#Inception Full Version

[asktehkoopz]

HAPPY 10TH ANNIVERSARY TO ME! 🥳

What a crazy decade it’s been, too! I’ve met a lot of good friends, people I still talk with daily and hang out with in person to this day! Despite things not being perfect in the Nintendask community (as I learned much later, haha, I kept in my lane), I still personally cherish the years I spent making art for this blog. It was my passion project for a while, but unfortunately it slowly drifted away from my grasp.

I can’t say if I’ll ever update with the tenacity that I once did. In fact, I can almost guarantee I won’t, but I like being able to come back here every once in a while to drop some new art sometimes. :]

I had a lot of big swings that I wanted to do in regards to the koopz’s arcs, some MUCH more fleshed out than others (namely Lemmy, Wendy, and Morton’s were lacking), and I’m almost positive I won’t be able to get to them in full.

So how about a big spoiler dump, huh? Every plot point, every plan, every character concept that was going to occur will be beneath the cut! If you wanna wait on me to maybe get to them over the course of another decade, please, by all means don’t read beyond!

If you���re hungry for what was cooking upstairs, then scroll on! And thank you guys for the outpouring of support I’ve constantly gotten with this blog! 💖 (Also for real, this read-more is mega long, so seriously prep yourself. Here’s the google docs version that might make it easier to read! If you have any questions about the plot stuff, uh. Maybe I'll answer them OOC?)

Also bonus comparison images! EW!!

TL;DR: The prophecy was a sort-of fake created by Kamek! It started out real, but after it officially stopped existing, it was perpetuated on accident/for emotionally selfish reasons! It didn’t start out that way when I planned the blog, but it eventually became that over the course of development discussion with BoomPom mun! Eventually the koopz were gonna give up their star child prophecy magic nonsent and live their lives how they wanted to. The end!

THE LONG VERSION

Version 1.0 of AskTehKoopz (then AskIggyAndTehKoopz):

The star children prophecy was loosely based on the Yoshi’s Island DS concept of “star children”. Each koopaling (and Bowser Junior) were imbued with an inherent, powerful magic when they were born to help them take over other kingdoms (as mentioned in their various bios). This changed both their ability to inherently harness magic as well as changing their species, explaining their strange features, specifically their pointed ears and wildly colored hair (the pointed ears admittedly did come later during the wedding arc).

The koopalings had always been planned to be unnatural magikoopas, but at the beginning of the blog’s inception, it was not concrete what exactly they each were. This will be covered below.

Version 2.0 of AskTehKoopz:

If you look in their bios, you will see that they are each noted as “Magikoopa(?) + (Where they were born)”. This, along with their last names, were a hint as to their original species. This was added circa 2017 when their bios/references were finally updated.

Originally they were the following:

Roy - Bullet Bill

Iggy - Toad

Morton -  Hammer Bro

Larry - Yoshi

Ludwig - Koopa Troopa

Wendy - Bombshell Koopa

Lemmy - I don’t knoooowwww

An additional twist had been introduced during this stage as well:

This set of koopalings (and Junior) were not the first set of prophesied star children.

Affectionately named “The Alpha Koopz”, these are what you might know as the DiC cartoon koopalings: Bully, Cheatsy, Kooky, Kootie Pie, Big Mouth, Hip, and Hop. These seven, along with a young!Bowz were the first set of star children. Back then, Bowz did not see them so much as kids he needed to take care of. Moreso they were “guys who he’s forced to do magic alongside”, despite Kamek’s pressure to be more attentive to them as the eldest. He was considerably more reckless back then with his power as well.

As aggressive and mean and selfish as the blog koopz are, they don’t surpass the sheer annoyance and danger the alpha koopz put themselves in, mainly due to Bowz’s negligence.

And because of this unfettered, reckless behavior, they managed to doom themselves to a “Game Over”, shattering the prophecy and allowing their set of star child powers (along with Bowz’s) to shoot off and embed itself into the next set of vessels. This is also why the blog koopz are “in the wrong order” with regards to their age.

In addition to gaining these star child powers, echoes of their memories and actions and dynamics exist in some of the koopz tendencies:

This is why Lemmy gravitates towards Iggy (Hip and Hop’s closeness). Cheatsy is why Larry is a kleptomaniac. Kooky is where Ludwig’s “crazy laugh” comes from. Kootie Pie is where Wendy pulled “Daddykins” from.

How did they game over? As of right now, it was a mundane and tragically, incredibly avoidable fate, one that echoes Bowser’s many in-game endings: Bully simply fell off the roof of the castle, plunging into the lava moat below. The alpha koopz had little restraint and they encouraged one another to constantly do dangerous things. Walking along the giant chains of the castle without his wand was one of these dangerous things.

If Kamek had had the power to*, if Bowz had desired to see them as more than nuisances and instead helped them learn restraint, if they had realized that despite their immense power, they weren’t invincible, they most likely would have been the koopz that were blogging.

Whomp whomp!

(*I don’t have a good place to stick this, but to put it shortly, the reason Kamek had to be hands off with the alpha koopz is because he used to have a place in what was basically a high magikoopa council. He was assigned to train Bowz to fulfill the prophecy when he was first born with his star child powers. Bowz was NOT a very good student and put himself and many others in danger as they searched for the other 7 star children. When the council hit their last straw, they nearly elected to execute Bowz, who was a child at the time, and start the process over. Kamek traded his spot in the council to spare him, as he had grown attached to Bowz. Bowz overheard this discussion and shaped up quickly. Kamek has never found out Bowz knew of this deal.)

Version 3.0 of AskTehKoopz:

All of the above in 2.0 still happened, however there is now an additional twist.

The prophecy’s a lie! Sort of!

This one was on BoomPom mun. I joked about an article referring to Kamek as a koopaling and unfortunately we came up with something tragic:

Kamek was ALSO part of a set of koopz BEFORE the alpha koopz! Whoa!

Back nearly 100 years ago, there was supposed to be a prophecy. It wasn’t Koopa Kingdom specific, just a general “Well whoever can harness these powers will be able to take over”, it just happened to be the Koopa Kingdom that found out about it first (they were a group of some mix of archeologists and scientists, I don’t remember fully*). It was a once-in-a-lifetime chance. These powers would awaken and they HAD to find someone to use them. Kamek, along with these 7 other kids/teens, were given the opportunity of a lifetime to essentially be vessels for this crazy power to help bring this prophecy to life (literally signing their souls away. The powers NEEDED a soul to latch onto and a body to stabilize itself with).

(*I think that BoomPom mun and I vaguely discussed they might have been the same people who ALSO were the ones who created the cores for the splorches that eventually became Sol, Simon, and Scotty. Yet another experiment that went terribly wrong. These guys are on FIRE. 0-2!)

So Kamek and these 7 formed a really tight sibling bond pre- and post-power. But uhhhh you really shouldn’t be giving crazy raw magical prophecy power to children. Absolute bonkers idea.

Despite their extensive training, it didn’t end well. They genuinely worked so hard to try to be the ones to help bring empires to their knees, but they were only children. I didn’t have a specific incident, all I recall was that the power was WAY beyond their control, and all 8 of them died.

Except.

Through some fail-safe Kamek set up prior to their last hurrah to revive all 8 of them (he felt something might go wrong when they did what they did), Kamek was revived. Alone.

Left in the ruins of what their own powers did to them, Kamek had to live with the guilt that he lost the prophecy, but more importantly, he lost his family, too. Unless he did something about it.

So, despite what a terrible idea it was and how dangerous it might have been, knowing these powers were linked to his sibling’s souls, he decided “I know the prophecy was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. But I’m gonna make it happen again somehow. I do not care.” And with the star child powers he still had, he tried to revive them again. Despite the blood, sweat, and tears poured into the ritual, it didn’t work.

Years passed, he’s on the magikoopa council and eventually, after finding kid!Bowz, he’s like “...Hey wait a minute, I weirdly recognize you.” (Magic vibes, general demeanor, etc.) He discovers wow! The prophecy is back on! I did it?! I DID IT?! Soon he recognizes slowly that each of the powers/souls got transferred to a random kid they need to find.

So they find the alpha koopz (i.e. cartoon koopalings) and uh. Yeah they’re all bratty asshole versions of his found family, but well. It does bring him a strange comfort knowing they’re slightly living on regardless. However Hip and Hop are weird. Like. Finishing each other’s sentences, acting in tandem, etc. It’s extremely bizarre. And he’s not really sure WHICH of his siblings Hop is?

Unsure how, but he finds out oops, after restarting the prophecy for a second time, his star child powers got sort of weird because KAMEK WAS SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD. The other 7 star child powers traveled with the souls that stabilized them, however Kamek’s star power DIDN’T HAVE A SOUL TO TRAVEL WITH CAUSE… KAMEK IS ALIVE? So that raw star power was like “Ummm… Uhhhh…… Where do I go? I need a soul to latch onto, I am an insane amount of power…” Luckily Hip and Hop are twins, so naturally, it latched onto Hip’s soul and shares a soul between the two of them while also trying to make its own soul, but it can’t do it right. Super fine and no issues happen because of that at all. They aren’t offputting and weird, I promise.

So Hop was essentially SUPPOSED to have Kamek’s soul pre-packaged with the power, but Kamek is still very much alive, so it’s sort of. Trying to make due. It’s both halfway between Kamek and Hop while ALSO soulless but ALSO trying to use Hip’s soul to ground itself while ALSO trying to artificially make a soul for itself. It’s a mess. Just understand Hop’s star child powers are a mess because Kamek is still alive.

Of course, like in 2.0, the alpha koopz’s Game Over happens, and the prophecy is broken again. Kamek assumes “Well. That’s the end of that. I don’t have enough magic power to try and restart it again, because half of it was in that freak child, so I definitely can’t do a second round of that.”

Everyone in the Koopa Kingdom, including Bowz, are like “Don’t worry, there’ll be another way we can fulfill this prophecy! They came back the first time! People were wrong that it was a once-in-a-lifetime chance!”

Kamek plays along with it, being like “Yep, that definitely happens naturally. Obviously we’re going to have another set of star children. There were no outside forces that made it happen a second time.” You know. Like a liar.

However, SURPRISE! ROY AND IGGY SHOW UP! AND ROY’S ACTING LIKE ONE OF HIS SIBS! OH GOD, I DON’T THINK THIS HOW ANY OF THIS IS SUPPOSED TO WORK. I LITERALLY DO NOT THINK THIS IS A PROPHECY THING ANYMORE. DID I ACCIDENTALLY TRAP MY SIBLING’S SOULS IN A NEVERENDING EXISTENCE LOOP CURSED TO LIVE VICARIOUSLY THROUGH OTHERS FOR ETERNITY? ALSO WHO THE HELL IS IN THAT ONE? (LOOKS AT IGGY)

(This is actually what this sketch on turtle-pen was about, with Kamek’s concern over them not being messed up, like how Hip and Hop were, haha)

So uh. Yeah, Kamek isn’t sure WHY the cycle is continuing, and he’s almost positive the prophecy’s not even really a thing anymore, but the star children stuff sure is! And the powers/souls are already super unstable by the time they get to blog koopz, and it only gets worse as time passes! (One of the earliest examples of that magical decay was Roy suddenly getting an impulse to shave his head to match Bully/pre-koopz “Roy”. Eventually this kind of thing would start happening later on down the line in higher frequency with the other koopz as well. This is actually what the third sketch on this post was alluding to. In fact, Iggy’s is actually the most unstable magic of them all, because ever since the fake-out death with Kamek, whoever got HIS star child powers was always going to be the weakest/most unstable magically. More about this will be covered in Roy’s section below)

The Koopz

What order did they all end up at Bowz’s?

I talked about how each of them got to the castle in their bios, however if you can’t piece it together, the  order is Roy/Iggy -> Ludwig -> Morton -> Wendy -> Larry -> Lemmy. Junior, I think, showed up between Wendy and Larry. Bowser just walked in with him one day. None of them know where he came from.

Why is Iggy a vegetarian? Also why are his eyes like that?

I’m gonna keep it buck: Iggy is a vegetarian purely because I wanted an excuse to make him monster-y sometimes. In 2.0 Koopz, I justified it by the star child power (being inherently a magikoopa power) not meshing well to him being a Toad, playing off the idea of Toads and Koopas being diametrically opposed.

There was a sliding scale of “how lizard” someone was based on how well their species reacted with magikoopa magic (I only remember Iggy being the most “lizard-y” and Larry being the 2nd most “lizard-y”, This is also why his eyes are like that and why he and Larry have split tongues) Eating meat weirdly triggered some primal urge in him due to the magikoopa thing, I guess?

In 3.0 Koopz, I genuinely have no reason why he can’t eat meat or has weird eyes since I got rid of the lizard-y scale, I was gonna figure it out later, haha. The 2nd pic is actually him after accidentally eating Pom’s burger when his veggie burger got swapped at a restaurant.

Who was that kid in the flashforward meme?

That’s Ozzy, Iggy and Pom’s kid! He melts! :) (cw for body horror and blood in that link) But it’s okay, he gets better!

To put it plainly, in 2.0, Pom accidentally gets some of her DNA in Iggy’s clone nonsense, and oops they have a kid now. He is NOT genetically stable. Drama ensues, and they have to figure out how to get him to not completely unravel.

At first, we thought that maybe Iggy should have him melt and clone him again without the memories of melting and present it as something he worked tirelessly on (and BoomPom mun drew an excellent comic about Pom’s reaction to it), but we couldn’t justify any way for her to forgive Iggy for basically replacing Ozzy, and Poggy was just too important to us to break up. We were stumped.

And long story short, the book Ludwig was reading when he was in se7en-sib’s world was one about DNA cloning. (But that’s spoiler stuff for se7en sib’s blog that I won’t get into, heh heh) And Ludwig, despite it being the perfect opportunity to have Iggy traumatize and disappoint Pom, tells them about it and that they should visit se7en-sib’s Kamek somehow to fix it. (He does fix it! By melting Ozzy and recreating him again. HOWEVER Ludwig and Iggy have to swear to secrecy about it. They take that shit to their graves.)

So he’s better now!

ROY:

Roy had started on the path of his biggest plot points being covered (him finally ending up with Boom and slowly showcasing his natural inclination to being a leader, despite NOT wanting to be), but I didn’t get his biggest two out of the way (one of which I’m glad I didn’t get to yet): Roy cheating and Roy almost dying.

Koopz 1.0 - Roy was going to be transphobic (specifically enbyphobic. This is actually one of the reasons he doesn’t like Larry all that much), but over time he’d learn that that’s a personal problem. He specifically had a lot to unlearn of his biases of what inherently makes someone a man/woman. Ludwig’s transition was fine with him, but Larry “switching” didn’t make sense to him. (His definition of a “man” was severely warped by his abusive father) This is actually still canon, but he learns better, of course.

Roy was also going to cheat on Boom via a night of drunken infidelity. The big twist was going to be that it was with a woman, and along with him, we find out that he’s bisexual. After some thinking it over, I ultimately decided, despite the drama that would ensue, I didn’t feel particularly comfortable perpetuating what I didn’t realize was a “cheating bisexual” stereotype. Morton’s bi as well, so maybe it would have been fine? But I was like “Uhhhh noooo I shouldn’t do that.” (I wish I could find the pic BoomPom mun drew in reference to when they got locked in a room together by Pom and Iggy to “talk it out”. Boom was punching the wall next to Roy and it was real dramatic. Oh well!) There was also a discussion about a compromise of him sleeping with other people, but letting Boom know about it beforehand? It was gonna be MESSY, haha!

Koopz 2.0/3.0 - Him coming out as bisexual changed to what was going to be a comic with Roy confronting the fact his hypermasculinity was exacerbated because he felt that not being solely attracted to men was a win for his shitty dad. (It makes sense in HIS head: being gay but also being hyper-masculine and liking pink was to piss off his dad. But if he’s actually also attracted to women, then his dad gets what he wants, right? For him to like women?) It was going to end in a sweet moment where Boom reassured him being bi didn’t mean his dad was right about him.

Now to Roy almost dying. Hoo boy. So as mentioned, the star child powers they all got were already quite unstable. As time went on, things started unraveling at a quicker pace. Roy started having weird flashbacks/visions in his dreams (only telling Iggy), which are of course visions of the alpha koopz. Soon enough all the present-day koopz would start to have moments where they physically re-enact something the previous star children did. This was especially prevalent when certain koopz interacted with one another (like if Lemmy and Iggy brushed by each other, suddenly they’re acting exactly like Hip and Hop again for a short while). These moments not only got more frequent, but longer as well.

And we’d build up to Roy, like Bully, on the roof, the rest of the koopz in their hazy, lucid states, encouraging him, like the alpha koopz did so long ago. None of them would be really in their right minds, it was all going to be very dramatic. There was gonna be rain and everything, building up to the inevitable of the cycle being broken again.

What’s the difference this time around? Roy’s dating Boom. And Boom solves this the only way he knows how: by clocking Roy in the face before he almost slips and falls. So Roy gets knocked out, which manages to knock ALL the other koopz out of their weird stupor.

This plotline gets resolved by the koopz having a heart-to-heart with each other, with Bowz, and with Kamek, who comes clean about the whole prophecy thing, which isn’t quite real anymore (due to the 3.0 change). Professing how he just missed his family and didn’t want any of this to happen nor did he know any of this was going to happen.

Ultimately they’d come to the conclusion that they need to let these weird soul/magic things go, to stop anchoring their souls and not allowing them to move on, and to let the koopz live how they were supposed to. Kamek can’t guarantee they’ll be able to even harness magic anymore, or honestly if this would even work, but they end up performing a VERY extensive, painful, and tiring ritual that allows Kamek closure, allows the blog koopz to meet the alpha koopz for a moment, and allows them to live their normal lives. (As koopa royalty, but you know.)

There was also a planned Nintendask event where Roy was going to raise his father from the dead to confront him about his shitty behavior. Chaos was going to ensue and there was going to be a small “Zombie apocalypse” event similar to the revolution arc that occurred.

IGGY:

The main things with Iggy had already pretty much occurred: Hooking up with Pom -> Love poisoning himself -> Confrontation with Ludwig about it -> ??? -> Profit. Honestly there truly only one plot point that didn’t get to be touched on, and that’s Marilyn! (Those who follow turtle-pen probably know Marilyn)

Koopz 1.0: Like I said, at first the star child powers were going to be specifically magikoopa and make Iggy super weirdly unstable magically. He at first would dye his hair blue/yellow/pink (Hop’s colors. This is pre-alpha koopz) to not stick out in Toad society. His parents were a LITTLE worried about his nonconformity. He was going to run away from home, because oops he ate meat and hurt his parents pretty bad. I THINK at one point this switched to him accidentally killing them, but we don’t talk about the Edgy Koopz Era. This was switched back to harming them pretty soon after.

Koopz 2.0: After the introduction of the Hop thing, it now became less “He dyed his hair to fit in” and “He dyed his hair because he Mysteriously Doesn’t Know Why.”

Truly the biggest change/introduction was the inception of Marilyn. HE IS… Once again a thinly-veiled excuse to shove some favorite tropes onto Iggy. BoomPom mun and I got super into the Jekyll and Hyde musical (specifically with Anthony Warlow), and we went “Iggy should get a Hyde thing going on”. So in combination with the weird “can’t eat meat lest you go sicko mode” thing, we decided to justify it by making it be Iggy try to get rid of his “lizardness”. (This was when the lizard scale still existed) It manifested as Marilyn, who REALLY hated Iggy and REALLY liked Pom. Shenanigans ensued.

Koopz 3.0: Once the lizard scale was taken out, we were like “Uhhhh Marilyn shouldn’t exist anymore”, however unfortunately I love him. So YOU REMEMBER THAT LOVE POTION ANTIDOTE THAT POM GAVE IGGY THAT MADE HIM SICK? Yeah Marilyn came from that now. That weird star child magic latched onto this manifestation of emotions that became his own being (you can see it in the last two pics here). Sue me, man.

You can read more about him on turtle-pen, but the end-game was that Marilyn was sent to Sol’s lab to work for him so he could be humbled and he fell for Bob. A huge nerd. He also became besties with Scotty. The end.

Outside of this, I really had no other big sweeping plot points for Iggy to cover, other than him and Boom learning to get along, potentially meeting Boom and Pom’s actually alive parents (This was only briefly discussed with BoomPom mun, and we didn’t plan much further than that other than AU discussions), and the introduction of Ozzy.

Oh and Iggy was also going to come to terms with IDing as agender during 1.0, but I ultimately never got around to confirming it.

MORTON:

I believe really the only big plot situation that was going to happen for Morton was developing further about his crush on Birdetta only for him to get turned down. I was juggling seven kids, man.

Other than this, I don’t think I ever fully explained how he lost his leg? It was implied in his flashback, but his father (a hardass) was the type to be like “Speak when spoken to” to a degree that was unhealthy. At the military base he was raised on, he managed to get a pretty bad cut on his leg, but, in fear of his father, he never spoke up about it. It developed sepsis and well you know how that goes.

LARRY:

Koopz 1.0: The biggest change was Larry getting hit with the Edgy Koopz Beam as well, similarly to Iggy. He was normal, then shifted to being more violent, back to being normal again.

Koopz 2.0: Even in 1.0, Larry was always planned to have been dealing with depression and anxiety via… self-medicating. However 2.0 is really what changed the cause from intrinsic to extrinsic. The main thing that exacerbated his smoking habit, depression, and anxiety was that he found out they weren’t the only set of kids Bowz had dealt with. I don’t know how, but he somehow managed to find out about the alpha koopz. He kept that secret to himself, but it not only made him feel replaceable/used, but it soured his opinion on Bowz as a whole.

Ultimately Larry was going to get therapy, discuss with the other koopz what he knew about the previous star children, and eventually ween away from his drug habit. I can’t find the post, but I did mention it when doing some ask meme about rating ships and someone sent in a Larry/Weed one and I went “0/5”, haha.

LUDWIG:

There’s honestly not much to say here. Truly most of Ludwig’s arcs have been concluded: his crush on Pom has been wrapped up, him coming out to the koopz as trans (officially) has happened, and he’s on track with his HRT.

The only current plan that had been in motion was to more properly have him and Iggy talk it out and Pom be a wingman for him in his further romantic endeavors.

I suppose that there were also potential plans for him and Scotty to end up together because. Um. They’re cute. (There was also a mild discussion of him and Trudy as well, but there was a lot more discussion between BoomPom mun and I about him and Scotty!)

WENDY:

Similarly to Morton, Wendy didn’t have much going on on her end in regards to big arching plot points either, other than ending up with Chuck eventually and also confronting her insecurities with feeling like she’s not very special!

LEMMY:

And like Morton and Wendy before him, uh. Lemmy didn’t have much! The only planned thing was the drama of his type 1 diabetes diagnosis and that’s IT. Maybe bring back his mom since that was touched on?

Endgame for the Koopz:

They were going to give up their star child powers and return to normalcy, as mentioned in Roy’s section. However they’re still royals so of course it’s still a weird and exciting life for them. I believe they all still end up with the ability to use magic, but it’s much more elbow grease then they’re used to working with.

Roy was going to have a kid with Boom! Unsure if biologically/magically or adopted. Somehow they get their little girl, Stevie, though! I think Roy would also get in touch with his estranged sister that I only just realized I haven’t brought up (4th pic here!).

Roy and Larry were going to end up as co-DJs together working at a nightclub.

Iggy and Pom were gonna have Ozzy, and honestly? Kinda just continue to get into crazy shenanigans. Iggy wanted to rule the Koopa Kingdom but somehow he manages to get convinced not to. (He would NOT be good at it) Iggy would also get in touch with his parents again. They really did miss him after all of these years.

Ludwig and Wendy are going to be the ACTUAL co-rulers of the Koopa Kingdom. They were both so hard-headed and stubborn about it, fighting tooth and nail to make it to the top, Bowz just crowned them both. I think Ludwig also would get in touch with his bio-family as well.

I don’t remember in full what was going to happen with Morton and Lemmy as their end game? Lemmy might have become a circus performer and Morton the military general of the Koopa Army? I really don’t recall to be honest!

And that’s it! That’s all the plot I remember! If you made it this far, thank you for reading!

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Writing Notes: The Baroque Period

The Baroque Period of music - occurred from roughly 1600 to 1750.

It was preceded by the Renaissance era and followed by the Classical era.

The Baroque period was a revolutionary time in music history that saw a full embrace of polyphony, ornamentation, and harmonic sophistication.

The style spread throughout Europe over the course of the 17th century, with notable Baroque composers emerging in Germany, Italy, France, and England.

The era was not limited to music. Baroque painting (by masters like Caravaggio and Peter Paul Rubens), Baroque sculpture (led by Gian Lorenzo Bernini), and Baroque architecture (particularly in the Catholic church) were other celebrated forms of Baroque art in the 17th and 18th centuries.

The term Baroque can refer to all of these art forms in addition to music.

Characteristics of Baroque Music

Baroque music made notable advances from the Renaissance period, many of which are still employed by contemporary musicians and composers. Baroque music often has the following characteristics:

Emphasis on dynamics: During the Baroque era, the pianoforte (an early version of the piano) replaced the harpsichord as the primary keyboard instrument. The pianoforte (called a klavier in German) struck strings with felted hammers, whereas the harpsichord plucked the strings. This meant the pianoforte could play both soft and loud, opening new dynamic possibilities. Other new Baroque instruments, like the valve trumpet and the violin, also had immense dynamic potential. Renaissance instruments like the lute were still played, but they were eclipsed in popularity by newer, more dynamic options.

Embrace of instrumental music: Prior to the Baroque era, a great amount of music was vocal music used in liturgical settings. While Baroque composers still embraced singing in the form of chorales, cantatas, and opera, instrumental music became increasingly popular. Some of the most renowned pieces of Baroque music, such as Vivaldi's Four Seasons or Bach's Brandenburg Concerto, are instrumental pieces.

Ornamentation: Much like Baroque architecture and sculpture, Baroque music embraces flair. Even the simplest melodies were often embellished with ornamentations like trills, acciaccaturas, appoggiaturas, mordents, and turns.

Basso continuo: Basso continuo notation became popular during the Baroque era. This form of music notation includes a complete bass line, which is usually played by a cello in a Baroque ensemble. A player of a keyboard instrument like a harpsichord or piano then improvises chords using figured bass notation. Solo organ players often play basso continuo notation entirely on their own.

A Brief History of Baroque Music

After its inception in Italy, Baroque music expanded throughout Europe thanks to composers like Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel.

Origin in Italy: The early Baroque era of music centered in Italy. Italian composers based in Rome and its surroundings composed music that drew on the traditions of the Renaissance era but also expanded its harmonic and ornamental boundaries. Notable Italian Baroque composers include Alessandro Scarlatti (and his son Domenico Scarlatti), Antonio Corelli, and Claudio Monteverdi. Antonio Vivaldi was the last major Italian Baroque composer. He worked in the later Baroque era, overlapping with George Frideric Handel and Johann Sebastian Bach.

German influence: As musicians traveled throughout Europe, the Baroque style caught on, and new composers added new elements. The English composer Henry Purcell and French composers like Jean-Baptiste Lully and Jean-Phillippe Rameau made marks, but it was the German school of Baroque music that was most influential. Georg Philipp Telemann, Michael Praetorius, Johann Pachelbel, and most of all Johann Sebastian Bach helped define the high Baroque period. Another prominent German was George Frideric Handel, although he spent nearly his entire career in England.

End of an era: The Baroque period's end is tied to the death of Bach in 1750. The second half of the eighteenth century and early nineteenth century marked the Classical period, where composers like Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Franz Joseph Haydn built on the foundation laid by Baroque composers.

Baroque Period Musical Forms

Popular Baroque musical forms include the prelude and fugue, the cantata, the concerto, the oratorio, the sonata, and even opera.

Like prior Renaissance compositions, many Baroque pieces have religious themes.

Baroque composers were aligned with both the Catholic church and, following the 16th century Protestant Reformation, other denominations like Lutheranism.

Notable Baroque Composers

The Baroque era gave rise to many composers whose works are still regularly played. Three particularly notable composers of the Baroque period are:

Johann Sebastian Bach: No composer better defines the High Baroque era than J.S. Bach. Based largely in Leipzig, Germany, Bach was a master organ player (among many other instrumental talents) and a composer who created both liturgical and secular music. Bach's brilliance lay in his mastery of counterpoint and harmonic transformation. Works like The Well-Tempered Klavier, The Art of the Fugue, and the Brandenburg Concertos remain essential parts of the classical music repertoire.

George Frideric Handel: Born in Germany but notably a Londoner, Handel composed Baroque landmarks like Water Music and the opera Rodrigo. Yet he is most remembered for Messiah, an English-language oratorio composed in 1742. His Music for the Royal Fireworks was commissioned by King George II and firmly established his place in British music history.

Antonio Vivaldi: A Venetian composer, Vivaldi was famed for his mastery of the violin. His musical compositions reflect his instrumental virtuosity. The most famous of these is Four Seasons, a series of violin concertos that is widely performed by today's classical musicians. During his lifetime, Vivaldi made most of his income as an opera composer, where he pushed thematic boundaries in works like 1716's Arsilda, regina di Ponto.

Source ⚜ More: Notes & References ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

[thirstkanaphan]

hello!! i really wanted to get back into the ateez lore it's already VERY confusing and the fact that there isn't much explanation out there (or I couldnt find it) isn't helping. so do you have anything that I could refer to?? thank you<33

Hi Anon!

I recently caught up with the lore with the help of these resources and a lore tutor who put together a very comprehensive syllabus that really worked for me! I've been recapping my journey through the lore under the tag #thirst gets lore-pilled but I have only written up to Fever Part 3.

I would start with ateezstoryline.com ! They have all the diaries and links to relevant videos. I suggest @atiny-for-life or @bunnakit for more in-depth coverage. @TinyBugInk on Youtube also has some great videos full of fun theories and speculating.

I'm going to borrow a bit from the syllabus that my lore tutor provided, since that really worked for me!

Treasure

[technically the first series of albums, but they come later in the lore storyline]

WATCH Treasure Ep. 1 'Intro: Long Journey'

WATCH Treasure Ep. 1 "Treasure" teaser

WATCH Treasure Ep. 1 "All To Zero" Preview

WATCH Pirate King MV

WATCH Treasure MV

WATCH Hala Hala performance video

WATCH Say My Name teaser

WATCH Treasure Ep 2 Preview

WATCH Say My Name MV

WATCH Hala Hala MV

WATCH Illusion MV teaser

WATCH Wave MV teaser

WATCH Treasure Ep. 3 Preview

WATCH Illusion MV

LISTEN Crescent

WATCH Wave MV

WATCH Aurora MV

WATCH Wave - Overture [Kingdom performance]

WATCH Utopia (Japanese Ver.)

WATCH Treasure FIN teaser [all members]

WATCH Wonderland preview

WATCH Treasure FIN preview

LISTEN End of Beginning

WATCH Wonderland MV

WATCH Wonderland comeback stage [M Countown]

WATCH Symphony No.9 "From The Wonderland"

LISTEN Beginning of the End

WATCH Treasure Epilogue trailer

WATCH Answer performance preview

WATCH Treasure Epilogue preview

WATCH Answer MV teaser

WATCH Answer MV

WATCH Answer comeback stage [M Countdown]

WATCH Answer: Ode to Joy

Fever

[prequel to the events of Treasure, showing the boys in World A]

WATCH Fever Part 1 Diary Film teaser

WATCH Fever Part 1 Diary Film

WATCH Fever Road [the clips that bookend each episode expand on the backstories of the characters[

WATCH Zero: Fever 1 Preview

WATCH Inception MV teaser

WATCH THANXX MV teaser

WATCH Inception MV

WATCH THANXX MV

WATCH Fever Ateez comeback concert

READ: Fever Part 1 Diary entries

READ: Diary Version photocard stories

WATCH Fever Part 2 concept teasers 1 + 2

WATCH Fireworks performance preview

WATCH Fever Pt. 2 album preview

WATCH Fireworks MV teaser

WATCH Fireworks MV

WATCH Fireworks comeback stage

WATCH Celebrate special video

READ: Fever Pt. 2 diary entries

WATCH Fever Pt. 3 Preview

WATCH Eternal Sunshine MV teaser

WATCH Deja Vu MV teaser

WATCH Deja Vu MV

WATCH Deja Vu comeback stage

WATCH Eternal Sunshine special teaser clip

WATCH Eternal Sunshine MV

READ: Fever Pt. 3 Diaries

WATCH Dreamers MV

WATCH Rocky MV

WATCH Turbulence MV teaser

WATCH Turbulence MV

WATCH The Real MV teasers 1 + 2

WATCH Zero Fever Epilogue preview

WATCH The Real MV

READ Fever Epilogue Diary Entries

LISTEN: Outro: Over the Horizon

World

[we are in World Z now, trying to overthrow the government]

WATCH The Awakening of Summer (Kingdom performance)

WATCH Wake Up, The World

WATCH World Ep. 1 Official Trailers 1 + 2

WATCH Guerrilla performance preview

WATCH Guerrilla MV teaser 1 + 2

WATCH The World album preview

WATCH Guerrilla MV

LISTEN: Propaganda

READ World Ep 1 Movement Diaries

WATCH The World Ep. Paradigm preview [inst. ver]

WATCH Paradigm preview

WATCH Paradigm MV teaser 1 + 2

WATCH Paradigm MV

LISTEN: Outro: Liberty

WATCH Limitless MV teaser 1 + 2

WATCH Limitless MV

WATCH World: Outlaw official trailer

WATCH Operation: Outlaw

WATCH Operation: Wake Up

WATCH Operation: This World

WATCH Operation: Dune

WATCH Operation: Django

WATCH Bouncy MV teasers 1 + 2

WATCH Bouncy MV opening

WATCH Bouncy MV

READ: Outlaw diaries

WATCH World: FIN trailer

WATCH World FIN tracklist preview [instrumental]

WATCH World FIN track preview

WATCH Crazy Form MV teasers 1 + 2

WATCH Crazy Form MV

WATCH World FIN "World A" Preview

WATCH World FIN WILL Outro

WATCH Crazy Form MBC 211231

LISTEN: Crescent Part 2

WATCH MATZ MV

WATCH Youth MV

WATCH It's You MV

WATCH Everything MV

LISTEN: FIN: WILL

READ: World FIN diaries

WATCH Not Okay MV teaser 1 + 2

WATCH Not Okay MV

READ: THe World: To The End, extra diary entry

WATCH *Chung Ha, Eenie Meenie (there's a guardian!)

Spin Off: From the Witness

[where are we? when are we?]

WATCH Halazia MV teasers 1 +2

WATCH I'VE SEEN IT, WILL YOU？

WATCH Halazia MV

WATCH Epilogue

WATCH Halazia MBC 221231

WATCH Halazia Mnet 230112

WATCH Halazia inkigayo 230115

LISTEN: Outro: Blue Bird

Golden Hour

[Back in World A...or are we?]

WATCH Be: First x Ateez HUSH-HUSH teaser + MV

WATCH Golden Hour Intro

WATCH GH1 preview

WATCH Work MV teaser 1 + 2

WATCH (once upon a time) #shorts

WATCH Work MV

WATCH Special Clip: Empty Box

READ GH1 Diaries

WATCH Birthday MV teaser 1 + 2

WATCH Birthday MV

WATCH GH2 preview

WATCH IOMT MV teaser 1 + 2

WATCH IOMT MV

LISTEN: Scene 1: Value

READ: GH2 Diaries

WATCH GH3 preview

WATCH Lemon Drop MV

READ GH3 diary

LISTEN Bridge: The End of Reality

I'm going to quote @loving-that-officey-feel who gave me some great disclaimers going into this process:

They have a habit of showing us things long before they tell us what they actually are. Which is why I put some things on the list purely because it has the sense of 'this is a loose thread that has not connected yet but we will probably see again'.,

This also means the diary entries are often talking about the stuff we've seen in previous mv's. Like stuff we see in Treasure is explained in Fever diaries. Stuff we see in Fever is explained in World diaries... so we know some of what's going on in Golden Hour, but I am 100% sure there are also other things going on that they're currently keeping under their hats,

the longer we go on, the more clearly important Halazia gets, but because we still know so little about how it fits in the universe/timeline, the imagery around Halazia is almost more important because that's the only thing we've got to go off of how it connects to everything else at this points,

they do a lot of storytelling just with their visual vernacular. Color temperature of light, repeating visual imagery, (which is why all lore-tiny's are kind of unhinged because the point is to connect 'I saw this thing back here which is now repeated in the new mv over there' and figuring out what the connection tells out about the story and the timeline. Which is why I always pay attention to all the trailers they give us, even if the surface it just seems like 'visuals pretty'. Nah man, everything is deliberate with these dudes,

once you get caught up on the storyline, you'll realize that every single song on every single album has essentially two meanings. The meaning of if you know absolutely nothing about ATEEZ and you are just casually listening to a song and take the lyrics at face value, and then an entirely different second interpretation where if you think about the lyrics in the context of the point in the lore to which that album belongs, it is about that part of the lore.,

GOOD LUCK!!

[my-plastic-life]

Inspiring Women: Rumiko Takahashi

New custom doll is here! I'm sure we all know about the Mattel Barbie Inspiring Women doll line, right? Well, I took it upon myself to create one of my own because I'm sure Mattel will never make one lol. Click here for behind the scenes on how I made this doll!

I opted to create an Inspiring Woman Barbie based off Rumiko Takahashi, the Japanese manga artist who created my all-time favorite manga and anime, Inuyasha. But that isn't the sole reason she's deserving of this title. Yes, that creation got me into all things Japan and introduced me to the entire anime genre, but this mangaka has excelled in her career for 45 years - a profession that has been primarily male-dominated since its inception.

I also created a box for her designed after the official Mattel Inspiring Women boxes. The outfit she's wearing is inspired by the one she wore during the 2023 knighthood honor she received. Accessories include her most recent book, Rumiko Takahashi: Colors 1978-2024, as well as her 35th anniversary book that comes with removable genuine sketches, plus the first volume of the Inuyasha manga (original Japanese version). The doll I used was the Asian sister of Ariel from the live action Little Mermaid, but I cut her hair and styled it differently, painted some age lines on her face, removed her pink eyeshadow, and gave her some glasses. I also gave her a curvy body with the same articulation that dolls in this series have - movement at the shoulder, elbow, wrist, hip, and knee. Because I'm that much of a perfectionist. :D

Doll in the Inspiring Women box. The scene behind her is an actual photo of Rumiko Takahashi's studio.

Back of the box, all made by me based on actual Inspiring Women boxes.

Fun facts: Takahashi has never been married, and she has stated in interviews that she doesn't plan to. In addition, she works with women exclusively as she writes and creates. She has specifically said that she wouldn't hire a male assistant because he would be "troublesome." She prefers the atmosphere of a studio of women working together without distraction. Her work stands out among other shonen pieces because of its creativity, complex characters, and nuanced romances. Her woman and girl characters are never accessories to the guy hero, which was often the case in early shonen stories, especially. Takahashi often likes to implement strong, independent, multi-facetted female characters in leading roles into her stories. Talk about girl power!

Now for more information as to why she's so deserving of having her own doll in my collection. :D Strap in, because this post is a doozy!

BIO: Rumiko Takahashi (born Oct. 10, 1957) is the best-selling female comic artist of all time, selling more than 170 million copies of her work in Japan alone, and one of the names by which to reckon the evolution of anime. She is one of the wealthiest women in Japan, all of her longer running manga have become TV series, and nearly everything she has written has been adapted into animation (OVA or TV). Perhaps more importantly, her influence and the nature of her series since 1980 have been cited as large contributors to the perception and acceptance of anime as a medium today.

Rumiko with her new Colors book. Outfit inspired by the one she wore when receiving her knighthood.

All of Takahashi’s work has become popular throughout the world, and with more than 20 years of publishing her manga art, she earned the title of The Princess of Manga.

Takahashi's professional career began in 1978 when she was a university student. That year, she worked on her first full-length series entitled Urusei Yatsura. It became one of the most loved manga and anime comedies in Japan. In 1980, when she began to publish regularly, she began her second major series, Maison Ikkoku. This series is now considered to be one of the all-time best manga romances.

As her stories appeared and attracted many fans, Takahashi grew in popularity as an artist while improving her writing and artistic abilities. In 1987, a huge year for her career success, three of her most well-known stories ended and she began work on Ranma ½. The series continued for nearly a decade until 1996, when it ended at 38 volumes. Ranma ½ and its anime adaptation are cited as some of the first of their mediums to have become popular in the United States. While publishing Ranma ½, Takahashi was hospitalized several times for peritonitis. But even during her second hospital stay, the series did not stop.

35th anniversary book has removable sketches - real photos actually drawn by the artist. The background is an actual photo of her basement (note all her figures!)

During the latter half of the 1990s, Takahashi began her fourth major work, Inuyasha. With this series, Takahashi is also often said to be the first woman to successfully set foot in the Shōnen genre and leave a lasting impact on it. To date, Inuyasha is her longest-running series, ending in 2008. In 2020, it received a sequel series titled Yashahime: Princess Half Demon.

In the basement library (actually in her home) with the first volume of the Inuyasha manga.

On July 30, 2008, Takahashi noted her 30th anniversary as a mangaka, and on July 8, 2009, during Shonen Sunday's 50th anniversary celebration, characters from three of her most popular series (Urusei Yatsura, Ranma ½, and Inuyasha) joined together in a short crossover to welcome everyone to the celebratory milestone. That same year, VIZ Media, one of the entertainment industry’s most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, announced the launch of a brand new imprint, Shonen Sunday, featuring the works of some of the top shonen manga creators in the world today. Takahashi's series RIN-NE was the first to be featured in the new imprint, and was the first manga novel ever to be published simultaneously in Japan and North America.

In her studio showing off genuine sketches. Featured here: Featured here: Lum from Urusei Yatsura, the Tendo house from Ranma 1/2, and Inuyasha character heights. This outfit is inspired by the one she wore at the Rumic World 30th anniversary ribbon-cutting.

Early in her career, Takahashi expressed that though she doesn't write love stories often, she loves a good love story. While none of her works are straightforward romances, many of her works early and later on have compelling romance subplots that are integral to the characters and world. Her works like Inuyasha and Ranma 1/2 are known for their romances. Takahashi's romances are varied, and they are trendsetting. They set the standard for popular romance tropes like slow-burn romances and love triangles. The love triangle between Kagome, Kikyo, and Inuyasha is one of the most iconic in all anime.

In her studio showing off genuine sketches. Featured here: Ranma from Ranma 1/2, Lum from Urusei Yatsura, and Mao and Kiba from Mao.

In her studio showing off genuine sketches. Featured here: Yashahime, Inuyasha 20th anniversary, and Inuyasha, Kagome, and Moroha.

Outfit inspired by the one worn during the Rumic World 30th anniversary ribbon cutting.

HONORS: * Takahashi won the New Comic Artist Award in 1978. * Winner of the 1994 Inkpot Award at The San Diego Comic Con in America. *In 2016, ComicsAlliance listed Takahashi as one of 12 women cartoonists deserving of lifetime achievement recognition, stating that "any one of her projects would be the career highlight of another talent." In 2017, Takahashi was inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame as part of the 2016 class. *In July 2018, Takahashi was inducted into the Eisner Hall of Fame. She was previously nominated for entry in 2014, 2016 and 2017. *In January 2019, Takahashi won the grand prize at the prestigious Angouleme International Comics Festival in France, becoming the second woman and second Japanese manga artist to win the award at the festival. * In 2020, Takahashi was awarded Japan's Medal with Purple Ribbon. First awarded in 1955, this honor is awarded to individuals who have contributed to academic and artistic developments, improvements, and accomplishments. * Takahashi was inducted into the Harvey Awards Hall of Fame in October 2021. The Harvey Awards are one of the comic industry's oldest and most prestigious awards. Recognizing outstanding achievement in multiple categories, the Harvey's have been a fixture of the comic industry since 1988. * In April 2023, Takahashi was conferred the Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Order of Arts and Letters) by the French government. She is the first female mangaka to receive this honor.

Books: 35th anniversary (with removable genuine sketches inside), Colors: 1978-2024, and volume 1 of the Inuyasha manga.

Genuine sketches, all fit inside the 35th anniversary book.

Source photos (first is from being bestowed a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters, second is from the Rumic World 30th anniversary ribbon cutting in 2008):

[master-of-unlocking-things]

Ok my last post was to be funny but also genuinely, I would love to see a standalone Trish spinoff game. Because she is such an interesting character that has yet to be explored to her full potential. Dmc1 was her genesis so we aren’t gonna get her full character from there. She wasn’t relevant in dmc2. She was present in dmc4 but we only got to see her in another “descendent of Sparda” story. We got to see more of her personality of course, but we didn’t get to see her. And it feels disingenuous to even say she was in dmc5. We’ve gotten glimpses if her personality but like, I wanna see TRISH. She’s only ever been a side character and never had her own real story. Even in her anime episode

Does she have to grapple with her demonic nature like Dante did? She’s surrounded by people who are at least some form of human, like Dante is half, Nero is a quarter, and Lady is full. But she’s 100% demon. Does that talk about humanity and stuff affect her? Does she feel subhuman? Does she feel like a ticking time bomb that can switch up and kill her loved ones at any time like Lucia did? I know we got the “devils never cry thing” but I know damn well she didn’t just go “nvm dante you’re so right” and then never introspect again.

If you absolutely can’t tell one dmc related story without Dante- how does she feel about resembling Eva? Does she struggle with her own identity? Does she feel like she’ll never escape Eva’s shadow in Dante’s eyes? (we know Dante’s feelings on that, but does she?) Does she work harder to try and prove herself to him? Does she feel like a lesser version of Dante? We know she left Devil May Cry (or Devil Never Cry at that point in time, dogshit name btw) to go do her own thing, so what was she doing while exploring the human world out on her own for the first time? Prior to that, all of her experiences included Dante or Dante related activities. How did she feel being left to her own devices? Who is Trish? Does she even know the answer to that? Was that what she tried to find? Her entire existence upon her inception was centered around Dante. How does she feel about that?

Her case is unique to Dante and Vergil and Nero’s because they’re already partially human. Dante only accepted his humanity, Nero didn’t even know he was part demon until later in his life, and Vergil HAD to accept his humanity that was already there.

This isn’t the same as Lucia either. She came prepackaged with humanity, was discarded by Arius for it, and raised by Matier. Her arc was REALIZING that she was a demon and coping with that. She was already her own person with her own life BEFORE meeting Dante. She was always a “good guy.”

Trish never got that luxury. She wasn’t created by some business man, she was created by the prince of darkness himself- the literal ruler of hell. The incarnate of evil and hatred. She spawned in as an expendable force of destruction. She was supposed to be a cold blooded killing machine, and until Dante changed her heart she was. She was considered pure evil. How does she feel about that? Does she have nightmares about her time with Mundus? Does she still feel capable of evil? Does she channel that into her mischievous nature? How did she further develop her personality? How did she begin to interact with the world around her? What’s her romantic life look like?

I wanna get to know Trish as a person. Like, we already know her, we have an established character for her, but I wanna get to know her beyond the surface level and outside of a Dante-centric story. I feel like a game or comic or little miniseries about Trish discovering her identity would be very cool and neat! Like I do love Dante dearly but can he please take a back seat for a second and let the other characters breathe? (I say like he’s real and this is his fault lmfao)

Also if this ever does happen for the love of god do not let Hideki Kamiya write it. We need to stop glazing him and realize that he wanted Trish and Dante to fuck and that alone should make us say “hey don’t let this man near devil may cry anymore” idgaf if he created it he can’t be trusted with it.

[thirteens-earring]

[ My second claim derives from the first: in the face of the ontological problematization of transsexuality, a trans feminist strain of embodied thought (or praxis) has sought to enable trans life by sidestepping ontologization and, rather than asking what the transsexual is, instead developing techniques by which transitions might be more fully effectuated. This trans pragmatism affirms in all places that transition works, that despite expectations, it is possible, and that it happens. The politics of trans pragmatism has consisted of a resistance to the ontologizing demands of medicalization, pathologization, and even liberal accounts of irresistible LGBT interiority, and the development of methods for passing (the acrobatics of the penile tuck, for example), for cultivating pleasure (the trans-specific sexual techniques documented in contemporary zine culture), and for evading various forms of racial and sexual surveillance.

As an essentially pragmatic philosophy, the trans cultivation of technique has been neither “essentialist” nor “anti-essentialist,” insofar as those terms have organized much of the political content of feminist thought since the 1970s. Nonetheless, trans women especially have figured as the scapegoat for a critical branch of feminist thought which understands reproductive capacity (in the biological rather than Marxist sense of the term) as the sole grounds of the oppression of women. Though this branch of “trans-exclusionary radical feminism” (“terf”) was relegated to the sidelines of feminist organizing from its inception in the early 1980s until the last few years, since the so-called trans tipping point of circa 2014, antitrans feminism has suddenly become a massive cultural force, aligned with religious and social conservatives in the pursuit of trans-exclusionary social policy. While terfism seeks the full ontologization of transsexuality along essentially liberal lines, trans pragmatism operates as an informal but global mutual aid society, with trans people online swapping practical tips for evading state capture in much the same way as their Victorian and early-modernist forebears. ]

Grace Lavery, Pleasure and Efficacy: Of Pen Names, Cover Versions, and Other Trans Techniques (2023)

[emblemxeno]

As someone who loves how cringe and fun Sonic is, have you SEEN how edgy Shadow is? He got flipping doom wings in the latest game and they went ALL in on it! And yet he's beloved people LOVE the edge of that hog. But it also kind of reminds me of people fighting over Movie Sonic and saying he's cringe and quips too and have these people seen 90's Sonic? That's his thing. He's like Spiderman he never shuts up and idk I feel like it's something to be said about fandoms now, they want thing to be deep and have a "morally gray" message instead of fun whimsy and fiction at the same time relate and attach to something instead of enjoying something.

3H's message was bad and I'm tired of pretending it's not, the whole game's world revolves around the backstory of a race who they just throw away because the red emperor is a girl, it's like the weird side thing they do in Awakening going to Walmart that has nothing to do with the main story but it's the whole damn game. What 3H does well and why it continues to dominate is how it gets you practically para-socially attached to the cast, and that's not a good thing it's like there are people who are stans to their celebs or people who will ride or die for their brand, 3H somehow hit that group and frankly it's a little disturbing how well it did how insanely attached people are to that game and cast, I'd love a psychological study on it tbh. Because you know what game does "you do what you can when everything is falling apart" well? Conquest which is my favorite for that reason. It's not perfect but the message to me about bonds over blood and how there is no justice in the world but it's the little things you do and the choices you make to get by, most people aren't going to lead a massive revolution they don't have the power, you just want your loved ones safe. Does it do it perfectly? No but nothing does, replaying it right now in this time period though makes it hit...so much harder to me. And everyone shits on that game despite making a hell of a lot more sense than 3H

Sorry for rambling in your inbox but to end this off, reality fucking sucks let has have whimsy, let us have cringe, let us have ultimate edge, let us have fantasy and stories that are just there to entertain us, crazy designs and uniqueness, because right now it's all we have

SPEAK LOUDER! SHOUT IT FROM THE ROOFS!

I think there's a lot of nuance lost in how media can be categorized. Like, Shadow is stereotyped as the prime "Edgy McEdgelord" character, but from my perspective, being a cringe edgelord isn't what Shadow has ever embodied (aside from when the social media market team for Sonic leaned into those perceptions, god that era is insane looking back at it).

Shadow's story is genuinely sincere and trying to be something memorable, heartfelt and really fucking cool. How it was presented in SA2 is exactly why he got so fucking popular. The warts started showing when extraneous aspects started to affect it, such as the amnesia subplot in Heroes and Shadow 05, the kind of forced gunplay and weaponry in Shadow 05 (it only made sense in 06 after he became an agent), and whatever the hell his Boom characterization was.

Shadow Gens (and I heard the movie version of him as well) leans into being sincerely fucking cool. It's edgy, but not tryhard. It's effortless. It's full of sauce. And the Sonic series itself embodied that from its inception! A simple yet unfortunately poignant story of saving the environment and liberating oppressed groups from the greedy and selfish ambitions of a tech bro (though at least Eggman has massive fucking charisma)

Thank you for bringing up Spiderman because I agree so much that Spiderman is on the same wavelength as Sonic (I even have plushies of both!), that I get weird vibes from people who say they hate them. Like, everyone's thoughts on Sonic games or Spiderman media are valid, but hating them as characters? They're just little guys making jokes, helping people, and living as themselves!

And again, you hit the nail on the head with the parasocial aspect, because I think at a point where someone starts envoking behavior of celeb stans, things have gotten really fucking dour. A central point of interactive media like video games is that there's an intentional degree of separation from the makers of the art and the audience who consumes it.

There are points to be told and lessons to be learned from stories, but they are still things we individually should recognize as things not to attach our personhood to. The FE fandom can't unanimously agree with the fact that the genocide of a particular race is bad, for example, because too many people have aligned their social presence with one of 3H's factions. And that's a real huge fucking issue! Were we not making progress IRL by trying to counteract the idea that victims don't have to be perfect or wholly pure in all intentions/actions?

Some things, like the morality and motivations of joining a war, are nuanced. But starting a war, as someone with a high position of power and control, with no prior motivation other than "correcting" the world (read: setting it back to "how it should be") due to the idea that they think it's only their's to lead, isn't nuanced. It's something that most rational and empathetic people can understand is evil.

Comparatively, the conflict between Elusia and Brodia is better written because it's effective to understand just from what the game gives you, and leaves no room for petty factionism. Elusia is being corrupted by Fell Dragon followers, including the king, so Brodia is taking steps to stop it. However, Brodia is hurting a lot of civilians in its expansion, and using this "keeping you in check" excuse to justify not bettering its behavior. It's because of the country's historical war profiteering that may have sent Elusia down a course of enthrallment by the Fell Dragon faith in the first place.

Boom. It's easy to swallow, shows both perspectives, doesn't excuse Elusia's actions in the present, nor handwaves the historical, implicative problems that Brodia helped foster. And it resolves well in the ending where Diamant and Ivy guide their kingdoms to better futures.

You don't need to explain every perspective, thought process, or ethicality to the letter for a story element to be effective or well written. You just need to write it well.

[mozziu-s]

Introducing you all to Caribou and Moose, an IceWing and a RainWing dragonet native to the SFAU, and two of my most popularly requested characters since their inception.

In this alternate version of Pyyrhia, Queen Scarlet has more than just her gladiator arena to satiate her need for controlled violence. Luckily, an island miles to the north of the Sky Kingdom, ringed in a mile of boiling water on all shores, served to be her new favorite place to pass the time.

The island, called Menagerie, became Scarlet's preferred POW camp. Her prisoners are brought in with their wing membranes shorn in half, or "clipped" so no dragons can fly away. It serves as an illustrious hunting playground for the SkyWing elite, as their flightless prey are still full of spunk and more fun to chase down.

It was here that Caribou, a second-circle military commander for the IceWings, was dumped- and subsequently where she met two fangless RainWings, who had lived on the island so long, they had a dragonet together. When the two caught wind that Caribou was attempting escape, they begged her on talons and knees to take their son with her. Reluctant, and wary of dragonets in general, Caribou begrudgingly agreed.

If you like these two and my other SFAU content so far, I recommend visiting my Instagram profile (@mozziu_s) to see all of the posts in their original glory, and to be immersed in the stories they tell. Thank you for lending me your eyes here, enjoy!

[atiny-for-life]

Older Ateez covers I need people to know about:

This one is so iconic, Atiny back then thought it was a pre-release performance of their new song~

Friggin' KBS chose this one for them (the original features the n-word) so they changed the lyrics and delivered a flawless performance in spite of the cards they were dealt.

Absolute classic (and also featuring the peak hairstyles from Inception era!)

Baby Jongho breaking apples while singing - an oldie but a goodie - plus San and Jongho's angelic harmonies <3

Jongho singing "I will go to you like the first snow" at age 19 like he's lived three consecutive lifetimes filled exclusively with sorrow - what a legend

2020 Ateez eating up the stage in just 80 seconds

Jongho's pre-debut all too short cover of The Truth Untold - I'd legit commit a felony to get the full version

Hongjoong's beautiful lil cover of Lover <3

[almostyours]

click  to  help  palestine.    purchase  an  e-sim  for  gaza.    support  gaza  municipality  funds.

DO  •  RE  •  MI  •  Æ ド • レ • ミ • Æ  is  the  debut  japanese  album  by  the  south  korean  trio  hiræth,  released  on  july  24,  2021.  following  their  initial  japanese  showcase  on  their  first  tour  and  the  commercial  success  of  HOMURA  that  served  as  a  theme  song  to  KIMETSU  NO  YAIBA  THE  MOVIE:  MUGEN  TRAIN,  MIGHTY  DEVIL  announced  that  the  group  would  be  "officially"  debuting  in  japan  with  a  creative  but  ambitious  japanese  release.  the  title  track  served  as  a  promotional  single  for  hiræth's  collaboration  with  the  renowned  franchise  SANRIO,  with  each  member  representing  three  of  its  most  emblematic  characters:  MY  MELODY,  KUROMI,  and  CINNAMOROLL.

the  era  consisted  of  two  music  videos,  a  month-length  tour  through  japan  named  after  the  album,  pop-up  stores  and  two  cds,  titled  PHASE  ONE  and  PHASE  TWO,  featuring  a  total  of  twenty  tracks,  although  four  hidden  track  were  later  revealed  on  the  physical  version  of  PHASE  TWO.

PHASE  ONE  includes  ten  original  tracks  by  the  trio,  such  as  the  title  track  AITAI  ☆  TAI  and  KIMETSU  NO  YAIBA:  MUGEN  TRAIN’s  HOMURA.  PHASE  TWO  contains  ten  covers  of  the  members'  favorite  songs  from  iconic  animes,  including  tracks  from  NEON  GENESIS  EVANGELION,  FULLMETAL  ALCHEMIST:  BROTHERHOOD,  PUELLA  MAGI  MADOKA  MAGICA,  and  more.  physical  copies  on  PHASE  TWO  included  four  more  additional  tracks:  three  of  which  are  solo  covers,  and  a  cover  of  KIMETSU  NO  YAIBA’s  GURENGE.  this  cover  has  been  highly  anticipated  since  its  performance  at  a  fan  convention  in  2019.  despite  the  impromptu  and  silly  nature  of  the  performance,  it  has  remained  popular  among  fans  and  casual  listeners,  even  catching  the  attention  of  the  anime's  production  team.

from  its  inception,  this  project  was  considered  incredibly  ambitious,  requiring  extensive  preparations  to  legally  license  the  covers  and  more.  additionally,  navigating  the  reactions  of  anime  fans  added  another  layer  of  complexity.  neither  the  members  nor  their  company  anticipated  the  overwhelming  commercial  success  it  achieved.  this  debut  is  now  hailed  as  one  of  the  most  ambitious,  but  successful  japanese  debuts  from  an  act  outside  of  japan. 

★   .   CD  1.  PHASE  ONE.

会いたい  ☆  たい ・ AITAI  ☆  TAI, title track

地下 ・ UNDERGROUND, promoted b-side

COSMIC  LOVE

星間飛行 ・ SEIKAN  HIKOU   (kaia’s  solo)

DISCOTHEQUE   (poppy’s  solo)

怪物 ・ MONSTER   (yvan’s  solo)

LOVE  GENERATION

ADAMAS

炎 ・ HOMURA  from  kimetsu  no  yaiba:  mugen  train

VEIL

★   .   CD  2.  PHASE  TWO.

THE  CRUEL  ANGEL’S  THESIS  from  neon  genesis  evangelion

CONNECT  from  puella  magi  madoka  magica

シルエット ・ SILHOUETTE  from  naruto  shippuden

AGAIN  from  fullmetal  alchemist:  brotherhood

INFERNO  from  fire  force

エヴリ ハート ・ EVERY  HEART  from  inuyasha

LET  IT  OUT  from  fullmetal  alchemist:  brotherhood

LOST  MY  MUSIC  from  haruhi  suzumiya  no  yuutsu

STARMAKER  from  boku  no  hero

STYLE  from  soul  eater

★   .   CD  2.  PHASE  TWO,  PHYSICAL  ONLY.

LOVERS   from  naruto  shippuden  (kaia’s  solo) 

SENTIMENTAL  from  fullmetal  alchemist:  brotherhood   (poppy’s  solo) 

CROSSING  FIELD  from  sword  art  online  (yvan’s  solo)

紅蓮華 ・ GURENGE  from  kimetsu  no  yaiba 

★   .   A  LOOK  INTO  PRODUCTION.

the preparations and development for this album and era were, to put it mildly, intimidating. their creative director and manager, VIVI YOO, came up with the idea of releasing a full album with solo tracks to introduce hiræth to the japanese market in a way similar to their official debut in south korea. shortly after, she proposed releasing covers of iconic anime songs. these unconventional ideas initially raised eyebrows, but they soon began to take shape and generate excitement for the release of the album.

UNDERGROUND was initially slated to be the title track of the album, but when the collaboration with SANRIO was being discussed, AITAI ☆ TAI was chosen instead. as a result, UNDERGROUND became a promoted b-side, which ended up being far more popular than the actual title track. this song is frequently mentioned by fans as one of the best japanese tracks from a k-pop group, with its choreography still being loved and talked about to this day.

when their label announced in an article that their japanese full album would include a second cd filled with covers of iconic anime songs, it garnered a lot of attention, both positive and negative. 

now you may wonder, is that even legal? of course it is! their covers are legally licensed for distribution, with the original artists and composers receiving a percentage of each sale and stream. these songs don't sound 100% identical to the originals because they decided to start production from scratch. however, some of the original musicians contributed to their version.   inspired by amalee’s anime cover albums.

there was one condition to releasing those covers, though: they had to be kept exclusive to japan. international fans couldn't access them unless someone bought the physical album, which caused sales to skyrocket when this was discovered. the songs are likely on youtube, and someone probably has a spotify podcast with all the covers, so it’s not like it matters anyway!

the album consists of two versions:

the first version is the ANGEL  ☆  PHASE version, featuring a hardcover photobook with pictures similar to joy's hello and yves' loop. it includes various items such as a random letter to fans in japanese, stickers, a random sænrio-themed pc holder, a poster, two postcards, three photocards, and a papercraft kit to create either my melody, kuromi, or cinnamoroll.

the second is the ÆNGEL  ☆  PHASE version, featuring a hardcover photobook with pictures similar to lesserafim's perfect night. it includes the same items as the other version except for the sanrio-themed inclusions. instead, it includes small plush angel wing clips, similar but way smaller to the mechanical ones worn in the concept pictures and the promoted b-side, UNDERGROUND.

★   .   A  LOOK  INTO  HIRÆTH  X  SANRIO.

a collaboration with SANRIO was already being discussed even before the era began. they decided it would be a smart strategy to release the song alongside the album to generate more hype and attention for their debut in japan.

the collaboration with SANRIO, playfully stylized as sænrio for the limited edition merchandise, is similar to nct’s collaboration but instead it focuses on just three characters only. KAIA represented MY MELODY, POPPY represented KUROMI, and YVAN represented CINNAMOROLL. their collaboration featured two pop-up stores in seoul, tokyo and kyoto called the SÆNRIO MARKET, offering exclusive merchandise such as notebooks, stationery sets, uchiwa and lightstick covers, pajama sets, head bands, tote bags, pc holders, plush toys of the members in sanrio style in various sizes, keychains, t-shirts, and more. they also sold savory snacks and delicious drinks.

the characters appeared in the ANGEL  ☆  PHASE photobook and in the music video for AITAI ☆ TAI, in scenes alongside the members who represent them, enhancing the song's whimsical and fun feel.

★   .   A  LOOK  INTO  AITAI  ☆  TAI.

AITAI ☆ TAI served not only as the title track of the DO • RE • MI • Æ era, but also as the song to promote the collaboration between hiræth and SANRIO. the music video is a vibrant and colorful visual experience that complements the song's energetic and upbeat nature. it features various special effects, such as colorful animations, graphics, and the iconic characters MY MELODY, KUROMI, and CINNAMOROLL.

while AITAI ☆ TAI doesn't contribute to the æverse plot-wise, it includes many easter eggs related to the current lore, such as outfits from the ængels of the season era, representations of their colors, fruits, and animals, hidden references to the member’s solo debut, and more. the music video presents hiræth's lore in a fun and accessible way to a new audience.

AITAI ☆ TAI is a celebration of fun, energy, and the unique personalities of the members and SANRIO characters, making it a joyful and visually stimulating experience for viewers.   music video inspired by loona’s hula hoop.

★   .   A  LOOK  INTO  UNDERGROUND.

as a promoted b-side filmed in tokyo in between promotions, UNDERGROUND's music video is a visually compelling representation of the song's energetic and rebellious spirit, with a strong focus on urban culture and personal expression. the video features dark, moody lighting contrasted with bright neon signs, creating a gritty yet vibrant atmosphere. the fast-paced editing, with quick cuts and transitions, matches the rhythm and intensity of the music.

scenes depict the members navigating through various underground locations like subway tunnels, graffiti-covered alleys, and industrial spaces through mirrors, hinting at a parallel world and emphasizing themes of rebellion, freedom, and self-expression.

angels have theorized that the video starts in CELESTIA, where the members appear tidy, perfect and otherwordly compared to the humans around them, ready to repeat their cycle as flawless angels but yearning for a change. the journey then shifts to TERRA MEDIA and TERRA where it seems that they are free, with underground dancing scenes set in the second plane, hinted at by brief glimpses of a sky with three moons in different phases, while the arcade scenes take place in TERRA, indicated by the crescent moon in the sky.

symbols like graffiti art, pentagrams, chains, and underground trains throughout the video emphasize the struggle and resilience of CELESTIA's doctrine. the ængels of the seasons seem to be on a journey, seeking something or trying to escape from something, but also enjoying their time in foreign cycle.

★   .   A  LOOK  INTO  THE  ERA.

🌀 you will pretend the songs originally sung by men are sung by women 🌀

it was an incredibly fun era for everyone involved, despite being exhausting due to the extensive preparations and performances required to showcase the album and everything they prepared for it :D

it was fun, yes, but also very scary and intimidating, because what do you mean we are about to enter the japan market with a BANG? and to top if off with some sounds we’ve never tried before?! we are going to flop! what goes on in VIVI’s head?! nothing but ambition and a dream, it seems… but everything turned out well at the end of the day. 

this album release was so big it actually costed some good amount of money because of the licenses fees they had to pay. the members actually had to drop some from their own purse because not only they really wanted to sing their favorite songs, but they also believed in not only themselves, but VIVI’s vision, who also invested a lot into the project.

the girls don't typically perform their japanese songs outside japan (though there are exceptions 🙈 be their favorite date tour and they will spoil you!), causing envy among fans who have attended the tour and future dates in japan. these concerts are just… so fun… and with most of the album being instrument heavy, it gives their performances a different vibe compared to their usual shows.

this era was the one that made POPPY salivate at the idea of a rock concept for the group because she realized during recording how well they fit the sound and how fun it was to perform them! unfortunately, miss VIVI hasn't heard her out just yet. 😔

the girls each have two solos on this album: one original song and one cover. their original songs feature special performances during the tour, while the covers usually involve just them and the rock band, hyping up the concert attendees. YVAN and POPPY's performances are typically the most energetic and the ones everyone talks about after a concert. however, KAIA's performances are considered a true gem and are the most acclaimed in japan, where she is affectionately known as THE PRINCESS OF JAPAN.

from PHASE ONE, angels’ favorite tracks are UNDERGROUND, COSMIC LOVE, and VEIL. from PHASE TWO, it’s THE CRUEL ANGEL’S THESIS, INFERNO and LOST MY MUSIC. angels’ agree that YVAN had the best solos out of the three.

ADAMAS was a track that initially didn't resonate with angels as it completely diverged from the group's sound. they were even accused of "trying too hard". however, their perception of it changed dramatically after the first live performance of it. angels now consider the song and its live renditions to be life-changing experiences, highlighting hiræth's remarkable duality.

KAIA was involved in most of the songwriting, and both YVAN and POPPY gained attention for playing instruments in their original songs: POPPY was credited as the guitarist for VEIL, while YVAN was the pianist for LOVE GENERATION. they play these instruments whenever they perform these songs on concert.

some of the concert dates had a special guest, which were usually the original singers or the actual musicians of the songs they’ve covered. soloist LiSA appeared on the last concert of the tour. (she and YVAN were having a loud af high note off! 🏃‍♂️)

KAIA was undoubtedly the face of this era. it marked her return to the japanese market as an idol based in south korea rather than her native country. it was an exhilarating, emotional, and tense time for her, evoking memories of her life before hiræth— a time when she felt unappreciated, both by her family and peers during her days as an AKB48 member. she often pondered this, but never had the courage to have a conversation with her parents. since then, she has wondered if they were ever proud of her accomplishments.

yet at the same time, she secretly hoped her parents (and her former AKB48 family) were seething, as her face and voice were now prominently featured across japan alongside her fellow members. #REVENGE

after the era and their japan tour concluded, KAIA posted a japan vlog on hiræth’s youtube channel, documenting their time together in her country. the video was heartwarming and delightful, perfectly showcasing their friendship and companionship. one memorable segment at an arcade unexpectedly went viral: they won a blender and were more excited about it than they had been about their first win.

although there weren’t any accidents, KAIA drew attention on some tour dates where she appeared exhausted. she explained that she was indeed just that— tired. this led to complaints from angels about their company’s refusal to let them rest, especially after YVAN was unable to participate in a variety show due to sickness a little after KAIA's statement.

TLDR.   —    a very fun but exhausting era.  angels consider this one as one of their best eras.  the album did pretty well in terms of charts, sales and views,  but i’m not writing how they charted or how much they sold or how many views they got or whatever because i genuinely don’t care about any of that  😭  just know that they did stupid good!  anime fans were freaks as always,  but pretty women and enbies will always win.  their SANRIO collaboration was so cute even non-fans got their hands on their merchandise.  KAIA was the face of this era and received plenty of lines on the album.  this album made HOMURA move a bit up the charts again.  each member has their assigned SANRIO character forever.  angels keep saying that UNDERGROUND should have been the title track instead of AITAI  ☆  TAI.  their japan tour was successful and very talked about,  causing their label to release a limited edition dvd and special photobook based on their sold-out tokyo dome concert.  and they left japan with a BLENDER!

★   .   A  LOOK  INTO  THE  PAST  &  FUTURE.

‘19.   they had just debuted and were performing at their fancons. during one of these events, a fan gifted each member a haori from the popular anime KIMETSU NO YAIBA, a series that both KAIA and POPPY are fans of since the release of the manga, and even convinced YVAN to watch the first season with them. spontaneously, they decided to cover the anime's first opening song. the fan-taken video of their performance went viral, with many praising their cover and wishing for an official release. the cover even caught the attention of the anime’s production team and received approval from LiSA herself.

‘20.   the year MUGEN TRAIN was going to be released, they were invited to contribute to the movie. they accepted and performed the song HOMURA as a requiem for the character kyojuro rengoku (and YVAN cried because what do you mean rengoku fucking dies?! 😭). this song won the grand prize at the 62nd JAPAN RECORD AWARDS in 2020 and the best theme song category at the 43rd ANIME GRAND PRIX. it debuted at number one on both the ORICON SINGLES CHART and JAPAN HOT 100 chart, charted at number 62 on the BILLBOARD GLOBAL 200, and climbed to number 1 on the BILLBOARD GLOBAL EXCL. US chart.

’21. KAIA released the japanese single SCRAMBLE, a collaboration with the rock group UNSCANDAL, whom she used to listen to and look up to when she was younger. the song achieved immediate success in the japanese market.

‘22.   POPPY performed FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST MOBILE’s theme song SPIRAL.

‘23.   KAIA was revealed to be the japanese voice actress of NAVIA, character from GENSHIN IMPACT... with POPPY being the korean voice actress and YVAN the chinese one.

‘24.   hiræth composed and performed the song WILL that served as the third opening theme song for the anime POKEMON HORIZONS: THE SERIES.

[chaos0pikachu]

Film Making? In My BL? - The Sign ep01 Edition

So, if we're doing this we're doing this, so buckle in baby.

I'm gonna focus how the opening scene below, uses two narrative devices and one film technique to build out the scene as a whole: in media res, misdirection, and the long take.

Okay so to begin, we have to start at the beginning, or well, the middle lmao

In Media Res

I saw a post in the tag that said something to the effect of how The Sign starting with no context and providing no information at the beginning was strange, with the implication it was bad writing. I disagree, fundamentally, because The Sign is using a very common literary device called 'In Media Res'. And in my opinion, uses this device very well.

If you're familiar with basic storytelling terms I ain't telling you anything new, but for folks who may not know, in media res is a latin term that means "in the midst of things" and lots of stories - both prose, comics, and film - use this device.

The most famous is The Iliad by Homer, which if you've ever read - and you should it's glorious also it'll give some context to Song of Achilles - you know it drops you full-on no context into the middle of things. The beginning will differ in verbiage depending on the translation you pick up, this free version starts with:

THE CONTENTION OF ACHILLES AND AGAMEMNON. In the war of Troy, the Greeks having sacked some of the neighboring towns, and taken from thence two beautiful captives, Chryseis and Briseis, allotted the first to Agamemnon, and the last to Achilles.

Right off the bat the story drops four character names and the setting with no real context. Who are all these people? Why is there a war? Well, keep reading to find out! It also starts the story with an action aka an argument - nay A CONTENTION!! Achilles and Agamemnon are such bratty bitches lol

Other (more mainstream) examples include:

The Dark Knight

Lost

28 Days Later

Mission Impossible (pick one)

Fight Club

Full Metal Alchemist (both)

MDZS

Inception

And, The Sign.

"In contrast to linear storytelling, which starts at the beginning and moves sequentially, in medias res is a nonlinear approach that can make stories more dynamic and immersive.

It's a technique that challenges the audience to make sense of the narrative puzzle, often revealing essential information about the characters and their motivations gradually." (source)

What's described above is exactly how The Sign, starts it's story, in the middle of things, specifically to create a puzzle for the audience to figure out gradually. If you watch the above scene, what's happening?

We get a (well done) overshot of an island (establishing setting), we see a group of soldiers (establishing the characters we'll be following) we see them doing military things (okay these are their skills, and they're on some sort of mission), their drone spots a group of people inside and a character says the dialogue "Listen up, you only have 15 minutes" (this establishes stakes, okay there's a time limit to this mission) "Team A will rescue the hostage" (okay now we know what the mission is and informs these characters are on a rescue mission).

Who is speaking here? We don't know yet, but a safe assertion would be this character, since they are the first character who speaks on screen, will be important.

And we'd be right because it's Phaya speaking, one of our main protagonists as well soon find out.

All this happens within the first minute; the show provides an interesting set-up. It deals out information in tidbits - setting, characters we'll be following, situation set-up, stakes - but not enough information for the audience not to ask questions.

I want to iterate that at this point, the goal isn't to "care" about the characters yet, so much as create an intriguing set-up based in action that will showcase various information about the tone, setting, and skills of the piece that will engage the audience. To make the audience ask questions, to engage with them.

When you open up on MDZS the protagonist, Wei Wuxian is dead and we have no context for this. Everyone is just in the middle of celebrating his death and we, the readers, do not care that he's dead or why he died. The story could have started in a more linear way, with him arriving at Cloud Recesses arguably the beginning of his journey, but would that have been as interesting? As engaging?

I like how this article breaks down the why of starting your story in media res is a powerful and often used device:

This is what The Sign is doing in this opening part. Starting the action of the series off with action and creating that immediate engagement. The scene also ends with a plot twist which connects to that final point about information control.

This isn't a technique I've seen often used in BL because BL is a sub-genre of romance and most romances are told in chronological order, rather than non-linearly - there are, of course non-linear romances, but most mainstream romances, and by extension most BL aren't told in this way - BL shows don't often have actual physical action. A majority, especially in Thailand, are grounded, closer to slice-of-life, coming-of-age, and comedy dramas - though we are starting to see a change in that trend.

So starting in the middle of things, like chepa the middle of what? Two dudes walking~ to Engineering class?

The goal of this opening scene is to pull in the audience, make them wonder and ask questions: "who are these characters? will they rescue the hostages? who are the bad guys? who is this character who's having visions?" and so on and so forth. It's a way to engage in the audience without having to slow down the narrative with a ton of exposition, or build up stakes slowly, rather it grabs the audience immediately and sets them in the middle of the tension asking them to engage with what's happening.

The Long Take

You've probably heard about "the long take" but to break it down, a long take is one continuous take without any edits/cuts. The film 1917 was famously filmed to "look" like one long take. One of the most cited and well known long takes is from Children of Men by Alfonso Cuarón:

Now if you watch this movie you can tell why there isn't a lot of BL long takes because, god damn, they built a new type of car just to get that one scene. [read here for more on long takes]

So, The Sign. It's long take starts at about 2:08, following Phaya - again, we the audience don't know this is Phaya BUT since the camera is spending specific time with him we assume he is An Important Character and he is! Set up and payoff! Funny how that works - and ends at around 4:27.

[Sidenote I love that the take ends, not with a cut but a transition. Which I'll cover in another post but in the land of Thai BLs which favor cuts so damn much transitions were so refreshing to see]

During this long take, we establish that these characters are competent at what they do. We understand that they're military trained, in both hand-to-hand combat and firearms. We also get these two mid-close ups, which signifies these will be Important Characters:

And they are, the first shot is of Phaya, Khem and Thongthai and the second is Tharn and Yai.

This also sets-up the character dynamics; Yai and Tharn are already close and know each other so they are drawn to each other while on the mission, while Khem and Thongthai have a pre-established relationship but are still supporting behind Phaya.

This type of shot also allows for the audience to better see and follow the fighting that's happening on screen. Filming fight scenes are their own beast, and while there's no one school of thought on how a film scene "should" be filmed, there are techniques that that place some fight scenes above others.

The first video showcases some techniques on how to film a fight scene, while the second one at the 8min mark talks about the long take in John Woo's classic action film Hard Boiled.

This long take in Hard Boiled really showcases why long takes are so powerful in filming a fight scene specifically. They pull the audience further into the action and create a palpable energy that just works better than a scene with lots of quick cuts.

There's a reason one of the biggest criticisms of Mortal Kombat (2021) was that all the fights were edited to pieces while John Wick (2014) was a refreshing jolt to the industry.

The Sign takes a page out of John Woo's book, and places the characters, and the physicality of the scene front and center, pulling the audience along with the camera in one long shot.

Long takes are hard, I can't really emphasize this enough, if you watched that video on Children of Men you can see all the intricate work that went into scenes that amounted to maybe 5mins of actual film time. Likewise this long take in The Sign is only about 2mins of actual time in the show BUT it's effective, it's engaging, its ambitious.

Which is why, I gotta give The Sign it's roses because of that ambition. Long takes are a lot of hard work, time, effort, blocking, rehearsals, on top of incorporating the fight chorography that's a lot and it looks good.

Now is this the best~~~ long take I've ever seen? lol no god but it's well done and ambitious especially for the sub-genre of BL.

Misdirection

Misdirection has more in common with in media res than the long take as it's a literary device and not a filming technique.

From Gotham Writers:

"In fiction misdirection can be either external or internal. That is, the author can be using the story as a frame to misdirect the reader, or a character in the story may be misdirecting one or more of the other characters. Or, of course, both." (source)

Misdirection is often used in thrillers or mystery narratives, Hitchcock used misdirection a lot in his films.

In Psycho the audience is lured to believe that Marion, the character the film opens with, builds up, and essentially sets up as our protagonist, is in fact our protagonist. She's not, she's murdered and her sister, Lila, is the actual protagonist of the movie. Sorry if this is a spoiler for an almost 70 year old film lmao

Misdirection is often used to set-up plot twists down the line. A good misdirection will leave clues for the audience when they watch back and go, "oh! I can't believe I missed that!"

In film The Sixth Sense is a good example of this, where the plot twist at the end doesn't weaken the film once you know it but rather, it enhances the film itself on a rewatch. Another good example of misdirection in film are both Knives Out and Glass Onion, where Rian Johnson will set up a non-linear story and then slowly unravel the information for the audience.

Take the scene where Marta, in Knives Out, finds Fran's body and hears Fran say "it was you" at least to audience ears. Then stands up looming above Fran's body. The scene cuts, and the audience is led to believe Marta has let Fran die to protect herself (since we the audience also have been led to believe Fran is dead) only to find out later that Marta didn't let Fran die, she is alive, and she knew Ransom was the killer.

The Sign uses misdirection in a much more simple way. It sets up an expectation: Phaya is going to die, upping the stakes from "must save hostages" to "must save a comrade" aka the character we, the audience, have been following for the last 11 minutes. It sets two characters, Chart and Phaya, as opposing against each other, for reasons we don't know - is Chart one of the villains? Why is he trying to kill Phaya? etc - and the audience is led to believe this is a life or death situation.

Then, plot twist. The reveal happens that this was all a training exercise, and there was never any "real" danger whilst also keeping the audience on their toes. And like in The Iliad, now we have context for the mission, and then the story is able to step back and explain.

It's not like, the best~~~ use of misdirection but there was a purpose to it. It sets up an expectation, and subverts that expectation of the audience - but in a good way not a Game of Thrones way. While also pulling the audience into the show by starting in the middle of the action rather than slowing down the story with exposition or giving their hand away to much that this was a training exercise.

If you knew it was a training exercise, suddenly the stakes feel less intense because none of the characters are in any real danger, but not knowing that, withholding that information until it's relevant, ups the stakes of the scene.

The opening scene of The Sign imparts a lot of information without using a lot of dialogue and I find that impressive. We learn which characters will be relevant to the story - Phaya, Tharn, Yai, Khem, Thongthai and now we know, Chart is also important - that they are skilled combat fighters, knowledgeable in firearms, there's a fantasy element to the story via Tharn's visions, they're on an island which the setting for right now, and the tone and aesthetic of the show itself.

It's actually a fun scene to rewatch again with more context because I appreciated it even more. Which is just good film making.

I didn't talk much about the camera work - needless to say it's notable and fun - but maybe I'll save that for the next post. What other shows or scenes would be fun to breakdown? Drop me a line but heads up I don't actually watch a ton of shows so idk if I've seen xyz show lmao

Later chepies ✌️✌️

Other posts in the series:

Aspect Ratio in Love for Love's Sake | Cinematography in My BL - Our Skyy2 vs kinnporsche, 2gether vs semantic error, 1000 Stars vs The Sign | How The Sign Uses CGI

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[userautumn]

i loveee inception please lets talk about it more i would love your thoughts i like jack thoughs on movies (you should make that a tag idk if you have a tag for the times you did reviews)

feeling crazy because i just love this movie so much. the thing no one gets about inception is that it's a love story about grief and the transformative power of loss. (and note, while i am calling inception a love story, it's fundamental to realize that the grief is the love, and the two do not exist independent of each other) i'm not even really talking about dom grieving mal, and his grief transforming her into something foreign (his projections of her, which are inherently vicious, malicious, manipulative, etc in complete or presumably complete contrast to who she was as a person). i'm talking about mal herself, her grief at having lost decades of a life she never lived.

dom cobb is the pov character, so we only really see him reacting to the loss of her. but can you imagine if we got inception pre-canon from mal's point of view? that's a film that would be absolutely soaked in anguish. she lived with her husband for decades, they grew old together in their own world. they fought. they laughed. they fucked. they loved. they existed as gods of their own universe, and then they woke up and it was all a dream. how do you even come back from that. how was she supposed to come back with that. even without dom's interference, i fully believe mal's life would have ended the same way because there are just some things human beings aren't meant to experience and some things we aren't meant to know. and a full life, a life in which we are who we want to be and love who we want to love, only to lose it, is one of those things.

so, that's the primary thing: mal's grief. there's also dom's grief, of course, and dom's guilt. but to me, those are secondary themes. not less important, but they wouldn't exist without the overarching stain of mal's grief. you know what i mean?

and then you have fischer.

fathers and sons! i go crazy every time. but that's another example, i feel like, because the whole point of the inception (as in, the act of the inception itself) is what eames said it was: breaking down the idea to its base components. he says go for the relationship with the father as the angle, and it's just. there is something about being a child and wanting to believe in daddy specifically. like. you want to believe in both of your parents, obviously, but you want to believe in your dad because your dad is your safety, he's your protector, he's your friend, and, like. grown up robert fischer Knows his father is neither of those things. he knows his father damn near hates, or at the very least, resents him. but he wants to believe in his dad. he wants to believe in his dad so much that he's willing to alter his life and his legacy around an imagined version of him. that's... sickeningly sad, the way the inner child in him so desperately wants to believe in his father in the same way james and philippa want to believe that their daddy is still their hero, despite. there's something there with the jamesphilippa/robert fischer of it all and how this movie outlines two primary dynamics between fathers and their offspring but blah blah blah yadda yadda yadda whatever idk i'm sleepy.

anyway. the point, my lovely anon, is that everything in this movie is saturated in the idea of raw emotion. raw grief. raw loss. raw desperation. raw fucking hope. who are we when we are exhibiting the rawest forms of emotion we can feel, and what do we do with them? how do these emotions change us?

auwughhh. oughh. that's so sexy. christopher nolan is my favorite director for a reason.

[miametropolis]

My condolences for the containment breach I get how having thousands of ppl say the same joke over and over in the notes of your genuine analysis post can get annoying 😭 😭😭😭 I’m extremely down to hear more about the differences between the ninth and tenth doctors if you have any other insights you want to share though!!! I’ve been turning your post over and over in my brain like a rotisserie chicken ever since I read it it’s so good

omg thank you for your condolences...it really is the containment breach of all time...let me think!! I have a MAJOR tenth doctor video essay I may or may not make so here are the cliff notes:

-To begin. Anne Carson wrote that to live beyond the end of your myth is a perilous thing.

-in many ways, the 10th Doctor is cursed from his inception b/c he is born at the end of the Doctor and Rose's romantic arc (from a certain point of view) AND YET he is born sheerly out of love for her / to love her

-(we all know the fanon--or is it canon?--idea that Ten's face was subconciously selected to be one that Rose would like, and he's gone for her from the beginning...hello, The Christmas Invasion.)

-all that said, by the time The Parting of the Ways occurs, Rose and Nine have completed a full narrative arc:

-Nine whisked Rose away from the life of boredom and sheltered drudgery she experienced on the estate; she brought life back into the eyes of a hardened war veteran/The Last of the Time Lords

-more importantly, they complete a kind of mutualistic ultimate sacrifice (in a Shakesperian sense?) wherein Rose 'becomes' the Doctor by absorbing the literal heart of the TARDIS (we don't have time to get into that) and erasing the Daleks into dust, finishing the last of the Time War AND saving the Doctor's life

-he immediately returns the favor, absorbing the energy that's destroying her with a kiss (let it be known--the ONLY kiss between the Doctor and Rose Tyler proper--neither Tentoo or Cassandra really count imo), returning her to humanity, life, and safety

-all that said, Nine dies both saving AND being saved by Rose in a kind of unrivaled (?) parity between Doctor and companion. it's perfect synthesis.

-THEN 10 is born. uh-oh.

It is here that I would like to quote Michael Kinnucan's fabulous essay 'The Gods Show Up' on Greek tragedies:

The tragic hero is complete. You can call him unhappy (miserable, utterly broken) even before he is dead. For an instant he is something like divine. And then he dies, because there’s nothing left to do. The center of every tragedy is the image of a human being who has already died but keeps talking, someone whose face is a mask.

I think one of the most fascinating 10 v. 9 moments is that one scene that got cut where Rose says "I miss him." and the Doctor replies "Me too."

As many people in the notes of that original post point out (god help me) 10 is ALSO born IMMEDIATELY into heartbreak--whatever vestigal version of Nine lives inside him died with the despair of losing Rose

-TEN is the man that went sauntering away. perhaps that's part of why Ten is so terrified of/resentful towards regeneration. I think he's lived precisely the worst cost of it.

-The notion of 'talking after death' and 'wearing a face that's a mask' is a existentialist take on regeneration itself--ten EPITOMIZES this tragic hero archetype, esp. after Doomsday (literally! Doomsday!!)

-during his life, I wonder if Nine already considers himself lost in a sense? He's lived past the Time War, past the destruction of everything, and he's also the first NuWho Doctor. HIS ability to indulge in love (even in mortality, given his short lifespan) is different.

-TEN on the other hand has that INCREDIBLY frightening (for him) confrontation with Sarah Jane in School Reunion--knitting him back into canon continuum of Doctor Who, stitching him to the myth of The Doctor that has to live on and on and on in perpetuity--and seems VERY haunted by (im)mortality

-How much time does Ten spend running from Jack? A human being who CAN follow him to the end of time? Ten can't decide if he wants to be mortal or immortal, human or Time Lord. Think of the way he acts with Martha, with Wilf, with Donna. He is totally frozen inside of the space of his seasons. He has time paralysis (fatal, for a Time Lord)

-he is the first doctor that we see reallllly try to stave off regeneration

-That's why there's a certain frantic escapism to his adventures with Rose in S2--he knows, more than she does, that they are hurtling toward's disaster.

-he can't love Rose in a consumate way, even if he wanted to (he wants to) b/c he's trapped inside of his myth. he's like sisyphus. or that guy getting his liver ripped out by the eagle. Nine and Rose are lines that can cross. Ten and Rose are parallel lines. if they touch, the universe dissolves. hence why the narrative/God/Russel T. Davies had to lock her away in another universe

anways!

Ten once canonically carved a statue of Rose by hand with every inch of her body absolutely perfect, from memory, and I think that's crazy

[buffyfan145]

So I did rewatch my "Inception" DVD last night after reading Charlie's comments how that was one of his favorite movies and being inspired by it similar to how I was, but now I also rewatched it thinking about how "Rings of Power" could do similar if the hints and theory about Galadriel and Sauron having that new bond again from the crown wound and I can see this playing out on the show similar to how it is in the movie. I first thought of Galadriel being like Ariadne and learning from Sauron how to do these things in dreams/minds too, which it is hinted at in the books she's learns how to do this and why she gets that "witch in the wood" reputation from the men. The scenes of Ariadne learning this from Cobb and Arthur totally came across like this. Then learning how the time in dreams is longer than real life (5 mins in the real world being an hour in the dream, etc.) Also, with Eames being able to impersonate anyone in dreams and that Sauron can shapeshift to anyone and animals.

Then the whole thing about planting an idea in someone's mind and making them think they were the ones that created it all along. Ship wise I was seeing Haladriel similarities now between Cobb and Mal living that whole other life and then him losing her but trying to get back to their kids. Then with Ariadne and Arthur bonding being brought together by this and that kiss scene that was "worth a shot" I could see Halbrand doing. Ariadne was also named after the Greek mythology princess that is associated with mazes and in some versions of the myths got abandoned on an island and the god Dionysus found her, and then fell in love and married her. 😏

Not to mention that whole thing about "dying alone with a life full of regret". It's really weird how it fits now, and almost like a case of real-life foreshadowing for Charlie now playing a role that's got similar things to these characters and the movie. 😀

[susandsnell]

Jonathan Crane, 14 and 21

Character Ask Game

Hiya Mira! Thanks for sending these. <3

Jonathan Crane - Batman (various)

14. Assign a fashion aesthetic to this character.

As hotly contested as the term/aesthetic is, unfortunately I can't really work around Dark Academia being core to our beloved Scarecrow; the patchy professor's outfits and the ostracizing comments they provoke are so key to the character from his inception, and I'd love to see more Batman media where he's drawn in it. Knitwear, argyle, button downs (with salaciously rolled up sleeves when in the lab, oh my!), sweatervests, neutrals, patterned ties (though throw in the bolo for our Southern boy!), camel coats, heavy emphasis on neutrals and houndstooth. Double-bridged glasses are my personal headcanon, but wire frames are solid regardless. I also love it when artists/fanartists incorporate dorky Halloween elements into his wardrobe/accessory; I've drawn him with Jack-O-Lantern patterns/patches on his sweatervests, I've seen him drawn with ghost ties, he might even have some more scarecrow-themed looks just to really rub it in...the man is a nerd, let's lean all the way into it! On top of being funny and kind of adorable, I genuinely find "Crane is obsessed with Halloween themed clothes" to be a great characterization mainstay since it's super humanizing for your otherwise cold, poised and intimidating scientist to still dress like what he also is -- a dorky middle-aged college professor.

21. If you’re a fic writer and have written for this character, what’s your favourite thing to do when you’re writing for this character? What’s something you don’t like?

Oh, this is just delicious. Writing Crane, as with many villains, is a dive into the id -- he's Batman's drive for vengeance if it took a full nose-dive into Sweeney Todd territory, and I love getting to revel in that. I also really like to think "what's the most fucked up but still plausible thing I could have him do", but contrasted with "where might the weak spot be, and how do we get him to this point". Fear toxin inflicted on various characters is a wonderful gift-that-keeps-on-giving device in how it reveals so much about its victims, but I find that just as much, how Jonathan engages with inflicting it and with his victims' reactions really helps me work out just what kind of monster he is -- and where his empathy, should he have any left, lies.

As for what I don't like when it comes to writing him, I will say voice is hard just because he's so frequently underwritten, and I tend to write my headcanon version of him as a composite versus a more specific one (with that said, Nolancrow you beautiful bastard, let me capture your speech style you job-switching weirdo). This is more an insecurity thing (as is the would he do that? would he not? why? - the neverending tug of war that is trying to write believable and occasionally cute romances for awful people) than a problem with the character himself. The other big challenge with writing Crane is keeping it fresh; Batman himself has pointed out many times that he's one of the Rogues that evolves/learns the least with respect to MO and master plan (I guess because the field of science is always ongoing, fear is eternal, and revenge is almost as infinite in its scale?), and it's true he isn't really given much in the way of personal arcs. Because of that, I end up having to rely a lot more on trying to come up with new situations to put the old man in to try and nudge him in either-or direction.

Thank you so much for this!

[winxwiki]

Giorgio Pezzin interview, writer on Winx Club comics for 85 (+1) stories since its inception

I only translated the pieces related to Winx. Full interview here in italian

The Winx have been greatly underestimated. In just a few years they became a worldwide phenomenon generating a frightening volume of business, billions of euros! I am a commercial writer, so nothing wrong with me getting into it. My wife and I did it willingly and putting all our professionalism into it. Eventually they overshadowed even W.i.t.c.h., which was a great success anyway. Incidentally, by starting practically from scratch and having given me Straffi and his collaborators practically carte blanche in the comic version (the editorial staff accepted without question whatever story I sent) I was also able to modulate them in a way that was more congenial to me, creating an underlying moral that was not possible to create in the cartoon. My Winx were not super little girls, but simply teen girls who became magical primarily by exercising their best qualities. In that sense, that was the message I was sending, all little girls can become fairies and do something magical just by exercising their intelligence, grace, kindness.

At Rainbow, they were very demanding and there was an incredible coming and going of authors, editors, managers, colorists. I, on the other hand, wouldn't even get a phone call unless I called. They would just let me work. 86 consecutive stories every month for 85 months! (one remained unpublished, a very nice one, by the way). That's more than seven years, can you imagine? It's not that simple, and of course Manuela and I are proud of it. Some of those stories are really good and I started to point it out on my site.