#i already know how to play the viola so we could do something with that. like how some bands have a violinist.

[changingplumbob]

New Goth: Chapter 4, Part 4

Harvestfest wraps up

CW: Mentions of death Content Warning Guide

Savannah is the twin in pink with hair clips Mercedes is the twin in blue without hair clips

Full family photo! Then Milton decides that while everyone is here he may as well show them the puppet show he’s been working on.

Rahul: What is it called

Milton: School

Cassandra: I think I’ll have to watch from a seat if that’s okay

Savannah: Mama has a baby inside so she needs to be careful

Mercedes nods halfheartedly while Milton slips on the puppets and begins his tale.

The show isn’t all that bad. Of course at creativity level 3 it isn’t all that good either… There are a few funny jokes in it that make the Chopra’s laugh though, Rahul is the best audience a kid could want. Alexander and James are using the time that Milton is being watched to work out in the home gym. They’ve already seen many versions of this puppet play from Milton. Hamlet hangs around for a while hoping for a pat but the viewers seem engrossed.

In the end Milton receives a round of applause from the family.

Savannah: We should have a puppet theatre

Mercedes: Why

Savannah: We could do stories together

Mercedes: But we can do that with dolls. Why change

Rahul: You’re not a big fan of change are you Mercedes

Mercedes: No papa. But I would like a treehouse

Rahul: *laughs* Come on you two, we should find Uncle Alexander and Uncle James and thank them before we leave

Savannah: Why

Rahul: Good manners that’s why. Now come along

Savannah: I’d like an older cousin

Mercedes: I don’t want one to boss us around like Milton does

Milton: I heard that

Rahul: Girls, I said now!

Twins: *quickly standing* Yes papa

As they leave the library Milton sighs and turns to Viola.

Milton: Did you have a good time Viola

Viola: Ye ye, gooey. Ug?

Milton hugs the toddler who is happy with the attention. Alexander and Cassandra walk in talking and the youngest Chopra is scooped up.

Cassandra: We better be getting back to Henford

Alexander: Before storytime? I need practice

Cassandra: I doubt a teen would like you reading to them but what do I know. I think my ones are getting tired, and I may need a nap myself

Alexander: Take care of yourself sis

Cassandra: I will, and if I don’t Rahul does

The rest of the day passes quickly. Alexander has joined the critic career with his eye on being a food critic, finding it a great way to combine his literature degree with his cuisine hobby. James takes care of chores around the house since he is a neat sim after all. Alexander practices his research and debate until he hits level 4, coincidentally enough the level he needs for promotion. James meanwhile spends some time playing games online with Joey, Keira and Marta.

Milton looks at this toys again before bed. He’s glad Alexander got them for him, he’d missed them. Who knows if Bella’s journals would provide any answers as to where she was, but he wanted to keep trying. He only had one mummy, and he missed her every day. Of course in the middle of the night he woke up from a bad dream and realised the way to protect himself was clear, bear suit! Before we knew it Monday was here and Hamlet was waking everyone up accordingly.

James decided to spend the day doing something he loved, fishing! He invited the club around to check out the stream that ran along the edge of the property. It had begun to snow but with no ice the fish should be biting. I had hoped they would all deposit themselves along the stream but nope. Bob decided his time was better spent upstairs watching the culinary channel. Reece caught something! It wasn’t a fish but hopefully his skill has gone up a little.

After school...

James: How was school today

Milton: Good and bad. Can you help me with my project please Uncle James? It's meant to be a volcano

James: Sure, as an ex-teacher I know my way around a fake volcano. Now tell me about school. Why was it good and bad?

Milton: I gave the note from Alexander to my teacher about my costume and she was fine with it

James: But?

Milton: *sighs* Reynaldo and Maria hung out with me but everyone else avoided me

Friendly reminder that the twins go to a different school, I promise they were not avoiding him.

James: Don’t worry about "everyone else", focus on your friends. If they still think you’re awesome enough to hang around with no matter what you want to wear, they’re good ones

Milton: I guess. It’s just hard. People treat me different even before I was in this

James: Milton... your father died and we don't know what happened to Bella. Many of the kids in your class won’t be able to think about what that means, and won’t know what to say about it. Sometimes if people don’t know what to say they’ll say nothing

Milton: I don’t miss father so much now. But I need to know what happened to mummy

James: If you need any help going through those journals I’d be happy to help

Milton: I know but… I want to do it by myself. It helps me feel close to mummy. There, is the volcano done?

James: Almost. Now you have to present it

Milton: Present it?

James: Practice for class. I’ll be a good audience and you'll be prepared for your classmates

Joey decided to swing around for dinner to catch up with everyone. It’s leftover ham from the holiday so everyone ends up feeling a bit dazed. Alexander has to go write another column for work afterwards so James, Milton and Joey put in some gaming time. I’m not sure how Milton does in the bear suit but he’s not sad so we’ll stick with it.

Previous ... Next

[aralana765]

Listening to OUaTiS again, and once again I am reminded of just how well Nastya is able to play Jonny like her viola. The convo in The Aurora Strikes starts with Jonny already upset, and she continues to tell him things that upset him, and yet he still ends up happy. Because she knows exactly how to tell him. So we start with:

N: We’re not going to argue about this. (Fact)

J: I don’t understand it, Nastya. We’ve been watching billions die for the last three decades, and we’ve been having a great time! (Defensive, doesn’t want to give up his comfy spot)

N: I know, I know. (Placating, not fighting, just like she said, letting him say his piece)

J: And now you want to go white knight over a science project with a broken snooze button? I don’t buy it. (Here I have a theory that he breaks out “white knight accidentally cause he likes being the white knight [though he would never admit it, even tho Nastya knows], and he knows that’s not Nastya’s thing at all)

N: W-well, you see, Jonny, that is because I have not been telling you the whole story! (A story! There’s a story, Jonny! We have a story here! A sure way to catch his attention) It is, uh, not actually me who is complaining. It is, uh, Aurora. Our starship. (You could argue with me, Jonny, but would you argue with the ship herself?)

J: Fuck the ship! (Fuck you, you know I wouldn’t dare)

N: I do. (Sibling moment here, also something to distract Jonny from his clinging to anger)

J: Ew! (It worked)

N: Anyway, Jonny, I am merely informing you out of courtesy, uh. You see, I’ve already told Brian to lay in the coordinates. (I told you we’re not arguing. The ship wants to go. We’re going. BUT what’s crucial here is that she keeps her tone very light, never confrontational. She’s just passing along the message)

J: Brian! That insubordinate piece of brass! (Only angry at Brian, maybe Aurora, but not Nastya, who was only passing along the message)

N: Yes, yes, I know, and we are on our way. (Very placating, very ‘I’m just updating the captain’ instead of ‘I fully hijacked the ship and crew’)

J: …well. I suppose that there’s no real danger… (I am fully in love that he actually does take the crew/ship’s safety into consideration here considering who they are. But also, here’s where he starts sliding down the slope Nastya prepared for him)

N: No there isn’t. (Confirming, gently leaning in)

J: For the ship or us. (Thinks of Aurora first, the non immortal crew member. Doesn’t have anything to do with my point. I just love that)

N: No… (letting him ease himself down the path she made)

J: And it has been a while since we’ve had any really good violence. (There’s a story here. Nastya brought up a story, this could make for a very good story)

N: It has indeed. (Says Nastya, who’s solution was to kiss the princess, and mock the idea of violence to computers)

J: Alright. [audible smirk] Let’s go.

Anyway, I know this post is a million years long since I put in the whole scene transcript + my notes, but I can’t listen to that part without imagining Nastya and Aurora having a conversation in the hall outside Jonny’s room being like “I know, I’ll just play it cool, not argue, keep his hackles from going up” and “ooh yes, good idea, make it sound like it’ll be good for a song, I love it” and “oh yeah, go tell Brian where we’re going so I can tell Jonny we’re already on the way. How is he gonna stop us? Is he gonna fight you, the ship??’

Anyway, I love these space pirate siblings who know each other so well they can have each other wrapped around their fingers when they need to

[peaches2217]

🍽

🍽️ - Dinner date

I am so sorry this took so long, but I hope it's worth the wait!!

Regalia

~~~

Mario was in full regalia.

Further: Mario was in full regalia, casually, by his own choice.

The whole getup was so very un-Mario — the deep navy tunic, the gold buttons and tasseled shoulder pads, the white trousers and tall black boots. He looked more suited for engaging in political discourse than plumbing or carpentry or any of the other hundreds of things he enjoyed far more. Yet not a single thread felt out of place. It was him, somehow, and it suited him perfectly.

Peach felt suddenly woozy. “Devastatingly attractive” didn’t even begin to describe how she perceived him in that moment. 

When she took too long with her ogling, he grinned a knowing little grin and stepped forward. She couldn’t help but blush as he took her hand. Or maybe she had already been blushing, and now she was just blushing even harder. Oh, stars.

“Your Majesty.” He dropped to one knee with a smoothness that suggested practice (but the way he wobbled briefly when he landed suggested he still needed more), kissing her knuckles. His crown sat in place of his usual cap, a smaller replica of Peach’s; the garnets and pastel sapphires set into its band caught the light of the setting sun just so, sparkling in a way that seemed almost ethereal.

Are you trying to kill me? she wanted to ask. Glancing up, she saw Toad in the gazebo a few steps away, his own attire traded for a black vest and bowtie. He offered her an eager thumbs-up.

“Look at you,” she said instead. She meant to follow up with “You look handsome,” but Mario’s eyes met hers, shining with satisfaction and reverence, and her voice stuck in her throat.

He could fill in the blanks. He knew exactly what this was doing to her.

Pushing back up to his feet, Mario led her forward, her hand still in his grasp. “I don’t know about you,” he said, a joyful lilt in his tone, “but I’m starving! Shall we?”

She only nodded, because she couldn’t trust herself with an honest response.

Thankfully, Mario was merciful enough to carry their conversation in full until she overcame her stupefaction. He wasn’t trying for full formality. In spite of his attire, the mood was relaxed, and it loosened further when Toad produced a bottle of Yoshi Berry wine from the kitchens inside. In short order they laughed and joked together as they always did, and for that Peach was grateful.

Toad stationed himself in one corner of the gazebo and filled the air with the warm tones of a viola (she hadn’t even known he could play the viola, an instrument almost as large as he was, but that was beside the point). In the lulls between topics, Mario would swirl the liquid in his glass and smile at her, the sort of smile one might expect to find on the face of a lovesick schoolboy. The sapphires in his crown couldn’t compare to the deep, denim blue of his eyes.

None of this felt real. Peach was certain she was dreaming, or that perhaps she was living in a children’s picture book, the obligatory kindly queen and her beloved, benevolent king.

But this was in fact reality, and as the haze of romanticism ran its course, she could see the signs more and more clearly.

Mario shifted frequently, tugged at the high collar of his tunic, fiddled with the buttons. Reached up to make sure his crown wasn’t sliding off, reached down to ensure his pant legs were still securely tucked into his boots. As they chatted and nursed their wine, he absently flicked at the tassels on his shoulders; he’d catch himself doing it, stop, and then start back up again as soon as he wasn’t thinking about it.

When their food finally arrived, he dug right in with something that sounded like a sigh of relief. It wasn’t just hunger, Peach recognized. He was grateful for another distraction.

He was uncomfortable. The clothes that made him look so regal in turn made him feel horribly out of place. The realization didn’t really surprise her; she had come to his first fitting for moral support, and while he had done his best not to complain as the seamstress made her measurements, his face betrayed his agony. More than once, his eyes met hers, and he mouthed an over-the-top “Help me.”

“I didn’t think becoming a royal consort meant I’d actually have to dress like one,” he had joked that night, pulling on the softest and most worn, ragged night clothes he owned. Peach had just giggled.

Guilt gnawed at the pit of her stomach. She had reacted so strongly to this new addition to his wardrobe, and judging from the look in his eyes, he had known she would. The regalia he would have to wear at least once a week as part of his new duties, maybe more, and there was no helping that. But tonight, he was putting himself through needless misery just for her sake.

She tried not to think too hard about it as she ate. Leaving her food untouched would be terribly rude.

At the completion of their meal, Peach rose from her seat and stretched her back, and Mario came around the table to offer his arm to her. “Walk with me?” he asked. She could hear no hint of an ulterior motive in his offer, nothing but a sincere wish to extend their evening. He would happily endure his discomfort just to spend more time with her. The thought brought her as much joy as it did sadness.

She took his hand instead, eyeing his gloves. She hadn’t noticed they were different. Instead of leather, dented and scuffed from constant use, these were silk.

“Wouldn’t you rather get out of that stuffy outfit?” she offered in return. She could see him in his regalia every single day and never find it any less attractive, and even now she fought the urge to accept his offer and enjoy the sight that much longer. But she couldn’t bear to indulge her own desires at the expense of his comfort.

Mario’s face twisted with surprise at her words. She didn’t even hear Toad as he left them to talk, his voice straining with suppressed laughter — “C’mon, at least let a Toad get outta earshot first!”

“You don’t like it?” Mario asked. His eyes flicked down and over himself, as though inspecting for some sort of flaw in the fabric, a missing button, a stain, but Peach put her free hand to his cheek, commanding his attention once more.

“I think it’s the most wonderful thing I’ve ever seen,” she confessed. “But you looked like you were seconds from tearing it off and clawing into your skin all night.”

“Oh.” Mario’s cheek warmed beneath her palm, and he gave her a sheepish smile. “Well… you know. Not exactly the kind of outfit I’d wear lounging around, yeah? But!” He plucked her hand from his face and brought it to join her opposite hand, cradling them both in his own much larger grasp. “I’ve gotta get used to it anyway, right? The sooner I start, the better!”

“You don’t have to torture yourself for my sake, darling.”

“Torture? No no no, tesoro mio, you misunderstand,” he said, and that smile became all at once confident and tender. “Seeing your face light up like a big Fire Flower? The way you couldn’t keep your eyes off of me? I’m a little selfish, you know. Learning to put up with this dumb thing is a lot easier when you’re making me feel like a hunk.”

Peach laughed at that, overcome with relief and affection all at once. “You are a hunk,” she said, bending to press a kiss to his cheek. He tilted his face to return the favor, and she giggled again at the way his mustache tickled her skin.

“And you’re the most beautiful princess in the whole world,” he murmured against her. “Sorry— queen.”

“Your queen.”

“My queen,” he agreed. He chuckled and pressed another kiss to the corner of her lips before pulling back, and Peach followed suit. She noted with another gentle wave of relief that he didn’t look nearly so uncomfortable right now.

“In that case,” she said, “why don’t we take that walk?” Mario squeezed her hands one final time before dropping them to offer his arm once more. If this was his preferred method of breaking in a necessary evil, she would gladly assist.

“For what it’s worth,” she continued as he led her out of the gazebo, “I think you’re a hunk no matter what you wear.”

“So if this one sits in the closet for our next date?” 

“Actually, I was thinking we could have pizza and ice cream in our pajamas instead.”

“Oh, yes, please. Same time next week?”

“Why not tomorrow?”

“Mamma mia,” Mario laughed as they walked into the calm night, “and I keep thinking I can’t fall for you any harder!”

[wellpresseddaisy]

@greens-your-color

Percy has long been a favorite of mine too. He's peevish and pompous and officious, but he'll also run into a lake fully dressed to get his brother. Headcanon-wise, I always thought he was the one who would wind up most parentified. Not so much with babies, but once the twins, Ron, and Ginny were all pre-school age or above.

Bill was at school by the time Percy was 5, the twins were 3, and Ron was an infant. When Percy was 7 and the twins 5, Charlie was at school with Bill. That's the point, when Ron was about 3, that I can see Molly asking Percy to keep an eye on his little brother. With the twins keeping her distracted, I can see that morphing into Percy being responsible for Ron. I doubt she would have asked anyone not Arthur to keep an eye on the twins for more than about 30 seconds. :)

So Percy is fierce in his protection of his whole family, but especially Ron, who he taught to tie his shoes and hold a fork and figure out reading and maths. I feel like we see that brother when Harry asks him for advice on electives.

(And I'm not trying to vilify Molly here — I think she just got a bit overwhelmed at times and didn't think through leaning on Percy so much. Also there's some birth order psychology stuff that I got very into in high school that's mostly as useful as astrology except for the parts about patterns. Percy kind of restarts the pattern with where he is—he becomes an oldest child, essentially.)

(and now I need to go sit under my desk because you said something really nice about my Ron and Hermione characterization)

If any family is going to be ridiculous enough to have a potentially mythical hairbrush, it's the Weasleys. :) None of the children have ever even seen it, but Molly insists it exists. Somewhere. She got Great Grand Aunt Viola's dressing set when she passed away and she knows she has that dratted brush somewhere.

And Snape...yeah Ron knows people exactly like him and has seen the outside of more traditional relationships. And Hermione, despite not even knowing that sort of thing existed, has always had Snape's number. Truly, though, no one is as vicious as a pair of teenagers. :) This also plays into the 'when Ron makes a joke it comes true' trope.

(and yes, things keep dovetailing with the sub-AUs in ways I didn't quite expect)

I can answer some of these! :)

Severus, as a much younger man, looked at Social Obligations and decided someone else could handle them. Since he'd made a curtsey at Almack's, he could enter into a contract that essentially gave his social life/responsibility for his social conduct into the hands of Narcissa and Lucius. They were already doing it unofficially, so it made some sense to formalize that relationship. All invitations, etc. get routed through the Malfoys so he doesn't have to deal with it. They have an agreement that he only has to appear at 3 large events (2 Malfoy-sponsored and 1 not) and 2 Almack's evenings per calendar year. Anything more and, as Lucius says, he starts chewing the doorknobs.

Tristram Yardley is a rogue and a bounder who thoroughly deserved what he got. After behaving terribly to a very young Severus (he may have had Wickham-esque schemes in mind), he mysteriously disappeared. The next spring everyone commented on how lush Narcissa's roses, herbaceous borders, and herb knot garden were.

For what happened to have Severus so wound up...some of it will have to wait for the appropriate part, but Thomas Gaunt had a very Some Enchanted Evening Moment with Severus, only instead of seeing him across a crowded room, he saw Severus going absolutely bananas at Harry Potter and went "Yes, this is The One for me. I so love a challenge" so Severus is feeling thoroughly off-balance for many reasons. Also Lucius is not exactly happy that he crashed someone else's afternoon tea in the garden to thoroughly lose his temper.

"Is he always like that?" Gaunt gestured to Professor Snape and Harry shouting at one another.

"Oh, not really," Ron answered slowly. "I reckon he and Harry bring it out in each other. Like two cats who don't want to share the same space."

[vickyvicarious]

The Couples in T&T Represent Phoenix/Dollie

I played through the second investigation day of Recipe for Turnabout the other night, and it made me realize something properly for the first time.

All of the couples in Trials and Tribulations parallel one another. Honestly, it makes sense that they would - T&T has more canon couples than any other game as far as I can recall. The series typically focuses on familial or friend relationships rather than romance of any kind. But this game in particular has a lot of couples, all of a sudden; there's gotta be meaning to that. And there is.

Every single couple in T&T reflects some aspect of Phoenix's relationship with Dahlia/Iris, and the progression of them as you go through the game reflects his journey as he heals from the betrayal, as well as exploring possible other ways Phoenix's relationship could have turned out instead (both good and bad). In doing so, it also ties in really nicely to the themes of the other two games in the trilogy.

This gets pretty long since there are a lot of couples to talk about, so I'm putting it under a cut. Read on if you like!

First off, here's a list of the couples, in order of appearance:

Feenie/Dahlia (3-1) *

Doug/Dahlia (3-1)

Ron/Desiree (3-2)

Gumshoe/Maggey (3-3)

Tigre/Viola (3-3)

Mia/Diego (3-4)

Terry/Dahlia (3-4) **

Godot/Mia (3-5)

Phoenix/Iris (3-5) *

*I'm counting these as the relationship as it was presented at the time, as well as how Phoenix thought of the relationship. I'll get a bit more into the nuance of Dahlia vs. Iris later.

** This relationship is pretty upsetting in several ways and there's a lot that could be said about it. However, for the purposes of this meta, I won't be really getting into all of that fully, instead briefly discussing the thematic/interpersonal relevance.

There's at least one couple per case (typically two which contrast one another), and no matter how you count up characters, a minimum of 5 reciprocal relationships (meaning established couples, not necessarily reciprocated feelings). Every single one of these relationships has strong importance to the plot, and what's more, we see all of the characters alive onscreen and get to interact with them (with the exception of flashback couple Doug/Dahlia). This is a significant departure from the first two games. In PW, Larry/Cindy is important, and Yanni/Polly has relevance for motivations, but in both examples one of the characters is already dead, and they don't have impacts on other cases. In JFA there's a whole love triangle at the circus centering on Regina, as well as a different sort of percieved 'love' triangle in the final case involving Adrian. Neither of these actually show a reciprocal relationship onscreen, and while you could talk about the ways they contrast one another that's a different post. We get closest with Juan/Adrian and Maggey/Dustin, but again only one person is still alive in both those pairs by the time their cases start. (Granted, I'm not counting Larry's other infatuations or Oldbag's with Edgeworth in any of these metrics. But they have a very different feel, you know?) Even games released after this one don't have the same density of romantic relationships as far as I can recall. This game stands out.

As I said before, I think the reason why is clear: all these relationships reflect Phoenix. For the first time, a main character has a romantic relationship. Not only that, but the player character, the one the series is named after, and the one whose arc this game in particular is meant to tie up. Previous games centered far more around the Feys and Edgeworth's arc, and Phoenix grew in ways related to his relationships with both of them. And that's certainly still true, don't get me wrong, but T&T puts Phoenix's own personal feelings and motivations more front and center via the throughline of his relationship in college and the aftershocks thereof. This is why there are so many romantic relationships... and why they all reflect the central one of Phoenix/Dollie (meaning both Dahlia and Iris). The exception there is Miego, which is significant as well for the fact that this game's prosecutor/rival's entire motivation is tied up in a romantic relationship. And it still ties into some of the themes going on even if not as directly as the other couples.

I'm going to break this down couple by couple, going down the list chronologically by case. Then there's a final wrap-up at the end.

.

Feenie/Dahlia

This is the catalyst. In the first case, we flash back to when Phoenix was Feenie: quick to fall in love, naive, willfully blind, very emotionally demonstrative, very emotionally vulnerable, dedicated... betrayed.

As far as Phoenix understands his relationship, it was one of deep and real love. The person he knows could never have done the things she's accused of. The person he knows loves him back. Phoenix is willing to take the fall for her even when all the evidence points Dahlia's way, even when she seems to be turning against him, because he believes so completely in the person he knows. He's even willing to destroy evidence to save her. But finally, by the end of the trial, he's forced to surrender to the facts. They don't match up to his perception, and the conclusion we (players on their first playthrough as well as the characters themselves) have to draw is that Phoenix was wrong all along. He was fooled; Dahlia used him and then tried to get rid of him when his usefulness ended. She never cared about him at all, and in fact hates him. She thinks he's an idiot.

This has lasting scars for Phoenix. He is far more closed-off after this case, far more prone to hide his feelings, or at the very least be less demonstrative. He develops a deep hatred for two things: betrayal, and poison. And it seems pretty clear that he has a harder time trusting people, at the very least in a romantic capacity.

In terms of some specific details that later on get echoed: Phoenix fell in love at first sight. His partner lied to him, and he didn't realize for a long time. She tried to poison him. Even when he had lots of evidence, he couldn't bring himself to confront the truth for quite a while.

.

Doug/Dahlia - BAD END 1

This relationship is the only one in the entire game where we don't get to see and interact with both characters. Nonetheless, this is an important early contrast to Phoenix/Dahlia, in two significant ways.

First, Doug realized Dahlia was up to something, and he broke off his relationship with her. He was able to look past his feelings to become suspicious of her.

Second, Dahlia killed Doug. When he tried to stop her from hurting someone else instead of just keeping his distance from her, he paid the ultimate price.

Doug's entire story is a look at "what could have been" if Feenie had been less trusting of Dahlia in the beginning. But it's a bad end. Doug never came forward about what he suspected Dahlia had done to Diego, possibly because he felt complicit given the poison was his creation (an early parallel to Iris); when he did try to help the second time around, he fatally failed.

Doug trusts evidence over emotion, unlike Phoenix who believed in 'Dollie' till the end. He is at once a cautionary tale of how Phoenix could have been killed by her (/representative of Phoenix's love being 'killed'), and also a kind of model to trust the facts over your feelings. Their relationship reflects Phoenix's feelings of betrayal and reluctant acceptance of the verdict immediately after his trial. As such, it's fitting that we see this couple at the same trial - it represents Phoenix's initial trauma and pain.

.

Ron/Desiree - IDEAL END

There's already a really fantastic meta about how the Delites parallel Feenie's relationship by @eggpngg, and I don't want to just retread all of what she said. Please go read that post instead - suffice to say, there are parallels between both Phoenix=Ron + Dahlia=Desiree, and Phoenix=Desiree + Dahlia=Ron.

I do, however, want to add on slightly. Just as Doug/Dahlia was a "bad end" for Phoenix, this is a different kind of 'what could have been' scenario. In this case, it's the ending he hopes for. The partner who was lying (Ron/Dahlia) was revealed to have been doing so out of love all along, and was innocent of murder. The partner who fell in love at first sight (Desiree/Phoenix) had their affection returned and their faith in their partner rewarded in the end. Though there were still lies and betrayal, everything turned out okay in the end and they were stronger than ever.

The Delites represent the kind of relationship Phoenix hoped for. They are his last kernel of uncertainty about the trial, the part of him that stubbornly, even after so long, can't help but think about how different the Dollie he knew was from the Dahlia he saw on the stand. It's his wistful daydreaming and doubting, something he wanted but never got. This would be a recurring dream in the time shortly after the trial, as Phoenix dwells on his college relationship.

.

Gumshoe/Maggey - HOPEFUL END

Gumshoe's affections for Maggey aren't returned. In fact, she feels as though he has betrayed her when his testimony is unhelpful, and is angry at him for most of the trial. However, they are both good people who care about others. Maggey's anger is based on a misunderstanding, and by the end of the trial, Gumshoe's earnest affections and dedication to her is able to reach her. She may not feel the same way, but their relationship isn't broken. And there's hope that she may return his affection in the future (the gifted trenchcoat).

Maggey is Phoenix in several ways: accused of murder, feeling betrayed. But Gumshoe is Phoenix too: he believes in the person he loves, she doesn't love him back, he investigates and learns the truth for her sake. This time around, no one is really playing the role of Dahlia/Iris. Instead, both parts of this couple still represent a better outcome Phoenix wishes could have happened for himself.

However, once we are looking at them purely in terms of metaphor for Phoenix's relationship, Gumshoe/Maggey as a couple is asking for a lot less. Phoenix has over time given up on the idea of a true happy ending like the Delites got. Maybe it's true that Dahlia never loved him. Maybe it's been long enough that he's almost okay with that. But what if she weren't truly all that bad? What if she at least weren't a killer - what if he could have saved her? It's still a hope... just a smaller hope, something more tempered. Phoenix eventually moved on from still being in love with his Dollie; at the same time he never quite got over hoping she truly was the person he knew.

.

Tigre/Viola - BAD END 2

In the same case that we see Gumshoe/Maggey as a kind of softer hope, we get this couple as a harsh, even brutal, reminder of the reality of how Phoenix/Dahlia turned out. Tigre/Viola are sharply divided in who they represent, for the first time. There isn't any mixup between Phoenix mirroring both people in the couple, or even between Dahlia/Iris really. Instead, for the first time, Iris/Phoenix both share a representative. But I'll get to that in a moment; first, Tigre.

Tigre is firmly Dahlia. His only callback to Iris is when he impersonates another person to cover up his own crime - and that could be seen as relating to Dahlia too, given she later impersonates Iris. Tigre was the first one to approach his partner and initiate a romantic relationship, in an attempt to avoid consequences for a crime he had just committed (car crash/poisoning Diego). He stayed with Viola out of a fear of the consequences catching up to him, but despite her devotion, he looked down on her. Tigre even insulted her as soon as the jig was up, much like Dahlia expressed contempt for Phoenix once she was no longer pretending to love him. Tigre's weapon of choice was poison, just like Dahlia. And just like Dahlia, he used someone's love for him to help him get away with a murder he'd already committed.

Meanwhile, Viola is an amalgam of both Phoenix and Iris (and someone else, but I'll get to that later). She is Phoenix, once again, in that love at first sight. In trusting and believing her partner even against her own doubts. However, this time, that trust isn't warranted, and she's eventually forced to confront that fact. She is betrayed and injured by the one she loves... and all because she just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time (car crash/courtroom meeting). She's also Iris - despite knowing what she's doing is wrong, despite knowing Tigre is a murderer, she loves him and wants to protect him from being arrested, so she impersonates someone else (Viola faking being a waitress poisoning someone/Iris being 'Dollie' ).

This bad end comes later for a reason. Because Phoenix has to be the one to help Viola face the truth about Tigre. He's very gentle about it too, guiding her along with evidence in a Psyche-Lock conversation as he says things like, "But do you honestly believe that to be true?" and "Do you want to know what I think...?" leading into him asking her if it's possible Tigre is only with her because he's scared of Bruto. Phoenix doesn't often talk this way. He isn't usually callous or anything, but he generally speaks confidently when presenting evidence, making statements as opposed to questions. But in this moment, he just gives Viola the option gently. He leads her to the truth, just like he was led in his own trial - but not forcibly (unlike his trial). He's obviously empathizing with her feelings in this moment of horrible acceptance.

And then comes this exchange:

Viola: I wanted to believe him... I wanted to trust what Don Tigre said... He said it had nothing to do with my grandfather being Bruto Cadaverini... I wanted to believe he helped me because he cared about me. Not about my grandfather... But I knew... That wasn't really true... Maya: Wow. I'm so sorry. Viola: What he did to get the money was... It was... evil! Phoenix: ...! Viola: He said it was all for me... So I... I helped him...

Viola hands over her medical records, and as soon as she leaves, Phoenix exclaims, "It's inexcusable!" out loud, before going on to think, "(There are two things that I consider inexcusable. Poisoning, and betrayal! Only a coward would hurt people using either of these tactics.)" He's obviously visibly upset, because Maya asks if he's okay. And then right after this, when they meet Tigre, Phoenix gets so angry at him. In the second game, Phoenix mostly got over his tendency to show vital evidence to murderers and reveal his hand too soon, seeing as it never worked out for him (White, von Karma). But he does it again here, and the only reason the evidence isn't stolen from him is because of Gumshoe stepping in. Tigre demands the medical records back, and Phoenix shows them just to tell Tigre he won't be getting them. He brings up the betrayal of Viola's trust. He swears that he'll convict Tigre. It's no longer just about defending Maggey - Phoenix wants revenge this time.

And that's the big difference between this bad ending and the last one. Doug represented the pain Phoenix felt in the immediate aftermath. Viola represents the anger Phoenix feels when all is said and done. The hatred he has for Dahlia, the desire to confront her and get revenge for how much she hurt him. Viola isn't dead like Doug in the aftermath; instead, it's heavily implied that she poisons Tigre in prison, acting out the kind of revenge Phoenix wants to have. (But using a method he considers cowardly and would never do, foreshadowing how revenge isn't his primary motivator even when he gets the urge.)

This is also foreshadowing for Phoenix's urge to defend Iris later on. By merging Phoenix and Iris's roles together here, instead of Iris/Dahlia, Viola opens a path to putting them on the same side for the first time. Thematically we are shifting towards Phoenix/Iris reconciliation and Phoenix/Dahlia enmity, just in time for things to all start fitting together.

.

Mia/Diego - HOPEFUL BEGINNING

This brings us to the next flashback. Miego stand out among all the other couples in the game, because they actually hold nearly an equal share of narrative weight as Phoenix/Dollie. Their relationship is key to Mia's hatred of Dahlia (which lead to her and Phoenix inspiring one another), as well as motivating everything Godot does after he wakes up from his coma. As such, Mia and Diego don't quite reflect Phoenix's relationship in the same way that all the other couples do. Instead, they hold their own. In fact, some of the other couples reflect them as well, though to a lesser degree that more concerns things echoing what happened to Diego (e.g., an entire case revolving around poisoned coffee).

However, the difference between Miego when they're both alive, and the state of affairs in the present time, is a distinct contrast as well. Miego in 3-4 aren't a couple yet. Instead, their relationship is something hopeful, something that develops out of a comradery and dedication to the truth/justice. Every couple in this game has a relationship that is hurt by lies or misunderstandings. Miego and the Delites are the only established couples where those secrets are entirely about helping the other person, and were forgivable without costing the relationship. Yes, Diego meeting up with Dahlia ends up putting him in a coma and their relationship isn't resumed after that, but we don't see any evidence of Mia resenting him for continuing to work on the case, or anything like that.

Of course, none of that happens yet - that's for later, chronologically in between 3-4 and 3-1. During this trial, Mia and Diego's relationship is most importantly one of equal partners, both supporting and encouraging one another.

.

Terry/Dahlia - BAD END 3

Every time there are two couples in the same case, they contrast one another, as well as represent one good/bad possibility each. Everything about the Terry/Dahlia relationship is completely different from Mia/Diego.

Miego are just beginning; Terry/Dahlia are finished both as a couple, and also never going to see one another after this. Mia and Diego both want the same things, and work together to get them. In their initial relationship, Terry wanted love, Dahlia wanted money, and she actively sabotages him. When they met again, he wanted the truth while she worked to hide it. Miego are partners. Diego is a bit older, and more experienced than her initially, but they're both adults, clearly mentally on a level and even over the course of just this one trial he begins to start working with and supporting her as an equal rather than a subordinate. Contrast that to the many layers of inequality in Terry/Dahlia, from the pedophilic age gap (20/14) to Dahlia's cleverness vs. Terry being portrayed as slow/possibly disabled (a not-so-great portrayal to say the least), to him being her teacher and her his student, etc.

This relationship of course culminates with both possible bad endings Phoenix later avoids in his trial: Terry refuses to admit the truth that Dahlia betrayed him, and dies from drinking poison on the stand. Phoenix comes alarmingly close to both outcomes, but manages to escape physically/legally unscathed despite the trauma he experiences.

Neither of the couples in this flashback case directly correspond to Phoenix's recovery from/emotions about his relationship with Dahlia after the fact. That makes sense given that it is a flashback set before he even was in said relationship. However, they both represent one final "what could have been" contrast, one Phoenix learns about when he is in the hospital, preparing to defend Iris in court. Before he learns the full truth of the matter, he gets one final look at how things could have gone for him. Either a supportive partnership (what he wanted, but which could never happen with Dahlia), or a dismal end (what he nearly got).

.

Godot/Mia - BAD END 4

The thing is, as soon as he learns about Miego, Phoenix realizes who Godot is. And while he may not instantly know that he was the one who killed Misty and why, as soon as he knows Diego's identity, seeing Godot prosecute Iris has got to be ringing alarm bells. Godot at the very least could be drawing the same connections between Dahlia and Iris as Phoenix. (In fact he's way ahead of him for a while.)

Mia/Diego doesn't get to remain a simple "what if" of a happy couple for Phoenix. As soon as he realizes who the people involved are, he knows they ended in tragedy as well. But Godot's storyline doesn't represent a possible bad end for Phoenix/Dahlia back in the day anymore. Instead, his actions which lead to 3-5 are a continuation of what we saw with Viola/Tigre in 3-3. We're picking back up on Phoenix's current-day emotional arc, and Godot is following in Viola's footprints in one very specific way. He is obsessed with getting revenge on Dahlia (remember, Tigre = Dahlia. As I said, that distinct split there was significant in multiple ways, and Viola parallels one more character).

And Godot is the final bad ending. Sure, he gets his revenge... but it's at a terrible cost. A cost that both he and others are forced to pay. This is what comes of being more focused on the anger and pain you feel, instead of moving on and focusing on the people you still have. The comparison can go even farther because just like Phoenix always has a client he is protecting, Godot was 'protecting' someone in Maya. The plan that he/Misty/Iris use is bonkers and not the best way to keep Maya safe at all, but as @queergodot said once, that's kind of the point. It makes sense for all three characters, and for Godot specifically, it's clear that his drive to protect Maya got twisted up in his wish to be the one who protects her (a different thing than making sure she is protected) and of course his hatred of Dahlia and desire for revenge. Godot/Mia in the final trial is the counter to Phoenix/Iris in the same trial, because once again we have a bad end and a better one.

.

Phoenix/Iris - TRUE END

Phoenix finally learns the truth at the end of the game. His intuitions/hopes were never wrong, exactly: the woman he loved wasn't the Dahlia revealed to him in the courtroom. Iris loved him back, and would never have tried to murder him. And yet, the betrayal he felt was just as real. Iris knew what Dahlia was up to and willingly went along with it. She lied to Phoenix for their entire relationship, and then was too afraid to admit the truth to him in all the years since. Just like Doug, her inability to admit to her complicity in her first crime with Dahlia put her in danger later.

Phoenix learning the truth and protecting Iris is the better end than what happens to Godot and Mia, but it's not a good ending. It's at best hopeful, and if we take the following games into account it's clear they never resume any kind of romantic relationship after this. That's not really any surprise, though. If we follow the 'good ends' leading up to this point, they have been getting less and less hopeful for that. It's been years, and Phoenix is no longer in love with Iris. But he still cares deeply for her, and for what they had. This 'true ending' is most importantly closure for him. It marries together the evidence/facts of the case with what Phoenix's intuition/heart always said. He wasn't wrong to doubt; he also wasn't wrong to accept the facts. Everything makes sense now, everything is out in the open, and he can finally move on.

Phoenix and Iris somewhat contrast Mia/Diego in this final case, by being on the same side. It isn't immediate, far from it... for a long time Iris refuses to fully cooperate despite allowing Phoenix (well, first Edgeworth) to defend her. But she does agree to be defended, she listens to Edgeworth's request that she tell Phoenix the truth, and later does in fact do so as much as possible without betraying Godot, before finally being ready to tell him all after the trial is over. In contrast, Mia and Diego are literally on opposite sides of the courtroom; as soon as they begin to work together even somewhat it's the 'death' of Diego as it leads right to what he did, whereas Iris cooperating helps Phoenix win the case. When Diego finally admits the truth, it's an admission of guilt, not innocence. Neither pair are exactly a team of in-sync partners like Miego were in 3-4, but Phoenix and Iris at least come closer to having a 'positive outcome' (though honestly, the death of Godot and resuming the identity of Diego is much healthier ending for his character than escaping repercussions would've been).

Really though, far more than 3-4 (generally more of an outlier case), both of them follow 3-3 better. Phoenix could have gone down the same route as Viola (is implied to have) and Godot did, becoming wrapped up in revenge. But just as, even in the midst of his anger, he felt so much compassion for Viola helping Tigre out of love, so too does his compassion for Iris win out over his anger towards Dahlia. This is what shifts Phoenix away from the track leading to a final bad end, and instead lands him on something much closer to the resolution of Gumshoe/Maggey from the same case. While Iris is actually guilty of crimes other than murder, and so doesn't walk free at the end like Maggey did, she's not guilty of the crime of trying to kill Phoenix, the most central one to their destroyed relationship. In the end, just like Gumshoe/Maggey, the misunderstanding is cleared up and they end on positive terms. In the final visit to the Iris in the detention center, there's even a hint that he may still have feelings for her, just like we got a hint that Maggey may feel something for Gumshoe. Neither turns into anything in this game (and indeed ever, for Feenris; I believe there's room to read into Magshoe in AAI but it's still not like a confirmed thing), but they don't really need to, because that isn't the point.

The point is that closure. The truth. And choosing compassion over anger. That's the final culmination of Phoenix's arc, and while it does result in Dahlia losing one final time and that's very satisfying, the most important thing is reconfirming his dedication to truly protect people and ensure justice. Justice, not revenge, even when the lines may start to get blurry between the two.

.

Wrap-Up

Phoenix loved Dollie, and was betrayed horribly. In the immediate aftermath he felt deeply hurt (Doug/Dahlia), though a part of him still longed for it all to have been a mistake and for things to end happily (Delites). As time passed, he eventually got over being in love, but still couldn't completely let go of the idea that she hadn't been evil (Gumshoe/Maggey). At the same time, the pain he felt slowly transitioned into anger for all she'd put him through (Viola/Tigre). Finally, he learned the further truth and saw how much more was lost than he ever knew (Mia/Diego) as well as how much worse things could have been for him (Terry/Dahlia). He learned the last missing piece of the story and gained closure at last, choosing compassion (Phoenix/Iris) over revenge (Godot/Mia).

All the couples in the game tie in really well to his arc (with Miego as one partial exception). And not only that, but this storyline helps to conclude the trilogy by marrying themes from the first and second game together. In PW, Phoenix is driven by a belief in Edgeworth that initially flies in the face of the person he's become. It's 'I know my Dollie would never do that' in another guise, and while that faith is justified somewhat, it only goes so far. In JFA (as well as RftA, honestly) Phoenix is confronted with the limits to that sort of belief/motivation. @96percentdone wrote a really good meta about the themes of JFA, I highly recommend you read it. Not going over everything he already said again here, but in the end Phoenix's choice in the Engarde trial shows him the limitations of saving everyone and forces him to choose the truth. T&T now takes both those ideas and first pits them against one another in Phoenix's trial, before resolving the conflict in Iris's trial. We go from "heart" to "truth" to finally, both together instead of being in conflict.

[ask-emile-sdv]

we should go on a date! i know a great spot: the epic the musical livestream tomorrow night (i wrote this as of 8/28) (im not indoctrinating you into my obsession i swear) (please dont call me a theater gay my partner already does TvT) you can hear calypso go ALL WE COULD WANT HERE ALL WE COULD NEED HERE or telemachus going I KNOW LIFE AND FAITH ARE SCARY BUT I WANNA BE LEGENDARY or even zeus singing. zeus's main song is very zeus btw but god games isnt just zeus's song its a song where he gets his kids and wife to be pit against athena its p cool (APHRODITE YOUR LITTLE HIGH AND MIGHTY ODYSSEUS CLAIMS TO LOVE HIS MOTHER BUT LET HER DIE OF A BROKEN HEART HE WAS BUSY FIGHTING MORE LIKE BUSY SPITING THE CYCLOPS LET HIM FEEL THE PAIN THAT HIS MOTHER FELT AND ROT) augh uh. one sec. lemme actually do smth coherent

EPIC: The Musical is an Odyssey retelling and adaptation made by a young man Jorge "Jay" Rivera-Herrans. It started out during lockdown because he had another musical he was working on but due to COVID restrictions it made him and his then-crew unable to continue working. During COVID, however, he wanted to make another musical. And so, for over four years now, he has been writing, casting, and recording EPIC: The Musical. It is a musical sectioned into sagas, five of which being in the first act and the other four being delegated to the second. There have been six sagas released thus far, with the Wisdom Saga, the seventh saga, being released on Friday, August 30th.

Jay has explicitly stated in his videos about the creative process that he takes heavy inspiration for how he conveys plot points and the like from anime and video games, more heavily the latter as he is attempting with EPIC to create a musical that feels like a video game. The way he does this is by giving each saga a boss battle, each with such powerful music to match. In Poseidon's "Ruthlessness" he preaches to Odysseus the true meaning of this world: ruthlessness is mercy upon ourselves, a message that sums up the entire theme of the musical and that is repeated throughout. In Zeus's song titled "Thunderbringer" it repeats his brother's preaching but he didn't explicitly tell him, more showed him by forcing him to choose between making it home to his son and wife--something he said he'd trade the world for in the second song--or saving his crew that had just mutinied moments before. And by the end of the musical, Odysseus has internalized every boss battle and we get to watch him become the final boss from the perspective of those who tried to wrong him and that are getting punished for their actions. By the end of the musical, Odysseus is a heavily changed man and the final song is titled "Would You Fall In Love With Me Again" which is a song to his wife, Penelope. She shows up often in the musical, not often physically, but often pops up because Odysseus proclaims that all he wishes to do is to see his wife and son. Jay assigned each character an instrument, and while I cannot recall each off of the top of my head, Penelope's instrument is a viola. In act two, when we hear the song "Suffering" we can hear something is off because yes this is her voice, but her viola is missing. That minor detail is enough to set off alarm bells in many a fan's head, and it did!

Back to the end of the musical, we get to see a reunion between two lovers, but only after what is a reunion for one and a first meeting for the other--the song between Odysseus and Telemachus, his son. It is one of the most heart-wrenching songs in the musical, just the snippets are enough to move to tears. Odysseus's assigned instrument is a guitar, and for the first time in a while, it is a quiet tune that plays on the guitar used in that song. Just that guitar alone hurts to listen to, at least for me. Anyway, I've waffled on more than enough! Sorry for the ramble, wanted to do something a bit fancier than what i tend to do.

I’m sorry- a date?!

Well- uh- I don’t think we’re THAT close!!!

But… Greek Mythology sounds cool I guess. Even if I’m not really a musical guy. Besides, someone has to look after you, hm?

I GUESS if I have time I might listen…. Only because I don’t have anything to do!

[unknownjang]

A Midsummer’s Night Dream

I smiled as I’m entering the green house of grandpa’s house, it’s quite big for just him in this house all alone. As my gaze search for her silhouette, I walked slowly. My smile went wider as I found her sleeping on the couch. Is it really comfortable for a woman to sleep on the couch? I think it just her case though. My mother definitely won’t sleep on a single couch, well that applied for my sister-in-law too.

Oh, she wakes up.

I tilted my head and the sounds of ices’ that meet each other just clattering around as I moving it towards her forehead. Then it stops when the juice that I brought for her touch her forehead. The curved eyelashes of her curled up together tightly, I chuckled.

“Hey lady, wipe your mouth and drink this.” I said in playfully tone.

I smiled and then offered her the ice tea that I’ve made before entering this green house. I’m smiling as I see her frowned forehead, a little sweat came down through her cheek. Yeah, it’s piping hot. My smile goes wider as she wipes her face off with her tiny wrist.

“…I don’t drool,” she said. What a cute situation. I’ve been more comfortable around her as time goes by, it’s fascinating how we were about getting married in a matter of days. Well, it’s just a fake marriage for grandpa’s sake before he died so my dad and mom easily let go of me, I think? Something feels off…but I don’t know what. Or am I just over-think about it? Oh, come on. As she wipes fast her slightly sweats, I handed out the drink for her.

“You should’ve brought a pillow instead a book,” I said, my ups and downs eyelashes meet each other as the weigh of my hand become lighter because she already took away the ice tea that tighten before from my palm.

As I sat down beside her, I look at her with wide open smile. She’s slurping her ice tea down with a slightly blush cheeks because what I said before.

“I just dozed off for a bit, okay…?” Said her defendly, I chuckled.

One idea I thought before came to this green house, come up again in my head.

“I’m so bored, wanna go out?” As I leaned to the back and hold my torso’ weight with my palm as I slurping my ice tea all-over again.

“Nope, it’s too hot today.” She said, don’t even a second thought. I can tell it just by her single strand hair sticks to each one of the other strands of her hairs. The sweat before keep coming all the way from her forehead and fallen each one slightly. I just noticed that…her eyes are deeply black even more as I look at it.

“Then…are you still interested in learning to play the piano? We could do it together, I can teach you.” I suggested her. Her face of a little excitement can’t be hidden from my sight. But she seems quite hide it when I noticed it, but still, I can clearly notice her slightly blush. She’s blushing even more at this summer time. The face of her is just like, “it was an unexpected but enticing suggestion. When I couldn’t get over my ennui, I’d press the keys on the piano one by one, and he would come over and play it for me. It was enjoyable to close my eyes and listen, but there were times when I wished I could make a sound with my fingers.” I could say that, in details, because before…she seems so excited about piano.

“Doesn’t it take a long time to learn?” Seems she’s a bit hesitant about this one, but well yeah, it takes long to learn but it’s not as hard as the other instrument, I’d say. Piano is a string instrument too, same with violin, cello, viola, guitar, and the other string instruments. All instruments can be easily played by if you’re capable to afford it and not lazy, as long as there’s an ambition within you, I’d guess you can play it, goodly.

“I can teach you a few songs that are fast to learn.” I said confidently. Then, I played the notes off in the air, pretending there’s an invisible piano that flying around us. I’m smiling genuinely at her excitement, it makes me go all-excited to teach her too somehow.

“Then let’s do it right now….!” She said.

We sat side by side in piano chairs. I didn’t think about opening the score and instead unfolded the index fingers of my hands, the intention was for her to copy what I did. I’ve seen her hands before and it’s not hand that look like wannabes actress. It’s the hand of hard-working person. I want to see more about her, her true self.

“First, I need you to give your two fingers.” I said with my index fingers still unfolded.

“Fingers?” Hmn? Did I make her insecure because of what I said before? I didn’t mean that in a bad way though… I can clearly see her hands “grasp”-ing on her skirt.

“Are you hesitating because of what I said before? It’s not the first time I’ve seen them, so just give them to me.” I grab her hands gently, don’t want to make her uncomfortable. A little sigh of relief came out of my mouth, I closely my eyes as I grab her look tough hands.

I’m smiling, she unfolds her index fingers like I did before. I’m covering her tiny hands with mine on top of her; grabbing her hands, with our index fingers unfolded together. My thumbs grab her hands to lead her hands whenever I move. It does look like I’m holding the sticks of xylophone, it’s tiny.

“…I don’t mind,” I said that to comforting her, to keep her relax.

“See, are you okay with doing it like this?”

“Keep the pressure on your fingers.” I said. Each pressure made from our fingers that pressured the piano will surely makes different sound that coming from it. I’m smiling again, this time I’m looking at my hands that held on altogether.

♩ Ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ♩

“Chopstick March!” She said excitedly as she knew where the melody we’ve been playing from, I chuckled again. It really is excited to teach her like this.

“Bingo.”

♩ Ding ding ding ♩

“I feel like my fingers became the sticks of xylophone,” a little laugh comes out from her mouth, it makes me smiling all over again.

♩ Ding ding ♩

“Don’t just laugh, memorize it properly.” We laughed ourselves down when the melody is still ongoing.

♩ Ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ♩

As my hands continue to lead her the way of the notes, the muscle memory of mine still continuing the movement. It’s a fun piece and because the fact that this piece is played by two people, so it’s match for us to playing so. But for now, let me just lead you all the way because this is your—

“Teach me something other than this music.” I went silent as I heard that. The first thing that came up on my mind is “why?” Is she still hate me like before? I don’t think so… Then why is that? Or is that just unreasonable?

“Why?” I asked, took out the curiosity out of my mind.

“Because I can’t play this one alone.”

“I think it’d be best to learn something I can play alone.”

“…”

I frowned my forehead, I look at her with that expression, I don’t think she look back at me. I went speechless as I’m looking into her eyes. I don’t really feel hurt that she wants to play this all alone, but it just feels…tingling? The tingling one that I don’t like it. I don’t really know what is it. But then I just let it go and play it off, so the moment we’re spending right now don’t feel awkward or something like that.

“… How about this music?” I played the notes of Summer by Joe Hisaishi, it giving the vibe summer that really catchy to ears, I’d say. I let go off her hands before start to playing the music, I can remember the music sheet through my muscle memory. My gaze isn’t at her anymore, my gaze close as I played it. It giving you a calmness feeling through this music.

“… Sounds nice.” Then I stopped playing and start to leading her again, I’m smiling again but isn’s really the same smile I used before. Now I’m a bit relax because of the song too.

“Then put your fingers here and…” Since I don’t lead her with my hands and hers touch altogether, I point out my index finger and point it to the tuts that she should press it with her fingers, I enjoyed time like this, but it’s a bit pity that I didn’t hold her hands to lead her movement anymore. But well, I can’t deny that it really is nice to have accompany when playing instrument like this, I’d say. I just prefer it. It’s not like playing alone isn’t fun all this time. I’ve fun playing music in my entire life since my parents didn’t really force me nor my grandpa.

♩ Ding ding ♩

“You catch on fast.” I praised her, I can see her smiles again, this time is proud smile that came out of her face. Haha, she’s really something, isn’t she? But sometime, she just be quite for the entire time, and sometime, she laughs and smiling a lot like today. I’d prefer her to smile more, I think.

♩ Ding ♩

“I think I’m a natural talent.” She laughed as she looks at me with those happy and proud eyes, I’m smiling back and chuckled a bit.

My eyes look down, I contemplated, it felt like I just fell into dark pitch. I always think about this thing that is been bothering me a lot lately. I put my trust on her, that she’s the real person of the person that I can’t trusted all this time. Eventually, as I talked with my father and her even more, I started to beliving that it’s really her.

But this time, there’s feeling that should’ve been none, but there is it. I’m not against my parents, but it just growing in me this whole time. It got me overwhelmed.

“…”

I look up at her with serious expression of mine, I said something.

“I don’t think you’ll tell me anything, so I want you to know.”

I continued, tapping the piano keyboard with meaningless gestures.

“I’ve decided I’m going to do this as I please. So, you should do the same.”

“What are you s…?” Before she can say something, I got up from my seat without giving her the explanation that I knew she asked before she can fully question-ing it. I can feel that she’s hesitant to hold me with her curiosity as she still hesitant, I entered my room.

Knowing that it was an unintelligible remark that can make her confused about what I said if she didn’t understand what I mean. I still didn’t explain it, I think it’s okay, with the time goes by she’ll understand what I meant.

What I felt like.

[ravioverse]

For the prompts, maybe two of the ravio's having to work together even if they don't like it?

Like whether personalities clash or early adventure when they don't trust each other yet?

I saw this and saw the opportunity for both 'personalities clash in early adventure' and to write an episode that I've mentioned before but didn't really elaborate on, so I took that opportunity. Thank you so much for the prompt!

Here's a showcase of Viola and Compass having conflict while under pressure because a certain instrument disappeared c:

-----

"HOW? We were only gone for five minutes, how can it be MISSING?"

Viola's hair was rapidly turning into a knotted mess the more he ran his hands through it, pacing a hole into the ground as he fruitlessly searched for an answer. It didn't make sense. They'd intentionally gone further away from civilization because they were unsure how the enhanced magic of this era would affect the Viola of Space, but that was hardly a problem now.

The new, much larger problem was that it had VANISHED.

"Well, what did you think would happen?" That condescending tone coming from a teenager made Viola want to scream. "You took it out, then ran off to go deal with some monster, leaving it fully unattended. That's asking for something to get stolen."

Viola let out a deep, shuddering breath that sounded more like a growl as he glared at Compass. "And who was the one getting into trouble, hm? I think I remember someone wandering straight into octorok territory and screaming for help-"

"I did not 'scream for help!'" came the indignant retort. "Shouting in surprise is not the same thing as screaming for help! Besides, how hard is it to put the SACRED FUCKING ARTIFACT away before running after someone?"

Goddesses above, Viola wanted to throttle this kid.

Still, the already-present flush of embarrassed rage only intensified because he was right. The viola should have been properly put away before he ran to help Compass deal with those monsters, but how was he supposed to know that Compass wasn't inching closer to death with every second he delayed? How was he supposed to know that he'd simply gotten pelted in the side by an overgrown squid? It hadn't been anything near important enough to warrant the rush he'd granted it, but how was he supposed to know?

Viola ran his hands through his hair once again, with another frustrated sigh accompanying the action. "Well, we still need to find it!" He said sharply, finally turning his frantic gaze at his four companions. "We're stuck here until we do!"

"Uh… with what leads?" Their newest recruit had to point out the obvious, didn't he? Warp even helpfully elaborated, "There aren't any tracks around where it was."

"I DON'T KNOW!" Viola snapped, but the immediate flinch at his volume sent a new pang of guilt through his chest. "There has to be something," he muttered, looking away.

"No reason to yell at somebody else for your fuck-up though," Compass said, sounding more irritated than before. "You don't get to take out your shit on us just because-"

Distant notes carried through the air.

"Shut up."

"What was that?"

"I said shut the fuck up!" Viola snapped again, turning to locate where the noise was coming from. "Listen. Do you hear that?"

The sound of strings became more clear as the arguing paused. Distant, but close enough to be heard. And whoever was playing it clearly didn't have much experience, but Viola could already tell what melody they were trying to replicate.

Viola all but pushed Compass and Empyrean out of his way as he bolted in the direction of the music, swearing violently all the while. He couldn't wait for the others. The Viola of Space didn't care about skill as long as the correct notes were played in the correct order, and whoever was trying to play it now had obviously heard the Song of Space and was dangerously close to getting it right.

By the time he was close enough that the player had to be just beyond a few more trees, he heard the Song of Space plucked from the sacred instrument.

In an instant, an opaque dome of muted colors appeared before Viola. He stumbled to a halt just before he could run directly into it, his veins filling with ice at the sight. The radius seemed much larger than it ever had before, reaching at least ten feet into the air, and Viola could only guess it was the same all around. And as quickly as it appeared, it vanished, with a sudden gust of wind that pulled every surrounding tree, stone, and person toward the newly-vacant space.

Viola felt like his very breath had been sucked out of him. The force of the gale on his back on top of the knowledge that the Viola of Space was gone made breathing feel damn near impossible.

It didn't take long for the others to catch up with him, announced by an impressed "Lorelle's grace," from Empyrean at the sight of the crater. It likely wasn't more than a few seconds, but soul-crushing despair had a way of stretching time.

"What happened?" Warp asked, awe and horror mixing in his voice.

"What does it look like?" Viola asked, as the need to explain the obvious scratched at his nerves. "Whoever took the viola just escaped! With a chunk of Lorule."

"It can do that?"

"HERE, APPARENTLY."

"Goddesses… Okay…" Warp murmured, clearly hesitating before he attracted more of Viola's frustration. "So… what now?"

"Until one of us figures out a different way to travel between worlds, we're stuck here!" Viola announced, finally getting to his feet again. His voice dripped with sarcasm as he asked, "Anyone have any surprise artifacts waiting to be revealed? Anything with space magic? I'm all ears."

"Any space magic?" Compass asked, reaching for his own gold-tipped staff. "Because this might work."

"You're fucking joking."

"I'm actually not, thanks for the vote of confidence," he said, ignoring Viola's tone. "This is the Advent Rod. It usually can't create gates to anywhere other than its normal destinations, but clearly magic is off the charts here. So it might work."

There was a moment of stunned silence before Origin - Origin - chimed in, stating, "It's worth trying." When all eyes went to him, he simply muttered, "It's not as if we have any other options."

"He's right," Empyrean agreed. "It's either try this or be stuck in this time while someone or something runs wild with the Viola of Space. I think it's our best shot."

"Fine," Viola spat, loathing the satisfaction that Compass clearly got from the word. "Just do whatever you need to."

The magic of the Advent Rod was far less graceful than the Viola of Space. While the sphere of space magic had appeared in an instant and left a vacuum in its wake, Compass' portal opened much more slowly, accompanied by horrible, booming CRACKS as the Advent Rod's magic tore a hole in the fabric of reality. Air began to rush toward it, as if the dark colors of the portal were hiding just as much of a void as the sphere had.

Viola barely heard Empyrean shouting for them to "GO!" before they all stopped fighting the wind and surrendered to the portal's event horizon.

His final thought before entering it was, "Compass better be able to close this."

[xoxo-bunnydumpling]

At the end of their selections (viola and cello actually showed up and I'm so glad), the emcee came up to gently rag on the trio for being out of their caves. Viola and cello guys work together in IT, and Eli isn't what you'd call a stage person...usually. The other two said something about stretching their comfort zones and Eli, bless him, said his wife made him.

As the wife in question I will say I didn't MAKE him, I just bet him that he wouldn't and he took to needing to prove me wrong pretty well. So well that I kinda had to pull him into a corner backstage and moosh him. We were almost late for our very last minute rendition of "The 12 Days of Christmas" (the couple who was going to do it came down with positive COVID tests the day before)...and I'm very proud that I made it through most of it, and would have made it through all of it without busting up if Eli had not had so many birds in his pockets. On the second round, bereft of any more leaping lords, he handed me a whale and said "fresh out of lords, but look at him, lord of the seas" and that's when I became mostly non-functional.

We did finish though (and after two songs and being accosted by birds I was glad that was the closer) and I'm a little impressed at how much shit we can cram into our brains at such short notice...though the techs were notified of the COVID problem the day before, we weren't asked to do the additional song until two hours before we opened and that's a thing I did NOT miss about live theater.

All in all, pretty fun. Eli surprised us all with a number even I didn't know about, an original tune carrying the theme of charity...shocked as fuck when he took the mic from our emcee and just so sweetly sang about how how he knows everyone still has cash on them and he wants it. "Cash for Christmas" did lead to several hundred dollars in additional donations (collected by Eli personally as he sang and rounded tables, a full hundo by one exuberant woman who stuffed it into the waistband of his pants) and fuck me I'll admire his brand of chutzpah for the rest of my life.

They already want us all back for next year but that's a year and a baby away so who knows. All I know is if Eli puts his violin back in the closet and forgets about it again I'm going to be hella disappointed...at the very least, he could play for me because holyyyy shit, I could watch him all day. 😍

[lejindaryikiki]

Chapter 1

A woman knocked on the door of Leena's room and opened it, only to see that the room was empty and everything was kept neat. Leena was already studying with her books open.

"Leena? You're up."

"Yep, mom. Just being busy with my studies. Could you close the door? " Leena told her.

"Oh, okay." She closed the door so that her daughter does not get disturbed. This was the only conversation she had with her mother.

Leena was not depressed. The fact is that she was in grief because she had lost her father and she does not talk to anyone too much, especially her family and friends. Jin, her childhood best friend, became so popular that she separated from him.

Leena could hear chatters from outside her room and also the door getting closed. She sighed because she knew how her sister was busy, working hard and never home that she never spent time with her family. So did Leena.

꧁༺༻꧂

Timeskip

Leena silently went to the other side of the roof and started playing a lullaby with her viola which her father used to play to her when she was young. She did not know that Yi was playing a violin. Nor, she heard a silent shriek from her sister afterwards. But then, a helicopter interrupted her flute session.

"Idiots." She hissed.

꧁༺༻꧂

One day later,

Leena started noticing why Yi was behaving so strange today. She was stealing dumplings from Nai nai. Nai nai was telling her to spend more time with her family, but Yi being impatient escaped from Nai nai and went to the roof. Leena followed her and she saw Yi talking towards a curtain.

Whom are you talking to, Yi? she thought.

She went behind her only to get a closer look, but Yi caught her going towards the curtains. "Leena? Wh-what are you doing here?"

"Yi, what are you hiding?" Leena asked sternly.

"Nothing."

Leena took a quick glance at the curtain, which she was certain that there is something suspicious behind it, and ran towards it. Despite Yi's protests, She drew the curtains and saw a big, furry, white creature sleeping on the floor and sticking out his tongue. She stepped back and said, "Care to explain this?"

"Lee, before I tell you, don't tell anyone. Please." Yi requested her.

With a blank expression, she hummed and motioned her towards the curtain.

꧁༺༻꧂

"So, what is that exactly?" Leena asked her nonchalantly.

"I don't know, but we have to find out. We cannot tell this to everyone." "Okay. But what if someone finds out?" Leena tilted her head. "They won't. But first, let's hide him"

And with that, Yi and Leena worked all afternoon hiding him from everyone. As afternoon turned to evening, the creature woke up. He winced in pain. Leena and Yi saw him but he backed away from them.

"No no, it's okay." Yi consoled him. But the creature scooted away from them and hid himself. "Please don't cry." Leena told him. He cried in pain and looked away. Poor thing.

"Wait." Yi went away and the sound of a violin was heard being played. Leena went and played the flute. The creature hummed along the song they were playing but nobody noticed the blue-glowing aura on his white fur and the flower, which was almost dead, blooming into a new flower. 

The song came to an end and Yi kept her violin in her violin case. Once she took a glance at the flower, she was confused as to how it bloomed again. But then she scoffed. She drew the curtains of the entrance. But to her and Leena's surprise, the creature pulled it back and he stared at a billboard which had the picture of Mount Everest on it. "Do you know this place?" Yi asked him. Then Leena realised that it was his home.

"Is that your home?" She asked. The creature was confused as to what she was talking about and tilted his head. So, she signaled him by joining her fingertips together and making a two-sided triangle out of her hands. The creature did the same. "No way!" Yi exclaimed along with her sister. Then, the former took out her phone and typed 'Creature from Mount Everest'.  She read it out loud, "Considered to be no more than a fairy tail and myth, enthusiasts still hold out hope that these creatures actually do exist." Realising what Yi had said, Leena and her sister gasped.

"There's a yeti on our roof."

[harmonyckrs]

Act 4, Scene 2 of Twisted Veronaville: The Last Resort

THE LAST PAGE

You might've been wondering what we were doing while all of this was going on.

Well, we were across town, but we all felt it. The intense feeling of dread as Bianca pleaded with Patrizio to just listen to her for once, that she was just as important to the family as the heirs and the ones who bore them.

And Antonio was nodding along, still too afraid to act out against his family in fear of suffering the same fate as Bianca. How could he, after all? It was family who had kept him afloat when Hero died.

And then there was me, watching over him.

Viola: Mercutio?

Mercutio: I don't want to talk right now.

Viola: (He's probably too sad to realize what's going on.)

Viola: I'm sorry about what happened with Tybalt. It must be hard to lose somoene...

Mercutio: And it's all Romeo's fault.

Viola: (Hm. So there's going to be infighting now...maybe I'll try to talk to Romeo instead...)

Romeo: AH! Ghost of Christmas Past!

Viola: No, no. I'm your sister, who transitioned. We switched bodies in the womb.

Romeo: Oh...ha. Didn't recognize you at all, Benvoli-er, what's your name now? Did you change it?

Viola: Yeah, Viola. But enough about me. You need to patch things up with Mercutio.

Romeo: Why?

Viola: Well, he's really depressed, and I think the terrible omen we all keep getting is because of him.

Romeo: Not my problem.

Viola: (Stubborn as always.)

Romeo: Do you wanna play Mario Kart?

Viola: Sure...I'm a bit rusty, though...

Meanwhile, while Antonio was paying his parents a visit and the sitter was staring at the TV, Beatrice and Benedick took the chance to stay past their bedtime to play computer games.

Benedick: It's my turn on the computer!

Beatrice: I'm in the middle of this round! I can't just leave halfway through! I'll lose!

Benedick: You've already been on the computer for two whole hours!

Beatrice: If I lose, it's your-

*CRASH*

Benedick: What was that?

Beatrice: You wanna go outside and look?

???: OW! WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO MOVE THE BODY, NOT MAKE SURE HE ACTUALLY DIES!

Benedick: ...Let's not.

Meanwhile, as the sun returned to being visible in the sky, Aktu and Sita had taken some more extreme measures to prevent the death of Mercutio.

Ripp: YOU BROKE INTO THE CAPP FAMILY'S CRYPT AND TOOK HIS BODY?

Aktu: Mercutio can't kill himself over Tybalt's supposedly dead body if he doesn't know where the dead body is.

Sita: Exactly. And we have the clones of Glarn and Kitty Curious guarding him if someone tries to come near.

Ripp: Clones?...is Crystal helping us now?

Sita: Yeah. She said she had too many of them and that they wanted something to do. I'm not entirely sure whose side she's on, but I frankly don't care at this point.

Ripp: Fair. Does Pascal know about this? Since they're his parents and all?

Sita: Probably not. I think he'd be pissed.

Pascal: I'd disagree.

Sita: AH! Dude, give us a warning!

Pascal: You're a psychic. I assumed you would've detected my presence with your mind already.

Sita: Wasn't paying attention.

Pascal: That's on you. And as I was going to say, my parents have always had a thirst for knowledge. Runs in the family. I'm sure they'd be more than happy to have their bodies used in the name of science...even if it is at the hands of that atrociously evil Crystal.

Sita: Your family's weird.

Pascal: I know...oh, and move the body inside. A coffin out in the open is just asking to be opened.

Sita: I'd like to think people here are smarter than that, but yeah. I guess that's a good idea...

Juliette: And apparently, the body just disappeared!

Ripp: Oh, no! Really? What could've happened to it?

Juliette: I don't know! The guards said they didn't even see anything! Those damn Montys probably took the body...I wouldn't be surprised if they were somehow behind this too. This is all Mercutio's fault for seducing Tybalt!

Ripp: (I'm certain Tybalt would've said the same for you when you were dating Romeo). I don't think Mercutio's that kind of lover, Juliette. Maybe it got...misplaced?

Juliette: ...You mentioned you were from a family of ninjas, right?

Ripp: ...Yeah, my aunt and uncle...you're not accusing me of stealing his body, right? I'm not a ninja!

Juliette: Well, you're being weirdly defense of the Montys.

Ripp: It just doesn't-

*SNAP*

Ripp: Ugh. Not this again...

Tank: I know it was you.

Ripp: What proof do you have?

Tank: Two people who snuck past guards...who else can do that besides the two ninjas that you live with? And you all have a motive, because you know Mercutio has to kill himself over Tybalt's body.

Ripp: You're smarter than I thought.

Tank: Why do you keep trying, anyway?

Ripp: Because they're my friends! I know you can't relate to that, but I'd really prefer for them not to die! And I'll do whatever it takes to save them, even if everything seems completely hopeless!

Tank: ...

Tank: ...You're more determined than I remember...

Titania: You GAVE HIM A POTION TO FAKE HIS DEATH!?

Oberon: ...Yeah. So?

Titania: Oberon, what were you thinking? They're all teenagers! They'll probably forget all about it and move on once they go to college. You've just doomed us all!

Oberon: Well, he's not actually dead!

Titania: You know fully well Consort is going to blame the Montys on this. The war's going to get worse! It's just like that failed spell we tried to cast to end the war!

Oberon: Hey, that required two people. And besides, Mercutio was sent a letter explaining everything. I'm sure he won't do anything reckless.

Titania: Fine. But if he does and I'm right about what happens next, we're getting a divorce.

THE NEXT PAGE

[changingplumbob]

New Goth: Chapter 4, Part 3

Sleepover to break in Milton's new rooms then Harvestfest begins

The waiter comes along and places their order down. Just one problem, the dishes have been swapped around.

James: Excuse me I-

But the waiter has already left

Alexander: Guess I get the taco then

James: *pouts* Joey would probably say it was some kind of glitch

Alexander: *laughs* like a… between sessions glitch

James: There’s a lot of steam coming off this, I hope I won’t get burnt

Alexander: it’s probably decorative smoke, I don’t think they could serve something that would burn people. It would be a lawsuit waiting to happen

James: Well it tastes nice

Alexander: Now about Milton, you’re not really thinking about sleeping on the floor are you

James: If it’s what will help him feel comfortable in his new room, I will do it. He deserves to feel safe

Alexander: I just worry you’ll get sore

James: Weren’t you just saying how young I was

Alexander: Yes but that was-

James: We’re doing the sleepover. Then, with some luck, we can have our bedroom back to ourselves and the cats. Not that I’ve minded woohoo in other places but I do miss some stuff we can only do on the bed

Alexander: *laughs* I see your point, okay, sleepover it is

Alexander searches for the sleeping bags to carry up to Milton’s new rooms while James helps Milton move all of his clothes in, as well as his old toys from the Goth house. Finally we are ready to sleep but, better take a quick photo first! Can’t believe I didn’t have a proper one with these three.

5am...

Hamlet: *meows loudly* I really must protest at this locked door! I should be able to roam anywhere

Milton: *sleepily* Hamlet? Sorry buddy, your dads just don’t want you getting stuck in here

Hamlet: *meows* I haven’t seen them for hours though. HOURS

Milton: You really shouldn’t just wake sims up, especially on the weekends. It’s Harvestfest today, how am I supposed to stay awake

Hamlet seems undeterred from meowing so Milton decides to give him a pet and a play to satisfy him for a while.

At a more reasonable hour the sun rises and Harvestfest begins. First mission is to find the three gnomes (which I just have to say was near impossible in this mansion) and appease them for the day. Then while the humans don’t get special outfits, the cats become honorary tacos for the next while in celebration of the day.

Alexander: Your cat is knocking out the trash again

James: Our cat

Hamlet: *meows* Ew mum, that’s gross

Gertrude: *meows* You should try it, so much to explore

Hamlet: *meows* I’m fine here

Milton: Do you have to make such a mess Gertrude? I’ll probably have to clean it up

James: We have to do cleaning before our guests get here anyway

Alexander: I’m on cooking, think you can set the table Milton

Milton: Sure. Guess what? No nightmares last night

James: That's wonderful

The Chopra’s have arrived! Toddler Viola, child twins Savannah and Mercedes (your reminder that Savannah is in pink with hair clips, Mercedes is in blue with no hair clips), as well as their parents Rahul and Cassandra. First to get Viola in the high chair, then get some hugs out of the way. Milton and Savannah autonomously hugged despite having a low relationship which was adorable.

Alexander: You look… nice

Cassandra: *laughs* Yes Mr subtle, I am absolutely pregnant again

Alexander: Thought so. Congratulations to all of you

While Viola babbles incoherently to Milton he smiles and nods. Down the table the rest of the family is getting stuck into the ham Alexander cooked.

Alexander: Okay Viola, here’s your plate

Viola: Mama?

Cassandra: It’s your food, eat up green bean

Viola looks at the food questioningly but once she pats it she realises what it is and happily flings it about while eating the odd bit here and there.

Cassandra: Do you know how long the adoption process will take

James: I imagine since we’re not wanting an infant it shouldn’t be too long

Rahul: The sooner the better with kids

Mercedes: What is… a dog shone (adoption)?

Cassandra: You know how you and your sisters came from inside me, well your uncle Alexander and uncle James are going to get a kid that came from inside someone else

Milton: So... I’m getting another sibling or a cousin?

James: Not exactly. They would still be a niece or nephew technically

Alexander: But that doesn’t mean you can’t include them like a sibling or a cousin

Hamlet: *meows* Ham for Hamlet? Someone is too kind

Rahul: Your cat is trying to eat the food

James: Hamlet, no!

Alexander: I’ll just put the leftovers it in the fridge where he can't reach them, give me a second

Cassandra: Do you want a boy or girl?

Alexander: I’d settle for one who doesn’t judge me and James, gender doesn't matter

James: They won’t judge you love, don’t worry. I’ll have a proper talk with the social worker

Savannah: So… we’re going to get a cousin finally?

Rahul: Yes you are

Milton: You know I'm sitting right here Savannah

Savannah: *scoffs* You make a deal about being our uncle all the time *pulls face*

Milton: Oh yeah, good point

Mercedes: If you wanted to stop making a show about it, that would be great

Gertrude: *meows* Where did all the ham go

Previous ... Next

[dojae-huh]

‘Does anyone listen to Korean pop-rock and soloists?’

Hmm imo for the songs with rock genre in the album, they do have doyoung colors except for little light. Little light brings a lot of lucy’s vibe (a bit too much? Haha) and jpop-rock. Dallas love field and lost in california could be the one that has doyoung’s color the most. I don’t think there are a lot of similar songs like dlf and lic before in k- rock/ k-band and they fit doyoung very well. For ballad and rnb, I don’t listen to them much but beginning should have doyoung colors right? Hehe idk.

But te whole album does show doyoung signature. Should i say, the writing, storytelling or massage is the strongest in this album. It feels complete. The way he arrange the list and the way he tells the story of each song, that is what i see most prominent in this album. The poetic lyrics, like not a lot of korean knows the word ‘pomal’. The sound is maybe not strongly doyoung yet, but the writing, yes.

Of course, that’s just opinion based on first impression because he never revealed his music before. I think for me to really see his color, i need to wait 2nd or 3rd release. And doyoung has never really revealed a lot about the kind of music he wanna do before this album right? We only caught a glimpse from his song recommendation. Hmm doyoung’s sound is still quite hard to grasp for me compared to jaehyun.

oh btw. I might be biased when i say little light doesn’t sound strongly like doyoung cuz i also listen to lucy quite a lot😅. After a while, it sounds a bit more like him. But first listen definitely sounds like lucy minus string instrument sound (lucy has a member who plays viola/ violin? I can’t remember which)

---------

Thank you for the answer.

Doyoung was afraid that the fans won't accept the shift in his image easily, the first solo album was a dare on itself to begin with, so I wouldn't expect a completely new sound anyway. Do doesn't risk like that. However, Doyoung recently said he would like to stand out, bring something of his own to the table, and he always said he strives to be remembered years later and be recognised right away. So the motivation to have unique sound is present. It will take time to find it, however. Doyoung is not Taeyong, not a fountain of creativity. The way he described why Beginning was accepted when his previous lyrics were denied by SM tells me he uses logic, not feelings to come up with ideas. Concept - first, needed emotions and words - second. If Tae presents his feelings, Doyoung presents his thoughts. I guess it's also why he is good with arrangement of music. It's a similar way of adding to and bettering something that already exists.

People like what's familiar, it's risky to present something that needs digestion right away. Both songs you found in "Do's style" were placed at the end, after the more Disney and Korean style songs.

I think one thing is already can be written as Do's signature - the addition of his own backvocals. Few artists do it (it's a separate skill, plus additional recording time). And on this album all songs had them.

Doyoung always talked about liking band-music, Korean music and putting emphasis on lyrics and storytelling in songs. And he likes transitions to big notes. Almost all his covers with MVs have them. He also likes "fun" songs, playful ones, with sause, but he seldom covers them (one can tell by how giddy he gets singing those).

[cherryblossomforest]

So I watched The Woman King today, and I mostly want to talk about parts of it that I heavily related to, and that moved me as a black woman with trauma but also how I relate it to my own DID and innerworld.

I'll put it under the cut because it might get long, and it made me so emotional, but I felt so seen.

If you haven't heard about this movie yet, it's based on the Agojie (Uh-Goh-Jee), the all-female warriors who protected the African Kingdom of Dahomey.

Also, trigger warnings for sexual assault and obviously spoilers.

I absolutely love that gif from the movie ⬆️

The Woman King follows the journey of General Nanisca, played by Viola Davis. General Nanisca is the leader of the Agojie.

When she was younger, she was captured and abused by her captives. Once she escaped, she gave birth to a baby girl but gave her away and she tried to bury what had happened to her away. At one point, she had to fight one on one against the man who abused her, and she fought well and aimed to kill him but wasn't able to do so.

She also had this dream in which she said she was in a jungle and there was something in the dark. A beast, and it was angry, and she could smell its sweat and fear. At the end of the movie, she said…

“I know what it is in the dream…the beast I am so frightened of. It is me. It is the girl who was silenced in those shackles by those men. I’ve hidden her away. I’ve denied her pain. But I’m going to hear her now. I have to try to save her.”

Yeah, I had to hold back tears so badly at this scene. It rang so true for me because this is honestly how I feel. For one, our innerworld seems to be mostly jungle/forest, and there are different sections. We have The Green Forest, The Autumn Forest, The Purple Forest, and The Dark Forest. Along with a cave, a beach, a mountain with our safe houses, and The Garden of Rest. At one point, Dee was in the Dark/Purple Forest since they lead from one to another. She was looking for Nalani but was so so so scared to be there. Scared to know what was in the shadows. Scared to find something... someone. Scared to know all those hidden parts and their traumas. But I now feel like I’m at a place in my recovery where I want to try to save these parts that hold all this pain. I feel brave enough to at least try. I can finally stop and see, as painful as it is. I can be brave enough. When I see all these little girls who hold all these painful things, my heart breaks for them. For me. I want to hold them so dearly, tell them I'm here. I'm finally here. Apologise because it took so long. It's painful and scary, but I want to try to save them, and I know it obviously isn't as easy as in a movie, but I feel compelled to help them. Their pain has been denied for so long out of protection and fear, it doesn't make it right but it was seen as necessary at that point to help us keep going. Now we don't have to do this anymore. We don't have to hide these parts away. We can begin to make out innerworld safe as each part comes out of these terrifying areas of our innerworld.

Another thing that stood out to me was just the women in general. A lot of them dark-skinned black women with different body types, and yet they all looked womanly. I think it soothed something within me because it made me feel okay with my body as it is gaining weight, and I am not that far from being back in the healthy BMI range. My efforts to stop looking womanly out of fear were soothed a bit. I can not stop myself from being a woman because I already am one. Naturally, I am going to have a big bum and bigger boobs too. I am going to have a fuller body because I am black, and that's how my body sits. Seeing all these black women with fuller body's made me feel better, especially as they are also depicted as having gone through abuse, but they are strong and brave warriors regardless. They were children when they went through these things, but now, as women, they fight for their safety, and that was so comforting to me.

I think we've been so afraid for so long about our weight and being assaulted again that we've been trying so hard to be invisible and hiding parts along with it. But now that I'm seeing that there are different ways to cope I feel more confident that it's okay to be healthy and it's okay to have a figure. It doesn't mean all those bad things are going to happen again. We can't live in fear that these things will happen. Yes, bad things can happen but there's no point in always thinking it will be specifically me. There's comfort in the fact that I can build my strength back up again.

If you plan to watch this movie be careful as there are two flashback rape scenes which totally caught me off guard, and another woman talks about her mother selling her off at 14. So it can be very unsettling if you are not prepared. I found myself dissociating like mad at one point, so yeah...

[perpetual-fool]

Mara 4

(cw: alcohol, suicide)

   "I need help with this 'acceptance' thing."    "What do you need, love?"    "I'm not sure. I guess I don't really know what that would entail."    "Well, how about you share something with me, and I'll tell you what I think about it? and then we can go from there."    "Alright. The thing I've been working on recently is mapping out fingerings for my viola. Stuff like this:

       Minor (0,2,3,5,7,8,X):

       E---5---7-8---X---0---2-3--        A---X---0---2-3---5---7-8--        D-2-3---5---7-8---X---0---2        G-7-8---X---0---2-3---5---7        C-0---2-3---5---7-8---X---0

   Phrased like this it looks like that's only C minor, but since the tuning is regular you can just shift it over as needed."    "Hmm, well, putting a dash in front of every letter makes it a little unclear what's supposed to be an open string. And since you haven't gone far enough for the pattern to completely repeat, it's not obvious at a glance where you'd end up if you shifted."    "That's helpful. I'll change how I denote the open strings. And I would need eight more strings for the pattern to completely repeat, or I could start on the E and work backwards. I'll try the latter, it should help me wrap my head around it if nothing else."    "M'kay." she says. "I feel good about that, but what about you, Ari?"    "It's not nothing, but I don't feel much of anything."    "What if I told you it was the best representation of an instrument's finger patterns in plain text format I'd ever seen?"    "That would be stupid, and I would think that either you're stupid or you're lying. I don't have a nicer way to phrase that. Is that offensive?"    "No, you don't have to worry about phrasing with me, love."    "Thanks."    "What about the inverse? How would you feel if I told you that that was a terrible way to map out finger patterns?"    "I'd want real feedback but I guess that's beside the point. I think in principle I might feel bad about that. Except, I know it's a good version of what it is. It's perfectly functional and there's not much you could really do with the format. And, hmm, I feel like I have a strong enough grasp on this that there's nothing to be bad about it. Almost like, given the constraints, this is the objectively correct way to do it."

   "So it sounds like, you don't value praise unless you already feel you did a good job, and you've been doing things which are so simple that they are beyond reproach."    "That sounds about right."

   "That doesn't give us a whole lot to work with. You've never done anything engaging enough to actually be proud of, right?"    "Yeah. Things are just too shallow for me. And the things that have looked promising have either fallen apart or broke down into simple pieces."    "You were finding music engaging right? Does that not break down into simple pieces?"    "Not in that way. You learn in simple pieces, but it becomes a new thing when you put them together. Say, the rhythm when you sing and play is a new rhythm, not just the constituent parts at the same time. I don't have the words for it, but those sort of intertwined elements is what I need."    ¨And you haven't gotten that far yet?"    "No, still learning the pieces. Haven't had very long, really."    "Do I detect some insecurity?"    "Yeah. I should've had this shit figured out fifteen years ago. But I couldn't.."    "I know. It's okay. I'm here to help."    "Thanks. So, the other thing then?"    "Yeah. Could you do something that isn't so simple?"    "I don't think I can, I think it's basically the same problem. Complex things are just collections of simple things. Anything I could be proud of is how well I've stitched them together, which is the first thing. The things other people seem to be proud of are things they don't really understand. Say, following a recipe like it's a magic spell, and just hoping the outcome is good. If you know how it works then there's nothing to be proud of or insecure about."

   "Then maybe it's not really about the outcome, as such. Why did you thank me for saying you don't have to worry? and for saying it's okay?"    "Because it means you're not going to leave me."    "So really, you need a reason to think I'm going to stay? Aside from the obvious."    "Yeah, well, if monkey brain was smart then this whole exercise wouldn't work. But that sounds right. Though I can't imagine why anyone would stay. I guess that's back to the first problem. The only 'acceptance' I've gotten has been on the condition that I'm not myself. Trying to connect just drives people away. And even if they stick around, just put up with me, it's not really me they're accepting."    "If you just need people to stay, why does it matter if they really don't see you?"    "Because they're not really with me in the first place. Because they're going to hurt me. Because they're going to try and force me to be something else. No, that doesn't feel right. I guess I need more than that."    "What do you need, love?"    "Saying 'to connect' wouldn't explain it, huh? I think it's that I need others to respond in appropriate ways? Not even positively. I think if I had someone who hurt me on purpose, and knew how to do it, that would actually mean a lot to me."    "I responded appropriately earlier didn't I? and you didn't feel much about it."    "Yeah. I dunno. Why would someone stay, in principle?"    "Because they value you. There's all sorts of variations on that, love, attraction, finding you entertaining, whatever."    "That feels right. And if what they value isn't really me, then they don't value me."    "What about your enemy thing? how would that fit?"    "Being worth hating is still worth something. Except, if what they hate isn't me. Oh that's a weird thought. I know others don't understand me. So the thing they hate can't really be me. So it's not me that's wrong, in that sense."    "Wouldn't that disprove your enemy hypothesis?"    "It doesn't feel like it. I don't feel like what I did was wrong, I don't know what I did, as such. It feels like what I am is what's wrong. And if I could be whatever it is they think I am then that would be an improvement. That's the enemy thing at work, really. But then why do I feel vindicated? I guess it doesn't make sense. It feels like if it's not even me they hate, then they must *really* hate me. That's probably just dumb brain rationalizations."

   "Alright. So then, how do we make you feel valued?"    "I don't deserve that."    "You just feel that way because no one's ever understood you before."    "I want to say you probably don't either, but I guess I can't make that argument with you."    "Damn straight. There's nothing you can hide from me."    "You'd be lying if you said there was anything you like about me."    "Wanna bet?"    "..no. This scares me."    "We can wait if you want. What are you afraid of?"    "I'm afraid that if I open up then you're going to hate me too."    "That's ridiculous."    "Is it? I've hated myself my whole life, haven't I?"    "In principle, yes, I could hate you. But I already know everything."    "I don't know that. You haven't necessarily drawn the connections."    "There are a couple arguments I could make, but I think you just have to decide to trust me."

   "Fine. It's not like I have any real alternative."    "You could stop taking that one med and start drinking 'till you're numb."    "Technically, sure. But I'm afraid if I don't take it I'll die, basically. And what would be the point of self-medicating until my body gives out? I might as well just kill myself now. I could do the blood choke thing correctly this time. But my brain won't let me. It's not enough that things are terrible and can't possibly get better. I have to be in constant unbearable pain *right now*. And that stopped when I figured out that failing to connect really wasn't my fault."    "Things will get better if you trust me."    "I've trusted people so many times before though."    "And none of those people were me."    "How could things possibly get better?"    "Want to find out?"    'No. Not like this. I've been over it, I want to fix whatever I did wrong, I don't want to just subvert the whole issue. It's cheating."    "Do you think everyone else hates everything about themselves?"    "I dunno, maybe. They certainly don't do this."    "They don't need to do this, they can just be what other people want from them. They can just get their love and acceptance from each other. We can't."    "We?"    "Yeah, I'm in here too ya' know."    "This is confusing me."    "That's kind of the whole idea, isn't it?"    "I'm not supposed to be happy."    "And why not? you're already confused."    "Confused by reality? It's not like the way people treat me didn't happen."    "If they count then I count, and if I count then you count. You're a person too."    "Am I?"    "Well if you're not, then the rules don't apply, and you can do whatever you want."    "I want to have never been born. I want to go back and at least fuck things up on my own terms. I want to have not lost my entire young life trying to be what church and school wanted me to be. Though the infrastructure still wouldn't be there. Like, lack awareness/acceptance of trans issues would have prevented me from doing anything about that. Or, mundane thing, playing guitar. I need a multi-scale at minimum to tolerate it, and those weren't around. And even if they were, I still don't get along with anyone. I wouldn't be able to play music with or for anyone else, not really. Even if I could go back and change everything, I would still end up right back here. Just, sooner."    "Okay, well, you can do whatever physics, your environment, and your psyche allows. How's that?"    "Fair enough. Sorry, I just feel certain ways about things."    "Oh yeah, look at this IDIOT who has FEELINGS. You don't have to be sorry. I like it when you share things."

   "What's there to like?"    "It's cathartic. Feeling things feels nice."    "I'm just being a whiny bitch, right? for lack of a better pejorative."    "Yeah, but the whole concept is bullshit. If it hurts it hurts, and if it hurts then something is wrong. 'You don't hurt enough' is a pissing contest, rooted in insecurity and thinking one's pain is what gives them value. It's not totally crazy, resources are limited after all. There's only so much sympathy to go around, as it were. But someone putting you down for it is just defending their own position. Pot, kettle, etc.."    "What about putting myself down?"    "Then you've internalized the abuse."    "I don't deserve to think that."    "She never put you down for that. And if we're not mistaken, she ultimately decided you were just lying about it. Meaning she wouldn't have either. If anything, it was putting yourself down, and her inability to help you, that she had a problem with. At least, on this issue."    "And what about 'I'll give you something to cry about'?"    "Oh fuck him, he's an idiot."    "Alright. But still, aren't I a piece of shit for putting myself down then?"    "Actually, I don't think so. I think people were just frustrated with it."    "What about all the other shit I fucked up?"    "As you said, it wasn't on your terms. Unless causality somehow doesn't apply to you, it wasn't your fault."    "No one's cared about that before."    "Cat did. Which does suggest that that's due to people really not understanding."    "How could I possibly believe that. It's not like anyone, anyone else, that I used to know would come back and say 'You know what? You really weren't yourself, it's not your fault'."    "Cat doesn't count?"    "Cat's special."    "Wouldn't that prove the point regardless?"    "It doesn't feel like it, though I don't have any argument to that effect."    "And that's because your brain is rationalizing how you were treated. If you were treated differently, you'd feel differently."    "I would feel different. But I'm afraid if I just change things arbitrarily then I'll lose who I am."    "Three things, love. It's not arbitrary. Becoming more yourself is the whole point. And this is probably just rationalizing some kind of need for consistency."

   "Alright. Let's get on with it then. What do you value about me, Mara?"    "That's more like it. Hmm. I like how you understand things, simple and profound. I like how you draw connections between things, seeing things others can't. I like the new possibilities you come up with. I like how you get excited when you learn how to do something new. I'm sure there's something about how you are when you really get into something, but it's just been so long. This would be a whole lot easier if, ya' know, you actually did things."    "Yeah, chicken-and-egg problem; egg has to come first."    "So how do you feel, love? Are you gonna go make me proud now?"    "I don't know. I'm so confused. I mean, I'm basically learning that nothing believed is real. And not in the sense that thoughts are representations, but that your brain just makes shit up to justify what you're already feeling. I did already figure that out in abstract, but it's different to actually put it into practice. So like, to feel proud of something, you'd start by being proud and then find something to attribute the pride to."    "But from whence comes the egg?"    "Instinctive brain stuff? Perceiving approval or disapproval, being attracted or repulsed, things making sense or not. I dunno what range of stuff might exist."    "So, do you feel better or worse?"    "I'm not sure I know what that means anymore. I need some time to think."    "M'kay. I'll be here whenever you need me, love."

[marklikely]

anyway the moral of the story is that sure societal transphobia is like really bad and rapidly getting worse but what about the intracommunity oppression we as transmascs face from the cavetown industrial complex