Kiara Shoemake – Literary Arts Blogspace

Executing ideas… ꉂ(°□°’˶)

Having so many ideas regarding pieces sounds pleasant and fun but coming around to execute said ideas is a different story. Firstly, my idea sounds great to me, and I share them to my friends, and they agree it sounds great. Then I get to trying to flesh it out. The direction of how the characters interact feels wrong, how the plot moves feel wrong, basically every component of the story falls flat to me. It’s a cycle even with the stories I was most excited to write about. Even the pieces I made that others have enjoyed well enough doesn’t sit right with me. It might just be my personal judge (my mind) speaking to me. Now, I would like to share some sentences that I made in the first thoughts practice that I liked but didn’t use it in the follow-up assignment due to it not fitting right with the piece.

“A tree caked in blood whispers in my ear of secrets it stole from you.”

“My blood seeps into your bones as my heart whispers your name.”

“Drag me to our coffin so we can rot together.”

“Hang my limbs as decor while my rotting scent snuggles into the cloth of your furniture.”

“Wrap your fingers around the blade that’ll tear my skin for you to crawl in and be whole with me.”

Now a lot of these share a similar theme. The speakers wants someone to be with them, but it’s conveyed in a morbid way. I did like these ideas for a main character that could develop into this unhealthy mindset, but it would have to come another time as I’m working a whole lot on other projects. My idea for this speaker isn’t that they’re in ‘love’, it’s obsession instead, and not the glorified version where the obsessed one is a ‘hopeless romantic’. I’d like to think of this main character growing attached to whoever they’re talking to that develops into this unhealthy obsession. Within these lines, it does feel like a little power imbalance as the speaker wants the person to initiate all of these morbid actions. Maybe I could write more lines to steer it into a direction I’m satisfied with.

If I said there wasn’t a direct inspiration behind these lines, I’d be lying (sort of). I talked about Foxtails and IHS a good bit in previous blogs. I would say, at least the idea, the lines were based off of lyrics from both of these bands I have stored in the back of my mind.

Maybe you could pitch in some ideas also, maybe a sentence to go along with the ones I’ve listed or maybe a whole nother one for me to bounce off of. Either way, I’d love to hear it (♡ˊ͈ ꒳ ˋ͈)

Music Galore (˃ꇴ˂)

In my last post, I had gone on a little rambling of my favorite artists and songs from them. I decided to expand on that section furthermore by dedicating this post to songs and artists I recommend. I will preface this before moving on, my music taste it diverse. A little bit of everything mixed into a pot. So, I don’t believe that all of my recommendations will land well with everyone. Most of my recommendations within this post are within the rowdy realm like metal, screamo, etc ( •̯́ ₃ •̯̀)

Without a further ado, here we go ٩(˶´༥`˶)و

About a year ago, I had dabbled into punk music. Most specifically, d-beat, it’s a music genre that has inspired Crust Punk. For a little bit of background, Crust Punk is a fusion genre between extreme metal and anarcho-punk. Songs within this specific genre contains lyrics of real-life problems and the vocalist’s stance on it. All discussion within songs is primarily anti-capitalism, environmentalism, anarchism, etc. There have also been other discussions like feminism, veganism, and animal rights sung within this genre. D-beat takes its name from a band named Discharge (D-beat means Discharge-beat) I’ll link some songs that fit under this genre.

Drunk with power – Discharge
Police Bastard (covered by Pesti!) – Doom
My Meds Aren’t Working – Dystopia

I also recommend ‘Number One Hypocrite’ by Dystopia (✧∇✧)

Indie holds a piece of my heart (♡ˊ͈ ꒳ ˋ͈) The artist I’ll say I listen to the most within this genre is Alex G or Big Thief, but I also listen to Black Box Recorder a whole lot too. Indie music, also known as independent music, is characterized by creative freedom and a DIY mentality to it. This makes a varying about of musical approaches, lyrics, how they’re sung, the instruments, etc. Here’s my recommendations (✧0✧) Each artist has their own section with songs I’ve selected. I’ll underline the ones I’d recommend the most.

Black Box Recorder – Kidnapping an Heiress, The Art of Driving, Child Psychology
Mitski – Cop Car, Drunk Walk Home (Live version), Last words of a shooting star
Alex G – Hope, I’m not like the other girls (unreleased), Forever
Big Thief – Paul, Not (live), Vampire Empire (Demo)

In my previous blog, I discussed a lot of metal. So, I’ve decided to talk about it furthermore.

My love for metal has been a thing since I was young. Skillet was my first exposure to it when I was 7 years old. It died down, but then in 2023 a friend introduced me to Deftones. Deftones had made me love metal more than I can ever state. I have a collection of merch like shirts and CDs ( ˊᵕˋ )♡ I own almost all albums, but I still have another eight albums to get. I also own some Korn and System of a Down albums along with a Skillet and an Evanescence album. I haven’t been to any concert yet, but I hope to go to one soon.

Scream of The Butterfly – Acid Bath
Duct Taped to a Flagpole – Party Cannon
Tavern – Netherwalker
Misanthropy – Decalius
Absurdism – Glistening
I’m Sorry – I will always remember
Siege Tower – Curta’n Wall
Rabid – Mortician
Mascara – Deftones

I feel like a cornball for liking Screamo, but this genre is so good please trust me ( °ㅁ°) There have been some Screamo songs that have gotten popular, but only for a certain part. It does mess with me a little because there are songs that are genuinely the best songs ever (੭ ;´ ⌂ `;)੭

Metamorphosis – Your Arms Are My Cocoon
let’s get married – Your Arms Are My Cocoon
To Remember – septemberistheonlytimeidontthinkofyou
Everybody tells me nothing – beforeyouleave
San Francisco – IHS
i experienced ego death on an nde thread – foxtails
embers – Dead Butterflies
When We Turn To Dust – noragami
好きです – that same street

I love sharing my favorite genres and specific songs within these genres ₍₍⚞(˶>ᗜ<˶)⚟⁾⁾ I hope maybe I’ve added a few songs to your playlist or made you a fan of some of these artists. What do you think of some of these tracks? Do you recommend any songs for me to take a listen to ( •̯́ ^ •̯̀) I’d love to hear what you have to say!

My favorite… (˃ ᵕ ˂) .ᐟ

I’ve decided that I’ll share a bit of my interest while I decide on what topic I’d write about in-depth. ദ്ദി( •̀ ᴗ – ) ✧

Series?

There’s multiple, but my current favorite is Demon Slayer. It’s a popular manga series, there’s also an anime adaptation of it, that I only like because Douma is from there.

I can rant and rave all I want about Douma, but that’s for another post.

Music Artists?

I’ll list my top five since I have too many favorites for my own good.

Deftones
Mortician
Foxtails + IHS
Mitski
Alex G

My favorite album from Deftones is their Around the Fur one. It’s the second album they’ve ever released; it debuted in 1997. I love how much aggression there is within this album compared to their later ones. ‘Mascara’ and ‘Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)’ is my top two from this album, but ‘Headup’ and ‘Rickets’ are honorable mentions. Deftones has MANY other wonderful songs such as Hole in the Earth (Saturday Night Wrist album), Passenger (from their white pony album), and Beauty School (Diamond Eyes album). I’d say to check all their songs out. Your ears will thank you later.

I have many artists within the metal genre that I adore ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡ (Deftones being the main one). Mortician would be one I won’t ever grow tired of. I’ve actually tried scouting out their ‘Hacked up for barbeque’ album on cd to add in my ever-growing collection. Fun fact, Mortician only has two people within the project. My favorite album from them is Hacked up for Barbeque, but Chainsaw Dismemberment is good also. ‘Rabid’, from their Chainsaw Dismemberment album, is their most popular song. It’s for good reason because the audio clip in the beginning sets you up for the song and then the guitar is just chef’s kiss. I’d like to throw in other band recommendations with this section. Burzum, Yanderechainsawregurgitationfactory, Suicide Silence, I will always remember, Korn, Party Cannon, glistening, and Decalius. A lot of these bands are from different sub-genres of metal. Nu-metal, Black metal, Death Metal, and Grindcore.

I stinking love Screamo so much (๑´>᎑<)~* The band that got me into the genre was IHS. ‘San Francisco’ from their Circle Thinking album might be the best screamo song out there, and I will never grow tired of hearing that song. All of their songs are goated though I understand if others won’t share the same sentiment (´∇｀”）Foxtails is another screamo band I absolutely adore! ‘Every window in Alcatraz has a view of San Francisco’ is a great track made by them. I would definitely recommend ‘Cucaracho’, ‘I experienced ego death on an nde thread’, and ‘vacant lottery’ by them also. Before this section ends, notice how I said the best songs from both bands have San Francisco in the title ╮ (. ❛ ᴗ ❛.) ╭

Mitski had me in a chokehold back in 2021. I’ve stopped listening to her for a little while, but I’ve started to pick up on her music again 〜⁠(⁠꒪⁠꒳⁠꒪⁠)⁠〜 Cop car by far is my personal favorite. “I am cruel, I am gentle, I can make you laugh” “I don’t think about the past, It’s always there anyway” (Both lyrics are from Cop Car) like ouh my goodness I love love love this song. I also enjoy the live version of ‘Drunk Walk Home’ along with ‘Abbey’ and ‘Shame’ ( •̯́ ₃ •̯̀)

Boy oh boy Alex G (╥ ᴗ ╥) Love almost all of his songs. ‘Candy’, ‘Hope’, ‘Gnaw’, ‘Brick’, and ‘Things to do’ are some of his released songs I enjoyed. ‘I’m not like the other girls’, ‘I wait for you’, ‘Not Anywhere’, ‘east coast’, ‘and ‘track 7’ are unreleased songs that I could blast in my ears until I burst my eardrums ヾ(˵☆□☆˵)و I JUST LOVE HIS SONGS SO MUCH. I can try to dissect every single one of his songs or even write something based on them.

Hobby?

Currently, I like writing as a pass time. After entering the literary class, I feel that I’ve slowly grown passionate with writing. I also draw, commission artists, listen to music, and collect items (CDS and figurines). I have some writings planned out, but I haven’t gotten around to starting them yet.

Movie?

I actually don’t watch movies. Not a whole lot anyways. I like KNY: Infinity castle, cough cause of Douma, and that’s all I can think of. There are others I enjoy, but they’re not as rememberable as Infinity Castle (੭ ;´ ⌂ `;)੭♡

Game?

It’s a tie in-between Alice: Madness Returns or Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair. Both have incredible narratives. DR2 is a visual novel, but it has also detective aspects along with being a VN. In all honesty, I say DR2 is the best out of the Danganronpa series. The cast is funny, the plot is good, it’s just good in everything while the other games lack something. On the other hand, Alice: Madness Returns isn’t a visual novel. It’s a more action story game. This rendition of Alice in Wonderland is amazing. The ‘Alice is actually insane’ route in retellings is overused and boring, but this game makes it interesting. I can also talk about A:MR in another post.

I hope this served as a little peak into what I like. What post would you like to see from me next? The topics I’ve had on my mind were Norwegian Black Metal, Douma, or Alice: Madness Returns. I haven’t made my mind up yet, so I was wanting to see what you thought ₍₍⚞(˃ ꒳ ˂)⚟⁾⁾

A game I used to love became garbage

If the little red fingerprint looks familiar, it’s the logo for NetEase. They are the same developer for Marvel Rivals.

To preface this, back in 2023 I was absolutely in LOVE Identity V. Every day I would play for hours on end and delved into the lore of my favorite characters within the game along with the main stories within the game. I used to read and make up my own analysis of characters. I could summarize character lore even now because I still enjoy it. The characters weren’t the only thing that had me attached to this mobile game. There were other players to engage with, and I had many online friend groups because of this game. A huge chunk of my money went to this game for merchandise and in-game currency. Earlier this year, I ended up selling my account that I spent close to one thousand on for two hundred dollars. Money’s money, but a little more would’ve been nice.

BASE GAME (basics)

Whenever thinking of the mechanics for this game, think of Dead by Daylight. Five ciphers need to be decoded to activate gates. Then you need to open the gate by decoding it. There are four survivors and one hunter, and the game happens on a randomized map. Instead of hyper realistic graphics and humanoid models which would be in DBD, you have Coraline looking dolls as survivors and a hunter who may either look human with slight abnormalities or something that barely resembles one. Even with non-human models for hunters, it isn’t scary because of the janky graphics. The survivor’s and hunter’s abilities differ from the ones you’d encounter in Dead By Daylight. There is a survivor who can destroy the chairs (hooks in DBD terms), a survivor who can disable your abilities as hunter, a survivor that can stun you for prolonged periods of time with a rocket, and way more. Hunters have abilities of the same level, if not better skillsets. There is a hunter that you cannot look at as a survivor, or you will get hit and placed on a rocket chair at five ciphers. Then your team is pinging “you’re on your own!” (basically telling you that you suck and need to delete the game). There is a hunter that can make duplicates of herself, and the clone can phase through obstacles while also being able to hit you. There is a hunter that launches cats at you, and she can either stun you or disable your abilities (this is an actual in-game mechanic I’m not joking).

Some examples of designs. Left is a survivor, middle is a hunter, and the right is also a hunter. Character names: Ada Mesmer, Galatea Claude, Ivy

There are skins for both factions. Now it’s all a fashion show for who has the better skin rather than eerie concepts prevalent in Identity V’s early days. To even get skins you have to do a gacha (gambling). You either save a lot on in-game currency you get for free over long periods of time or get your debit card out and spend one hundred and get five duplicates of the same skin. You can also get skins within the in-game shop, but you would have to get that debit card ready as majority of them require it. I’ll give them credit where credit is due since a lot of skins are beautifully designed. Some of the designs gave me inspiration for my writings and artwork. The base character designs themselves are amazing as there is a lot of research done into the character’s background to render it cohesive with the time period (nineteenth century).

“Shiromuku” a costume for the Geisha (Michiko). It’s based on the traditional Japanese wedding gown.

‘Merry Kuromi’ a costume for the Bloody Queen (Mary). This was featured in part two of Identity V’s collab with Sanrio.

Where the issues arise

Now this is where my main issues of the game start. Within the game there are currently only THREE characters that are darker complexed out of at EIGTHY ONE playable characters. That’s way less than one percent people of color featured within the game. There are other characters that come from countries where citizens are generally tanned or darker but share complexions of those with fair skin. For example, there is a character who is from Nepal (an Asian country in-between China and India), but you cannot tell him apart from the European characters. Yes, there are more poc (people of color) characters within the game. Though, they are either mentioned in passing or served as stepping stools for the playable characters in their lore. All of the time they are side characters you never see. In some controversial skins in-game, there is straight up cultural appropriation.

This is stereotypical Indigenous American dressing worn by a Caucasian character. BAD.

In other skins and illustrations made by developers themselves, the only three poc featured in the game are whitewashed. The three characters shown, Ganji, Patricia, and William, birthday portraits compared to official artwork. Both are made by the same company by the way.

There also has been Generative Artificial Intelligence usage within the game and promotions of the game that started this year. It was first spotted in a promotion in their annual Call of Abyss tournament (Yes, the game has tournament aspects and esports teams that participate. There are opportunities to win cash prizes). NetEase also started to fire official artists for the game and replaced them with AI.

All in all, this game is bad like an open pizza box that’s a week old. I advise not to support this game or the developers because of the actions I stated prior. What are your thoughts on this? I’d love to hear your opinion ꉂ(˵˃ ᗜ ˂˵)