#may or may not write an alternate ver if i feel like it

[repo-net]

updated ver: aoyama nakazke

How long has it been since I posted about an OC, let alone one that isn't from my bag of wrestling characters? A couple of years now?

Well, never mind all that. I've been in a strong writing mood as of late (it's more or less just me trying to get back into the hobby again while my schedule is freer than it was a month or so ago) and I thought I'd put down an updated and cleaner version of one of my older OCs; Aoyama Nakazke. The older post for him can be found here, if you have some sort of interest in checking that out.

He used to be solely a Danganronpa OC (and the context of his backstory is still minorly reliant on Hope's Peak being a thing), but I've admittedly fallen out of that genre a little bit as of late (not completely mind you, why else would the sage is still the entire theme of my blog?), so now he's more or less just a general OC that can be put in just about any verse.

Well, anyways. The lad's under the cut, so go check it out if you're interested.

Picrew link

Name: Aoyama Nakazke

Gender: Male

Age: 19

Height: 5'2" / 158cm

Weight: 128lbs / 58kg

Birthday: May 8 (I forgot why I gave him this birthday, but it has something significant to do with basketball)

Talent: Street Baller

Likes: Cola bottles / most kinds of street food - Cats - Mikel Jordin (???) - Having his hair stroked (generally by people he likes)

Dislikes: Strong fires - Authority figures - Tacky clothing - Getting shoved/slapped/any form of physical disrespect

Appearance:

Aoyama is a rather short boy with a youthful face; making it easy to mistake him to be younger than he actually is. He has light brown eyes and fair white skin, and styles his dark gray hair into short upswept spikes, with two pigtails tied together with black ribbons. When they’re let down, his hair reaches all the way to his shoulders, though he rarely ever does this outside of his own home or in the middle of a shower. (Small tidbit: he chose the dark color for the ribbons to have them blend in with his hair as much as possible)

Aoyama’s attires for everyday use consists of a long and baggy sleeved, black hoodie jacket that has a puffy interior within it, made to maximize the amount of comfort he can feel. Underneath the hoodie is a maroon shirt patterned with black vertical stripes, with the same design being applied to his socks. His shorts have a similar color scheme, with predominant maroon and black accents around the waist area and the edges of the cloth, and maroon sneakers that are topped with white shoelaces. This is usually his outfit while at his home, or if he plans on playing basketball within the day.

If he’s out and about, he makes the slightest bit of effort to change it up; although not by much, as he tries not to stand out among a crowd and would only really put in this ‘effort’ for someone he likes. This alternative outfit has Aoyama don a crimson and black undershirt with a silver leather jacket, and black pants kept in place with a belt. Both the jacket and his pants have plenty of pockets for him to store items; and more importantly - his hands. He really likes idling with his hands in pockets somewhere.

He also changes his footwear a little, now a simple pair of pure crimson socks and black sneakers with red undertones and laces. Aside from his clothes, he’ll style his hair to make sure his three antennas don’t just pop out, thinking that they look ‘stupid’.

Underneath his clothes is a rather muscly and well-toned build, as expected of someone from his area being a street basketball player and all. There are also a few, not so distinct scars around his torso and back - all a product of his childhood.

Personality: 

Raised in the streets by himself and his talent, Aoyama is a stubborn and humble boy who seeks to get by in life as comfortably as he can. He's generally quiet off the court due to not wanting to really associate with anyone other than those he teams up with, and from a bit of deep insecurity that he isn't really worth more than what his talent can get him. 

His thoughts tend to be a little sarcastic and blunt, sometimes seeping out of his lips and getting blurted out. Aoyama generally tries to avoid anything that’ll start a confrontation though - especially if it’s getting him involved in one.

He's unpretentious and practically his own biggest hater, though he doesn't take well to disrespect, especially physical ones, and it’s likely he’ll instinctively throw a fist right at the source if he gets shoved, pushed around, etc. He's a little clueless when it comes to things like world knowledge and educational subjects, with his lifestyle while growing up playing a major part in that. 

Aoyama is incredibly loyal to those who he considers a friend and resents the idea of turning his back on someone; but his nature and roots as a street kid make it rather unavoidable for him to get in trouble from time to time, which has had him have to solve issues across different groups… at least, in the ways that he best can.

Backstory:

To say that Aoyama hated his childhood would be an understatement; but even so, he knows most of it came to be because he would rather walk through true hell than have to live in a fake heaven with demons.

Aoyama was an accident child by a shaky and collapsing couple in a rural farm close to the edge of Kushiro (an average town/city just north of Hokkaido) - both parents were not only poor but had also began to fall out of love for one another, sending the Nakazkes into a spiraling doom of debt and unwanted parental responsibility. Not having the means nor the funds to abort the child, they gave birth to him and left Aoyama to be raised by his grandparents, who would both shortly pass just before he turned 3 - the year he first started to remember and be conscious of his surroundings. 

Taking Aoyama back with them to their house, his parents began to take their frustrations and misery of their situation out on him, blaming him for the fact that they keep spending money because of him. Whenever he was at school, he didn’t have many friends; and his short stature and endearingly innocent face as a kid made him an easy target for bullies. Yet whenever he would fight back, he’d get punished as if he started the trouble itself. It didn’t help that he could never focus on school too - and his grades were ‘passable’ at best. 

Aoyama’s parents would constantly shelter him and refuse to ever let him out of the house, stopping him from eating too much, reasoning that if he gets full, he’ll become sleepy - and that if he became sleepy, he wouldn’t be able to study. After some point, Aoyama’s parents were no longer able to keep affording his tuition, which left his basic education level around merely the 4th grade. It wasn’t until he later got into Hope’s Peak that he was able to somewhat catch up.

Scars left on him by the whips and belts they’d strike him with, cold and heartless words that made him question why he was even alive, and constant hate that boiled and bubbled until he couldn’t take it anymore. After getting splashed with hot water by his father after he was caught trying to go outside and berating him, telling him that he’s wasting his life by trying to make it out of the house and that he’s only going to hurt himself like the idiot he is. Aoyama yells at the both of them, screaming and asking why they’re so mad at him when he never asked to be born, and that they’re saying that he’s wasting ‘his’ life…

When ‘his’ life was never his to begin with, because they’ve been dictating everything he’s been doing since the beginning, and that he hates it here, saying that he wishes he could just leave like they clearly want him to. His mother steps up, slaps him in the face and pulls him by the hair, dragging him back to their house. She tells him if he hates his life here so much, then why doesn’t he pick all his stuff up and leave? Aoyama’s eyes narrow for a second, but he grits his teeth, clenches his fists and storms off to pick up his own stuff. Both of his parents look shocked at the fact that Aoyama seemed absolutely on-board with the idea, but… if he wanted to leave their miserable life, when they knew he’d come crying back later on anyways… they’ll amuse him, they thought.

He never came back. He took a basketball, a stock of his clothes, the very little savings he had, and most importantly… what little money the Nakazke family had left and took it all for himself from his parents’ room and hid it away in a wallet he hid away between his shorts. And Aoyama barged out the door. Then he ran. And ran. And ran. And he just kept running, refusing to ever look back. If he felt thirsty or hungry, he’d buy a drink and a small snack to eat along the way. If he felt sleepy, he’d rest in an alley or a sidewalk under the night sky, using his bag as a makeshift pillow. And if he ever thought he’d want to go back home, he’ll kick himself in the foot and continue to run.

Aoyama didn’t know where he’d go. He doesn’t even know what his old house’s address was; and what side of the country he’d ended up in by then. But as long as it was far away, by himself, he was okay. And if he ever has to make money again so he can keep surviving long enough to prove those two nutcases wrong… he’ll pick up his ball, dribble it and gamble everything he has against another kid. It doesn’t matter if he gets pushed. It doesn’t matter if he gets hurt.

If someone shoves him, he’ll be able to shove them back. If someone tries to trick him, he won’t just look down and let it go. He’ll live. If only to spite them. If only so he never has to go back to them. And there were bumps, losses, moments of thievery and rumbling into street fights that he’d get into along the way. But he kept getting better and better, stronger and tougher, faster and sneakier. His height became a deceit for what was both a natural and honed gift for street basketball - skillful, agile, and a menace on the court that tore through enemy’s defenses and was speedy to the point that getting past him while he was guarding you felt infuriatingly impossible. Building himself from the bottom up, he was able to get scouted for local teams, make a proper wage for himself, a name was created, and soon enough on his phone, a call from prestige he could only peek through from a window had finally reached him.

Extras:

I got asked this a while back on a Discord server, and I thought I'd put it here too - Aoyama isn't exactly interested in romance (ball is life 💯). While he wouldn't say no to having a partner regardless of their identity, he grew up thinking that it's extremely corny and has a bit of a childish perspective, still half-convinced that cooties actually exist. But half the reason for that is because he's pretty socially inept and has trouble with showing and receiving affection outside of the one thing he's good at. The other half is because he doesn't even know what kind of people he's into and is still figuring things out, though he might have a bit of internalized homophobia having grown up in a somewhat conservative environment. It'd just take some convincing.

Aside from the likes listed above, Aoyama's into trap, hip-hop, and video game music. He's also more likely to hang around people that are rebellious and wild, even if he himself isn't a very loud and proud guy. Maybe it's just him wishing he'd have half the confidence they did. Oh, and he's a pretty frugal guy, tending to take the cheapest and most bang-for-your-buck options at almost anything he goes to.

"Is there anything outlandish he might have an interest in?" - Another question I answered on a server I used to be in. There might be one, actually! I gave it some thought, and I think he has a slight repressed fascination in cosplay! While he himself would never want to wear flashy clothing out in the open, thinking that it'd look ridiculous and cringey; ironically enough, he'd be open to trying it on by himself and pretending to be another person! That... stems from a bit of his insecurity about his own image (physically and mentally), but that is one thing someone who's close with him wouldn't expect for him to be drawn to. He'd probably isolate himself in embarrassment if you ever find out though, so maybe it's best you never find out about that.

[hwanhd]

hi everyone, red (21+, they/them), here with my lovely boy, klein lee hwan! he's been a trainee for 4 years overall (2 years in an old ent, and another 2 to current in kiss studio) trainee number #111! below holds information about him + possible threads! (as i havent work on a plot page yet) dossier / plot page / playlist / moodboard

klein lee aka and now is being addressed as lee hwan, is born from new york! around four years old, his family moved from the states and to seoul due to his father shifting jobs and hence needing to migrate

hwan is a child actor, having to act at the age of 3 in an american's children show (think: barney and friends, life action blues clue) and around 5 y/o after migrating, he got a role as a child actor for a korean saeguk drama where he was the younger ver of the male lead but unfortunately theres been a lot of bad comments tw: racism, verbal abuse / whereby he's been told he's too 'mixed' to act in a saeguk while citing his awkward acting + bad korean pronunciation. (mind you, hwan's first language is english)

due to this backlash and as a fragile child, hwan went into hiding/became a shut in for 2 years but while he was in isolation, he discovered the world of soundcloud and rapping, hence making it his interest!

when his 2 years isolation ends in 2017, he uploaded his first original, 'child'

around jan 2018, he's scouted thru his soundcloud to audition for kiss studio. march 2018 is his when he started his journey as a trainee.

he's currently four years and 9 months into his training period.

his goals aside from debuting is to be able to compose professional for his future group and solo debut (eventually and hopefully!!)

here comes the plots i may interested to connect with!!

childhood friends whom was his first friend after moving to korea! coincidentally said friend wanted to be an idol/artist first while hwan was into the acting industry... years down the line they meet again!

someone whos seen him act and is nosy to ask what had happened to him (which hwan does not mention as its still a sore memory to him even after all those years)

fellow 'oldie' trainee line, even if they arent in the same label, perhaps they came across each other in music camp?? idk

friendly rivals from trainee days till present (or actual rivals ((that could possibly debut together))) tho preferably if they are in the same labels but not necessary

a muse?? perhaps hwan's first crush in his early years of being a trainee??? or someone hes just fascinated with and had treat him with enough kindness for him to write songs about and of and for. (alternatively: your muse whom he writes about has discovered his lyrics/composition. and extra alternatively: if instead of knowing the song is about your muse, ends up teasing about mark possible crush on other people).

first's, trainees dont date but somehow your muse is acquainted with hwan and are both curious teens since they're both around the same age. behind closed doors, they tried kissing and experimenting but the relationship never worked out. (alternatively: if they were found out and one of them had to transfer labels, or other bad consequences. or the better ending, is that the both agree to put the curiosity to a stop mutually). (and if they ever met again down the line, would they regret seeing each other??)

older training period muse who gets jealous over hwan (i.e: inferiority complex/out of spite/feeling like the company is treating hwan better)

and lastly for now, a friend who he can do crazy things with (i.e: with hwan being homeschooled and then completely dropping out in junior high before he joined kiss studio, is then dragged by your muse in school uniform to muse's school to experience hwan's first step into an actual school), or if your muse ever finds hwan in the act of weakness and would comfort him and see thru his mental illness (and relapse from recalling his childhood)

[le-souriant]

#MusicMonday Review - September 2022

#MusicMonday is the hashtag I've been using for quite a while to share music recommendations from up-and-coming artists. Always fresh, and always different, trying to look for trends before they become one. You can check August's review for more music.

Fall season is here! This month, our artists will take us all over the world through the multiple feelings their songs evoke. Let's have a listen, with a word from the artists themselves. 🎧

Tidal Wave – Sunbleached

Tomorrow is the last goodbye And if you recall This is where we met

In the space between it all I can't look to you But now I can see what I have done

When all of the letters burn After all of the ashes fall When will we see each other When all the pictures are Sunbleached

We start with a mellow Art Rock track from Toronto, CA. Truly atmospheric, the song will make you look for those old photos you may still have:

"I remembered looking at my old books on a shelf that had lost their colour. Realizing that it was years of them sitting in the sun it made me think of an image of a photo of two people left on a wall. A lot of my lyrics are post apocalyptic and that’s kind of where the thought of due to a huge event things would be left behind to be exposed to the elements later to be found by potentially those people again.

The idea I had in my head was of a couple that broke up only to find a weathered photo again wondering if they’d ever see each other."

Juan Pablo Pardo – Mariana

Debo enamorado yo de estar No te puedo dejar de pensar Cada vez que te volteo a ver me haces suspirar Solo llegaste y ya eras tan especial

Oye y nunca vayas a pensar Qué yo te vaya a dejar de amar No te lo imaginas cada día te quiero más Y eso yo te lo voy a demostrar

From nostalgia, let's go now to Puebla, Mexico for an enthusiastic love song that loses steam at the end (for a reason):

"I composed this song many years ago to my ex-girlfriend Mariana. As our relationship began I started composing the song and I finished it when we were braking up. That's why the songs starts with a happy melody and rhythm that reminds the excitement of the beginning of any relation, and it finishes like a ballad, which reminds the sadness of an ending.

At the end, I tried to transform Mariana, the person, to Mariana, the concept of the teenage love."

The Inflorescence – The Button

Why does it feel Like you’re just a dream Slipping so far away from me I can’t seem to escape this All I can do is try to hide

I don’t think you understand me I look into your eyes and you can’t recognize me Will we meet again in another life or Would I just pass you by

From breakup, we now go to San Diego, CA for a Pop Punk track full of heartache. Would you push the button and forget?:

"The song is actually based off the movie “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” 🙂

The idea of erasing someone entirely because the pain of what wasn’t was really the thing that inspired me the most. It’s a heartbreaking thing but something I’m sure everyone wishes they could do sometimes."

Sleeping Haze – Acedia

We’ve been stuck for so long Just keep going on and on A circular path is trampled down from our mindless running around

Come see the apathetic show Where everyone pretends to be in control The curtain cuts you in two When it’s over there’s only you

From brokenheartedness, let's go now to Gothenburg, Sweden for some Alternative Rock with a different kind of grief. Is there a fix that will let you go? Band member Per answers:

"It’s basically about a time where we just felt like we were stuck as a band, as the first line of the lyrics says.

The song I think started with Henry’s guitar-melody and thought the feeling of that melody captured the state that we were in, so it seemed best to use that to our advantage and actually write about it. Of course I mixed in some of my personal experiences too, but I think in a very broad strokes kinda way, so it’s also very easily relatable for everyone.

Then there’s the thing about depression connected with musicianship, with the “the curtain cuts you into” line, where I at the time felt like the live shows were when I could feel alive, only to start sinking again after the show’s over and the high from the moment has passed.

It’s not as drab as it may sound though, we love music and making music together for the most part, but sometimes you just get frustrated trying to make things work, since the practical parts of life easily can get in the way."

Baby Shower – Worms

10 days without you in my reach And I slept with someone new for each

Woke the baby and now she's screaming I'm train spotting not daytime dreaming

Got a little devil on my back Cold sweats and panic attacks

Might be nice to be healed and mended But I just want a toxic codependent

Things do not look good for me

From depression, let's end this month's selection with snarky optimism from Melbourne, Australia. Oh me, oh my, I think I'm buried alive 🎶:

"There's a whole other set of lyrics that we used to play it with and had to replace every verse on the day of recording cos they were a bit too... controversial... and lyrically it was extremely obvious who they were about which was great therapy for me but I didn't want to like hurt anyone too much if they heard the song you know.

The chorus I wrote years and years ago and used to be a much slower tempo we would play with a piano accordion. The chorus is about like... I guess sarcastic like hey I'm totally f'd but look at the bright side I'm gonna be a great meal for a bunch of worms.

Then new verses are about I guess just intrusive thoughts you can't get rid of and trying unhealthy ways to do anything to shake them."

Listen to them and much more on the Playlist

@osornios

[kkaeyva]

epilogue in spring

𐐪𐑂 summary: sequel to anagapesis— it’s been a long time since the day he left. how have you fared? good? good. i’m proud of you.

𐐪𐑂 includes: platonic!zhongli

𐐪𐑂 genre(s): forgiveness, reminiscing

𐐪𐑂 note: highly recommended that you read anagapesis before you read this so you know the context :)

𐐪𐑂 word count: 590

it is spring when you see him again.

those same golden eyes; that same brown hair.

he smiles at you, quite fondly (quite softly.) his skin still glows the same as the day he left— the day he broke your heart with words that had the same force of a blacksmith’s hammer.

but it’s okay, you say to no one but your overthinking mind.

you watch as he strides up close to you, greeting you with that same voice (that same warm tone.) though, your heart doesn’t stutter as much as you thought it would. in fact, it doesn’t react at all to him nor his presence. it smiles, and it laughs. it’s enjoying the fresh breeze you feel dancing around you; it’s beating along to the melody of the birds. it is bandaged and scarred, but the bruises have long since faded away, only serving as memoirs of a life in a more complicated time.

you have healed. you have grown.

he asks you how you’ve been, and you smile as you tell him you’ve been doing great. your eyes crease at the corners— you don’t have to force yourself to smile, especially not around him, because it’s natural to you. you’ve already grown, haven’t you? it feels nice.

it’s only inevitable that you must address the topic lingering above your heads.

“i think as though we have been skirting around the topic quite sometime now,” the man before you catches your attention with a statement out of the blue.

“huh?” you give him an unsure smile. your eyes, lit with a curious glow, stare into his piercing, golden ones. is it guilt that you see welling in his irises?

“just to begin... i’m sorry.”

and suddenly you are brought back to that moment. it happened in a blur and yet it is still crystal clear in your mind; the closed door, the shattering of your heart. how you fell to your knees, how utterly broken your concept of love had felt afterwards.

but it’s okay, your heart is the one to remind you this time. it flushes a beautiful, rosy pink as it beams at you, showing off all its faded scars and old bandages. i’ve healed, it reminds you gently as it ushers you back to the present.

“zhongli,” you laugh, and it comes out sounding like that of one windborne bard’s from the land of freedom. and it really does sound like freedom. it sounds like it’s been cleansed with the wind of new beginnings.

“it’s in the past, and i’ve learned to forgive both you and myself,” you take his gloved hands in yours. they are unfamiliar, having moulded to fit another’s, but it is an invigorating feeling to see how mismatched the two of you truly are. “i can see it in your eyes, zhongli, that you are holding onto something that neither of us needs to hold on to anymore.”

he stares at you, passively, even though the confusion is evident in the way his eyes dart all over your face. but in the end, he sighs, curling the corners of his lips into a fond smile. he laughs; a deep rumble escaping through his vocal cords and sounding like music to your ears.

“thank you,” he murmurs. you laugh again, giving his fingers a lighthearted squeeze before letting them go. you watch as his hand falls to his side, a jovial gleam in your eyes.

the world is clear, now, and it is gorgeous when you have the opportunity to appreciate it.

[putschki1969]

H-el-ical// 3rd Single “The Sacred Torch” LE Bonus Disc

MP3s HERE For PERSONAL USE ONLY

H-el-ical// acoustic LIVE 2020「咲-SHOW-」DAY

1. 咲-SHOW- 2. Amanhecer 3. 地 – Side by side 4. 空 – Look ahead 5. Spiranthes 6. 千日紅 7. Kalanchoe 8. Altern-ate- Acoustic ver. 9. シオン 10. 水 – Find your answer ENCORE EN 1. 風 – Struggle to admit   EN 2. 紡-TSUMUGU-    

Thoughts: I loved the intro by Sakurada. Never gonna be a huge fan of “咲-SHOW-“ but the piano overture somehow managed to make me appreciate the song a bit more. “Amanhecer” was beautiful. I am happy she chose to sing “地 – Side by side” and “空 – Look ahead“ back to back, I like both a lot, in fact, they might be my favourites track from the “elements” album. I can’t remember ever hearing a live performance of these two...Have they been performed live before? I don’t think so...? Anyways, happy to finally have official audios from a proper live, they are really good!! Both “Spiranthes” as well as “Shion” are such feel-good songs with a lovely chorus so I don’t mind that Hikaru chooses to sing them quite frequently. While I am not into the jazz-y vibes of “Sennichikou“, I can’t deny that Hikaru rocks this sort of song. “Kalanchoe” might be a live debut as well, not 100% sure? Not my fave tbh, just a little too bland. Oh wow, I did not expect that kind of arrangement for “Altern-ate-”, interesting, just an acoustic guitar and percussion, no piano. At first I thought I liked it but meh, the heavy focus on the acoustic guitar is really not my cup of tea T_T The song somehow loses its dark atmosphere like this... “水 – Find your answer” and “風 – Struggle to admit” aren’t bad per se but just like “Kalanchoe” I personally think they are a little too bland, solid performances but nothing to write home about. The audience singing along to the lalala part of “紡-TSUMUGU-“ killed me. *sobs* But I am surprised they even let the audience sing! Maybe the corona guidelines weren’t as strict when this concert took place? Or maybe they just added a vocal track in post production? Hikaru may have talked about this during one of her Twitter Spaces but I honestly haven’t been able to properly participate in any of them T_T

SUPPORT Hikaru and BUY HER SINGLE ❗   BUY physical copies / digital tracks ❗ STREAM her music ❗ JOIN her Fan Club ❗

[kitkatopinions]

I always have a hard time explaining my ships to people, because I’m a multishipper, but I don’t always ship things the same way, so I have made a chart of various RW//BY ships I either ship or don’t ship because... I’m a list person.

‘End game / top tier ship’ is pretty self explanatory. Those are the ships that I tend to (or intend to) write into my fanfics to be long-lasting ships where the people wind up together in the end. I can’t pick between Weiss and Yang or Weiss and Pyrrha, though. I’m starting to feel like I like them both equally. XD

The ‘Great ship, wouldn’t last long’ section is for ships that I like or even love where I can and often do headcanon mutual attraction on both sides, but I imagine that their relationship would eventually end in a break-up, sometimes amicable and sometimes not so amicable and more angsty. XD Like I actually really enjoy the concept of Pyrrha and Jaune, but even if she’d lived or got resurrected, I think it makes the most sense and is most personally appealing to me for them to wind up going in separate directions.

The ‘This ship is pretty good, but not a fave’ is for ships that I enjoy, that I always like seeing fanart of and would be more than fine if the show made them canon (though sadly some of them can’t be canon now ‘cause character death,) but I don’t actually write them into fics or anything myself.

‘I get this ship, but I don’t like it personally’ is also pretty self-explanatory, it’s for ships that I really see the appeal of and could hypothetically be interested in if it was done right, but it’s just never been something I was personally drawn to.

Then yeah, there are the ships that I just don’t really like and don’t like seeing much of. There’s nothing inherently wrong with those ships, they just tend to either leave me bored or lowkey annoy me. Everyone is free to ship them and I’m sure they have interest for other people, but they’re not my style.

‘Ships I used to ship’ is kinda sad, because there are a couple of pairings I absolutely loved that are in this category, but I just for the most part find them annoying now. Some of them are just things I was low-level interested in for a bit that I got over, though. Penny and Ren is a pretty good ship... But now I just do not care for it anymore. James and Glynda seemed okay until I reached the - to  me personally - superior Ironqrow and now the more I think about it, the less I think they’d work as a relationship/

‘Alternate Universe’ ships are... Interesting. Because they’re ships that I legit hate in canon, buuuut some people make their AU versions sound really interesting. Like a Weiss who wound up being a Happy Huntress after running away from home in V4 instead of rejoining the others could potentially be very good with May, even if I really don’t like the idea of them in canon. And post-Fall Of Beacon, even if Pyrrha had lived or was resurrected, I can’t imagine Pyrrha ever fully forgiving Emerald enough to be with her romantically. But an AU where Emerald actually turned against Cinder way earlier during the Fall of Beacon and saved Pyrrha? Or an AU where Pyrrha is actually on the villains side and is working for Salem and she and Emerald are essentially rivals (or more like, Pyrrha would be Cinder’s rival but Emerald is the one who’s her age and tries to hate Pyrrha for being a ‘constant thorn in Cinder’s side’ but also starts realizing how much better Pyrrha is than Salem and maybe Emerald turns to the good side without Pyrrha but then starts working to try to get Pyrrha to turn good too?) That’s good stuff!

And then there are just the ships I hate. There’s nothing wrong with other people shipping them, and I’m sure plenty of people make it work and make good content with those ships, but ehhhh.... They’re not good for me personally.

Then back to stuff I like, there’s stuff that’s incredibly niche that I rarely see anyone talk about, but hey, I like them and I think they’re fun ships, though every single one of them has very little (if any!) in canon content to go off of. XD

I also have some Character x OC ships, but yeah. So those are my (obviously subject to change) opinions on various RW//BY Ships! I’m sure I’ve missed a heck ton of ships because there’s tons of RW//BY ships, but this was just a little fun exercise for me because I weirdly enjoy making lists. XD

[root-admins]

SINoALICE x NieR Replicant - Weapon Stories

A complete compilation of all weapon stories from SINoALICE’s NieR Replicant collab... well, the ones that has lore to do with NieR anyways.

Whatever grammar mistakes/translation errors belongs to Pokelabo, and you will tell there are some. Most are stories are pretty self-explanatory tho.

Grimoire Weiss

We fought for what seemed like ages. To kill those things that took a twisted human form. To protect those precious to me, with my own hands. We were deceived for so long. Deceived by people in a land we've never been, whose faces we've never seen Issuing orders from a safe distance. We must have been in love. And despite the fact I couldn't save you, but I never got to thank you for saving me. These fragments glimmering deep in my depths... they seem to be the vague memories of people... the faded remnants of human wisdom... H-hold on! I’ll have you know my name is not “Booky Wooky!” You may call me "Grimoire Weiss" I am a great compendium of ancient wisdom. Treat me with respect!

Grimoire Noir

My name is the Black Book. Are you the king who will lead the world to salvation? Don't be so surprised, Your Majesty. For me, it is a simple matter to speak human words. I sympathize with your distress, Your Majesty. On this occasion, however, we have no choice but to let them deal with your sister. When sorrow overtakes you, you may come to me and speak of your tribulations. Reading is an admirable pursuit. Your Majesty--for me?? I shall peruse this volume if it comes on your recommendation... What is that? You think it odd for a book to read a book? Noir? I would prefer to dispense with this nickname. My name, Your Majesty, is the Black Book. I am a grand tome of human wisdom... thus, to refer to me by such a curious moniker is, dare I say, inappropriate.

Kaine’s Sword

She was slender, with smooth, white skin. The hint of a dark shadow in her expression highlighted her beautiful features. But something about the sword in her hand didn't seem to fit the picture. Anger, sorrow, hatred. When emotions overwhelmed her, she would swing the sword, so there was never a lack of blood to quench its thirst. The problem was that she couldn't put the sword down. A heart and body in constant conflict. No one in the world could understand her. And loneliness was eating her alive. The long war came to an end, and darkness devoured her. But her heart remained at peace. Because she faced fate in the arms of the one she loved.

Halua Head

File_25_10: Update Soon twins will be arriving. There is nothing at all in the white-walled, prison-like room except for a white bed. If only there were something to do in there... File_25_12: Update I went to look in on them, and the girl was kindly encouraging her anxious younger brother. The two of them had heavy expectations to fulfill. The weight of all humanity's hope bore down upon them. File_26_06: Update The day of the experiment, the girl passed me a letter. To the very end, she wanted someone to watch over her brother. Once I agreed, she quickly ran away. Report: Human Weapon Development Things seem to be progressing as expected with Experimental Subject A (Sister), but her condition has changed drastically. In her present state, she seems to have no sense of self. I am urgently beginning work on Experimental Subject B (Brother).

Devola & Popola’s Staff

－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－ Dear Popola, Thanks for that soup recipe! My mom loved it!  －－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－ A note received from a child in the village. Does this mean they are developing a sense of self? －－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－ Dear Popola, Thanks to the medicine you gave me, I'm feeling a lot better, though I can't leave home yet. Just sending a note to say thanks. －－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－ According to our records, humans wrote their feelings down on pieces of paper, and sent them to others. Where did they learn to do such a thing? －－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－ Dear Popola, I like you a lot. Will you be my girlfriend? Waiting to hear back. －－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－ I simply cannot understand the things they have written on these scraps of paper. I feel an unfamiliar feeling, my heart saying “no”… －－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－ Dear Popola, Sorry I couldn't tell you in person, but I'm coming home late tonight. Go ahead and sleep if you're tired. －－－－－－－－��－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－ Ah, Devola. No need to worry about me this way. Tee-hee.

Favorite Pot

Yonah, I learned a special recipe! When you eat it, all your injuries will be gone! Oh! I want everyone to feed it to those they care about!

The ingredients are deer meat, sea turtle eggs, fresh veggies and herbs from the garden, and lastly tons of scorpion claws! Next, fill a pot up with all your ingredients, place the top on, and let it simmer overnight! The white steam rising from it is just so mesmerizing. ...Oh! I think it's ready! Smell for a soft scent when you take the lid off. That means it's done! I can't wait to give it to grandpa.

Transience

"Rule 0: You have the right to disband a rule by vote." I am the king's aide and second-in-command. Until now, all rules have be absolute, however, a "Voting Rite" was held where citizens could vote to change rules. Now, let's see what sort of ballots were made...

"Rule 451: Consuming alcohol is forbidden during the daytime." And stated as the reason is: because I like drinking... Because it's anonymous, all these votes are based off selfish desires. We need to improve the system somehow that reflects public opinion.

"Rule 356: Royal inquiries are limited once per day." And stated as the reason is: because I long to be with the King more...? Could this Fyra's vote...? No. Of course not. She's not the type to be interested in love. Moving on...

"Rule 68: The King's aides are to forever serve at his side" Reason being: Thank you for all your hard work. You deserve a break once in awhile... Could this be from the King himself? I'm honored to have stood by your side all these years. And the citizens of this country are proud of your work. There's no doubt of it.

Note: After rigorous deliberation, "Rule 451: Consuming alcohol is forbidden during the daytime", the most voted for rule, was repealed.

Grimoire Weiss ver.1.224

My name is Grimoire Weiss. I am an ancient tome of profound wisdom. After awakening from my long slumber, I traveled the world with my most beloved friends. She was a woman lacking respect for her elders. She'd continuously talk down to me, calling me nothing but paper and even set me aflame. However... Her rash words were also the driving force that moved us all. He was a compassionate and gentle boy who loved his friends. His manor of dress was odd, but his kind words warmed everyone's hearts. This I know to be true. I wonder if he, too had felt any relief from his sins. He was a cheeky guy, but not one you could just leave behind. We've been through a number of rough times together. I'd tell ya about it, but... I'm running out of time. If... If only I had an arm... Then I could have...hugged...him...

Grimoire Rubrum

It's the silk of fate. Knowing you, I shall begin living a life of truth. It's the forbidden fruit. Protecting you, I shall sink into wisdom's abyss. Those are the flames of anxiety. Thinking of you, I shall endure eternity's darkness. That is a reunion of bitter tears. Who are they? Why is it not me who's besides you?

Kaine’s Dual Blades ver.1.224

I craved it. Blind violence and blood-thirsty carnage. And I found it. I finally found it. A vessel stained with anger and hatred, seeking vengeance for the murder of her parents. I possessed that woman and gave her "power." That power turned the woman into a beast. One swing of her blade was enough to cut through stone and her grazes healed in an instant. She began downing every foe before her in the name of vengeance. I was delighted to witness the fruition of my desires. The woman's destruction didn't end there. After having her revenge, she continued to exert her "power" for the sake of her friends. Along her journey, her anger and hatred showed signs of waning, however, I gave it no thought. All I desired was to continue bathing in her bloodshed. Because her body has reached its limit, her power has lost control. Still, in the midst of the clashing of blades, I could feel her desire to protect her friends. Yes, this is the violence and carnage I crave. But why is it deplorable and empty?

Devola & Popola’s Spear

Upon hearing an old lady from the village caught a cold, I immediately collected my medicinal herbs with some boiled water, and rushed out from the library. I nursed her and remained by her side until her symptoms calmed down. She was extremely grateful for it.

I read a picture book to a group of children from the village. It was of an old tale about a brave, courageous man who triumphs over evil. I watched their expressions alternated between joy to sorrow to the story's pacing. I'm glad they enjoyed it.

Devola and I performed a song for the people at the village tavern. In addition to the regulars who drank there, elders and children were part of the audience. At the end of our song, the entire crowd smiled and cheered.

Every day Devola and I have been staying late at the library thinking of a plan to make life easier for the villagers. They're indispensable "vessels" for the project, so we need to do what we can for them.

Letter to the Postman

I was in a dimly lit cabin when I met a kind man. He taught me how to write a letter. What should I write on a blank piece of paper...? ―――――――――――――――――――――――――――― ――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

Apparently, a letter should start off with the name of the person you want to give it to. Of course, I'd want it to be his. I hope he'll be able to read my sloppy handwriting... ―――――――――――――――――――――――――――― 　　Hans ――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

At the end of the letter should be the name of the person who wrote it. Of course, that would be the name he gave me. Is it odd my chest feels warm writing it...? ―――――――――――――――――――――――――――― 　　Hans 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Luiz ――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

And in-between these two names, I'm supposed to write how I feel. And tell him what I want the most. I wonder if he'll be happy to receive this...?

―――――――――――――――――――――――――――― 　　Hans, Thank you　Thank you　Thank you Thank you　Thank you　Thank you　Thank you 　Thank you　Thank you. Luiz ――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

[drproximo]

Original Versions of Songs You Didn’t Know were Covers

Originally published for Geeks and Beats, August 2017.

https://www.geeksandbeats.com/2017/08/songs-didnt-know-covers/

I love a well-done cover song, and I especially love a well-done cover that deviates from the original. There’s something endlessly fascinating about how two different people can arrange such dramatically different interpretations of the same source material. What makes this especially fun is when you discover that a song you’ve been enjoying for years is itself a reinterpretation. Sometimes it even goes a step further, and a song that you knew as a cover turns out to be a cover of a cover. Researching this list became a much more involved “rabbit hole” than I ever anticipated, and I am delighted to share my findings with you. I’m confident that, like me, you’ll have more than a few “whoa, I didn’t know that!” moments. 

Bruce Springsteen – Blinded by the Light

When a WatchMojo video got me digging into this awhile back, this was the one that surprised me most. This is one of those songs that I feel like I’ve been aware of for as long as I’ve cared about music. So it was a bit of a shock to discover in my 40s that, not only is it a cover, but it was originally by The Boss. There are differences in the arrangement and the lyrics, but the Manfred Mann version is generally considered the definitive rendition. 

Tina Turner – Don’t Turn Around

While “Blinded by the Light” was the big surprise on my first dive into this topic, this next one blew me away even moreso. Ace of Base’s third most successful single was originally a Tina Turner song, the B-side of her 1986 single “Typical Male”. Bonnie Tyler, whose repertoire of covers is expansive and impressive, also did her own interpretation on 1988’s Hide Your Heart. 

I’ve Got My Mind Set On You – James Ray 

Time for a little history about “Weird Al” Yankovic. In 1988, Al released his album Even Worse. The title had two meanings. First of all, the lead single was “Fat”, a parody of Michael Jackson’s “Bad”, and the album cover was also a direct parody of Jackson’s Bad cover. In other words, since Jackson was declaring himself to be “Bad”, Al decided he was “Even Worse”. Second, all of the other parodies were of covers that had recently been hit singles, by Tiffany, Billy Idol, Los Lobos, and George Harrison.

The last one was the one that surprised me. Harrison’s most solid 80s hit was actually a cover. I owned 45s of the originals of all the others, but I had never heard James Ray’s original of “I’ve Got My Mind Set On You” (which Al turned into “(This Song’s Just) Six Words Long“). 

The Tide is High – The Paragons 

One of Blondie’s most distinctive qualities was, and still is, a blending of several sounds and moods. As such, this reggae ditty, which was their third #1 single on the Billboard Hot 100, didn’t raise many eyebrows. So, few at the time knew that it was a cover of a 1966 rocksteady song by The Paragons. Although, the fact that the gender-swap screwed up the rhyme scheme could have been a clue. 

Torn – Ednaswap 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OoEdfB7l18

This one’s a little weird. Shortly after Natalie Imbruglia had her breakthrough hit with “Torn” in 1997, there was a short-lived minor controversy. Apparently, some people were upset when they found out that Imbruglia didn’t write the song. It was a cover of a 1995 song by a relatively unknown alternative act called Ednaswap. Nobody claimed had that she wrote the song, however, and there was nothing new about singers having a cover be their first hit. So the “controversy” was quickly reduced to a footnote, whose most prominent documentation is a mention on Pop-Up Video.

 Adding to the weirdness, Ednaswap’s “original” wasn’t technically the first recording of the song. Two years before they got around to releasing it, a Danish translation,“Brændt” (“Burned”), was released by Lis Sørensen. 

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun – Robert Hazard 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aLNwOxPsjg

I almost didn’t include this one because, quite frankly, the original is awful. And, let’s be real, there’s something creepy about a guy breathily singing about what girls want. Thankfully, Hazard’s recording never got past the demo stage, so I’ll choose to consider Lauper’s version “technically a cover but sort of not really”. 

Downtown Train – Tom Waits

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLtZKkCIVmI

If you asked a random sampling of people around you, there’s a good chance that many of them wouldn’t be able to name a Tom Waits song. On the other hand, it’s almost a guarantee that they’re familiar with at least one of his songs, but covered by someone else. The Eagles, Alison Krauss, Sarah McLachlan, Bruce Springsteen, and The Ramones are among the many big names to contribute to this. Heck, actress Scarlett Johansson recorded an entire album of Tom Waits songs (it was kind of awful, but I digress). 

One of the most successful Waits covers is Rod Stewart’s “Downtown Train”. The original was a standout track and minorly-successful single from Waits’ 1985 masterpiece Rain Dogs. Stewart’s 1991 cover starts off with a similarly restrained sound, but gradually swells into a much “bigger”, almost celebratory sound. 

Piece of My Heart – Erma Franklin 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0QAxIKf8G4

First off, the more well-known recording, with Janis Joplin on vocals, is properly credited to her band Big Brother and the Holding Company. Second, covers generally draw from that 1968 version, but the original was by Erma Franklin (Aretha Franklin’s older sister). Faith Hill’s 1994 atrocity seemed to be an attempt to destroy the song’s legacy, but Melissa Etheridge managed to restore it a little bit in 2005, even though it was a clumsy attempt at a comeback for Etheridge.

The First Cut is the Deepest – P.P. Arnold 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1-g5VG2pWg

This is one of my favourites. With many of the entries on this list, it’s fun to play the original for someone and watch their face as they slowly realize what they’re hearing. P.P. Arnold’s original recording of “The First Cut is the Deepest” (written by Cat Stevens) also happens to be a fantastic song in its own right. 

In 1977, Rod Stewart (him again?) released what most would consider the definitive version, and in 2003 Sheryl Crow covered it as one of two new songs recorded for her best-of collection. 

Nothing Compares 2 U – The Family 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZlzN0Gtpp8

In the 80s, there were a lot of Prince side projects and spin-offs. Morris Day and The Time may be the most memorable, with their mega-hit “Jungle Love“. Wendy & Lisa, Vanity 6, and Apollonia 5 also enjoyed a little time in the spotlight. One of the lesser-known projects, however, was The Family. The Family was often tasked with bringing life to songs that Prince wrote but wasn’t interested in doing himself. So even if you knew that Prince wrote Sinéad O’Connor’s 1990 breakthrough hit “Nothing Compares 2 U“, you might not have known that The Family had recorded it 5 years prior. 

Prince would eventually record a live version as a duet with Rosie Gaines, which was included on the various iterations of his 1993 compilation The Hits. Also included on this compilation were Prince’s originals of “I Feel 4 U” (covered by Chaka Khan in 1984), and “When U Were Mine” (covered by Cyndi Lauper in 1983). 

Killing Me Softly – Lori Lieberman 

In 1996, the Fugees released their breakthrough mega-hit, “Killing Me Softly“. Not everyone knew it was a cover of a 1973 Roberta Flack song, but many did. Even fewer knew, however, that Flack’s rendition was itself a cover. The original, by Lori Lieberman in 1972, was a soft acoustic rendition of a poem. “His song” was Don McLean’s “Empty Chairs”. 

The first cover could have turned out quite differently; according to Wikipedia: 

Helen Reddy has said she was sent the song, but “the demo… sat on my turntable for months without being played because I didn’t like the title”. 

Roberta Flack’s successful 1973 cover is still soft, but with some defining chord changes, and a slightly more soulful sound.

Further mutating the tune, The Fugees laid down their hip-hop version in 1996, to much acclaim. 

If you poke around YouTube looking for versions of this song, you’ll probably find about a dozen copies of a crooner version credited to Frank Sinatra. It does kind of sound like The Chairman, but he never actually recorded it. That’s Perry Como, from his 1973 album And I Love You So. 

Some Guys Have All The Luck – Persuaders 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3NWbvFsBVo

First released in 1973 by R&B group The Persuaders, Rod Stewart’s cover of “Some Guys Have All the Luck” served as one of the important hits of his 80s comeback (and his third time appearing on this list, what is it with this guy and covers?) In between those two versions, Robert Palmer also recorded his own version, with significantly altered lyrics and arrangement. Palmer’s version is probably the strangest, kind of a gritty new wave thing, reminiscent of Pete Shelley’s “Homosapien“. 

There have been several other covers, including a gender swapped country version. Of special note is Maxi Priest’s 1987 rendition, which (mostly) returned to the original lyrics and arrangement, but with Maxi’s signature “reggae fusion” sound. 

Tainted Love – Gloria Jones

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSehtaY6k1U

When Marilyn Manson covered “Tainted Love” in 2001 for the Not Another Teen Movie soundtrack, it was fairly common knowledge that he was covering a Soft Cell song. Soft Cell’s 1981 arrangement, however, was not the original. American soul singer Gloria Jones’ Motown-influenced version was a B-side for “My Bad Boy’s Comin’ Home”, which failed to make a lasting impression domestically. Jones herself, however, had very much made an impression in England, where she was dubbed the “Northern Queen of Soul”. 

Eventually the song entered the radar of the synth-pop duo Soft Cell. Their 1981 version became their only major hit in North America, and one of the defining songs of the 80s. 

Side notes and honorable mentions: 

You might already knew that The Isley Brothers recorded “Twist and Shout” a year before The Beatles, but did you know that a group called The Top Notes recorded it a year before that? 

“I Love Rock n Roll” by Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, arguably one of the most ubiquitous and recognized songs of the modern era, was originally released by The Arrows in 1975. 

Animotion’s “Obsession”, unofficial theme song of the fashion world for more than 30 years, was originally recorded by Michael Des Barres & Holly Knight.

Madonna’s “Ray of Light” was adapted from “Sepheryn” by Curtiss Maldoon, though it’s not a direct cover. 

Led Zeppelin have a storied history of borrowing, adapting, and straight-up stealing. A cursory Google search will provide many articles and videos discussing this, but the two examples which I think best fit the theme are “Dazed and Confused”, originally by Jake Holmes, and “Stairway to Heaven”, adapted from “Taurus” by Spirit. 

Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues” was adapted from “Crescent City Blues“, written by Gordon Jenkins and sung by Beverly Mahr. Also, more than half the songs on Cash’s 5 American Recordings albums are reinterpretations of a diverse selection of songs.

[kpoptimeout]

Top 10 Most Underrated K-pop Songs of 2020 (Artist Edition)

Many wonderful songs by K-Pop artists helped us get through the shit show of 2020.

Continuing with the K-Pop Timeout Tradition (see 2019 Ver) of listing the Top 10 Most Underrated K-Pop Songs because all the other sites are just bothered with the Top 10 that pretty much everyone will have heard of/have fan wars over, below are our top 10 picks of songs that did not rank high (and with MVs just around or below 1 million views too) but deserves your attention! 

This is the list for artists’ tracks, so the Top 10 underrated non-idol tracks. Click here for the Top 10 underrated idol tracks of 2020.

Some of the non-idol artists have escaped the list in recent years to stardom (for example DPR LIVE, CRUSH and MAD CLOWN) so hopefully, it happens again!

This is in alphabetic order NOT in the order of awesomeness because all of them are awesome. Also, all MVs are linked in the song titles because Tumblr won’t let me share that many videos in one post.

DAVII - Jamie Cullum

DAVII had already demonstrated his vocal and producing prowess in the collaborations with HEIZE and other indie artists and his continues  to show his talent and skill in “Jamie Cullum”, an ode to the titular English jazz-pop singer songwriter. The song has a beautiful and memorable jazz piano arrangement and solo section, and DAVII complements the instrumental beautifully with his smooth RnB vocals. The simple Bauhaus-inspired MV sets further accentuates the atmosphere of this beautiful musical piece.  If you are a fan of Korean RnB and also jazz, this is the song for you!

DeVita “EVITA!”

When AOMG told the internet we are going to love their new artist, we know we would but most of us did not expect THIS SOUND. Starting off with a simple 80s vintage drum loop, we are then promised something more when a jazzy saxophone solo bursts onto the scene. The instrumental is reminiscent of 80s citypop but the arrangement of the song and the background noise and ambience creates a much more cyberpunk feel to the whole affair - all this creates a song that sounds both retro and highly futuristic. This modern take on citypop is further highlighted by the stunning music video and DeVita’s edgy vocal delivery, which smoothly switches between head and chest voice in a way similar to that of Rihanna and Lexie Liu. If you are a fan of these two artists or love citypop, you should certainly check out DeVita’s “EVITA!”

Divin’ “Siren”

The MV with the least amount of views on this list (less than 3,000 views at the time of writing this), Divin’s “Siren” deserves better. This song makes great use of synthesisers and has an addictive electronic beat. Divin’s singing is also very captivating, both smooth and desperate at the same time. The moments where he dramatically breathed in Michael Jackson-style between verses worked very well with the fast-paced beats. It is sad to see such a creatively executed track that sounded like the theme song to a Netflix sci-fi adventure series go completely unnoticed. If you want to feel like you are living in the world of TRON, Divin’s “Siren” is your type of song!

GEMINI “Going”

GEMINI is definitely an artist to keep an eye on if you are a K-RnB fan. “Going” is an extremely simple song - just the use of one processed guitar loop throughout the whole song (even in parts of the bridge), with some changes in the drums here and there. The whole MV also appeared to be quite low budget, just showing GEMINI going about his day - shaving, playing basketball, skateboarding and just straight up chilling. However, the song is carried by GEMINI’s emotive voice and smooth delivery to be easily one of the most enjoyable RnB songs this year and the simple MV made it feel like we were also there hanging out with this talented and carefree youth. If you love good K-RnB, “Going” is a must-listen song from 2020!

MADDOX “Sleep”

Some of you may have heard of MADDOX for his wild interview with DIVE STUDIOS but not as many of you listen to his music because this MV does not even crack 100,000 views (at the time of writing this). “Sleep” is lofi RnB gold, showcasing MADDOX’s crisp and somewhat melancholy tone. The instrumental is a mix of electronic guitar, synths and pianos, creating the atmosphere of a high-class hotel lounge, which is fitting as MADDOX anguishly croons through the hallways of a hotel. We know the song is “Sleep” but this song is certainly way too slept on. If you love the soothing RnB tunes of Crush and Zion.T, you should check out this song!

MINSEO “No Good Girl”

MINSEO is arguably one of the most talented female vocalists of this generation, able to easy alternate between genres and styles, from romani jazz to EDM, so it is frustrating to see her still so underrated. In “No Good Girl”, MINSEO returns to her ballad roots and demonstrates her skill in showing layers of emotions through her expert singing abilities. The song itself is also beautifully arranged and could easily be a primetime K-Drama OST that plays whenever the leads interact.  If you love vocal talent pure and simple and love coffee shop music, “No Good Girl” is the song for you!

Purple Rain “The King Must Die”

When one thinks of Korean rock bands, the tendency is to think of pop rock bands under FNC or other mainstream labels. Purple Rain reminds us to keep an eye on the harder, grittier rockers of South Korea. The song begins soft and controlled and slowly builds up with the entrance of the electric guitar solo. Upon reaching the chorus, the lead singer does a 180 in his delivery, belting with emotion and range and would alternate between his soft and harder vocals throughout the song. With the sound fit for an action blockbuster, “The King Must Die” is a song for those who love a powerful rock song!

Rad Museum “Wet Umbrella / This Night”

Rad Museum made the list last year its darker and emotive song “Dancing In the Rain” ft. Jusén, and returns this time with the much softer and dreamy mashup of two tracks “Wet Umbrella / This Night”. The unpredictable song progression and the light airy vocals lead to an oddly pleasant song. You feel like you are travelling with a squad of misfits in a disoriented world when listening to this song. If you are an enthusiast of music Spotify would classify as “escape room” (e.g. Daniel Caesar, Tyler the Creator, Childish Gambino etc.), you would love this song!

VINCE “EMERGENCY” ft. Zion.T

With YG’s The Black Label managing him and being the songwriter for various K-pop hits like Sunmi’s “Gashina” and BLACKPINK’s “Pretty Savage” and working on BLACKPINK Rosé’s upcoming solo releases, it is strange YG stans are not supportive of this RnB vocal king. VINCE has a smooth honey vocals that work perfectly with any RnB track and “EMERGENCY” is further elevated by its memorable chorus and the addition of the uniquely wonderful Zion.T. Yet somehow this MV has yet to crack 1 million since it was released in February 2020 (at the time of writing this). If you are a fan of K-RnB, you would love this song!

Xydo “Betting” ft. pH-1

This song is the definition of falsetto overload but in all the right ways. Xydo’s high-tone singing is perfect for this simple song driven by a snappy bass, hi-hat and clap. pH-1’s rap verse also added the fun to this already very playful song. The camera angles and set also elevate the classy and smooth vibe of the whole song. If you are a fan of Gray’s production style, you would also love this stylish RnB song by Xydo! 

Which non-idol songs do you think were underrated this year? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below and let the song sharing begin!!!

[gascon-en-exil]

This past weekend I picked up another Steam dating sim, Full Service. I don’t think I could do a complete write-up like I’ve done for some others, but it’s worth mentioning some highlights and lowlights.

The Good

A lot of content for an indie erotica game, with seven primary love interests, over 200 CGs, and over twenty endings running the gamut from tenderly romantic to wildly kinky to dubcon/noncon scenarios. There’s more actual gameplay here than any of the dating sims I’ve previously talked about, with some light scheduling and resource management and a gifting/heart level system comparable to Fire Emblem support ranks or even more so heart levels in those old Harvest Moon games (are those still a thing?). The second playthrough adds more story content to better explore certain character motivations, and there are even after stories - epilogues, essentially - unlocked after perfect endings that catch up with the characters some time later and feature brief animated sex scenes. In the tradition of most gay dating sim protagonists that I’ve come across, Tomoki is fully vers, and his love interests are evenly divided by favored position: three tops, three bottoms, and one fellow vers with a little additional flexibility for certain scenes/combinations. Speaking from extensive personal experience I consider this much more reflective of how the gay/bi male population as a whole approaches anal than something like To Trust an Incubus contorting itself to ensure that every single guy is vers.

The premise is that all the love interests work at a spa/massage parlor that specializes in happy endings. All of them could be considered sex workers, and some of them have alternative sources of income in a similar vein, ex. modeling. This is not the easiest subject matter to write well without being either overly glorifying or overly preachy, and I was pleasantly surprised to discover that for the most part Full Service walks the fine line between the two. It doesn’t shy away from the potential dangers and hardships of sex work (especially in some of the bad endings) or from the issues it can create with forming romantic connections, but it also remains generally sex positive and never condemns its characters for what they choose to do with their lives or suggest that they’d all be happier doing something else. The most judgmental the game ever gets seems to be a projection of Tomoki’s own prudishness...which comes off as deliberately hypocritical considering all the raunchy things he can get up to over the course of the game.

Speaking of sex positivity, it’s actually impossible to go through a full playthrough and only have sex with one person, and the fact that around half of the love interests’ development occurs outside plot events means that it’s quite likely that Tomoki will sleep his way through half or more of the spa’s masseurs before all is said and done. Furthermore, despite what I said in my Chess of Blades review about a poly relationship being beyond the scope of a typical dating sim this one pulls it off with one pair of love interests that Tomoki can potentially end up with at the same time.

While she’s not a love interest, there’s a trans woman in the supporting cast. Her full story isn’t revealed until your second playthrough owing to her major role in the plot, but I appreciated the depiction of someone who discovered her gender identity/presentation through her sexual relationships with men. Thara may not be the sort of trans character who would appeal to typical fans of either yaoi or bara, but having explored feminization kink in the context of sex work myself I thought she was a nice addition.

The Bad

So...voice acting. Most of the game goes for vocal work in the style of Fire Emblem Awakening and Fates, short clips that only somewhat match up with the text on screen and are meant to be more suggestive of what the character is saying. Those are fine enough if not always exactly on point, but then there are the perfect endings which are fully voiced. There’s a fair bit of variance in this game’s vocal talent and even audio recording equipment in one or two cases - sadly one of my favorite love interests has a noticeably lower recording quality to his audio, and it’s no more evident than in his perfect ending where suddenly he’s voicing full lines of dialogue - and then there’s the recurring problem these games have with fully voiced sex scenes and how generally silly those come off. I really have to ask: does anyone genuinely feel that full or even partial voice acting adds anything to the eroticism of such scenes? Props to the voice actors for doing their best with the material, but the sounds of sex are just not easy to vocalize unless you’re actually doing it - at least not without sounding ridiculous.

Harping on lack of realism in gay sex scenes has become rather passé, and I can overlook things like everyone being muscled and well-endowed, no one wearing a condom, or there rarely being any mention of artificial lube. However, there is one glaring issue that over and over shattered my suspension of disbelief, because it comes up in like 80% of the game’s sex scenes: these men have no refractory periods, at all. Almost every scene has all characters involved cumming twice, with only one or two lines of text between CGs as a break. Even worse than the inherent absurdity of a man cumming and then being hard again five seconds later is that it leads to the scenes coming off as quite predictable. With only a handful of exceptions sex scenes in Full Service consist of two NSFW CGs: a foreplay CG - oral, rimming, or some light kink like bondage or nipple or armpit play - and then an anal CG. There’s a lot of variety in positions and (tame) kink elements on display, but it’s undercut when almost every encounter follows this exact script.

On some subjects Full Service flirts with a particular kind of kink but can’t find it in itself to commit. Tomoki’s romance with his boss Rald is almost an instance of this, although they do end up having one of those (allegedly) scandalous workplace romances with its kink potential left intact. Less fortunate however are the twins Oki and Okan, who Tomoki can romance either individually or together in the aforementioned poly ending. The twincest is indeed hot, but it’s explained in supplementary material (if not necessarily the game itself) that two really aren’t twins or even related which annoys me as the same sort of cop-out as Coming Out on Top’s teacher/student romance. Here it’s a bit more forgivable as the reason Oki and Okan are more or less RPing as twins is tied into the plot.

The...Eh

Full Service’s setting is difficult to pin down. It’s clearly somewhat inspired by Japan and takes place somewhere in the real world as various other ethnicities get referenced throughout, but it’s all rather vague. I honestly can’t even tell if the developer is Japanese or Western, as there’s signs pointing to either.

There’s an annoying mascot character who runs a gacha for gift items - in-game currency only, thankfully - but the script knows how silly he and uses him sparingly in the plot and heart events.

One of the love interests is (so I’ve read) the protagonist of a completely different indie game, recognizable because he looks like a JRPG protagonist and has plot-convenient amnesia. He’s not a bad character by any means, just a big bundle of genre clichés.

With both Chess of Blades and Coming Out on Top I pointed out that best friend romances were a tricky business and tend to end up lighter on conflict. Full Service really yanks the rug out on that one, but it’s impossible to say any more without heavy spoilers. Suffice it to say Tomoki does have a best friend romance, but it’s hidden and hard to obtain and figures into the main plot in a thoroughly unexpected way.

What I said pertaining to second playthrough reveals also brings up another serious issue the game attempts to tackle, this one with more mixed results. It’s sex trafficking, which indeed ties into the larger sex work premise but in my opinion doesn’t land nearly as well as the rest in large part due to it being treated as a mystery and the centerpiece of many a lategame reveal. There are worse ideas for a source of conflict independent of who Tomoki ends up dating, but I’m still not sure about the overall execution.

So in summary? It’s not entirely my genre and there’s a lack of polish in parts, but a lot of gameplay for a dating sim and so, so much porn. Kind of middle of the pack for me.

[fmdtaeyongarchive]

ash kwon, but it’s musical theatre songs, pt.2 : love | a playlist [spotify]

alternate title: ash kwon, but it’s musical theatre songs, but this time it’s a thinly-veiled commentary on how his unrealistic and often unhealthy perspective on love is best mirrored through romanticized, dramatized media such as musicals.

i. “gimme gimme” from thoroughly modern millie.

I need it! Gimme, gimme that thing called love. I want it! Here I am, St. Valentine. My bags are packed, I'm first in line. Aphrodite, don't forget me! Romeo and Juliet me! Fly, dove! Sing, sparrow! Gimme fat boy's famous arrow! Gimme, gimme that thing called love!

ash is obsessed with romantic love wbk. this is more meant to reflect the overzealous attitude and unrealistic optimism ash had about love when he was younger. it was, and still is at times, the one thing he believes he can’t live without.

ii. “something to believe in” from newsies.

An angel come to save me Who didn't even know she gave me Something to believe in, For even a day. One day may be forever, But that's okay. That's okay. And if I'm gone tomorrow What was ours still will be. I have something to believe in Now that I know you believed in me.

i’m taking this pretty out of context here because it’s supposed to be sweet 🙄 and romantic 🤢 or whatever in context, but i’m using it more to further symbolize what i said at the end of my explanation for the last song. ash has built himself a headspace over the years where he believes romantic love is the only thing that gives him any real purpose on earth. it’s part of why he often takes break-ups so hard, and why they’re so hard on his mental health, and yet he seemingly rebounds from relationships onto someone else so unusually fast — because he needs something and someone to believe in so that he can feel believed in in return.

iii. “dust and ashes” from natasha, pierre, and the great comet of 1812.

They say we are asleep Until we fall in love. We are children of dust and ashes, But when we fall in love, we wake up, And we are a God And angels weep, But if I die here tonight, I die in my sleep. All of my life I spent searching the words Of poets and saints and prophets and kings, And now at the end all I know that I’ve learned Is that all that I know is I don’t know a thing .

basically me taking another song that’s supposed to be a more positive outlook on love and using it to represent ash’s unhealthy dependency on it. the first six lines here are a paraphrased quote from war and peace, but they also sound like something ash would write. another take on why he rebounds so quickly: because he feels almost numb, asleep, or dead, without romantic love and the validation and purpose he gets from it in his life.

iv. “someday” from the hunchback of notre dame.

Someday When we are wiser, When the world's older, When we have learned, I pray Someday we may yet live To live and let live. Someday Life will be fairer, Need will be rarer, Need will be rarer, Greed will not pay.

this song isn’t explicitly romantic other than being sung by romantic interests, but with that context, i do believe it shows the optimism ash can’t let go of about love. love is the most beautiful thing on earth in ash’s eyes, but he’s well-aware that, historically and to this day, it’s not something everyone’s privileged to be able to experience without fear. he believes that as long as humanity holds onto love, in a more general sense this time, there’s hope for mankind to improve.

v. “perfect for you” from next to normal.

[HENRY] Our planet is poison, The oceans, the air, Around and beneath and above you. [NATALIE] Um, Henry, that's true And I totally care... [HENRY] I'm trying to tell you I love you. [NATALIE] What? [HENRY] The world is at war, Filled with death and disease. We dance on the edge of destruction. The globe's getting warmer by deadly degrees. [NATALIE] And this is one fucked up seduction. [HENRY] This planet is pretty much broken beyond all repair, But one thing is working if you're standing there. Perfect for you. I could be perfect for you. I might be lazy, a loner, A bit of a stoner, it's true, But I might be perfect... I'll make myself perfect, Perfect for you.

ash vc: global warming is going to kill us, we might as well fuck

i mean, yeah, but not really. this is here because ash really does love to try to find his life purpose in trying to be “perfect” for others. 🥴

also ash is lowkey henry and natalie’s lovechild, let’s discuss

vi. “if it’s true” from hadestown (2017 ver) - not on spotify playlist, link here.

If it’s true what they say, If my love is gone for good, They can take this heart away. They can take this flesh and blood. Take my mouth that kissed her mouth. Take my tongue that sung her praise. Take my arms that used to reach out In the dark to where she lay. If it’s true what they say, I’ll be on my way. If it’s true what they say, If there’s nothing to be done, If there’s no part to be played, If there’s no song to be sung, Take this voice, take these hands; I can’t use them anyway. Take this music and the memory Of the muse from which it came.

yeah... ash is dramatic as hell.

vii. “bad idea” from waitress.

It's a bad idea, me and you. Let's just keep kissing 'til we come to. Heart, stop racing. Let's face it, making mistakes like this will make worse what was already pretty bad. Mind, stop running. It's time we just let this thing go. It was a pretty good bad idea, wasn't it though? It's a bad idea, me and you. It's a bad idea, me and you. Hold me close while I think this through. Yeah, it's a very poor idea, me and you. [...] I know it's right for me. It's the only thing I've ever done. What if I never see myself ever be anything more Than what I've already become?

yeah... ash is dumb as hell.

[ffxiv-ariavitali]

#11: Gods

Or alternative writing prompt, ‘pretending’. (Shadowbringer spoilers below the cut.)

AO3 ver.

When the Crystal Exarch heard that their precious Warrior of Darkness had been pointedly missing as of late, he made it his own responsibility to search for her. He attempted to scry for her in his mirror, but there was an interference - something that was preventing him from pinpointing her exact location. Yet, knowing her habits, it was quite easy to hone in on the places she would be.

He found her sitting on the ledge atop a watchtower. According to a few citizens, it was the selfsame tower that she had found solace in when she was almost consumed by the Light. The place that she had sought refuge in the early bells of her awakening following her battle with Vauthry.

Aria was gazing upon the sunset sky. The chocolate locks of her hair swayed along the breeze and she brushed whichever strands had fallen over her face behind her ear. She had a small, yet forlorn, smile plastered on her face and her amethyst eyes were glazed with restrained tears. The Exarch never liked seeing her like this - not when he was still the boyish G’raha Tia when they were exploring the Crystal Tower and definitely not now. So, he heaved a breath, willing courage into his breast, and stepped forward.

“There you are, friend,” he called out to her, ensuring his footsteps were audible as he approached so as not to startle her. “Many people are worried that something had gone amiss. Pray tell - is everything alright?”

Aria peered over her shoulder, watching silently as the man advanced towards her and offered a welcoming smile that brought him enough comfort to sit at her side. When this was done, she turned her attention back to the sky, admiring the crimson, golden and tangerine hues - a respite that the Exarch knew was both desired and warranted.

“Indeed, all is well,” she answered in a soft voice. “I just needed to get away. I was beginning to feel a little too stressed, if that is even possible for someone such as I.”

The Exarch watched the space between her brows crinkle and felt the tension behind her forced giggle. He doubted that she even knew she was clenching her hands together on her lap.

“‘Tis well that you are getting the rest you deserve,” he responded encouragingly. “And I am honored you choose to venture to the First in order to do so.”

Aria inclined her head and allowed herself to lean back in her seat, her arms stretching behind her in order prop herself up. Once again, her gaze became distant as she lost herself in her thoughts and it worried the man. He was tempted to reach out towards her, for he wanted nothing more than to collect her in his arms and hold her close. He wanted to erase all her worries and fears, all the pain that she may be experiencing, but then again what could he do? After what he had done to himself in order to extend his lifespan, after what he had done to the Scions during such a delicate period of her life, what right does he have?

“You know, Raha, I think I would do well as an actress,” Aria mused aloud.

The Exarch jolted at the sound of his name - the only one to know who he really was in this world that made him feel, oh, so young again. It shamed him to feel such excitement as he struggled to calm himself and the melancholic tone of her voice aided in such.

“What makes you say that, my friend?”

Aria’s eyes lowered, her smile disappearing. “Because I have been pretending my whole life. Pretending that I do not mind … pretending that I belong.”

The Exarch’s eyes widened at her statement. He immediately wanted to retort, immediately wanted to tell her that she was wrong.

Then, he remembered what she had told him a long time ago:

“I lost my mother when I was young. She protected me from Garleans, sacrificed herself for her child. Ever since then, none of us had been the same. My father, my brother and I … we were turning a blind eye to our sorrow and acted as if we were alright. And that is what killed my father - he died of a broken heart.”

He understood then, exactly what it was that she meant. After all, bearing the power of the gods above in order to contend with the false manifestations of such; in order to combat against entities that only those blessed with great fortune have a chance of defying against, it contributes to the pedestal that they - those belonging of the mortal plane - have placed her in. How lonely must it be to be placed at the top? How much more must she assent with before the heavens above were satisfied?

“I … am tired of only being able to say ‘yes’,” Aria continued. “Tired of being idolized, being brought into a circle and seeing the timid faces of those that pretend to welcome me into their arms. Tired of seeing fearful expressions thinking I may harm them if they were to displease me and the smirks of individuals scheming to gather themselves in my good graces and use my name to gain political advantage.”

The Exarch inclined his head and allowed himself a small smile.

“Then, say ‘no’.”

Aria’s eyes widened and her head snapped in his direction. The small Hyuran woman saw the way his gaze was focused on the beautiful canvas that was the sky. She found his expression soft. Sympathizing. Understanding. 

Then, he turned to look at her.

“You are your own person, Aria. Your feelings are valid and those that truly know you will aid you in your endeavor to help or rest. Declining for the sake of your desires every now and then … it does not make you selfish. It makes you … well, just as anyone else. Alive.”

Aria gaped at the man in surprise before she grasped the meaning of his words. A warmth filled her chest and she couldn’t help but smile, a small blush coloring her cheeks as she placed her hand over where her heart would be. She relished in the soft beats, reminding herself that, indeed, she was one of the thousands upon thousands of souls living within this star.

“Yes … alive …” she whispered. “Quite true…”

The Exarch smiled and sensed the shift in her aether, from the quiet rumblings that surely would have lashed out if her emotions were to go out of control to the gentle kindness that brushed upon his skin like a lover’s caress. With this, he stood to his feet and paid no mind that she was still lost in her thoughts as she eyed the skies.

“Take the time you need, my friend. When you have finished, stop by the Ocular, yes? I will have a meal prepared for you.”

Aria hummed and nodded. “Sandwiches?”

“If that is what you wish, I will be more than happy to make them,” the Exarch answered with an amused laugh.

Aria hummed once more and went quiet. Thus did the Crystal Exarch departed, his worries soothed and replaced by an excitement to spend time with the one he dedicated his everything for.

[greent-point-of-view]

ENGLISH

Instead of doing just comic (that takes too long to make) I'm writing GPOV (Greent's Point Of View) and will be doing @addedtale-story in comic version only. If you gonna read in AO3 in your phone device, remember to use desktop mode so the images won't be cut Links: Wattpad || AO3 (Archive of Our Own) || Undertale Aus Amino || DeviantArt And here: you can see all the people in Unnetale

Intro

“Someone messed with the files… It was someone, a certain someone, but the memory has been forgotten… And he’ll never remember. I’ll make sure of that.” Hey friends and strangers! As the title says, this is Greent's story. He is my Sans OC. Just to be clear, this is not his AU, it is his story after what happened to his AU in this alternative timeline, so yeah you can say he's not the original Greent. This fic follows him with his adventures and discovers. Also, this will contain more of my Sans OCs, so it's not just him but he is the protagonist of his story. Warning: there is Sanscest here between a few of the characters with the progress of the story, so if you don't like that sort of thing, just don't read it, or try skipping those parts if you'd like. There will also contain a little of blood, I don't know in what level, but I'll put a warning ⚠️ for the chapters that have them. (Warnings available in Amino only) All of the art is my own, unless I say is not, so don't steal, none of them. If you do want to use any of the arts you have to ask for permission first.

→ Short spoilers for the ones that are lazy or just don't have the time to read

|| Only for the existenting chapters

Capítulo 1: Greent wakes up in a unknown place without memories of his past life and meets Xyon. They have a little talk to know each other better until Xyon has to go and asks Greent to come with him.

Capítulo 2: Xyon brings Greent to Underswap to meet two people that have also been rescued by him, their names being Puvil and Punny. In the end Xyon disappears and only returns in the next chapter, letting the boys to talk alone.

Capítulo 3: Xyon returns with a new rescued, but feeling threatened after waking up asking for a certain "Gaster" and telling that he wouldn't fall for the same bullshit, he rans away. Greent at the end of the mess instead of waiting for Xyon - that had told him to wait - decided to go after the new rescued due to glaring at him running away through the places forest.

Capítulo 4: Greent follows the new guy being able to have a little conversation, convincing him to go back to the others with him but Greent ends up passing out.

PORTUGUÊS

Oi, você é br? Não te deixei de fora não! aqui estão as versões br. Se você for ler no AO3 em seu celular lembre de ativar a versão desktop do seu browser que aí as imagens não ficam cortadas Links: Wattpad || AO3 (Archive of Our Own) || Undertale Brasil Amino E aqui: você pode ver todo o pessoal de Unnetale

Intro

“Alguém bagunçou com os arquivos… foi alguém, um certo alguém, mas a memoria foi apagada... E ele nunca vai lembrar. Eu vou fazer certeza disso.”

Eai amigos e estranhos! Como o título diz, essa é a história de Greent. Ele é um de meus Sans oc. E deixando claro, essa não é a au dele, essa é a história dele sobre o que aconteceu depois da au original dele ser destruida nesse universo paralelo, então sim, você pode dizer que ele não é o original Greent. Essa fic segue ele em suas aventuras e discobertas. Também, irá ter mais de meus Sanses ocs aqui, mas ele é o protagonista de sua própria história é claro.

Aviso: Em alguns eps conterá sanscest com uns dos personagens ao progresso da história, então se você não gosta, recomendo não ler ou tentar pular essas partes se quiser. Também conterá um pouco de sangue, não sei em que nível, mas colocarei avisos ⚠️ para os capítulos que tiver. (avisos disponiveis apenas nos Aminos)

Todos os desenhos aqui me pertencem, a não ser que eu diga ao contrário, mas não roube nenhum. Se você quiser fazer uso, deverá pedir permissão primeiro.

→ Spoilers bem curtos pra quem tem preguiça de ler ou não tem tempo

|| Apenas dos capítulos já existentes

Capítulo 1: Greent acordando em um lugar desconhecido sem lembranças de sua vida passada e conhece Xyon. Eles tem uma pequena conversa para se conhecerem melhor até que Xyon tem que ir e chama Greent para ir junto com ele.

Capítulo 2: Xyon leva Greent pra conhecer duas pessoas em Underswap que também foram resgatadas por ele, seus nomes sendo Puvil e Punny. No final Xyon some e só volta no capítulo seguinte, deixando os garotos para conversarem a sós.

Capítulo 3: Xyon volta com um novo resgatado, mas o mesmo foge sentindo-se ameaçado depois de acordar perguntando por um tal de "Gaster" e dizendo que não iria cair nas mesma palavras furadas. Greent no final da confusão em vez de esperar por Xyon - que o havia dito para esperar - resolveu ir atrás dele ao vê-lo fugindo pela floresta do local.

Capítulo 4: Greent segue o membro recém chegado que fugiu e consegue ter um pouco de conversa, convencendo-o a voltar com ele junto para os outros. Mas Greent acaba desmanhando.

[cruddyborderlandstheories]

athenas or the new ign videos... hmmm

im gonna go for the ign videos (moze gameplay and sanctuary-iii, no guns yet, i have a reason for that) because athenas hasn’t gotten its sweet instagram video yet. once that’s released i’ll do a full post on it. by the time i got around to finishing this post, they had released the video. oh boy... gonna do the gun post then the athenas post, i think. alright, off we go.

tl;dr: we read the entire end user agreement DAHL thrusts upon us for using the ECHO device, talk about some stuff like how (spoilers) it seems like Lilith will be getting her powers back at the end of the game, and a voice line Lily says that sounds like “Tyreen took my powers. it’s like Tannis said: [inaudible] Siren” (altho im not 100% sure on the [inaudible] part because 1) it sounds weird and 2) there’s a drum beat and also the devs are talking over her, the Siren part seems fairly accurate because of the way her mouth moves). so you know. im gonna be agonizing over that until i can hear what she says. ive already spent an hour just repeating it over and over. i nearly fell asleep lol

we’re gonna start with the moze gameplay (the first 14 minutes of bl3) because chronologically it’s first in both timeline and release date

i love the license plates on the right there

also it looks like they added in claptrap’s old welcome sign from windshear waste! time to stand in front of it for 30 minutes to see if any messages pop up like bl2

fast travel station as well, definitely going to see if/where i can teleport and going there immediately. i imagine this is more for DLC stuff and grinding tho.

also! i do believe we saw Covenant Pass previously. good to know this is actually where it is!

Marcus saying “And Welcome to Pandora!” in the beginning confirms that, yes, they’re going to be on a bus!! i wonder if there will be a fight scene before that though. it’s interesting Clappy mentions that “those jerks who tried to murder you are the children of the vault!” so i mean... there’s gotta be... right?

im also convinced this intro is going to be a mirror of Borderlands 1. i stg if it starts out with the first few notes of Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked and then swaps songs I’m going to lose my mind

also also, the order is totally going to mimic the bl1 one. Fl4k = Mordecai, Amara = Lilith, Moze = Roland, Zane = Brick. We even have Lilith taking Angel’s spot as the mysterious voice in our heads, and probably Marcus driving, AND being dropped off at a bus stop.

bet the reason they changed it from ‘Moze as the Bot Jock’ to ‘Moze as the Gunner’ is because it fits under ‘Roland as the Soldier’ better. Also, ‘Zane Flynt as Himselfs’ would be a play off ‘Brick as Himself’. Amara as the Siren is obvious, and ‘Mordecai as the Hunter’ vs ‘Fl4k as the Beastmaster’ is pretty similar as well, given Fl4k has all those Hunter skills.

the 4 basic emotes im guessing. im so glad we have the option to boop our friends in the face with emotes.

also moze’s little bunny skin is adorable

the ECHOnet used to be called “Riftspace”, “the Spline”, and... “MercTel: A Cyber-Dahl Joint” lmfao

specifically calls out Pandora. also, “artificial megastructures”??? THAT’S SO COOL

AND FUCKING

SENTIENT MEGASTRUCTURES???? 

gearbox. please. i have never ever wanted anything more in my life. please. it’s probably my birthday. PLEASE GEARBOX

also interesting that the user agreement specifically notes ‘Respawns’. I assume this is a joke because New-U stations have been confirmed not canon

“Core law”. Core law? Core... daddy? ... ????

core as in like a core government somewhere that’s not the border worlds? that’s interesting...

“The Legion”, okay, acknowledging TPS, that’s dope

“Project Blackrakk” ... im interested

“Thresher Company” lmao

im curious if Axton was apart of any of the mentioned ones. i don’t think it’s been stated, but i could be wrong

“Chieftain Oort”. also ‘Recently Legless Gary’, lmfao poor dude.

oh yeah im sure this is fine. also holy shit did they google the synonyms for ‘change’ and just start listing them? lmfao

“implicit subscription to the Digby Vermouth ‘Dig’s Gigs’ secret concert subscription service” 

sorry, what?

if this doesn’t come up again in the future- if we don’t get a spam letter or 3 in our mailbox about this concert subscription thing i'm gonna be so disappointed

Dahl hates you if you’re not a fan of hyper-jazz, “you snob” lmfao

my brain hurts, they’re good at writing these 

damn phones exist? i thought everything was ECHO. aight, that’s good to know. i guess there just aren’t any phone networks around the border worlds

also “shared dreamspaces” sound really cool

hm. that’s no good lmfao. also i love that the buttons are ‘Agree’ and ‘OK’. there is no escape, once you agree, you can’t even leave because you’re agreeing that you’re trapped with these rules even if you cancel.

that’s fucked up, DAHL. can’t believe you treat your user base the same way you treat your employees. i guess i shouldn’t be surprised.

anyway, shoutout to literally the only TOA I’ve ever fully read in my life.

also, clicking through this TOA too fast WILL end claptrap’s voice line early. so be careful if you want to hear what he has to say!!

oh shit lmao I gotta go edit that Fl4k post

ok im back ~time magic of being able to save things in drafts and post them at a later date~

sliding preserves momentum, so you can actually slide (nearly) the entire way down! i love this.

small, but claptrap bends his antennae when trying to be stealthy. i thought that was a pretty cool detail

“and some guns include an alternate shooting mode~! try it out!”

player: `immediately shoots claptrap in the face`

i died lol

a very nice look at this sign.

good to know that the twins really are tempting people to join with promises of food. i mean it makes sense, i imagine most of the cultists are desperate for stability and a reasonable life on pandora.

also, Shiv calls himself “holy influencer of the children of the vault” lol. i love that. gearbox really is going for the internet’s throat, isn’t it?

i do like that hovering over an NPC will give you their name only and not name/healthbar.

a better look at one of the signs referencing the Mother!!! i was waiting for this, the only real look we got at one was in that one scene with Moze and IB

“Behold the Mother strength surrender to the truth” 

yeah that’s not ominous...

i assume the mother and father are intended to be tyreen and troy? but idk how i feel about that implication...

i like the new little gear/spring effect for the magnet lol

new lilith! i know a lot of people don’t like it, but i do. she looks better than the bl2 vers. altho i think it’s weird they swapped both bl1 and bl2′s ‘AI’ effect to those dots and then didn’t bring it to BL3. the dots effect felt cleaner. curious why they’re not applying it to bl3 when they went thru all that effort in 1 and 2.

... back up please.

i like that there is a changing icon for long pressing now

“time to check out our slay of the day!” sounds like Tyreen but tbh i legit thought this was moze’s reaction to opening the chest at first lol 

you can hear someone start screaming in agony while she’s walking up the stairs, so i know it’s not moze, but im so used to the VHs talking when they see a new piece of loot my brain just assumed.

also THE MUSIC IN THE BACKGROUND IS A REMIX OF BANDIT SLAUGHTER!!! IM SO HAPPY ABOUT THIS I WAS FREAKING OUT THE FIRST TIME I HEARD IT

also, claptrap when dropping health yells “this could save your life! then, you’ll owe me a life debt!” bullshit im pretty sure you already decided we owed you a life debt the moment we stepped off that bus

“i see it... the great vault” - a line from a cultist you kill

i know i mentioned in this post that the Great Vault may be already opened, but it could also just be a Vault they’re planning on opening and using the propaganda to convince the cultists to help them find it. 

“if you help us get this vault open, you’ll be handsomely rewarded! you’ll get superpowers! you’ll get regular meals! you’ll get money and guns and dates!” you know, the usual stuff. 

either way, elevating the Vault to a higher state (god/heaven/whatever) makes sense if you’re running a cult.

btw there is a hidden chest in the scaffolding to the left of the door, if you’re interested in grabbing some better guns before shiv. personally, i’ll be using the toy guns.

also the TVs are actually playing propaganda now!!

this one is asking questions that i cant understand due to the sound effects of the chest and claptrap talking, but it says something about “... the dust? ... join the Children of the Vault!”

“hey shiiiiiv all your dumb friends are dead!!”

shiv be like

“all my friends are dead”

some cool level-up art! I notice these are the same pictures as used on the japanese site. i wonder if they change depending on which VH you’ve picked (If you’re playing Amara/Fl4k, do you get pics of Amara and Fl4k? the player is playing moze, afterall).

also also “it’s a KIA on the knife wielding maniac. suuuper dead.” 

it’s cool that the VHs have specific lines for the deaths of bosses. i hope that continues and it’s not just a ‘15 min of intro gameplay’ thing. you know, where everything is super detailed in the beginning and then slowly gets less and less as the game progresses? anyway, moze’s little chuckle is fuckin adorable lol

ah. the door closes now so you can’t even explore Shiv’s room before Lilith shows up. gearbox plS you know me too well, i was looking for a g l i m p s e

claptrap’s voice line for getting released is SUPER off time, he hits the ground before going “you did it! i’m sa-ahhhhhhhh!” it’s weird, wondering if that’s just a glitch.

also also we get a nice listen to the revive ally sound. i could’ve sworn it wasn’t in the first look at this mission we got, because i heard it for the first time during the coop Zane/Amara gameplay on Promethea. i might be wrong, tho.

im very curious what these symbols are claptrap is beaming up

i mean you know what im gonna say

they look eridian

and they do

so wtf clappy why u beaming up eridian letters to Lilith

i assume maybe Tannis gave clappy some weird upgrade or something so he could communicate with the crimson raiders without the CoV listening in? it could be that Tannis or someone is decoding this message since Tannis does know how to translate Eridian (as shown in her bl1 ECHOs)

... or at the very least she gave Lilith a translator

the darkening makes it so that you can see the crackening. also this COULD just be a beam that lilith can see from wherever she is, but i want to believe there’s more eridian stuff. bc eridian stuff is fun.

this is so fu cking crisp im dying i love it

lilith’s tattoos spreading down her fingers

same symbol as her chest tattoo. maybe the symbol denotes new powers? like how lily has one on her chest for phasewalking, and a new one on her hand for teleportation

i love how her wings look like actual fire. i fucking love this

lilith is looking so fucking good in the new engine

im glad they got rid of her super red eyes, tbh it looked a bit weird

i think they are really pushing her fire affinity, im sure we’ll see Maya has an elemental affinity as well (im calling corrosive) and im sure Tyreen will too (slag). Amara looks to be Shock because that’s her ‘default’, but who knows until (if) bl4 comes out. but corrosive wings on maya would look SOOO fucking cool. please. please please please.

god she looks so good compared to bl2. i love how the tattoos softly glow in the dark, too. i gotta play this mission late in the day...

“you’re... the voice in my head, right?” i love this so much, i really hope my shitpost comes true.

lilith gives you a grenade mod for completing her mission! im really glad they are PUSHING through the tutorial/intro so you can get right into the game. bl2′s ‘intro’ of all these tutorials was brutal. especially waiting to unlock your action skill.

in 3 you get your action skill automatically at level 2!!! which is insane, i love it! they’re jumping right into it, it’s great. and they seem to be pushing for you to get all the stuff you need right away. 

it’s curious to note that in bl3 we get our class mods at the end of the Promethea demo (after Gigamind), since in bl2 you get your first (usually?) after the hunting the firehawk mission and both seem to take place immediately after we get to the ‘base of operations’ of the game (Sanctuary vs Sanctuary-III).

yep that quest is 100% in line with the quest marker. 

i imagine From the Ground Up may be discovering where the Vault Map/Key actually is? maybe bringing people to the Recruitment Center (notably Tannis)

for this scene. i hope this takes place after the HBC, because i seriously... can’t imagine the twins showing up, taking the Vault Map, bringing it to the HBC, and then NOT taking Lilith’s powers/trying to kill Lily and accidentally taking her powers. it just doesn’t make sense, Vault Hunters be damned, we are level 2 they could melt us easy peasy. 

If anything, it feels like we COULD find the Vault Map in the Recruitment Center, Tannis tries to activate it/fix it, we find out it’s mega broke, and then the Sun Smashers show up and take it. but i seriously can’t imagine Lilith nor the new VHs allowing that to happen while they’re still there. maybe if Tannis sends us to do something while Lilith is gathering other CR members? then it could make sense if they attack while Tannis is alone with the Key...

OR

we end up finding something in Shiv’s room that shows/helps us realize the Sun Smashers bringing the Vault Map to the Calypsos. tho this would mean the quest From the Ground Up is SUPER short and I imagine it’s not. Maybe we raid a camp of theirs like the one in front of Sanc-III with the bridge/ramp? We need to be about level 6 before we go and we start From the Ground Up at 2 so there’s obviously something DEEP we’re missing here. maybe this is a mission where we go gather the other Crimson Raiders? HMMMMMMMM...

.... oh.

nevermind lmfao

she opens her ECHO immediately after this LOL i feel kinda dumb now

raiding their camp it is! the Droughts sounds like a fun location. Very much like the dust. you guys think there’s a Shade situation going on there? i’m excited to see it. Still think we’re going to use Shiv’s room to get that lead, though. i just really wanna watch tv lmfao. i hope this means the bandits run from the camp to the HBC, or we find info that the bandit warchief sent a party to the HBC with the Vault Map. either way, i just don’t want the twins showing up until after the HBC or i will have so many questions. “why didn’t you kill lilith?” being the first. “the god queen wants her head!” ur goddamn right she does, so why doesn’t she (try to) kill lilith???

85% already?! hot damn

also

that’s one badass description there, Moze

also also

while having gun slots locked is pretty normal, im surprised they’re locking class mods and relics, too! i wonder when we’ll be able to equip relics. maybe when we first go to eden-6 or smth. or maybe after we meet up with Rhys. shit maybe he’s just handing us an artifact (im gonna interchange these a lot, sorry!) in that Promethea video lmfao

“ready to chuck some boom and frag some maniacs” lol moze i love you

if you’re playing Zane... `equips grenade mod for checkmark` `immediately equips second action skill and never actually uses grenade mod`

“it’s the firehawk! the god queen wants her head!” 

like i alluded to before, i would not be surprised if Tyreen doesn’t know she can absorb Siren powers... when she goes to succ lilith in front of Sanctuary-III, it’s totally possible she actually was trying to kill her. That could explain why she looks so intrigued at her hand like “oh shit okay lets see what this can do”

might be why she was okay with sending her cultists after her instead of showing up herself.

“alright, we got a foothold. maybe things are turning our way. come on killer, you’re with me” we are going to explore the SHIT out of shiv’s room.

alright alright alright

let’s move on to the Sanctuary-III stuff

yessss

i love the quest objective thing, it looks like we will be able to swap through our quests with the push of a button! also im curious why exactly we’re going to promethea right away. i wonder if the twins say something about moving there after getting the vault map/lilith’s powers, or if we hear from rhys. im expecting something about the vault map, since our vh will admit they don’t know rhys at all when talking to lorelei. but for some reason we need to be within the city limits? since lily says ellie got us within the city limits. 

hmmmmmm. okay, okay, maybe the map was trying to lead us to promethea for vault reasons during that short amount of time that we had it and it was working. maybe promethea is what we see when tannis is activating the key during that one cutscene? ohhh shit how dope would it be if we got that fucking easter egg message? omg “Children of the Vault. Come to Promethea. We are not on Pandora anymore. Tannis is not what she seems. Do not open the Vaults.” and everyone is like ‘uh did that thing just mention Tannis by name??’ and now it’s REALLY important to get the map back just so we can figure out wtf it’s trying to tell us. 

i will question how ‘Tannis is not what she seems’ would affect character relationships, especially if it’s said so early in the game. so perhaps we only hear the first part of the message. maybe it’s corrupted because it was recently broken. iunno. just playing around with ideas. the canon of this game is like flarp putty until sept. 13th

anyway moving on because this is literally the first f r a m e of the video

i like that you can see pandora’s eridian scar. if the destroyer is speaking through eridium to people, it’s gonna bust outta the side of this planet like you wouldn’t fucking believe lmao. eridium is a window to the soul and if you stare long enough into its glossy, shining sides, the destroyer stares back

that or it’s just like a beacon, slowly spreading its influence across the universe. but i like the idea that the destroyer can waltz out of a big enough hunk of eridium. so it will bust out of pandora’s eridium scar. F in chat for pandora but also lmfao the amount of tentacles and rage would be unparalleled.

reality is that the twins are probably farming this scar for eridium to turn into slag for multiple purposes. like brainwashing their cultists, giving them powers, and ensuring their guns have their manufacturer’s quirk (im getting to this in my next post bc im just gonna compile all the ign gun videos into one big post)

the floor art is different from the actual sanc-iii demo. i mention this first in my behind closed doors panel analysis, but im gonna mention it again because this is ~official~. the floor list on the first walkthru of sanc-iii we got had the names of all the crimson raiders and lines leading to their shops. so we had the infirmary/tannis, marcus, moxxi, etc listed on the floor. i imagine this new sanc-iii will change as we get more people on board or if we do a sort of re-decoration of the ship.

also also, it’s cool to see that we have 4 rooms on the minimap, likely one for each of the VHs (and your coop buddies). ive seen speculation that the other, non-played VHs will hang out in their rooms when you’re not playing them, and tbh i really hope this is the case.

we also know this version of sanctuary-iii is after pandora, so there are no promethea citizens aboard yet. which makes me double certain the first sanc-iii video we got takes place either after endgame (explaining why Lily has her tattoos back) or right after Athenas (explaining why Maya is there). which... i mean... spoilers, guys. 

that’s one good lookin fast travel station, holy shit

im in tears over here because “Caution: no steppy”. this is so fucking funny to me

no steppy on me

okay moving on because i will cry laugh over this for forever im allowed

moze’s room is so much different than amara’s

also i notice she’s on the left of the two on the top, which makes me hope the other 4 are reserved for the other VHs (or your coop buddy).

compared to the official sanc-iii demo video

and amara’s room

moze’s is so barren oh my god

someone get this girl like... a colorful throw pillow or something

baaank. also doubles as the secret stash. kinda upsetting, because that is infinitely less loot i can store when i make a lot of characters. also if i upgrade the bank once, is it upgraded across all my other characters too? or are the guns i put in storage slot 11 locked up until i buy the upgrade?

either way, i am saddened because no more mule characters. and way less space the more characters you make and more gear you find, because all gear you put in here is there across all characters. i hope this means our backpacks will be a lot bigger this time around!

supamax mfg shows up again

ppm/04-02 matches up with the number behind the fast travel station. i wonder if this will come into play. if the number changes later in-game im going to freak the fuck out bc that means wherever we are isn’t actually sanctuary-iii

ppm/04-02. remember that 👀

also, the wall behind the golden chest changed from red to steel/greenish. can’t tell the actual color. same as the floor

you know. that color.

“golden keys are popular. you can get some in-game and also get them online”

in-game you say??? im interested! i wonder if there will be some sort of arena (like moxxi’s) where if you complete it you get a key as a reward. i saw people speculating about some sort of randomized boss rush, that could definitely be a way to get gold keys, as well.

oooo engine room! im excited to explore here.

original size is 16. so, we have 40 backpack slots! still... you know... only 1 above the max of bl2, but hey. at least that’s an upgrade. as small as it may be

on the bright side: bank upgrades increase capacity by 5. with a base of 10, and 8 upgrades, we have 50 slots to fill. which is a big leap from the original 24. it is still a shame we have to share these across characters, tho

offline cultist stream? makes me think the CoV really was trying to steal/take over sanc-iii from the crimson raiders and we went to go take it (back?) in Taking Flight. either the CoV found/ordered Sanc-III, or the crimson raiders were building it/fixing it up, their stronghold got taken over, and the CoV were prepping it for takeover.

the shooting range. and if you notice that little CoV symbol in the bottom left there? yeah pretty much backs up my previous theory

all those red bits are tied to ellie’s crew challenge. so we’ll be collecting things for her!

an altar for scooter 😢

“we’re gonna get those cultism sumbitches, believe you me”

where you get yeeted out of Sanc-III. im definitely going to try jumping in it to see if it kills me. doesn’t look like the drop pods are available yet

that’s not clappy, pretty sure he’s hanging out on the bridge right now

schematics for veronica

the thing i was most excited about in this video!

loooots of customizations! which excites me because i know eridium used to get useless late game when you’ve grinded all the raid bosses. it looks like eridum is going to be in ultra high demand. but u can bet ur ass im gonna be unlocking all those fucking customizations asap.

veteran rewards is also super super interesting

hgggggg i wanna know what the shields do!!! 

i like the vault symbol at the top of the item card as well, shows you its a special type of weapon/item. im honestly surprised we’re able to buy ‘veteran rewards’ so early in the game? i mean obvi we won’t have enough eridium (look at the costs!) but it’s wild it’s even accessible. im personally a fan of the first bonus ‘anointed: gain life steal on action skill end’

looks like these guns have been chosen

to give them those special bonuses

i do see that just anointed is not class specific, but the ones that say anointed gunner or maybe anointed siren will be (confirmed by the devs in video).

you pay with eridium, so maybe the vending machine has some way to confer the power of eridium to the guns. or some shit. iunno. it’s possible this won’t be available until the end of the game, hence veteran rewards, and is only being shown to us right now since this is a showcasing video.

pandoran civilian. no promethea civilians today folks! i am CONVINCED that the old sanc-iii demo takes place after the end of the game. at least after athenas.

it’s weird seeing moxxi hanging outside her bar.

is also cool to know that the 4 slot machines are actually available. seems like npcs can play them, but we can use all 4 if we want to. which is really nice

the one on the far left is called the ‘loot boxxer’ and it gives mostly guns lol. i see they are taking jabs. good for them

better pic of the leftmost machines

Zer0 seems to have a bounty board? not sure if this is like a physical bounty board or if they will contact you when they want something dead, but it is cool to note. this isn’t shown in video, just the devs speaking about it.

similarly hammerlock has ‘big game hunts’ where you find “rare, challenging creatures” and kill them for him

apparently we’ll be killing something known as a manvark

this book

i fucking recognize this book

HAMMERLOCK NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

in all seriousness tho

hammerlock probably isn’t in his room because we haven’t rescued him from eden-6 yet.

a cool thing about the crew challenges: as you progress through the game and do these challenges, sanc-iii will ‘grow and change to reflect the things you’ve accomplished’. altho another dev says “sometimes these are optional things, like challenges” 

so now im like oh shit we’re gonna change sanc-iii as we play the game. i wonder if that means we’ll be changing the hull, too. because you know. the blue paint job. we gotta go STEALTH. sneaky beaky into the calypsos fleety

tannis doesn’t have the saurian on her table. also, interesting note, she DOES have the eridian log in the corner. meaning she must have had that before eden-6. interesting... maybe we’ll find more on Pandora.

she is still covered in blood tho. idk i don’t have an explanation for that. don’t think i want to think of one, to be quite honest.

oh no. (those are skulls next to all the gurneys)

“tannis plays a much bigger role in bl3 than she has in past games”. bigger than borderlands 1? that is... impressive. she’ll be running the health vending machines (which is weird bc i could’ve sworn in the promethea demo, zed was still running them... hm.)

another angle of sanc-iii

clappy? you good there?

the devs said they’re using him to plug a hole. i assume the calypsos shot at the ship as we’re leaving or smth.

lily with no tattoos, who also looks significantly more pissed than her other sanc-iii demo counterpart

you know. because she got her tattoos.

also

fucking

lilith says something right here. all i can make out is “Tyreen took my powers. it’s like tannis said. ..... [inaudible] Siren.” maybe some weird word i haven’t heard before? i swear she’s saying ‘like tannis said: a ‘m...’ Siren” but i am not 100% sure. if someone could help me out, that’d be rad.

so its sounding like lilith rushed in with explicit warning from tannis about tyreen stealing her powers, and tannis knew tyreen was some sort of Siren and warned lily, but lily didn’t listen. it could also be that lily is saying something like “im not a siren” but i can’t really hear it if she is. it sounds like she saying a word that starts with m to me. if someone could help me with this i’d owe you my life

whew. i am. fucking TIRED.

im gonna sleep for like 3 hours and then wake up and make food before the fl4k streams start.

[lokisasylum]

LY: Answer

So according to Her Jams and BigHit Entertaintment’s own statement. Bangtan’s new album, Love Your Self: ANSWER, “will show the boys who take their masks off and face their own true selves.”

And we also know that this album will include 7 new songs in addition to the ones from Love Yourself: TEAR.

I’m sure everyone’s speculating the same right about now.

Are we getting 7 solos for each member like in WINGS? (Remember how V mentioned that he’s been writing/producing recently? And Jimin too promised to release his own song at the beginning of 2018. And Jungkook’s been busy producing his own thing now that he has his new studio space).

Or are we just getting 7 new songs where 1 will obviously feature our beloved Jin in charge of the Intro. While the others perhaps reflect the answer or a positive outcome in contrast to the songs from LY: TEAR?

Will we get new MVs?

Will we finally see what happens to the boys? Because yes, we got a Highlight Reel with LY: WONDER, with Jungkook singing “Euphoria”, where we saw them all reunited in this bright, colorful alternative universe where Jungkook saved Yoongi from the fire, Jhope saved both Jimin from the asylum & Tae from killing his father, and Jin saved RM at the gas station. It was beautiful, yet bittersweet, but do you guys remember this:

“Hyung, is that it? There’s more you’re hiding from us, isn’t there?”  - Jungkook? Tae, perhaps? Namjoon?

That phrase appeared at the end of Euphoria and lets not forget when the Bangtan Bomb/Behind The Scenes of the MV finally came out. During that scene when Jin goes up the tower instead of Tae, Jimin says that unlike ‘I NEED U’/’Prologue’, Jin is the one that goes up the tower where in the original scene it would have been Tae. And Tae “looks up at him with suspicion” .

I’ve been really curious about that since it came out. Tae looking up at Jin with suspicion... Why with suspicion? Does Tae know something? Is he the only one who noticed that “everything is different now”? Does he know that Jin is the one trying again and again to save them/give them a better life?

And then with the comeback during May we got  “Fake Love” with a short teaser showing each of the guys arriving at the ‘Magic Shop’ to exchange something negative from their past for something positive. Yet the official MV showed us that what they exchanged was a temporary happiness, “fake love”.

We also saw Jungkook being trapped in this alternative dimension mirroring Jin throughout the whole video (And Jin “closing the curtains” on JK during the beginning).

And then there was the Behind The Scenes of the Fake Love mv, where Jimin once again gives us more insight on the scenes and states that they were all facing their fears that appeared since ‘I NEED U’ era:

Jimin - water/drowning (his childhood trauma mentioned in the Diary Notes, something that happened in the “flowering arboretum” when he was 7-8 that traumatized him so much he would have seizures)

Yoongi - Fire (his anger from everything that went down after his mother’s death in the house fire, pushing people away, again from the Diary Notes)

Tae - the missed call (Feeling powerless & betrayed when he needed help the most.)

RM - facing himself (Joon mentioned something about his character having a very complex past/persona)

Hoseok - facing his past.(like Jimin, Hoseok’s character has a childhood trauma after his mother abandons him and he spends many years in an orphanage and when older spending time in an asylum due to his narcolepsy. This part can be seen and explained in the behind the scenes of “Euphoria”)

Jin - facing the effects of time and not being able to change things for the better ( “Youth is never coming back”. Remember in the last Highlight Reel series where Jin says: “If we could turn back the clock, where should we go back to? Once we reach that path. Can all our mistakes be undone? Will happiness and love be ours to stay?” and Jin’s diary entries mentions a lot how everything fell apart after they came back from the sea [Prologue: Butterfly], and some of the other members’ entries mention that Jin possibly betrayed them during their time in school resulting in Yoongi being expelled, could that had been one of the reasons he and Taehyung fought?)

Jungkook - fear or loosing everything he loves (Jungkook’s character has a lot of emotional traumas like the others; he was in foster care and the family taking care of him don’t really care about the kid. So he runs away, find Yoongi who becomes his pillar of strength and with the rest of the guys feels like he truly has a family this time. But when everything starts to fall apart and Yoongi looses his mother, he pushes JK away [the fight during RUN], making him feel worthless and unneeded which leads him to try and commit suicide thinking no one would care [the car accident] )

And of course... the biggest shocker of the century when FAKE LOVE EXTENDED/ROCK Ver. came out. Where at the end all of the boys are shown wearing masks ...and the boulder falls on them?

Could that had been symbolic for them finally facing and “crushing” their pasts?

If so and this new album’s message/concept/main idea is the boys FINALLY “taking off their masks” to be themselves. Will we finally, FINALLY get the answers we’ve been looking for since INU era?

Will we know what happened to Jimin in the flowering arboretum? Will Yoongi open up to JK? Will Namjoon come to terms with himself? Will Hoseok let go of his past and forgive his mother? Will Tae forgive Namjoon and make peace with Jin? Will Jungkook get his family back? Will Jin come clean to everyone about what’s been happening to them? Will they ALL finally learn to love themselves and move forward?

Or will Bighit simply throw us another cliffhanger just to fuck with our minds till the next comeback? LOL

We’ll know when the time comes...

[truthshield]

Three musings on innovation Innovation Origins

Gazing out over the Alps on a warm summer evening, philosophical thoughts start to surface. I feel like an artist without an art form, who nevertheless endeavors to give form to these thoughts through writing. When I write a column about innovation in this frame of mind I think: what a load of drivel.   Here, three standpoints to muse over on such a balmy summer evening.  1: Data driven innovation is pointless Aside from the fact that data driven innovation upsets my moral fiber, data driven innovation is invariably based on the past. After all, by the time the data comes in, the time of its input has already passed. How can the past ever be the driving factor behind innovation of the future?  Innovating on the basis of the past can lead in all sorts of directions. If you have no vision for the future, do not know what values are important to you, then bogus solutions can ensue. Or worse, innovation that undermines certain values. Data may well be a tool for innovation, but never the driving factor. Construction sector will be completely overhauled by digitalization – Innovation Origins The construction sector is facing a major change. There is a housing shortage in the Netherlands and infrastructure needs maintenance. 2: Process innovation is the same as organizational change More and more often I hear the word “innovate” where the word “organizational change” might equally apply. Innovation as an all-purpose term has been divided up into separate categories. Such as: product innovation, process innovation, organizational innovation, service innovation, or the absolute worst: HRM innovation. A technology, like A.I. is also stamped ‘innovation’. Or rather, “an innovation”. As an aside, a technology can be innovative in itself but that does not necessarily make it an innovation. Internal process innovation, or in other words, we are going to do/organize things differently, is simply organizational change. Can’t we just use the honest word for this kind of process innovation? I do get it. Nobody is keen on a reorganization, but everyone is willing to innovate. So, it’s a matter of framing it effectively. 3: Implementation is NOT a part of an innovation process Implementation is included in innovation models as one of the last steps in the innovation cycle. A wrong location. Context is key to innovation. Innovation starts with vision and context. Such context is important for the actual realization of something new and hence crucial for implementation. Therefore, you could place implementation as one of the first steps in an innovation process. That is also the wrong location. As if the implementation is done after that. No.  Implementation, as far as I am concerned, is not a part of the innovation process. It is a parallel process that is inherently linked to the innovation process. Possibly even fused together, just as a mountain can only exist through its being merged with the valley.  Ending on a more poetic note, a piece of verse by the Dutch musician Spinvis: Reis ver (Go far)  Drink wijn (Drink wine) Denk na (Think hard) Lach hard (Laugh loud) Duik diep (Dive deep) Kom terug. (Come back) (Spinvis, kom terug) Have a great vacation! About this column: In a weekly column, alternately written by Eveline van Zeeland, Eugène Franken, Katleen Gabriels, PG Kroeger, Carina Weijma, Bernd Maier-Leppla, Willemijn Brouwer and Colinda de Beer, Innovation Origins tries to figure out what the future will look like. These columnists, sometimes joined by guest bloggers, are all working in their own way to find solutions to the problems of our time. So tomorrow will be good. Here are all the previous articles. https://ift.tt/CLGWAPe https://ift.tt/t7QFlyT