#I leaned into the film noir aesthetic | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

fatalism-and-villainy · 1 year

Text

One thing I love about Hannibal is that I really like (especially visual) media that - for lack of better terminology - blends "high" and "low" culture.

That's an element present in one of my favourite films, Seven Samurai, which has the mass-audience appeal in its action and fight scenes while also displaying a high level of artistry in its visual composition. It's also one reason I love film noir - most of those films are adapted from pulpy, hardboiled crime stories, but elevate the material through the visuals and cinematography, in ways that often imbue it with a contemplative, existential weight.

Hannibal is similar in being adapted from a book series with some killer turns of phrase in the prose (it's a surprise to me how many great and iconic lines in the show are lifted from the books), but are ultimately pretty basic crime-thriller novels. The show takes the premise and plot points and characters from the novels and applies the sensibility of high art to them. It's in the highly stylized visuals and editing (Fuller's famous "pretentious art house cinema" approach), but also the poetic register of the dialogue, and the fact that the plots unfold according to emotional and aesthetic guidelines, rather than being bound to gritty realism.

And the really brilliant thing is that this thematically aligns perfectly with the actual premise of the show, which is about transforming the gross into the beautiful. The killers on the show deliberately turn the corpses of their victims into art, and the fulcrum of the main relationship is the fact that they both possess the ability to see murder, violence, gore, etc as aesthetically pleasurable. The physical corpses, which on a more conventional crime drama would be disposable, with only the mystery surrounding them important, are central here, because Will's gaze transforms their grisly, fleshy presence into something beautiful and fueled by artistic intent. (The actual crimes are generally of secondary importance at best - the point is the gaze.) The world of the show is so governed by this alternate artistic sensibility that's only understood by a select few, and the moral system is so entirely based on aesthetics, that it bears a lot of relation to camp (part of why not only Will and Hannibal, but also villains like Dolarhyde feel sooo queercoded), but it's far more solemn and self-serious than most camp.

Anyway, I just appreciate the creative vision involved in adapting a series of popular and widely adapted crime novels, but doing it particularly in this way. (And also seeing the Lecter/Graham potential in Red Dragon and deciding to lean waaaay into it.)

#hannibal #hannibal meta #my meta #incapable of not writing paragraphs #also i wonder if john waters has seen hannibal. and what he thinks if so #hannibal talk

31 notes · View notes

batburgerofficial · 1 year

Text

having poison ivy or mr. freeze in the next battinson film would be cool but i really like the fact that the batman was leaning more towards the noir/detective thriller aspect of the batman character and i think adding anything “supernatural” to that wouldn’t really go with the aesthetic that the first movie set up

#ofc it isn't impossible to have a good detective story with them in it #but i feel like recently films are either well written or look good and they rarely meet in between #and i'd rather have the rogues with powers mentioned briefly in passing than as plot-centric if it means having an interesting movie #also unpopular opinion(?) but characters like poison ivy and harley quinn are so interesting on their own and putting them in a film series #called 'the batman' wouldn't do them justice because those films would have to be about batman #whereas characters like two face and mr. freeze have something to say about gotham and bruce wayne and that's why they make good villains #and others like the riddler and black mask set up an interesting plot #battinson #the batman 2022 #batman #dc comics

32 notes · View notes

cannibalizedyke · 2 years

Note

Hiya! I just recently found your blog and love your writing. Congrats on 700!! 🎉

I was wondering if I could please get a 🕊? (With either tasm! or mcu! Peter Parker, whoever you feel like writing about, if that’s okay) I’m a female and I use she/her pronouns. I'm on the shorter side, I have light brunette hair, and hazel eyes. I also have a lot of freckles and wear glasses. I'm into film and television along with music. I also love playing video games, reading, and writing. I'm currently trying to learn how to play guitar and I am a Psych major. Personality wise, I generally love to joke around and I’m a pretty positive person though I can be sarcastic and stubborn at times. I'm an INFP, a Gemini, and I'm pretty introverted, but I can talk a lot when I'm comfortable with someone or if I’m excited about something. I ramble pretty often tbh. I get anxious easily and I'm pretty clumsy. Thank you in advance!

you sound so fun, like you're definitely the type of person i would be friends with. i'm gonna do tasm!peter just because i prefer him, tysm for requesting! 🤍🦢 (help the fic is so self-indulgent i saw that you were a writer and that you ramble so i took that and ran with it by which i mean i shoved a bunch of information about my ocs in here lmao)

🕊 - send me a character and as much information about yourself as you’d like and i’ll write a blurb about what i think your relationship with that character would be like!

" - and then there's Leonora, who's something I've decided to call a 'darkling' just because they're completely black and white. Really it's just cause I want her to have film noir vibes, though. She's kinda like a femme fatale kinda character, and honestly I think she's one of my favorites even though she's nothing like me. And then - " You stop, realizing you've been rambling and Peter probably definitely doesn't care about what you're talking about. "Sorry, I'll shut up," you mumble.

Peter's eyebrows knit together in concern and confusion. "What? Don't shut up, I like hearing about your characters. They're really interesting."

You blink, surprised. "Really?" you whisper.

Peter smiles, laughing a bit as he comes closer to you. "Yeah. You've got a really great mind, I love hearing your ideas."

You smile shyly back. "Oh. Okay. Well, then there's Brynn, who I based off the dark academia aesthetic. She's just a human, which is kinda lame, but she's mentally unwell so she's interesting enough. She's got insomnia and she's an alcoholic because she's completely given up on life and fallen into a depression. She's also ace/aro."

"So do you just really like causing your characters pain?" Peter asks with a laugh.

"Yeah," you giggled. "It's not all of them, though, don't worry. Mostly just Brynn. She got all my issues."

"Who else is there?" Peter leans on his hand and watches you intently as you explain.

"Rosalie is Brynn's best friend, she's kinda like the complete opposite of her. She really just tries to help her get better with their mental stuff, they have a really sweet friendship. And then there's - " You stop yourself again, but this time it's not due to insecurity. "Thank you, Peter," you say quietly.

"For what?"

"For listening to me. Most people don't."

Peter leans close and caresses your cheek with his thumb. "Love, I'll always listen to you. I love you."

Annoying tears spring up in your eyes. "I love you too," you whisper, and you continue explaining.

17 notes · View notes

septembersghost · 2 years

Note

I was trying to tell a friend once about how I can handle scary films but not true crime and they got judgy to me about it, but it's a sensitive topic to me and hard to explain the difference

your friend shouldn't have been judgmental to you about what you find upsetting or your own boundaries, i'm sorry they reacted unkindly like that. there's nothing wrong with not being able to handle certain topics/media and asserting your limits is actually a good and healthily protective thing!

so, from my experience, a difficulty i have is the difference in suspension of disbelief. when we're watching a scary movie, there's always an awareness that it's fiction - and this has even been studied, that being afraid within complete safety, where you can switch it off, turn the lights on, have the knowledge that it's not real, can be healthy in working through fear. and i'm still pretty careful with what i can and can't handle because i am SO sensitive and prone to anxiety/intrusive thoughts/nightmares. i was a very sheltered/innocent, soft-hearted/emotional child, and to this day as a spinster lady a lot of that holds true because it's my natural disposition. that said, i also leaned into eerie aesthetics and spookiness (also see: previously discussed odd happenings we experienced irl) and gothic romanticism and classical horror novels/film (which isn't quite the same as more graphic modern horror), and continue to enjoy that. as is evident here at spooky season!

i was exposed to a lot of horror when i was a teen because my ex-best friend was obsessed (the two of us watched countless horror movies and musicals lmao that tells you a lot), so it upped my threshold for a while, but it's shifted back down to cautious sensitivity over the years. (which i realize sounds counterintuitive due to a bunch of my favorite shows that i post on here having horror genre roots lol, let's not unpack that. movies tend to affect me differently because it can be a lot of intensely upsetting content packed into a short time, whereas with a show you build a sense of familiarity/connectivity/comfort because you get to know the characters so well, which for me, makes it more about them and their stories than it does the sense of fear.) i especially struggle to handle media with any animal ab*se or tort*re p*rn or most s/a, and that's my responsibility to gauge.

anyway, when i'm watching, say, a slasher film, i know that's not real, and every actor was fine and went home safely. when i'm watching vampires, i know they're not real (and i was terrified of them when i was little! ghosts and i were mostly cool, vampires were the proverbial monster in my closet, my initial interest in them was a facet of trying to conquer that fear). or when i'm watching, to call myself out on something i've written/thought a lot about/been invested in, dexter, there's an element of fantasy. dex is a serial killer, but also an antihero and essentially a vigilante, taking out far worse people. there's a vicarious sense of satisfaction in that, because psychologically some part of us wishes we could stop bad people from doing bad things. (and of course the tragedy from his trauma and his actions becomes inability to keep his loved ones safe from that darkness and violence bleeding into his life.) i've certainly seen my fair share of crime procedurals too (bones! castle when it was good! and so on), and i've read mysteries my whole life, starting with nancy drew and sherlock holmes, then agatha christie, etc, and grew up watching mysteries with my mom too (adaptations of all the aforementioned. the thin man and assorted film noir and hitchcock. remington steele, my formative beloved!). there are also, notably, solutions in fiction - mysteries are solved, spirits are exorcised, monsters are stopped, masks are removed, the sun comes out again (most of the time). we accept final girls as victorious survivors. we know what the themes and symbolisms are, we expect some sense of catharsis.

but with true crime...it's a lot more complicated. my suspension of disbelief evaporates because i know, while the actors may be okay, the very real living beings involved are not. it always leaves me with this scratchy feeling of that darkness, like residue that clings. (and it's not like i never watch it - i watched candy earlier this year, because the case is almost bewildering and i wanted to see how they handled it, and i like several of the actors; i watched like half of under the banner of heaven, which was very unsettling. i don't tend to do the real serial killer thing because it's typically too gruesome and inhumane for me. fiction has been the only place i can stand that topic being tackled.) obviously, that's going to be different for every person, and like i said previously, it's very complex in handling those stories with respect and appropriate care for victims and not sensationalism of the perpetrator or exploitation of events. when something is done in a way that feels wrong or damaging, we're certainly allowed to acknowledge and push back against that. it gets really tricky and difficult, that line of freedom in art not crossing into traumatization, and i don't know what the solution for that is, if there even is one. ultimately all we can do is make the choices that feel right for us as far as choosing to engage or not, knowing what will be detrimental to our mental health, and keeping the realities in mind when necessary. it IS a sensitive topic, and you are always allowed to say no, to avoid things, and to put yourself first.

#anonymous #letterbox #sorry this is long and rambly i have a lot of feelings

4 notes · View notes

ldrm · 6 days

Text

Keisha Scarville

Keisha Scarville is a film photographer who has been creating artwork ever since 1999. She delves into a few themes like memory, family history, Caribbean geography, and identity. As described in an interview, she became particularly interested in exploring the idea of identity from her childhood of going back and forth from New York and Guyana. A lot of her earlier works were attributed to that, such as Many Waters and I Am Here. She has been a part of several exhibits like "If I Had a Hammer – Fotofest Biennial, Houston (2022)" and "I Belong to This, Huxley-Parlour Gallery, London (2021)." Just as previously stated, her photos mostly focus on her Guyanese background. My impressions on how the photos look is that they emphasize the human body, appearing to be leaning more into her Guyanese background. There is also quite a number of abstract images.

This is an image I decided to pull from the interview page, titled "Keisha Scarville, Many Waters (silver nails)". From the film noir aesthetic and context that she was using her camera to film her family back then, I can infer that this was based on her daily life from a child. It gives a very homey vibe, I get the impression that this is taken place on a hot midday or morning and this person is probably either going to wash clothes outside and leave them to dry or some other activity with the bucket she has in her hand.

Interview

Website

Huxley Parlour

0 notes

denimbex1986 · 18 days

Text

'All eight episodes of Netflix’s limited series, adapted from Patricia Highsmith’s novel The Talented Mr. Ripley, are directed by writer and creator Steven Zaillian, and they’re all lensed by cinematographer Robert Elswit.

“This singular vision gives Ripley both an impressive aesthetic cohesion and a radical kind of ambition,” says Vanity Fair’s David Canfield, who has the filmmakers dissect a dozen shots from the psychological thriller.

When we had a chance we, tried to create a kind of chiaroscuro, a feeling of very strong shadows and very strong highlights,” Elswit explains. “I kept thinking while we were shooting, ‘I’ll fix all this later.’ And we didn’t fix any of it.”

Ripley leans into the noir of the original story in a more literal way than the 1999 feature adaptation starring Matt Damon. “What follows is a dizzying saga of lust, murder, impersonation, and deception, all captured in radiant black-and-white,” says Canfield.

The story is set in Italy, including in Naples and the Amalfi Coast, and the locations were a key part of the look of the 1999 movie.

“I knew from the beginning that I wanted to have this high contrast film-noir style,” Zaillian says. “We didn’t want to do anything that was familiar to us… I didn’t want to make a pretty travelogue.”

Elswit says that lead actor Andrew Scott has such an expressive face, “it dominates the series in a way. In all the different lighting setups where we did medium close-ups and tight close-ups, it was always fun to find an interesting way of creating contrast and shadows on his face.”

For lighting co-star Dakota Fanning, photographs of Grace Kelly served as inspiration. “It’s this hot, bright contrast between light and dark,” Elswit explains of one shot of her in a police station.

A lot of the show’s action takes place in an elevator. “It’s a symbol of dread for Tom Ripley when people come up in this elevator,” Zaillian says. “It’s a very important location for us. We shot it, basically, every way you could; from inside, from outside, from low, from high. But I had something very specific in my mind. We reached a point where we I started to see ways of shooting this location in a way that could be really fascinating, with this open staircase.”

Other classic noir lighting shots included looming giant shadows cast onto a wall, recalling Orson Welles’ entrance into the film The Third Man.

They used half lighting to evoke the idea that Ripley is two people almost all the time. In other shots Ripley is in total silhouette: “You know exactly what he’s thinking without seeing his eyes,” Zaillian says.

They also used the texture of buildings and cobblestones in ways that have been done since the 1920s. Zaillian added, “It doesn’t look nearly as interesting, by the way, in color, it just doesn’t.”'

#Steven Zaillian #Robert Elswit #Ripley #Netflix #Dakota Fanning #Marge Sherwood #Andrew Scott

0 notes

thenoirblogger · 1 year

Text

TROUBLE IS MY BUSINESS [REVIEW]

By Troy Anderson June 8, 2019

Trouble is My Business

Trouble Is My Business is a loving Film Noir fan letter. But, it also isn’t. The movie walks the same kind of line that the Coen Brothers towed in The Man Who Wasn’t There. You can take the style and aesthetic of a beloved subgenre and tell a modern story. But, not too modern. Trust me this will make sense.

Personal favorite Vernon Wells plays Detective Tate. He’s a vicious man stylized as a 1940s heavy. It’s the kind of role that Jon Polito would play if he was more grizzled and about a foot taller. He leans hard on our lead Detective, as the guy just wants to figure out the connection between a vacant father, a mysterious diamond and the sisters that keep dotting in and out of his life.

Trouble is My Business

Thomas Konkle is our director, co-writer and leading man. Coupled with Brittney Powell playing the lead lady Jennifer, it produces something that feels like a deep indie auteur action. Many will be quick to pull out their Film School textbooks and wax on about the use of artifice. However, so much of modern cinema is based on the use of common visual cues to build a sense of familiarity.

Most long-time readers know that when I really enjoy something, I spend a lot of time with it. After my fifth viewing of Trouble Is My Business, I was ready to finalize my views. We live in an era where invoking anything before 1993 is asking for recognition trouble from a wider audience. Time has a way of stomping on the mainstream and reshaping it into an entertainment tableau that is much more palatable to the masses.

Thankfully, we have artists like Konkle and Powell working together to produce a film that is entertaining and yet continues to build upon one of the great American film arts. The Detective is the American heroic archetype that took over after the Cowboy faded away. Konkle inherits a bit from both the Gary Cooper and Sam Spade tradition as a man who fights for what he knows is right, not matter how many people stand in his way

The summer is always a packed period competing for your entertainment attention. Make the time today to check out Trouble Is My Business

0 notes

lonelypond · 1 year

Text

Snow

NicoMaki, Love Live and Guncharov, 2K, 1/1

The group heads to the Nishikino mansion for a brainstorming session. Nico discovers a few things about Maki.

Snow

“Drive me, Nico-chi. You have a car. It’s going to snow.” Nozomi’s drawl could not be contained in Nico’s laptop.

“No. It’s just a little more than a mile. And you scheduled it during Nico’s workout. So Nico will multitask.”

“I don’t want to get out of bed, Nico-chi. I have a pile of fluffy blankets and I’m warm…”

“You set up this meeting, Nozomi. You, me, Eli, the music nerd with the fancy house…”

“Are you bringing Ma-ki her tux back?”

“Can’t really roll it up in a backpack. Besides, how often do you need fancy clothes?”

“Just give me a bathrobe and a blonde.”

“I’m ending this conversation.”

Nico hit disconnect. She didn’t have time to indulge Nozomi’s mood. She had a few things to pack in her backpack and then it was time to put in the first of her two mile run.

###

Big house. Huge house. Nico didn’t know what to expect when the door opened, but maybe Lurch from the Addams Family and pipe organ music in the background. But no, Maki opened her own door, dressed like a vintage Hollywood movie star in tall trousers and a lavender pinstripe oxford shirt, unbuttoned one or two many buttons for Nico not to have gawked at the sensuous reveal of curve. But Maki didn’t seem to notice, just nodded at Nico, said a breathy “hi” and waved Nico inside.

“Is Nozomi here yet?”

“Yes, she and Eli and and Umi…”

“Umi?”

“My friend who’s going to help with the script.”

“A music student?”

Maki shook her head, zipping down long corridors decorated with green garlands and red bows, setting a Christmas mood almost a month early. “Poet. We met in the Film Classics club.”

Another noir nerd. Nico was going to have to watch some of these movies.

“So there’s The Maltese Falcon, Nico knows that one. What else would you suggest?”

Maki stopped, turned, amethyst eyes curious.

“Nico likes to be thorough.”

A nod. “The Big Sleep. If you like Bogart, you can’t go wrong adding Lauren Bacall.”

Nico appreciated the attention to her interests. Maki glanced to the window, where the sky was getting gray, the clouds heavy with damp.

“Nico will put it on the list.”

“The noir cutoff is 1959, after that is neo-noir. In this weather, we should watch Fargo.” Maki giggled, before continuing down the hall. “It’s snow noir.”

There was a bounce in Maki’s step, Nico lingering two steps behind, whether because of post run fatigue or aesthetic appreciation, Nico decided not to review.

###

Nico did a quick change in a bathroom the size of her first dorm room. Fluffy pink oversized sweater, kangaroo pocket, sparkly winter tights. In the media room, Maki was on the floor, laptop open in front of her on a low wood and glass table. Classical sounding music played out of two portable speakers. Instrumental, dark, ominous, occasional fragile notes from a lighter instrument barely holding the space, crashing piano chords. Nico winced as screechy violin chords began.

“Yuck. Give Nico a pop song any day.”

Nozomi reluctantly pivoted from her conversation with Eli, “This is noir, Nico. Ominous classical is the mood.”

“Actually,” Maki didn’t look up from her screen, “I would have chosen a jazz theme, but I think between the Russian, Italian, and religious imageries and overtones, the collective thought classical would better suit.”

Umi Sonoda, poet and dapper dresser, was perched on the extended chaise leg of the sectional sofa. “Which is why it’s a Scorsese mafia movie, not a noir, although as conceived by the Tumblr hive mind, Goncharov is laden with noir themes.

“And multiple femme fatales, especially if you count Andrey.” Nozomi leaned forward to continue pouring out tea.

“Debatable.” Umi countered. “Katya is the classic femme fatale, her arc slicing through Guncharov, Sofia, and Andrey stories.”

“Shooting through might have been a better analogy. She’s not the knife girl. Or the ice pick asexual.” Nozomi giggled.

“I’d better read this pretty soon, hadn’t I?” Eli said, amicably confused, “Is it all just grim and murdery?”

Maki shook her head, “You can’t help but feel a brief hope, that maybe at least one of them will escape. I think the jazz soundtracks get that better, that sweetness, a seed of hope, a brief respite from ominous, but then everyone's swallowed up again in the sultry struggle, like the opening for The Postman Always Rings Twice.”

Nico’s experience of femme fatales, music, and noir consisted of an article she remembered skimming through about Taylor Swift. Not that Nico would ever admit to being out of her depth.

“No body, no crime.” Nico announced.

Maki raised an eyebrow, “Is that a movie.”

“A Taylor Swift song.”

Nozomi snorted, “Nico brings the high brow.”

Umi smiled, “Actually, Ms. Swift’s latest album really embraces the femme fatale/anti hero vibe. To say “I'm only cryptic and Machiavellian 'Cause I care” is clever.”

“Nico knows. And Anti-Hero, wow, it’s right there, she embraces it.”

“I prefer when she lets the lyrics get cold blooded enough to be ice.”

Nico hadn’t expected this reaction from Umi. From the looks on the faces in the rest of the room, no one else had either. But Nico was always in.

“Nico-chi, you surprise me.”

“Yeah, like I don't dress for women

I don't dress for men

Lately, I've been dressin' for revenge…it’s the modern genderqueer asexual crime to the max anthem.”

Nico turned to Nozomi, “How?”

“You’re sharp.”

“You can bring a Nico to any fight.” And Nico winked randomly into the room, causing Umi to blush and fumble her tea.

Maki closed her laptop, levering herself up to a seat. “I’d rather riff off Ellington in Anatomy of Murder. Pop isn’t this mood.”

“Agreed.” Umi nodded, considering Maki’s point. “But something rawer than Ellington’s courtroom tones.”

Eli yawned, standing to shake herself and wander over to the window. “Oh wow.”

“What is it, Eli-chi?”

Eli glanced back, a broad smile gleaming at Nozomi’s diminutive, “Snow.”

“SNOW!” Nico rushed to the window. Snow was coming down.

“Something wrong?” Maki asked.

“Nico ran here. And Nico has rehearsal in a couple of hours.”

“I can drive you back.” Nozomi said.

“It’s coming down pretty fast.”

“You can all stay here. My parents are away at a medical conference. We could keep talking and decide on where to film.”

“Oh, are we going to do that here?” Eli spun, taking a better look at the room, “That’s awesome. There's so much space."

“My cinematographer’s not here.” Nozomi stepped next to Eli, glanced out at the snow and then whispered something in her ear.

Nico solved problems. “Rin? Just call her. She’s always up for anything.”

“But today’s her date day and Hanayo doesn’t like to go out.”

Ignoring Nozomi, Nico returned to the couch, pulled out her phone, and sent a flurry of texts.

“Hey, Maki, got anything Nico can cook?”

Maki froze, “I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?”

“I get take out or the chef leaves me things to reheat.”

Nico sighed, “Take Nico to your kitchen.”

###

The refrigerator was the size of three. And barely a quarter filled. With fancy hors d'oeuvres making and bottles of prosecco but no solid food. Nico liked solid food. She had two batches of gingersnaps in her bag, but that was for after real food.

“It’s hopeless.”

“Huh…what do you mean.”

“Just order a couple of pizzas. You must have a go to pizza place. Everyone has a go to pizza place.”

“For delivery? Yes.” Maki sounded thoughtful, Nico turned, curious, “For stuffed, New York style, or pizza turnovers?”

“You have three go to pizza places?”

Maki quirked an eyebrow, “Half a dozen. Sauce can be so mood dependent.”

“Pizza tastes differently depending on your mood?” Nico closed the refrigerator, sighing over the wasted space, “What’s today’s mood?”

Maki turned away, pulling out her phone, pushing loose hair back over a reddening ear, “Carmen’s pesto. The cheese tastes like it’s infused with garlic. You’ll be impressed.”

“Good thing Nico’s not a vampire and allergic.”

Maki froze, “Should I ask them?”

Nico laughed, “No, Nico thinks we’re good on the no vampires. Just get one less heavy on the garlic.”

“Okay.”

So serious. It was seriously adorable Nico thought, the amount of concentration Maki brought to ordering pizza, her lips twisted slightly as she tapped out her order for the online form.

“I guess we should get back there before Nozomi does anything too crazy.”

“Have you been friends for long?”

“Same dorm freshman year so three plus years.”

“You’re a senior?! I thought you were…”

“What?”

“A freshman, I hadn’t seen you around before.”

Nico couldn’t help the disgruntled huff. Would no one ever see her as a mature, multi talented adult with infinite potential. “Nico is always busy, working, studying, and performing.”

“I’m taking pre med classes.”

“Ah, parents and the medical conference.”

“Yeah.” Not much enthusiasm. Maki put away her phone, “It’ll be here in 90 minutes. Want to hear my take on Sofia’s theme?”

“Nico is in.”

Maki turned in the opposite direction.

“What about the others?”

“I’ll leave the door open. They can find the piano.”

Maki practically skipped down the hall, Nico hurrying to match pace. An artfully placed clump of green hung at the end of the hall and Maki startled, backpedalling frantically into Nico, who suddenly had an armful of curves

“Are you all right?”

“Ummm.”

“What is it? A spider or something?”

Nico made sure Maki was standing not tilting and stepped around the taller woman, following where her glance was frozen to the small wreath of mistletoe.

Nico rolled her eyes. Too much silly drama. Good thing Nozomi was in another room or there would be teasing and Nico was beginning to suspect that teasing was not something Maki took to, “We can tiptoe past it. No one will have to know.”

“Santa will.”

Long lashes blinked over open, innocent amethyst eyes. A frown crushed lips into a yield warning. Nico bit the inside of her own lip to prevent a rush of quick, unedited words.

“Papa always tells Mama you have to follow the mistletoe rule.”

Was Maki ten? Nico started to grumble, then shook her head slightly. Not everyone was into kissing, not everyone (shocking she knew) was into dating. Or flirting. Or a chance to try things out with Nico. That was okay, Nico didn’t come for that…well, Nico might have come more eagerly because Maki was attractive, but Nozomi was also really excited about this project so it was going to turn out well. And Nico was always glad to find new friends.

“What is the mistletoe rule?”

“Kiss.”

“So fine.” Nico took Maki’s hand and pulled her under the mistletoe, halfway into the music room, “Beautiful piano.”

“Thanks.”

“Close your eyes.”

“Why?” Maki stepped back, worried.

“Just do it.”

“Okay.”

Maki closed her eyes, no leaning in. Nico thought of the most ridiculous, unromantic place anyone could kiss a person and leaned forward, aiming for Maki’s elbow. But as she brushed Maki’s arm, it flung out, contacting Niico on the jaw, making her world wobbly for a moment. Nico pitched forward, almost tackling Maki, but wrenching herself to the side, as Maki’s eyes opened, horrified.

“What are you doing?”

Nico rubbing her jaw, scowled, “Not having a good time.”

“Why did you do something so stupid?”

“If only Nico knew.” Nico shoved Maki into the room, “Go play something.” Then Nico jumped up and swatted down the mistletoe, glaring at the greenery. “Not on my watch.”

“Nico-chi!” Nozomi had heard the kerfuffle and led the crowd toward the music room, “What are you doing?”

“Saving a life.” Nico shoved the wreath in her dress’s kangaroo pocket. “Pizza’s coming in an hour.”

Nico collapsed on the comfiest looking chaise. She’d earned a rest.

A/N:

Week 2 and 3 prompts for the @sapphicfest Snowed in and Mistletoe.

Also, does anybody else have WENCLAIR on the brain?

#NicoMaki #Nishikino Maki #Yazawa Nico #Sonoda Umi #Tojo Nozomi #noir #The Goncharov Files #Goncharov #Taylor Swift songs #fluff #snowed in #mistletoe #fluff fluff fluff #making a short film

1 note · View note

mi5014-abbiesmith · 1 year

Photo

working on the shadow character. Like Hugo and I talked about I made the chest a lot larger so I was changing the form more. I then modelled new cloaks over the top to fit the new shape and overall this makes the figure a lot larger looking and more intimidating. I also tried different shape planes to see if this looked good or not. I think the square one does give a more encompassing effect but the circular shows the hands a lot better.

That was the other part of what I worked on today. Making the hands was difficult and looked odd for most of the process. I think where I have got to now is good and they are definitely identifiable. I don’t know if they look too life like for this style model but I think now that I have the base I can modify that if I feel it needs more simplified hands.

Where I am at right now I am pretty confident going forward. The new research I did into this character has helped me understand it a lot more and also helps me when I go to pose him. I have stuck with a lot of aspects but I do think I know how I want everything to look. For one, the smoke idea I feel is now leaning towards a film noir style white smoke that wraps around the shadowy character. This could give that sense of intimidation without looking too cartoonish which I think some of my tests did look like. When I come to do that part I will get more inspo pics to work with. This also fits the general aesthetic I have going for both characters.

0 notes

simplygayming · 2 years

Text

2064: Read Only Memories - Game Review

Welcome to Neo-San Francisco.

“2064: Read Only Memories merges old-school adventure gaming with modern storytelling to explore some of the social challenges we will face in the near future. Explore the colorful future metropolis of Neo-San Francisco, meeting a huge cast of fascinating characters and solving a far-reaching mystery. Think carefully about your choices, because you never know how they will affect this dynamic, branching narrative further down the line.”

I’ve played this game three times now. Once on my own, once with my brother, and once on stream. Each time I’ve discovered something new.

Now, the cyberpunk genre is perhaps my all time favorite. I have studied and written about it for quite some time, but so often media that wants to call itself cyberpunk focuses on the wrong ideas. Often being too occupied with the (arguably intriguing) aesthetics of neon lights, robots, and human enchantments.

This game is not that case.

2064: ROM is a wonderful experience that well encompasses the genre of cyberpunk. It’s a story-rich adventure game that follows the story of a struggling journalist protagonist, alongside a robot named Turning who claims that they are the first sapient machine. Together Turing and the player set out on an investigation to find Turing’s missing creator, only to unravel an even greater conspiracy.

In terms of aesthetics, the game nails exactly what it set out to do. The lo-fi electronic synth soundtrack is thoroughly catchy and does wonders at setting the mood for the story and gameplay, while the game’s pixel art screams nostalgia. There are robots (ROMs or Relationship and Organizational Managers), hackers, mega corporations, genetic alteration, rebellious youth, and basically just about everything to solidify this game as cyberpunk.

The game is fun and seeks to push forward the common questions of its genre such as what it means to be human and delves into concepts of identity and individuality. It’s an interesting discussion to be had and with a combination of its classic point-and-click gameplay. Albeit, the game is quite wordy and heavy on its technobabble. The introduction especially is slow and players less knowledgeable on cyberpunk texts can easily lose interest.

This seemed to be the case during my second playthrough, my brother found himself to be a bit bored with just how intensely text heavy the game can be. Once the story picked up, however, he was very much engaged and enjoying his time.

What the game lacks in this sense, it makes up for in its setting. Neo-San Francisco is a diverse and charming place that features multiple queer characters befitting of just how queer its genre is, mostly through its thematic exploration of identity and humanity. The game leans into this and even goes as far as to allow the player and Turing to directly discuss this. Depending on the player’s choices, the player is able to ask Turing their pronouns and identity after learning about what is essentially Turing’s sister, a ROM who was very confident that she was a girl.

The character customization goes beyond the typical naming in many visual novels and allows the players to pick out pronouns from an extensive list as well as the option to add their own. The player can also specify dietary restrictions. It's these minor details that create a detailed and engaging world for the player.

Like many adventure based visual novel, 2064: ROM has mini games in addition to its many intense choices. I found the puzzle mini games to be stress inducing in a high stakes kind of way. The outcome of the games, whether it be success or failure, is yet another choice that effects the game, though to a seemingly lesser degree.

The game pushes many of the common tropes and ideas of the cyberpunk genre, including the neo noir aspects that iconic films like Bladerunner follow. Despite the heavy conversation on the technological, this game left me engaged with each twist and turn that the investigation took. I found myself adored with the characters and their stories and, in the end, I had my own questions about the world of robotics and technology.

Honestly, I could go on to such a deeper depth with this game, but I will save that for another time.

~~~

Overall Rating: 9/10

Is it Gay? Yes!

Story: 10/10

Gameplay: 9/10

Do I recommend it? Yes!

Check out the game

Get it on Steam

Get it on itch.io

#gaming #2064 rom #2064 read only memories #game review #indie games #turing #video games #game recommendations #cyberpunk #futuristic #visual novel #simplygayming #midboss

42 notes · View notes

rotgsecretsanta · 2 years

Text

2021 Secret Santa Masterlist

Here are all of the works posted for RotG Secret Santa 2021!

Prompt 1: [Any Ship or Any Characters] Android au Art by moonknightproductions

Prompt 2: [Jack & Bunny or Jack/Bunny] Jack accidentally causes another snowstorm on Easter. Bunny finds him hours later, hiding, and has to assure him that he's not angry to get Jack to stop panicking. (Leans more toward fic but not opposed to art) Enta Winek by fanarchoslashivist Easter Snow by Farisya

Prompt 3: [Jack & Bunny] friends in a play-fight; snowball fight, maybe water balloon eggs. Some kind of good-natured competition maybe? Art by fanarchoslashivist

Prompt 5: [Jack/Bunny or No Ship] Bunnymund and Jack wage a messy paintball war, either against each other, or against the rest of the Guardians. Art by fanarchoslashivist

Prompt 6: [Jack/Bunny] Bunny is a Time Lord, Jack is his Companion. Art by hezuart

Prompt 7: [Jack/Bunny] That's it, just JackRabbit Art by fanarchoslashivist

Prompt 9: [Jack/Pitch] Any kind of AU, fluff, meetcute, maybe Jack is an art student and Pitch is his art teacher. I Look Forward To It by LinesAndColors The Art of the Steal by bunnimew

Prompt 10: [Jack/Pitch] Blackice soulmate AU (In Universe or Alternate Universe) Soulmates of Ice and Shadow by hezuart

Prompt 11: [Jack/Pitch] Cute Black Ice with Jack and Pitch enjoying marshmallows and chestnuts over a fire (or just the fireplace) Art by bunnimew

Prompt 13: [Jack/Pitch] Film Noir Aesthetic (Leans more toward art) Art by ksclaw

Prompt 14: [Jack/Pitch] Gift shopping! Modern AU: It’s Jack’s first Christmas with his new boyfriend, Pitch, and his daughter Seraphina. Cue panic in searching for ‘the perfect gift’. Could be Jack and Sera shopping for Pitch, Pitch and Sera shopping for Jack, or Jack and Pitch shopping for Sera (or all three!). (I don’t mind if Lady Pitchiner/Seraphina’s mother is mentioned but shipwise Jack/Pitch should be the focus) A Frost and Pitchiner Christmas Production by sylphidine

Prompt 15: [Jack/Pitch] Jack and Pitch enjoying a wintery night with hot cocoa on a Nightmare-drawn shadow carriage Art by ksclaw

Prompt 16: [Jack/Pitch] Jack and Pitch getting caught under the mistletoe together. But none of that 'oh no look what happened on accident' nonsense — they're aiming for it at every chance they get. Canon or AU welcome, as long as it includes Jack and Pitch absolutely smitten xD Mistletoe Mischief by spyroforlife

Prompt 19: [Jack/Pitch] kissing in snow Art by bunnimew

Prompt 20: [Jack/Pitch] kissing with creeping darkness. Maybe converting Jack? Art by ksclaw

Prompt 21: [Jack/Pitch] mutual undercover spies realizing the other is also an undercover spy from the same org and that's why they've gotten 0 information they need Not Their Fault by bunnimew

Prompt 23: [Jack/Pitch] Star Wars AU Art by eclipseyeger

Prompt 30: [No Ship or Any Ship] Toothiana gets sick from overworking herself. Someone helps her recover. 5 Times Pitch and Jack Failed to Help Tooth + the 1 Time She Helped Herself by bunnimew

Prompt 31: [No Ship or Jack/Bunny] Movie!Jack and Guardians: Basically Jack constantly volleying between isolating himself and being super clingy because he's afraid that if he messes up they'll abandon him and he'll be alone again. (Fic) Stilt Roots by fanarchoslashivist

Prompt 33: [No Ship or Jack/Katherine] Time for a friendly holiday game of MistleFOE Art by spookifrost

Prompt 34: [No Ship or Jack/Pitch] Jack + trees and/or Ents (Tolkein) Art by winterswrathe

Prompt 37: [No Ship or Pitch/North or Tooth/North] Wild West AU! Art by ksclaw

Prompt 38: [No Ship] Bunny and Tooth creating art together. I feel like they'd be creative pals! Art by nimohtar

Prompt 39: [No Ship] Coffee Shop AU - any characters but maybe Jack just joined as a new waiter part time to help save money for college. A lot of plants in the interior but also some cool lamps and a lot of gold color (like a mix of all the big four lairs in the design) A Week of Work at the Guardian Coffee Co. by hezuart

Prompt 40: [No Ship] Everyone celebrating Christmas together after North is done with his job. (Everyone else preparing a dinner/party in the North Pole while he’s at work and then them all celebrating/having fun afterwards.) Art by ave-aria

Prompt 42: [No Ship] Jamie reading a book about the Golden Age Art by ksclaw

Prompt 44: [No Ship] North vs. possessed dolls Ambition is my Folly by LinesAndColors

Prompt 45: [No Ship] Phil the yeti finally gets a vacation. Art by fanarchoslashivist

Prompt 49: [No Ship] Pitch celebrates gothmas (goth/spooky Christmas) How the Nightmare King Tried to Do Christmas by Farisya

Prompt 51: [No Ship] Reverse AU - Guardians as villains, Pitch as a hero (feel free to add book characters) Art by hezuart

Prompt 56: [North/Bunny] north×bunny being all cute Art by ave-aria

Prompt 57: [North/Seraphina] Anything A Natural Wonder by bunnimew

Prompt 58: [Pitch/Lady Pitchiner, No other ships, namely No Pitch/Sandy] Lord and Lady Pitchiner attending an event A Tight Ship by sylphidine I’ll Suffer A Thousand Battles (Read: Parties) For You by LinesAndColors

Prompt 61: [Pitch/Tooth] Winter clothes, Pitch and Tooth Art by spocklingtons

Prompt 66: Bunny-centric hurt/comfort, open for interpretation Plasmolysis by fanarchoslashivist

Prompt 70: Cute Fearling(s) Art by moonknightproductions

Prompt 71: Everyone (happy found family of guardians, pitch, Mother Nature, Katherine, as many characters as possible) Art by spookifrost

Prompt 72: Genderbent Pitch and/or Jack Art by missguided-ghst

Prompt 75: Jack and Bunny playing a prank on Tooth Art by fanarchoslashivist

Prompt 77: Jack and Tooth under mistletoe (placed by Santa) Art by spocklingtons

Prompt 79: Jack finds a kitten in the snow and takes care of it. (Fic or art) Best Alley Find Ever by LinesAndColors The Kit in the Cold by spyroforlife

Prompt 80: Jack Frost Art by fanarchoslashivist

Prompt 81: Jack in Mori Kei (or baggy clothing) fashion (or just walking around town?) Art by tenchikotheartist Art by bunnimew

Prompt 84: Jack playing with spring peepers in his lake Art by winterswrathe

Prompt 86: Jack pranking Bunny Art by fanarchoslashivist

Prompt 87: Mother Nature Art by ave-aria

Prompt 88: Nightmare Dork University. Pitch Black and Piki Black suffering through a Black family Christmas. Art by ksclaw

Prompt 90: North getting the reindeer ready for the Christmas run. Does he read them a book? Give a pep talk? Play music? Whatever you like Reindeer Wrangle! by sarsfe

Prompt 92: Older Jamie Bennett or Sophie Bennett Art by purblzart Art by hezuart

Prompt 96: Pitch in an old fashioned fancy tux or outfit (or attending a fancy festival?) Art by bunnimew

Prompt 97: Sandy angst with having been killed. ptsd/emotional trauma (only if comfortable. please be safe with mental health) (fanfiction) Reliquishment by fanarchoslashivist

Prompt 98: Sandy chillaxing on his island. Art by fanarchoslashivist Art by winterswrathe

Prompt 99: Sandy has tea with Pitch Art by spocklingtons

Prompt 100: Soft, tentative Pitch with Mother Nature reunion? Pitch obviously nervous. Feel free to lay on some angst if you're writing it. Art by purblzart

Prompt 103: The elves in North's workshop are actually MUCH more intelligent than they appear. A scene where they converse like Niles and Frasier Crane. Art by carys-leon

Prompt 109: Toothiana brightly smiling (or something that makes her happy) Art by fanarchoslashivist Art by purblzart

#rotgsecretsanta2021 #rise of the guardians #masterlist

30 notes · View notes