately, the passage of time and the law of diminishing returns have led to overfamiliarity with this style of music that makes for easy and perhaps unfair comparisons. When they stretch themselves, Inseclude’s songs do hit. “Sondera” and “Failing To The Pulse” carry some real menace with the juxtaposition of wide-angle synths and paranoid vocals but elsewhere the pair seem held back by a restraint and lack of bottom end that diminish the impact of some pretty decent songs.

Andrew Forell

Kvalia — Scholastic Dreams Of Forceful Machines (Old Boring Russia)

Схоластические Грёзы Силовых Машин by Квалиа

Krasnoyarsk sits on the banks of the Yenisei river in southern Siberia and is known both for the natural beauty of its surrounding landscape and for its primacy as an aluminum producer. Local musicians Aleksander Maznichenko and Aleksey Danilenko reflect the latter on their new five track EP Scholastic Dreams Of Forceful Machines, an icy, metallic collection of post-industrial clang pitched somewhere between Einstürzende Neubauten and early Clock DVA. Their machines are forceful but cranky, rusted, near obsolete. Maznichenko keeps the thrum of turbines is steady but the drum machines lurch and thump, the keyboards whine and scream, the Russian vocals protest their obstreperous charges. Danilenko’s bass is post-punk elastic skipping amongst the raining sparks hinting at a will to dance with his mutant riffs. They sound like they mean it and the result is a terrific EP full of fire, fumes, steam and sweat.

Andrew Forell

Mezzanine Swimmers — Kneelin’ on a Knife (Already Dead)

Kneelin' on a Knife by Mezzanine Swimmers

These songs circle around noise-crusted, repetitive beats, the drumming stiff and mechanical, the riffs chopped to short bursts, the vocals woozy and distended. “Sexy Apology” reiterates a three-note keyboard lick ad infinitum, as main Swimmer Mike Smith drawls the title phrase, similarly on repeat. Yet within this unchanging structure, chaos erupts in detuned keyboards, miasmic feedback and corrosive noise. It’s hard to say whether these songs are too tightly organized or too loose, a bit of both really, and yet, get past the headachy thud and there’s an unhinged psychotropic transport. No one ever said that kneeling on knives would be comfortable.

Jennifer Kelly

Mosca — The Optics (Rent)

Mosca · The Optics [RENT001]

Part of the initial wave of neon-infused dubstep hedonism surrounding the Night Slugs camp at the turn of the last decade, Mosca’s Tom Reid has since survived on the strength of a regular slot behind the decks at NTS and sparingly deployed releases on such renowned labels as Numbers, Rinse, Hypercolour and Livity Sound. “The Optics” debuts his new Rent imprint, conceived as a way to get out music that doesn’t fit in elsewhere. (Originally, this was to be an a-side for a coming AD93 release, but as he says, “There's only so long you can keep a track with a baby crying in it back from the masses.”) Supposedly inspired by the Under the Skin beach scene, the five-minute track immediately throws you off with a dub-heavy shuffle and metallic, alien sounds that zoom around the mix. The main thrust of the melody arrives around a minute in, and gradually the sounds close in on you. There’s bells, birds, a baby crying and then, just when you’re feeling completely stressed out, it all falls away; a driving jungle rhythm carries you the rest of the way. Deeply satisfying dance from a head who hasn’t lost his way.

Patrick Masterson

Prana Crafter/ragenap — No Ear to Hear (Centripetal Force Studio/Cardinal Fuzz)

No Ear to Hear by Prana Crafter / ragenap

When Robert Hunter, the poet who wrote lyrics for the Grateful Dead’s “Dark Star,” “Ripple,” “Truckin’,” “Terrapin Station” and many other songs, died in late 2019, long form psych musicians Prana Crafter (William Sol) and ragenap (Joel Berk) mourned separately but simultaneously. The night he died, both took solace in improvised music, which didn’t so much evoke or represent Hunter, but captured some of their feelings about his work and their loss. When they talked, soon after, they found that both had made lengthy open-ended meditations on the same person. Those two extended pieces make up No Ear to Hear. Prana Crafter’s entry, “Beggar’s Tomb,” is weighted and slow moving, building gradually from simmering drones into towering edifices of feedback and dissonance. Although performed largely on guitar, the sound is filtered through gleaming effects and layers into astral strangeness, a mystic’s trip through mental interiors. ragenap’s “Nightfall” also takes shape slowly out of looming sustained notes and black velvet quiet and sounds that scratch and vibrate at the edges. A solitary acoustic guitar takes up space at the forefront finally, carving a hesitant melody across the hum. The tune turns fuller and more agitated as it progresses, adding layers of feedback and distortion. Neither of these pieces sounds much like the Grateful Dead, and of course, neither has any sort of lyrics. I doubt that anyone, hearing this album for the first time would say, “Oh yeah, Robert Hunter.” And yet inspiration works in strange and, in this case, fruitful ways. You can enjoy this even if you don’t like the Dead.

Jennifer Kelly

Raven Throne — Viartannie (Chroniki Źmiainaj Ciemry) (self-released)

Viartannie (Chroniki Źmiainaj Ciemry) /The Return (The Chronicles of the Serpent Darkness) by RAVEN THRONE

These Belorussian black metal veterans are true materialists. On their seventh album, they show that nature is a social construct, not something given. And boy, their nature is not a loving mother. Unlike many metal bands convey nature via field recordings, Raven Throne craft their ferocious sounds with guitars and drums. Aren’t these as natural instruments as stone and wooden sticks? The atmospheric black metal subgenre has been contaminated by pop and folksy metal so that it’s hard to maintain a truly evil sound, while still bringing the atmospheric elements into it. Raven Throne pull it off. This is how darkness should sound.

Ray Garraty

The Slugs — Don’t Touch Me I’m Too Slimy (2214099 Records DK)

Don't Touch Me, I'm Too Slimy by The Slugs

The Slugs are an exuberantly lo-fi punk pop duo out of London who bash and thump and shout short, acidic ditties about being female, in a band, under assault and under the weather. Liberty Hodes, who is also one half of the comedy duo A Comedy Night that Passes the Bechdel Test, plays a jangling, forceful electric guitar, while her Phoebe Dighton-Brown bangs away in brutal simplicity on the drums. Both sing, sometimes in unison, sometimes in rough harmonies, occasionally in slashing counterparts. (One chants “Feel sick/can’t be sick” while the other rolls out mellifluous “ah-ah-ah-ahs” in “Feel Sick.”) There is a charming, unstudied quality to their music, which is a bit too smart and biting to be primitive, but nonetheless eschews frills. It’s hard to pick favorites—the whole EP is over in five tracks and 11 minutes—but “Pest” is giddy fun, with its slouching, battering guitar-drum motif and slacker choruses. The shout along chorus of “Don’t touch me! I’m too slimy!” is the best thing on the record, hitting a rebellious, unwashed spot of resonance in the work-from-home era. Second best, the gleeful tirade about sleazy male promoters in “Girly Gang” (“Give you all the gigs if you touch my wang”), which builds in round-singing euphorias until it ends suddenly and a la Jane Austen in matrimony (“Married in a dress by Vera Wang”). People are comparing the Slugs to the Shaggs, but that’s just short-hand for banging away anyway without all the training. The Slugs are smarter, slyer and more autonomous, and if they sound a little rough, that’s exactly how they meant to sound.

Jennifer Kelly

Tobin Sprout — Empty Horses (Fire)

Empty Horses by Tobin Sprout

Blessed with one of the finest names in music (alongside dEUS’s Klaas Janzoons), Tobin Sprout is best known for being part of the Guided by Voices line-up that created classic albums such as Bee Thousand and Alien Lanes in the 1990s. Though Sprout’s subsequent solo output has been a steady stream compared to Robert Pollard’s deluge, Empty Horses is his eighth solo album. In it, the now-65-year-old ruminates faith, mortality and American history atop a spare, country-tinged backing. There’s a deep ache to many of these songs, the kind of emotional weight that manifests in pointedly low tempos, sparse drum parts that hang behind the beat and vocal performances that are almost uncomfortably intimate. Running to a succinct half-hour, with many of the songs clocking in at just a couple of minutes each, Empty Horses confronts demons seemingly too pernicious to overcome. Yet, when the music becomes more expansive — such as the graceful pedal steel of “Breaking Down,” the woozy modulation of “Antietam,” or the biting fuzztone of “All In My Sleep” — Sprout sounds like he may be on the verge of making a much-needed breakthrough.

Tim Clarke

Son Lux — Tomorrows I (City Slang)

Tomorrows I by Son Lux

Son Lux’s songs embed unsettling sounds in deep wells of silence, finding disturbing textures in string sounds, electronics, percussion and the fluttering soul falsetto of founder Ryan Lott. Tomorrows I, reportedly the first of three related albums, has a quietly dystopian vibe and a moist, echoing unease that might remind of you Burial’s classic Untrue. A brief, looped, keening violin motif punctures the opening cut, “Plans We Made” with all the threat of Bernhard Hermann’s shower music for the film Psycho, while Lott trills haunted phrases about being afraid to let go. “Undertow,” near the end, brings in a whole string quartet to swoon dissonantly, as a knocking beat (drummer Ian Chang) sounds like a body being dragged across the floor. “Just waiting for the undertow,” sings Lott in the dread empty spaces between, in arias of muted desolation. Minimalist and menacing and mesmerizing.

Jennifer Kelly

Ulaan Janthina — Ulaan Janthina (Part 1) (Worstward)

Ulaan Janthina (Part I) by Ulaan Janthina

Steven R. Smith contains multitudes, and Ulaan Janthina is the latest manifestation of his mutating musical self. This release exemplifies three aspects of Smith’s practice. First, he likes to make beautiful things. Hard copies of this tape come in a custom-oriented box that contains tinted photos, shells and printed communications as well as the cassette. And he’s project-oriented. While other iterations have been devoted to an Eastern European vibe, or guitar noise or a virtual ensemble sound, Ulaan Janthina results from a decision to work primarily with the keyboards in his house. It’s a winning strategy, since his synthesizers, organ and harmonium all benefit from the grittiness of Smith’s recording methodology, and his spare playing style makes his melodies stand out quite starkly from the background atmosphere. Like the name says, this is part one of the Janthina (named for a genus of sea snail that makes its own floating platform — not a bad metaphor for the survival-oriented independent musician) venture; a second, similarly packaged cassette is pending from Smith’s Worstward imprint soon, and a future release is already planned by Soft Abuse records.

Bill Meyer

Various Artists — Spr Blk: Liberation Jazz and Soul From the '70s and Beyond (Paxico)

Liberation Jazz and Soul by Marcus J. Moore

Author Marcus J. Moore (late of The Nation but also found everywhere from Pitchfork to WaPo) has a book on the way in October, The Butterfly Effect: How Kendrick Lamar Ignited the Soul of Black America. In advance of its release via cassette devotees Paxico, Moore cobbled together “rare and somewhat familiar” Black music from his own crates. “These are the kinds of songs I play when walking through New York City or driving through Maryland,” he says in the release. What that means for you is a two-sided mix that burns slower on the A and gets more percussion-heavy on the B. Leading off with Doug Carn’s fittingly titled “Swell Like a Ghost” and featuring jams from Willie Dale, Milton Wright, Ronald Snijders and other lesser jazz, soul and funk lights, it’s a revealing mix that will no doubt pair well with that fall reading you’re about to get going on.

Patrick Masterson

Vatican Shadow — Persian Pillars of the Gasoline Era (20 Buck Spin)

Persian Pillars Of The Gasoline Era by Vatican Shadow

Dominick Fernow is hugely prolific, and most folks with ears tuned to the densely churning worlds of noise and industrial music will be familiar with his abrasive, unsettling output under the Prurient moniker. Fernow’s releases as Vatican Shadow are fewer in number, and more attuned to ambient, even melodic movements and textures. That’s sort of odd, given that the Vatican Shadow records thematize and explore Fernow’s obsession with the history of the Middle East, especially post-9/11 collisions of Western military force, Islamic traditions of resistance and the tactics of terror used by both sides. Relaxing stuff, that ain’t. Consistent with the larger project’s tendencies, Persian Pillars of the Gasoline Era claims an interest in the CIA-coordinated Iranian coup (MI6 helped out, too, those imperial scamps) that deposed Mohammed Mossadeq, installed the Shah Reza Pahlavi and inaugurated some of the principal tensions that have shaped the last half-century of world history. It’s unclear how Fernow’s pulsing, shimmering, sometimes juddering synth sounds are meant to represent or otherwise engage that history. For sure, record art and song titles summon all the right semiotics, sometimes with an interesting edge. But “Taxi Journey through the Teeming Slums of Tehran” sounds more like a malfunctioning MP3 player than a taxi or a “teeming slum” (can we all be done with that phrase now?), and “Moving Secret Money” is pleasantly trance-inducing, rather than insidiously evil. Musically, it’s quite good. The packaging seems to want strike other notes. Maybe that’s the point — too many folks are too busy consuming quietist pop to bother with the grind of the political. But is this the intervention we need?

Jonathan Shaw

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