#for lack of anything better to do. you get the gist tho

[flow2024]

An early review I’m assuming has now been deleted since I can’t find it anywhere mentioned that there could’ve been a better use of Nile and Quynh, the spectre of the big bad immortal undermined the premise of the immortality itself and the main relationships of the first movie. Which doesn’t sound promising. But it also said there were some strong threads of connection so idk. Holding out hope whilst expecting the worst I guess?

i typed out most of this and then tumblr ate it so i'm typing it again and may skim over some stuff BUT: in essence: while i was watching tog earlier what jumped out to me was the fact that despite being a netflix action movie, with all that entails, and kind of generic in places (said with all the love in my heart) tog does have a very strong thematic undercurrent. both in the conclusion the film comes to, which is we're not meant to be alone, and in the way it treats killing with a certain weight that this kind of movie doesn't always do. immortality is an integral part but also not really, in that i think rucka at one point made a comment about it originally being kind of an experiment in being able to kill off characters in various looney toons ways and still have them survive but became a story more widely about life and death and the way death gives life meaning. etc etc. which is clear in the first film, i think, especially with andy's loss of immortality and nile having a bigger role. it definitely fumbles sometimes but overall it's strong and, fundamentally, it Has A Point.

tog 2, however. first off when it comes to nile and quynh: noriko's arc in the comics is difficult to apply to tog 2, namely because it is in active conflict with andy's rediscovery of her purpose which has already happened, and because quynh is too complicated of a character to tie up easily in 100 mins. she's not a villain you can drop 17 storeys and call it a day. her anger is fully understandable. akasha is an easy big bad to have because she will be disposable at the end of the day and therefore leave a neater conclusion. plus andy has already had her purpose arc so introducing akasha means introducing new information (it seems?) which will shift things and allow for the we help humans vs humans suck conflict. etc

i wouldn't be super surprised if they just didn't know what to do with nile. she's a foil to andy in the first movie and helps that arc by setting up a mentor + mentee, ex immortal + new immortal, old + young kind of thing but that arc again is over. so like. beyond her settling into immortality and becoming more integral to the group i don't know how much she's going to get to do, especially in competition with a lot more information and characters in 100 minutes. which sucks because I Want To See My Girl and i think elements of her plot line from force multiplied, i.e. the other side of depends on the century, learning that they have made bad choices and needing to reconcile that with herself could be interesting. i haven't seen any of the clips by the way and if that's where they seem to be going don't tell me i want to go in blind! but yeah. i hope she's there more but if not ill be very annoyed. the being half cropped out of the thumbnail ain't boding well

generally i fear tog 2 is going to suffer from a bad case of missing the point. its general plot seems to revolve around Immortality Information We Don't Know Yet, but again, the immortality isn't and has never been the point. it's a storytelling device. it's used to explore purpose, whether what we do matters, etc. it's Not The Point Of The Story. but from the trailer alone (which may well be misleading, they often are) i fear it's not going to have that same strength in its themes that made the first film stand out and instead become a generic superhero action thing. as a recorded skeptic. i'll be having fun regardless and my expectations are on the ground so if it is good i'll be pleasantly surprised but i also haven't actually processed that the movie is going to be real and on my screen so who knows maybe it'll be awesome. at the end of the day, it will feature The Character on my screen which is really all that matters

[dialovers-translations]

Diabolik Lovers DARK FATE ー Azusa Ecstasy [Prologue]

Monologue

ーー Just what on earth,

have I been doing?

For what reason exactly...

did I seek power?

Azusa: ...I wanted power. So I could...protect her.

...!

( In the end, rather than keeping her safe, it was none other than myself who brought danger upon her... )

( Even though I should have known that she was their target all along... )

Once again...I couldn’t protect her.

( Even though I sacrificed Ruki-kun and the others, as well as vowed to myself that I would keep her safe... )

...Kuh...

What...should I do...?

*Rustle rustle*

Azusa: ...Eh?

ー Ruki shows up next to him

Azusa: ...How...?

( Is this a dream? How is Ruki...? )

Ruki: ...Ugh!

*THUD*

Azusa: ーー !?

*Thud*

Azusa: ...Ugh...Uu...

Ruki: Did that wake you up? 

Azusa: Eh...?

Kou: Ahaha~! You flew right across the room!

Yuma: Hehe. My thoughts exactly!

Come, gimme yer hand. It’s not easy to get up by yerself, is it?

Azusa: Eh? ...Kou, Yuma...? How...?

*Rustle*

Yuma: There...ya go. God, ya really shoulda tried a lil’ harder, mate. 

‘Cause ya tried to hold back, all us were left with these clumsily inflicted wounds which hurt like a bitch...

Kou: Exactly! I guess I won’t be able to show any skin for work for a while.

Yuma: Ya have to do that sorta thing, huh? Actually, aren’t a few scars here and there better to pull off the whole ‘bad boy’ aesthetic? 

Kou: I’m not sold as that kind of character.

Azusa: Eh? ...Eh? 

Ruki: ...My Familiars filled me in on the gist of the story.

Azusa: Ah...

Ruki: Allow me to say this, Azusa. ーー Man up!

Azusa: ...

Ruki: Were you always this much of a coward? You think you’re powerless? Weak? Of course you are!

If you start to compare yourself to others, you will always find something you are lacking. That goes for both Vampires as well as humans. We’re all the same.

That’s exactly why we group together. Because we’re weak by ourselves, we come together and combine our forces. 

That’s how we’ve survived up till this point, remember? Or have you forgotten about that!? 

Azusa: B...But, right now I can’t do anything. Not only am I powerless, but I only have this one arm left...

Kou: You can’t do anything, you say?

Hmー Is that really so? I don’t agree. 

Yuma: I mean, yer physical strength might not be anythin’ to write home ‘bout.

But you’re our moodsetter, Azusa. You’re surprisingly optimistic after all.

It wouldn’t be the first time one of your unprompted statements ends up saving us. I guess ya never realized tho.

Kou: Besides, if you’re gonna insist that you’re powerless, then I could say the same about myself. 

I hold the record for most times being scolded by Ruki-kun after all. Fufufu~

Azusa: That’s not true...!

Kou: Yeah. That’s what you’d try and convince me of, right? Same goes for me. 

I don’t believe you’re powerless at all. 

So I’d really appreciate it if my precious brother would stop talking down on himself like that, okay~?

Azusa: ...

( Even though both Kou and Yuma have been properly watching and approving of me. )

( Yet, I failed to notice that and in return envied them, feeling inferior in comparison...I’m embarrassed in myself. How pathetic... )

( ...They’d be better off without me after all... )

Ruki: Azusa. Will you not only lose the physical fight, but the mental one as well? 

Azusa: ...!? 

Ruki: Do you want to be a loser in every sense of the word? 

Yuma: While I won’t say that you’re hella strong...

I’ve always been impressed by how strong yer spirit is. Don’t go throwin’ that out of the window now.

Kou: Exactlyー! It’d be a shame, Azusa-kun!

Azusa: ( ...There was something after all. ...Even if it’s just one example...There are those who acknowledge me as ‘strong’. )

( That is something I can be proud of. I can save someone... )

( I can be useful. )

( ...I’m allowed to be here. )

...You guys...

I’m sorry...I’m so sorry. Truly...

Ruki: Good grief...Don’t cry. 

Azusa: ...I-I can’t...

Ruki: ...Haah. Don’t say that. 

Honestly...Thank god we are Vampires. 

Yuma: Ya took the words straight outta my mouth!

Next time ya decide to stab us, don’t be holdin’ back but actually chop off our heads, ‘kay? Hehe. 

Azusa: I won’t...Never again, I promise.

Kou: Ahー Come on. Your whole face is a mess. 

Azusa: I finally understood...I get it now. I’ve realized at last, that I nearly lost to myself.

I’m sorry, I really am. ...Thank you, everyone. 

Ruki: I’m just glad you understand now. 

More importantly, there is something else you must do first now, isn’t there?

Azusa: ...Yes, you’re right. I do. I have to go save Eve...

( It’s my fault she was taken away. I can’t get the others involved in this... )

You guys should return to the Demon World. I’ll go rescue Eve.

Kou: Heh?

Yuma: Haah!?

Ruki: Oi, Azusa. Wait.

Azusa: Eh...?

Ruki: Don’t tell me you’re planning on going there by yourself? 

Azusa: ...Of course. This is my responsibility after all...

Yuma: Geez, I don’t know whether you’re bein’ cold or really just that ignorant...

Kou: Gosh, you sure love being difficult, don’t you? 

Ruki: Did you even listen to anything I said? 

...Have you already forgotten what I said earlier? For what reason do we come together? 

Azusa: ...

Yuma: It’s settled, we’re gonna give ‘em a good ‘ol beatin’!

Kou: Yeah!

Ruki: Hold it, you two!

If we thoughtlessly storm their place, we will be at a stark disadvantage. We need to come up with a plan first. 

Kou: Ruki-kun, you’re so cool!

Azusa: ...Thank you, everyone. Please lend me your strength...

ー The scene shifts to Carla’s room

Yui: Stop...Please!!

( I don’t want this...! I don’t want him to suck my blood...! )

Let me go, please...! I’m begging you...!!

*Rustle rustle*

Carla: Hmph. You are only wasting your energy. 

*SMACK*

Yui: Ah!!

Carla: Explain yourself. You obediently let me suck your blood the other day, did you not? 

Yui: ...I only did that to save Azusa-kun. But...The circumstances are different now.

I have no reason to let you suck my blood...!

( This man is terrifying. He’s powerful, and scary. But...Still, in this regard, I won’t bend no matter what...! )

Carla: Hah...Are you waiting for Mukami Azusa? He won’t come. 

If he wished to oppose me, he would have long done so already.

I do not know what kind of image you have of him in your head, but he is not the kind of man you believe him to be.

He is nothing but a coward. 

Yui: ...That’s not true. I have faith in him.

Azusa-kun did not kill me back then. So...!

Carla: Hah. Ridiculous. 

ー He begins to strangle her

Yui: Uu, guh...!

( Azusa-kun...! )

*THUD*

*THUD THUD*

Carla: ...What is happening? 

Yui: ( It made a loud sound as well but I swear I could feel a tremor just now...? What on earth...? )

*Thud*

Azusa: Let her go!!

Yui: Azusa-kun!? 

Carla: ...Excuse me? 

Azusa: I will no longer listen to you. Let her go!

Yui: ( Azusa-kun came for me...! He’s here to save me! )

( Azusa-kun...! )

Carla: ...What is Shin doing!?

???: Is it perhaps this gentleman you’re looking for~? 

*Thud* 

Shin: ...Uu...

Yui: ( Eh...!? )

Kou: Ah~ That was heavy. ...Owowow. 

Yui: Kou-kun!?

Yuma: We’re left battered and bruised from usin’ our full strength ‘gainst this one guy. Ahー It fuckin’ hurts!

Yui: Yuma-kun too...!

Carla: ...You’re useless. I suppose I have no other choice but to be your opponent myself. 

Three measly Vampires are no match for me.

Ruki: Sorry to break it to you, but make that four. Furthermore, we are not underestimating your strength. 

However, we simply cannot turn back either...!

Carla: ...Hmph. You bunch of weaklings. 

*WOOSH*

Azusa: Guh...!

*Thud*

Yui: ...!? Azusa-kun, you guys...!

Yuma: Kuh...! Fuck, this guy’s the real deal, seriously!

Kou: That hurt...Well, he’s the King of Founders after all!

Carla: ...Just as I thought, even with four of you, you aren’t putting up much of a fight.

Ruki: We knew we would have to be on the defensive from the very start...!

*WOOSH*

Yuma: F...Fuuuuck!

*Woosh*

Kou: Haaaah!!

*Woosh*

Ruki: ーー Now’s your chance! Go, Azusa!!

*BOOM*

Carla: What...!? 

Azusa: I know! Let’s go, Eve!

Yui: ...Y-Yeah!!

*SHATTER*

*TIMESKIP*

ー The scene shifts to the Church

*Creaaak*

Yui: ...I didn’t think we’d end up coming here again...

Azusa: Those Founders would find us if we went straight back to our manor, so we decided to meet up here instead. 

It’ll allow us to buy some time. Once we’ve successfully split up our pursuers, we’ll quietly turn back and return to the Demon World. 

I hope it’ll go well...

Yui: Yeah, I agree. ...But I’m glad. 

Azusa: Eh? 

Yui: I’m glad that everyone is alive and well...They actually came for us...

Azusa: ...Listen. Yui-san...I’m sorry. 

Ruki scolded me for the coward I had become. ...He was right.

He told me that I hadn’t just lost in terms of physical strength, but lost the mental battle as well. 

Yui: Azusa-kun...

Azusa: I was so focused on only my weaknesses, I completely forgot that resilience has always been my biggest strength. 

I finally remembered after they reminded me.

So...I won’t give up on you in the future either. However, I won’t do such foolish things ever again. 

...I truly am sorry. I already apologized to Ruki and the others, but you’re the one I wanted to say sorry to the most. 

I’m so sorry...for all the pain and sadness I brought you. 

Yui: ...You actually cared deeply about them, which is why you didn’t fatally wound them, right? 

Azusa: Yeah...Yuma said that next time, I better make sure to actually chop off their head. ...Not that I’d ever be able to bring myself to do such a thing. 

Yui: ...I have to say sorry too. I acted as if I knew everything about you. 

Even though that obviously wasn’t the case. 

Azusa: But...That’s because I was being a stubborn grump and wouldn’t open up to you, so.

Yui: Azusa-kun...

Azusa: ...Say? Can we make up?

Yui: Of course. I love you after all.

 ー Azusa steps closer

Azusa: Thank you...Eve. 

On certain CGs, little black roses will appear on the screen. If you click on them, you get an extra line of dialogue.

“...Fufu. Kissing you makes me so happy. I will never make you sad again, I promise...Mmh...”

“Eve...Don’t cry...I want to see your smile...I love it when you smile after all...”

Yui: Nn...

Azusa: Phew...Haah...I guess this kiss symbolizes our reconciliation? 

Yui: Yeah...You’re right.

Azusa: Eve...? Why are you crying...?

Yui: Because I’m happy. These are tears of joy...

( I’m so glad...I feel as if everything is finally falling back into place. )

( I know things are long from over yet, but I’m so happy just knowing that the old Azusa-kun is back... )

Azusa: ...Don’t cry, Eve. Nn...

Yui: Nn...

( With every touch, I feel as if I’m slowly becoming whole... )

*Creaaak*

Kou: Oh dear~? Are we interrupting something?

Yui: ...!?

Azusa: Oh...

Yuma: Fuck, I’m achin’ all over...Ahn? The fuck? Can’t ya guys wait till we’re back in the Demon World to get it on? 

Ruki: Right now, the guard around our manor should be lowered. Let’s use this opportunity to make our way back to the Demon World. 

Kou: Yes, sir!

Yuma: Azusa, Sow, let’s go.

Azusa: Yes. ...Let’s go, Eve. 

Yui: Right, Azusa-kun. ...Let’s go back.

( Right nowーー That castle is our home after all. )

ーー TO BE CONTINUED ーー

→  LIKE MY TRANSLATIONS? SUPPORT ME ON KO-FI!

<- [ Maniac Epilogue ] [ Ecstasy 01 ] ->

[lepusrufus]

So I'm not really sure if this has been asked yet but how does the actual plot of RE8 fit into your AU? Is it something you have plans for, like Miranda never kidnaps Rose, sommit like that or nah? Either way I still bloody love all your stuff!

That's a great question and it actually got me thinking on this.

For starters, the events in Double edged scalpel take place quite a bit before the events of the game, around 2010 or so, even earlier. Dani and Anita's "story" happen in a similar timeframe while Laura comes along a couple years later. (I'm not sure if I'll be writing full on fics for them but I will write oneshots and such to expand on their characters/relationships)

Now for the actual game events, the tldr is Miranda isn't an idiot playing stupid games.

In my AU, she has no intention of messing around. She kidnaps Mia, gets in the house (as Mia), waits for a moment when Ethan is distracted and takes Rose. Before anyone manages to catch on or anything. She then takes Rose with her and just keeps her under her careful watch until the time for the ceremony comes. No splitting her up, none of that redundant stuff.

Ethan manages to find his way into the village, but again Miranda is not being a fool and wants him captured and in a damn cell asap to be experimented on later. No Heisenberg's lil death obstacle course, none of that. Ethan just goes to the castle and does some damage thinking Rose is there. The gals, knowing when to pick their battles just tell him that he's wasting his goddamn time and to leave their home so they have time to regroup (nobody dies tho).

Then he makes his way to the Beneviento house and, since Donna deserves to go full fucked up villain, she captures him. She has the power to psychologically destroy someone and that's exactly what she does, rendering him pretty much brain dead, his mouldy body to be studied later.

Also should add in the fact that the cult has a less... "Miranda is purely using us and will get us killed with the first occasion" dynamic. She does want them around and alive. She basically wants to create her own mini empire (for lack of a better word) for her to rule over and the Lords are all part of that. And therefore, Heisenberg for example, is a lot less inclined to betray and kill her. Also also Miranda doesn't just.. straight up has everyone killed. Dunno I feel like it's at least a bit counterproductive killing all your worshippers instead of collecting people from the outside to work as biomass.

Now with Ethan out of the way, back to Miranda, Rose and Mia. Miranda doesn't actually want to use Rose herself as a vessel, but use a tissue sample to make a copy that then can serve as a vessel. It's not out of the goodness of her heart mind you, it's more of a guarantee the if anything goes wrong with the process, the "original" is still there to get more samples from. Mia doesn't want that but she doesn't exactly have a say in this. It does work though and Miranda gets her Eva back yay for her ig. Mia also gets Rose back and Miranda, in an odd act of kindness, promises that if they ever need anything, Mia knows where to find her.

Now, where things get a lil' weird. Should preface this by saying that I'm basing this detail of the AU on my favorite book, Annihilation (from the Southern Reach trilogy). The gist of it is: aliens create an anomalous area enclosed in something akin to a force field where everything alive gets modified on a biological level by the alien organism and it interferes with any technology within.

Now obviously, no aliens here. But we have the Megamycete at the center of it all and Miranda controlling the whole area in which the village (more akin to a small town in my AU) and its surroundings are enclosed. This is how she controls exactly what comes in from outside and what works inside.

And therefore, Chris can't do jack shit. He can't even enter the area let alone blow anything up. Ok moving on.

As stated before, Miranda's offer to Mia still stands, even as she gives her a bitter "fuck you" as she leaves the village with Rose in her arms. However it takes her little to realize that no matter where they go, Rose is basically gonna become a lab rat under supervision 24/7 so she swallows her pride and comes back to Miranda, asking her to let them stay in the village where nobody from te outside can touch them. She obliges, letting her choose any place she'd like to live in and that's how Mia and Rose settle there. (Also the town is a lot more functional here).

Aaand idk maybe Rose and Eva grow up to be friends or something idk I think that'd be cute. They have a whole ass cultish "family" too so that'd make for some interesting shenanigans.

Also, realizing you may want to know more about the maidens: they do partake in anything ceremony related as much as the sisters, complete with matching outfits. By this point in time they are also married and fully part of the Dimitrescu family. Also had gone through the mutation but no spoilers on that. Just going to say that Miranda comes to see them as at the very least good assets to keep around and therefore somewhat important members of the cult.

[strugglingclassicist]

Hi, first of all I'm sorry if I'm bothering you, believe me this was not my intention... I saw a post of yours talking about how you know how to speak Latin, and, as a fellow classicist (I'm at second year of university, studying ancient Greek and Latin literature) I found the concept extremely fascinating, and I'd love to ask you if you have any tips on how to reach that level, or if you'd like to share your experience of the process of learning this skill.. (again, sorry to bother you and I hope I haven't made too many mistakes, English is not my first language..)

this is not a bother at all, in fact it is a topic I really enjoy talking about so thank you for asking !!!!!

What I think is very important is that you don't have to "reach a level" where your latin skills are good enough for you to be able to or allowed to dabble with spoken latin, you can start the moment you begin learning latin!

My journey with spoken latin actually started by my being dissatisfied and frustrated with my classics program and the teaching (t)here. I actually considered myself someone good with languages, like I went on exchange a year to Germany while in school and even tho I wasn't the quickest to better my language while there, I think I was the one who didn't feel frustrated or disheartened by this way of learning the language. But then I went from this experience with acquiring a language abroad to studying latin language at uni and I found it so. damn. Hard! somehow nothing wanted to stick and I grew frustrated at the way they wanted me to acquire the language and convey my latin skills. the grammatical meta-language has largely felt meaninglessly detailed and a bit nonsensical to me (outside the broader rules) so I find it hard remember, but that means I'm not able to express all of what I understand of the latin in class and on exams (especially the latter feels a bit disheartening). I also disliked that from day one the focus on reading latin texts was that every single word and grammatical construct had to be translated perfectly, and that was the only way I was shown to engage with latin. No room for "Even though I'm not able to translate every word and detail I get the gist of the text, understand what is happening, and can even explain some key aspects of the text" and then working up to being able to understand more and more details, just translate everything perfectly and you get only annoyance/not any credits if you try to express your understanding in a different way.

I do very much understand the importance of being able to explain and analyze the grammar and text in detail, but to have this as the sole approach to the latin language has always felt a bit constructed, unnatural, and unintuitive to me - which is where spoken latin comes in!

I was so lucky to encounter a spoken latin circle when I had a semester abroad at uni, which I felt gave me so much of what I'd felt lacking in my classes. It was enough that I mostly understood in general the gist of what was happening, I was able to pick up on new words as I heard them used around me (often with the result that I remember them better as well), and I was able to start uttering small sentences in latin myself.

Whenever I use latin actively I get to feel the limits of my latin skills, and through my desire to express myself I am also motivated to push myself to expand the comfort zone of my language skills, and to learn more. And I really do mean that spoken latin is something you can do from the minute you start learning the language!

A good exercise I've done some of is to sit down somewhere and see how much of my surroundings I'm able to describe in latin, and it can be fairly uncomplicated stuff, like "aedificium video", "ego in horto sum", "video amicas meas adesse". If you can it is something which can be fun to do with classmates or friends who also know some latin, and it should be something which is possible to do even after having learned latin for only a short time, if anything I find it is something which can really supplement your learning and help your familiarity and flexibility with the language!

I was lucky who was introduced to a spoken latin circle, and if you can't find that at your uni or in your city, I highly recommend trying to round up some classmates or friends who know some latin, or even older/younger students at your classics program - go together and learn to actively use the language together, and you can also learn from each other. If you're on your own, or between meeting up with others to practice spoken latin, I can also recommend trying to write in latin as well, and it can be just as simple and concrete as the examples for spoken latin until you feel comfortable trying to express yourself with more complexity.

I guess in general my tip is to treat latin a bit like any other language, and until recently it was a language used similarly to English today for those of us who aren't native speakers. I have a forefather who learned and had to speak latin in school, went on to become a professor and held lectures and correspondences and wrote books in latin. I also correspond with people abroad in English as a common tongue, have had plenty of lectures in English, 99% of my academic reading lists are in English, and I have had to write essays for uni in English, and all at a uni in my own country. I have had laymen and fellow students and professors alike treat latin as this super special scary difficult and very dead language which separates the worthy intellectuals from the hoi polloi. But Latin is mostly just like any other language, and like with other languages you improve your general language comprehension also through practicing your active language skills like speaking and writing. And with practice we get slowly better and better. I am still very much at an unadvanced state, but my goal is to be able to express both concrete experiences and ideas in latin, just as I've been able to do with English and German.

I feel like since I started focusing on my active latin skills, I'm slowly getting a more integrated relationship with the language. It feels good, and I hope you will have a similar positive experience from looking more into spoken latin!

[eroticcannibal]

Ok I am going to demonstrate why “scary” diagnosis are not an indicator that someone MUST be abusive or toxic since y’all like to freak out after reading the first thing on google. (Mind you, even proffesionals aren’t immune to being ridiculous about these disorders.)

Covering ASPD for now, I’ll do NPD later, feel free to poke me to do others.

ASPD: (DSMV)

1. Disregard and violation for others rights since age 15 as demonstrated by one of these seven features:

a: Failure to obey laws and norms by engaging in behavior which results in criminal arrest, or would warrant criminal arrest (As a leftist queer, I would like to point out that anyone ticking this box has a damn good chance of not being a bad person. In fact failure to tick this box could indicate being a bad person! This criteria has literally been used against marginalised people and activists to pathologise their work and their suffering. And no, many proffesionals do not care to distinguish between meeting this criteria for good or bad reasons. Laws are not morals.)

b: Lying, deception, and manipulation, for profit or self-amusement (How “abusive” or “toxic” this is does depend on how far it goes, small children also engage in this behaviour and it’s.... honestly just funny most of the time. Context is important. Probably more likely to be a sign of shittiness than A, but also not required for diagnosis)

c: Impulsive behaviour (litterally not a sign of abuse or toxicity, ALSO contradicts point 1, impulsivity is.... impulsive. It’s hard to control and often does NOT match up with desires, so impulsive behaviour that causes harm to someone cannot be assumed to indicate that person has a disregard for others)

d: Irritability and aggression, manifested as frequently assaults others, or engages in fighting (this can be a sign of anything from a disregard of others to learning difficulties or a sign of abuse in the home or a sign of being frequently bullied, something others in the person’s life may miss and therefore chalk the behavior up to a disregard for others. Also not required for diagnosis.)

e: Blatantly disregards safety of self and others, (have y’all heard of autism? Also even if malicious, not required for diagnosis)

f: A pattern of irresponsibility (since age 15? SHOCKING. Sounds like a teenager. Also not required for diagnosis. also also not to go off on one here about the double standards between the mentally ill and the “””sane”””” but y’all can’t take responsibility for shit either, hence this post)

g: Lack of remorse for actions (remorse isn’t required to be a good person, what sounds better: someone who is so remorseful that they are paralyzed by their guilt, or someone who may not feel remorse, but can still realise that their actions were negative and can still choose to make ammends? Also judging this one in others is iffy, I was accused of not feeling remorse for something I was arrested for.... which was false, I just don’t display emotions clearly on my face. My child was accused of lacking remorse by their school when they were litterally TOO YOUNG TO PROPERLY PROCESS WHAT THEY HAD DONE WRONG which almost set them on a path to this very diagnosis! Further down the line we are both seeking an ADHD diagnosis, not ASPD.)

2: Person is over age 15

3: Conduct disorder was present before age 15 (are y’all gonna judge adults as abusive based on childhood actions? Cus then ur all abusive, kids can be shits.)

4: antisocial behaviour does not occur in the context of schizophrenia or bipolar.

ICD criteria:

Personality disorder, usually coming to attention because of a gross disparity between behaviour and the prevailing social norms (you get the gist by now, not necessarily a morally bad thing), and characterized by at least 3 of the following:

1. callous unconcern for the feelings of others; (probably a dick move, not required for diagnosis)

2. gross and persistent attitude of irresponsibility and disregard for social norms, rules and obligations; (social norms often BAD tho so......)

3. incapacity to maintain enduring relationships, though having no difficulty in establishing them; (nothing about the cause for this, certainly not a guarantee of toxic or abusive behaviour)

4. very low tolerance to frustration and a low threshold for discharge of aggression, including violence; (where is the agression and violence directed? Again not necessarily an indicator of toxicity or abuse nor required for diagnosis)

5. incapacity to experience guilt and to profit from experience, particularly punishment; (basically covered this one under the DSM remorse bit)

6. marked proneness to blame others, or to offer plausible rationalizations, for the behaviour that has brought the patient into conflict with society (oh boy this one sounds like victim blaming too, especially given, say, how many black people are diagnosed with ASPD......)

There may also be persistent irritability as an associated feature.  (oooh, scary)  Conduct disorder during childhood and adolescence, though not invariably present, may further support the diagnosis.

SO you see, there is a whole spectrum of possibilities which means that someone can fit the criteria and NOT be an abusive and toxic prick, and even if they were at the time of diagnosis, it does not mean they have continued that behaviour.

[idk-my-aesthetic]

isle kingdom au

so i’ve had this idea for an AU for a little while, but i don’t wanna actually write anything for it until i’m done w/ my current descendants wips, but i also wanna talk about it lol so ig im making a post? please send me asks about it i wanna talk about it.... anyway

**tw for child abuse and semi-graphic descriptions of violence.

basically the premise of the au is that even though he tried to get it passed at first, ben never went through with pulling the vks off the isle. he kept meaning too, but it just kept being pushed to the back of his list of priorities bc he was so busy w/ being king and never happened 

so bc of this, the core 4 stayed on the isle and never got off it. if you’ve read the stuff in my keep them close series u probably have a better idea of my hc of the isle, but the basics of it are that 1) most of the parents are really bad and abusive + the conditions are disgusting 2) none of the kids are really evil and 3) the vks are all kinda frenimes/rivals and will work together to keep eachother alive even if they act like they hate eachother or will even hurt eachother

so, in the ‘canon’ timeline before going to auradon the core 4 are a gang and slowly gaining power. they’re already the top of the vk gangs and are like gaining on some of the adult ones.

bc they never go to auradon, they just kinda keep doing what they already are and gain more and more power. but, as they gain power their parents start becoming afraid of them and acting like more abusive in attempts to keep the core 4 under their control 

ok bare w/ me for this next bit bc it’s gonna sound real ooc for like a sec then make sense

so, as they’re gaining power and their parents are haveing more and more trouble controlling them their parents are becoming more and more violent.

im not sure on the order yet, but basically cruella, jafar, eq, and malifacent all do something like really really bad to their respective kid, so one of the other core 4 kills them bc like. yeah. 

i have some vauge ideas of what each of them could have done and i don’t really know if i want to say them or even use them tbh bc they’re like.... bad, like real bad. which they kinda have to be, you know? bc like.... none of the core 4 would turn to killing if they didn’t have a real good reason, and their parents continuing the abuse that they always have woulden’t be enough, so the parents would have to do something really really bad for one of the others to justify killing them 

its important to mention that none of them kill their own parent. it’s always one of the other 4, im not sure who kills who just yet, but none of them kill their own parent. They’re saved from their parents by each other and they never really have any confrontation with their parents (which will change l8r 👀👀, let me explain)

Even tho they didn’t kill their own parents, everyone kinda assumed they did in order to take their places/gain power. A handful of their friends know the real story, but it’s mostly kept under wraps and it’s like general “knowledge” that they killed their parents for power. They’re not really hiding it or anything, I mean they did still each kill one of the 4 most powerful villains so it’s not like anyone is gonna be less afraid if they knew the truth. ppl just make assumptions and never really question them and they just let ppl think what they do

So bc their parents are dead and they let everyone assume they killed their own parent they very easily climb up the ranks and end up in charge of the isle bc atp they’re seen as the most ruthless/evil/powerful

So now that they’re in charge of the isle they start like..... actually making it a livable place. Ofc at first they try to make a version of Carlos’s machine to break the barrier, but they can’t get it to work so he just modifys it to steal magic from the barrair for them to use. (Another idea stolen from my keep them close series but like I like the idea lol)

And when I say they make it a livable place I mean they start doing stuff like building water purifiers, making like safe houses, establishing some kind of working economy, taking control of the barge drop offs and how everything is distributed, fixing broken electricity, etc etc

A lot of what they do is based off of Carlos’s machines and designs, which like obvi other ppl are helping him gather materials and for and build, since he has power bc he’s like one of the ppl in charge. And he like teaches other ppl how to do what he does and fix anything that goes wrong

Evie kinda puts herself in charge of setting up like medical centers + homes for kids and stuff. Also some kinda way to grow food. B4 they’re in charge nothing can really grow but they use the magic they steal from the barrier to make stuff grow. And evie can use it to make like lots of healing items and such

Jay ends up mostly in charge of like collecting and distribution of their recourses. At first like the barge is kinda a hugeeee problem to deal with bc ppl are fighting over the like moldy food and destroyed clothes and stuff. But eventually they get it organized and have stuff sent to the respective place it should, like clothes and scrap fabric are sent to a place that repairs and sells them, parts and electronics are sent to Carlos or his helpers, etc

Other minor vks like Celia, dizzy, the sea three, Diego, etc are all in this two but this is already really long so just know they’re like helping and like pretty high ranking/highly regarded. Send me an ask with questions please

Mal is kinda regarded as the ultimate leader/queen of the isle ig even though the other 3 have basically the same amount of power. Mostly bc her job ends up being keeping the adults who dislike them inline and keeping their power as heads of the isle

Most ppl are just kinda chill w/ them being in charge, especially a lot of the ppl who were banished for minor crimes. A few of the adult villains try to fight them and end up dead lol, and anyone caught doing especially bad things, like r*pe, hurting someone they shouldn’t have, being a child abuser, etc will end up killed by mal or one of the others. They don’t kill u for like every crime obviously only the like inexcusable ones. Stuff like stealing or mental illness or w/e they basically just help you work through

They’re aren’t any like real laws ig but they deal with issues as they go and give harsh punishments if needed. It serves to keep themselves seen as strong/evil/powerful despite all the good they do and helps keep others too afraid to challenge them. Like frollo isn’t going to challenge them if Ursula tried the same thing and got killed. (The fact that she abused uma and her siblings obviously had nothing to do with that,,,,,,,,,,,)

So yeah! They basically turned the isle into a inhabitable place in the years that they spent as its leaders, and it functions as its own kinda kingdom despite its harsh and confusing laws/rules

But we ain’t done yet, lol

Basically everything I’ve just explained is.... mostly backstory? Kinda? It’s the type of thing where you slowly find out about all this stuff while they actual story goes on, but I figured it’d be less confusing to explain it first :3

So the Actual story starts a few years after when Ben originally was supposed to take the vks off the isle. He, all the other princess/princes he want to school with, the core 4, the sea 3, etc are all in their mid to early 20s.

Auradon has basically no clue what’s the deal w/ the isle. They’re only interaction w/ them is through the like goblins that bring over the trash barges, but those guys are chill and basically don’t tell the aks anything lol.

So Ben is ruling his kingdom, and the core 4 are ruling their own, both sides are doing pretty well and ignoring each other, but then! All of a sudden there’s these sudden deaths/fires/some kinda terrorist attack on the outskirts of the kingdom.

I haven’t thought through this part too much, but basically he knows that they’re is some kinda threat, but he doesn’t know excatly what it is. All he does know is that the villain that is attacking is demanding to speak to the children of malifecent, jafar, cruella devil, and the evil queen.

He basically rounds up the heroes of those respective stories bc they’re all being threatened in some way or another. The mystery villain continues to do more damage and seems basically impossible to beat, and has given them a time limit b4 they’ll go and start destroying more

They discuss their options and decide their best plan is to go to the isle and convince them core 4 to help, bringing along the heroes and some of the main aks w/ them

Obviously it doesn’t go well bc they show up and mal basically has them arrested lmao

Again I have more in-depth ideas for this part but this post is already wayyyy to long so I’m trying to hurry and finish up

The talk, vks meet their respective heroes, everything is from ak/hero POV so as they explore the isle and talk to the core 4 and other vks they slowly find out about all ^^^ that stuff up there

The core 4 are eventually agree, and they go to face the villains only to find out its their parents who have been resurrected!!!! Fuck!!!!

Idk how or why just yet lmao but I will soon

Parents are obvi pissed, core 4 face their own parents and finally get like some kinda closer or smthn idk I feel like y’all get the gist

in the end auradon agknolages the isle as its own kingdom and the core 4 as its leaders and open trade/remove the barrier so the isle can continue to grow bc it’s been struggling due to lack of recourses

And that’s like the basic outline of my au! I wanna write it eventually but tbh I’m expecting eventually to be like 3 years from now bc of how much other stuff I have so for rn I’m just gonna blog about it. Obviously there’s a lot of other stuff/plots/emotional arcs etc I didn’t talk about bc like This Post Is So Long I’m So Sorry, So please please please send me asks/questions/comments/even your own ideas!!! Please. Everything about this will be tagged with “isle kingdom au” :3

[dcathwithoutglory-blog]

it’s jay. again. my browser just crashed. so i’m just gonna copy and paste my old intro. there’s no time to try and make it better. rip !

⌊ priyanka chopra, cis woman, antigone ⌉ ⏀ have you spoken to ALEXANDRA “ALEXA” MEHRA recently? the THIRTY-FOUR year old who’s been in seneca for SEVEN YEARS or so? either way, they always seem to remind me of FLOWERS PLACED ON A GRAVE, A RUSTY COMPASS, STORMS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT whenever i see them on main street. on a good day they’re pretty MORALISTIC, but they can also be RESISTANT. ⌊ jay, 19. est, she/her ⌉

the story of antigone that y’all probs already know but jic.

triggers: brief implication of incest but like wbk, brief mention of suicide, death, creon bein a bitch

brief overview of antigone (character + eponymous story):

antigone was born to oedipus and jocasta.

we all know what happened there. after that, oedipus was like “see no evil feel no evil” and jocasta yeet’d out of living.

her brothers went to war against each other. when creon ascended to the throne, he allowed burial for eteocles with honors, but was like “lmao if u bury polyneices i will kill u”

but antigone was like ‘lmao SURE JAN’ and tried to convince ismene, her sister, to help her bury polyneices. ismene was like ‘ok that’s a rly bad idea like good luck but count me out tbh.’

antigone is rly bad at digging graves tho so polyneices’s body was found and creon was like ‘oh my GOD’ and she’s like ‘fuck the government viva la morality!’

then creon was like ‘ok anyway rmr when i said u wld die if u buried polyneices so ig now u have to be buried alive in a tomb’ then antigone was like ‘actually i’ll be hanging myself before u can do fuck the government’

then he was like ‘at least u’ll be dead! oh wait -

Y’ALL GO SAVE EVERYONE’ but then it was too late

antigone and his son had both killed themselves and everyone, including himself, were just like

“get WREKT creon!!!!!”

alexa ( play despacito ).

triggers: suicide (x2), death (x3), mental illness implications, war, brief mentions of torture and murder

ok now onto alexandra ! so, like i did for valda, i looked up names that shared the same meaning as ‘antigone’ (which essentially means “against”) and one of the suggestions was alexa but i also wanted it to sound. super valiant. but at the same time. i wanted it to be something that could have a conversational nickname. so im already hc’ing that she has ‘despacito’ saved on her phone. also alexandra is my middle name so like?? stan list?? OK ANYWAY.

alright, so alexandra was born to a very upper-class family. her father was a politician and her mother was a successful lawyer. they provided well for the perfect nuclear family –– two sons, two daughters, a golden retriever, two cats in the yard life used to be so hard now everything is easy cause of-

like... her early life, say birth to age 14, was... nice. actually normal and nice. have i ever done that before? has my own edgelord ass ever done that before? i don’t think so.

which is why things obviously took a turn for the worse

but yeah. when she was 14, she was like “hey mom idk how to do pre-algebra” (a mood) but there was no response from her mom. so shrug city, you know? she just went to her older sister instead. but like... so much time passed.... and nothing....

finally, this nosy bitch decided to be like “ok i’m gonna go see what tf she’s doing” and that was just... a terrible idea. instead of finding her mom doing her nails or talking on the phone or any number of reasons she may not have come out yet, she found her mother hanging from the ceiling fan.

she tried to get her brothers’ and sister’s help, and they tried so desperately to help (you know, while also calling 911 and their father), but it was to absolutely no avail.

after this hella traumatizing experience, the children grew closer as the father grew farther.

he began getting lost in his own mind, sometimes accidentally mixing the past with the present, a la willy loman style. he would hold slight conversations with their ‘mother’ while at the table, then began holding them with various others from the past. it was pretty clear that his mind had just been looking for an excuse to snap, and the death of his wife had been the perfect scapegoat.

although it had originally just affected him in his home life, he began holding said conversations in the presence of people outside his family.

this is not good for a politician.

i mean it’s not good for anyone but...

his support immediately began dropping. his team gradually left him, finding there was no way he would ever be able to gain another victory if he kept on living in a limbo between the past and the present. given that he’d started ‘talking to his brother’ during one of his speeches... 

rest in peace to his career.

alexa (play despacito) was 18 at the time, her sister - 20, one of her brothers - 21, the other - 24.

they were all legal adults! some of them had even moved out! so their father figured his next move would not affect him in the way their mother’s death had!

so he shot himself.

the only people who showed up at his funeral were alexa and her sister. her eldest brother proclaimed that flying across the country would be too much of a hassle for that, and the other brother simply did not respond.

her eldest brother did, however, enlist in the army after setting legalities in place that would allow him to send money back to his siblings. he had joined simply because it was an easy opportunity (what with all of the propaganda), but his decision prompted the other brother to do the same –– this time because he was talented at ‘the art of fighting.’

and bc more money but like... get wrekt.

alexa’s sister dropped out of college to work a full-time job –– one that paid fairly handsomely. alexa took some odd jobs.

aka, everyone was trying to make money.

creon was right when he said “money! nothing worse”

so things kind of dipped when the eldest brother was killed. after an accusation that he’d become a traitor, their other brother had taken it upon himself to ‘anonymously’ torture and shoot him. but the other side did it!

which everyone knew was a lie.

because of the accusations, he was not only not allowed a military funeral, he was also not meant to be buried in any honorable fashion. instead, his body was returned to his hometown to be buried there following a quiet and uneventful funeral.

his grave was left unmarked.

nonetheless, the grave was visited every day, new flowers laid atop.

meanwhile, their other brother was considered a newfound military icon. he’d gotten rid of a ‘traitor’ (they continued to pretend it was someone from the other side, of course), he’d killed many an enemy, he’d done this and that and this and that and it all made him look so morally grey to alexa and her sister (who, granted, had yet to find out he’d killed their other brother), but like such a white knight to his fellow soldiers.

he truly rose in the ranks. it was what he was meant to do.

but the more he killed, the more he tortured, the lack of grief towards his brother’s death...

alexa’s sister wasn’t buying her hypothesis. it wasn’t necessarily because she saw their other brother was some pure being, but because she simply didn’t believe he was capable of that.

the next time alexa saw her brother, she got confirmation enough. what to do with the information, she wasn’t sure, but she knew she had to do something...

murder wasn’t the solution... she didn’t have any military connections that would allow for her to spout some lie about why he needed to be dishonorably discharged... but what he did couldn’t skate by...

to this day, she is still wondering what she can do to fuck him over. his success in the military keeps growing grander and grander, thus rendering any fake dishonorable discharge excuses completely moot. her sister still doesn’t believe that there really is a solution –– that, while it is greatly harmful, there’s absolutely nothing they can do and ruminating on it is worthless –– trying to find some quest to defeat their own brother is absurd.

although she has since moved to seneca, attracted to its small town appeal, she continues to visit her eldest brother’s grave every week –– it’s about a two hour drive, so it’s worth it.

she’s taken up work as a cemetery caretaker

because of COURSE she would.

and, although its pay is.... lousy, she’s been making due. for the tombstones no one visits any longer, first she’ll look them up to make sure they weren’t slave-owners or anything, she’ll bring them their own flowers. the dead deserve just as much respect as the living, hm?

personality.

i just realized i didn’t do this for valda (aka, i’m about to update her intro with it), but a total enneagram type 2.

too empathetic for her own good, too ‘this person whom i do not even know deserves flowers’ for her own good, too ‘i’ve got to protect _______ by doing _________’ for her own good

a capricorn

so driven by her own moral compass, she does not CARE about anything that says she has to go against it

her moral compass can be super faulty sometimes tho

pretty quick to make assumptions tbh, but has so far been right abt most of them.

so also driven by gut feelings ig

dramatic tbh. i mean she’s the adapted version of a character whose first lines contained “there's nothing, no pain—our lives are pain” SO.

also p independent (as in i said valda was independent), but her vendetta isn’t against men in general, rather just her brother who is still alive

so like,,, that said,,, holds grudges.

im bad at personality sections!! as has been stated before!! but i think the gist has been gotten across!!

wanted connections.

so rn i only have one specific one which is her sister and can be found on the wc page

will come up w/ unique ones later but until then open 2 hearing urs/brainstorming!

tl;dr.

(refer to triggers listed before the bullets.) a lot of death? like mom kills herself then dad turns into willy loman then dad kills himself. brothers both join the army. one brother kills the other brother for being accused of being a ‘traitor.’ said brother doesn’t get a proper funeral and his headstone is unmarked. the other brother rises in the rankings and alexa knows what happened. convinced her sister of it, but her sister is more logical and let her know that she was very angry too, but making her entire life about it would do nothing but endanger herself and others. moved to seneca because she liked the small town feel. still visits her eldest brother’s grave every week to leave flowers. works as a cemetery caretaker bc WHY NOT. brings flowers to graves that are either unmarked or no longer visited. i hope you read all of that and just thought ‘oh my god fckin EDGELORD’ because you’re right.

alright ! fin.

like this or hmu if you’d like to plot !

[thatxvguy]

KNOCK KNOCK, LET THE DEVIL IN.

Nah man like seriously what the actual fuck.

It was Friday, August 31st. A nice day to start Anime Festival Asia in Indonesia, I was already happy thinking what to buy to make myself broke at the convention, then aS SOON AS I FUCKING ARRIVED AT THE CONVENTION, SHIT BROKE IG AND TWITTER: EMINEM NEW ALBUM “KAMIKAZE”.

At first I shrugged and laughed thinking it was a troll/just an album announcement bUT AY TURNS OUT THAT SHIT LITERALLY DROPPED JUST WHEN I GOT MY MONEY FOR AFA & NOW BY THE TIME OF THIS WRITING I STILL DON’T KNOW HOW TO SAVE UP MONEY TO BUY KAMIKAZE MERCH, LIKE I SWEAR FUCK THIS SHIT SLIM, I FUCKING HATE YOU SMH.

Tbh I don’t expect much when I saw the Venom teaser for the movie, I thought he was just going to have a song for the movie soundtrack/at best, a soundtrack album by him just like how Kendrick did with Black Panther, but ay this looks promising.

Aside of me being salty, this album’s apparently executive produced by Dr. Dre and “Slim Shady”, like literally Marshall is fucking credited as Slim Shady, this shit sounds like a classic already- HE EVEN PUT BACK THE PAUL SKITS AGAIN YO DAMN.

Features are actually fresh as fuck tho, like Joyner Lucas? Nickle Nine? Goddamn man. First look at the tracklists & I can feel the fire already.

Aight then with that all being said, new EM album, Kamikaze, let’s go (I’m still salty to not have money to buy the merch).

01. The Ringer - SHIT BRO I CANNOT. WAIT A MINUTE *takes a fucking hour to get ready*

Okay so uh, wow. Illadaproducer. You fire bro. AND RONNY J? OMYGOD MAN.

First song and he’s shNAPPING ALREADY LIKE DAMN BRO. Okayokayokay let me slow myself here. Because he literally snapped on everybody who criticized him on The Storm freestyle & Revival, should I like write of a list of it?

>Vince Staples >Joe Budden >Lil Yachty (It’s not a diss tho, he just called him out) >Lil Pump >Lil Xan >Iggy Azalea >MGK >NF >Journalists >Donald Trump >Charmalagne tha God >Pretty much the whole current state of Hip-Hop

One song going and it’s fire already, why the fuck should we hit Em’s nerve for him to make a fire album like this though? That’s a big problem.

I like how he interpolates Young M.A. here, matter of fact everything he interpolates sounds better than the original lol excuse me for being biased smh. AND THAT EVIL SPELL LINE, GOT ME SO GOOD.

Overall a fire intro. Personal favorite already. I felt perfect when Em shouted out his favorite new-wave rappers, makes me feel like I listen to the right side of Hip-Hop lol.

02. Greatest - REVIVAL DIDN’T GO VIRAL

As much as I like some aspects of Revival, it’s still an ass album overall, so sorry I gotta say that man but that’s like, Jesus man it’s the fucking lowest.

AY MIKE WILL WASSUP BRO THIS SHIT BUMPS BROOO, better than the whole SR3MM album tbh smh. And the hook yooo, I really wokeuplikethis when I heard the fucking hook. Definitely one of the best hooks of 2018 lmao don’t @ me.

He still continues the theme of clapping back at people who clapped back at him & he’s not being boring on it which is very unusual, because y'know how it feels like when people wrote the same shit on different songs right? That shit gets repetitive & boring, but not this one.

And again, his interpolations are fucking top notch man, I can’t praise it enough for being too fucking great.

And that 2nd verse? God. Another personal favorite.

03. Lucky You (feat. Joyner Lucas) - I’m lucky to be alive after listening to these 3 fire straight.

Dude.

Whatthefuck.

This is godly bro.

Joyner came in with that fire verse, then Em ended the song with next level heat. That’s the whole gist of it tbh.

BOI-1DA CAME WITH THE HEAT. SHIT’S AMAZING BRO, I CAN STILL HEAR THAT NC-17 HERE, ILLA YOU FIRE TOO MAN WTFFF.

I like how they started their parts with different perspective of their respective careers, with Joyner not having the accolades he was supposed to get and Em with the awards that he ironically don’t need.

Joyner man, he came in with rapid fire yo & he fucking interpolates Denzel’s SUMO | ZUMO amazingly & fittingly. And Em back again snapping on the current state of Hip-Hop FOR THE 3RD TIME IN THE ALBUM & HE’S YET TO BORE ME WITH THE SAME TOPIC. And that “Record Breaker/Broken Record” line is slick as hell yo, plus how he interpolates (again) DNA. here is just amazing but somehow expected. Plus that ghostwriter line probably struck a nerve somewhere in the 6ix lol.

3 tracks in with pretty much the same topics, yet I didn’t get bored of it yet. The first 3 tracks & and those hits the personal favorites list already. This is probably a classic already.

04. Paul (Skit) - The very core question of Eminem’s career by this point tbh. Is he going just to put out shit albums and snap back the next year with a fire album? Is he going to repeat the same shit all over? So far the first 3 tracks don’t bore me but I feel like he’s trying a lil too hard on it? At least he didn’t sound bitter on this album so far.

05. Normal - It’s not an Eminem album if there’s no at least one misogynystic song isn’t it.

At first I wasn’t feeling it until the beat switches I was like, “Damn bro, Em can actually sound melodic like the mumble rappers too, damn.”

But I got the message of the song tho, it’s surprising that Em is still wishing for a normal relationship with women (Maybe he could had one if he didn’t went full misogynystic but eh).

Milo verse is funny tho, not anything special but it’s just funny. Not hilarious either but it’s just… Funny.

06. Em Calls Paul (Skit) - Basically a response about Em saying that he’s not trying to make an album just to clap back at people who criticized the album badly, thank goodness because I hope that shit doesn’t happen to him (I still don’t like the timing of this surprise album tho, still salty over the fact I can’t buy the merch yet).

Rumors believe that he was referring to Shawn Cee on the skit, but I don’t think it’s about him tho because Em said he read about some Yahoo-motherfucker who wrote about Revival and criticized about how bad Em did the album (Which I think to be true).

Now, Shawn Cee is a YouTuber famous for his Hip-Hop reaction/review videos. Eminem clearly said that he read about someone writing about Revival, not watched about someone reviewing Revival. So I guess Shawn Cee is in a safe position in his career lol. RIP to that Yahoo-motherfucker tho.

07. Stepping Stone - THIS HERE, THIS ACTUALLY BROKE MY HEART

It’s sad to hear that D12 is officially dead & to hear it from the group most popular member makes it even worse.

I like how to hook goes in & the bridge is just amazing to hear. I’m happy that he decides to break the silence about D12, it’s a plus point too for this album because I don’t want him to always talk about how bad Revival is tbh lol.

A great song to refresh yourself from this album’s main topic.

08. Not Alike (feat. Royce da 5'9") - THAT LOOK ALIVE SAMPLE THOOO. TAY KEITH FUCK THESE DUDES UP.

I don’t know why but I enjoy Eminem doing the Migos flow, it just makes him sounds funnier to me, the hook says all: Em is nothing alike to these mumble rappers, just like how what he says have nothing in common.

Royce went great here, but I feel like before his verse ends he sounds a lil rushed, or is it just me? Great feature nevertheless.

THEN EMINEM BACK AGAIN WITH THE MGK DISS & WHEN THAT BEAT SWITCHED TO THAT RONNY J FIRE? GODFUCKINGDAMN BRO.

Did Em just started his verse with the Ay flow? Because it feels refreshing when Em doesn’t go too fast on his raps & being more laid-back with it.

The flow showdown here man, it’s just unlikely people will hate on this one, I mean hey, GOAT with Tay Keith & Ronny J who doesn’t want that?

Definitely another personal favorite.

09. Kamikaze - Title song of the album, I gotta stop listening when I heard the word “Fack” said here lmao, the whole first part of the song is hilarious too, I mean that beat whatthefuck man, corny as shit lmao.

But hey as hilarious as it gets it’s still worth noting that this song sums up the whole point of the album, it’s basically him snapping back to haters & mumble rap by dropping a surprise album just for the fuck of it (Fuck it tho I’m still salty off the merch)

When the beat switched tho, that shit went sinister like straight up, WHY CAN’T HE JUST DO THE WHOLE SONG WITH THAT BEAT? JESUS FUCKING CHRIST EM SMH.

And that outro bro, was that a diss at Drake? Those ghostwriters line still got me great man.

10. Fall - Featuring uncredited vocals by Justin Vernon for the hook, here Em talks about… WELL WHAT DO YOU EXPECT MAN THE ALBUMS BASICALLY A BUNCH OF DISS TRACKS FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVEN’T HAD ENOUGH OF HIM SMH, Mike WiLL fucking made a banger tho.

I felt bad for Tyler after hearing him got dissed badly with the other F-word, RIP Tyler & Earl too.

Budden, DJ Akademiks, Charmalagne & Lord Jamar got fucked up pretty badly here too, I mean I think this is the first time Em proved his point right & stayed relevant to the era he’s in. I mean he’s doing it in Trap beats so that explains a thing. (Listen to Lucky You for reference)

Verse 3 > Legacy in MMLP2.

11. Nice Guy (feat. Jessie Reyez) - NOW THIS, THIS IS PROBABLY THE FIRST EMINEM SONG FOR THEM CONCERT MOSHPITS.

THAT DROP IS JUST SO FIRE, & JESSIE, GODDAMN BRO.

I like the fact that the songs is less than 3 minutes just like how songs are nowadays. The bars are nothing serious tbh bUT THAT ENERGY BRO, IF THIS SHIT EVER GETS PERFORMED ON AN EMINEM CONCERT, I’LL DEFINITELY JOIN THE MOSHPIT.

Another personal favorite. And yea it’s a favorite personal because even tho the bars aren’t really nothing, I can still relate on how dudes just wanted to be nice for their woman out there.

Hook-post hook = definite anthem.

12. Good Guy (feat. Jessie Reyez) - BRO EMINEM ON A KINGDOM HEARTS SAMPLE BRO THANK YOU ILLA YOU DA GOAT.

I feel like this song & the song before is like a mini sequel to the long-ass Bad Guy song back in MMLP2, this song especially is just a continuation of Nice Guy, so nothing special tbh, lacks the same energy from Nice Guy tho.

The Kingdom Hearts sample fucking saved the song.

13. Venom (Music from the Motion Picture) - Now this shit, was the shit that made me believe that Em is actually going to produce the whole Venom soundtrack. This shit went off great, KNOCK KNOCK, LET THE DEVIL IN.

I LOVE HOW HE STARTED EVERY VERSE WITH THAT SENTENCE, REAL SLIM SHADY VIBES IN THIS SONG. AND THAT HOOK, UGH FUCK BRO SHIT.

How Eminem stated that we the fans are Eddie Brock & him being the Venom Symbiote is just very fucking symbolic, because as bad as he gets you know that he’ll still stick to us like how Venom sticks to Eddie.

THe very perfect outro for the album, a definite personal favorite because of the “Knock knock” line & the hook.

Overall album score: 9/10

A very great album which basically consists mainly about responses to haters, but somehow ends up being a breathe of fresh air of an Eminem record for the past 8 years.

Great team of producers (Illa you da MVP bro), great features, Eminem on his prime, executive produced by Dre & Shady,the return of Paul skits, no comment needed, definitely a classic already.

The only question I have in mind is that; should it really be like this for Eminem to put out a classic album? Should a big sack of hating in mass media on a shit album he put out previously fuel the urge for him to make one of the best records of him to this date? I don’t think so.

Personal favorites: The Ringer, Greatest, Lucky You (feat. Joyner Lucas), Not Alike (feat. Royce da 5'9"), Nice Guy (feat. Jessie Reyez), Venom (Music from the Motion Picture).

I’M STILL SALTY OVER THE FACT THAT I CAN’T BUY MERCH BECAUSE OF THE UNFORTUNATE SURPRISE TIMING. FUCK YOU EM.

Kamikaze > Eminem albums from 2010-2017

He actually did a serious damage because of his Kamikaze wtf he actually didn’t flopped, great.

You should’ve seen the memes for this album bro, shit’s wild.

Again, Eminem if you’re reading this, I love you for putting such a classic album in this era, bUT FUCK YOU FOR RELEASING IT THE EXACT SAME DAY OF ME BEING BROKE. Sincerely, a Stan.

[moonmothmama]

ok. so. The Princess Bride. i read it yesterday.

and right up front, before even a review, i’m gonna go ahead and list everything objectionable in the book that i can recall. please don’t take the length of the bullet pointed items to follow as an indication that the book was wildly problematic and offended me at every turn; it wasn’t and it didn’t. but there were some things that made me go: 😑 or 😒, and here it all is, presented with context, before anything else, because to be honest, i didn’t expect any of it. the film is relatively spotless, which is pretty rare for that era, and if any of you are thinking of reading it, you could do with being more prepared for this than i was.

first off, racism. two passing remarks. one isn’t even in the story proper; it’s in the first whole long intro bit from the author/narrator. that takes some explanation, i suppose: like in the film, the story is presented as a book having been written by “S. Morganstern,” except instead of a grandfather reading to his sick grandson, the narrator is interjecting with notes on the original text that he has abridged. the beginning is a whole long shpiel that, in my opinion, could have been significantly pared down with absolutely zero loss to the story (which! hey! the film did perfectly! go figure!). anyway, the first racist remark is an absolutely tasteless line in which the narrator pisses and moans about his fat son, making a crack about “painting him yellow” and making him a sumo wrestler. y i k e. the other passing remark is from Miracle Max (really, truly, the film version of this scene is miles better than the book version, but contains an important plot detail, so you should prob still read it, but i’ll give you the lowdown if you wanna skip). he refers to Iñigo as a sp*ck (rather bafflingly, i might add, bc Iñigo is a Spanish man... from Spain... not a Hispanic or Latino man from Latin America. so. i mean i’m certainly not an expert on slurs but... i have never in my life heard that term in reference to a person from Spain, and am virtually certain it was invented to refer to ppl from the americas) and in the same breath uses an objectionable term for a Polish person. sooo... again: y i k e. what gets me is that... these could’ve just been edited out? why weren’t they? i mean i know why but

fat shaming! see above. though to be honest, any true negativity about fatness is restricted to the author/narrator’s interjections; there are a few minor fat characters in the story and those depictions, without being too long-winded or spoilery, didn’t offend me (fyi: i’m fat). if you want the details, please feel free to message me about it.

if we can go back to the whole long beginning shpiel from the author/narrator, it’s just... eh. he comes off as kind of a jackass, tbh. not even halfway through it i found myself more than a little impatient for the story to begin, and that could be at least partly because the film spoiled me with a lovely, not annoying, not problematic scene of Granddad Columbo reading to Baby Fred Savage where no one made any racist remarks or ragged on fat kids. the basic gist, if you want to skip it, is that the author, as a kid, had this book read to HIM by his father, who was a Florinese immigrant, and nearly illiterate in English, but still labored over reading the English translation to his American-born son, who adored the book and requested it read to him dozens and dozens of times over the years, refusing to read it himself (though he read plenty of other books). as an adult, he buys his son the book, and is crushed when the son doesn’t like it. he then reads it for the first time, and realizes his father skipped over huge, boring blocks of text. he read his son only The Good Parts. so he decides to edit that shit out himself and release the abridged version he loves so much. add into that some complaining about his wife and some extra blah blah, and that’s pretty much it.

you remember the scene in the movie where The Man In Black/Westley almost slaps Buttercup for what he believes is lying? in the book he actually slaps her. not that his actions seem supported or endorsed by the text, but still, there you are. Buttercup does push him off a cliff soon after, though, so. i wouldn’t call that ‘even’ exactly but, shrug

Vizzini, in the book, has a fucky leg and his back isn’t quite straight, and he’s referred to repeatedly as a “humpback” or “hunchback” which needless to say is Not Kosher

that, as i recall, is it. i hope i’m not forgetting anything. now onto content/trigger warnings:

alcoholism. this shouldn’t be a surprise if you’ve seen the movie: Iñigo has some, shall we say, issues

Fezzik’s parents were... terrible. CPS would be all over them. spoiler: basically they emotionally blackmailed their son into fighting professionally, which they knew he hated, by telling him they’d abandon him if he didn’t

Buttercup has some kinda messed up (read: unsettling but in no way graphic) nightmares after leaving Westley when they’re found by Prince Humperdinck at the Fire Swamp, mostly involving bearing children to the Prince who she once again is set to marry

the slurs and whatnot i mentioned above

violence, obviously. nothing worse than the film as i recall.

that’s it i think. 

okay. all that said. did i enjoy the book? yes i did. a lot.

now, you might be thinking: jesus, Kathleen, after all the shit you just listed? and to this i reply: listen. there is no Unproblematic Media, so you either enjoy some things that are flawed, or you enjoy nothing at all. there is plenty of objectionable shit in Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit! fucking plenty! and i love those books! and so do plenty of other people! in my own humble opinion, the good story is worth the shitty bits, because the shitty bits aren’t like, fundamental to the plotline. the story isn’t built on offensive humor or nasty, bigoted attitudes. and they’re also not the most egregious examples of Objectionable Content i’ve come across- not by a longshot. there are levels to offense. there are tiers of bullshit. this is on a far lower tier than a whole host of other things i could mention. but if any of this stuff i’ve listed crosses a line for you, i totally understand and respect that. that’s why i’ve bothered to list it at all. imo, how you respond to objectionable content is important: you don’t ignore it or excuse it, you acknowledge and criticize it. and if you still enjoy whatever the thing is, you allow yourself to enjoy it, without getting hissy or defensive with people for whom the objectionable content ruined the book/movie/whatever. 

there you go, there’s my disclaimer for having enjoyed the book. your mileage may vary.

okay. so. review time.

Buttercup is a far more interesting character in the book than the movie, for which the movie can’t be faulted all that much, because you can’t easily translate a character’s inner monologue/unspoken thoughts to the screen, especially not with the time limit that comes with the medium of film. but watching her struggle with her feelings and life choices (and... lack thereof, since her choice is between marrying the prince and being put to death, which isn’t much of a choice, even if she tries to reason it out later by telling herself she COULD have said no... and initially did) creates far more of a bond between her and the reader in the book than, personally, i felt watching the movie. also she has a great line after Westley calls her beautiful at their reunion- she says something like, ‘everyone’s always calling me beautiful, i have a mind too, why don’t you talk about that’

Both Westley and Buttercup are immature, naive, and foolish in the beginning, and if Westley strikes you as Extra Dickish, a) rewatch the film! he did act like a bit of a dick, there, didn’t he? b) remember that in the story he’s a young man between the ages of eighteen and twenty five, which in my considerable experience is the age at which young men are generally at their peak of Asshole. sorry dudes

and not that Buttercup herself is a complete peach! she deals very poorly with her emotions in general and acts kinda shitty herself once or twice. i won’t say too much lest i spoil everything that’s different between the film and the book.

Prince Humperdinck is also a more three dimensional character; still a rat bastard tho.

onto Fezzik and Iñigo.

as i have said in other blog posts, these boys are... pretty much the whole reason i sought out the book. and... jesus. 

you get all the way into the tragic backstories that were only hinted at in the film. okay, Iñigo’s backstory was more than hinted- but of course you go so much deeper in the book- and Fezzik’s was less than hinted, reduced mostly to a peek at the insecurity that Vizzini exploits and preys upon to keep him in line. not that you’d have to expend a great effort to him to keep him in line; his personality is docile and non-confrontational. truly not the slightest bit aggressive by nature. he’s also kinda clingy and needy, which is a thousand percent understandable given his childhood, and tbqh doesn’t need to be browbeaten for Vizzini to keep him on his short, cruel leash. which makes it all the more painful! hurrah! 😭

also you actually get to meet Iñigo’s father, Domingo Montoya, in a flashback, aaaand... i kinda love him. probably predictable if you know me.

anyway. tragic backstories. which further illuminate the emotional and psychological issues that make them so dependent on Vizzini, and turn them to lives of crime in his employ. poor boys! oy gevalt. sympathy abounds; i honestly don’t know how you could go through the book and not fall at least a little bit in love with this duo, whose friendship is precious and adorable and a balm to the soul that is aching from their painful life stories and unhealthy coping mechanisms. they’re each, very plainly, the only friend the other has in the world, and are constantly helping and bolstering one another. it’s heartbreakingly sweet. i think those boys will be alright as long as they stick together.

and now, the repeated theme of the book, that is presented with far less intensity in the film: life isn’t fair. which, one supposes, is true. but while the narrator’s framing of that assertion may give you the same misgivings they gave me- bitching about his fat son and his less than ideal relationship with his wife- you can also step back and appreciate it as a wee pearl of wisdom. life is often unfair, but that doesn’t mean it’s altogether bad or that you can’t enjoy it. idk, that’s my attitude, man. 

i could talk about the ending here, but i won’t. at least not too much. not to spoiler-ish-ly. if you don’t want to know anything about the book’s ending at all, feel free to not read the last bit here, except for the very last lines which are bolded.

ready? yes? no?

...

the ending to the book is different than the movie. there is a more philosophical, open ended conclusion than you could really get away with in a movie. at least this movie.

just throwing it out there: i believe in happy endings. ones in real life. but i kind of disagree with the author a little bit, in that i don’t think happy endings necessarily have to be perfect and unblemished to qualify as happy endings. that may be the way “happily ever after” is generally presented, but to me, “happily ever after” means, maybe some shit happened, but none of it was completely devastating, and in the final analysis, life was satisfying. that’s the kind of real life happy ending i’m aiming (and hoping) for. this might sound vague but i hope it’ll make sense if you read the book.

if you wanna do that, btw, i read it for free online at allnovel dot net.

[shenanigumi]

Which hakuouki musical you like the most? and which is your least favourite?

Oh wow, what an awesome question!! But I hope you’re ready for an essay, because everyone should know by now that as a writer, I tend toward the long-winded. There are a lot of ties up there, but I’m gonna go the whole hog and list them most to least as approximately Kazama-hen; LIVE, Toudou-hen, and Okita-hen; LIVE 2; Saito-hen and Hijikata-hen (the latter of which is no longer my least favorite); and Reimeiroku and Shinsengumi Kitan. Keep in mind that ‘better’ and ‘worse’ are terms relative between musicals and that I don’t actually dislike any of them.

…Come to think of it, I’m gonna throw this under a cut for those of you who can see it, because this is gonna get loooooooong.

No matter how many other ties there are, Kazama-hen is, without a doubt, my favorite. No future HakuMyu production will ever be able to surpass it; I say this with absolute confidence. There is simply no way HakuMyu will ever attain that level of greatness again. Here’s why:

It has subtitles, so I know what the hell is going on

Outstanding staging, choreography, and storytelling

Smooth and natural pace; good characterization and chemistry; romance takes a backseat, and the bonds/dynamics between other characters are focused on and solidified

Follows and fleshes out the route that needed the most development, breaking my heart even more in the process

Can stand on its own without relying on the audience’s extensive knowledge of the route and/or game in general; only minor outside explanation is needed for a total outsider to understand

I know this for a fact due to the sheer number of total outsiders I’ve shown this musical (3-4)

One of the best soundtracks in HakuMyu

I’d offer up the noteworthiest tracks, but I’d just end up listing every song… but my personal favorite is “Never Say Goodbye, Forever”, and I love the introductory duet of “Inishie no Oni” as well

Also, honorable mention for “Oni no Chikara”, even though it makes an appearance in later musicals as well

Contains my favorite version of the final battle, which gives me shivers just thinking about it

The closest thing to a perfect cast in all of HakuMyu (minus Sen, unfortunately)

The only actor I don’t consider ‘canon’ is Harada’s, since Higashi Keisuke from the new run both looks and acts more like Harada than Igarashi Maasa

Other than that—I do prefer Teruma as Sanan marginally more, but not enough to want to replace Mikata Ryosuke; and Tanoue Marina is my favorite Chizuru, but Tomita Maho fits this darker mood better

My favorite actor, Suzuki Shogo, plays the lead and kicks ass doing it

Some of the best extras in HakuMyu, both in terms of actor (I love those guys so much and I don’t even know their names) and in terms of backstage moments

Verdict: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Literally the only thing about Kazama-hen I’d change is to make the ending less definite, like it is in the actual route. There’s no way Chizuru could or would make a decision as important as “do you want to embrace your demon heritage or not” that fast. But if only the very very ending feels rushed, when feeling rushed is a relatively common problem in HakuMyu, then I’m satisfied. (Of course, I also ship KazaSen, but since this is his route, that’s impossible, so I’m not gonna hold that against it.)

*takes deep breath* …Now for least favorite. Though Reimeiroku and Shinsengumi Kitan are roughly tied for least favorite, with Reimeiroku, I have to forgive some of its perceived flaws because I don’t actually have the first clue what’s going on; the first (and last) time I watched it in full, I hadn’t even seen the subbed anime. But with Shinsengumi Kitan, I know the gist of what’s happening since it follows a localized game, and I can tell it’s a mess.

No subtitles, so take all of the below with a grain of salt

The staging, choreography, and storytelling is okay, but I’ve seen better

Feels rushed; the HijiChi chemistry is better than in Hijikata-hen, but still feels lacking, and the dynamics between other characters (with the possible exception of Harada and Nagakura or Harada and Shiranui) remain incomplete

FOLLOWS HIJIKATA’S FINAL BAD ENDING??? I GUESS THEY HAD TO BE DIFFERENT™ FROM HIJIKATA-HEN BUT WHAT IS THIS???

But… those of you who want Amagiri to have a route, this musical is the one for you!

Relies on the audience’s ability to make inferences about what the fuck is going on, because THERE’S NO SANAN AND NO EXPLANATION BEHIND THE FURIES OR THE FURY CORPS. THERE IS AT LEAST ONE FURY EX MACHINA. I AM STILL SO SALTY ABOUT THIS

I like a lot of the soundtrack, but most of it isn’t anything special for me, and I prefer a lot of the older equivalents (e.g. Kazama-hen’s “Bushido” rather than whatever way-too-upbeat theme fury!Heisuke comes out singing in this one)

It makes me cringe when I watch the new cast try to sing the old themes… especially Matsuda Gaku in Yazaki Hiroshi’s songs. I don’t want to bash his voice, because it’s actually a good voice, but when I compare it to my favorite Hijikata, it just doesn’t work. Let him sing his original themes so I don’t end up making that comparison in my head, please.

Still not as bad as LIVE 2 in that respect tho

Contains my second favorite version of the final battle, which also gives me shivers thinking about it

Call me biased—you’ll be right—but of the new cast, I only consider Harada, Yamazaki, and the demons ‘canon’; everyone else is… less good… than their original counterparts

However, Fujikoso Yumi does an admirable job as Chizuru and has secured a place as second or third favorite (after Tanoue Marina and possibly Yamamoto Sayaka); I do also like Aramaki Yoshihiko’s Okita, even if I prefer Hirose Daisuke’s

I have an especially difficult time with Hashimoto Shohei as Saito and, to a lesser extent, Matsuda Gaku as Hijikata; I really like them both as people and actors, and I don’t think they do a bad job, but their portrayals just don’t ring as true to me

Edit: How could I forget that Suzuki Shogo’s vocal game is even stronger in this one?! Seriously, he’s incredible. He gets the first singing part in the musical and hot damn, speaking of shivers…

I will admit that the extras are priceless (yup, both the actors and the moments)… but the problem is, I perceive the backstage shenanigans as better than the damn musical, which should not happen

Verdict: NOT RECOMMENDED

…Wow, that’s a lot of text. Short answer: Kazama-hen is my favorite, and Shinsengumi Kitan is my least favorite. Thanks for asking!! (And see if anyone ever asks me anything again, given how I tend to go on… eheh…)

[thatxvguy]

Aight, so here it is, KOD.

It’s my first J. Cole album I enjoy by far tbh, because I don’t seem to get his appeal (even tho I like lyrical Hip-Hop too) at the first listen, maybe it’s because I understand what’s the subject matter here, so yea let’s get into it.

Released in 4/20 to NOT glorify about drug use & addiction. Wow.

Shout-out my homie @ywrbgs for the review request. (Go follow his IG, he makes dope-ass beats)

01. Intro - Jazzy. Great intro for the album, the narration pretty much sums up the synopsis for this album. At first I was judging the rest of the songs to sound like the intro, Jazzy, Boom-bap-ish & conscious bUT HEY LOOK WHO’S SURPRISED—

02. KOD - JESUS, I DIDN’T KNEW HE COULD GO THIS HARD. BRO. THIS HARD. HE PRODUCED HIS OWN ALBUMS RIGHT?? THIS SHIT- FIRE YO. I like how he acknowledged the current state of Hip-Hop & drug glorifying in Hip-Hop, and him to do it in such a modern way (Trap beats, etc) makes this even more enjoyable, a definite favorite.

“Bitches been askin’, "What have you done lately?” I stacked a few M’s like my last name was Shady"

You know how I be when I hear Eminem references.

I go brazy.

Ballistic.

03. Photograph - Y'know I gotta put it in the personal favorites when it’s about love. It pretty much talks about Cole being in love with a random girl he met on IG (I suppose? It could be Twitter/Tinder/any other social medias) & how easy it is for people to fell in love with someone by just seeing a photograph of them. Me personally I relate to the song A-FUCKING-LOT (Yes I’m apparently a hopeless romantic who falls in love easily, thankfully I have someone to fight for now lmao). The hook pretty much hit me in the heart like “fUCK”, definitely a big recommend for someone who wants to start listening to J. Cole the easy way. And yeah the beat? The beat slap mad hard yo whatthefu-

04. The Cut Off (feat. kiLL edward) - Well here’s another feature from none other his alter ego he created to promote this album, it came back to that Boom-Bap and boy I enjoy this a lot. Lyrically he’s talking about people who cut him off for money/fame/clout/you name it, as much as he wants to take revenge for how people treated him badly, he knows that revenge is God’s work so he lets them off. Overall the song is a great song to vibe to, to understand to & all that. But I think it lacks something else, I just don’t know how to describe it, maybe it lacks an impactful moment? Still a great song overall

05. ATM - You ain’t a rapper if you don’t have a song to flex about in one of your albums. This song’s all about Cole flexing about his money but yet ironically he depicts about how people will do anything for money & how people’s lives are chained just because of money, hence the title of the song. (Addicted to Money)

Everything here slaps, the beat, the rap, the hook & how sarcastically Cole talks about his wealth in here, everything’s great. I wonder how people would think about this song without knowing how Cole is lol.

06. Motiv8 - Yea boy another song about getting money, seems like Cole is pretty frustrated about how these people get money nowadays. But ay, it is pretty pathetic to see it tbh, a promising talent on the come up, 3 years later people don’t even know them no more or even worse. (RIP XXX & Peep)

What’s ironic to me is that the song is lit, like I can’t lie man the song is lit. But what he raps about makes me think twice about how fucked up is the rap game. I feel like this song & ATM definitely takes inspirations from SoundCLoud rappers as heard as how the beats are & how Cole flows on the beats.

07. Kevin’s Heart - AYY BOY ANOTHER PERSONAL FAVORITE. ENOUGH SAID. How Cole talks about cheating to their certain other. That shit broke my heart.

As someone who understands about these things but yet to actually never been through these things just makes me even more confused, like do you ever understand something that you never been through? That’s how I am in my love life.

Sorry for being oot but I’ve been single for like what now? 3 years? And shit bro as much as I want to experience these kinda things again I couuldn’t because I haven’t found someone who wants me yet. Yet I understand how heartbreaks are & how people deal with it, but at the same time I feel ironic to empathize these kinda feelings, I feel fake, just like how Cole said it in the bridge.

Wow. This shit really wrecked me. 10/1 best outta best.

Where did my heart went now??

08. BRACKETS - Now this here, is some shit I gotta listen to a couple of times to actually get the gist of. Because I don’t really understand about how taxes in America works, I’ll just comment on what I got from thing song aight, so it’s basically Cole talking about how taxes are charged in America & where do the money go, does it go to fund the development of the States? Or does it go to some “money-hungry company” as Cole stated in the song. This that retrospective shit you gotta binge listen to actually understand fully what the song’s all about.

09. Once an Addict (Interlude) - Picturing about how his mom’s an alcoholic, I’ve been listening to these typa songs since I first found Eminem back in 2011 & now I’m back listening to someone who depicts almost the same topic in 2018, I feel great to actually listen someone who still holds story-telling in their raps, Cole is definitely one of the greatest in today’s era, proven by how he raps here. And tbh this is my very first time to listen to an interlude longer than 2 minutes, as if this interlude could actually be a song itself if you ask me.

10. FRIENDS (feat. kiLL edward) - At first I thought this song was about how addiction could start with a bad enviroment (You smoking as a minor with your friends, you get me?) but instead this songs about Cole’s message to his friends who is battling with addiction.

In here he wants people to know that drug abuse isn’t the way to escape the problems that they’re facing, but having a positive mindset will help them through. Imo I couldn’t agree more, but some people do really need the drugs to help, but I’m not promoting in drug usage in any sort of ways, I’m just saying if it helps better then do it, just don’t overdo it.

11. Window Pain (Outro) - This fucking outro man, I don’t fucking know how the fuck did Cole managed to put such a message in this outro but goddamn.

This is beautiful.

It’s all about Cole being introspective about what he wants in his life & how he is grateful for everything that happened in his life.

One interesting point about this outro is about the narrative of a girl telling about how her cousin got shot badly in her house. Her cousin was about to pick up the girl until some goons shot her cousin in the face and neck.

Surprisingly he’s still alive & the girl telling the story told that it was “God’s grace” for him to be spared alive. Unto been asked why do bad things happen & why won’t just good things happen to the world, the little girl replied:

“Because God is tryna, um Warn-warn us or teach us a lesson that we need to learn Or He’s tryna warn us of He’s comin’ back to, um, see us and take us home and redo the world He’s comin’ back to, um, have us be His children and for us to see Him for the first time so we can rejoice with Him and have our time And after we do that, He’s gonna restart the world”

Referring to Christians believing that God is going to be back to restart the world back to the pure, good world it was.

I’m surprised that Cole isn’t afraid to talk about these things, as the world is pretty much atheistic by now & I gotta respect him for being able to talk so.

12. 1985 (Intro to “The Fall Off”) - Presumably going to be the intro for his next album, Cole raps about the state of today’s Hip-Hop & easy is for a young rapper to rise & fall easily in this age of time.

People are saying that Cole is taking shots at various young reckless rappers i.e. Lil Pump/Smokepurrp/You name it, but I think that he’s actually trying to warn about how their actions could lead to their own downfall, seeing that Cole isn’t that type to be offended about today’s state of Hip-Hop (Proven by how he used trap beats & generic trap flows in this album) I don’t really think he’s “dissing” anyone here.

Welp, there it is, KOD. I like how J. Cole kept the album short & simple by just 12 tracks yet each songs has it own depths to understand about.

One thing I gotta take a not of is that… The overall album content’s pretty ironic tbh. Lit trap beats opposed to conscious rap, got me feeling some typa way.

DON’T EVEN ASK ME ABOUT HOW I FEEL ON KEVIN’S HEART, THAT SHIT LITERALLY BROKE MY HEART & MOOD, I GOTTA TAKE A BREAK FROM WRITING THIS FOR AROUND AN HOUR OR SO, JUST BECAUSE HOW I COULD RELATE TO IT. Jfc.

Personal favorites: KOD, Photograph (I fucking lOVE THIS SHIT), DAVID’S HEART YEA I SAID IT FUCK YOU, Window Pain (Outro)

My fucking goodness this album actually wrecked me wtf.