Spilled Ink

Week 4

Jo’s watching

Our Flag Means Death

Finished watching Our Flag Means Death; I loved it. Gay New Zealander pirates? I didn’t know that was something I needed in my life, but I did. It stars filmmaker, actor and comedian, Taika Waititi, as Blackbeard—a role taken alongside being executive producer of the show.  

I will preface this by saying there are only particular styles of humour I enjoy: the witty, smart kind of funny, not silly-funny. I do not enjoy Monty Python, Austin Powers, or anything with Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly in it. Stupid humour makes me mourn brain cells every time someone puts it in front of me. I feared Our Flag Means Death would sail into this port. I almost stopped watching, but the gorgeous cinematography kept me viewing, and I ended up really enjoying it. The characters felt genuine, kind, and tangible. 

They felt real, with human compassion and emotions. There was a feeling of mateship, found family, and romance. Even though some of the circumstances they were placed in and their responses were silly-funny and fairly idiotic, they owned it.  

The main storyline follows a gay couple and the turbulent state of their relation-ship. Blackbeard takes on the characteristics of One Punch Man and Gregory House—over-competent heroes who are bored and left without challenge. He meets the sweet, naive rich-boy of the seas, Stede Bonnet, a gentleman pirate who has a lot to learn but a lot to teach when it comes to class, luxury, and health and safety regulations. I recommend the watch. It’s on Binge and Foxtel. 

Olivia’s reading

Second Deaths by Keith Rosson

Content Warning: Death, Drug Abuse, Bodily Harm  

Lately, my reading has been split between non-fiction and short fiction; I don’t currently have a novel-length piece of fiction in my reading rotation. So instead, I’ll tell you a little bit about a piece of short horror fiction I read this week. 

Second Deaths (Keith Rosson) was published in issue 138 of Nightmare, a monthly short horror and dark fiction magazine. It tackles a bunch of heavy themes: drug abuse and dependency; death, murder, and bodily harm; and work and society. 

Chuck is a former roofer in his late 40s whose body has been worn down and wrecked by his work. His coping mechanism is a drug called “wire”, which serves as a painkiller and relaxant but also causes the flesh to decay and die at the site of injection. The story opens with him asking his dealer for more and, against his better judgement, accepting a freebie in exchange for a later favour; a favour he will regret. 

I love stories that explore the humanity (or inhumanity) of broken people, and everyone in this story is broken in some way. Chuck can only find reprieve from his weary, painful body in drugs; his dealer Jerome prefers others do his bidding but isn’t afraid to dirty his own hands when he needs to; and those who have died a “first death” at the hands of wire lose the person they once were but still need a second, true death to stop moving. 

This story was uncomfortable in a good way, and I’d recommend a read if you’re comfortable with the themes and content involved. You can find it in issue 138 of Nightmare or on the magazine’s website at https://www.nightmare-magazine.com/.

Callum’s listening

Gleemer’s Here at All

Recently, I’ve had Gleemer’s newest EP, Here at All, on repeat. This EP is their best production yet, complementing the band’s dark and sweet flavours. It teeters on the edge of heavy, with deep, thoughtful riffs and concentrated bridges that almost snap the tension they’ve settled into. Throughout their past albums, Gleemer has relied on their effectiveness to guide listeners through a natural path and progression of what every album means, and this is no exception. 

Headphones on, we’re welcomed with Corey Coffman’s voice saying, ‘Have your moment,’ in ‘In Your Way’. Coffman’s warm voice settles our nerves, while the slow rise of the guitar and snare swarms and suddenly dissipates before the crunch of ‘Outline’ comes on. ‘Outline’ offers the continuation of tension, building to the halfway point with bending riffs and occasionally increased tempos. As we are guided to ‘Passed Down’, we’re offered a sense of loss and hope. The constant distortion and wrinkles formed in each link bend the pattern they have formed in previous albums, but never quite break it. We’re eased into ‘Backlog’ with waves of distortion and echoes of possibilities. This echo continues in the tail of the slow burn that ‘Backlog’ offers, easing the tension before the finale. ‘Valentine’ brings home the hope they tease in their subtle lyrics. The strong melody they settle into is wrapped in minor distortion and an intense atmosphere that releases the emotional traction they’ve built in each song. 

Here at All is a great addition to Gleemer’s discography. The band’s willingness to experiment while maintaining its regular formula is clear as it steps outside the boxes of genre labels. 

Callum Ross-Rowland (he/him) is a Brisbane-based creative writing student at QUT. He was 2023 Literary Salon’s Photographer with his recent Diploma in Photo Imaging from Billy Blue (Torrens). He was recently shortlisted for Photographer of the year in the Animal and Nature category and regularly photographs for Artful Heads magazine where he captures portraits of artists from different mediums. Find him on Instagram @alrightatart.

Josephine Renee (she/her) is a 23-year-old Meanjin author majoring in creative writing at QUT. She is the Brisbane Writers Festival 2024 Youth Ambassador and a co-president of the QUT Literary Salon, as well as the 2023 recipient of the Kellie van Meurs Memorial Scholarship. She has travelled Europe for two years, spent a year and a half in North America, and recently returned from Paris. When not gaining worldbuilding inspiration, she dedicates her time to writing and illustrating. She has work published in WhyNot, ScratchThat Magazine, and Glass Magazine. Find her on Instagram @josephine_renee_official or at josephinerenee.com.

Olivia J Pryor (She/They) is a 25-year-old Meanjin based queer trans woman writer in her final year of studying creative writing at QUT. She is a lover of speculative fiction in all its forms: sci-fi; fantasy; horror; weird fiction and others, but still enjoys reading, watching, and listening to media in all genres and forms. She cares deeply about marginalised voices in the arts, particularly queer and trans women.

 

Logo created by Josephine Renee

Art created by Sophie Gollant

 

Sophie Gollant (she/her) is marked by her earnest oil paintings and photographs of earthly, isolated scenes. Sophie’s practice is steeped in metaphors and motifs that earnestly draw on her experiences of womanhood, chronic illness, and solitude.

Instagram: @soggolla