#But four other people that represent four other colors don’t??!?1??”

[olibensstuff]

what if I make a spider sona what then

[greenboyfriend]

choose something cold... (tarot card reading)

"what do you need to know?"

image 1: it's cold. I mean, really cold. but your blood is warm, even if your fingers are blue. where's your soul? image 2: a framed painting depicting a wintry landscape, complete with a log cabin, whose blue smoke trickles from its chimney and blends in with the world around it. image 3: three ornate glasses, made of ice. are those cracks intentional? or just by virtue of its design? image source not everything may resonate with you, and that's ok! take what does & leave the rest. don't force it.

1.・。.・゜✭

there’s an opportunity being presented to you. it may be a celebration of some kind, or just something that has a lot of excitement surrounding it. what i’m getting most of all is that this may be a chance to find freedom. with the seven of swords reversed, maybe you’re the type of person to handle your problems on your own, “lone wolf” style. there’s a million reasons why someone might do this, but for you, you’re afraid or distrusting in others. when you opened up in the past, maybe it didn’t end up so well for you, and this has made you keep things mostly to yourself.  however, the four of wands reversed tells us that this lone wolf energy is blocking you from fully enjoying yourself. “freedom”, in this sense, is the freedom from yourself, or rather, your fear. in the original Rider-Waite-Smith deck, the seven of swords shows us a man with his arms full of swords, shirking off to his own devices. for you, these swords represent an unnecessary burden, being wary or even afraid of others to see your true colors/problems/ect. opening yourself back up again is a task much easier said than done, i know. but the 6 of cups shows us what this looks like, once fully realized. when we talk about our problems and emotions, we’re able to release and/or deal with them more easily. i’ve definitely been in the position of worrying endlessly about something, just to finally open up to someone, and realize that the answer was sitting in front of me all along. the six of cups represents this as having a “clean conscience.” being, you’ve released yourself from carrying a burden all alone, and have found freedom– the four of wands. finally, the king of cups reversed reminds you to have patience, and to be tolerant of others. not just one person can supply you with all the information or support you need.

(6 of cups, 7 of swords reversed, 4 of wands reversed, king of cups reversed)

2.・。.・゜✭

you’re in a period of transition, be that between attitudes or people. this change has you feeling down. maybe not emotionally destitute, but not in the best spot, either. as you wade through these waters, know that the queen of swords is by your side, and will lead you to better times. the queen of swords is someone with a good head on her shoulders, and will always tell the truth. she is very forthright, and doesn’t do any under-the-table dealings. she holds herself to these standards because of her past experiences, and knows that an honest, open approach will best suit her motives. you may embody the queen of swords already, and if you do, great! if you don’t, that’s ok, too. but it’s time to start really leaning into that kind of energy. don’t conceal the truth– both to yourself and others–, and let yourself have a laugh every once in a while! the thing about being experienced is that you know not to take everything so seriously. the queen of swords can see the big picture, and knows that, even if right now is tough, later will be much better. the place/person/vibe you’re coming from is represented by the knight of wands. i’m getting, cockiness– to the point where you/they were being presumptuous. this might also have had to do with someone being hot tempered, and restless, where they couldn’t handle being bored, so they’d decide to pick a fight. this energy is still here, but not necessarily causing harm just yet. what’s really impeding your path towards healing is the knight of cups. the knight of cups reversed is in direct opposition with the queen of swords, in the sense that he allows his emotions to take control of him, rather than accurately assessing the truth of his situation. he may let his imagination become overactive, and begin believing things that aren’t true. where the queen of swords faces all her dealings head on, the knight of cups may shade the truth, dance around the issue, or simply hope someone else will deal with it. he may also tend to isolate himself from others, which only worsens his imagination into spurring up unrealistic scenarios and focusing too much on his own “failings.” i’m thinking… you’re going to need to temper the knight of cups with the knight of wands. use that fiery, self confident energy to seek out the truth, rather than make assumptions. and, in turn, the knight of cups can help to deplete those feelings of restlessness through introspection. most importantly, keep your head level, and honor the truth above all.

(queen of swords, 6 of swords, knight of wands, knight of cups reversed)

3.・。.・゜✭

so… there’s a lot to unpack here, image 3! i’ll start with this, the energy of the queens of wands and of pentacles are important right now. the queen of wands seems to be especially important, urging you to work hard to maintain her optimism, confidence, and enthusiasm. this situation will require you to be a sort of “soft” leader for others, where you can be looked to for inspiration. if you’re able to serve as a role model through keeping your head up even when the going gets tough, and to do so with strength and vigor, it will not only help you and your purposes, but will also inspire those around you to do the same. the opportunity to embody this energy is not fully here yet, but once you hear the call, you’ll know it’s for you. strike the iron while it’s hot and give it your all! no time for dilly dallying. in being a leader (even if you’re not completely cognizant of it) you will have to temper your generosity with what you know to be true. so, for example, if someone is late to a meeting one time, you may give them the benefit of the doubt. but if they’re continuously late, some changes need to be made. this can also apply to other situations, where you will need to decide between your loyalties and what’s true & just. you may have already experienced scenarios like this in the past, so it will help you to call back to those times for foresight. doing what is fair may be difficult in the moment, but will lead to the best outcome. the queens come together here to guide you on your way. keep trying! you know that you’re resourceful, so don’t be afraid to try your hand at solving problems. it may also benefit you to remain down to earth during this time, and not to try to control what others think or say. at the end of the day, you are your own person, and what a wonderful person you are!  finally, we arrive at the page of cups. i’m getting a very loving, forgiving energy from this card. it may benefit you to invite that energy into your life, both towards yourself and others. when a challenge faces you, or someone is less than nice, decide to turn away that anger with love. consider, what may compel them to act this way? maybe they’re going through something you don’t know about. it’s not that you need to nurture them back to good health, but realize that maybe, they’re just not worth your time, and a simple nod & turning of the cheek will do you both some good. most of all, listen to your intuition to tell you whether or not this argument/situation is really worth getting into.

(queen of wands, 8 of pentacles reversed, 8 of wands reversed, queen of pentacles, ace of swords, 3 of wands reversed, page of cups)

[lilyofthevalleyys]

just wanna say i have wind breaker brain rot right now (the manga)

10/10!! highly recommend reading/watching it!

i’m hoping that i can find the manga but i dont have high hopes. some merch maybe? the chance is probably really low too though :/

more photos under the cut! + me talking about them

also i really want suo’s earrings but they’re impractical so i probably can’t get them 😭 maybe next time 😔

also please tap on the photo for higher quality!

also x2, there blood in the second photo, not a lot but just a warning!

LOOK AT THEM

i haven’t watched the anime on my phone to screenshot yet so i don’t have any good pics but KIRYUU <33 he’s the longish haired person. can you tell he’s my favourite. and Nirei being best supporting character <33

i had mixed feelings about kiryuu at first cuz i was uncertain about his vibe BUT HES AMAZING

kaji is a favourite too!!! his headphones, lollipop and hoodie is so iconic. i also love his parallel to sakura! sakura has someone to ask advice for who’s similar to him :))

introducing the four kings of furin/bofurin!

MOMOSE, the zojo king (the guy with a hood and sweater paws) we don’t know much about him yet (i hope we get more) but i just like him so he’s a favourite! so my top three are kiryuu, kaji and momose, in no particular order

tsubakino, the jikoku king (the one in the second frame)! the way the whole town just accepts them!! and their crush is treated like any other normal crush! they’re so older sibling vibe i love them so much

hiragi, the tamon king (the one in the third frame)! the dad of the group and the one who pops those stomachache pills/tablets like it’s nothing. tbf having to deal with the leader of furin, who legit yells into the broadcast mic thing, isn’t easy 😭

mizuki, the komoku king (the guy in the first frame)! nothing much is known about him either but he’s seems serious and is the strategy person of furin. also he takes off his glasses when he fights which is just really cool

also i realise i haven’t said this but the one with dual colored hair (kinda like todoroki shouto) is the main character of the manga, sakura, who’s goal is to be at the top of furin! he’s got ✨ trauma ✨ but he’s slowly learning to accept and rely on people :)) he also blushes at any kind of romance (and also when he’s shy or embarrassed), even hand holding. i don’t know how he’s gonna date people honestly

and of course, the leader/representative of furin, hajime umemiya! he’s really just like an elementary school kid, as Suo says. hes the sunshine character who you wouldn’t wanna piss off. he’s also the one who united furin with the four kings when they used to be a dog-eat-dog kind of school, so major respect to him!

(the next one contains a bit of spoiler on suo?? idk but just a warning. it’s more of a mini analysis)

a more formal introduction of suo and nirei, sakura’s vice captains and the supporting characters! nirei is good with people and collects information on people in his notebook. he’s the sunshine in the trio, and the other two are the sunshine protectors! suo is a joker, but don’t let that kind face get to you. he’s like the main instigator of most of the (harmless) shit that goes down in 1-1. he’s also mysterious with little information about him. oh and he doesn’t eat?? not in front of other people at least. i really wanna know his backstory tbh

but also:

suo. hes mostly easygoing with a smile on his face all the time. but also freaking scary when pissed off like if someone was looking at me like that i’d run and never look back. yes sakura is right, that’s not the face of someone who’s kind, not in this case. i’ll make a post psycho analysing him later

but he takes fourth on my favourite character list! then tsubakino, umemiya, nirei, hiragi, tsugeura, kusumi, suzuri, choji, togame, the twins etc. the list goes on.

point is: wind breaker is great and i highly recommend reading/watching it.

thats all! imma go make a post analysing suo later, because seriously he’s so mysterious. thanks for reading!

[scorchieart]

⬥◇◆ Clothes Shopping with the Ikeprinces ◆◇⬥

With Act 3 and Silvio's route just around the corner, let's slow down, take a step back, and remember how we all ended up in here. Particularly, how we all ended up in these clothes.

Silvio’s Dubious Preorder ◆◇⬥

*the front door to the clothes shop opens in the middle of the night*

Shopkeeper: Who’s there?

Silvio: Your worst nightmare…

*Silvio drops a heavy bag of coins in the shopkeeper's hands*

Silvio: And your salvation.

Shopkeeper: What?

Silvio: Listen closely, tailor. Tomorrow you will be visited by a pathetic pack of princes with questionable fashion sense. They are in search of new outfits to wear for the upcoming story arc and have chosen your lousy shop as their genius loci. Lucky you.

Shopkeeper: …What?

Silvio: I’ll be in attendance as well, but I’m only interested in an outfit that’ll blow everyone else’s out of the water, so I’ll mostly be observing from the sides. All you gotta do is keep those other guys occupied and catch all the notes I send your way. You’re an experienced man, you’ll know when I’m dropping you a hint. But no one else needs to know about our little deal, capisce? 

*Silvio pats the coin bag and leaves. Shopkeeper puts on glasses and cleans out his ears*

Shopkeeper: WHAT?

⬥◇◆THE NEXT DAY ◆◇⬥

Judge Yves, Round 1 ◆◇⬥

Yves: As members of Rhodolite’s domestic faction, we are the pillars our citizens look towards to represent the values our kingdom instills in art, culture, and conduct. The outfits we select today must not only reflect the propriety expected of the royal family, but also that of our people for generations to follow.

Yves: Jin! Button your shirt all the way up right this moment!

Jin: You can’t cage the collarbones, Yves!

Yves: Leon! Too much detailing will overwhelm your conversation partners! You look like you’re drowning in gold.

Leon: But you’re talking to me just fine now?

Yves: Licht! You look wonderful, of course. But if I had to nitpick, the white on your lapels clashes with your black jacket. Try wearing more color, you don’t want to look like a walking chessboard.

*Sariel slowly backs into the dressing room*

Nokto Seeing Double ◆◇⬥

Nokto: No, this blue vest doesn’t bring out my eyes quite right.

*hands vest over to Licht. Licht tries it on*

Nokto: Hm… and these tassels make my face look too narrow.

*hands shoulder pads over to Licht. Licht tries them on*

Nokto: And these black gloves clash horribly with my hair, what was I thinking?

*hands gloves over to Licht. Licht tries them on*

Nokto: You look great, Licht. Ugh, nothing in this entire store works for me!

*a bag of coins flies across the store*

Silvio: Tailor! No vests, tassels, or gloves!

Judge Yves, Round 2 ◆◇⬥

Yves: Ahem! I’m only doing this because you four are an extension of Rhodolite beyond the borders, and I don’t want you messing up our image in front of our neighbors. It’s not like I particularly care how you dress everyday!

Nokto: Aww, Evie, you care~

Yves: Shut it! Ahem! For starters, the white theme you all have is a very nice choice. It’s a good idea to set up a visual indicator to let others know you’re working as a team.

Clavis: Oh, that wasn’t intentional. This humble shop is simply fortunate enough to have had enough pieces for each of us. Otherwise, these poor white coats would have been prematurely stained red! Hahaha!

Yves: Wha—?

Clavis: With strawberry jam, of course! Chev gets particularly pouty when someone wears white instead of him. I wouldn’t put it past him to “accidentally” sully that poor someone’s outfit with his toast.

Luke: That’s why I eat mine with honey instead!

Yves: No, that’s why we eat breakfast before we leave the palace! 

*Yves swipes the toast from Chevalier and Luke*

Yves: Luke! If you’re going to wear white, you can’t carry honeyed toast in your pockets!

Yves: Clavis! If you’re going to wear a coat over a jacket again, at least make them match in style this time!

Yves: Nokto! If you’re not going to button your vest all the way, you have to wear a shirt underneath!

*Chevalier covers his chest and slowly backs into the dressing room*

Small Talk Sariel ◆◇⬥

*In a quiet corner of the store, Keith looks over himself in the mirror. Sariel notices and joins him*

Sariel: Ah, a modest choice, Prince Keith. Were you to show Prince Yves, I am certain he would impart nothing but praise.

Keith: 🙂

Sariel: Modesty is, of course, cornerstone for a prince to emblem. Although, with our continent so rife with rowdy royals, one would not want to appear too humble, lest he be trampled by his more verbally-inclined peers.

Keith: 😐

Sariel: But too loud a statement piece would have a similar effect of disfavor among colleagues. One would not want to appear too brash in company of those whose opinions matter.

Keith: 😟

Sariel: Finding that sweet spot in the middle is crucial to deduce, and this is the moment to do it. Tell me, Prince Keith, is this the outfit you wish to present to the world in the next act?

Keith: Excuse me, I seem to have misplaced something in the dressing room.

*another bag of coins flies across the store*

Silvio: Make it loud, tailor!

Multi-talented and Multi-purpose Luke ◆◇⬥

Luke: Hey, Yves! How about this? I keep the lid open just enough to stick a spoon in like this, and my pockets get to stay completely… Hey, you okay?

*Yves blushes in surprise*

Yves: Yes, yes! Why wouldn’t I be?

Luke: Well, you’ve been standing by the hair accessories for a long time now.

Yves: Because there’s no one else here. I need rest from evaluating all your outfits, obviously.

*Luke puts down the honey jar*

Luke: Hey, close your eyes for a bit.

Yves: What for?

Luke: Just trust me. Besides, you said you wanted to rest, right?

*5 minutes later*

Luke: Tada! Whaddya think?

Yves: How did you…?

Luke: My sister used to make me braid her hair all the time. I’d say I’m pretty good at it, eh?

*Yves blushes in joy*

Yves: Thank you. But how did you manage to keep it in place? You didn’t use any clips or anything.

Luke: Oh, that’s ‘cause I packed it tight with honey. It oughta keep its shape all week, plus it’s good for the scalp. Bonus!

*Yves blushes in rage*

Life Lessons with Big Brother Jin ◆◇⬥

Jin: Hey, Chevalier. Come try this cloak on, it’ll help cover your…

*Chevalier quickly wipes his mouth and hides his hands behind his back*

Jin: …

Chevalier: …

Jin: Chev…

Chevalier: I was merely inspecting them for poisons.

Jin: Come on, big guy. We’ve been through this.

Chevalier: The showoff apprehended my toast. 

Jin: You can’t eat the roses.

Chevalier: …

Jin: …

Chevalier: The yellow ones taste best.

Jin: So you’ve told me.

*yet another bag of coins flies across the store*

Silvio: Bring me the juiciest rose you have! I know you’re keeping it from me!

Gilbert’s Infinite Hyperspace ◆◇⬥

Gilbert: Are you sure the shopkeeper won’t mind you making alterations to his designs?

Clavis: That wonderful man doesn’t need to worry about a single hair on his rapidly balding head! I won’t be defiling his style because all the additions I’m making will be completely hidden from sight.

Gilbert: How like you to run your dirty work in the shadows. Such fun.

Clavis: I wouldn’t use that particular arrangement of words to describe it, per se. But considering Sariel has egregiously forbidden me from purchasing more than one belt today, I am forced to improvise my carry-on capabilities.

Gilbert: Ah, pockets! How very fun, indeed!

Clavis: Not just any pockets! Secret pockets! And just look at this enormous canvas I have to work with! Only… my hands were full on the way over here carrying Chevalier’s breakfast, so I wasn’t able to bring much of my usual tools to measure. I don’t like leaving the palace without at least a net or two on hand.

Gilbert: You can borrow mine!

*Gilbert produces a large fish net out of thin air*

Clavis: How fortunate, this will work nicely! I do wish I could have brought my trusty shovel with me, though. 

Gilbert: Regular or extra large?

*Gilbert produces two digging shovels out of thin air*

Clavis: Ah... R-regular is fine…

Gilbert: Anything else?

Clavis: You’ve been plenty helpful, I couldn’t impose—

Gilbert: No need to be shy. You still have plenty of space to work with, I see. 

Clavis: …

Gilbert: Try me.

Clavis: …Well, I do like to be armed with more than just my sword—

Gilbert: How about this?

*Gilbert produces a hatchet out of thin air*

Clavis: … Thank you.

Gilbert: What are friends for?

*Gilbert claps his hands, taps his cane twice, and pulls a tiny comb out of the heel of his boot. He combs Clavis’s hair out of his eyes and walks away smiling as the largest bag of coins yet flies across the store*

Silvio: Secret pockets! But don’t tell anyone where they are, you hear? Not even me!

Doggy See, Doggy Do ◆◇⬥

Leon: Find anything you like, Rio?

Rio: Lots! But I’m just not sure she’d like them, too.

Leon: Why not show me what you got so far? I may not be Yves or Sariel, but I’ll bet I can point out a stinker in the mix.

Rio: Okay then. What do you think of this gilded vest?

Leon: Awesome! The color matches your eyes perfectly. That’s good… I think?

*Coin bag toss #1*

Silvio: Tailor! Look into my eyes and get me a jacket that matches them perfectly! No, not a vest! We said no vests!

Rio: Huh, that was weird. Anyway, what about this broach?

Leon: She’d love it! The looped design brings out the curves of your smile just right. That kind of attention to detail is probably really important.

*Coin bag toss #2*

Silvio: Tailor! Bring me your loopiest jewelry! The more hoops, the better!

Rio: Did you hear something? Ah, nevermind. Do you think I should go with one earring or two?

Leon: Hmm… Yves rocks the one earring look—

*Coin bag toss #3*

Silvio: Tailor! I want your gaudiest single earring in my palm right this second!

Leon: —but earrings are supposed to come in pairs, right? So maybe two would be fine. For symmetry, and all that.

*Coin bag toss #4*

Silvio: Make that two!

Leon: Sorry, I’m not too sure, to be honest.

*Rio knowingly smirks*

Rio: Your advice is great, Prince Leon. Tell me, what do you think of these snow boots?

Leon: Well, it’s not exactly winter. But they’re really a statement piece, and she might appreciate a good conversation starter.

*Coin bag toss #5*

Silvio: I need the furriest boots you’ve got in this place, pronto!

Rio: And this zebra-print cloak?

Leon: Chevalier looks good in tiger stripes. I guess that’s basically the same thing.

*Coin bag toss #6*

Silvio: Where do you keep the darn striped fabrics, old man?

Rio: Great! What’s your opinion on oversized hats?

Leon: Uhh… go big or go home?

*Coin bag toss #7*

Silvio: GO BIG OR GO HOME!!

Leon: Hey, Rio, do you hear an echo?

Rio: Nope. Just the sound of a nation’s GDP falling.

I wanted to add a joke about their gloves, but this post is getting way out of hand, even without puns.

Tagging: @queengiuliettafirstlady @violettduchess @venulus @thewitchofbooks @leonscape @rhodolitesrose @venti-tangents @dear-sciaphilia @ikesenwritings @myonlyjknight @ladyofcrowsx @otomefoxystar @my-day6

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[cosmerelists]

Bridge Four: What Punctuation Mark They’d Be

Previously we considered what parts of speech the Kholin household would like best...for some reason. Next up: Bridge Four as Punctuation Marks!

1. Kaladin: Exclamation Point

We all know that Kaladin is a dramatic boy. When he arrives, he is an exclamation point embodied, usually glowing with Stormlight and there to save the day.

2. Sigzil: Colon

A colon indicates that further information will follow: perhaps a list, or a several-sentence description, or a series of questions. And as a Worldsinger, Sigzil is there to spread information and knowledge. Plus, when he found out about Kaladin’s powers, his first thought was to design experiments to get some good old data points. I can just imagine him writing, “Kaladin’s abilities are as follows:”

3. Rlain: Semicolon

Semicolons connect two independent clauses, much as Rlain, the Bridger of Minds, is able to connect disparate peoples and ideas. The semicolon is solid and steadfast, but does not end the thought like a period does. It brings different thoughts together.

4. Rock: Question Mark

I just remember the scene where we find out that Bridge Four goes to see Rock for advice, and he asks them questions to help them realize what they need/want to do. Rock is the type of person who can help people feel welcome, draw them in, help them open up. So I think a question mark suits him well!

5. Moash: Slash 

The slash can indicate separation and difference, but it can also show options and alternatives: and/or, his/her, color/colour. And yes, Moash has some black and white thinking (or should I say “black/white”)--light-eyes vs. dark-eyes, guilty vs. innocent, and so on. But he also represents alternatives: What if justice does mean killing a king who is liable in your grandparents’ death? What if the Singers should be the rulers? What if Kaladin is wrong? So for many reasons, I think the slash suits him.

He also, like, keeps slashing people to death, but maybe that’s a cheap joke.

6. Renarin: En-Dash

The en-dash is a poorly understood and little utilized punctuation mark: it is used specifically in ranges of numbers (like 14–30). And Renarin too had a specific and little-understood power--seeing the future--whose usefulness was not accepted at first. And when I use the en-dash, I have to manually download it because I don’t actually know the keystroke for it, and people tend to need some time to get used to Renarin too, as when he had to work hard to join Bridge Four.

Look, I swear this makes perfect sense in my head!

7. Teft: Hyphen

The hyphen is a support punctuation mark; it doesn’t get used alone, but rather connects together a compound noun or adjective. And Teft, as the sergeant and also as Kaladin’s friend, has always been there in support. He backs Kaladin up, even going so far as to stay behind when Kaladin was somewhat forcibly retired from the army.

The hyphen can also indicate speech or thoughts being abruptly cut off, but perhaps we won’t talk about that.

8. Skar: Apostrophe

An apostrophe shows ownership and belonging: my mother’s necklace, the captain’s spear. And Skar really is all about his love for being Bridge Four. He was the first to rip off the Cobalt Guard Patch in favor of a Bridge Four patch. He was completely crushed when he couldn’t draw in Stormlight at first, because he was afraid of not being useful to Bridge Four. He still helped others learn to drawn in the Stormlight, though. This love for the group and sense of belonging means the apostrophe suits him well, I think.

9. Dabbid: Ellipses 

Dabbid didn’t speak for a while, at first because of battle shock, and later because he didn’t want the others to know that he thought differently from most people. Now he does speak some, but carefully. And the ellipses can indicate not only silence, but also a pause before continuing.

10. Drehy: Period

Drehy is extremely dependable--he’s one of the first to back up Kaladin, one of the first to pick up fighting, one of the first to learn first aid. He goes with Skar on the mission to Kholinar, and helps rescue Elhokar’s son after we all (or at least me) thought that Sanderson had dared to kill off the one gay character.

And yes, I wanted to pick the gayest punctuation mark for Drehy, but that’s gotta be either the question mark or the ellipses (right?), and I had already used those.

11. Hobber: Comma

The comma lets you know that this isn’t the end; there is more (of the sentence) coming. And Hobber is a figure of hope: he’s so delighted that Kaladin rescues him, that he’s already smiling even though at that point it was likely that he would die. He loses his legs to a shardblade, but later is able to draw in Stormlight to heal himself. So I think “hope” is the emotion I’d associate with Hobber, and I’ve decided that the comma--the “there’s more; don’t worry”--is the punctuation mark for him.

12. Leyten: Brackets

Literally all I know about Leyten is that he is the armorer. And brackets are like strong, uh, breastplates that, uh, protect the words within? 

I’m so sorry, Leyten. I got nothing.

13. Lyn: Em-Dash

The em-dash is very versatile; it can be used in place of a comma or a semicolon or parentheses.  And Lyn is a versatile woman: scout, messenger, soldier, Windrunner. Plus, everyone likes her, in book, and I’m pretty sure the em-dash is everyone’s favorite punctuation mark.

14. Lopen: Interrobang

The interrobang is the combination of the question mark and the exclamation mark: ?!. You might say, “That’s not a proper punctuation mark!” but then, that’s the point! It’s Lopen. He likes to be improper, to joke around and try to shock people.

Plus, I think he’d find the word “interrobang” to be funny.

[respectthepetty]

Yin & Yang

A legend says in the ancient times, the Chinese people had given the four corners of the skies to the protection of the four divine creatures: Green Dragon, White Tiger, Red Phoenix, and Black Tortoise. - Episode 1

Yin and Yang describe a dualistic-monism Chinese philosophy that expresses in all life, there exists a unity between two opposing forces. Yin represents the female, disorder, cold, and decadence, while Yang represents the male, order, heat, and discipline. Both are needed for balance and without the other, there is chaos.

Creatures

As stated in the above quote from the beginning of the episode, four creatures were given the power to protect the sky.

Each of the animals represents a force:

Young Yin – White Tiger

Old Yin – Black Tortoise

Young Yang – Green Dragon

Old Yang – Red Phoenix

Mangkorn’s name means Dragon = Yang. He is hard-working and studious like his force.

Mangkorn describes Yai’s fierce face as a Tiger = Yin. Yai is idle and indulgent as his force.  

They are also listed in each other’s phone as such. Mangkorn is a green dragon and Yai is a tiger.

In this episode, we see Dragon and Tiger dancing with each other at the celebration before the two encounter each other.

Directions

Dragon protects the east of the sky and Tiger protects the west. We see Mangkorn and Yai positioned as such throughout the first episode.

Colors

We also see both wearing their force’s colors.

Yang possesses both Green Dragon (it’s translated as green, but it’s actually a blue green that we don’t have in English) and Red Phoenix. Mangkorn wears red several times throughout this episode, and in the trailer, we see some of the blue green appear.

Yin possesses both White Tiger and Black Tortoise. Yai wears mostly black throughout the episode with some white.

When we see the bodyguard attempt to drug Mangkorn, both of the vials are his/Yang’s colors = red and blue(green). Neither would have harmed him.

When we see Yai open the (green) curtain, red (Mangkorn) is on one side and black (Yai) on the other which bleeds into the next scene where we see them *merge* physically. Much like the picture above where both are seated at the bar with the door in between, green is the middle color because in both instances, Mangkorn has the upper hand.

In the OST and throughout the trailer, Mangkorn and Yai only wear these four colors, and they begin to wear the other’s colors as they become more connected.

Phak & Phong

This most likely will be the second pairing, and we see them wear the more traditional color duality (by western standards) as they are literally conflicting with each other: pink and blue. Phak is Yin and Phong is Yang.

We are going to get a lot of opposition from these two leads and possibly conflict from the bodyguards, but much like the forces they inhabit, they will realize they need each other. Their forces and creatures complement each other and together they restore balance (Yin & Yang), ward off evil energy (Feng Shui), secure their futures (Red Phoenix), and provide stability (Black Tortoise).

[hestusjamsession]

I’m currently farming light dragon parts (sorry Zelda) and decided to do a follow up to my last post while I wait.

This list is all Linked Universe baby. Once again, if you know the blogs of some of these authors I’d appreciate it if you could tag them.

1. Linked Universe Age Swap AU by LazuliQuetzal

Let’s kick this off with a bang. This is a series of one shots centered around the Chain being alternate ages. We got Old Man Hyrule. We got Angsty Teen Time. We got Wolfkin Wild. It’s great. Check it out.

2. Dawn of the Fourth by LazuliQuetzal

By the same author, Dawn of the Fourth is one of those fics that I don’t think I’ll be able to do justice, so here’s a snippet:

Wild reached out and brushed a finger across the body’s cheek. Then he licked his finger. “Eleven,” he decided, smacking his lips.

“Hey, what the fuck.”

“Dirt tastes different depending on age—”

“No, don’t explain it! Why are you like this, I hate you so much—“

3. The Man and the Pup by Bubbly_Kandy

Once upon a time, in the magical land of Hyrule, there were eight boys and a man all trying to exist in a world that doesn’t want them.

This one has some serious fairy tale vibes which I love. It’s also kind of dark at times. It’s not finished but maybe if I point enough people towards it the author will pick it up again. Who knows? One can dream.

4. Deserving by @a-little-bit-of-ravioli

When Colin overhears part of a conversation between his father and his adopted big brother, he decides it’s up to him and his friends to protect Link from those wishing to do him harm.

5. Malevolence by @thescrapwitch

Wolfie eats something he shouldn’t and things go downhill from there. Secrets are revealed, friendships are tested, and Ganon is a jerk.

This fic is a masterclass in tension. If you need some heavy angst with a happy ending, this is your fic.

The one shot Wolf Heart by the same author is also very good.

6. Our Nightly Confident by Wisetypewriter

Alternative titles are “Wolfie is the Best Boy” and “Men Will Literally Talk to a Wolf Before Going to Therapy.”

This was one of the first LU fics I read and it’s so sweet. If you’ve liked Lupis Vigilans (coming up) you’ll really like Our Nightly Confident.

7. The Fierce Dadity Series by @skyloftian-nutcase

A series focusing on everyone’s favorite Mask-bound God/Spirit just trying to take care of his favorite mortal.

There’s a lot of fics by Skye that I love and it’s hard to narrow it down. But Fierce Dadity is up there.

8. Brethren in a Cradle by @skyward-floored

After coming across a village raised to the ground, the Chain finds its sole survivor: a baby boy. They quickly learn that there is more to this child than meets the eye.

The “Baby Joins the Chain AU”. Also I always get Skyward_floored and Skyloftian-nutcase mixed up and I would like to make a formal apology.

9. Where Your Meant to Be by @adrift-in-thyme

Malon has lived her entire life in her tower, never seeing the outside world. When a former-hero-turned-thief climbs through her window, her life takes a whole new turn.

The Tangled AU I didn’t know I wanted until I read it.

10. Lupus Vigilans by @pluviatrix

A character study of each of the Chain told from the point of view of Twilight, Hillbilly in Resident.

Wholesome and hilarious and heartbreaking in equal measure, I can’t recommend this fic enough. Also, I’m from the Ozarks and it’s cool to see that accent represented in the wild.

Their other fic, And Still The Cradle Blossoms is also really good if you’re like me and need a good cry at three in the morning.

11. Down by @musashi

When the Chain gets hit by a horrible illness, it’s up to Sky to take care of eight stubborn heroes. Each chapter is focused on a different member, and Twilight’s chapter in particular hit me in the feels.

I love sickfics for some reason and this one is so good.

12. Colors by HylianHarmony

A Four centric fic where he reveals the Colors to the rest of the Chain. Also he has a mind palace which is pretty neat.

This fic isn’t finished but it’s too good not to recommend.

13. Alone Together by Blueskullcandy

Another Four centric fic but told from the point of view of different members of the chain (including Four). The Twilight chapter in particular is worth the read by itself.

This fic is also not finished but I still recommend it. It’s really good.

14. Brothers Becoming by @turtleduckscribbles

After a fight with Twilight, Legend is forced to face his fears and insecurities and confront the one person he wants to avoid at all cost.

Prickly Legend learns to let others in.

15. Not Like You by HylianHarmony

Wind deals with serious imposter syndrome, but the others don’t realize it until it’s almost too late.

This is one of my comfort fics y’all. When I’m down I’ll read it and it always manages to cheer me up. I can’t recommend this one enough.

[gabbytheagressiv]

not so berry is by lilsimsie & alwaysimming, this base game version is by me (gabbytheagressiv)

hi, i’m gabby and i always wanted to play the not so berry challange, but unfortantly i’m broke, and can’t afford to buy the packs (kinda sad lmao), so i decited to edit the rules just a little bit to make it base game compatible! I will add the original description, hope that’s okay for you.

Do you like the rainbow? Do you like the idea of playing with berry Sims but hate berry Sims? Do you want tom ess around with aspects of the game you’ve never used before? Boy, do i have the challange for you!

Welcome tot he Not So Berry Legacy Challenge, a ten generation legacy with a focus on bright colors and new experiences.

Basic rules:

Each heir must represent the color of the generation (i.e. hair, makeup, clothing), but brightly colored skin is not necessary (these aren’t actually berry Sims, that’s the joke) Of course, this is optional but a big portion of the fun.

The colors of the spouses don’t matter as they aren’t part of the challange. Unless otherwise stated you can do whatever you please with them.

Money cheats can be used, but not excessivly. Suggestion: use freerealestate for your first home, but no cheats afterward.

You may live wherever you please unless something is specified in the rules of a generation.

Every generation is supposed to complete both the career and aspiration of the heir unless explicitly started otherwise.

Keep the lifespan on normal.

If you play this challange and want to share it with us, go ahead and post with #notsoberry so we can see!

Generation One: Mint

You’re a mischieveos freelancer who really loves the color mint. You always try to collect random things, it’s a weird obsession of yours. You always do something, so you’re pretty busy, but still make time for silly pranks and outings with your closest friends. You love luxury and want the best for yourself and your family.

traits: vegetarian, jealous, materialistic

aspiration: chief of mischief

career: freelancer (computer expert)

rules:

Be in the freelancer career from the beginning to death and complete the Chief of Mischief aspiration

Master mischief, logic and programming skills

Have at least two children, you have to help these two complete at least one child aspiration

Generation Two: Rose

You had everything you desired as a child but you were always longing for more. As an adult you have a hard time committing to relationships as you’re so focused on your career. If we had a workaholic trait in The Sims 4 you would have it. You have absolutley no parental instincts whatsoever but you still love your child with all your heart.

traits: hot headed, snob, romantic

aspiration: serial romantic

career: style influencer (trend setter)

rules:

Have only one child

Master the style influencer career trend setter branch and complete the Serial Romantic aspiration

Master charisma skill and buy the shameless & great kisser trait

Leave someone at the alter (an interaction available during a wedding)

Get married for the first time as an elder

Generation Three: Yellow

Growing up you never had a close relationship with your parents and spent the majority of your time alone in your room obsessing over space. You just really love space. You’ll have a hard time socializing with people after the loss of your spouse. You refuse to have a romantic relationship ever again.

traits: clumsy, ambitious, loner

aspiration: nerd brain

career: astronaut

rules:

Master rocket sciensce and handiness skill

Master astronaut career and complete the Nerd Brain aspiration

Must build a rocket ship

Enter the secret lot in Oasis Springs (requiring max handiness)

Never have any close friends or relationships other than grandparent from Generation 1 until the grandparent dies

Generation Four: Grey

You always felt that you were different. While the rest of your family was busy doing some weird stuff, the only thing you wanted to do is to stay outside all day. You’re very good at sports and you dream of becoming a professional athlete. To make up for your nonexistent relationship with your parents you want to be there for your own children as much as possible. Oh, and you love fishing too.

traits: active, slob, music lover

aspiration: bodybuilder

career: athlete

rules:

Master athletic and fishing skills

Master athlete career and complete Bodybuilder aspiration

Have three failed relationships before finding spouse, marry a neat Sim

Be good friends with all your children

Have family movie night with your spouse and children every Sunday

Generation Five: Plum

You’ve always been good at anything you tried. It’s hard to choose a career, and you can’t play video games for a living so why not try a few? You work as a babysitter for much of yourlife, but as an adult realize that your true dream is to be an artist, so you quit babysitting and join the entertainer career. Basically: you’re an indecisive oddball.

traits: genius, noncommittal, erratic

aspiration: renaissance sim

career: fast food, babysitter, entertainer

rules:

Master video gaming and two other skills of your choosing, archieve at least level eight in six skills

Complete Renaissance Sim aspiration

Get divorced and then later remarried to the same Sim

Must live in at least three different worlds over the course of your life

Generation Six: Orange

You’re the black sheep of your family (but with orange hair) and you were raised in a hectic household. You’ve always wanted to cause mayhem, but you’re just really bad at being evil. You enjoy breaking into your neighbors’ houses and eating their food. Your weak point is your beloved violin. When you’re not out doing something evil, you’re probably locked up in your room playing your instrument.

traits: evil, self-assured, glutton

aspiration: public enemy

career: criminal

rules:

Master violin and charisma skills

Master criminal career and complete Public Enemy aspiration

Must live in a 2 bedroom tiny house (you don’t have to count the tiles, just have the building be really small) for your entire young adult life

Have twins, but only those two children (you may cheat for this)

Insist on being evil (claim to be criminal mastermind) but nobody belives you, not even your own children

Generation Seven: Pink

You grew up poor and are living paycheck working in the business career just as your parents did. You long to write romance novels but are too afraid to quit your steady job to follow your dreams. You’re very practical and you know the chances of making it as a writer are slim, so you stay working at your nine to five. As an adult you finally decide to pursue your dreams. You’re a hopeless romantic, but you were in a toxic relationship as a teen, and your fear of that happening again makes it nearly impossible to find love.

traits: neat, loyal, creative

aspiration: best selling author

career: business

rules:

Complete postcard collection

Master writing and gardening skills

Complete Best Selling Author aspiration

Have a well-maintained garden

Quit day job as an adult tu pursue dreams (mid-life crisis much?)

Generation Eight: Peach

Your parents always taught you to follow your dreams. You’ve always wanted to be a secret agent. You’ve always wanted to be a comedian. Well dang it, you can do both! Following bad guys by day, telling jokes at the bar by night, you can do anything you set your mind to.

traits: foodie, lazy, goofball

aspiration: joke star

career: secret agent (diamond agent)

rules:

Marry a co-worker

Must play an instrument

Master gourmet cooking and comedy skills

Master secret agent (diamont agent) career

Must live in a different world than the one they were raised

Generation Nine: Green

You were caught hacking by a major tech company that then offered you a position in their firm. You know Penelope Garcia from Criminal Minds? That’s you. You’re dedicated to your work, but that doesn’t stop you from going out and having a good time. You’re the kind of person that will be at a party at 3am and then at work at 6am.

traits: childish, geek, cheerful

aspiration: computer whiz

career: tech guru

rules:

Master mixology, video gaming and programming skills

Master tech guru career and complete Computer Whiz aspiration

Must accept every invitation to parties/outgoings with your friends

Have at least five good friends and five enemies

Generation Ten: Blue

You have the perfect life. White picket fence, loving spouse, beautiful children. But why do you still want more? You have a one time secret affair and will regret it for the rest of your life. Afterward you pour your soul into raising your children and fixing your marriage. You never admit the affair to anyone and dedicate your life to being the perfect parent.

traits: gloomy, perfectionist, family oriented

aspiration: big happy family

career: culinary

rules:

Adopt at least one child

Master the photography, cooking skills

Master culinary career and complete the Big Happy Family aspiration

Must marry high school sweetheart and stay with them until you die

Have a one time secret affair

Hope you liked my version, love y’all, bye!

[fullscoreshenanigans]

Something that doesn’t surprise me due to how prevalent they are as visuals to remind the audience what series they’re reading and for the multitude of things they represent but is still of interest to me is how I’ve never seen discussions or fanfics that touch upon the removal of the farm tattoos or Lambda branding once the setting switches to the human world. I’ve seen the latter mentioned as a point of distress post-canon (shout-out to chapter 3 of banana_slug_army’s Sunshine and Solace; definitely check it out if you’re a NER enthusiast), but the thought of removing them is never seriously considered by the kids or Moms and Sisters.

Below the cut is an assortment of reasons I’ve gathered for why this is and some musings on them:

1. Pain of Removal (Physical and Monetary)

This reason is the easiest to handwave. With fantastical creatures like demons being real in this universe, it’s not much of a leap to ask your audience to believe there is now an entirely painless procedure to remove tattoos or brands.

However, if someone wants to venture down that route, it is interesting to consider, especially given how young a decent amount of these kids are. Doing a quick search for tattoo removal and children understandably doesn’t yield many results, so I’m wondering if it’s something that should even be attempted on the youngest of them with the damage it could do to their skin. It could take multiple sessions before the removal is complete. (I’m not going to post images here because they contain nazİ imagery, but check into Bryon Widner for someone who underwent twenty-four sessions of extensive but successful tattoo removal on his face and neck for a year and a half after leaving the movement.)

And then I go with the Lambda marks being brands due to the red coloring they’re given in the anime:

(S2e08. At least the majority of the babies sans Ray don’t remember the tattooing done to them. I hope they granted Norman the small mercy of knocking him out for this.)

Removing those would require more intensive cosmetic surgery.

Regardless, the monetary cost for any of this is a non-issue because even if Norman and co. didn’t start an incredibly lucrative conglomerate so they could avoid as much influence of the Ratri family as possible, I feel like this would be something either they would cover (because not doing so is terrible optics) or the people performing the procedure would do it pro bono.

2. Discrimination/Attention

Discrimination is another one that Shirai handwaves fairly quickly after minor instances of speculating how successful they would be in assimilating into the human world.

(Chapter 179)

So there’s no large, socially acceptable push toward scapegoating the cattle children on the outset of their arrival. However, I don’t think it would be outlandish for individuals or fringe groups to do this, especially with how they magically appeared all over the world. It’s ripe for conspiracy theories. (I’ve talked about this with @officersnickers​ for one of her AUs where a minority of people don’t consider the cattle children real people and dub them “numbers” for some ingroup-outgroup think.)

The opposite side of the coin then is attention.

(Chapter 56)

Glory Bell’s, Goodwill Ridge’s, and Grand Valley’s placements are more easily hidden with clothing, but Grace Field’s takes a little bit more flair to hide in the warmer months. Yuugo is immediately able to tell where the kids are from because of this placement, something he wouldn’t be able to do with the other farms. It makes me wonder if Grace Field children in particular would consider removal the further along they are in life to avoid receiving pity.

[Tangentially related to this, the arrival of all these children might spark a trend of human world denizens opting for some misguided tattoo choices in a similar manner to what happened with the release of Stranger Thİngs season 4:

so another aspect that might factor into this decision.]

3. Paradoxical Sense of Kinship

This is the most thematically resonant reason that’s made most apparent by Emma losing her tattoo as a symbol of the new promise she’s forged and the memories of her family that she’s sacrificed.

(Chapter 181)

With the paradox being that these numbers were used in order to dehumanize them and catalog them as merchandise.

Growing up in Grace Field, the children undoubtedly saw images of people in books from the human world without numbers on their necks. It makes me wonder if the Moms of each house were given free reign on how to explain why this was so to their children or if there was a standard response passed down from HQ, because it is something that the kids notice before they’re aware of the truth in the manga instead of the ominous framing for the sake of the viewer in the anime.

(Chapter 1; I default to the demons flipping them as another hurdle to deter the children from catching on to how closely grouped together they actually are, but like)

(at some point multiple kids must have stood in front of the mirror together and seen the reverse. “If you’re not primed to look, you’re not going to see it,” yes, but still, lol. Chapter 181.1)

Once they escape the house, we again have those panels from chapter 56 of Nat and Thoma shuddering at the real purpose of the marks they’ve carried for their entire lives.

And yet before and after this realization the children of Grace Field undoubtedly took comfort in seeing those similar markings so prominently on each other. As Don states in the English dub of the first episode, “even if we aren’t blood-related, we’re truer siblings than most.” They were brought together by circumstances unknown to them, but they all saw those numbers as a way they were tied together. So despite having the most obvious placement, I feel like the Grace Field children would be the least likely to opt for tattoo removal.

(You could further split up this up by how old the unaware Grace Field children were upon arriving in the human world. It wouldn’t be hard to imagine there being some dissonance between younger children who barely remember life in the demon world and older ones who were nearing the shipment age who bonded with the other children in their orphanages.

And then with the oldest cattle children—the caretakers of the various farms who learned of the truth and were forced to comply with the cruel system laid out before them or die—their memories of their time in HQ might mar any positive association they had with their tattoos as a sign of familial unity in their childhoods.)

By contrast, Grand Valley’s tattoo placement is on the chest.

(Chapter 69)

And Glory Bell’s on the stomach as shown by Yuugo. Combined with the different settings of towns and teachers as caretakers as opposed to smaller family units intentionally framing themselves in that manner, I feel that this could lead to a greater sense of dissociation between the tattoos and a sense of kinship for all the cattle children not from Grace Field, thus potentially making it more likely they would be open to removing them at some point in the human world. Out of sight, out of mind.

Of course, all these characters are their own individuals and with enough proper set-up, I think fanfic authors could reasonably justify any of the cattle children removing these markings within the anime or manga canon or in No Reward AUs where Emma doesn’t lose her memory or her numbers. But these are the general trends I would default to if the topic is put forth in a fanfic, and I’d be interested in contrasting perspectives from characters either as the focus of a shorter piece or a reoccurring point of contention in a larger one.

[tofueggnoodles]

Saiyuki Reload Blast Drama CD 2 – Track 1: Superhero Team

Summary: The Ikkou forms (or rather, attempts to form) a superhero team. Will they ever agree on which of them will get to play the Red Ranger?

--------

Hakkai: Here, in a certain town, due to youkai raids stemming from Gyumaoh’s empire, the people are in distress. In order to save them and keep the peace, a team of superheros has been formed. Its name is – West Rangers!

--------

Hakkai: All right! Today’s our first meeting, which is itself worthy of commemoration. Let’s put in our fighting spirit in our new roles as superheroes!

The other three (with varying levels of enthusiasm): Alright!

Sanzo: What a bother. You guys take care of this mess as you see fit, between just the three of you.

Gojyo: What are you saying? In the first place, you were the one who received the order from The Three Aspects.

Sanzo: Like I care. It’s something they arbitrarily decided on their own.

Goku: Why a superhero team?

Hakkai: It’s just the whim of a certain merciful and benevolent personage, isn’t it? But, in this way, a secret base of operations has been especially prepared for us, so let’s do our best to live up to their expectation!

Sanzo: What are you getting so hyped up for.

Hakkai: Who among us have not admired superhero teams at some point in our youth?

Gojyo: “Our youth....” You make it sound like we’re geezers already. To begin with, what you call a secret base is just a meeting room in a coffee shop.

Hakkai: By the way, we can make our order via the telephone they’ve provided here. I heard that the food and beverage costs will be covered by The Three Aspects.

Goku: Alright! I’d like a cream soda, a club sandwich, a pizza toast, a ham sandwich, a milk sandwich, a chicken sandwich and a pork-cutlet sandwich.

Gojyo: One ice coffee for me.

Sanzo: A lemon squash and a maple French toast.

Goku: Ah! I want a maple French toast too.

Gojyo: Are you two girls?

Hakkai: I’ll have a plain tomato juice. Well then, I’ll make our order. (picks up the phone) Hello, I’m calling from Room Number Three. Yes, I’d like to make an order. One ice coffee, one cream soda, one lemon squash, one plain tomato juice, two maple French toasts. On top of that, one of the following: club sandwich, pizza toast, ham sandwich, milk sandwich, chicken sandwich and pork-cutlet sandwich.

--------

Goku: Talking about superheroes, one would expect that thing, right? A belt you can wear and switch on in order to transform?

Hakkai: Unfortunately, we don’t have a transformation belt. However, our costumes have arrived. (heaves a heavy box onto the table and opens it)

Sanzo: What are those clothes?

Hakkai: When it comes to superheroes, costumes with different colors are essential, you know. Let’s see – they come in red, blue, yellow and black.

Gojyo: Isn’t that a large amount of clothes for four persons?

Hakkai: The spares are included. There are lots of them, so feel free fight to your heart's content without worrying about dirtying or ruining your costume. Well then, without further delay, shall we decide the color for everyone?

Sanzo: Something like the color of our costumes is just a trivial matter.

Hakkai: No, it is not! For superheroes, the color assignment is important. For example, the leader is almost always dressed in red, a color which symbolizes passion, vigor and victory. In short, the color of the costume is directly connected to the character of its wearer. The different colors represent the superheroes’ different personalities coming together in teamwork. Moreover, through their righteous conducts, superheroes provide extensive guidance to children and adults alike. Without these characteristics, one has no right to call oneself a superhero.

Gojyo: Y–yes.

Goku: Hakkai sure knows a lot about superhero teams.

Hakkai: It’s just something I enjoy reading up on early in the morning, since I’m an early riser.

Gojyo (sighs): Well, one way or another, we have to form a superhero team. So let’s hurry up and decide on the colors already. Shall we start with Sanzo?

Goku: For Sanzo... Sanzo... Sanzo... well, it should be yellow!

Gojyo: I bet you just decided that based on his hair color. So predictable.

Hakkai: What do you think, Sanzo?

Sanzo: Hmmph. Have it your way.

Hakkai: Alright, it’s yellow for Sanzo then. Here are the costumes and the boil-in-the-bag curry sauce.

Sanzo: Hah? What’s the latter for?

Hakkai: According to superhero team lore, the yellow-clad superhero tends to be a curry lover. From today on, please have curry for every meal in order to get into character.

Gojyo (bursts into laughter): Three curry meals a day? You’ll get fat in no time!

Sanzo: I’m not going to do it!

Goku: I like curry, so let’s exchange colors.

Gojyo: You like anything as long as it’s edible.

Goku: But, I’d like to be the red one too. The leader of the superhero team is the one in red, right? The leader is the coolest!

Gojyo: Hold on, hold on. Hold on! The leader is the one with the highest approval rating, isn’t he? Then it should be me, the guy who’s the most popular with the ladies.

Goku: When was it decided that you’re the most popular with the ladies?

Hakkai: I don’t recall us ever holding such a popularity poll.

Sanzo: It’s a kappa’s delusion.

Gojyo: Hah?

Sanzo: The main point is that the one in red is the leader, correct? If that’s the case, it should be me.

Gojyo: You just go and eat curry for the rest of eternity, curry monk!

Sanzo: Hah?!

Hakkai: Wait a minute, please! I can’t entrust the color red to any of you, because none of you have even an inkling of what superhero teams are like. Therefore, I’ll be the superhero in red.

Goku: Eh? Everyone wants to be red?

Gojyo: Since it’s come to this, we’ll have no choice but to decide via a game.

Hakkai: Then shall we make it a game of cards? Mahjong’s fine with me, too.

Gojyo: You’re sure full of confidence.

Sanzo: There’s no need for a game. I’m the leader and you guys are the underlings – that’s a conclusive fact.

Gojyo: Who’d want to be your underling?

Goku: Hmm....

Hakkai: What’s the matter, Goku?

Gojyo: If you need the toilet, hurry up and go already.

Goku: That’s not it!

Sanzo: Then, what is it?

Goku: What I’m trying to say is, if everyone wants to be red, why not just go with that?

Hakkai: Eh?

Sanzo and Gojyo: Hah?

Goku: Why not? Let’s just form a team of red superheroes!

--------

Woman: What’s that?

Man: A bunch dressed in red....

Woman: They look scary.

Goku: Hey.

Gojyo: Hah?

Goku: We kind of stand out, don’t we?

Sanzo: That’s obvious. A group clad in red uniforms is bound to be menacingly conspicuous.

Gojyo: On top of that, we’re wearing these weird masks which cover our whole faces. It’d be strange if we aren’t looked on with suspicion.

Goku: What’s with the complaints? In the end, even Sanzo and Gojyo agreed to everyone being red.

Gojyo: That’s because we couldn’t come to a decision even after thirty rounds of rock-paper-scissors.

Hakkai: That was why I suggested deciding via a game of poker or mahjong.

Gojyo: Yeah, like we’d go with your suggestion. Those are games you know you’re good at.

Hakkai: Well, these days there are groups in which each member is a superstar in their own right. I guess this would be acceptable for a superhero team too.

Goku: Leaving that aside, there seems to be no youkai around.

Sanzo: Indeed.

Hakkai: That’s strange. According to the information that’s recently come in, there should be some youkai in this area. Furthermore, the youkai frequently sighted around here are said to be high-ranking ones.

Sanzo: High-ranking? Someone like Kougaiji?

Gojyo: Judging from his name, he seems to be another red guy. Gimme a break! We’re swarmed with the color red already.

Goku: Oh! The shop over there is selling some delicious-looking stuff. Can we stop there?

Sanzo: Forget it. They’ll call security on us if we do that.

Goku: Why?

Gojyo: If a group in red like us were to suddenly walk into my shop, I’d report them too.

Hakkai: Ah!

Goku: What’s the matter, Hakkai?

Hakkai: How could I’ve forgotten that, me of all people? I’ve not yet prepared our signature phrase and pose!

Gojyo: Do we need those things?

Hakkai: Yes, we do! They’re indispensable! Ah, what should I do? Even if I have to improvise, I must come up with them now. Let me see.... The signature phrase could go like this: “In order to keep world peace, we, West Rangers, shall defeat the villains!” As for the signature pose–

(A loud crash resounds, followed by a menacing laughter.)

Youkai leader: From now on, this town shall come under the rule of the Gyumaoh’s empire! This is a foregone conclusion! As the citizens of a vassal state, hand over your valuables!

Goku: The youkai have appeared!

Hakkai: Right. This is West Rangers’ first job. Let’s put in our fighting spirit and do it!

Sanzo: I can’t go on like this.

Gojyo: That’s some fighting spirit you’re showing in support. Never mind that, let’s go!

Goku: Yeah! (approaches the youkai) Oi, you’re Kougaiji, aren’t you?

Youkai leader: Hah? Who are you guys? What’s with the bizarre get-ups? A procession of superhero-wanna-bes like this–

(A gunshot rings out. The youkai collapses.)

Sanzo: Do you think I’m dressed like this by choice?

Youkai underling: You bastards! (to his comrades) Attack them, guys!

(The youkai rush toward the Ikkou.)

Goku: Bring it on! The fight’s just begun!

Hakkai: Wait a minute, please! First, get into a line formation. Then – “In order to keep world peace, we, West Rangers–”

Gojyo: We don’t have time for that! (shouts and starts to fight a youkai)

Woman: What are you doing?

Hakkai: Ah.... I guess it can’t be helped. The signature pose will have to wait until the next time. (unleashes a ball of chi)

Man: My house!

Woman: Someone please stop them!

Sanzo: Tch.

(Crashes and gunshots are heard in the mayhem.)

--------

Gojyo: The place is cleared out thanks to the damage.

Goku: That Kougaiji guy was sure weak for a high-ranking youkai.

Hakkai: As expected of them, superheroes always win and save the day.

Gojyo: It’s all fine and dandy that we’ve won, but I’m a fix, because my coolness just now has probably won me more fans than ever.

Hakkai: Eh? But we’re all wearing masks, so how would it be possible to tell which one is you?

Gojyo: Oh. That was a mistake on my part.

Sanzo: Whatever. Let’s leave right away.

Goku: Let’s grab something to eat first. I’m hungry!

Gojyo: Hey, we’d better make some improvement to our get-ups. If no-one can tell us apart, there’s no point to this superhero stuff.

Hakkai: What are you saying? Making sure that the opponent has no idea you’re the one fixing the mess is the real thrill of being a superhero.

--------

Dokugakuji: How terrible! The buildings and the streets have all been smashed. What on earth happened?

Kougaiji: One of our followers was supposed to take control of this area, but–

Dokugakuji: Should we ask around? (to the town dwellers) Excuse me.

Man 1: Yes? What do you guys want? We’re all busy clearing away the rubble.

Dokugakuji: What happened here? This town seemed to have suffered frightful damage.

Man 2: What happened, you ask? Hear me out! A group of four dressed in red appeared out of nowhere and went on a rampage!

Man 1: Hear, hear. It’s great that they went and defeated a bunch of youkai, but they also ended up making the mess you see now. Some favor they did us!

Kougaiji: What?

Dokugakuji: So some guys are fighting against us youkai? Looks like they killed all of our followers. Hmm, this bunch of red-clad four must be quite skillful.

Kougaiji: At any rate, this is a dreadful spectacle. Even if we’re at war against humans, our followers were at fault too. As their leader, it’s my duty to make up for their misconduct. Dokugakuji, let’s help the townspeople clear away the rubble.

Dokugakuji: You’re really not suited to the role of the villain honcho. Well, that’s just like you though.

Kougaiji: All right then. (to the town dwellers) We’ll lend you a hand.

Man 2: Really?

Dokugakuji: You could use some help here, right?

Man 2: Yes, we sure could! Oi, everyone! These guys said they’ll lend us a hand!

Other town dwellers (sounding grateful): That’d save us some trouble!

--------

Gojyo (rifles through the newspaper): Now, I wonder if yesterday’s event will grab the headlines. Maybe something like “West Rangers’ Heroic Exploit....” Hah?

Hakkai: What’s the matter, Gojyo?

Gojyo: What’s this?!

Sanzo: Be quiet!

Goku: What is it?

Gojyo: Look at this!

Hakkai: Hmm? “Knight in Shining Armor Kougaiji Aids Town’s Reconstruction?”

Goku: Ah! So this guy’s Kougaiji. He sure looks strong.

Gojyo: That’s not the point.

Hakkai: Instead of us, it’s him and his followers who are being featured extensively in the news. As for us–

Goku: Huh? “Mysterious Red Bunch On A Rampage?”

Gojyo: We’re being painted as some bad guys who’ve destroyed a town!

Goku: Why? We beat those youkai!

Sanzo: That’s probably because we also wrecked the buildings and the streets aside from beating the youkai.

Hakkai: I see. We should have protected the town infrastructure even as we defeat the villains. Being a champion of justice is not that easy, is it?

Gojyo: Jeez, I’ve had enough! I quit! This superhero stuff’s just impossible!

Hakkai: What are you saying? This is just the beginning of West Rangers’ great efforts. Let’s make sure to do things properly the next time.

Goku: Yeah!

--------

Hakkai (strikes a pose): “In order to keep world peace!”

Goku (strikes a pose as well): “We shall defeat the villains!”

Both: “We’re West Rangers!”

Hakkai: Why are you two not continuing?

Sanzo: I don’t give a damn anymore. Count me out.

Gojyo: Same here.

Goku: Eh? Let’s do it together.

Hakkai: I’ve even come up with the signature pose, you know. (strikes a pose) Like this! What do you think? Excellent, isn’t it?

Goku: Like this?

Gojyo: “Like this?” he said. You can’t convey that in an audio drama, can you?

Sanzo: That’s a blunt way of putting it. I agree.

(Hakkai and Goku continue striking poses.)

Hakkai: No, stretch your arm more there.

Goku: Like this?

Hakkai: Yes, like that. Now, if you angle your hand a bit more higher, it’d be even better. One, two–

Both: Like this!

--------

(Round brackets): actions and sound effects.

[hrokkall]

on the note of Stoat/P03 being introduced before totems are (in regards to him not having a tribe), you do also have two Wolf cards and a River Snapper in your starting deck - which belong to the Canine and Reptile tribes - but of course, you need naturally strong cards in order to have a chance at beating Leshy. I just find it interesting that he’s an isolated card while the other two aren’t.

my only thought is that it’s supposed to distance P03 from the Scrybes/emphasise his otherness since he becomes so relevant in the late game. I’ve also seen people mention that his theme as a Scrybe is somewhat out of place with the others (Beasts, Dead, Magick, Technology) and when you take into account how the Scrybes interact when plotting against the Scrybe in control, it’s obvious that he’s probably the most disliked within the group.

this derailed a bit but I have fun discussing P03 :0

Okay, I’m going to take this one point at a time:

Regarding totems, yeah you’re right on that one. The player can’t use totems at that point because they can’t open the safe and get the key, but Leshy absolutely can and does (one of the first things he does is bust out a canine totem and put flying sigils on his coyotes). The symbols representing their tribe show up on the side of the card accordingly.

For your second point, it could be to distance him from the other Scrybes, but also… unclassified cards are the largest category by far. It has a grand total of 23 cards, 24 if you count squirrels (though they’re technically in the squirrel group), and 25 if you count the glitched card that can appear as any other card. Sure, it can’t be given sigils by totems, but that’s about 40% of the total cards in act 1 (not counting terrain/pelt cards or deathcards). Yes, the other two aren’t unclassified, but they’re also not in the same group either—if they were both insects or something along those lines I’d definitely see your point, but in this case it just seems like another way to declare their differences from each other. His relevance is already declared by making him the first talking card acquired, at least the way I see it.

I will disagree with you on that last point though. Inscryption is a game about a power struggle between four sapient AIs; at least one of the AI characters having a technology motif makes sense. Technology in general fits in the presence of the other three because they’re all supposed to be heavily different from one other. Act 2 feels a little chaotic when you’re first going into it because you’re being slammed with four motifs that clash in four different ways and the faces behind the game aren’t even trying to make it work anymore (they do work, yes, but the Scrybes aren’t making much of a collective effort—they all see the base game as unsalvageable for four different reasons).

Saying one particular Scrybe is the most different from the others is like arguing that a neutral gray is the most similar to any fully saturated primary color; you could make an argument for any of them, but in the end they’re all too different to make comparisons other than “these are colors”. Hell, their isolation from one another is even shown by their four drastically different islands connected only by a broken bridge. Maybe that’s just me but I don’t think singling any one of them out from the others is a fair comparison when they’ve all seemingly made active efforts to take what little binds them together and tear it to shreds.

Also I don’t know if P03 is the most hated. Maybe? It certainly doesn’t get along with the others, but… neither does anyone else (except maybe Grimora). To me it seemed more like the others’ bias changed depending on who was in charge. Pretty much the only time anyone got along beyond vague civility was when they were trying to usurp one of the other four. There’s just a lot of animosity between them in general and when one of them gets power that Scrybe become a pretty good target to take it out on (and also because they’re doubtlessly pulling some Wild Shit while they have the ability to control the entire world at their whim. You know how it is).

[married-2-the-music]

K-pop Discography Deep Dives: Kingdom

A Disclaimer: I was planning, when I first started Tumblr, to be a lurker, but then I began an office job and needed something to listen to to keep myself occupied. And then, I started going through entire K-pop groups’ repertoires, album by album, and jotting down my thoughts. And then, I stumbled into K-pop tumblr and decided, you know what, there’s at least four people on this hell site who would read in depth rants about these discographies and at least five who wouldn’t read it and then get mad because it’s kind of our job as K-pop fans. My lukewarm takes should be taken with an entire silo of salt and the knowledge that this is completely for fun and occupying my very bored, very neurodivergent brain. With that being said, enjoy!

I’m talking about Kingdom today, so let me lay out my credentials. I’ve been a casual fan since around 2022, although I wouldn’t call myself a Kingmaker just yet. This discography deep dive is getting me there though! I’m considering going to their US tour this year, if they come anywhere close to where I live. We’ll see. Obviously, just like the (G)I-DLE one, I’m being harsher than I usually would be as a usual listener because this is a review, after all.

Let’s start with the concept. Kingdom is a group built around the idea that each member represents a different well-known king from a different country. Before we dive in the music, I wanted to talk for a minute about the controversy surrounding the very idea of the group, which boils down to the question: what counts as cultural appropriation and what counts as appreciation? For a group with such a focus on internationality, all 7 members are Korean, which means that they’re inevitably going to be representing cultures that they aren’t a part of, and, indirectly, profiting from them.

Personally, I’m unsure what to think about this. As a lover of history, I really enjoy what they’re doing, and it’s clear to me the amount of work that went into the research and stories for each piece. That being said, with the exception of the Russian one, I don’t belong to any of these cultures, and it's not my place to declare it all fine. Everyone needs to make up their own mind. So, with that out of the way, let’s start.

For this group, we’ll go album by album, starting with History Part 1: Arthur. As befits a legendary monarch from a millennium and a half ago, Excalibur feels otherworldly, from the angelic choir to the outfits that are an odd combination between common k-pop leather stage clothes and medieval knight’s armor.

Overall, what’s most notable about Excalibur is that it truly feels like a beginning: the song exalts Arthur and shows none of the later cynicism of the other monarchs featured. It seems to be the start of his reign, full of hope and bravery, and a revolution, with the phrase, “Follow me now, history begins with us." The accompanying album is also pretty good, with Night Air standing out as a softener to the army-like march of the title track.

The next album focuses on Chiyou, who in Chinese mythology is the God Of War. While this era isn’t my personal favorite, I do think it's the one that best captures who they are as a group. This song, Karma, may be their prettiest, a unique blend of traditional Chinese strings and flutes and modern trap.

Surprisingly, the god of war doesn’t get a song about battles, but the opposite: a song about moving on from the pain of loss that they bring and the need to find salvation for both oneself and future generations by striving for peace, with the visuals balancing the red-tinged fighting the song warns against and the blue-lit tranquility it’s is advocating for, as dancers spin with colorful fans. This album has several good b-sides, with the best being Magical.

Album three switches things up a bit, not only by transporting us to Russia, but also by focusing on a real person for their central character: the incredibly divisive Ivan IV, better known as Ivan the Terrible. It’s probably no coincidence that Black Crown is also the first song to paint its protagonist in a negative light, as Ivan struggles with whether to let the darkness corrupt him after taking control.

The song itself is neither their best or worst, but does an excellent job of building tension with classical strings and very sharp ballet movements. This idea of power, who has it, and the price they’d pay to keep it is a running theme in Kingdom’s work, but this song is the most upfront about it. This accompanying album is alright, although I prefer the first two, and the b-side On Air is quite good, especially in the melding of voices. My biggest gripe is that its instrumental intro is the best album track, with lovely combinations of electronic and classical, and I wish more of it carried into the song as Karma’s intro does.

With Pt. IV, Dann, the middle of the planned seven albums, we finally reach Korea, which, to no one’s surprise, makes the title track Ascension the most historically accurate of them all, being filmed at an actual Korean palace. The main character of this album is Dangun, the legendary founder of Korea, who spends Ascension lamenting the failures of his reign that have caused the people to revolt; they’re now outside, prepared to break the palace gates down, and he has nowhere to run.

Like Ivan, Dann has let power corrupt him, but unlike Ivan (and Arthur), Ascension is his ending, not his beginning. The instrumental of this one is rife with ancient drumming and EDM, a match that shouldn’t work but absolutely does. Similarly, the accompanying album is the best of the six so far—I couldn’t decide between Illusion and Blinder as a hidden gem—and somehow it hangs together despite seeming as miscellaneous as the others; the dual title tracks definitely help with the balance and cohesion.

Speaking of which, the other title track deserves some attention as well. Promise isn’t only a song with a music video that could best be described as a three minute and twelve second historical kdrama, but also just absolutely beautiful. It’s a very traditional Korean ballad, with a backing piano, building strings, and of course, a soft drum beat as the base layer. It starts quietly, as many ballads do, but it's at its post-chorus, which is full of pained yearning and the begged question, “Why does my love hurt so much,” (and which I’ve heard accurately described as “utterly transcendent”), that the song catapulted its way into my absolute favorites, not just of Kingdom, but of k-pop in general. It was while listening to this song that I noted that Kingdom has lovely voices and a real talent for harmonizing with each other, and I desperately wish more of their title tracks would use it.

Anyway, rant over, back to the main albums, and Part V: Louis. The title track Long Live The King is about the “Sun King” Louis XIV of France, who was famous for his very long reign, and his struggles with watching those he loves die and the world change around him since he lives to be so old; again, another thing someone exchanges for power, although he isn’t as vilified for it.

Normally with Kingdom’s title tracks, the East Asian songs are more historical while the European ones are more fantastical, which isn’t surprising, although this one looks as though it could’ve been filmed in Versailles with its 18th century costumes and gilded decor. But, while the song itself is pretty good, its album is the weakest, with none of the b-sides quite working for me.

And the last album focuses on Jinmu of Japan, a mythological figure said to be its first emperor, but the title track Dystopia, despite its name, moves away from the price that rulers pay for power and instead, like Excalibur, appeals directly to the audience, this time asking them to throw off the chains of society and break free from the pain inflicted on them.

Unfortunately, again like Black Crown, it doesn’t incorporate the classical sample close to enough to be on par with the others, and also doesn’t have the slowly built tension of Long Live The King or the beauty of Karma, and so kind of…meanders around without a strong identity of its own. The accompanying album this time is decent again, with Song of The Wind what should have been the title track. Unlike many k-pop groups, their ballads are all excellent and feel more genuine than their “cool”, rap heavy songs, like Warning, Burn, or Elements.

When finding groups, I always want to figure out what makes a group unique, worthy of my time, and to see if they have an established identity, which Kingdom has in absolute spades. The issue I have isn’t with any of their ideas or songs themselves, but with their work as a whole. What’s odd is that, while they do have this clear identity in their title tracks, they don’t follow through with it in the rest of their discography, and end up sounding a lot like other groups of their time. But when they’re good, they’re really good, delivering songs full of questioning power and catharsis.

My top five are Promise, Excalibur, Night Air, Ascension and Song Of The Wind. Overall, Kingdom gets a 7.5/10 from me. (Which I want to emphasize is still very good). I enjoyed this deep dive too, and especially getting to learn about the members of the group, who I didn’t know much about when I started. Who knows? Maybe by the time their American tour makes its way to me, I’ll be cheering in the stands too.

So, see you next time for a girl group!

[heavennumber2]

My first fic! This is part one of a series I’ve called

Here’s One For the Othered

Series is rated E: Hopefully lots of sexy sexy filth later. This chapter is M (references to anxiety disorders, CPTSD, past sexual assault, pining, sexual references, Frankie being an awkward cutie)

I dedicate this series to anyone who suffers from anxiety disorders or CPTSD.

Part 1 stars our love Frankie Catfish Morales.

Part 2 will either be our baby boy Marcus Pike or Murder Daddy Dave York (open to suggestions).

Chapter 1: Christopher Columbus Did Not Deserve His Own Holiday

It takes a lot to make you angry.

Your focus makes you the epitome of calm; the soft sweet smile sewn into your face could placate any skeptic.

::Look at you, you beautiful swindler, blending in with the human race like you belong::

You unfortunately have something called a heart/goblin. You’re not sure if other people have it but it lives in the same cavity as your heart, it gets crowded, and it gets loud. And mean. It’s really really mean.

You don’t belong, you know this. You sit behind the invisible glass wall that separates you, the filthy, from them, the acceptable. They are so beautiful with their stories of family and jobs and childhood and social soirées. Sometimes their kindness shocks you. Some of these remarkable humans you meet make you feel… oh what’s the word… beautiful? Loved? Accep-

::Don’t worry, baby, it’s all temporary::

Damn heart/goblin.

You sit on the wooden barstool, laughter and rowdy music simultaneously provoking and calming the mean thing that resides within your rib cage.

Even with the rise and quiet of your fear, you are completely taken with the humans sharing the small bar table with you. You wonder if they feel like the Othered as well- you recognize the shadows in their eyes but have never been ballsy enough to question them.

There are four people sitting at this tiny elevated table on tiny elevated backless stools. Three are marvelous interesting phenomenal humans, one is you.

You fiddle with the napkin that was once settled under your wet pint glass. Eventually, it will be shredded into tiny rolls of paper. Said tiny rolls of paper will be arranged into a word or a shape that represents how you feel in that moment. Whole becomes pieces becomes expression. How fitting.

You share a close space with Syd, the mighty They, with their colorful hair and sharp wit. They smile with FIRE next to you. Their shoulders keep beat to music and loudly shouted stories (how archaic of them), and they wiggle their pierced eyebrows at you fondly. Oh how your heart/goblin jumps. There really isn’t enough space for that.

The other two friends of unspecified gender gaze at each other. It is soft and delicate and so goddamn sweet, you could barf and die all at once.

“Let’s go to the bar and give them space”, Syd the Mighty whispers, words slightly smudged with liquor. You’re so eager to be included in such a beautiful conspiracy that your agreed nod almost knocks the damn head off your shoulders.

Gorgeous humans, you think as your eyes lovingly gaze on the maybe- almost -kinda -couple. Friends, please? Can we be friends? Who made my eyes wet?

“We are gonna go grab a drink!” Syd the Mighty proclaims as they stand, “You sexy bastards want another round?”

The Coupled nods, hands on the precipice of clasping next to their near empty glasses.

“Money, please,” Syd extends their hand the way that girl does from that show they introduced you to. It’s very funny. Syd is very funny.

“No, it’s okay, I have this one,” you finally manage to squeak out. You really hope it isn’t a squeak.

You did get the last round. And the round before that.

But their look of appreciation melts you so much you would empty your bank account just to see it over and over and over again.

They all lovingly extend their perfect human paws towards you, mewling their thanks, and you blush. This is what non-othered people must feel like. It’s addicting. You’d die for them, you decide. Granted, you tell your cat this every day, but it’s the thought that counts.

It takes a lot to make you angry.

Especially now. Why would you ever be angry when Syd’s blessed fingers graze your shoulder as they guide you towards the bar. Why would you ever be angry when they plop their arms down on the sticky wood and tell you how happy they are you joined tonight? Why would you ever be angry when they sweetly nuzzle your shoulder and offer the drunken wish that you’ll be friends forever (your heart/goblin screams).

Could this be your forever?

Belonging?

This is terrifying and exhilarating and probably normal for everyone else.

The two of you snuggle while waiting for the bartender and you could die right now. Syd holds a strength you wish you could inherit, and with this strength, they hold you with their shoulders.

Is this belonging?

Oh, it’s nice. Friends are nice.

::Be careful, little baby, you don’t know this world::

Damn this heart/goblin.

It always brings you back during the most beautiful moments. So what would one do with this moment after being interrupted by the violent goblin in your chest?

You ruin it.

::Hahahahahahaha!!::

You just need one little trigger- or a trigger in shape of a large sticky emboldened hand.

This hand, aggressive and male, lands hard on your lower back, a violent manifest destiny trying to claim your body. This man is groping you- openly-

You yelp is shock- the proud feminist warrior in you freezes and you realize she’s still a child. Damnit.

The sticky Christopher Columbus of hands then tries to claim more territory even as you back away in protest.

“Come ‘ere baby, is all good. Relax, I’m jus sayin hi.”

“Back the fuck up!”, Syd the Mighty yells- oh this wondrous hero- their tongue works, yours is stuck behind your clenched teeth.

Columbus the Gross drunkenly shouts in defense. Words like bitch, slut, and ugly, are cannoned towards the two of you. The bullets are exchanged, shots fired, bald spots are insulted, gender is questioned, your age, your weight, your existence is thrown into the battle field without mercy. Columbus shoves you into Syd and it doesn’t take much to throw off your balance. He’s then pulled away by a group of people you’ve never met. He may as well have been pulled in by a machine- each hand works as an individual within a practiced group. Four sets of hands that grab and yank like rogues in the night.

Syd lets out a victorious “HA!” as Columbus crumbles to the ground. He mumbles a few sexist and homophobic quips (lazily repeated, you might add). These words are meant to stab but they merely tumble out of his mouth in defeat, cluttering to the floor lamely. This should be as funny to you as it is to Syd. But your skin feels too infected.

It’s time to ruin things.

You wait for Columbus to retreat to his corner. You hand Syd your debit card, and tell them you absolutely must must must use the restroom. You even add a hip wiggle to make it more convincing. Syd playfully hollers their approval at your fake sexy shimmy.

And you RUN.

Off to the toilets and smelly tile and mirrors and closed off spaces.

::Run, you coward.::

It takes a lot to make you angry-

Apparently that’s because you’re too afraid to feel anything outside of Othered. You coward.

This smelly bathroom is your only sanctuary in the habitable world- there is no other place for you to go. All other spaces are occupied by the worthy-

::This is what you deserve::

The skin where his hand touched feels… slimy? Poisoned? Something that isn’t YOU anymore. It took you so long to claim your body back from the last encounter. That one was worse- shouldn’t you be used to this by now?

You hear a bang on the door and a drunken “fuck- hurry- I gotta piisssss”

You don’t deserve this sanctuary either.

You fix the hair and make up situation quickly, check you lower stomach for bloat by turning sideways. Yup, bloat still present. Great.

The pounding on the door continues until you finally open it to squeeze by the very drunk walking bladder. It’s blind to you so you slip down the hallway.

Maybe it’s time to leave- the music is too loud, the people are too people, and you can’t seem to human right.

As you walk towards the exit, head down, like the coward you are, you launch yourself into a large physical body. It was like running into soft brick- like an immovable sandcastle.

::You lowlife:: your goblin/heart chuckles.

Yeah, you are. So you apologize profusely. You’re already reeling from being friends with people, any other interaction would destroy you.

“Oh god- I am so sorry- I wasn’t looking- I’m just- this is- I’m sorry”

Large Physical Body places their hands on your shoulders. Large Physical Body leans their head forward in concern. Large Physical Body has a voice. And very deep brown eyes.

“Are you alright, hermosa?”

The fuck?!

Since when do gods roam?

He is… broad.

He owned one of the pair of hands (very large hands- oh heavens) that removed Columbus from his unsolicited voyage of you.

He is power.

He knows what a panic attack looks like.

You can’t answer.

But he holds you gently.

And you hear him.

“Are you okay, hermosa?”

Again he asks.

“I’m okay… just-“

Your stupid emotions breaking your voice. Why have human emotions when you can’t even human in social interactions?! This is just cruel.

“How about you breathe with me for a second?” He says, “I need to breathe, too. We can help each other.”

Wow, he’s good. He takes away the pressure of being taken care of- of being the burden. If he needs it too, you will do whatever “it” is.

So you nod and look into his eyes. You inspect his face. Brown eyes, curls hidden under a baseball cap, whiskers that would feel amazing scratching against your inner-

“Breathe in for 5,” He says, giant hands still resting on your shoulders. He counts while you inhale. “Hold for 5”. You hold your breath the way you wish he would hold you- tightly.

“And exhale for 5.”

Okay, that’s enough. This isn’t about him anymore and you can’t really handle being some strangers burden tonight.

“I’m okay. Thanks. That was just a lot”. You halfway smile to ease any worry he has. It doesn’t work. He’s still worried. Fuck.

“I get it,” He drops his hands from your shoulders and suddenly you’re very cold, “Us grabbing at him like that probably didn’t help. We can get a bit rowdy without thinking.”

You quietly chat with him and he makes you feel slightly more human. You converse like a normal person- well, as normal as you can be.

His name is Francisco. You can call him Catfish or Frankie. You opt for Frankie (although you make a compelling argument for Catnip- which he almost accepts).

He’s here with his friends, he had a rough day, he’s adamant he can turn you on to non-alcoholic beer (just not the yeasty sludge they serve here) and he likes the movie Cabin in the Woods just like you and you two loudly discuss the elevator scene.

After a few minutes or maybe longer of beautiful conversation, you hear both of your names being called. Syd and Frankie’s group are no longer at the bar but situated at your original table.

They had made fast friends.

When you go to sit, you sit next to Frankie. He pulls his stool to be an inch closer to you. You like that but don’t comment on it.

You learn Frankie’s friends and their partners names. Will and his partner, Vince- a beautiful statuesque blonde man with his smaller and leaner (although spicier) boyfriend. Santiago and his absolutely STUNNING date, Emilia- you’d watch that happen. (Oh my god, stop). Benny and his girlfriend, Jess, who looks like the only person who could beat him in a fight. You feel the only reason Columbus isn’t dead is because the men got to him before Jess did.

And then there’s Frankie. Next to you all warm and broad and being all genuine and kind. Damnit.

You wait for your heart/goblin to interrupt but it is blissfully silent.

And you sit with them. You laugh at their jokes. You make jokes back. Frankie’s knee touches yours under the table. You quiver. Vince and Syd immediately connect over music and art and drag shows. Jess would have you smitten if you weren’t already addicted to catnip (oh my god, stop).

Santiago- “Call me Pope, honey,”- Pope makes the most horrendous sex jokes and you find him all the more endearing for it. His date loves it. You hope it works out.

Frankie’s knee slides underneath yours and you quiver.

Your heart/goblin is still quiet. You completely forget you don’t belong. That glass wall… gone.

You belong.

Frankie’s hand rests on your knee as he asks you some wonderful and personal questions. You want another club soda cranberry but you don’t dare move in case everything changes.

Have you seen the new Evil Dead movie?

What’s your favorite genre of music?

Would you ever drive cross country, if so, which country?

You learn he’s a helicopter pilot and he loves The Eagles.

He wants to know if you like Indian food. You do? He knows of a great new spot that opened up last month. You wait for him to follow that up with something- like a freaking invitation- but he swallows whatever words he was about to say with a quick swallow of his gross yeasty sludgy non-alcoholic beer. His knee twitches underneath yours.

You realize-

He also has a heart/goblin. Oh. You wonder if his is as loud as yours.

Time to save him the way he saved you.

“Do you want to come with me?”

He nearly sputters, his eyes wide, his knee under yours suddenly becomes very active.

“I… what?” He says, having to shout a bit as whatever Syd and Vince are debating over is creating an enthusiastic and jovial response.

“To… um… Indian food. I think- I’m gonna go to that new place. The place you said that just opened. Do you wanna come?”

More laughter from the group but you’re able to hold the delicate space between the two of you.

His eyes don’t leave yours as his thumb caresses your knee. He smiles. Oh that smile could kill someone.

“Yes.”

For the remaining 30 minutes of the bars opening hours, his hand and knee never retreat.

You have never felt so deliciously human. Drinks are finished, numbers are exchanged (you’re pretty sure Syd and Vince will be in each others wedding parties), Benny and Jess very pointedly invite you to their barbecue next weekend, everyone except you and Frankie take a final round of tequila shots to solidify new friendship, and you all say goodbye.

Before you could order your Uber-

“Would you like a ride home, Hermosa?”

You wonder if you quiet his heart/goblin the way he quiets yours. The way he looks at you makes you think you might. He’s standing close, outside in the damp air. You hear the bartender lock the doors behind you.

“That would be really… nice.”

Ugh that killer smile. You’re dying, you’re dead. Can you still kiss that which kills you?

He goes to make some space in the passenger side seat in his truck. You take a peak- books, baby toys, cables, what you believe might be non-perishable groceries. Geez, why does THAT turn you on…?

Then you see it. Him.

Christopher Columbus himself.

Drunk, angry, slighted, masculinity wounded like a weak baby bird.

He walks towards you like he’s loaded. You see in the corner of your eye Frankie jolt and begin to rush towards him.

It takes a lot to make you angry.

You are not angry.

You are done.

And you punch him.

::Fuck yeah:: says your heart/goblin.

Columbus crumbles like a sack of something rotten and unwanted.

Frankie half escorts, half throws you into his passenger seat. Within seconds, he is peeling out of the parking lot. The song Witchy Woman by The Eagles is serenading you from his speakers- how fitting.

Is he angry? Is he disgusted? Is he upset he couldn’t demonstrate his manly manliness by punching him himself?

No.

Frankie is laughing. He is howling with joy. His hand punches the steering wheel and he jovially compliments your right hook. He’s celebrating you. That killer smile is still killing and it’s the best death you’ve ever had. He calls you “Bad ass”, “Queen”, “Mother fuckin powerhouse”.

“Hermosa”.

He hands you his phone.

“Put your address is, hermosa, so I know how to get you home.”

You hold the slightly cracked and mishandled devise in your unpunched hand- the maps app open and ready for you to end the night.

“Actually-“ you say after you dislodge your voice from its hiding place, “Can we go to yours…?”

Only the music responds. The Eagles.

Woo-hoo Witchy woman

She’s got the moon in her eyes

You wait in animated suspension. Even your heart/goblin waits.

“I would love that, Hermosa

[britneyshakespeare]

another tag

today is a twofer brought to you by @buddyhollyscurls

1. Are you named after anyone?

No :^) people have asked me before if I was named after Princess Diana but. No it’s just the only other name my parents could agree on for a girl. I’m the second born in a set of twins with two older brothers, so my parents never anticipated having to name another girl until they got the news.

2. When was the last time you cried?

Couple days ago over pain and health anxiety.

3. Do you have kids?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA no. But I have four chickens that I love dearly.

4. Do you use sarcasm a lot?

I’m generally pretty witty and jovial but I’d say I’m less sarcastic than just silly and goofy. I’m not one of those people that sees sarcasm as the funniest sort of humor; I use it sparingly. I prefer to be the joke.

5. What sports do you play/have played?

NONE lol. But watching swordfights in Shakespeare plays recently (and also a cute artist’s model I used to have a crush on) has made me have passing thoughts of “what if I tried fencing...” (never gonna happen though, especially not now with my health being what it is)

6. What's the first thing you notice about people?

Physically or personality-wise? If someone meets me in real life they probably notice my red hair, I suppose, since that’s a rather rare trait. But I don’t post my face all that much, especially not anymore, so it’s not like everyone who interacts with me here would first notice that. They probably notice my eclectic mix of interests and eccentric personality first. 

Although in real life I’m very reserved; I don’t share much of myself. People often pick up despite that though that I’m rather intelligent, and I don’t say that as though *I* think I’m exceptionally intelligent, but that is the way people treat me automatically sometimes when I’m not necessarily trying to show off. Idk it’s weird. I’ve always very much been the “quiet smart girl” when that’s not what I feel best represents me. It’s a very limiting role to be assigned. It’s like being written off, in a way.

7. What's your eye color?

Bleu, bleu, l’amour est bleu... 

(that is a Vicky Leandros song)

8. Scary movies or happy endings?

Scary movies WITH happy endings. Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale.

9. Any special talents?

One could argue my poetry portrays some level of talent... cough follow @creatediana

10. Where were you born?

The Merrimack Valley region of New England. Miss Mary Mack Mack Mack all dressed in black black black. Fun fact that song is a reference to the Merrimack River and NOW YOU KNOW.

11. What are your hobbies?

Probably reading and writing are the major ones, but I’ve also enjoyed a lot of music in my life (both playing it and listening to it... but I’ve always been better at listening than playing). Acting and theater for a very short stint, although I wouldn’t be opposed to doing it ever again under the *very correct* circumstances (which would basically have to fall in my lap because I’m never seeking that shit out again). 

12. Do you have any pet?

My doggy Dickens who is a little bastard fucker and also my sweetheart. Dickens ‘n chickens.

13. How tall are you?

5′7″ but... I can get on my knees if you need me to be smaller

14. Favorite subject in school?

I loved all of them, truly. Especially in college, my enjoyment depended a lot more on the enthusiasm of my professor than the subject. But one thing I’ve learned to love more in recent years is science and the visual arts. Those always eluded me when I was younger. But back in the day my favorite classes were theater, English, Spanish, history, and my guitar classes. Typical humanities girly.

15. Dream job?

Job? Fuck you, pay me. 

I’m a schoolteacher.

I would like it better if it had more financial incentives and if there weren’t so many systemic failures in the education system.

I tag: uhhmmm let me see... I’ll do @sneez @david-watts @dylaissante @angelblooms @personshapedsplder @titoro @shecomesincolors @nebylitsa @porsiempretriste and @renjunnipeikko .... if you can HANDLE IT 

(or just if you want to)

(anyone can do this actually and tag me back I love you guys xoxox)

[deann1120]

PreCure 2023 Season Predictions

Per someone’s comment from last year’s post: I know some of these are repeat themes. That’s why I put “another.” PreCure does repeat its themes or sub themes sometimes.

* Another flower-themed season but all the Cures are named after flowers

* Another animal season but, like, without the sweets thing (the animal theme was wasted in KiraKira, let’s be honest)

* Elemental Precures, the core four and maybe light or lightning as a fifth. The Healin’ Good, Go!Princess, Smile, and Yes! 5 teams were actually kinda elemental, but I would a want a more solely-elemental theme.

* If not elemental, then maybe seasonal Precure? (1/‘21 note: this might be off the table since we have Cure Summer now)

* Another career season but they don’t do shit like dress a Cure like a flight attendant and then tell us she’s an ice skater

* Color-themed?? I know the Cures are already color themed but like a whole season around colors. Maybe they have to protect a magic rainbow or something. Plot twist if one of them is colorblind

* MYTHICAL CREATURES

* Gemstones. Like Steven Universe but as a more conventional magical girl show

* [12/‘20 Edit] Holidays. They can either go with Japanese or more “universal” ones

* [12/‘20 Edit] Another fairy tale season but the cures are actually modeled after fairy tale characters

* [12/‘20 Edit] Winter wonderland/wintery, since we just had a tropical/summery theme (10/‘21 note: oops this ended up being Tropical Rouge’s crossover movie theme. maybe they’ll still go for a whole season)

* [12/‘20 Edit] Dreams? Like I know we have a Cure Dream but more like exploring the world of people’s nighttime dreams or daydreams. Exploring either or both would be substantial, but the unconscious of the nighttime would be cool, so as to be something like Mewkledreamy but maybe more, y’know, interesting

* [1/‘21 Edit] Technology/MECHA????

* [1/‘21 Edit] The weather? It sounds kinda stupid, but like each girl represents a different weather type. The lead would probably be based on sunny weather or rainbows (again). Actually something that’d be kinda cool is if there’s a duo called Cure Thunder and Cure Lightning

* [2/‘21 Edit] Another music season but the Cures each have an instrument theme

* [2/‘21 Edit] Jungle. So tropical in a different sense

* [2/‘21 Edit] Forest. So maybe another season like Healin’ Good but they actually pay more attention to the environment/conservation/nature part

* [6/‘21 Edit] A full-on Zodiac season? They can go with a few of the Eastern or Western Zodiacs, like from Star Twinkle. Of course, they probably wouldn’t do all 12 Western or Eastern Zodiacs.

* [6/‘21 Edit] Another fruits season but there’s more to the theme than just the names

* [7/‘21 Edit] Birds

* [7/‘21 Edit] Dancing? The cures can be styled after different types of dance

* [7/‘21 Edit] Fashion. Not makeup, just like, clothes and accessories. Though I guess you could throw makeup in there as well. Maybe another solely makeup season, then?

* [10/‘21 Edit] Royalty. I know there was a princess season but looking at royalty more broadly. Like Cure Crown, Cure Sceptre, Cure Queen, Cure Rule, etc.

* [10/‘21 Edit] Sports

* [10/‘21 Edit] Expanding on a couple other suggestions, maybe cures who are all themed after specific types of one animal, like cats (domesticated, lions, tigers), dogs (domesticated, wolves, foxes), fish (goldfish, sharks, whales), etc.

[vincentkeehl]

Four Lessons from Baphometrix’s “Clip-To-Zero” Production Method

(or why loudness only matters as much as it does)

Baphometrix’s CTZ (clip-to-zero method) encompasses just about everything I wanted to know about loudness when I first started producing. I don’t adhere to it religiously, but the lessons it’s taught me about dynamics in digital mixing are priceless. Baphy clearly delineates how mixing choices affect overall loudness in a way I’ve never found anywhere else. After years of asking about loudness on forums and being repeatedly told by old heads to more-or-less not worry about it, CTZ was like fresh air. I highly recommend Baphometrix’s long and hyper-detailed video series to anyone seeking in- depth lectures on how to push a digital mix louder. For anyone seeking something more concise, I will share with you my favorite bits. But first, let’s understand what CTZ is with respect to traditional methods of mixing.

CTZ represents a hard break from conventional mixing. Conventional mixing methods largely arose from the limitations of analog technology. Analog compressors, amplifiers, and mixers are known for having a wonderful “color” to them. This is a gift and a curse. It’s a gift, because the gear itself is able to impart a special warmth or tonality to the mix that purely digital workstations can only mimic at best. Analog heads love their gear for a reason. It’s also a curse, though, because this warmth is technically just noise and distortion. Analog equipment can’t be pushed very hard before the processing becomes obvious, or even ugly. Also, the signal coming into an analog mixer needs to be kept lower than it would in a digital interface. This is because a hot signal can often distort an analog channel, even if doesn’t actually clip! So to get the most out of analog dynamics processing, the conventional wisdom came to be that compressors, limiters, and the like should be applied gently, carefully, and incrementally. And even when working digitally, this approach still works wonders for the people who practice it. When you watch an engineer work this way, it’s like they begin with a mellow mix and massage it upwards into a loud and clear form, sculpting and adding color as they go.

CTZ on the other hand, is a mixing discipline for the digital age. Rather than the “color” or “warmth” sought by other mixing methods, CTZ prioritizes loudness and fidelity. It maintains the track’s cleanliness and transparency, while keeping the mix as flush against 0db as it can. This of course comes with some caveats. Firstly, it assumes that you are working completely in-the-box. It needs you to commit to sterile, digital compression. It depends on you being able to create as many tracks, sends, and groups as you want. Secondly, while it can be used on any genre, it was developed specifically for bassy EDM tracks. When DJs at live venues mix an EDM set, they don’t always perfectly gain stage the songs within it for equal loudness. This means that a dance track which sounds perfectly fine on your home speakers might end up sounding quieter and weaker than the other songs in the mix, if it happens to get thrown in the wrong way. Because of this potential variance, it’s advantageous for the EDM producers to err on the loud side when mixing their music, to ensure that it sounds powerful and exciting when the DJ plays it. This is the core focus of CTZ.

Because it departs so far from accepted mixing traditions, CTZ is often criticized to an unfair extent. Yes, it’s a little out there and it fetishizes loudness, but it also kicks ass as what it was built to. As someone who’s studied and sees the value in both worlds, I feel compelled to advocate for CTZ. Here are four things CTZ taught me that sources on conventional mixing did not.

1. I Can’t Believe The Oscilloscope is Actually Useful

When you achieve loudness by slamming the master bus through a brick-wall limiter (as was common at the height of the loudness wars), you get a big fat loud-ass rectangular waveform. But at what cost? If you look up the first CD remasters of Michael Jackson’s pre-CD music, you’d probably be appalled at the distortion. It was ugly. When older engineers would tell me about the loudness wars, I assumed they were being hysterical. This was because I was younger than them, and had missed the worst period of what they were talking about. After all, the digital remasters I was listening to sounded fine! But in time, I found out that yes, the very first wave of CD remasters really were that crazy. It’s as if the engineers of that time were huffing paint or something. They thought all that distortion was worth it for a fat, sausage waveform.

The oscilloscope allows us to sort out this conflict between loudness and fidelity, navigating through the best of both worlds. Mixing may be done with the ears, but the oscilloscope gives the eyes important clues about about how well we’re filling the mix out. It allows us to empirically test how our mixing decisions affect the fatness of the mix’s waveform. By watching the oscilloscope as you shape elements and mix them in, you can see how your choices are contributing to the overall volume while aurally confirming that it still sounds right. That means you can visually see that you are building that sausage waveform organically, minimizing the amount of squashing the final limiter has to do.

2. Hard Clipping is Cool as Hell

When I was a total beginner, I would hear a lot about clipping. Specifically, I would hear that it was bad and you shouldn’t let it happen. And to be fair, this is good advice to give to a beginner. Clipping could cause them to mess up their recordings or gain stage in a crazy or unworkable way. The idea is that when you clip, you distort. And that’s true! But what they don’t tell you is that any kind of dynamics processing causes distortion. It turns out, a little controlled clipping on an element here or there is often the perfect way to boost it without having to hear the compression. Compared to typical compressing or limiting, a hard clipper provides exceptionally clean output gain, acting only upon the the loudest peaks and keeping attack/release pumping to the bare minimum. Normal compression is still good for imparting musicality and shaping the envelopes of sounds, of course. But if you’ve already done that to an element and still need a way to push it hotter without changing its vibe, try a hard clipper! For tonal elements like guitar and piano, you’ll be surprised how far you can push it before you notice the distortion.

3. You Can Get Away with More Sidechain Compression and Ducking than You Think

One core idea of CTZ is “checkerboarding.” The idea of checkerboarding is to reduce the amount of work your final bus limiter or master limiter has to do by minimizing how much the elements overlap. You try to keep each piece clearly defined and separate, like tiles on a checkerboard. This will keep the dynamic peaks of the mix more balanced and manageable, so we can turn the mix up way more at the end. We already kind of do this when we use EQ to give elements their own little space, partitioning them by their spectral makeup. Another way to do this is by making sure big elements don’t occur at the same time, such as arranging a song to have kick drums only on every quarter-note and big bass notes only on every other eighth-note. But if you’re already past the arranging and EQ, another way to checkerboard your elements is with sidechain compression and ducking.

Imagine I didn’t have the foresight to arrange my kick and bass in the way that I described earlier. Imagine I put the bass on every eight note. Now in the mix, the bass and the kick will overlap, forming needlessly tall transients that run too hot into the final limiter. But I can separate these elements a bit by sidechaining the bass to the kick, so that it “ducks” out of the way of the kick transient as much as possible. If you set the compressor attack to hard-zero and play around with the other parameters, you’ll be surprised how much you can duck things without creating the “pumping” effect that sidechain compression is known for. It’s a great tool for precisely tucking a transient element into a steady one without relying on glue compression, which would squash them together in a less controlled, more obvious way. If you’re willing to create an intricate scheme of bus groups, ducking your steady elements around your transient ones, you can squeeze a lot of extra juice out of your mix without much impact on how it sounds. Often, when my mix is too dynamic, I will go through and duck all my major elements in this way, just short of making it noticeable. When I come back to the master bus, I find that with the overlap of elements controlled, the peaks are much milder and I have way more headroom to turn the mix up.

4. The Kick Drum Envelope Should Look Like a Dorito

Getting the kick drum right is hard. Sometimes it sounds nice and punchy when you start mixing, but by the end you’re only hearing the transient and missing the body. Or maybe you have the opposite problem— it sounds big and heavy at the beginning, but by the end you’re only hearing the body and missing the punch. Why do kick drums go off the rails at the end like that? I’ll tell you: Having the kick decay too suddenly or having the transient too high ends up overemphasizing the transient. That leaves it sounding clicky and abrupt. Having the kick decay too late or having the transient too low ends up overemphasizing the body. That makes it sound flat and weak. The sweet spot between these two decay patterns? A line drive.

In order to have the kick drum both punch through the mix and have a strong body, a good rule of thumb is to make sure the waveform looks like a Dorito. By this I mean, the initial transient should be the highest amplitude, and the body should follow a straight line from that amplitude to silence. No matter how long the decay is, try to keep it shorter than the period in between kicks, and make sure it’s shaped like a triangle. This can be accomplished by only using Dorito kicks in the first place, or forcing your kicks to conform to this shape with dynamics processing. Like all heuristics, there are exceptions to this. But for typical dance music, this will ensure that your kick drum stays punchy and dominant, while using up as little headroom as possible. And you know what extra headroom means? We can crank the volume higher later on.

The Valid Criticisms of CTZ, and Why the Loudness Wars are Over

Critics of this particular method and the general pursuit of loudness are right about one thing: the loudness war is over. Direct competition of music recordings on the basis of loudness is a holdover from a previous era. Let’s talk about that era. For a brief period at the zenith of CD’s and mp3 files, there was a special set of circumstances that gave audio engineers both the ability and the motive to push tracks to incredible loudnesses, often at the expense of quality and fidelity. The ability to do so came from the introduction of computers to analog studios. By incorporating DAWs and computer plug-ins in their workflow, music makers were no longer bound by the limitation of analog production. They gained access to digital gain and digital compression— harder and cleaner methods of increasing loudness than they had ever imagined possible.

The motive to crank it came from the forms of popular music at the time. CD players and iPods did not normalize the music played by its perceived loudness. If they normalized the levels at all, it was by the average volumes of the tracks. Volume is related to loudness, but differs in that it only represent the electric signal needed to produce the sound— not how loud it feels to our ears! This meant that in those days, the loudness of a finished track was entirely up to the people who made it. There was no platform to turn the music up or down for the end listener, nor any penalty for a track for being too loud. Songs and albums were exactly as loud to the listener as the engineers printed them to be. And as you probably already know, listeners are generally biased to favor louder versions of the same sound.

It’s common sense when you think about it. If you’re a pop, rock, or hip-hop musician at this time in history, your audience is rapidly switching between your CDs and their other CDs in the disc player. They’re shuffling your raw mp3 files together with all the other ones in their iPod. Wouldn’t you want your track to feel bigger and stronger than the others? Wouldn’t you want it to stand out?

One (one) good thing about the streaming services which replaced those disc players and iPods, such as Spotify and YouTube, is that they normalize audio based on loudness. They do this by weighting the volume of a track against the distribution of its signal across the frequency spectrum, giving more weight to the frequencies we are more sensitive to. This ensures that almost everything, respective of genre and tone, sits around the same level. Today, we still have the ability to to crank audio to crazy- high levels. But because loudness normalization has become standard, pushing the loudness of a track past the target loudness platforms normalize for no longer makes it sound any louder to the end user. The incentive to crank it is no longer there.

But even now that loudness normalization is ubiquitous, it’s still important understand and have control over loudness. Even platforms who normalize this way still have optimal loudness ranges, within which tracks are sufficiently loud without being affected much by the normalization. The target for streaming is around -16 Lufs to -12Lufs. Plus, in other audio media such as audiobooks and certain podcast platforms, hard loudness requirements are common. So it’s definitely still important to know how to increase the loudness of your mix in a controlled, precise way. You may even need to cool your mix down, reversing CTZ thought to precisely add dynamics rather than compress them out.

It’s for these reasons that I wanted to synthesize CTZ with conventional mixing, yielding four simple heuristics for managing loudness within a digital mix. But always remember, loudness is a perceptual quality to our ears— not a number on a meter. LUFS and waveforms, as useful as they are, are merely tools to help us understand what we’re hearing. Ultimately, the best way to sound loud is to produce and work with material that sounds loud in the first place. Beyond that, it comes down to processing. So whichever side of the CTZ debate you’re on, these four distillations are fantastic tools to get the loudness and dynamics of your mix exactly where you want them.

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