#although I think there’s gonna be a Japanese release for the latter

[twinhood-2dot0]

My adventure into J-Pop

My music taste is very multilingual. As an Indian living in another state, there's of course 4 default languages, although eh I only have like 2 or 3 Bengali songs, so let's go with 3, namely Malayalam, Hindi and English. But I have very little interest in lyrics, and don't have the listening skills to understand what they say, so that may be why I prefer EDM and songs in other languages. This past month however, I decided to try out J-Pop, after listening to all the stellar tracks from Attack On Titan. Seriously, you can't tell me there's a better soundtrack than AoT. So, what better song to try out than uh um the most popular Japanese song to ever exist. Yeah dw I'm not the kind of person who actively goes out to seek the most popular things, I just happened to fall in love with this song that happened to be the most popular J-Pop song.

Note: There's gonna be a lot of addendums. I wrote this post a while ago and watched a lot of the movies mentioned here.

夜に駆ける/Yoru Ni Kakeru/Racing Into The Night/Into The Night

Kanji (I think?), Romanised, Translated, and English release respectively. Yoru Ni Kakeru is the debut single of duo Yoasobi. Their slogan is "Novel into music". Already pretty intriguing for an avid bookworm and music...worm..? Although, it kinda disappointed because I couldn't really like too much more of their songs, wish it was otherwise. Haruka is decent, and a few other songs that I forgot to check the romanization for, but other than that, they were pretty meh. Okay, I listened to more, they have some pretty good songs, but none compare to this though. Okay anyways, onto why this song in particular became my favourite song. Damn, my favourite TV Series and comic series and movie and song are all Japanese. I might undeniably be a weeb now.

Go on, listen to the song, I'll wait. The whole thing, not the preview. I love this song so much I'm doing a part by part breakdown.

Done? Sounds peppy, doesn't it? So uh well, it's about suicide. TW for the rest of the section where I explain backstory lyrics etc.

Lyrics :P IDK how else to denote subsections better.

This song is based on a short story called An Invitation From Thanatos (translated). Read it here. If you wanna. It's pretty cool.

The basic premise of the story is that there are two kinds of people. People controlled by Thanatos and those controlled by Eros. You know who those are. Anyways, the former are destined for death, and the latter for life. The protagonist falls in love with a woman standing on a rooftop prepared to jump, and she does that a lot after their first meeting and texts him so he arrives. By the fifth time, he admits to himself and her that he doesn't want to live, and jumps off with her. It's left ambiguous as to whether she was real or a manifestation of Thanatos.

The song's lyrics are basically a retelling of the story in music form.

Here's a direct translation.

That's the direct translation. There's also the official English version of the song.

The English Version

The English version of the song is probably the best translated version of a song to exist. Don't believe me? Listen to this.

Use a headset, it's stereo.

See what I mean? They didn't just directly translate it, they also went to the trouble of using words that match the Japanese ones, while also keeping the meaning, although sometimes they're gramatically incoherent.

The song begins like

Jap (Romaji, that's what the Japanese called Romanization. It's also shorter, so that's what I'm gonna call it too.)

Shizumu you ni tokete yuku you ni Futari dake no sora ga hirogaru yoru ni

Eng

Seize a move, you're on me Falling, and we were dissolving You and me, skies above and wide It brings on the true night on me

Yeah, "Seize a move" has no meaning in English, but it does match "Shizumu". There are some egregious examples where they take liberty with grammar like "What can "night" for you mean, infinite?" and "Locating, never tough when I'm with you" and the rapped verse

She's gonna try to me, she's gonna lie Got to force a belief and trust to keep on.

The chorus is also a work of art.

Romaji

Sawagashii hibi ni waraenai kimi ni Omoitsuku kagiri mabushii asu o Akenai yoru ni ochite yuku mae ni Boku no te o tsukande hora Wasurete shimaitakute tojikometa hibi mo Dakishimeta nukumori de tokasu kara Kowakunai yo itsuka hi ga noboru made Futari de iyou

Eng

Saw what got seen hid beneath, and louder nights keep beating I'm going to you, and giving brighter shiny tomorrows What can "night" for you mean, infinite? You could run with me Place your hand in mine, you gotta stay, hold up Want to leave it behind, dark cruel days In deep, you may have hid before I'm embracing you until more heat dissolve what is caught up Sun will soon rise up into a day you're no more too afraid Keep all of me in you

(Damn English is a really inefficient language. Oh well, I'd take less letters to memorise over really short words too ig.)

The Intro

My favourite part of the song, for some reason. It's starts with a vocal solo, then a quiet piano sets in, vocals pause, vocals start, piano intensifies, and is joined by drums and bass. I especially love the tiny bass solo after the vocals end and the piano starts.

Verse 1

The first verse is nothing much of note, except for her voice being awesome, and the instrumentals are stellar too. I have a thing for a prominent bass and piano melodies and repeated melodies.

Pre-Chorus

I love the piano that play after the first part of every line, like "Itsu dakke"-piano + "chikku takku to".

Chorus

Ah, the part that made me fall in love. Nothing much to say here tho, except for oh my lord eargasm. The piano (drop?) that follows is also awesome.

Rapped Pre-Chorus

I usually despise rapped parts of most songs, be they rap songs with a few sung parts (Like so many awesome Adam Levine verses. Oh my lord, I love his verses in Stereo Hearts and Locked Away so much, I would honestly loop them if it were just him, but the rest of the song is just insufferable.) or a pop song with an inexplicable rap part (Like See You Again and Like It Is by Kygo. That song has Zara Larsson and Kygo, could it be any more perfect? Yes, as it turns out, because some dude called Tyga is also on it for some reason. Sorry about the angry rants, I hold an intense grudge against rappers). But this one however with her great voice and Ayase's production is perfect.. I miss my laptop so much, I had spicetify installed with an extension that let's me just loop a section of any song, would have been so useful for this song, literally every section is so loopable.

This song also spawned various hilarious parodies.

Of course you have no idea what Bing Chilling is or who that guy who vaguely looks like Mr. Beast is (if you even know who Mr Beast is lmao) so here's a more familiar one.

Okay, that's it for this song, I have a lot more to cover, so let's get a move on. Huh. Is that what "seize a move" means? Welp, no idea.

Your Name and Weathering With You

Your Name (Romaji: Kimi No Na Wa) is a 2016 anime romantic fantasy film created by Makoto Shinkai. You may be asking, why am I talking about a movie on a post about music, and most importantly, why a romance??? Well, uh, I may have watched it and uh um l-ummm okay I'm saying it, I loved it. I stumbled upon RADWIMPS' Sparkle while discovering music on YouTube. Yes, I discover music on YouTube, I hate Spotify recommendations, that's one and probably the only thing YouTube does better. Anyways, the song starts with a enchanting piano performance. So, I was intrigued and discovered that it was composed for a movie named Your Name. So, I immediately closed the tab. I believe music in like movies, games, series are very impactful, so I didn't want to spoil that experience. I don't think like all the soundtracks would have the same impact had I not experienced the main work itself. So, knowing nothing about the movie except for it has one track with an awesome intro, I watched it. It was BEAUTIFUL! I went in expecting nothing more than idk typical Freaky Friday stuff (if you don't know what that is, don't look it up! I already regret spoiling this much) and typical romance. Oh boy was I wrong. I won't spoil much except for saying that it was so much more than that, and it's the first time, well, anything, has made me tear up. I cannot understate how good this movie was. I still have it downloaded so that I can go back and watch scenes and I do that like every day, so much so that I have the timestamps memorized by now. (Dream Lantern-1:36, Zenzenzense-29:50, Kataware-Doki-1:18:20 (hands down the best scene of the movie btw), Sparkle-1:22:00, Nandemonaiya(movie edit)-1:37:37, Nandemonaiya (movie ver.)-1:40:50. Thank me later. Actually, this is an idea for a website I had, a wiki for soundtracks and its timestamps. There's tunefind, but that only has a description of the scene. Maybe I could contribute to tunefind with timestamps. Idk.). And yes, all of the soundtrack is equally epic, and I'm so glad I put off listening to it until watching the movie. The chills when listening to them again, like wow. Best movie soundtrack ever. Sorry The Batman, you're a close second now. Okay, I need to stop talking about this movie, before I end up ugly crying.

Here's the album, although I recommend watching the movie first. I know you hate romance even more than I do, but this movie is an experience you can't miss. (The song was Sparkle btw)

Oh, and here's my jp-origin songs playlist, before I forget (Yes, Yoru Ni Kakeru is in it 4 times :P).

Also, the director behind Your Name, he's apparently a big deal. 3 out of the top ten highest grossing anime films are all his, and you know about my tendency to obsess over everything made by someone who's made something I loved, so I am probably gonna watch all his movies.

Addendum: I just finished watching Weathering With You. Like, right now, I'm watching the credits lmao. It's an awesome movie, did not disappoint, although not as good as Your Name. The songs too, when the movie just started I was kinda disappointed but it picked up real quick by the penultimate uh arc?

Here's the album.

I can't link because there's a 10 audio limit for some reason? so uh I'll just mention them by names.

There are five lyrical tracks, namely Voice Of Wind, Celebration, Is There Still Anything Love Can Do?, Grand Escape, and We'll Be Alright. I'm too lazy to find the other non-lyrical great songs, all of the lyrical ones have "(Movie Edit)" appended. My favourites are Grand Escape and We'll Be Alright. Okay, well, I loved all of them, except for Voice Of Wind. When I heard it in the movie I was like "Noooooo RADWIMPS you can't do this to me" and then everything was fine after the intro.

Fireworks

On the topic of anime soundtracks, Fireworks is another one I discovered, although I listened to the whole thing before finding out it was a movie song :P. Anyways, it's another one I really loved.

Addendum: The movie was pretty meh :P. It wasn't terrible, but was pretty ick at the starting but the rest was not so bad. And the song was just a credits song and not an awesome heartwarming moment song. The other songs were also pretty good but I'm too lazy to find them.

Yuika

Nothing much special, but really cutesy catchy songs. She's also apparently in high school??? As if I wasn't already wondering what the hell I'm doing with my life 😭. Damn, Windows emojis are very ugly. Also, I have no idea how any of these are pronounced, except for Sukidakara.

Attack On Titan

Attack On Titan was my first exposure to Japanese music, okay well, manga and anime as well :P. But Attack On Titan has a mishmash of languages. There are German songs, English songs, German and English songs, German and Japanese songs, sometimes all of them. So the first purely Japanese song I heard was Akuma No Ko (Child Of Evil) by Higuchi Ai.

It was the ending/credits song for Season 3 I think. Aside from having symbolism (akin to literally everything Attack On Titan), it's a really great song to listen to. Awesome piano, chorus you get the jist. There are more AoT songs in my playlist, you can find them, the cover art makes them obvious.

(Damn oops I forgor Shinzo Wo Sasageyo! :P I thought it had German parts. Anyways awesome song, check that out too.)

Sukitte Ii Na Yo

It's um another romance anime. Look, it's not particularly good, but it's the first manga I ever read but didn't get to finish so I'm watching it all over again because completionist. What is good, however, are the opening and ending songs.

Wow, I think I crossed like 2300 words :P. Guess that's what happens if you write it over like 3 weeks and don't cut out the rants. You seem exhausted, here, have some water🥤. Don't worry, the next post has been heavily cut down on rants. See you next week!

[doctorjotaro]

I’m so sad there are so many mobile otomes I wish were just purchasable games. I’m invested in the story but five chapters a day breaks my immersion. Ik you can pay to complete quicker or for special events but that’s expensive lmao.

[ichika27]

The World Ends with You

(Yeah, it’s the same screenshot I used for my post about ep. 1. I couldn’t get a new one so...)

Ah, first week without the TWEWY anime to look forward to. I’m actually kinda sad cause I’d miss waiting for the episode every Saturday night (Ani-One posts theirs on that day here). I have some stuff I wanna say about the anime so I thought I’d make one of these plus this is a good way to end the twewy anime blog post series I make every week. I’ll try not to spoil until the very bottom of this post which will have a spoiler warning.

Also, this will be very long and rambly as most of my fandom posts are haha.

Story:

A boy named Neku wakes up in the middle of Shibuya with no memory and finds himself as a player in the Reaper’s Game. For a week he must partner up with a girl named Shiki and both of them must complete missions, battle creatures called noise, and survive as failure meant erasure.

Characters:

Neku Sakuraba - our main protagonist who somehow lost his memories and is now playing the Reaper’s Game. He’s a loner who isn’t too keen on getting close to anyone let alone working alongside anybody - unfortunately for him, it’s a requirement if he wants to survive. As a player he has an assortment of abilities to fight off noise and other enemies (in the game this meant he can use a lot of different pins).

Shiki Misaki - the nice and friendly Shiki becomes Neku’s partner in the Reaper’s Game. Unlike Neku she has knowledge of the game and fills Neku in on things he doesn’t understand. Her ability is to control her stuffed toy called Nyantan/Mr. Mew which she uses in combat.

Beat - the tough skateboarding player, he’s somewhat more like the typical hot-blooded shounen protagonist when compared to Neku. He’s protective of those he care about especially his game partner, Rhyme. He uses his skateboard in battle.

Rhyme - Beat’s game partner who is a lot kinder and calmer than him. Rhyme tends to be the one to reason with Beat when needed and the two are always seen together.

Yoshiya Kiryu - a mysterious boy who seem to know more than he lets on and acts at times acts suspicious. He prefers to be called by the nickname Joshua.

Sanae Hanekoma - a cafe owner who helps out Neku and the others and would give them advice. His advice prove to be very helpful and Neku takes them to heart. Seem to have a lot of knowledge about the Reaper’s Game but doesn’t seem to be a reaper himself.

--

Thoughts:

(I tried my best to not be spoilery in the character descriptions so some names weren’t written in full)

The World Ends with You (or in the original Japanese “Subarashiki Kono Sekai”/It’s a Wonderful World) is an anime based on the video game of the same name. It had to compress an entire game’s worth of story within it’s 12 episode run which meant they cut out a lot of things and combined some scenes to quickly run through them. It’s theme song is the anime version of the game’s original OP “Twister” although this wasn’t what was originally planned but an incident involving the band who sang the original theme forced them to make changes. The original voice actors from the game also reprised their roles for the anime. The series is created to be watched before the release of the long-awaited sequel game.

The art style is made to be similar to it’s game version (with a bit of change to adapt it as an anime like when it comes to body proportions). They also retained the effect of the characters from the UG (players/reapers) being brightly colored while those from the RG having darker/muted colors. While the noise are obviously cg, I personally liked this since they’re said to be from a different plane anyways so it’s a nice contrast to those from the UG and RG. They had to update the setting though as years had passed since the original game’s creation and they had to model anime version of Shibuya to what it’s real life counterpart now looks. The characters are also given smartphones instead of the flip phones they had in the game (anime-only watchers who are gonna play the game would have to get used to them still using flip phones though lol).

Okay so story-wise... it’s rushed. Of course it is. They shortened it so that what’s left would mostly be important plot points from the main story but they cut out many scenes that consist of character interactions and several little things that could’ve fleshed out the characters more. The gameplay is also made simpler with some mechanics taken away and the mini games weren’t adapted (RIP to Reaper Creeper and Tin Pin Slammer, especially the latter as you’re severely missed). The game boast an assortment of characters and some NPCs have their own stories but due to the anime’s limited run time, they had to either be cut out (and are just given cameos) or given smaller roles (and their stories weren’t adapted). They did, however, give a few bits and pieces of information that weren’t in the game such as some details about certain characters and one supporting character was given a bit more screentime that they did in the game version.

Despite the rushed nature of the series (which may or may not affect how one views the story itself), the anime made sure to adapt several important scenes and the dramatic stuff is made worse... like, they really had to make some deaths harder to take. The battle scenes were nice as well although my biggest complaint about them is that the boss fights were over too quickly. There were scenes that were changed for the anime version and there are those that I liked and those I didn’t but there are many which I think was as good as the game’s version.

Do I recommend the anime? The game is better, the characters and story are more fleshed out and the way the character/relationship development happens is better paced so of course, me, biased already would tell you to play the game instead if you haven’t yet. Do I recommend those who played the game to watch the anime? Yes! Yes I do. I think the anime is better watched when you’ve played the game and know the stuff that they cut out cause it’ll make better sense that way. Plus I found it enjoyable seeing the scenes from the game animated and the characters are speaking whole dialogues and moving. It’s great!

Even if the anime wasn’t perfect, like I mentioned before, they did their best to condense the entire main story in a 12 episode series and it tried to be as faithful as it could to the original story so despite the deviations when it comes to how things got to the way they did, if you summarize important plot points, they would be the same (with some details changed). Overall, it was very enjoyable and it wasn’t as bad as I feared when I heard how many episodes the anime was going to have.

--

Some spoiler thoughts:

It would’ve been better if the anime had more episode count than just 12. Cramming a 3 week story of game into just 12 made the thing very rushed with Week 1 only getting three episodes, Week 2 getting four, and final Week getting five. They had to get to the good stuff so they cut off a lot of scenes where the characters are interacting with each other which means they suddenly get character developments and relationship developments too quickly. It might not be that obvious to anime-only watchers but to me, it felt kinda sudden and it feels like it doesn’t work out well story-wise since Neku had to learn how to trust other people and make friends and with how he started vs. how he came out of it contrasting each other.

By the way, they made the characters look good in the anime. Especially Joshua. Have you seen Joshua? He’s so pretty in the anime. I want a picture of him I could stare at anytime I want to (I do not own a phone, sadly).

I like how they gave Eri more scenes though and that they changed her outfit for the anime so she won’t look exactly like UG!Shiki. All of her scenes though made me feel like I wish the anime gave closure to Shiki’s own story by showing us her and Eri making up. Another scene I liked in the anime is Neku’s fanboying of CAT when he finds out the truth. It was adorable.

Some info was taken away from the anime. Beat and Rhyme leaving home had scene dialogue and unlike Beat just narrating it in-game but they didn’t mention specifically why he was angry and his trouble at home. Joshua wasn’t present when Sota and Nao gave Neku a pep-talk either which is a shame cause I think that helped Josh as well. 

I mentioned before how the anime made things go too fast. They cut off chunks of not-main-plot story that let the characters interact with each other more which means each game day is shortened as well. I think it made sense that Neku wakes up at the scramble in the end and not stressed out because he didn’t go through as much as his game counterpart did. That said, game Neku learned a lot from more than just the main cast in the game compared to the anime so I like his character development in the game better.

They took away Tin Pin Slammer. I am sad and disappointed. I was hoping so bad for Another Day to be adapted even if it’s an OVA. That and the ramen incident are part of Josh’s week which meant some side of him wasn’t shown (I mean, anime fans don’t know he wasn’t there on week 3 since he’s busy playing a kid’s game elsewhere and how he could talk about food like he is from a cooking anime). Speaking of Josh, they made him very suspicious from the get-go in the anime. I understand as there’s a limited run-time and they can’t really afford to be subtle about it but it meant some of the fun interactions with Neku is gone and so are some scenes where they actually got along. At least they had ice cream together, I guess?

(I have more to say when it comes to Joshua cause he’s my fave character but this is long and my thoughts on it would make this way longer. I might make another post.)

In the end, it wasn’t perfect but the anime was fun and enjoyable enough that I found myself looking forward to it every week. Seeing scenes I recognize from the game in animated form (with voice acting!) felt exciting and awesome. I’ll miss this show and I still wish it was longer.

If you’ve read this far well, thank you. And also I’m confused why but still hopefully that was a good time-killer. I have so many other things I wanted to comment on but that’s for another time. Maybe.

[littleeyesofpallas]

BLEACH  -Name Games

You know who I totally forgot even existed? (and so did Kubo?) The Royal Guard(pt.1)!

Hyousube[兵主部] Ichibee[ 一兵衛]:

Hyou[兵]= “Soldier,” Su[主]=“Chief,” Be[部]=“Department.”  To specify I think it’s supposed to read “Chief-Department [of the] Army,” as opposed to “Department [of] Army Chief(s).”  It’s pretty literal as far as the specific character, and in-world it implies he comes from a lineage of military commanders. (Either that, or he’s the first of his name and took the surname based on his own military career.)  But much more notable is that his given name is Ichi[一]=“One” Be[兵]=“Soldier” E[衛]=“Defense”/“Protection.”  You’ll notice that both his names use the same kanji for ”Soldier,” but of note here is that Bei[兵] reads directly as “(Non-officer ranked) Soldier”/“Weapon/War-Machine,” 

Hyou[兵] means the same kind of “Soldier” as the Bei[兵] reading, but also refers to the Fu[歩] piece in Shougi, which is pretty much identical to the Pawn in chess.  Personally, I assume the change in pronunciations was more a matter of finding an aesthetically pleasing name, over pinpointing a more specific meaning, but it’s hard to say.  Still, “Chief Department [of] Pawn(s)” does take a little more sinister tone, which aligns with a lot of the ominous atmosphere Kubo surrounded Ichibee with, even it didn’t really amount to anything.

It’s worth noting that for a character seemingly named after his innately military aspects, we don’t see him actually command any soldiers (unless you count him being the Royal Guard’s defacto team leader, but I don’t think that’s quite the same)  Also, he doesn’t evoke the usual imagery of a military leader; he’s very clearly more Shinto/Buddhist monk than he is samurai or feudal lord.  Moreover, he also seems to dodge falling into the Souhei, warrior monk character type, despite that being the most obvious overlap of the existing themes. 

Another thing that caught my attention was that fact that the name Ichibee[ 一兵衛]=“One Soldier Protect” has very clear similarities to Ichigo[ 一護]=“One Protect,” although to what end it doesn’t seem clear.  But there’s not way Kubo made Ichibee’s name without knowing he’d made it very similar to Ichigo’s, I just have no idea what he could’ve meant by it.  (Very probably just another of many dropped threads...)

Kirinji[麒麟寺] Tenjirou[天示郎]:

Kirin[麒麟] = “Qilin,” a Chinese mythical beast, typically depicted as a cross between a dragon and a horse or deer, but with many variations.  They are also a part of the 5-phases cycle of elements in daoist mysticism, and its many iterative features.  Namely, amidst the cardinal directions(NSEW...), colors(Black, Vermillion, Blue/Green, White...), elements(Water, Fire, Wood, Metal...), and creatures(Tortoise, Bird, Dragon, and Tiger...), the Qilin is associated with Yellow, Earth, and “Center” a 5th cardinal direction in Daoist geomancy.  They are sometimes interchangeable with a “Yellow Dragon” which is itself interchangeable with the Emperor either in the form of a man or a dragon himself.  And the kanji Ji[寺] = “(Buddhist) Temple,” so the surname reads “Kirin Temple,” which is actually pretty straight forward.

In a funny coincidence, the general descriptions of the Qilin as horse or deer-like, with scale-like patterns, golden color, and horns/antlers is how early Ming dynasty encounters with Giraffes led to the Chinese name for Giraffe being Qilin.  And by proxy Japan’s name for the Giraffe is also Kirin.

I didn’t think about it until typing this out, but this might actually be why Tenjirou’s designed to be very tall and thin... and with a pompadour that kinda looks like a giraffe head... oh my god he’s a giraffe...

His given name, Tenjirou, reads Ten[天] = “Heaven,” [示] = “Show” /”demonstrate”/”exemplify,” and [郎] = “Son,” and seem to suggest that he is either himself an example of divinity, or he is a person who indicates or heralds divinity.  Like with most of the Royal Guard, we never actually got to see enough of him to really put this in proper context.  Ironically his personal epithet is  Sentouki[泉湯鬼] = “Spring Hot Demon.” It’s notable that he uses the Chinese Tāngquán[湯泉] but in reverse order, rather than the Japanese Onsen[温泉] which the more recognizable word for “Hot spring.”  All in all it is a name that has very Chinese overtones to it, although he has more of a delinquent vibe, what with the pompadour and thuggish attitude.

Kin[金] = “Gold,” Pi[毘] = “Assist(?)” Ka[迦] = “ka.” (This is what’s called a Jinmeiyou kanji, used to lend phonetic sound to a name without indicating its own meaning.)  But something that strikes me as odd here is that there is the actual kanji -suke[助] that is a common suffix in names that also means “Assist.”  So in conjunction with the -ka, clearly, Kubo had some very particular reason to choose the kanji he did...

Of note in this, the release call, “Tenjou[天照] Issen[一閃]” translating as “Heaven Flash,“ doesn’t use the usual kanji for Tenjou[天上] meaning literally “Heaven Above” it uses the kanji for Amaterasu[天照] the Japanese progenitor sun goddess.  I bring this up because the Bi[毘] in Kinpika actually most readily returns the full name, Bishamonten[毘沙門天], the Japanese version of the Buddhist god, Vaiśravaṇa[वैश्रवण].  And I think the two references to gods, as well as the Qilin, are the relevant link here...

(I’m just gonna yoink these off their respective wikipedia pages instead of trying to summarize it in my own words...)

In Japan, Bishamonten (毘沙門天), or just Bishamon (毘沙門) is thought of as an armor-clad god of warfare or warriors and a punisher of evildoers – a view that is at odds with the more pacific Buddhist king described above. Bishamon is portrayed holding a spear in one hand and a small pagoda in the other hand, the latter symbolizing the divine treasure house, whose contents he both guards and gives away. In Japanese folklore, he is one of the Japanese Seven Gods of Fortune.

So there’s spears like Kinpika, and treasure like gold, and then the punishing of evil like...

According to Taoist mythology, although they can look fearsome, qilin only punish the wicked, thus there are several variations of court trials and judgements based on qilin divinely knowing whether a defendant was good or evil, and guilty or innocent, in ancient lore and stories

There’s also some stuff I could say about the Shiten’nou[四天王] “Four Heavenly Kings” that Bishamon is a part of and its role in Japanese pop culture, but these two turned out a lot longer than I expected... this'll need a part 2...

In the meantime, here’re all the other name breakdowns I’ve done thus far:

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]

[erenthecoordinate]

Hi! Any thought on the chapter?

I don’t have a whole ton to say about this chapter, honestly, it was a conveniently paced setup chapter.  We got a couple significant reveals, potential foreshadowing, and an epic cliffhanger.

To touch up on the latter, a number of people believe this is the climax of it all and that we only have several chapters until the finish.  Personally, this feels more like a buildup to the bigger, ultimate climax.  Business needed to be taken care of with Marley first.  The true happening is solving what happens to Eldia(ns) in the long-term.  I was hoping for more answers regarding Eren, but it seems we’ll have to wait an action sequence before we get his internal insight on anything.  There is still some stacked-on evidence of his intentions though, and I don’t think that should go unnoticed.

It is kind of a no-brainer that Pieck’s intimidation tactics to get Eren to submit wouldn’t work out.  At this point, Eren is confident (maybe too confident) that no one can afford to kill him without a fight.  And he sure as hell would put up one.  She decides quickly that her better option is to appear desperate for his cooperation to take down the nation that had devastated the island in the first place, and that he in turn infiltrated back.  This isn’t the first time we see Pieck so easily put her hands up and appear harmless, of course, but she makes it convincing enough where Gabi is questioning where her loyalties lie.  Interestingly, much of what she is saying in regards to her opinions of Marley is genuine, but that doesn’t mean she sees Eldia’s Paradis as allies, much less Eren.  So, props to Pieck for her deception and information prodding.

Between Eren and Pieck, Eren is one with little words and feigns ignorance to a lot of her questions.  He obviously knows why Zeke has the abilities he possesses, and quizzes Pieck to see how much she knows.  It is clear neither trust one another, but it makes we wonder if Eren would actually consider allying with another warrior if they were interested in aligning with his plan.  I don’t think he intended to ever believe her seeing as how he braced himself for a fight and stood quite a bit away from Pieck and Gabi when he asked her to point her comrades out.  It just would be interesting to see if he would at all.  Guess we’ll never know now.

I see you’ve taken some lessons from Annie again, Eren.  I wonder if we’ll ever see what object he is using in his pocket.

Anyway, with the two’s conversation, some things were revealed.  Eren is aware of the spinal fluid that’s in the wine.  He is likely aware of who drank the wine or at least who would be at risk. That said, I’m not entirely convinced Eren initiated or advocated for this wine plot to happen, and am better convinced by a theory that implies there was more forward planning before his (willing or unwilling) participation.  Maybe I’m just thinking the better of Eren, but that’s just what it seems to me. 

 Pieck believes Zeke’s words to Eren on the roof were true, that this was the most genuine he had ever been toward anyone.  Pieck is painted as a very perceptive person, so I’m inclined to agree with her.  

Before the action, though, a quote that has sparked a lot of discussion is what Eren says to Yelena in regards to Pieck trusting them.  Yelena is sure that Pieck is deceiving them and Eren agrees that she is not trustworthy, apparently much like “another woman.”  [Note: More officially, it’s actually “that woman”] English has this statement translated as if there is another woman who is not to be trusted.  But, can refer to Yelena being the one not to trust Pieck.  Or…that Pieck is the one not actually trusting them.  Or…well, it’s complicated.  Japanese readers are still confused what exactly Eren is talking about and people are guessing that there is not much meaning behind whereas others are thinking that Eren is talking about someone not on-scene.  Isayama just managed to pick the vaguest meaning of this sentence and it’s suspiciously convenient that it’s within a conversation about trust.  

Personally, I’m bouncing back and forth between believing it’s just him referring to Pieck not trusting them after all or that he is talking about another woman they cannot trust, whether he means someone non-present.  There aren’t a lot of women in the cast (sadly) that may spark the latter point.  The only one I can think of is Kiyomi, which is entirely possible.  Mikasa and Historia being regarded in this way don’t make sense.  Regardless, the way it is worded in a confusing manner was intentional, or at least I’d like to think so.

It’s also neat to point out that this is the first time we see Eren and Yelena actually interacting that isn’t a flashback.  I wonder how their demeanor normally is around each other.

Really quick, I’d like to appreciate a couple glamor shots of Eren looking intimidating and angry.  Even if this is the only mood he is emoting this arc so far, it’s refreshing to see him break from his barely phased and unreadable demeanor.  At least I have NO question why Eren is upset!  And he’s gonna be shoeless in shorts after all this.  Wow.

Side B to the story is the 104th and Sasha’s family (Nicolo, included) in their cell.  I guess it’s relatively…generous that they were given supplies to eat, drink, and keep heat while behind bars?  

Armin and Mikasa recall Eren’s hostility toward them and very quickly Jean asks what went down.  When Connie brings up that Eren has become a different person, effectively a piece of shit friend, Jean isn’t entirely certain about it.  Despite how hurt they are, he reasons that, once again, these actions wouldn’t be made by a sane Eren without a reason behind it.

We’ve seen quite a number of people bring up that “no, this is not like Eren” as a means to analyze his current behavior, and I believe even the flashbacks and Eren’s lack of input in the grand scheme of things (aside from what other characters are saying), are meant to tell the reader to stay tuned, Eren may not be how he is projecting himself to be.  How much longer until the truth?  Well…probably another volume, who knows!

That said, it’s understandable that Armin and Mikasa, despite having grown up with Eren and experiencing his changes, are most shaken and uncertain.  Eren’s hostile words towards them hit a personal note and attacked their identities.  He made them doubt themselves and that makes them doubt their support for Eren. So Jean reiterating that this is unusual behavior and it can’t be taken at face value has them consider for a bit.

Yelena finally comes to talk to the 104th in their underground prison.  Naturally, the group is confused by what is going on and demand answers.  Before that though, we get some more blatant racism targeted at Sasha (who is dead, what a low blow!) that Yelena is quick to shut down.  I don’t trust Yelena but I’d be lying if I didn’t feel like this guy deserved it.  It may have been an excessive action, but it’s true that you probably don’t want a guy sputtering insults at the people you are still trying to win over.  Also, what a dick!  You’re just as bad as Floch last chapter!

Also we learn that Onyankopon isn’t as innocent as he claimed to be...

Or at least, on the surface.  He still seems uneasy whenever he is around Yelena but more talkative around Hange, so I’m wondering how deep their loyalties lie and whether or not these two are cooperating to push forth their own separate (but symbiotic) agendas.  As we see not even a minute later, no one would want to be caught on Yelena’s bad side anyway.  Oof!

Afterwards, she reveals the plan to the group and they are all taken aback by the euthanization add-on.  Yelena confirms that the idea to pass down the Beast Titan down to royalty and the Coordinate to another series of chosen successors, as well as threatening the world with the Rumbling by initiating a small scale test run, were still part of it.  Historia’s pregnancy and getting Zeke to the island was no big surprise to them considering upper military branches and the government were willing to chance the event.  It appears, however, that not everyone was involved in Yelena’s full agenda.  Although Nicolo served the wine, he had believed Yelena and her circle of allies were more interested in securing the island to rule and destroy Marley as revenge.  Yelena assures that this isn’t quite the case and the action they are taking is for the benefit of Paradis and all Eldians alike.  At this point, it’s hard to imagine she is lying anymore (although, I don’t doubt there is some revenge seeking on her part).  She has little reason to when those who would want to stop her are behind bars.  And she doesn’t personally dislike them.  In fact, she is more than happy if they “understand” her.  Armin is “moved” to tears actually.  Of course, as far as Yelena knows, Armin isn’t one for master manipulation.  Mikasa, on the other hand, knows better.  Connie and Jean are more shocked, but I’m inclined to believe it’s because they noticed Armin suppressing laughter before crying (yes, it is laughter).

I know there is debate on what this all means.  Did Armin finally crack?  Is he actually moved by Yelena’s motives?  Is he just expressing all the pent of emotion he has carried for a long while only to finally release them when the truth of it all comes out?  Or…most likely…he has figured something out and the crying itself was a cover up.  Either he thinks the plan is so outrageously NOT Eren that his doubts are being relieved or the plan is in general so outrageous that there has to be a way to stop it and well, since it’s Armin, there is definitely something cooking up in there.  Once this is all over, I think he does need an actual good cry, though.

What I predict in the next chapters is, of course, more action.  I think Zeke is bound to arrive at some point either as a cliffhanger for ch117 or sometime within the battle.  Whether he and Eren come in contact to put an end to Marley’s remaining forces depends on what damage they can do to the non-Eldians.  The wine drinkers are suspiciously all together, after all, not far from the invasion.  I think the 104th will be able to break free somehow and arrive at the scene.  To do what, I’m not entirely sure.  But I think we’ll get a final verdict on whether they will decide to support Eren again or leave him to his demise.  I have reason to believe they will forgive him if they feel like his actions aren’t an actual danger to them, albeit not that they would be as close as they were before ever again.  Something’s got to give at the end of this frustrating mystery, right?

Again, I’m probably too hopeful, and I don’t think any BIG answers will come until after this battle.  In fact, I’m really anticipating more “villainous” demeanors from Eren that will either confuse people or have readers believe he really is totally gone.  But we are getting our final Reiner v Eren fight and I’m QUITE excited about this!

Not a really long reaction.  A good chunk of the chapter was people deceiving each other and the playing “can I trust you?” game.  Needless to say, I don’t think anyone really trusts each other.  Well, except for Pieck and her comrades.

I miss those moments from the alternative perspective...  :(

Thanks for the question!

[imma-lil-teapot]

Each TMNT Incarnation and Where They Stand With Me :)

(Nervous chuckle) ... Yeah no, I suck at titles. Moving on! 

Y’all can go ahead and skip this part if you’re not interested in senseless rambling and just wanna get to the TMNT fun~ ;) 

Soooooo, I’ve recently updated my Tumblr page to a blog dedicated to all my fandoms (musing, headcanons, writing, gifs, pics, the works, basically anything and everything in relation to them) since I wasn’t really ever doing anything with it other than using it to share pics mostly. But ever since I stumbled back into the TMNT fandom, I’ve been searching Tumblr for fan content and OMGOSH, did I hit the jackpot! Headcanons, fanfics, Turtle x reader stories, so much juicy stuff! Am hooked! Dunno why I never tried searching for similar stuff in the past for my other fandoms! I guess I just... didn’t realize there was so much content here. :O But anyway, I always wanted a place to share ideas and thoughts regarding my fandoms outside of sites like Deviantart and Fanfiction.net, and heck, it’s been here under my nose all this time... Y’all gonna have to forgive me; I’m an old fart. ;P (Insert image of Slowpoke for reference) So without further ado... 

LET’S GET THIS PIZZA PARTY STARTED! 

Imma start this blog off really simple and, as the title states, just give you all a small-ish idea of where each TMNT universe stands (or ranks?) with me, personally... Note the ‘personally’ part so please don’t feel offended if I don’t share the same opinion as you on a particular verse. ^^; I have my own tastes and will respect the next person’s when it comes to them. ;) Also, please beware the typos (which there most definitely will be)...

IN RELEASE DATE ORDER: (Hopefully they’re right)

MIRAGE COMICS~

Imma just say it: I haven’t read any of them yet. :/ There probably are sites out there that would allow you to view them online for free, but in truth, I’ve been a little slack about trying to find any... That may however change someday as I always tell myself I should really seek out the source material so it’s only a matter of time. What I do know, however, is that they’re of course a lot darker than most incarnations (which I don’t have a problem with personally) and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t curious as to exactly how much darker. X’D The closest I’ve come to ‘knowing’ these Turts comes from watching the Turtles Forever movie and they weren’t in it for a long time so it’s very difficult to say what they actually mean to me, so we’ll just put these guys down in the ‘not sure’ column for now. ;)

1987 CARTOON~

HAHA~ I think any fan of the franchise as a whole knows this little gem! The series that really hit it off and spawned over a 190 eps! Quite an impressive feat for a Saturday morning cartoon! It made its way to TVs the year before I was born, but it would take another few before it would reach our tubes (we’re always a few years behind the rest of the world :/ ) so I was around four when I was first introduced to it and needless to say, I loved it back then! Michelangelo was initially my fav due to him being my older brothers’ fav and the one they mainly spoke of, but it didn’t take long before my favering gravitated towards Leonardo (even at such a young age) and has been that way ever since. ;) But where exactly does the series stand with me as an adult nowadays with so many other verses we’ve been exposed to? I do hold a lot of nostalgia (as many older do) for it, and I mean, come on, that theme song is ageless, and I even started watching a lot of vids involving the original VAs and the shenanigans they get up to and seriously, it’s so heartwarming and fun to see them! But I have to be honest...

It’s not my fav verse, honestly. I will always adore them, of course, because of the nostalgia and the goofiness... But it’s the latter that’s mostly the reason for it being placed a bit lower on the favoritism ladder. While its a fun watch if you want something lighthearted, I still prefer the idea of the darker undertones that comes with being associated with ninjas. It’s just a preference. Plus, the Turtles designs are big one for me, and I’m sorry to say, but I keep seeing these fellas as more frog-like than turtle, despite the shells. X’D So yeah, no big reasoning for it, and even if someone were to ask me if I like these guys, I’ll still say yes, just that they’re not my ultimate fav is all. ;)

Also, we won’t talk about the Japanese Anime Ninja Turtles: Superman Legend or something to that extent... We’ll just let that one be gently swept under the carpet. ;) Only ever saw the trailer for it and that’s all I’ll ever need to see in my lifetime.

1990 MOVIES TRILOGY~

Now funny enough, I really don’t remember ever seeing these movies as a kid, though it’s possible I did and just maybe blocked the memory, but I highly doubt it... So yeah, I saw these movies as an adult already. The first is praised by most fans, and honestly, I can see why: it’s pretty good! :D The acting is very decent and the humour’s brilliant! The two sequels... not so much but still okay. ;) Where they sit with me... Not too far on the ladder again I’m afraid. :/ While I do really enjoy and appreciate the acting and that humour (”I made a funny.” X’D) it mostly comes down to the Turtles designs again... I really can’t see past them being actors in costumes rather than characters. :’( Granted, good actors. ;) And heck, Jim Henson did a phenomenal job! They’re just not really the movies for me is all, even if I do go back and watch ‘em every now and then. X’D I do however melt every time at the scene in the first movie where Raph wakes up in the bath and Leo’s there and apologizing and all... Makes me all gooey inside! X’D The feels are real! Speaking of Leo, though, he sounds even younger than Mikey. Small nitpick, that, but... why? X’D

But yeah, let’s just say, they’re good movies, just, not my favs.

Also, Coming Out Of Their Shells tour... Yeah, I’m gonna just... pretend that doesn’t exist for a minute. 

THE NEXT MUTATION~

Nope.

Saw one ep as a kid and am not interested in seeing anymore.

Although, VA Matt Hill voices Raph. That’s one good thing.

2003/2k3~

Well it wasn’t already apparent by my avatar... Ladies and gents, I present to you... My fav TMNT verse to date! Oh my goodness, where do I even begin with this delicious series?! :D Firstly, animation: so appealing, comic book-y style! Their designs: without sounding pervy, veeeeeeeery appealing (hehehehehe), no seriously, they sometimes have a bitta bulk to them but it honestly works, and dem muscles, and the cool eyes! The VAs: spot on! Perfect! Wouldn’t have ‘em any other way! Make me melt, Mr. Michael Sinterniklaas~ (cough) Their personalities: Omgosh, just yes! So perfect! They’re easily differentiated and yet still work together so well. Leo’s mature and level-headed (well, most of the time ;P ) yet still gets tested a lot and even has a fun side that’s shown on occasion. Raph’s grouchy and violent but is shown on more than one occasion that’s he’s total softie and really does care. Don’s just a sweetheart and freakishly smart and even has slips ups from time to time. Mikey... omgosh, best Mikey ever! So much fun! So hilarious! And just a bundle of energy, but not at all an idiot like he’s sometimes portrayed in other verses. He’s witty, mischievous and just so adorable! Heck, even Master Splinter, April, Casey, the lot of them are just awesome in this series! And wow, they really do lean more towards the source material (or so I’m told) when it comes to the plots! It’s darker than the other previous verses yet still remaining kid-friendly (although I question it at times XD) and omgosh, it’s just everything I want in a TMNT universe! Granted, it’s not perfect perfect, but it nailed it for me. ;) It really showed so lovely character developments, alsortsa different genres, the humour will leave you in stitches, the Turts are all just so lovable, I can’t get enough of them! This series was really my high point and I’ve yet to find one that tops it~

Btw, this even includes Fast Forward and Back to the Sewer (BTTS). The former being my least fav of the series simply due to the setting and again, it’s just preference. I even liked BTTS, even though I’m not overly fond of a cyberspace setting, but I found myself really liking the art style and the general plot. :D 

2007/2k7~

As with the last, if you’ve picked up on the page’s header/banner, you’d have probably guessed that the 2007 movie is also a good candidate for one my favs... And you’d be correct. ;) I’m actually very fond of this movie, and it’s largely due to the Turtles designs. I love how they were done! They just look so cool! <3 Subtle differences tell the viewer who’s who even if they didn’t have a mask or weapons. The VAs were also pretty good~ Now, the story isn’t the greatest, I’ll admit. Personally I thought it was okay, but know many fans think otherwise. But I did like the confrontation between Leo and Raph! It got real there, peeps! :O Now here’s also where it falls a little on its face for me: I didn’t really like how they handled Leo’s personality (if you haven’t already picked up on it, yes, I’m a Leo fangirl and I’m picky when it comes to how they handle his personality) but it’s a nitpick again, yet, I still feel compelled to state my opinion: the whole “I’m better than you.” comment really took me back and made me think they pushed it. I honestly like to believe he’d never actually say something like that... at least, 2003!Leo wouldn’t. X’D But that’s just my problem: I’m comparing a different verse’s Leo to this one and whether I like it or not, he said it. :/ Oh well, it still made for some fun action scenes and I’ll still always like the movie.

Bit of a goof on my side: I honestly thought that this movie was made to tie in with the 2003!verse due to the timeline in which it was produced, but turns out, it’s actually closer to the 1990′s timeline although still considered it’s own verse.

2012/2k12~

Oooh boy, lemme prepare for the backlash real quick... I’m uhhhh... not a fan of these boys. :/ I don’t mind them, but I’m honestly never gonna watch the series again. It’s hard to top your fav when you’ve kinda already hit your high point, ya know. Now before you light your torches and sharpen your pitchforks, hear me out: I will never bash the series, or make fun of anyone who likes it! Or anything to that extent! It’s just wasn’t for me, plain and simple, and it’s got nothing to do with it being ‘new’ or I’m just an old fart stuck in my ways. Heck, If you’re still reading, you would’ve found out that even nostalgia couldn’t beat the series that grasped me in my teens! So no, it has nothing to do with age. But if you do need a reason: I wasn’t overly fond of how they handle the characters. For one, they look and act a bit too young, Mikey is just... wow, something else. Donnie’s... sheesh, pretty snappy and antagonising. Raph’s well... okay, he’s meant to be angry half the time, and they did give him some more layers with Spike and Mona Lisa and whatnot, but he still kinda never learns his lesson if I can say that? He’ll learn that he shouldn’t cause issues with others, yet next episode he’s back at it again. :/ Leo’s... wow, just not like other Leos. X’D Best way I can describe him is... young? Very childlike. And even when he was progressing to becoming this better leader, I honestly couldn’t even see the change. My mind was just stuck on this “He’s a babeh.” notion. Also, I’m not even gonna start on this April and Casey. Just. No. Most of the characters were annoying and I just kept seeing recycled plot after plot. What I did like was the romance that blossomed between Raph and Mona (albeit far too rushed) and even Donnie liking April was adorable (but seriously Donnie, you can do so much better), and there were some really heartfelt moments, like Splinter telling Leo to leo his brothers with his heart and not his head, and the scenes when they were Tots will always make me squeal... But yeah... without leaving any spoilers.... about Splinter... just... thanks, Nickelodeon. Y’all know what I mean. Not once... But twice.... Really? So yeah, look, I realized some of those reasons might even be petty, but again, it’s just not the series for me, but anyone who’s a fan... You keep being a fan! ;) I’m glad you can enjoy something I can’t. ;)

2014/2k14/2016/2k16 AKA BAYVERSE~

HAHA~ Every fan’s favorite... If only. X’D Jokes aside, despite many fans claiming the Bay movies ruined the franchise, these two films gathered a small following... And I’m apart of it. :) Funny enough, I honestly didn’t know what to think of them when the movie first came out. I think I was just taken aback by the sheer amount of detail and all that went into their designs. I didn’t not like them, but again, their designs were a lot to take in. :O Even now after seeing the movies quite a few times over, I find myself constantly discovering something I didn’t notice on them before, be it a strap or a scar etc. And it honestly took some getting use to their sizes, I mean, sheesh! :O Not to mention the different background story, and Megan Fox’s wooden, expressionless acting, but despite all that... I found myself actually growing attached to these hulks of Turtles. They still have a lot of that heart in them and plus they’re just so much fun, I mean, can we say ‘Elevator scene’? X’D Now again, not perfect by anys mean, but still fun and pretty decent incarnations to add to the franchise. Again, Leo’s been given this ‘Better than you’ a bit which irked me to be frank. Not always but it’s there sometimes, but otherwise alright. Raph’s a decent Raph. Even had some tender moments. Donnie’s adorable! X’D This slightly potty mouthed geek that you just gotta love. And Mikey... although given that bitta ‘idiot’ feel, is also just as lovable and you want to hug him every time he’s onscreen! 

In short, I like ‘em. :) They’re actually closer to the top of the ladder than some others.

RISE OF THE TMNT/ROTTMNT/2018/2K18~

Yeeeeeeeeuuuuuuh... no. Sorry. Not for me. :/ Again, gonna remind y’all, nothing to do with age. Nothing to do with change. I will say that the fluid animation is nice, and the fact that they chose 2D animation. :) Buuuuuut, wow, they were certainly a lot to take in. Almost as much as Bay’s Turtles. After watching a few eps, I will conclude that they really just aren’t what I’m looking for. I found that the constant joking, while sometimes funny, got a little bit much, plus such short eps. Raph being leader was a switch and one that took awhile to get use to and honestly, I’m just not for it, I don’t even know where to begin with Donnie, Mikey’s okay, Leo... (deep breath) I don’t know what they were thinking... Let’s not even go to Master Splinter. But anyways, I get that change was what they were going for and that it was more so based on the 1987 toon with the silliness so that’s fine. I’m glad it’s got so many fans. :) And honestly, I wanna end off just by saying...

That no matter what your thoughts on what I’ve said, I hope you can respect my opinions and choices cause at the end of the day, they’re just my own, and I will always respect yours! :D If you adore the verses I’m not too crazy about, that’s great! :D I want you all to love the heck out of them! And honestly, this is what’s so great about this franchise: there are so many verses to choose from! So many options and tastes to suit any and all! You don’t have to follow the masses! You go enjoy whichever incarnation(s) you want to! ;) 

And there we have it, my first fandom bloggy thingy~ Hope there’ll be many more where that came from! :D

This is Drag0n-Mistr3ss signing off~

[nicoismywaifu]

Eclectic Influences, or, Silly Love Songs

Summary: Nico finds her father’s old guitar, gets some lessons from Eli and decides to sing some love songs for Maki. Or something like that. Word count: ~6000 Estimated reading time: ~30 minutes, according to http://niram.org/read/ AO3 link: here! Notes: It’s been so long that I’ve forgotten what I usually write here. If you like a certain rock band from the 1960′s, there are a few nods to them here. If you don’t, then you might want to read something else...

As was the tradition they had built over the year, Nico sat perched beside Maki at the piano bench as the latter ran through her pet pieces to play. Well, it was more like Nico was perched on Maki, but that didn’t distract Maki from delivering a soulful rendition of Debussy.

‘Maki-chan’s so talented,’ Nico cooed as the song ended, nuzzling herself against Maki’s shoulder. ‘It makes Nico want to play an instrument, too!’

‘What about the maracas?’ suggested Maki.

‘No way! First off, that’s Rin’s trademark and secondly, they’re so not cool. Nico needs something cute and amazing, like a guitar! Think of how cool it would look in photoshoots, and then bringing it out on stage and amazing everyone with a sweet serenade!’

Maki sighed and set down the piano’s fallboard. Nico had that look in her eyes. No doubt she was already dreaming of the Budokan, or perhaps the Tokyo Dome. ‘A loud instrument for a loud girl,’ she said, snapping Nico back in the direction of reality.

Nico narrowed her eyes. ‘You mean a dashing instrument for the number one idol in the universe, right?’

‘Sure, let’s go with that.’ Stretching her arms up into the air, Maki yawned and looked at the room’s clock. A good few hours had passed, although it sure hadn’t felt that way. ‘I think it’s about time to head home.’

‘Ah, you’re right.’ Nico copied Maki’s actions contagiously. ‘Kokoro and Kokoa are gonna complain again if I get back too late.’

And with that shift in topic, Maki could again tell that Nico had forgotten all about picking up an instrument in the first place as she got up and made for the door. Such a fickle minded girlfriend. It was endearing, but also a little disappointing to Maki.

‘You can learn any instrument as long as you spend more time here with me,’ Maki murmured as she closed the door behind them.

‘Sorry,’ said Nico, distractedly looking up in the midst of messaging her siblings. ‘What was that?’

‘Nothing!’

‘Of course Kotarou broke another toy with his hammer.’ Nico grumbled to herself as she held in her hands what was once a dinosaur plushie, before her brother had made it well and truly extinct. It was not what she was hoping to come back home to after the school day. ‘And of course Nico has to put it in the basement. With all the other broken toys.’

She flicked the switch at the top of the stairs before making her way into the depths, an abyss of junk, junk and more junk. All hand-me-downs from one Yazawa sibling to another. Until they got to Kotarou, anyway.

‘We have got to sort this out one day,’ Nico muttered to herself, displacing boxes and paraphernalia in order to tidy up and create some more space. As she did so, however, something hard and weighty became dislodged and made a beeline for Nico’s temple. After hitting the target, it then made a heavy smack on the concrete flooring.

‘Ouch! Son of a-‘

Rubbing her tender spot, Nico’s anger turned to curiosity as she regarded the object more closely.

‘Huh? What’s this?’

She didn’t know what to make of it – the solid hunk of polymer plastic which had high-fived her scalp a few seconds before. Around one meter in length, two or three thick paperbacks in depth, roughly oar shaped, although that wasn’t quite right. There were several dull silver hinges along its side which were too inviting for the item within to remain unsealed.  

Nico unclasped the hinges, opened up the case and there it was.

An old, worn red acoustic guitar.

The body was dusted over and the strings had the murk of rust on them. The lacquer of the finish had faded in parts and worn through to the wood beneath. And as she leaned in closer, she could make out the scent of must. But even with how old and disused it looked, Nico felt an odd gravitation towards it.

Nico scooped the guitar into her arms and made her way back up the stairs, having forgotten what she was ever down there for in the first place. She found her mother who had just returned from work and had settled at the low, Japanese-style table for dinner.

‘Mama?’ said Nico, holding up the guitar in her hands. ‘What’s this?’

‘Oh!’ Nico’s mother stood up from the table with excitement. ‘That’s your father’s old acoustic. Wow, that brings back memories.’

‘Papa played guitar?’

‘Yep. He would sing you lullabies before bed, or whenever you were crying. You used to love it when you were a toddler.’

‘I don’t remember any of this,’ Nico replied.

‘Maybe you were too young. But I remember him serenading me with some silly love songs back in the day. Beatles songs and all that. It was romantic. A little cheesy, but romantic.’

Nico could only feel a small melancholy at not having those memories. ‘Papa…’

Smiling, Nico’s mother reached across and patted her eldest’s head. So her daughter was still a daddy’s girl, even after all this time. ‘Your father always said it was a good sounding guitar. And if you just give it a clean and change the strings, it should be playable.’

Nico couldn’t hide her surprise – the clump of wood in her hands seemed as far from new as was humanly possible. ‘Really?’

Her mother smiled. ‘Just give it a try.’

One afterschool trip to the local music store and some YouTube tutorials later, Nico had finished fitting a new set of bronze strings to her father’s guitar. She had also made a few passes with a damp cloth before admiring her handiwork.

Her mother was right. With a bit of effort, the guitar now at least looked like it was capable of making sound.

‘Now, I just have to tune it…’

She sat up on her bed and laid the guitar across her legs. The timber was cool against the flesh of her thighs as Nico tried to suss out the instrument.

This arm went here and that one went there, right? And then she’d hold the pick in that hand and then play the strings? Which way around did the pick go? No matter where she held it, it felt alien to her. She took a quick strum anyway.

On its own, the guitar made a strange, tuneless sound. Nico didn’t get it.

‘You used to play this, Papa?’ Nico asked the empty room. ‘To play love songs?’ She didn’t get a response. Sighing, she nestled the guitar back in its case.

Her feet dragging her along almost unconsciously, Nico brooded over the afterschool meeting she had with her teacher about the grades on her practice exam.

Didn’t they know? Becoming a super idol takes a lot of work and dedication! Why would she let mere schoolwork get in the way of that?

The meeting had delayed Nico from her usual attendance in the music room with Maki.

She stopped short of entering, content with peering through the window unnoticed. Being by Maki’s side as she played was wonderful, but there was a majesty to watching her work the ivory from a distance. The way she exuded dignity and control over every single bar of music; how she closed her eyes and expressed the voice inside herself through the instrument. It was always captivating for Nico.

Nico was taken out of this reverie by a tap at her shoulder. She turned to find a smiling Eli. From the folders she was carrying under a wedged arm, Nico surmised she was in the middle of some student council errands.

‘Hey.’

‘Heya, Eli.’

‘Not going in?’

Nico shook her head before returning her gaze to Maki. ‘It’s times like this that Nico wishes she could play an instrument as well,’ she said, a wistful tinge in her voice. ‘I did find a guitar the other day, but I have no idea how to play it.’

‘A guitar?’ Eli asked. ‘I know a few chords. I’d be more than happy to teach you, if you like?’

‘Really?’ Nico couldn’t hide the surprise forming on her face. ‘They have guitars in Russia?’

‘Yes, Nico. Guitars exist in Russia. We even have a thing called a balalaika, which is like a Russian guitar. But that’s not the point.’

The two fell quiet for a moment, such that the only noise was the muffled piano from the music room. Maki’s music and songs, which meant so much to her. That was the only moment that Nico needed to decide.

‘I think I’ll take you up on that, Eli.’

Now that she thought about it, this was the first time Nico had been to Eli’s place, let alone her room.

‘Pardon the intrusion…’

For Nico, Eli’s room was reflective of her personality. Books were all put away and sorted into their shelves, there was a clear desk for studying at and a small speaker system for some music. There was also nowhere near enough pink for Nico’s taste. Though there was a suspicious amount of purple…

It was best not to dwell on that, thought Nico. She settled onto the, sigh, purple bedsheets and released her guitar from its case. Eli soon joined her, unzipping her gig bag and unsheathing her own acoustic. Thankfully for Nico’s sanity, it wasn’t purple, rather the parchment like colour of natural, unvarnished timber.

‘Well then,’ Eli said kindly. ‘Shall we begin?’

Nico nodded before settling the instrument across her legs. No sooner than she did that, however, Eli gave her a strange look.

‘I haven’t played anything yet,’ said Nico, shifting her body with unconscious nervousness.

‘Well unless you became left handed overnight, you’re holding the guitar backwards right now.’

‘I-I knew that!’

‘Sure,’ Eli said, before leaning over towards Nico. She took the guitar from Nico’s hands, and brought it so that it was oriented correctly. ‘Left hand goes on the neck; right hand holds the pick. I know that sounds counterintuitive, but just do it.’

Nico did as she was instructed. Eli wasn’t kidding – it felt completely alien.

‘With your left hand, place your fingers down and press the strings to the board. Then strum the strings with your right hand.’

Once more, Nico followed Eli’s instructions. The guitar made a tuneless racket, but Eli still nodded in approval. ‘Good. Just get used to the sensation for now.’

Nico took in the feeling – the vibration of the guitar’s neck in her left hand, the tense metal strings against her fleshy fingertips. She wondered, could people really get used to this?

‘Hey Eli,’ Nico decided to ask after a few strums, ‘why did you learn the guitar of all instruments?’

‘The same reason most people decide to learn the guitar,’ Eli answered. ‘To impress girls.’

‘Did that work on Nozomi?’

Eli puffed her chest. ‘It sure did! I’d come over to her apartment and serenade her with some Beatles songs, and then we’d cuddle up on the bed or the couch and, um, well… Anyway! Your guitar!’

Nico stopped strumming and looked up. ‘Yes?’

‘It has a nice sound to it. How’d you get hold of it?’

‘This was my Papa’s guitar,’ replied Nico. ‘I found it in our basement. I don’t think anyone’s touched it in years.’

‘I’m surprised it’s in such good shape,’ Eli remarked. ‘Spending that long in a basement, you’d think that the humidity would’ve bent the neck or body and make it unplayable. Can I have a go?’

‘Sure,’ said Nico, curious as to how her father’s guitar would sound in someone else’s hands.

Eli received the guitar, placed it across her lap and strummed it a few times before picking out a few notes. ‘Let’s see, what should I play… I guess you can’t go wrong with some love songs.’

‘Love songs…’ Nico murmured.

‘And if it’s love songs, it has to be the Beatles,’ Eli concluded. She fished a clamp like object from her bedside table and affixed it to the neck of the guitar she held in her hands. She answered Nico’s unasked question as follows: ‘A capo. It presses the strings at a certain part of the neck, so you can play in a different key. It’s handy – but you don’t need to worry about that yet. Now then…’

Nico watched as Eli took a breath, then gave all her concentration to the guitar and voice as she started the song – a soft and quiet ballad.

I once had a girl, or should I say

She once had me;

She showed me her room

Isn’t it good, Norwegian Wood,

She told me to stay and she told me to sit anywhere,

So I looked around and I noticed there wasn’t a chair…

It was the first time Nico had ever paid attention to someone other than Maki playing an instrument. A different feeling was evoked in her. Eli was good, no doubt about that, but not quite Maki good. And not as pretty, said something else in Nico’s brain.

But music was music, and it was beautiful all the same. As Eli concluded the song, however, there was a question Nico couldn’t help but ask.

‘Is that really a love song? It sounded like you were going to burn someone’s house down in the end.’

Eli opened her mouth to reply, then closed it.

‘Shut up, Nico.’

Maki found herself alone in the music room once more - Nico hadn’t turned up yesterday as well. Maybe she had to take care of her siblings again? Or perhaps she had gotten a part-time job and didn’t have the chance to tell her?

Maki went for her phone and tapped away at the screen.

M: Nico-chan? You aren’t coming to the music room today?

N: sorry <(_ _)>

N: nico made plans with eli today

M: Eli and Nozomi?

N: nah, just eli

Maki paused at this for a moment.

M: Oh.

N: i hope you’re still in the music room like a good girl!

N: nico nii loves her super talented girlfriend ^_^

M: Whatever.

Thankful that text couldn’t give away the grin on her face, Maki picked up the piano fallboard and pondered what to play next.

‘Since you’ve gotten the hang of E and E minor, we’ll be moving to a different chord.’ Eli placed one finger across several strings in horizontal, then strummed it out.

‘Second fret of the D string, G string and B string,’ Eli explained over the sound. ‘That’s an A major chord.’

Nico giggled. ‘G string.’

‘Seriously? Now if you shift your finger on the B string down a fret, you’ll be fingering A minor-‘

Nico snorted.

‘Oh, come on!’

‘I can’t help it!’ Nico laughed as she grabbed her phone from the bedroom table. ‘I’ve gotta tell Honoka and Rin what you said.’

Eli groaned, not knowing why she had expected otherwise. Nico might’ve been older than Eli, but she sure didn’t act like it. She sure didn’t look like it either. But Nico would probably take a swing at her if she said that, and she was armed with a guitar.

As such, Eli decided to get her revenge in a different way.

‘Nico, a word of advice. Whatever you do, do not look at your fingers right now.’

Eli knew the sort of person Nico was. She was the type that if you told her not to do something, she would do the exact opposite out of spite. So Eli was completely unsurprised when Nico rolled her eyes, stretched out the fingers of her left hand and looked at her fingertips.

Eli was also unsurprised when Nico screamed a split-second later.

‘My fingers!’

Sadly for Nico, no-one had told her about the side-effects that happen when you place soft skin against thin strands of metal alloy held under considerable tension. With a glance, Eli saw all the telltale indentations and strands of skin hanging limp, leaving the layer below exposed. She smiled from the nostalgia.

Nico, however, was feeling no such happiness.

‘I’m moulting!’ she bemoaned to the world. ‘I’m shedding my skin like… like an animal that sheds its skin!’

‘Don’t be so dramatic,’ Eli chided. ‘And pay more attention in class. For your fingertips, gently tear off the loose strands. It won’t hurt. In time, the skin will harden and callous up the more you play. See?’

Eli held out her left hand. Nico, eyeing her with suspicion, pinched Eli’s fingertips within her own before making a surprised look. ‘You’re right. They feel weird.’

‘Thanks,’ Eli replied in deadpan. ‘Yours will just like them in a few months of practice. You can also forget about growing your nails out – at least on your left hand.’

‘No one told Nico about this!’

‘Now you know. The guitar is not an easy instrument, Nico. If you want to give up because of it, save both of us the time and effort and give up now.’

Eli smiled inwardly. She knew the exact reaction that would get.

‘Nico is not a quitter.’

Nico huffed and pressed the phosphor bronze strings to the fingerboard once more, but came out with a wince. Eli made a sympathetic look.

‘I thought as much. But it’s no good to push yourself. Let’s practice again tomorrow.’

‘Okay,’ Nico replied. She shook her hand a few times to try and dispel the prickly feeling from her fingertips.

‘Here’s one final tip for the day,’ Eli said as she set her Bluetooth speaker on the bed and fiddled with her laptop. ‘You should get used to playing along to the record, because that trains your ears. Now, what song do I want to play… I guess we’ll go with this.’

Eli hit play and the chords came out a pained slow and melancholy. Eli matched this with a longing timbre in her voice and guitar as she played along:

Is there anybody going to listen to my story,

All about the girl who came to stay?

She’s the kind of girl you want so much it makes you sorry

Still you don’t regret a single day,

Oh, girl…

Oh, girl…

The end of the song came around, and Nico felt a new appreciation for the instrument and Eli’s skills. But once again, she couldn’t help but point out: ‘Eli, that sounded great, but it was more like the girl in the song was being emotionally controlling and abusive. It’s, like, the opposite of a love song. Did you seriously play these songs for Nozomi? And she seriously liked them?’

And once again, Eli went red and muttered: ‘Shut up, Nico.’

‘I can’t believe I’m doing this,’ Maki mumbled to herself, fanning herself in the shade of a conveniently placed tree near Eli’s apartment. ‘But I have no idea what they’re up to, and they won’t tell me except they’re hanging out. For two weeks? Without me?’

For Maki, what choice did she have when Nico wasn’t spending time with her anymore? Not to mention being so evasive about what she was doing?

These were the circumstances which led to Maki breaking out the trenchcoat, disposable mask and sunglasses. (Nico would’ve approved.)

Speaking of Nico, she was facing the looming spectre of graduation, with an uncertain future ahead of her. Especially with those grades that she hid from the others. When that time came… then what? What else would keep them together?

‘Nico-chan… What are you doing?’

‘It’s suspicious, isn’t it? Then again, so is your getup.’

Maki jumped with a start before turning around. ‘N-Nozomi?! What are you doing here?’

‘The same thing as you,’ Nozomi answered. ‘Though with less people looking at me and thinking of calling the police.’

Glancing around with slight self-consciousness, Maki asked, ‘It’s not that bad… is it?’

Nozomi grinned. With a sinking feeling, Maki knew that that meant. She decided to change the topic instead.

‘…They’re spending an awful lot of time together.’

‘Right? I hope your Nicocchi isn’t doing anything lewd with my Elicchi. But then again, maybe it’s for the best. We could have a threesome-’

‘Nozomi!’

‘Dear me, where are my manners? I should invite you along as well and we can all join in-‘

‘That’s not the issue here!’ Maki shouted, face even redder.

‘It isn’t?’ Nozomi asked. ‘Then I guess I can have all the fun to myself!’

‘Hey, wait!’ Maki called out to Nozomi, as the latter began walking towards the apartment. ‘You’re just going to barge in on them?’

‘Whatever’s happening, I want in!’ shouted Nozomi, not bothering to turn back.

‘Nozomi!’

Maki made to follow the older girl, then hesitated.

Nozomi’s inappropriate words rang in her ears. Would Maki really want to see… that?

…Or be part of it?

She shuddered and decided in the negative. Instead, she kept watch from the shade of the trees.

Nozomi made her way into the apartment complex, took the lift up a few floors, fished a key from her pocket that Eli didn’t know she had, unlocked the door and tiptoed into the apartment. Her eyes went wide as she heard voices coming from the bedroom.

‘Put your fingers right there, Nico.’

‘Like this?’

‘More like this. Make sure to curve your fingers so they can fit in a tight space.’

‘Got it.’

‘Then, you can slide your fingers up and down, like this…’

‘Is this okay?’

‘Mmm. You’re a quick learner, Nico.’

With a gasp, Nozomi placed a hand over her mouth. She didn’t expect them to be actually going at it! This needed to be stopped! Or at least have her join in!

She burst through the door, then looked between Nico and Eli as they sat on the bed, eyes wide in surprise. Eli’s hands hovered close to Nico’s as she demonstrated how to play a particularly difficult chord.

‘So you’re not having sex,’ Nozomi said, frowning. ‘How disappointing.’

‘Nozomi,’ Eli whined and pouted, turning away from her girlfriend who had sat beside her on the bed. ‘Didn’t you trust me?’

‘Of course I trust you, Elicchi,’ Nozomi cooed, placing a hand on Eli’s shoulder. ‘Nicocchi on the other hand…’

‘I already have a girlfriend, you know,’ Nico scoffed. ‘One that’s way better than Eli.’

‘…Why on Earth am I teaching you, again?’

‘Maybe she just enjoys Elicchi’s interesting choice in songs?’ Nozomi said.

Eli buried her head in her hands as Nico burst into laughter. ‘You too, Nozomi? Why didn’t you say anything before?!’

‘Well, I just couldn’t bring myself to do it, y’know? You have such a dumb smile when you stop thinking and just play.’ With a quick lean in, Nozomi planted a kiss on Eli’s cheek. ‘I love it a lot.’

Dazed, Eli rubbed the place her girlfriend had marked with her lips. ‘Nozomi…’

‘Gross,’ said Nico, sticking her tongue out and making a face. ‘But I think I know what you’re talking about.’

Nozomi made a knowing smile. ‘Right? You have your Maki-chan after all.’

‘Since Nozomi is here, how about a special song?’ said Eli, still on a high from Nozomi’s display of affection.

She fished up her guitar and struck one chord three times in quick succession. It was a dramatic sound, but it seemed oddly familiar to Nico. Nico’s suspicions were confirmed when Eli struck the chord thrice more. She rolled her eyes as Nozomi and Eli made a loving look at each other and began to duet.

Yume no meiro…

Yuri no meiro…

Nico threw her arms up in exasperation. ‘Get a room, both of you.’

‘I haven’t had Elicchi all to myself in weeks, so I’m making up for lost time,’ Nozomi said, glomming onto Eli, much to Eli’s enjoyment. ‘Much like how Maki-chan is suspiciously camping outside this apartment block, since she hasn’t had her little Nicocchi in weeks.’

‘Weeks?’ Nico asked. ‘There’s no way… Wait. Maki-chan is where?’

Nozomi pointed and Nico followed with her eyes. She then walked across, opened the apartment door and called out to the streets below.

‘Maki-chan? Are you out there?’

‘Eep!’

Catching the movement in her peripheral vision, Nico saw a figure in the distance begin bolting down the street in the opposite direction. The flash of red hair was even more of a giveaway, if she needed it.

‘Hey!’ shouted Nico. ‘Don’t make me run, I haven’t put my shoes on yet!’

‘Have fun, Nicocchi!’ said Nozomi. ‘And close the door behind you, because Elicchi and I need some private time!’

The thought of what “private time” meant made Nico jump into her sneakers and slam the door even harder than she would’ve otherwise. She raced the elevator down three flights of stairs and won, but still couldn’t make out Maki’s figure despite her desperate efforts. She cursed under her breath and sprinted towards where Maki was headed – the nearby area of Akihabara.

Passing by the small stores which sold idol goods, Nico was in familiar territory. Perhaps too familiar, considering as she was getting distracted by the shiny new merchandise they were selling. That Tsubasa keychain was tempting…

Nico’s thoughts were disrupted by the kind of high-pitched screams that could only belong to pubescent schoolgirls. ‘It’s Nico Yazawa! From μ’s!’

Nico risked a look over her shoulder, then immediately wished that she hadn’t. She could feel the footsteps of a crowd beginning to pursue her and pushed herself even faster.

‘Of all the times to be surrounded by fans. Nico has a private life, you know!’

This! This is exactly why she told everyone else in μ’s to be prepared! But did they listen to her? Of course not!

With her spare hand, she delved into her bag and retrieved her trusty mask and sunglasses before ducking into the back alleys. The fangirls weren’t so easily deterred – but that was as expected of a super idol’s super fans! Nico used all her wiles and tricks: hiding out in a photobooth, blending in with cardboard cutouts, sneaking between narrowly parked vehicles, heading back and checking out the idol merchandise again…

Being a super idol is tough work.

With the burn of a stitch in her side, Nico finally doubled over with her hands on her knees and gasped for air. She had probably run a marathon under the afternoon sun trying to escape all the attention. But she didn’t have the time to be hanging about – she just needed a good five minutes and to wipe down with a towel-

‘Please visit our café, madam!’

Glaring, Nico looked up at the complete airhead who would pass her a flyer at such an inconsiderate moment. She took in the maid outfit, the flowing taupe hair, the big, amber eyes…

‘Kotori?!’

Nico hacked and coughed after shouting – she should have thought that one through. The maid blinked in confusion. ‘Kotori? What? I’m Miss Minalin- oh, it’s Nico-chan! How are you today?’

‘Could… be… better…’ Nico gasped out as Minalinsky/Kotori beamed at her. ‘You still work here?’

‘I’m just helping out today,’ answered the maid, still holding out the pamphlet to Nico. ‘But it’s meant to be quiet. I hope you can keep a secret, Nico-chan!’ Scowling and muttering, Nico accepted the paper and placed it in her pocket, much to Kotori’s delight. Nico’s mood was about to get worse.

Over Kotori’s oblivious shoulder, she saw what looked like the entire population of Tokyo homing in on her location, screaming and pushing past anything in the way. (Except politely, because this is Japan we’re talking about here.)

And then she had an idea.

‘That store is selling discount fabric!’ shouted Nico, pointing over Kotori’s shoulder. She realised too late that shouting was a bad idea, and spluttered into coughing again.

Kotori turned on a dime, ignoring Nico’s plight. ‘Where, where?!’

That was all the chance Nico needed to push Kotori in the small of her back, towards the oncoming mass of people.

There was a shrill cry from the crowd. ‘Ah! It’s Minalinsky!’

‘The legendary maid?! I thought she retired!’

Nico was already pivoting on her heel and breaking away. She had an accurate image of what was happening behind her without seeing it: something like Kotori being surrounded by a human swarm and then disappearing out of sight, akin to a horror movie.

‘N-Nico-chan!’

That’s another thing Kotori should’ve learned. In the world of showbiz, there are always necessary sacrifices.

Koi ni koisuru, shoujo no, shizuka na tameiki wa Lonely... michitarita Lonely...

Eli finished off the duet with some flourishes of her guitar, before graciously bowing to the applause Nozomi made. It was a nice change, going back to playing the songs she had practiced for her girlfriend. ‘How about another song, my sweetheart?’

Nozomi stretched herself out on the bed and grinned. ‘Sure.’

Eli smiled back as she fired out some upbeat chords, singing:

I’ve got something to say that might cause you pain

If I catch you talking to that girl again

I’m gonna let you down

And leave you flat

Because I told you before, oh!

You can’t do that!

It’s the second time I’ve caught you talking to him

Do I have to tell you one more time, I think it’s a sin

I’m gonna let you down

And leave you flat

Because I told you before- Nozomi?

‘Is there something wrong?’ Eli asked in concern. Nozomi was sitting up at this point with a hand on her forehead, as if she had a long-running headache.

‘Elicchi,’ she moaned, ‘way to ruin the mood.’

‘I finally got away,’ wheezed Nico after running a few more blocks. ‘But so did Maki-chan.’

(She failed to mention Kotori, whose fate was sealed.)

Night began to fall across buildings which were unfamiliar even to Nico, a native of the area. Fumbling in her bag, Nico groaned as she failed to locate her phone. She had probably left it back at Eli’s house, which was not useful for several reasons.

Firstly, because she couldn’t contact her siblings to let them know she’d be late. Secondly, and more pressingly, because Nico couldn’t answer a rather important question:

‘…Where the heck am I?’

The ringing of the bell meant the end of another school day. Rin and Hanayo watched with knitted eyebrows as Maki retrieved her belongings, swung her bag over her shoulder and trudged away in silence, shoulders slouched and eyes facing the ground.

Walking past the second-year’s classroom, Maki paid little attention to Umi and Honoka fussing over Kotori, who was slumped over her desk.

‘Kotori?’ Umi asked, feeling Kotori’s temperature with her palm. ‘Is something the matter?’

‘Kotori-chan is broken,’ said Honoka, poking at Kotori’s cheek a few times, much to Umi’s dismay. There was no visible reaction from Kotori. ‘She was muttering to herself earlier. Something about how even little birds will grow talons and take their revenge?’

‘How cryptic…’

Maki’s feet had carried her to the music room’s piano without her thinking.

It had been their routine. Had. Why had it stopped? Why was there no more time together in the music room?

She folded her arms and slumped down into the keys. It made an awful, juddering sound and it was against good etiquette, but that was the last thing on her mind right now.

‘Nico-chan…’

She could feel her breathing start to catch in her throat. She loosened the school ribbon around her neck, which made things a bit easier. It wasn’t like Maki was going to cry over something like this, not at all…

Maki paid no attention to the footsteps in the hallway. She did pay attention, however, when the music room door crashed open. She looked up with a start, and found two things which didn’t make any sense to her.

‘Nico-chan? And a guitar? What?’

‘Nico has spent the last few weeks ruining her fingertips to play you this,’ the senior girl shouted, ‘so you’d better be grateful!’

Maki’s eyes were wide as Nico strummed the guitar with purpose, smiled, then began to sing:

Can’t buy me love, love,

Can’t buy me love- whoops!

‘Wrong chord.’ Nico grimaced as a discordant sound rung out. She quickly ran through a few chords before finding the missing piece of the progression. ‘There we go. Okay, let’s pretend that didn’t happen.’

She started again:

Can’t buy me love, love,

Can’t buy me love;

I'll buy you a diamond ring, my friend

If it makes you feel alright

I'll get you anything, my friend

If it makes you feel alright

'Cause I don't care too much for money

Money can't buy me love!

I'll give you all I've got to give

If you say you love me too

I may not have a lot to give

But what I got I'll give to you

I don't care too much for money

Money can't buy me love!

Nico stopped and there was silence. Then awkward silence.

‘How… How was that?’ ventured Nico, feeling the need to say something.

‘That’s what you’ve been doing for the past few weeks?’ asked Maki.

‘Yes?’

Maki crossed her arms and huffed. ‘Well, it could’ve been better.’

‘Oh,’ said Nico. But before her ego could deflate, Maki grinned and stood up from the piano. She made her way over to where Nico was sat, then hugged her close.

‘I missed you,’ Maki whispered. ‘I missed you a lot. But you didn’t seem to miss me, since you were with Eli all the time…’

Returning the embrace, Nico tousled Maki’s mess of hair. ‘Nico missed you a lot, too. Nico wanted to wanted to make our time together even more precious by being able to play with Maki-chan. So I got some lessons from Eli.’

‘Nico-chan…’ Maki sniffled and rubbed at her nose. ‘I’ll forgive you this once. So let’s practice together from now on, okay?’

‘Then why don’t we start now?’ said Nico. Maki watched as her partner delved into her bag and handed her a songbook: The Beatles Collection. ‘I got us some sheet music to play along to! Well, I can play the chords. Most of them. If they’re not too complicated… Do you think you can play this one?’

Maki glanced at the open pages and grinned, firing out the opening chords. ‘I think I can manage.’

Smiling, Nico placed her fingers on the strings and gripped her plectrum. ‘This song’s for you, Papa,’ she whispered to herself.

The music washed over them both as they sang in duet. It was an uptempo, silly little love song, like many others they would play from the book.

Baby's good to me, you know She's happy as can be, you know She said so! I'm in love with her and I feel fine!

‘Stupid, ungrateful Nico,’ Eli grumbled to herself in her bedroom, guitar slung over her legs. She plucked through the strings and tuned them accordingly. ‘Always with her nit-picking. And Nozomi, too! It’s the Beatles we’re talking about here! All happy, poppy love songs! How can they be inappropriate?’

Balancing the guitar with one arm over the guitar’s body as she leaned forwards, Eli used her other to flick through her song book at random. She stopped at one she couldn’t recall playing before. It looked simple enough – just five easy chords.

‘Run for your Life,’ Eli mused to herself. ‘Sounds interesting!’

She placed her hands in position to start the song, then sung out with her guitar in gleeful accompaniment:

Well, I’d rather see you dead little girl

Than to be with another man

You’d better keep your head, little girl

Or you won’t know where I am;

You’d better run for your life if you can, little girl

Hide your head in the sand, little girl

Catch you with another man, that’s the end-

Eli’s palm smacked into her forehead.

‘Damn it, not again!’

[lewisibarra1512]

The true reason how and why I quietly quit Super Smash Bros. (A warning rant)

(NOTE: The following post you're about to read after the jump is based on my frustrating relationship with the Smash community and their current state, including the former president being involved for wrongly accusing one of my favorite Nintendo villains King K. Rool. If you're easily offended, please do not attempt to reply to this post while acting harsh. I don't want to have to see or hear stuff people are doing nowadays.)

This is something I've never been able to explain since my return to Tumblr, let alone coming out as to who or what I currently am. But to tell you the truth, I wanted to get this out of my chest and set the record perfectly straight: I am an ex-Super Smash Bros. player. I know what y'all are thinking "Why'd you quit?" "Where the hell were you?" Or "Did you missed out on EVERY character reveal that made my wallet empty just like magic?" Just consider the following: I was never big into the community ever since I've been a blacksheep for so long. Especially since the latest installment alone became a downgraded kid's party game that doesn't look entirely like a real fighting game in general. I'll go on ahead and share my frustrating relationship with Smash and what made me quit the Smash scene.

I wanna take you back to the year 1999 when Super Smash Bros. originated on the Nintendo 64, the first console that introduced me to gaming with the likes of Super Mario 64 as a primitive source of open world environments. It was basically a four player brawler where instead of original characters, they'd have Nintendo All-Stars come together and beat the crap out of each other in a more lighter tone of every Godzilla movie. Then there was this commercial where Mario, Donkey Kong, Big Nose and Japanese Michael Rodent were frolicking through the flower field until suddenly, they get into a fight. It was unexpected at first, but it was funny. Even though it was a best seller, it didn't pave the way of being catered to competitive players until the late and great Hiroshi Yamauchi's final console release under his watch was the Nintendo GameCube. Two years later while the latter was around the corner during launch, Melee arrived on the scene, introducing a fast paced mechanic with wave dashing abilities. It gained even more stages than its predecessor, as well as an adventure mode and special events exclusive to single player matches. And it also saw its first foray into female representation such as Princess Peach, Zelda and Mewtwo (I prefer a female variant more, so don't try testing me on it). Super Smash Bros. Melee, after it was unveiled, achieved over 7.41 million copies, making it the best seller and would later appear in tournaments. Both the GameCube and the Game Boy Advance were two of the last consoles made by Yamauchi before his retirement in 2002 due to his age, until he was replaced an imcompetent con-artist turned money grubbing scumbag. I'm not gonna get into detail as to who he is, so let's say his name is Lans G.

Before Lans G. took over Nintendo, there was a certain villain that caught my absolute attention by surprise. It's not Ridley, Ganondorf or even King Dedede. It's King K. Rool. He made his first appearance in Donkey Kong Country circa 1994 when an overrated system was released four years prior. I loved his design and physical appearance, as well as the ability to turn his crown into a boomerang; use a blunderbuss to shoot enemies; fly around with his trusty propeller pack and even participating in a game of boxing. Right next to an overweight orangutan named Diddy Kong, who also originated on the same system, K. Rool is considered a shoe-in of having no super powers. Who needs them when you've got the muscles and the belly to keep all crocodile lovers like me company? Although I never owned the game and the overrated system during the 90's (despite having to own a NEW Nintendo 3DS XL in 2016), I quickly fell in love with him. And after making appearances in Diddy's Kong Quest, Dixie Kong's Double Trouble, the Land series on Game Boy and Donkey Kong 64, it was the day I became a full on supporter for King K. Rool only.

From then on, I started to fully support K. Rool into returning to the world of Nintendo, just to see if he could make another appearance. But to my utter disappointment, I noticed there was no sight of him. Only a series of bland tiki mask enemies who were featured in Donkey Kong Country Returns. Then I tried again in the newest installment, simply known as Tropical Freeze. Same thing, but with Lord Fredrik and the animal vikings involved. Both the Donkey Kong Country games made specifically for the Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo Switch respectfully without the disastrous use of motion controls were entirely developed by RETRO Studios, a company based in Texas. They were ordered by Lans G. to eradicate any mention about King K. Rool, so he can force Donkey Kong and friends to be better off without him. And that alone broke my heart. Finally, came Super Smash Bros. 3D. Or just Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS due to the popularity of handhelds. Smash 3D was the first of its kind to be developed on a portable system to allow players fight anytime, anywhere. That's their unique marketing slogan: Fight anytime, anywhere. I tried unlocking every character from reveal trailers and those that weren't featured on the 3DS' negatively received counterpart and, just like Returns and Tropical Freeze alone, K. Rool was STILL nowhere to be found. I was completely devastated and hurt by how the Smash community started treating K. Rool as if he's nothing but an "irrelevant" and "less iconic" Nintendo villain. I knew that if they all found out I was an avid K. Rool lover and supporter, I feared they'd start jabbing me right in the cheek and beat me up! But then came my final chance to redeem myself: the Smash Bros. Fighter Ballot.

When the site was launched, I got lucky enough to cast my vote for K. Rool to be playable in Smash 3D, so I can enjoy buying his merchandise and show those self entitled weeaboos who's the REAL boss around here. After filling in the vote, I was all set! I felt glad and happy to realize there were other players out there who disliked the weeaboo culture that also casted their vote for K. Rool. I could imagine myself playing as King K. Rool in Smash 3D, where I wouldn't have to sit through another Smash game involving another generic anime fighter. But when I heard the unfortunate news about him, my victory was short lived. Lans G. decided to troll me and the fans of giving players a King K. Rool Mii costume for brawlers. I looked at it in silence, then felt like I was dead on the inside. Momentarily, I got angry. Having a K. Rool costume for Mii brawlers meant it was nothing but a slap in the face for those who voted for him, because Lans G. knew how popular he was just before he died. And months later, after a web show they should have cancelled was brought back, they publicly announced Bayonetta was unveiled as the new winner of the Fighter Ballot. And then started to give players Cloud Strife in the middle of my birthday. Really? A Final Fantasy VII character? I'm going to cause a major uproar, but I certainly hate Square Enix. I mean, what even is the point of comparing Final Fantasy to Sonic the Hedgehog if we never have gotten VII on the SEGA Saturn? If it were up to someone who had the heroic efforts of porting it over without pirating it, we never would've had to stare at a 24 / 7 picture of Bernie Stolar on literally just about anything.

After DLC was wrapped up, and all the Fire Emblem characters were pretty much overrepresented, I decided to look up on who was responsible for making every Fire Emblem game to date. Not only was the game developed wholly by Intelligent Systems, but much to my rage, dismay, frustration, irritation, humiliation and fury, it was indeed Tohru Narihiro, being the co-producer of every Smash game while he brought Marth and Roy to Melee. It was at this moment my chances, dreams and hopes of supporting King K. Rool were brutally shattered into millions and millions of pieces before they suddenly disappeared. By that time, I was at the breaking point of renouncing weeaboos, anime, generic human characters and first party game development. If Lans G. could've brought King K. Rool back from the dead, let alone have him return to the world of Nintendo for a brand new Donkey Kong title, then all was lost. My wish was to see King K. Rool make an appearance in a brand new Donkey Kong game, and yet it was all for nothing. Over an entire decade without King K. Rool's glorious and official return, everything was on Narihiro. Since I realized it was his fault, he was the one who started this hate, drama, controversy and scrutiny, and call me crazy, all because he was nothing but a big, fat, stupid bitch! Yes, I know. I know. Everyone hates it when I say that, but I needed to get that out of my chest. After I sold my copy of Smash 3D and earned some money, a new president Tatsumi Kimishima rose to the top and unveiled the greatest thing he only created while destroying the so-called legacy that was Lans G.: the Nintendo Switch.

Originally known as Nintendo NX, it was the go-to source of two different ways: At home, or on the go. I chose the latter, since I'm into handheld gaming. It was a breakthrough console that received so much love by third party publishers and indie developers (me included) they made amends to port so much games that Lans G. made Nintendo miss out on, such as Skyrim, Crash Bandicoot, Spyro, Mega Man, Sonic, DOOM, Shovel Knight, Freedom Planet, Shantae, Yooka-Laylee, Gunvolt and so many more. Then there were highly acclaimed hits exclusive to Nintendo such as Breath of the Wild, Kingdom Battle, Super Mario Odyssey and Cruis'n blast. All four games that were released on the system were produced and handled by Kimishima himself, and nowhere did it say "it stinks"! However, the Switch wasn't the biggest saving grace. Around 28 March 2017, a game called Rivals of Aether was the true reason it made me quietly quit Super Smash Bros. forever.

Rivals of Aether is regarded as a true spiritual successor to Melee, except its roster heavily consists of anthropomorphic animal champions from warring civilizations, as well as having a story mode, rollback netcode, unique controls, stunning graphics, animation and a killer soundtrack to listen to. It even boasts guest characters such as Ori from both the Blind Forest and Will of the Wisps, and the eponymous Shovel Knight. Really, who wouldn't love everyone's favorite anthropomorphic fish in disguise as a valiant warrior holding up a shovel? The game originally came out on PC 28 March, and again on XBOX ONE X 22 August and quickly received critical acclaim, claiming it was the biggest indie answer to Super Smash Bros. The result was that a company known as Aether Studios, founded by former Microsoft representative Dan Fornace, implemented a successful use for GameCube controllers and the revival of wavedashing. However, in terms of this, no shields or ledge grabbing were involved. Instead, hardcore gamers and players of Rivals would instead rely on wall jumping back on the stage and parry against incoming attacks from opponents, and that's a nice thing about it too. And when the definitive edition was just around the bend, it also added in the Milestone System (because it's free) and Tetherball Mode, as well as forthcoming characters in alphabetical order like Hodan, Mollo, Olympia and Pomme. But, out of everything that there is, there was one character whom I adore a lot: Ranno. When he was the first DLC character introduced at Super Smash Con (and then one year later with the successful inclusion of Shovel Knight), my mind blew me away as to why no one ever thought of having a frog chracter apper in a Rivals game. So I smiled with no regrets and tried the game out on Steam, and it worked. I even took home a few plushies that were themed to Rivals and made by Symbiote Studios, such as Ranno, Shovel Knight and Clairen. Out in the middle of nowhere, the former of the two would make guest appearances in games like Brawlhalla, Fall Guys and M.U.G.E.N., where I find it heartwarming. Speaking of heartwarming, Rivals of Aether also has a stunning community full of fun and exciting people to see and let them compete for cash and prizes. Afterwards, Aether Studios decided to retool the community safety guidelines in response to all this negative BS that's been circling aroudn Massy. After Rivals became a huge success, Dan and his team decided to bring the game over to the Nintendo Switch and called it Rivals of Aether - Definitive Edition, so I would start playing it anytime, anywhere. I do enjoy the idea of having four elements come together like fire, water, air and earth and then start beating the living hell out of each other. Ranno, for example, was the reason I began to love and support while entirely making fun of the other guy. It's not Zetterburn, Orcane, Wrastor, Kragg nor anyone else, but it's Massy's favorite final evolved water starter. Then there's the Steam Workshop where players can customize their own fighter and be able to upload them to Rivals only, unless they have a pixel art themed animation software. If Massy or Lans G. can't bring K. Rool back, let any fan do it! Outside of Rivals, Aether Studios also created Lovers of Aether, where the player can decide who will go to the prom instead of the Ding-Dong Tree as a date; Creatures, a mobile based card game similar to Hearthstone and the Elder Scrolls Legends; Dungeons, a roguelike RPG action adventure spin-off where players assume the role of Fleet as the main hero who is on a mission to embark on a journeye to find Julesvale herself, and a new 3D Rivals game I'm certainly looking forward to. Oh, and did I forget to mention they also made a comic series?

Fast forward to today, I've been with the Rivals community for about several years since Ranno swooced right in and guided me out of the dumpster fire that was Smash. Originally, I was considering buying Rivals on the eShop during a Black Friday Sales event in 2020, but then Limited Run Games made a physical release and became a full on sponsor for fighting games. Eventually, I did. After two years of being among the first GameMaker game to hit Switch around 24 September, I connected my Nintendo Switch GameCube Controller adapter to my Multiport USB PlayStand, I bought the game and started playing immediately. So Nintendo gave Dan and Aether Studios the OK signal, and Rivals was definitely the reason I quit Super Smash Bros. entirely. They let it happen, because there were so much indie support being given. Playing as Ranno felt like I relived the days of Smash for 3DS, but on a better selling system. And I was never able to put it down, considering why 64 and 3D condemned any wavedashing mechanic nor fast gameplay. Of course Aether Studios would oversee the popularity of the Switch and be all "Breath of the Wild and Odyssey became highly acclaimed titles, huh? However, it's missing something. What exactly would it want? Well, our opinions had been validated so many times lately, and the fact we admire our faithful newcomer Lewis over supporting Ranno and Clairen because they make the best couple, so we decided to come out and state... 'Screw it! Let's beat Sakurai and release Rivals of Aether - Definitive Edition on the Nintendo Switch while we do some damage, Rivals style!'" Unlike myself who's more of a full on supporter for third party publishers and indie developers, Nintendo fans just wouldn't wanna bother playing it. Much to my delight of course, since I already renounced first party games in 2016.

While I had the pleasure of playing Rivals on the Switch, I couldn't bring up the fact Massy went out of his way and made it unacceptably clear Super Smash Bros. is for "good boys and girls". I have a translation to that remark: it's for kids. FOR. KIDS. People couldn't expect high tier fan requests for characters like the DOOM Slayer, Liu Kang, Mai Shiranui or even Phoenix Wright to be in the roster, because it's targeted for a younger demographic! But the worst part about the Smash games is its dreaded community. There were a lot of people wanting characters like Crash, Geno or Travis to show up in the roster; whining and complaining about Waluigi not being playable twice due to assist trophies; not being able to shower or put on some deodorant; causing a fight over losing and even claim that it's a real fighting game instead of being catered to children as a party game. And then, as reported by Reddit user JFMV763, there were over 103 top Smash players who got away with sexually assaulting victims and minors before they got kicked out, leaving the community crumbled to pieces. I, as an ex-Smash player / fan, felt deeply shocked and surprised by the fact this unexpectedly happened, mainly because all of the players who wound up becoming sex predators were a part of the Weinstein effect. I wonder if Miramax managed to buy all four Pokemon movies after Spell of the Unknown? Maybe who knows, but that's just me.

If I'm going to review Smash Ultimate, I'd give it a -10 / 10. Why? I can't say. Besides, even if Rivals of Aether wasn't developed by Fornace nor Aether Studios, I would've given Ultimate a chance. But unfortunately, I highly doubt that. Hell, it's incredibly unplayable it'll wind up being sent back to various game stores so no one wants to go through the same old stuff over and over again. I for one don't wanna blow $130 for both the game and its expensive DLC. This is coming from a 90's kid turned cartoonist who welcomed third parties / indies as better alternatives.

As for Lans G. himself, think about it: the Wii branding, motion controls, getting rid of King K. Rool, glorifying weeaboo culture, shunning furries... what made you think he was gonna do for you, bring a negative impact to your life so y'all should feel happy for his bullshit excuses? Apparently obvious. You can always leave your complaint in the complaint box, but I don't check that shit.

That aside, I want to address what completely happened around July 2020. Now, I'm not a doctor, but I will share some advice: you're single. And you want to go on a date with someone, that's fine. And then you wanna get married before having a baby, so that's alright with me. But the thing is, as I've mentioned over qutting, there were so much assault towards underage victims who spoke against so-called Smash players like Cinnpie, Keitaro, Sky, D1 and ZeRo before e'rrybody else dropped out of its scene forever. Please remember: Don't sexualize kids. Don't engage in a relationship with them. And never, ever, under any circumstances, rape them. Either way, you're completely fucked.

So, yeah. Rivals of Aether was presumably the reason why I quit Super Smash Bros. over knowing it had become. Especially since Massy failed to address the allegations against players while becoming relentless. I'd rather be spending the day off at the Swampy Estuary talking about how real frogs are the best and why they're absolutely important in my own daily life.

Alright, rant over. I'm gonna go wash my hands and drink water before I do something else...

[ashitomarisu]

This post is a tierlist pertaining to nothing but Furirin music. (LET'S DO THIS)

As we're getting closer to Moonrise's first anniversary (September 23) and the release of 「ハネムーン」 (September 29), it feels right to at least share my thoughts on her music so far (except I have to do this the hard way). With that, let's dive in, chronologically, starting with her first mini-album. Note that I'm only going to base my opinions (Rank SS to D) on the song/music aspect and NOT the MVs.

「Moonrise」

CITY: A (how could you not want to blast this on maximum)

シンデレラタイム：SS (personally, my favorite song she's ever done for having a kickass intro and a chill mood vibe)

Yの悲劇：B (YADA, OH THE YADA)

ラブソングをかけて：A (it's actually a depressing song)

プールサイドカクテル：C (This was the one I anticipated all throughout the summer only to be misled; still a decent song).

OUT OF BLUE: B (I actually have a bad habit of singing this on my way home)

Overall, for a first mini-album, I do, for the most part, enjoy this tracklist. Of course, it was meant to be listened best while driving (please drive responsibly when you get to track 3, for the love of God). Though the music is infectious, there are moments where Furirin's vocals are a little odd (I'm looking at you, track 5). Other than that, this is one solid piece of a debut.

「メイクアップ」

パープルアイシャドウ：Ｓ(this song slaps hard)

RUMIKO：A (too much Ranma feels for whatever reason)

桃源郷白書：SS (I love the traditional Japanese vibe; WAIT WHAT WAS THIS ABOUT AGAIN?! *drunkslates* THE WHITE BOOK OF TAOYUAN??? WHAT IS THAT?!)

SIDE B: B (Not too bad but barely misses the A rank; although Furirin gets real pissed)

ルバートには気をつけて！：C (why does everything go to decent by track 5?? and who the fuck is Rubert??)

まふゆのシアーマインド：SS (LITERAL BOP)

At first, this was a slight improvement when I listened to it initially, but has grown on me since. She has improved significantly since the release of Moonrise, and so has her music, even if it seems like Track 5 gets less treatment. Anyways, this is still a step into more progression and success.

「AXIOM」

AXIOM: A (DON'T THINK, FEEL)

うしろ髪引かれて：S (I'll take this kind of shit anyday...as long as Furi has her green Fender)

With only two tracks on a vinyl record, I'd expect much more but you know what?? Even with only two, I'll surrender with content. The latter track packs a massive wallop with that smooth 80s riff. It surely is getting better, isn't it?

Actually, this is where the hype comes to a halt. This next one...is her most recent track and, I'm about to go into a full criticizing rant. First off, let me get something off my chest. If you follow me on Instagram, you might have seen the post already, but I'll reiterate here.

When it comes to songs involving the theme of "wedding", immediately, I will walk away and turn on something else. Why? It triggers an embarrassing moment from 14 years ago. At that time, my father was getting remarried. In the back of my mind, I wanted NOTHING to do with it. However, my ass got forced to participate as a bridesmaid.

I hated it. I hated every single fucking minute of it.

These kinds of occasions drain everything out of me to the point I leave as a ghost and come home looking like 90 years passed. (To clarify, he is no longer married as of a few years ago due to rumors).

With that being said, let's talk about this particular single, whose MV just dropped this morning (and I tried so hard not to use this word, but I am not gonna be so nice about this).

「Secret Sugar」: D(ON'T YOU EVER PLAY THIS AROUND ME EVER AGAIN)

It's not just the theme that turns me off. The arrangement may be decent but, that's as far as I go. Everything else is a DISAPPOINTMENT. Even at first listen, I was severely underwhelmed by just how wrong it felt. It didn't feel like something Furirin would do. In a city pop, no, in an 80s sense, this was too safe. ABSOLUTELY TOO FREAKING SAFE, which Furirin is not. The Furirin I have seen so far is a risk-taker. Her first two mini-albums were strong and AXIOM was taking it to the aethers of a promising stellar void, but then there's this song that stopped everything in its tracks. Enough said.

Now, I have a feeling that her next single, 「ハネムーン」 , will set things straight back to course for higher success. Until then, that is all for my tierlist. This will update accordingly in the near future, as I see fit. What do you think about her music? Do you have a favorite track or opinion on something? Let me know in the comments.

Maybe I'll do another tierlist with another seiyuu soon (idk who yet). Til next time, here's hoping senpai notices you! I have a literal 12-day streak coming; pray for me.

[c9sneaksen-blog]

As Love is My Witness *slightly NSFW*

Author’s Note: This fanfiction is heavily based on As Love is My Witness, a song from Westlife. I’m not a fluent English speaker, nor this is my primary language, so I tried my best when it comes to grammatical rules, even if I used a spell-check software. I think there aren’t loads of OOCness and if so, I apologize in advance. It is also slightly NSFW due to the few swearwords and some explicit terms. Enjoy!

___________________________________________________________

Once in a lifetime

You look in someone’s eyes

And it feels like the world stop turning at once

            Zach remembers perfectly when he met him for the first time. Hai had decided few weeks earlier to step down from the Cloud9 roster because of his wrist issues. Several people had come to try out; including Alex Ich, Yusui and, last but not least, Incarnati0n. While the latter was introducing himself, his icy blue eyes fell upon the AD Carry’s hazelnut ones.

He never believed in long-lasting relationships; although he had dated a girl named Jennabella and had a somehow friends with benefits relationship with Meteos, the jungler, in their beginnings as a team. It was everything but serious.

“Hello, my name is Nicolaj Jensen, but you can call me Jensen. I’m from Denmark,” the skinny player nicknamed Incarnati0n had said.

That’s what it felt like for me

I knew right away this day would be

Standing together, believing forever

Is there in our reach

            Zachary had tried to push his feelings away, to deny them. But, day by day, he fell more and more in love with the Dane. But the 2015 Summer Split did not happen as well as the Cloud9 community had hoped. It was very shaky and inconsistent: Jensen always apologized when they went through losses, even if it was not necessarily his own fault. And even if they won games, he felt bad for his poor laning phase or even his creep score deficit.

‘Cause love is my witness

I swear

I’ll be with you till the end

            During those times, the whole squad, as well as Charlie and Jack, was doing its best to comfort their new midlaner when he fell in those moments of self-hatred. It was unfair for their newcomer to keep blaming himself. He did not deserve that. It was unhealthy. Towards the middle of the split, Meteos announced to Jack his need to step down from the team. Sneaky was, to say the least, surprised to hear this: he was fully aware that Nicolaj and William did not get along well. Because of issues related to the Danish player or not, the jungler quit the team.

Nothing in tear this love apart

I’ll put my head upon my heart

This is the promise I’ll make to you

Whatever comes we’ll see it through

            Hai came out of retirement and replaced Meteos during the last few weeks of the split. They were on the verge to be relegated, something which would have been unthinkable for some. However, their win over Team 8 in a tiebreaker had prevented such a thing. Thanks to their Championship points from Spring, Cloud9 was able to attend the regional qualifiers for Worlds. They successfully won their series against Gravity Gaming, Team Impulse and, lastly, Team Liquid.

“We are going to Worlds!”, Jack excitedly told his team members at the end of the third day, feeling relieved.

Nothing can break it

This feeling’s too strong

‘Cause love is my witness

            Later that day, they flew to South Korea, in order to go to their bootcamp. The members streamed regularly, especially Sneaky and Jensen, who duo-queued lot together. Jack had noticed drastic changes in the Dane’s personality: throughout the split, he became more and more confident with his aggressive playstyle, and he meshed well with his teammates.

“Someone told me my girlfriend is so hot. Is that you?”, the European player asked, a grin on his face.

“There’s no other lesbian ADC in the NALCS. So yeah, same”, his teammate replied, chuckling.

However, this year, no NA team had made it past the groups stage, due to the week 2 curse. But going to Worlds was already an achievement for Cloud9. They were the team from North America that was at the seventh place in the regular season and, yet, they had the most wins than any other team from their region. Jensen’s father had even attended a couple of his son’s games during those two weeks: a huge feeling of pride was surrounding him.

We’ve both known sorrow

We have known heartache

When our dreams for tomorrow

Seem so far away

            Even if Zachary was still in touch with Will, it still hurt him to not see him around anymore. They had played within the same team during more than two years together, you can’t forget a relationship like that one. It hurt him to let his fans down. But he couldn’t really tell them “Yeah, Meteos and I fucked around for months. How are we doing now? Well, I’m in love with someone else” either.

But that brought us closer – yeah

It brought us together

So that we’d know the real thing

That’s why I can yeah – ye-eh-yeah

‘Cause love is my witness

I swear

I’ll be with you till the end

            Jensen and him were close but he couldn’t quite figure out whether the glances they exchanged were ‘no homo’ or not. Off-season always hit the player from Florida the worst: he could hardly deal with distance without feeling broken inside. Of course, they called each other every few days or so but, to Sneaky, it wasn’t enough.

He was addicted to his European teammate, who was always bringing candies from Denmark when he was back in NA. Candies that Sneaky loved, even if they were for all the team.

Nothing in tear this love apart

I’ll put my hand upon my heart

This is the promise I’ll make to you

Whatever comes we’ll see it through

Nothing can break it

This feeling’s too strong

‘Cause love is my witness

            Before the following split, LemonNation had quit his position as a support in order to become a coach for the team. Hai was known as a versatile player, so he filled in his role, and Rush from Team Impulse, was brought in as a jungler. The Korean player had a great synergy with his midlaner, but it didn’t have a negative impact on the others. Indeed, the newcomer from the team often played SoloQueue with Sneaky and Jensen during some evenings. One night, when Sneaky was streaming, he and Jensen were playing in the botlane. The former was playing Vayne and the latter Orianna… but as a support.

“I swear it works, I tried it out few days ago!”, the Dane had tried to justify, unsuccessfully.

“Be careful what you wish for, Yensen” the ADC added, mockingly. “If we lose, we’re gonna go to Starbucks for a date!”

“So… we mustn’t lose. Hopefully your laning phase can be decent this time, Senpai!”

I know whatever comes to be

Together we’ll face the mystery

Here in my heart, deep in my soul

Somehow I know, I know

‘Cause love is my witness

I swear

I’ll be with you till the end

            They had indeed lost that game. So here they were, having a hot date in Starbucks. When it came to the hot drink called coffee, they were polar opposites. As a matter of fact, Sneaky loved coffee with vanilla and plenty of cream whereas Jensen preferred black, plain, coffee.

“How can you drink that piece of shit? It’s undrinkable as fuck!”, the blond-haired male whined.

Jensen did not answer; he only shrugged with a wide smile on his lips.

            Prior the Summer Split, Rush left NA in order to come back to his home country. One of his prior teammates from Team Impulse whose name was Impact, the 2013 Worlds champion, replaced Balls in the toplane. Due to this change, the jungler slot was once again empty: Meteos went back in the team, even if he was rather reluctant with the idea.

Jack had even managed to convince Edward Gaming’s coach, Reapered, to train the team during their mid-season Korean bootcamp. The latter enjoyed the team so much that he ended up dropping his contract with EDG and decided to coach the North American team instead. BunnyFuFuu and Smoothie were both supports, exchanging whenever it was needed. Another gauntlet, another trip to Worlds. This time, they had managed to qualify for quarterfinals but lost against Samsung Galaxy from South Korea in a swift 0-3 trend.

Nothing in tear this love apart

I’ll put my hand upon my heart

This is the promise I’ll make to you

(This is the promise I’ll make to you)

Whatever comes we’ll see it through

Nothing can break it

This feeling’s too strong

‘Cause love is my witness

            A new season happened. Ray, from APEX Gaming, became Impact’s substitute and, a seventeen-year-old player, Contractz, was playing in the jungle. Thus, Meteos was out of the main roster, again, as well as Bunny.

            Cloud9 went through ordeals this year: starting with Jensen’s mispositioning during a crucial teamfight in the last game of Spring Split Finals, being one of the main reasons they lost, followed by a tough 0-2 weekend during the first week of Summer, Ray being hit with depression shortly after Rift Rivals and, last but not least, their elimination from playoffs in quarters against Team Dignitas after six straight wins. Yet, Japanese people often say, “fall seven times and stand up eight”. They had three weeks to prepare for the Gauntlet and, maybe, have a shot at attending Worlds. This year, however, they were the final boss. One series and they were in. Or out. After a 3-1 win over Counter Logic Gaming, they played some Korean SoloQueue before actually going to China. Sneaky and Jensen had even found Rush at some point.

            Thanks to SKT, they were once again in quarterfinals, nicknamed as NA’s latest hope before getting out of groups. In spite of their bitterness for losing 2-3 against Team WE, they were glad of making it that far. Once back in NA, Sneaky waited a couple of days before resuming his stream: only Contractz and him were left in the gaming house. But it was only a matter of time before they both left in their respective families as well.

Nothing can break it

This feeling’s too strong

‘Cause love is my witness

            It was during the middle of the month of December when the players were back in Santa Monica: they had to release a video about their 2018 roster a couple of days later. Sneaky was playing Super Mario Odyssey on his computer when someone knocked onto the wall. Much too focused on his screen, he did not hear the door opening, mostly due to his lack of answer.

“Okay, I’m back from a fifteen-hour-long flight so I could see my Snacky and all I see is that he’s more interested in video games than his aesthetic best friend. BibleThump”, the voice said in a sad tone.

“Yensen?” the marksman asked, raising his eyebrows and turning his back from the computer.

“Yeah, it’s me, dumbass. I got some candies from Copenhagen, by ze way!”

“Candies?” Zach frenziedly repeated. “Count me in! That’s so SneakyGasm by ze way.”

            The AD Carry took his headset off and hugged deeply his friend. Jensen was wearing his Veigar hat, one of his birthday presents from last year: he was still as skinny as Fiddlesticks and his light blue eyes were glimmering.

“Wow, who would’ve thought I had such an effect on you?”, the Slavic male teased.

“About that… I – I think there’s something we need to talk about”, the latter answered in a serious tone. “Like I – I am fucking in love with you. It – it’s not even some ‘no homo’ stuff or whatever. I’m dead serious, Nicolaj. Say something, please, even if it’s not mutual: your silence is killing me.”

“I – jeg elsker dig, Zach. I want you. I love you and your lesbian hair”, the midlaner ended up replying.

“Wow. Never thought it would take us so much time. Anyway, wanna take a welcome back pic? And with a caption like ‘my Danish lover is finally back from home’ or something like that?”, Zach asked, brushing his hand through his hair, his face slightly blushing.

“Sounds FeelsGoodMan to me. Damn, I missed you so badly,” his boyfriend agreed. “You should travel to Copenhagen with me someday.”

[meiizumi]

Castle of Shikigami: An informal rant nobody asked for about my most obscure obsession to date

STOP i spent like 2 days writing this post and im only posting it on tumblr because it’s the one website i’m a member of that can hold the most text. i wanted to infodump somewhere...... read this to learn something i guess (´･ω･`)

Bad voice acting is the Peak of comedy to me, and while I was looking for something to laugh at one day, I found this game called Castle Shikigami 2 for the PS2. The US version of the game's dialogue is rife with machine translated text that makes no sense, and awkward voice acting to boot. They even have voice actors saying the wrong lines, voice actors speaking implied commands, and a few voice lines are left in Japanese. Apparently, Roger Craig Smith (Sonic the Hedgehog's current voice actor) was in this game but I don't think he's even credited?! I think I know which character he voiced but I’m not exactly sure.

The history behind this game’s localization is REALLY weird. Castle of Shikigami/Shikigami no Shiro was originally an arcade bullet hell shoot em up game. The series was created by Alfa System and it was one of Alfa System’s main IPs. There are three main shmup installments and a text adventure game for the PS2, Nanayozuki Gensoukyoku. Nanayozuki was practically fanservice for whatever number of CoS fans there were back then. Each main game in the series was originally an arcade cabinet, but they were all ported to PC and home consoles. In CoS 2′s case, it came out on the PS2, Gamecube, and Dreamcast, but only the PS2 version got localized. The western publisher, XS Games specializes in publishing quality budget titles such as “Bass Pro Shops: The Strike” for the Wii. I theorize they didn’t care too much about the actual content of CoS 2 and were more focused on selling a game quickly for a low price, so they just machine translated it and adjusted a few things. If you’re wondering if Castle of Shikigami 1 was also translated this badly, the answer is No. XS Games instead removed all the dialogue from the western release of CoS 1, and released it with the title “Mobile Light Force 2″.

“Wait, what do you mean ‘Mobile Light Force TWO’ if Castle of Shikigami 1 is the first game in the series?” If you want to know what Mobile Light Force 1 was, it’s GUNBIRD; another shmup game, but by a completely different developer than Castle of Shikigami. I don’t know why they did that. What really kills me though is that both MLF 1 and 2 use the same boxart, which is COMPLETELY unrelated to the actual contents of either game. AFJQHJFOKLJFDS look at this

There’s more hilarity behind Mobile Light Force that isn’t hard to find so you can search that up if you’re interested. But thankfully, Castle of Shikigami 3's Wii edition got more of a proper localization by Aksys Games.

Now I would bluntly say something like “stan castle of shikigami” but:

1. This series’ lore is insanely convoluted. It’s an essential part of this expansive fictional universe referred to as “Mumei Sekaikan” (I don’t know what this translates to in English) where there’s like, 7 different parallel worlds. There’s more obscure ass games and manga that are tied to this universe, and I think there’s even a tabletop RPG made based off it. Have you heard of “Gunparade March”? Most likely you haven’t; it’s an obscure video game made by Alfa System that also got adapted into an anime, and I feel it can be described as Mechas x Persona. One of the characters in CoS 2 is just one of the GPM characters going undercover to find her senpai who traveled to the CoS world. Or something like that. The 7-world universe isn’t explicitly talked about in the game but they make so many references to it without defining anything that it’s like you Must know about it. There is NO documentation in English about the Mumei Sekaikan I could find on the internet, although there is a wiki in Japanese where I got a ton of knowledge from (GOOGLE TRANSLATE IS MY TRUSTED FRIEND) I feel like I might be THE person in the United States who has the most knowledge on the Mumei Sekaikan, and I could go on another tangent talking about what I know so far (and who this one specific dude Shibamura Yuuri is) but I won’t.

2. The writing isn’t excellent and can be pretty Unwoke ™; the first game came out in 2001 and the third game came out in 2005 if that gives you a sense on what era these writers were in. As far as the games dialogue goes, the characters appear kind of flat. CoS 1 and 2 Kotaro (i refuse to use the official “Kohtaro”) is stupid and driven by JUSTICE to a point where it’s annoying. I can’t tell if Hyuga is trying to be a Ladies Man in CoS 2 and 3. Kim, a religious tae kwon do instructor, spends CoS 2 thinking about how he should atone for his sins, then he turns himself into jail at the end. Sayo’s backstory is that she was a shrine maiden raised as a “human weapon” to have no emotions and her only goal in life was to kill god and then die, something like that. However, after CoS 1, she gets a crush on Kotaro because he actually treats her like a human and Of course that’s what you’d expect from the main teen girl and boy in the series. In CoS 3, Sayo's character is mostly played out to be a major tsundere for Kotaro even though surprisingly HIS character in this game changed a ton compared to 1 and 2 (he had to kill an illusion of his older brother, who he learned actually died earlier, and now he has to kill an illusion of his childhood sweetheart... damb that shit sucks :/). He’s still stupid though

There’s a gag in CoS 2 that I can’t clearly remember where it’s like, Niigi makes Sayo and Fumiko, who are both romantically interested in Kotaro, think that he’s only into little girls? Meanwhile, Fumiko’s magic goes wrong and her appearance turns to that of a child though in response she’s like “hee hee maybe Kotaro will like this”. basically more On-Brand early 2000′s anime unwokeness than average. Speaking of Fumiko, she’s a 400+ year old militaristic witch who constantly teases Kotaro (who’s like 16 or 17) and she wants to marry him for his magical potential since he’s like one of the candidates for becoming God??? From the official CoS 3 character descriptions, “Her hobby is to steal the men from other women. Her second hobby is trampling upon people.” She canonically stole her stepmother’s husband from her stepmother (the 3rd boss of CoS 3). I don’t get how that shit would have worked

3. The game itself is HARD af but to be fair I’m a scrub gamer. I can’t get past stage 3 on easy difficulty without continuing. Yes i bought CoS 1 on Steam, Yes it has a port on steam i feel like i should have mentioned this earlier

4. Besides CoS 1 having a port on Steam, CoS 2 and 3 might be hard to obtain legally. The poorly translated CoS 2 was apparently super cheap back then, but since it’s an old game, its value might’ve increased. When I tried looking up prices for English CoS 3, all the listings were like at least $40 and being broke I wouldn’t want to spend more than $29 for a Wii game in 2019... honestly I just emulated CoS 2. shout out to PCSX2

Last month I was desperate, bored enough, and deep enough in the Shikigami rabbit hole that I tried to find the manga based off of it online. The CoS manga only tells the events of the first two games so I still don’t really get anything about CoS 3, like who Mihee, Batu, and Emilio are supposed to be. However, the plot events also differ. For example, Roger Sasuke exists as a character in CoS 3 but in the manga he literally Dies. There’s 11 total volumes of this; 3 volumes dedicated to CoS 1 and the latter 8 (the “Twisted Castle arc”) dedicated to CoS 2. Only the very first 3 chapters were scanlated to English all the way in 2011. Fortunately, I did find the entire manga uploaded though............... in CHINESE. So you know what I did? I “read” the entire thing using my phone’s Google Translate OCR app to take pictures of each page and comprehend the translations. Of course I still don’t understand CRAP because of the Mumei Sekaikan jargon + machine translation but I understood enough to get emotionally attached to some of the characters. I wish I hadn’t. At least through the manga I learned that the characters DO have some depth and pre-established relationships. For instance, the reason why Roger Sasuke became a ninja is because when he first landed in Japan as a kid, he was getting bullied or something and he didn’t know Japanese then Kotaro saw this and told the bullies to stop. Then after Roy /sorry i mean Roger learned that he was set to home-stay with the Kugas in the first place, he decided to dedicate his life to Japan in order to protect Kotaro back. I think. DO U SEE HOW ABSURD THIS SHIT IS Anyway Nanayozuki takes place between the second and third games and sets things up for CoS 3. There’s a full playthrough of it uploaded to YouTube and I think it contains a lot of juicy lore, but it’s just too much to go over with Shitty Google Translate OCR. There’s also Shikigami no Shiro novels which apparently contain the most backstory, but I have a 0% chance of finding these online for free. Not to mention that these would ALSO be too much effort to Google Translate.

in conclusion: You don’t HAVE to play Castle of Shikigami. Like, I’m not gonna recommend it for the content, but if you love shmups and are looking for a shmup game you haven’t heard of then I will recommend it for the gameplay (old touhou mutuals assemble theres a POWER-UP-BY-GRAZE MECHANIC). I’ve counted like 4 total fans outside of Japan that like this series for the story, and I don’t think that number is going to increase because I doubt CoS 2 will ever get retranslated and ported. I just want you to know that this series exists and that there’s a ton of wacky shit behind it besides the bad Castle Shikigami 2 dub. also if someone knows enough japanese or chinese and has an INKLING of interest in this series umm talk to me and help me decipher stuff

I‘m kinda sad that the series is pretty much Dead though. This is the most recent piece of official Castle of Shikigami art I could find, and this was for the 2018 New Year. The next most recent piece of official CoS art I found was also drawn by the character designer Sonoda Miku all the way in January 2008, commemorating the end of the CoS manga serialization. Alfa System released a spiritual sequel to Castle of Shikigami on the Japanese Switch eShop called Sisters Royale, with character designs I think are still by Sonoda. By “spiritual sequel” I mean that it has some of the EXACT same shot types as CoS and the same mechanic where grazing bullets increases your power and score. This is the closest we’ll get to a Shikigami no Shiro 4. I wonder what the business decision behind that game was but it actually looks like fun and I want to play it so OK Go off i guess

[gamestudio]

Kenny Nunez Reading Response 3

        Reading Warren Spencer's perspective coincides with similar feelings I have. The enjoyment and popularity of "Do What You Want" games is something I like despite never taking full advantage of such features, I rarely attack random people in "Grand Theft Auto" or do any of the added mini games such as golf and racing, but giving the option to do so is something that must be commended. While ive never had a game tug at my heart strings ( perhaps im a heartless bastard ) I hear stories and through the power of "YouTube", can see other people take an emotional reaction to games from "Telltale's Walking Dead" to "Uncharted 3: Drakes Deception" and see how an emotional impact/bond can be had when the character or story is crafted well. Although people say an emotional impact is something amazing, its quite a vague statement, I mean, how many times can we recount getting completely enraged by something, rage is an emotion last time I checked, loopholes.

        Dr Ray Muzkya's foundation of "make it as best as possible" is something alot of people should listen to more. Nowadays we can probably name plenty of games or companies that either released games unfinished and planned to patch it later ( Final Fantasy 15, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5, The WarZ which was re-branded to Infestation Survival Stories ), focused on graphics rather than gameplay ( inFamous Second Son, Assassins Creed Unity ), or just lost sight of what there franchise was suppose to be ( Resident Evil 6, Dead Rising 4, Saints Row 4 ). Other factors beyond the control of the developers making the best that they can is localization, many games are altered when brought over to other territories, essentially censoring the game from what it originally was and its different per territory such as: America usually sees censorship of sexual content in Japanese games usually citing "it wouldnt fit the rating" or "well its too weird/sexual/perverted", it was in there to begin with so why remove it, examples being ( Fire Emblem Fates, Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE, Bravely Second, Star Ocean 5 ), although sometimes it can be weird cases, such as "Dragon Ball Fusions" censoring swords with sticks or "Tales of Berseria" censoring a scene with violence towards a child, only to leave the character's journal depicting the uncensored scene. Japan sees censorship in games when it comes to violence or flat out nudity, examples being ( Resident Evil 7,Nioh, Grand Theft Auto 5, The Witcher 3 ). Any number of factors could get in your way of making something to the fullest you want.

        Dan Daglow's idea of "remember to do what you love and not focus on fame and glory" is something people still have an issue understanding. To put it bluntly, no one can just get fame for doing nothing or by half assing it unless receiving infamy and scorn is ok with you. Quick example being an indie studio by the name of "Digital Homicide" who tried every dirty tactic in the book to make a quick buck and defended their creations as if they were the next biggest innovator. It also speaks to how people feel they can come into a large medium such as video games and think they can speak whatever lies or venomous drivel to people and think they deserve fame for it as if they are doing what no one ever tried, trying to sell you metaphorical snake oil and persuade others they are the ones being harmed if someone comes to disprove them, case and point, Anita Sarkeesian. An example of a dev team going through great lengths for their creation is SEGA for the "Yakuza" franchises, having a dev team that wanted to go out of their way to make a game that took many efforts to persuade the higher ups of SEGA such as: its gonna be an adult game ( SEGA focuses on children ), its gonna be about the crime underworld ( SEGA wants a wide appeal ), its heavy in its Japanese influences ( SEGA wants a world wide market ), they needed to constantly ask for more money do to development struggles ( They were quoted saying the higher ups were legitimately furious and were never madder since ).

        Alan R Moon discussing how people should expose themselves to as many games as possible to see many influences/perspectives is very good advice. I generally focused on established games/companies or what friends recommended and highlighted by the media, it wasnt until high school where i went into " just play anything that looks good, review scores be damnded " mode, and found alot of franchises that pulled me and were way more fun and entertaining than what the general media consensus would describe. The "Hyperdimension Neptunia" franchises was berated for being a boring, cutesy, sexual, obscure JRPG franchise that was meant to parody the video game industry, when I played it I found it to be fun ( it can get repetitive though, very well written humorous parody of the video game industry, even getting little details down such as having character's reflect appearances and at times attitudes of the real life equivalence they were meant to represent while also joking about them. Some quick examples being, a character representing the SEGA Genesis/Megadrive being an absolute bitch towards the Nintendo character to represent how hard SEGA went into bashing Nintendo in the 90s, or villains representing different aspects of gaming such as: cheating/cheaters, piracy, corrupt journalist who do mean well, greedy business suits, dead/forgotten consoles, etc. Another franchise I found that the media would boil you alive for playing is the "Senran Kagura" franchises, a franchise built upon a single quote by the director "what would boobs jiggling in 3D look like?" and that led to the first game on 3DS, being an action brawler series that loves to focus on sex appeal but is still fun to play ( wouldn't consider it the best but better than most ), and with surprisingly good writing. To sum it up, exposing yourself to many franchises is always great, even the worst of games can teach you "ok, DONT do that", and some games could even be hidden gems that receives undeserved hate based on first appearances.

        Bill Roper's advice is the usual "you need to practice in order to get good" but, the added part of messing with the game's rules makes that advice more interesting. Many games nowadays either support the idea of people modifying their games or having a level builder in the game itself, such as "inFamous 2" and "inFamous Festival of Blood", the latter being the mission editor I dabbled in and had fun with making simple levels and spending hours making more "complex" ( complex in making it, not so much in how they play out ) even having a creepy fanboy/fangirl who refused to leave me alone on Playstation Network. On the side of messing with rule sets, theres more famous examples such as "Nuzlocke" for the Pokemon franchises or never speed running games, one that lies in more infamy would be " Level 1 Critical" for "Kingdom Hearts 2 Final Mix", "Birth By Sleep Final Mix", and "Dream Drop Distance", a built in feature allowing you to never gain experience throughout the game and is exclusive to the hardest difficulty setting provides a pretty insane challenge that also highlights how good the gameplay is otherwise it would be impossible ( dont ever do this, its not worth it ). Messing around with how a game is meant to be played can not only make things more fun but also show you a different side to the game and revealing features/exploits you might not have ever known about or just provide a new challenge to how you would normally do things letting you see everything inside and out.