#this is 99% for me to come back and reference their little intro thing and first character sheets later lol

[generallyjl]

our scrumptious scoundrels!!

[crystalelemental]

And so, after much delay, I have finished Final Fantasy 9. I don't have a clever intro, due to pizza-induced migraines, but I'm gonna talk about it anyway because man. That's a good game.

I remember hearing that FF9 was a sort of "wrapping up" of this era of Final Fantasy, in a sense. Or at least a tribute game to the rest of the series. Which. Tracks. There are a ton of little references to the rest of the series proper, particularly the 1-6 era. This is largely unimportant, but it likely contributes to my general enjoyment of the game, given that I prefer high fantasy over sci-fi.

To keep this segment brief: this is my favorite of the PS1 era and it's not close. An absolutely massive part of that is gameplay. FF7 and FF8 both had pretty interesting stories, but are held back severely by gameplay issues that drive me up a wall. 9 solves for a lot of it. A big part is that maps feel a lot smaller, and a lot easier to navigate. I know "hallway" is a thing that gets tossed around for 10 and 13 onwards, but I do not besmirch the noble hallway. It's easy to navigate and I'm not getting mad about random encounters. There are also just very few minigame moments where I have to worry about timers to press a button correctly. FF7 in particular is hilariously bogged down by such minigames, whereas 9...really only has the Frog Cid segment, which is the worst part of the game because of it.

9 also has a cast that feels distinct. 7 and 8's systems, while inventive, ultimately make every character feel identical. The difference between Aerith and Barret is honestly minimal, depending on material loadout. 9 returns to a sort of 4 and 6 vibe, where characters come with preconfigured roles, and it makes them stand out a bit more. The AP system also is not absolute, with characters learning different skills based on what's relevant, and learning them through different pieces of equipment. I think Eiko and Dagger also have completely different white mage spell lists and summons, too, with only the essentials being copied over. Everyone feels a lot more dynamic as a result.

This isn't to say 9's systems are without flaw, but they are much improved. My biggest issue is stealing being a central focus. I hate thief characters, and I hate wasting time on steals that are just going to fail, instead of aiming for proper damage. That said, almost nothing until the endgame is unique. In fact I'm...not sure anything that can be stolen is completely unique. So maybe that's a me problem. Usually, the goal is early access or reduction of cost later, which is a noble goal, but unnecessary. I think money is extremely tight in this game, and it's not a positive aspect of the game either. I found it really hard to stay on top of new equipment, while avoiding selling older stuff for synthesis. Though again, a lot of synthesis items repeated skills and weren't ultimately necessary. So maybe that is, again, a me problem.

I say this mostly because the annoying ones are optional. Chocobo Hot and Cold is...a treat. I did recently find out that you can, in fact, speed up the game's movement, which does not impact the 60 second timer, making it really easy to farm points. Coincidentally, I also got to learn that getting two Protect Rings, despite their +50% all elements reduction, does not reduce Shadow (or two 50% reductions don't stack to 100%), and nearly killed myself with Doomsday fighting Ozma. The worst part is Vivi only dealt like 3.5k with that move. Poor little dude is Not Great at this fight.

Oh yeah, this is also the only game where I beat the optional superboss. If that's any indication of preference for combat system. FF7 takes too long and is way too involved with the breeding system, I didn't want to stick around for FF8, so this is the only PS1 era game where I 100% completed stuff (catching 99 frogs pending). Freya's Dragon Crest spam rules.

I would also admit I don't love the AP system? It's more flexible than equipment for blocking status, but it does result in the problem of Ribbon not canceling all status by default, and thus making it really hard to negate things that don't have an AP solution to. Some of these things are also just really expensive, and I never felt like I had enough points for anything. I know that's half the point, you're supposed to choose what's needed, but exploration feels rough because I never knew what status resistances were critical. I tended to just keep Body Temp, Clearheaded, and Soft on at all times to compensate, and it worked out alright.

Anyway, enough about that. The bigger reason this is the easy favorite of the PS1 era is story. Which is saying a lot.

FF9's thematic focus is on life and death. There's already an excellent analysis of FF9's general theme here that will cover a lot of what I'd have to say better than I can here. As such, I'm left with stuff that impacted me that is aligned to that theme, but not talking about stuff that makes me feel like I'm copying someone else's homework. Specifically, how the game discusses what it means to live, and how to find meaning in a meaningless existence. This is primarily exemplified through Vivi, who is probably my favorite in the game. Every scene with Vivi is gold.

Vivi is home to the best scenes in the game. The first of which involves the Black Mage Village, where Vivi both learns of the shortened lifespan of the black mages, and where Zidane has a great story about his own history seeking his homeland only to realize where his home is, over Vivi wandering the village at night. Zidane believes Vivi is seeking a true home, somewhere he feels like he belongs, and questions if that will be here. This goes straight into the real gut punch of Vivi asking the sort of head of the village about when they "stop moving." The head, 288, calls Vivi kind for using their words, but expresses that Vivi understands what it means to die, before telling him they live for about one year.

The reason I love this isn't just how it sets up Vivi, but how it blends perfectly into the next two scenes in Madain Sari and the Iifa Tree. In Madain Sari, Vivi reflects on this, commenting that he doesn't think he does understand death. He questions what happens when you die, and wonders whether he goes back to where he came from, uncertain of why he's shaking as he contemplates this. Death is terrifying when you consider it actively, and as Zidane says earlier in the game, some things you can't think your way through. You just have to go with your heart.

This trail ends with the death of Brahne. As Brahne lays dying, Vivi's internal monologue talks about how she's caused so much suffering, he should be happy she's dead. Yet seeing Garnet, his friend, crying over her mother's body...he feels like crying too, and he doesn't understand what to feel about her death. What we're presented with is the seed at the heart of the game: that all life matters. That all life has significance. It starts easy with Brahne, who has direct relevance to Garnet, and ends with Kuja, who...let's be honest, no single individual will mourn. He's caused too much suffering. Yet Zidane saves him all the same, because his life, all life, is worth protecting.

Mikoto waxes philosophical about Kuja's connection to the world as well, noting that Kuja was the only Genome to defy his fate, paving the way forward for their current lives as individuals. Prior, they were only tools with a singular purpose, dictated by Garland. Despite the harm he caused to literally everyone, through all the death and destruction, life continued on and thrived.

It's a small scene, but one I really liked: when the Black Mages leave the village, enticed by Kuja's promise to expand their lifespan, three of them stay behind to care for a Chocobo egg. They couldn't just leave it on its own. Later, the egg hatches as they return, and the mages weep without knowing why. Later still, one of the Genomes arrives and questions the purpose of this creature. There is no real reason. The mages simply cared for it until it produced life. There is no real meaning, and no real purpose, but life remains important all the same.

I think that's a big theme of the game, is that dichotomy between purpose and meaning. Many major players, as well as two distinct races, are created for a singular purpose. Yet none who follow that purpose are happy, nor are they entirely conscious. Even characters who aren't created suffer this, be it Steiner's absolute adherence to duty, or Amarant's lack of understanding for what he's doing or what he wants. This is reflected best in Zidane, who is...kinda directionless. He's called out as shouting to affirm his existence, without knowing what the point of his life is, and it's kinda true. But while Zidane doesn't know his purpose, he finds meaning in his place with the theater group, and in his current quest with his friends. He is, in a way, the embodiment of "I was put on this earth to do one thing, but fortunately I forgot what it was, so I can do whatever I want."

In a similar vein is birthplace vs home. Many characters struggle to find where they came from, or are led to discover the place of their birth, but their true significance is in their home and the places and people they care for. Connection builds the meaning that makes life worth living. The opposite force, a sense of egocentrism, is when you give in to death. Kuja is prominently self-important, with his primary motivation in most of the game being to wrest control of both worlds from Garland to rule himself. When confronted with the knowledge that he will die, and likely soon, he determines the only course is absolute death for all living things. He cannot see beyond himself, and has no connection, no home, to ground his meaning to live. He cannot understand why Zidane would struggle to keep him alive after all he's done, because he cannot see beyond himself. Zidane is similar. He assumes a like compassion from Kuja, asserting that he would've done the same were their roles reversed before retracting that. But his belief in others and willingness to put faith and trust in others allows him to empathize so strongly that he can still find reason to preserve Kuja's life.

I'll be honest, this is one of the only Final Fantasy games this far that had me crying. I think what stands out about is that, despite being a bit more surface level than FF7 and FF8, all of its dramatic moments land. There are a few tidbits that I'm not a huge fan of, but by and large, there is little I can criticize about the story or its cast. Which is huge. FF7 and FF8 had the issue of a lot of the cast feeling pretty irrelevant, but outside of Amarant, I wound up really loving the whole cast. The dynamics and individual personalities really shine here. I even really like Kuja! I dunno, man, I just think he's neat! I love this scheming little bastard, he's so fun, and his pivot into despair actually lands. I know there's somewhat of a push now against the whole villain trauma as explanation for their actions, but I think it resonates more strongly when you can understand their motives.

I would also praise the use of eidolons in the story. Summons have been important in other games, but this is the only game thus far where they actually feel horrifying. Odin's complete annihilation of Cleyra and Atomos literally devouring Lundblum are shows of incredible power that make them stand out as a threat.

I'm running out of things to say, but this...really was excellent. Despite a rough opening that had me put the game down for a while before officially picking it up, once that ball got rolling, this became a standout for me. Absolutely huge fan of 9.

[ariapmdeol]

I'm curious about Cell of Empireo.

What do you like about it and is there a way to play it in English myself?

there isn't an official English translation, but we've been given permission for a translation on YouTube here! (start from chapter 1). It goes through all 6 endings of the base game, plus bonus content and game overs, and the first 5 parts of the DLC so far! It is what i recommend for experiencing COE as it has an actual person behind the translation ^_^

There is a way to play with machine translation, but the tutorial is kinda long so i'll put it under the cut <3 machine translation is kinda scuffed though (it struggles with pronouns especially, and doesn't translate the inventory or anything outside of a text box due to the text extraction method ussed)

THINGS I LIKE ABOUT THIS GAME: A LOT.

the character writing is REALLY good-- everyone has their own motivations and histories, and the foreshadowing is ACTUALLY insane. like i am not joking when there is a ton of foreshadowing in the FIRST CHAPTER.

the game has eiji shinano in it <3 my silly little guy <3

99% of the characters are adults! they have jobs and actual canonical birthdays and everything! our protagonist is a 28 year old detective (Haruki Atou), and he's clever and smart and it's so nice!! Atou is such a great protagonist, i love him a lot <3 he's very much his own character with his own identity!

are you a fan of mad scientists? are you a fan of FLIRTY mad scientists? play this game for Kanou Aogu <3

the worldbuilding is REALLY REALLY REALLY SOLID. like-- the magic has RULES to it and it makes SENSE and it makes it really fun to put the pieces together!!! you could deadass put together an ACTUAL TIMELINE of IN GAME EVENTS going back from when the game takes place (2015) to like. 1972 and EARLIER.

the sprites move!! during conversations and cutscenes they move and look at each other and strike silly poses or WINK (kanou <3) and it's great, there's also foreshadowing there too!

the butterfly effect for the different endings is ACTUALLY SO COOL! It's really fascinating to watch how certain choices change so so much, even ones that you wouldn't expect!

this game has a lot of references and influences from Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy!

there is a headless rat. it's looking this way...

there are so many old man babygirls in this game <3

seodore. thats it thats the reason

gay as hell to [redacted for spoiler reasons]

OUGGHGHGHGHG the amount of times this game emotionally devastated me <3

i am on my second watchthrough and i am still finding details and clues i didn't notice the first time,, things hit DIFFERENT when i know the context holy shit. I'm taking my sister and a few friends through the eng tl videos and voice acting stuff, and the amount of times i had to go very very quiet in order to not react to things they dont know are relevant yet,,, was a LOT. it hits DIFFERENT i am a simp for foreshadowing and cool details

this game is. actually kind of hard? like i'm playing it with the machine translation at the moment and holy shit no wonder the translator is constantly running around at like 4 hp.

PLAYING WITH MACHINE TRANSLATION/ PLAYING COE IN JAPANESE. Personally i recommend going through the videos bc machine translation is scuffed and it is VERY VERY HARD to get the best ending, but i will put the tutorial here regardless! this tutorial comes from the Cell of Empireo ENG fans discord server <3 Note that it does not translate text outside of text boxes (so CGs, flashes, the intro cutscene will not translate), and will not translate the inventory or maps (which is why i recommend the videos first)

Step 1. If your computer can't display Japanese characters, use one of the links below. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/308823/japanese-characters.htmlhttps://www.digitalcitizen.life/changing-display-language-used-non-unicode-programs/

Step 2. Download Locale Emulator using the link below. https://xupefei.github.io/Locale-Emulator/

Step 3. Download Cell of Empireo and RPG Maker 2003.

Cell of Empireo download: https://www.freem.ne.jp/win/game/17735

RPG Maker 2003 download: https://tkool.jp/products/rtp.html

Step 4. Download and set up Textractor. Setting up Textractor: https://youtu.be/SLGSHZdEurM Using Textractor with DeepL: https://desonovel.blogspot.com/2021/01/tutorial-using-textractor-with-deepl.html

note: the firefox extension/devtools that pasted the text into deepl are currently broken. You can still paste the text in yourself, or if you have access to the deepl API, that works as well!

Step 5. Run 細胞神曲-CoE-.exe using Locale Emulator and run Textractor.exe. Attach Textractor to the RPG_RT.EXE process and you can play.

[astralsweetness]

hellooo, i am here to annoy you a little bit with the suju ask game 💙

1, 11, 12, 42, 70, 99, and 100? spill all the details, and add anything you want, i'd love to know :3

This is referring to this post. Yeah sure! Absolutely not annoying me at all, it's fun! I wish more people would talk to me about Suju :( Put beneath a read more cut bcs it will probably be long haha

1. When did you become an ELF? This is sort of hard to quantify, bcs even now I'm not totally sure if I'd consider myself a hardcore enough fan to call myself an "ELF". I first got into Suju when they released Don't Don, bcs that was 100% my shit - rock/metal with a VIOLIN? And a pretty boy screaming??? Bro. So good. When Hangeng inevitably left though I sort of stopped paying attention to them closely - I felt like they were probably going to go through more difficulties and I didn't want to get attached. I kept an eye on Heechul though, bcs I have always loved his voice and tone, whether he's doing screamo in Don't Don or singing rock for M&D or astounding us with rock ballads with Kyunghoon. So if anything I guess I'm not technically an ELF but can classify myself as a Petal since I am definitely a fan of Heechul and always have been. I am only really getting back into them now, so I guess you could say I've been a baby-ELF since Don't Don era and have just never progressed out of that stage haha

11. Your ult bias? & 12. Your bias wrecker? So, @funkywinkyboy and I talked about this recently but I feel like with Suju there aren't ult biases or bias wreckers! I've decided there's a whole different classification for Suju:

The "first and forever bias"

The "they appeared out of nowhere and like a cancerous growth have irrevocably ruined me forever" bias

The "I don't even find them physically/mentally attractive and yet I am drawn to them like a moth to the fucking imploding sun" bias

And then "electron biases" that just float around forever as your little baby (plural) but are not aggravating enough to become the moth to the sun one but also make enough sense that they aren't the cancerous growth one

So if we're following my new classification system lol, Heechul is my first and forever bias, Hyukjae is the cancerous growth bias, Kyuhyun is my moth to the sun bias, and Donghae is my electron bias!

42. Sexiest song or performance? You had to see this coming, considering it's.. well, me, but Hyukjae's VCR from their STYLE tour where he has all the sex toys and bondage equipment and men in heels with floggers chaining him to a bed, etc. That VCR has a grip on my fucking soul. As a domme it is one of my favorite things in the world, and I like the opening performance he does as well, with the chains. You can see the VCR + intro I'm talking about here if you're interested. I am actually in the process of taking screenshots from that VCR and color-correcting them + unblurring them bcs I am so obsessed with it. I'll make one post with them later when I'm done lol, so not gonna add them here 👀 Just gotta keep an eye out for them when I'm done!

70. Funniest or most iconic SuJu moments? God, there's so many. Suju's comedic sense is absolutely phenomenal. Shindong in particular is great at really out of pocket comedic lines. Currently I think my favorite lil moments are Donghae's incessant "Hyukjae~" during their 'Bout You performances, or Leeteuk fighting for his life during No Other while trying to find the camera. Just lil cute things like that I like a lot. Honestly any of the energy of watching Heechul's solo MV behind the scenes too, they're all so unhinged, he just absolutely does not want to be seen as vulnerable and the mental gymnastics he will go through to avoid that is funny lol

99. If SuJu could do anything you wanted, what would you want them to do? (E.g, perform a song live, bring back a member, etc.) I miss Hangeng and Kibum 😭 And ofc Sungmin, but if he was wanted by the group to come back that would have already happened. I feel bad for Kibum bcs he really missed out on all the success Suju had, and Hangeng... just a shitty situation all around for him. I am glad he seems to still be on good terms with the boys tho, and is leading a happy life! Let's see, aside from that... I want SM to do SOMETHING with Zhoumi omg, he wants a Suju-M comeback, give him one :( I also would like a sub-unit with Heechul and Henry doing rock shit, so like.. M&D but with a violin. Obviously that won't ever happen since Henry left but.... pls give me more rock songs! And with violins! ...Man I miss M&D. Pls revive it Heechul, it was so good, I listen to your two albums on repeat still

100. Your favorite thing about SuJu? Burn the Floor? Lmao but seriously, I think my favorite thing about Suju is how they are clearly more than just an idol group. They were originally only supposed to be idols as a sort of back-up to augment their other skills in things like acting and comedy, and it really shows, bcs they excel at those things now too. I love my groups that are attached at the hip and have a close-knit bond that's more than a family, but something about Suju's realistic relationship with one another, where they've grown up and don't always see each other but still (for the most part) get along is nice. It's like being able to see the more realistic side of the industry while still keeping the rose-tinted glasses since they still like one another. You've got to have both to survive I guess - on the one hand you have a group like Pentagon, that will literally waste away into nothingness if they have to be apart from one another, and then on the other hand you've got a group like Suju who is like... I haven't seen one of our members for MONTHS now, I assume he's alive 😂

[eclaire-went-bam]

random riddler headcanons

cannot read the difference between > or <, he uses the "which way is the alligator facing" thing to help him. he keeps this secret very close to him

idk abt you guys but for some reason he always gave me. ace-spec vibes???

on that note he's quoisexual in my eyes. there are,,,question marks on the flag bro,,, it's perfect

that being said he's still DEF homoromantic we all saw that one coming

can't say the words “floor ride in the wyatt tier” in one go

has this unexplained fear of being wrapped up in something, especially arkham straight-jackets (ref to that one throwaway line in young justice lol)

biggest troll bait

80 page long defense plan intro is not fully an intro. it just. trails off into how he hates the batman and how superior he is to him after page 62 (reference to an arkham knight dlc)

the full defense plan is exactly 765 pages

has an official twitter account

adamantly believes cicada 3301 is real. he really wants to join just to feel super smart, but he found out about the whole thing after the organisation/arg/whatever you think it is went silent

when asked how he is, he says “well” to flaunt his correct grammar (although saying good is actually acceptable too lol don't tell him)

has spent WAY too much money on that green luminescent paint. he probably would've been richer than bruce wayne if he just saved it (arkham games again)

has taken either dance or theatre in the past behind his father's back. that's how he so effortlessly makes dramatic speeches, poses, and movements without falling over

would cry if he got a 99% instead of an 100% on a test. partly because 99 is an odd number and i need to self-project though (but also validation i guess 🙄)

can't??? drive???? PLEASE never let him behind the wheel he'll get a diu even while completely sober

hair conditioner before shampoo

he doesn't need a mask, everyone already knows who he is. at this point he just wears it because it feels natural to wear it when he's commiting 💕felonies💕 if not he feels practically nude

nobody knows if it's nygma or nigma and that's his greatest riddle in his eyes

has said or done SO many things solely because he wanted validation or to prove something and is now held up to that expectation all the time it's not fun

somehow rhymes when he's either very euphoric or very angry and he hasn't even noticed he does this

i mean yeah he rhymes with some of his riddles but those are on purpose

he was just. REALLY influenced by those books that are completely full of riddles when he was little. found it collecting dust on a shelf he was finally barely tall enough to reach when he was like 8 and practically brought it everywhere cus it made him feel so cool

speaking of which, serious case of chuunibyou/eighth grade syndrome

instead of just. saying words like "twenty" hell say stuff like "onescore" (hopefully i'm thinking of it right)

for someone who speaks with a lot of question marks he sure does have a lot of exclamation point undertones

doesn't curse just so he doesn't sound lesser. instead he'll try his very hardest to make improvisions that he tries to not make sound stupid

they sound stupid.

you best BET he flaunts whatever hat he has on EVERYWHERE that's his PRIZED possession

when he committed his first riddle crime everyone thought it was an arg

utilises the manipulative kind of word salads to sound intelligent (just wanna emphasise, not the schizophasia kind)

whenever it involves himself, he can't tell when others are joking or not

whenever he walks into the restroom, of course, he stares longingly into the mirror

honestly if there's any mirror he'll examine himself in it, even if not obviously. he needs to make sure he still looks a a a a adorable!!

“riddle me this: cryptocurrency???”

[naminethewitch]

Animaniacs: My thoughts

According to this post, it seems that at least one person (hi @pink-aquaqualle) is interested in my ramblings, here are my thoughts on Animaniacs, both the original and the reboot.

But first I feel like I need to explain that I did not grow up watching - what I understand are - ‘classic 90s cartoons’. I was born in 1997, so by the time I consciously watched TV and cartoons, that era was over. Plus, and I don’t know if that’s related, I’m not a big fan of slapstick comedy. I remember watching Tom and Jerry every once in a while but it wasn’t something I would be actively trying to seek out (like looking up it’s runtime and such, you know what I mean). It’s a personal preference  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Now back to the actual topic: Animaniacs.

I had not seen the show before. I’ve heard of the series before the reboot, only tidbits and some scenes (Yakko’s World, for example). Same with Pinky and the Brain. I did not know they came from one and the same show. So when I saw the trailer for the reboot, I thought: Oh cool, they’re rebooting both those shows? Maybe I should watch it and see if I like it and if I do, check out the originals.

So when I had some time this week (*cough* procrastinated *cough*), I sat down to watch the reboot. And wow, did I not expect the format. Don’t get me wrong, I liked the show. Yakko, Wakko and Dot are great characters, they’re funny, self aware and I love their dynamic. Pinky and the Brain however, I didn’t like as much, mainly because it felt like their segment got more screentime than the actual Warner siblings.

But regardless, I enjoyed the show very much. The siblings energy was great, the social commentary was on point and the songs are bobs. Still I knew I was missing quite a few references (e.g. the whole ending to the Chicken Boo sketch) and I got curious about the original series. Then I found out it was only 99 episodes and thought: Why not?

And I must say: I’m glad they made some changes.

First off: I still liked the Warners. At their core they’re still the same (energetic, witty and lovable) but I’m glad they changed a few habits, mainly the whole ‘Hello Nurse’ thing (I get why it’s a catchphrase but they’re kids, c’mon) and the repeated non-consensual kissing (again, they’re kids! They shouldn’t kiss anybody on the mouth!). I’m glad that they get along most of the time but are also shown to fight sometimes, like how siblings actually are.

Second: I appreciate Pinky and the Brain way more now, mainly because I didn’t like most of the other supporting cast.

As I already mentioned, I’m not a big fan of slapstick, at least not in a prolonged format. I don’t mind it as much as a short joke or if the one on the receiving end is an asshole but it made it hard to enjoy segments about Slappy Squirrel for example. I ended up skipping most of the sketches focused on side characters and here’s why:

Slappy Squirrel: Already said it, too much slapstick, it’s basically all she does most of the time. Plus I just didn’t like her as a character much either.

The Goodfeathers: Clichee mafia parody with bad accents, annoying narration and Pesto’s anger issues were stupid, in my opinion.

Rita and Runt: One of the better ones, let them run most of the time because of the songs and because Runt is a sweetheart.

Buttons and Mindy: Again, basically only slapstick and Buttons doesn’t deserve any of it. He’s such a good dog and isn’t even rewarded for his trouble (except for in the movie). Always skipped it.

Katie Ka-Boom: Oh, Teenage girls in puberty are angry all the time without good reason! Isn’t that funny??? Clichee jokes and unnecessary violence, didn’t watch it once.

Chicken Boo: Honestly I didn’t disliked him as much as the fans seem to do (according to the reboot sketch). His segments were at least short and I like his jingle.

Hip Hippos: Annoying rich people are not entertaining to me. Plus that safari lady was just stupid.

Pinky and the Brain were really the most entertaining of the bunch but I still feel like they were too heavily featured in the reboot (the episode where they don’t have a sketch is my favourite).

What I actually kinda missed in the reboot were those little in between scenes from the original like Good Idea Bad Idea or that boy with the stories. There were others that weren’t as great (Dot’s Poetry Corner (though that was mainly because I felt like the intro and outro were too long)) but I don’t know, I just liked them.

Now the ‘story characters’ were better used in the original than in the reboot. Especially since the ‘story’ doesn’t really matter all that much in the 2020 version, the whole escaping and getting caught doesn’t really come up except for maybe one or two moments.

Dr. Otto Scratchansniff is a good character, I think for most of the time. I feel like he should be better at his job, but otherwise entertaining enough that I didn’t mind his return.

Hello Nurse I’m a bit more on the fence about. At the beginning she didn’t really seem to have much character other than being hot and there for men (especially Yakko and Wakko (again they are kids!)) to lust over. And her smart characteristics were tagged on later and inorganically. I mean I liked the song the Wakko sang about her, showing off her intelligence over all, but at the end he basically says some of that stuff isn’t actually true and honestly I doubt a woman with 5 PhDs would work as a nurse for a psychiatrist. Why does he even need a nurse? The psychiatrists I’ve been to didn’t even have receptionists and she hardly does any nursing anyway! The only time I can remember where she actually acts smart is at the end of the movie. That’s it. She just felt unnecessary to me, especially at the beginning and I’m kinda glad she isn’t in the reboot so far.

Ralph is kinda cute. Don’t have much of an opinion on him. He does his job, has a nice family. The token stupid guy but still lovable.

Mr Plotz is meh. I get why he’s like that and what they wanted to achieve with his character but don’t miss him. Mrs Norita is kinda cool but not featured enough for me to really like or dislike her.

The movie I liked quite a lot, actually. I probably won’t ever feel compelled to rewatch the original series except for some segments but I could see myself watching the movie again. The story was nice, the songs were great and I think they used all the characters effectively and in a way that they weren’t annoying to me. I hardly felt compelled to skip scenes focused on characters I usually didn’t enjoy so they did a good job there.

All in all I must say I liked the reboot way more than the original. It might just be that the original is a product of it’s time and a lot of the stuff and running gags haven’t aged well but it does show that the characters themselves still work mostly. I am looking forward to the second season and I probably will rewatch some sketches every once in a while.

Thank you for listening to my ramblings. Feel free to ask for clarification if there’s something I didn’t explain well or left out!

[thepriceofbeingaroseisloneliness]

The Freedom of Expression #1  28th February 2020 “The radio program with the concept of “ask for freedom of expression in the world” is back in Youtube! We will  unravel the hot topics and the news related to the concept of Freedom of Expression.

Appareance:

Kaoru (DIR EN GREY direngrey.co.jp/) Joe Yokomizo (Writer / DJ) Tasai Reporter (Tokyo Sports) God  ?

You can watch this program here Notes before reading: If you haven’t watched any of the programs or you are not familiar at all with The Freedom of the Expresion, you will be a bit lost because they make some references to previous programs. The program has sudden edited cuts, that’s why the topic changes suddenly without any introduction. This program was previously a radio show with about 70 episodes from 2015 to 2016. You can find most of them in youtube.

For parts with subs, I tried to do a literal translation but for parts without subs I felt more confident summarizing it as translating one by one got confusing and too long. I skipped some bits and lots of “hahaha” and “sou desu ne”.  Be aware that at some parts, their talk is really random.

Feel free to correct me if you spot any mistake or any confusing as they are talking so casually and relaxed that it’s hard to get some parts. 

 (Intro)

Kaoru: Hello, I’m Kaoru from Dir en grey…. The Freedom of Expression…. I have heard it somewhere…it feels like something I have already done….

Joe: That’s is, yes…. but it’s not a feeling, I think that it’s certainly something we did (laughs)

Kaoru: It looks like that right?

“A radio program in which Kaoru (Dir en grey) was the main host aired from 2015 to 2016 at InterFM.” (Top left on screen)

Kaoru: The program was made from 2015….it was 2015, right? How could I say it? It’s having a revival in YouTube.

(Revival kanji appears on screen)

Joe: That’s amazing right?  At first, we were talking, it was said that there would be a revival…

Tasai: Unexpected! (laughs)

Joe: I was really happy.

Kaoru:  Right? I was surprised too (laughs)

Joe: Ah, this… I don’t mean that it was Kaoru who revived….

Kaoru: The talk got off track….

Joe: It got off track? At some point….

Kaoru: It felt like “don’t try to do it” …. ( he says it in kansai-ben)

Joe: I see. It got off track because of Kansai-ben (laughs)

Kaoru: It felt like “we will try to do it” Joe: It felt like that…let’s start (laughs)

(cut)

Joe: (At the Interfm Era) We did a lot right?  Even special programs, right?

Kaoru: Yes

Tasai: Is that so?

Joe: We also made a sticker, right?

(cut)

Tasai: Brazil?  You did a Live broadcast for the Olympics!

Joe: Dobashi-san…. Bishibashi Dobashi-san…(he appeared in this special)

Tasai: As this year there are Olympics again and in Tokyo…. I hope you can do a live broadcast

Joe: In this YouTube channel? (laughs)

Tasai: In YouTube (laughs)

Joe: It seems hard regarding broadcasting rights…

Kaoru: That …. *secret gesture* (laughs)

Joe: Secretly? Even though it was asked by Tokyo Sports Tasai (laughs)

(cut)

Kaoru: About Freedom of Expression….

God: Wait, Wait, Wait, Wait…

Kaoru: Yes? Yes?

God: Well…God has come down….

Joe: Ah, it’s God (laughs)

Kaoru: By himself…. (laughs) I thought about if he would come here in case it came down…

Joe: Usually it does! If you call him, god will come down (laughs) A god that comes down by himself at his own convenience.

Kaoru: Was that stance made before? Before I guess he should be preserved a bit more…

Joe: It can’t be helped that he comes out….

God: Because you forget about God!

Everyone: (Laughs)

Kaoru: We haven’t forgotten (laughs)

God: Don’t forget about God!

Tasai: We haven’t forgotten!

Joe: God is always inside your heart, right?

Tasai: It is! It is!

God: I see I see! (Happy) I didn’t think so…

Joe: God is not at the studio today though… Why?

God: It’s because I’m off night duty.

Joe: Off night duty? (laughs)

Kaoru: He did that before right?

Joe: Still having a night shift job? Are you really a God?

Kaoru: It’s been a long time, right?

God: That is…well…it’s seasonal…

Joe: This season is the night shift season?

God: No, it’s not like that…

Tasai: You did a job that paid 1000 yen per hour….

God: That is, that is…But the hourly wage was raised a little! You can say it’s like a holiday break…. the income has decreased (tears)

Joe: It’s the so-called labour reform.

God: That is, that is

Joe: Being God seems hard too…

God: Yes… its hard (laughs)

(cut)

Kaoru: As usual…. nothing changes…the feeling of tension…. I think we should get started…

Joe/Tasai: Yes

*Before getting into the main topic, Kaoru asks Tasai about a person who was with Bishibashi. It seems to be someone called Hiranabe who “it’s like a beast” according to Tasai. Then, Joe proceeds to tell a strange story (I think about this Hiranabe person?) *

Joe: When some celebrity passes away, he would call me and ask, “was this person your acquaintance?”. When I reply, “I barely knew them”, he suddenly hangs the phone (laughs)

Tasai: That’s mean

Joe: He is a mean person!

Tasai: That Hiranabe has finally been promoted by the director…

Joe: Eh? What is he now?

Tasai: Board member….

Joe is shocked while Kaoru asks if that it’s ok.

(cut)

Kaoru: I want to find news that have been attracting attention under the concept of Freedom of Expression…

*The topic is about Haruna Fuka, internet personality, former child actress. She seems to have a twitter account since she was just 9 years old (she is now 19) and she has used SNS to be open and vocal about several social topics. The topic now is that she filed a lawsuit against someone who slandered her in the net. It seems that someone posted that “her parents failed/ are a failure” and she and her mother filed a lawsuit asking for economic compensation. It seems that also some of her personal information was leaked. The discussion of the topic is mostly about the “price of fame” and how it can’t be helped that being famous you are exposed to this kind of things. Joe states discuss “at which point it becomes defamation” and it is not freedom of expression in SNS. He says that it might be difficult to draw a legal line online, but if that it’s not done, it can’t be helped that it gets worse. Then he asks Kaoru what he thinks about it, and he says:

Kaoru: Like, for example people write in SNS like they were talking with their friends in a room…. it’s better not to look at it (what people says) right?

Joe is like “But it’s real people, right?” and then ask if Kaoru searches himself and Kaoru says he doesn’t but he hears it from the staff that checks it so he kind of knows.

Tasai: When you are in the show business, from 100 opinions, 98 or 99 are good ones, but when there is one nasty/hateful one, it really comes through your eyes and hurts your heart.

Joe asks him as a Tokyo sports journalist. Tasai mentions how you can report it (I think?) like you can inform a legal corporation. Then, Joe again makes the million-dollar question.

Joe: How far it’s ok to guarantee the freedom of expression for tweeting? I think it’s a difficult thing.

Kaoru: Tweeting is about expressing yourself, right?

Joe: Of course, originally.

Joe adds that tweeting has an influence in things. He says that nowadays in Japan is like a hot water boiler when a topic comes out. He understands it especially for important topics, but he thinks that it’s just complaining and not trying to solve anything at all. Later, Kaoru says that it can be helped that you focus on the bad sides, even if, as Tasai said before there are 99 good things and just one bad. They go back to the Haruna Fuka topic and mention some extra information about her lawsuit.

Joe: I made an Instagram account for myself and most of the times when social things are done at The Dave Fromm Show! YouTube Channel and the topic is raised, my followers decrease…Finely, they decrease. They are going up and when the channel is updated next week, each time that is updated, they decrease. Treating with social topics….

(cut)

They discuss again about Fuka. Joe says something about young people complaining mostly in SNS and at some point, he is like “when I say young people, it feels like we are old” and they laugh, and he adds that it feels like there are 3 taboo topics: 1. Gender discussions 2. Political discussions and 3. Things that we hate to talk about but we have to talk about.

Around 13:05, God is back.

Joe: What do you think about it, God?

Kaoru: Is God there?

God: You know, God keeps being slandered right?

Everyone laughs.

God: Like God’s liar, even if I tell God there is nothing that he can do…. they even say that there is no God!…

Joe: I see, you are denied…

God: If you care about those things, you lose…

Joe: I see, do you search for yourself, God?

God: I do!

Everyone laughs.

God: There is only those things when I do research

Joe:  Surprisingly, God knows how to handle SNS really well…

God: I do!

Tasai: God is amazing…

Joe: Does God use Iphone as one would expect?

God: I have two

Tasai: He owns two!

Joe: God has two (laughs) *makes gesture on having one phone in each hand* That’s so cool

God: It is! It is! I don’t use them while I’m working though…

Tasai: You signed a contract (laughs)

Joe: He is God, right? (laughs) I don’t know if this God is amazing or not…

God: If you care about those things, you lose!......It’s better to be hated than being indifferent!

Kaoru ask God about playing video games for an hour and God answers that its good that there are so many kids that are good with games? The answer seems to let Kaoru and Joe a bit confused. God adds that it’s better to become good with games quickly, which Kaoru replies jokingly with something like “if you are not good, it’s better not to play them?” and God replies “it’s better, it’s better”.  

God: It’s like playing during a whole day and not being able to clear the game.

Kaoru: Because it’s a waste of time, right?

They talk about it a bit more.

Joe: Well, due to night shift, there is a feeling of tiredness right?

Kaoru: we are tired too. We were told to finish early

Joe: Sure! (laughs)

Kaoru: We have to make it interesting right?

God: I heard it was interesting…

Joe: Oh thank you!

They comment that they are being praised by God.

God: You can’t say that God is a liar!

Tasai: Please write that it was interesting in your SNS.

God: Yes, yes.

Joe: Please do it…

God: I’m pretending to be a human in SNS, so they don’t know I’m God…

Kaoru: It was the first program of The Freedom of Expression…how was it?

Joe: Doing the program after a long time feels fresh…

Kaoru/Tasai: That’s it!

Joe/Tasai: I’m happy…

Kaoru: Well…. mmm…. we started it with that feeling (laughs)…..but this time there is a only camera, right? This background with nothing on it…. if a a lot of people watch us…at this place…

Joe: A little more…

Kaoru: The number of cameras might increase…

Joe: Oohhh…

Kaoru: I don’t know how much Joe’s fee for appearance will be…

Joe: Eh? Is that so? (sweats) Today’s fee is written here…

Kaoru: It might be lower…

Joe coughs hard lol

Joe: That is only going to happen to me? (laughs) But please everybody, subscribe to the channel!

Everyone: Please do it.

Kaoru: Please look forward to the next programn

Everyone: Thank you!

and that’s all....

[stuckasmain]

Me Gushing over Batb here we go:

These are little details and such that I’ve noticed some aren’t that hard to see, some are new and others are just me gushing... haha.

We gotta bring back the “changing the intro castle to be the one in the movie.” Because this is awesome, I remember being :000 in the theater. Also I love how the intro makes the town look RIGHT THERE when in the movie it was like a days journey or so. (Continuity error in the mob song.) also how the movie straight up starts IN the logo? Love.

The bit about the rose in the film (belle requesting it and Maurice getting it) is a reference to the book where she asks for that same thing. In the book the bimbette characters are actually her sisters.

The Bimbette’s (also called the village lasses) are named in this version two! This time Elise, Eliana and Eloise.

Notice Lumiere and Chapeau (coatrack/valet hes important people smh.) in the background of the opening song, you can notice others too etc. Also this is the first time I’ve noticed it’s all women dancing with the prince. Now the “special one”. Lyric makes sense.

Monsieur Jean (Potts) in general. He’s not subtle lmao.

I love the part in belle of the schoolboys going into the schoolhouse and the beat adjusts to their little half march then to belle jumping from stone to stone

negative points on a six book bookshop(even if people are illiterate- you have a dang school smh)

Stanley spotting!

, on the back of LeFou’s horse in the intro there’s a bow amungst other things. It is implied that they were maybe hunting? As the speak of the war in a past past tense that it wasn’t so recent that they are just returning

LUKE EVANS VOICE SINGING MORE HIM SINGING!!!!!! (It’s never gonna happen ladies smh)

from the amount of people in the square alone it should be booted up to a Town instead of a Village

Maurice is a sexy grandpa. I’m sorry he’s good looking for his age.

Gaston stepping in the puddle, you don’t see his face but you can just SENSE the internal rage screaming lmao

Ok so the detail on the castle while it’s cursed the massive baroque swirl like detail patterns overtaking the architecture like vines and breaking parts of it apart? Stunning , brillant, détail-

the haunted mansion style hands holding the launterns you just KNOW are going to be used later.

you hear the melody’s of the songs before they happen and through the movie, for example Cadenza playing be our guest when Maurice comes in or hearing a small bit of evermore but played up for the partial theme.

Belle using everything as a weapon

Stick from outside

The stool in her cell

The chamber pot from her cell

These fists.

Lefou Paying everyone during gaston. Still the best thing-

Stanley spotting!

I like how the tavern low key looks a little like the one in Disney world. At least over here

The 3 huge Barrels and the sign of “Gaston the hunter.” Proudly displayed over it. Wonder if Lefou got a beer named after him too

ok so when the petals fall more of the castle breaks off and everyone becomes less human, I never noticed a change in the beast before but if you look closely right before it transitions his brow bone becomes thicker and lower. Also Chapeau playing days in the sun on the Violin.

Garderobe and Candeza as objects(Wardrobe and Harpsichord respectably) match each other in their color scheme :). Also Candenza still has a mustache and Madame a chest, if you look the right way.

“after all miss this is France” *cuts food in half * that’s subtle lmao

Mrs.Potts kiss in be our guest is still terrifying.

OK SO IVE JUST NOTICED THIS - the beasts cloak if you look closely it’s not a cloak at all, it was the overcoat/Jacket from the opening scene, it’s so shredded and ruined you can barely tell but you can JUST make out the royal blue and the pattern in its tatters. Also a big win to belle who got him to wear clothes again as before she helps after the wolves I’m 99% sure he was just in the cloak not even breeches (A type of pants) so big win.

me: i am mature i am mature i am mature i am mature i am mature

Me seeing the beasts feet: Big boi toe beans. Big kitty.

Please end me.

The village is named Villeneuve

belle having such a thing for Paris or at least the windmill yet she left it when she was a baby baby??

Stanley sighting!

I also like how the Beast has hair (Well duh hes covered in it-) but i mean human like hair; you can notice his regular hair , it’s just slightly longer and a bit dreadlock like in nature from how tangled it is. It’s not as long as originally because in the scene getting ready for the ball they do cut it down a length.

you have Audra McDonald(Garderobe) and yet you don’t have her sing beauty and the beast? Smh

How expressive beasts eyes alone are my son I’m ;-;

Also hair goals? My dude I’m ;-;

Stanley spotting!

EVERMORE IS THE BEST SONG EVER I WILL STRAIGHT UP FIGHT EVERYONE IN THE ROOM.

Stanley sighting!

Stanley sighting!(I l I k e s t a n l e y)

I need more luke Evans singing, the mob song is another jam.

Tiny baby shovels?! And some other stuff? Wonder what it’s for?

Stanley in a dress spotting!

Adam is shot a total of 3 times.

“let’s have everyone die on screen this time!” I’m. Genuinely when I saw this movie in theaters for a solid moment I genuinely believed that was it- everyone dead (well objects) and adam dead dead. I was actually fooled and emotional.

Garderobe and Cadenza are dressed the same as that night

frou-frou has a little tuff for a moment

Chapeau’s hair, his legs for a moment

Cogsworth has Roman numerals as his bottons , a monocle and his mustache is uneven.

Lumire is in a golden outfit

Plumette has a feathery bottom to her dress and a Golden sort of paint paint pattern across her chest

Mrs. Potts and chip have the makeup on their face.

DETAILS I LOVE IT.

Also Ladies get yourself a Lumierè, get yourself someone who looks at you like that

Mrs. Potts first name is Beatrice

Cogsworth’s first name is henry.

We love everyone dancing. And Rip Henry hes fine just- his wife knows him now.

what’s that nod Mrs Potts and marice give each other for????

Stanley and LeFou sporting! My boys, he’s so much better for him then Gaston smh

This is not a detail but it is imparitve that you bare witness to Dabbing Lumierè.

[willowvinyl]

RED - Taylor Swift | Track Ranking

Album: RED

Artist: Taylor Swift

Label: Big Machine Records

Year: 2012

Speed: 33 rpm

No. of Songs: 16

This is one of those reviews I may be judged for by some, but it doesn’t matter, because this album is fantastic in pretty much every respect, and ranking each song will be incredibly difficult.

Taylor Swift’s fourth studio album isn’t the most cohesive album she’s ever produced in terms of genre or style, but very alike when taking into consideration tone and theme. Below are my rankings for best to least best—because, in my opinion, none of these tracks are “worst.”

1. “State of Grace” — In terms of lyrics, I think this song has the best. Which, for this particular album, is saying a lot. It leads into the vocals-strong first verse with an almost U2-like drum intro. Between this, Swift’s powerful and unwavering vocals, and pure craftsmanship on everything from lyrics to production, this is the best song on the album. Best lyric: “Love is a ruthless game unless you play it good and right.”

2. “Holy Ground” — I would say this one nearly tied for first place. It’s lyrics are flawless and the music from the synths to the trademark acoustic guitar is just as perfect. It’s a well-written, poignant song about the best parts of a relationship that’s passed. Best lyric: “Tonight I’m gonna dance for all that we’ve been through, but I don’t wanna dance if I’m not dancing with you.”

3. “All Too Well” — Another song that could have been in first place, and heralded as her best song ever by many. Slowed down from the previous two, it tells the story of a relationship from start to finish, where Taylor remembers the good times just as much as the bad. Very simplistic in its instrumentation, it shines on the bridge with the vocals. Best lyric: “You called me up again just to break me like a promise, so casually cruel in the name of being honest.”

4. “Treacherous” — The verses in this song are some of my favorite things she’s ever written. Taylor truly shows her vulnerability in this piece, saying she’ll go to any length for this relationship. Best lyric: “All we are is skin and bone trained to get along, forever going with the flow, but you’re friction.”

5. “Sad Beautiful Tragic” — This song is on 99% of my playlists, even if I’m sharing it, because I like it that much, and I think other people will too. The lyrics are really special and reminiscent of a relationship that fell apart but had its magic moments. Her vocals are very low and bare, but it works with the gist of the song and it couldn’t have been done better. Best lyric: “You’ve got your demons, and darling, they all look like me.”

6. “The Lucky One” — This is a different type of song about an unknown celebrity from the start of her career to the unfortunate end. It’s very meta and sage from Taylor’s point of view—she started to get jaded. But she still had to reference her lucky number, 13, both in the times she says “lucky” and in the track number—such an Easter Egg Queen. Best lyric: “They tell you that you’re lucky, but you’re so confused cuz you don’t feel pretty, you just feel used.”

7. “Begin Again” — This song makes me a little sad, even though it’s meant to be hopeful, and that’s because of the things she had ingrained in her from her last relationship. But she made it out and wrote this beauty. Best lyric: “You’d throw your head back laughing like a little kid; I think it’s strange that you think I’m funny cuz he never did.”

8. “Red” — The title track (obviously). I hate that it’s seemingly so far down on this list, but it is what it is. This is a song full of similes, comparing a past relationship to being bright like autumn leaves—until they all fall and die. Best lyric: “Regretting him was like wishing you never found out that love could be that strong.”

9. “Everything Has Changed” (feat. Ed Sheeran) — The duet’s first collab (but not their last) was a sweet little dive into love at first sight. It’s a cute song with an even cuter music video. Best lyric: “Come back and tell me why I’m feeling like I’ve missed you all this time.”

10. “Stay Stay Stay” — SUCH a cute song. According to Taylor, it’s a song about the perfect relationship that she hoped to have one day. The ukulele and the claps in the instrumentation just sum up its peppiness; it’s just so cheeky and cute. Best lyric: “All those times that you didn’t leave, it’s been occurring to me, I’d like to hang out with you for my whole life.”

11. “The Last Time” (feat. Gary Lightbody) — I feel kind of bad because I always almost forget this song. It’s a sad, slow song with a big string section and good harmonies. Best lyric: “You wear your best apology, but I was there to watch you leave.”

12. “I Almost Do” — One of her last true country songs. It’s a sweet song about almost reaching out to call the one who you still love, but knowing it’s best not to. Best lyric: “I bet it never, ever occurred to you that I can’t say hello to you and risk another goodbye.”

13. “I Knew You Were Trouble.” — Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know this song, whether it be the actual version or the goat-dubbed version. But it really does have its merits in its lyricism. It was Taylor’s first real try in pop music, and in my opinion, it was successful. Best lyric: “No apologies, he’ll never see you cry, pretend he doesn’t know that he’s the reason why you’re drowning.”

14. “Starlight” — This is a cute song written for and about Ethel Kennedy after Taylor met the famous American while dating Conor Kennedy. It has a very nostalgic, American Dream type feel to it, as well as a Bubblegum Pop-y vibe. Best lyric: “He was trying to skip rocks on the ocean, saying to me, don’t you see the starlight, don’t you dream impossible things?”

15. “22” — I really do appreciate this song for what it is: a celebration of being in your early twenties. It captures the restless energy that I know at least I’ve experienced, as well as all the possibilities that being twenty-two holds. Plus, it’s catchy as hell. Best lyric: “We’re happy, free, confused and lonely in the best way, it’s miserable and magical.”

16. “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” — It’s not that I don’t like this lead single, it’s just that every other song on the album is better than this one, in my opinion. However, it does have its merits, and I do appreciate the girl-power and sass behind it. Best lyric: “I’m really gonna miss you picking fights, and me falling for it, screaming that I’m right.”

Like I acknowledged before, it may be that you’re not a Taylor Swift fan, but I honestly believe it when I say that there’s something on here for everybody. Plus, that red-lipped cover is iconic. Give it a shot, have a listen!

[pvssipower]

( naomi scott, 20, she/her ) class is in session for DREW MONROE. the student file says they’re a VAMPIRE belonging to house FLARION and currently a TENTH year. we see here they are UNDISCIPLINED and DESTRUCTIVE, but they’re also PERCEPTIVE and STRAIGHTFORWARD. we wish them good luck in the new school year, where they’ll learn POTIONS/ALCHEMY AND TRANSFIGURATION.

background ( tw for death, murder, kidnapping, cults, dissociative identity disorder. )

joseph and rebekah monroe met in arcanas and even were some of the school’s sweethearts. they graduated, got married, achieved a bunch of prestige and money both in the magical world as well as the human and had a beautiful daughter which they named: DREW. 

except-- all of this is true, up to the part where they had her. 

for what is worth. drew thinks she was born into this family, but she doesn’t know the reality that when she was a child-- the people who claimed to be her parents actually murdered her biological one and kidnapped her to raise and shape her as their own. 

[ this was literally done out of spite in some bigger plot the monroes had against drew’s bio fam, don’t fucking @ me ] 

being raised by the monroes wasn’t the best-- while they gave her what she needed. they were really strict and cold. it didn’t help that growing up drew was prone to outbursts ( that sometimes would end up in setting things on fire ) and was rather rebellious and mischiveous from a young age. there was no way for drew to know what was real and what was not, she was raised as a vampire and a monroe. arcanas was never in the picture as they decided to homeschool her, she didn’t even know about the school’s existence until she was around 13 when her parents put their bigger plan in motion. 

they left her alone for days and when they came back... they were worse than before. in their little time away they had turned off their humanity and done fuck knows what with a bunch of other alumni/followers. the first thirteen years of drew’s life-- from the moment she was kidnapped to the way she was raised and kept in the dark about everything else-- was the first step. now the second step would commence; she’d get introduced to the life they wanted for her. to the cult ( because lbr, they were a cult ) they had built over the years. and when she was old enough, the third step would be done: kill her to stop the aging and force her to shut down her humanity. 

so how does the school come in? 

WELL, someone had already tipped in that the monroes were fucking crazy. so one night, they came in to try and retrieve the child to bring her in to a safe haven. of course, dear ol’ joseph and rebekah didn’t go down without a fight. ( second set of parents killed in front of her salad, let’s go ) haha.. jk... unless. 

shout big fucking out for jude montague who protected her through this rough night and pulled the 13 year old kid from getting caught in the crossfire that was the monroes vs arcanas. it was him who brought her in and walked her through her first arcanas breaths.  mind you, drew was hella shook, especially as once she arrived in the middle of the third year-- news have spread like wildfire.  the girl with the parents that went cucko. that made choices on their own. they were evil-- and the apple didn’t fall far from the tree, did it? it didn’t help that because of the sudden change, drew kept mostly to herself... surely, this didn’t last for too long. 

personality: 

an opportunist. really, she noticed how much shit was smeared all over her name she said ‘gotta use this for something.’ the chaotic bitch that somehow doesn’t always get suspended.. or arrested. down with anything. will randomly burst in your room at 3am. party hard. probably tells first graders to grab another bus for the lols. ( it only actually happened once, okay? the rest are rumors. ) a bit of a fuckgirl, listen-- idk what happened here. i said you’re gay, and she said okay, but i’m also this. speaking of: she’s rather friendly even if there are people who still think she’s a blood thirsty ( haha irony ) psycho who will snap at any moment. she has friends, for the most part, either because they noticed she wasn’t as bad, were too naive to notice, or wanted to see her snap. by the way, surprisingly, she’s not really into throwing hands and tries to ignore or walk away instead. BUT. 

that brings us to.... 

headcanons: 

i did say people started noticing she wasn’t some psycho... haha, well, the opinions are still mixed. and certain incident didn’t help her care, at all. three years ago, she was at a party when some bitch from lumina that liked to shade her was too much and drew killed her...... sike. okay, she didn’t, but she did plummet her down  in a totally not sexy way, and wouldn’t have stopped if some of her friends hadn’t pulled her away.  to the surprise and dismay to some, she didn’t get expelled. but the stigma came back again. like i’ve mentioned, it happened three years ago-- we don’t like to talk about that. especially because... drew doesn’t remember.  she would’ve thought this was the alcohol, but this hasn’t been the only time it’s happened. while it’s not always-- she seems to forget pieces of time, and it’s been freaking her out. it also doesn’t help that she’s slowly starting to become paranoid because of this. but in this house we don’t acknowledge stuff so haha guess she’s ignoring that shit :))) 

in a few words to that one: i’m going for some dr. jekyll/mr. hyde kind of thing here. 

while her name is drew, and i have been refering to her as that so far-- she’s mostly known as MONROE and gets called by that. ( to the point that if she gets drew she might go ??’?¿¿¿?¿’¿ who -- unless you’re special. ) do people even know her name is drew??? we just don’t know.. 

someone: who the fuck is drew? drew: some bitch, idk. 

because, lo and behold, she has a nickname, surprise, surprise. some other incident ( yeah, this bitch has many ) and that’s no other than PIG SHITTER. it started because of some story about pigs and her making a typo. so yeah, pig shitter somehow stuck and hey, guess what? she got on the fucking train. opportunist. 

TLDR: chaotic neutral vamp/fire hoe with a side of mr. hyde.  goes by monroe or pig shitter to 99% of the school population. some people think she’s bad kind of crazy, some others good kind. really good at potions and transfiguration tbh. has probably never had good romantic relationship yeet. 

how did your muse become their species? were they born or made?

- she was born.

at what age did your muse join arcanas?

- recruited at 13. 

was your muse recruited or did they enroll on their own accord?

- recruited.  what would your muse do if they found out that the zanzara orb was stolen from the armory?

- become the “.....anyway” meme. 

I PROMISE THIS INTRO WILL FINISH. 

like this post if you want to plot with this bitch. we can go from 0 to 10 real quick. 

-the lumina bitch she plummeted down in a totally non sexy way.  -flings pls. ( i do want the homoerotic sexual tension. fight me. ) -S Q U A D. - enemies. -frienemies.  -someone she got lost with in a pig farm. idk.  -this is my crack character anything goes. 

[jadenjace]

𝑏𝑢𝑖𝑙𝑑 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝘩𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑡 𝑎 𝘩𝑜𝑚𝑒 .

⤿ ⋆ JADEN JACE LAPOINTE | TWENTY-EIGHT | MAINE ➜ ATLANTA | UNEMPLOYED

okay so a little rework / role-change . i should’ve done this a long time ago , but jaden is probably one of my most developed muses and he is so loved by me that it makes my heart hurt a little bit . he’s twenty-eight ( his birthday is soon so .. presents please ) , born and raised in alabama and freshly moved in from maine to settle into a new life with his lovely girlfriend @saintezrajean​ . jaden has recently been in hospital after losing part of his leg and is still healing enough to be fitted with a prosthetic so don’t be alarmed if he’s hobbling about on crutches for a while .

also , if you’ve been around for a while he’s kind of a gender-bent version of BJ ( who i’m considering re-writing and bringing back too perhaps ... ) i seriously want connections with everybody and will be reaching out to bother anyone who even sniffs around this intro post .

TW : car accident , mental illness , amputation , injury .. all that good stuff .

@atlanta-rpgstarters​

character info –

Name: Jaden Lapointe Age: Twenty-Eight Pronouns: He/Him Hometown: La Fayette, Alabama Time lived in Atlanta: One month Occupation: Unemployed Character Quote: i've begun to heal in all the places your hands have been / there's a battle i must fight alone but it’s you I'm fighting for

biography –

1991 brought the birth of the greatest lapointe child , at least according to jaden himself. he was always a little rocket running excitedly from place to place , high-energy , much to the despair of his parents who were left with the task of keeping up . their lifestyle in the early years suited the little powerhouse – his mother and father loved the travelling life and before he was even old enough to speak they’d state-hopped and explored every hidden nook and crevice that the world had to offer . being that young he didn’t realise that it was due to his father’s native american roots – alabama wasn’t known for their open minds , especially twenty odd years ago , and the idea of his mother marrying a man anything other than white seemed unheard of . circumstances relaxed with the realisation that hilary was pregnant again and they settled in maine now things had calmed , the small closed off town that didn’t seem to have enough space for a boy desperate to see it all . thankfully , unlike his rather conservative and old-fashioned grandmother she heard so much about , hilary let jaden do pretty much whatever he wanted ( within reason , of course ) . it started off with semi-permanent hair chalks , washable markers on pale skin , an ear piercing when he was old enough to sign the forms , then another , an impulsive nature taking root and leaving him with some questionable scars and stick ‘n’ poked imagery .

during high school he never fit in , but unlike some of the ‘ loser ‘ kids he didn’t fit the mould for the simple reason that he didn’t fucking want to . he didn’t care if teachers told him to dye his hair a normal color , to take those ‘ foul pieces of metal ‘ out of his face , he was there to have fun and maybe learn along the way .. even if not much of it got through . one passion though was science class . it was the only textbook that wasn’t filled with doodles of galaxies and moons , of little aliens and crazy spaceships , simply because outer space didn’t seem so far away when he was learning the facts . if he had been more dedicated maybe he would’ve become an astrologer , an astronaut maybe ; the dream is still there somewhere at the back of that spacey mind of his , and one day he hopes she might actually touch the stars instead of just gaze up at them . alongside the nerdy part of his mind was his sporty nature , gravitating toward the basketball team ( which was the only crumb of street credibility he could get his hands on ) and frequenting the skateboard to try , and fail , complicated tricks until they were finally perfected . 

meeting ezra was a turning point in the boy’s life . their relationship began with a fateful meeting , a few awkward encounters across the basketball court and in her previous job at the movie theatre . asking her on a date was something that would impact his future in more ways than one , both positively and detrimentally .. on the drive to the arcade for their first real moment as a couple their car flipped and , in a final moment of sacrifice , tipped over on the driver’s side and in turn crushed the lower half of his right leg . beyond repair , the male was forced to have it  amputated merely a month ago . with his existence put into perspective the couple decided to uproot and move somewhere with more options , more opportunities to heal , grow and recover from a moment so traumatic it was difficult for the both of them to cope , using money gifted from the lapointe parents ( who had practically adopted ezra at this point ) and some stashed away from savings they managed to find a little apartment to rent between them . it’s now their sanctuary , and jaden spends most of his days cooped up playing video games or watching cult movies to distract himself from the ever present demons inside of his head .

personality  –

if there was one word to describe him in the dictionary it would be a GOOFBALL – nothing is taken seriously , which is maybe a downfall when he comes anywhere close to a halfway serious conversation or figuring ‘adult’ things out for himself . everything is a joke , followed by a witty comment or obscure reference , a type of humour that would’ve been suited to a late-night television host if he had half the confidence to execute such a thing . jaden never takes anything seriously , before his accident and after it . jokes have been his coping mechanism and they’d continue to be for the near future at least , the only way he is able to forget about what happened to him and figure out a way to cope is through puns , quips and jokes at his own expense . unfortunately for the boy that attempts to be a ball of sunshine 99% percent of the time he is haunted in flashbacks by his accident , old film reels that play back in his mind at the most inconvenient of times . jaden doesn’t admit to many people that late nights are spent fighting tears or crying so hard his head pounds , hiding from the outside world beneath countless of sheets just for a hint of solace , a sanctuary among the fear . 

[luninosity]

2019 writing round-up post!

It's been an interesting year!

Once again, I suspect I wrote more overall than last year - but much more heavily original, and even less fanfic (but still some!) again. But a couple of those have been stories people really love, or seem to, from the AO3 comments etc. I didn't finish one thing I'd really meant to finish, but I did write a 254k novel, which, what even.

So...let's see what all those things are!

Academic (just to get this out of the way first) ~A book chapter on Disney's Robin Hood for an edited collection on Disney & pop culture (my chapter's around 5,000 words) ~The intro/my chapter/overall editorial work/bibliography for the Terry Pratchett book, coming 2020 (collectively, probably around 15k words of my own writing, plus comments on contributor essays) ~The book proposal for the Star Trek book (~3,000 words) ~The in-progress Neil Gaiman and Batman book chapter - currently around 2k, needs to be around 6k including references ~Plus one more successful grant application! Not listing all the conference/unpublished papers, but those too. Fanfic Stucky straight from your heart, E, 10,516 words - ah, yes, my contribution to the Bottom Bucky Fest! It was such a marvelous prompt, about Steve guiltily having a kinky fantasy about essentially rescuing and caring for the Winter Soldier (which also includes teaching him all about pleasure), and Bucky finding out about this, and them then negotiating ways to make this fantasy come true. I hadn't been writing as much Stucky, but this one flowed really well and felt really good, and people seem to like it! Evanstan (hmm - way less Evanstan this year! still some, at least...) Evanstan Round Robin 2019, T, 12,497 words overall, but my chapters total 2,528 words. The annual holiday collaborative masterpiece! So soft and fluffy this year - such a delight sharing this love and creation and fandom with everyone! Extra Sugar - My Evanstan epic fic-baby! I added chapters 30 & 31 in 2019, which brings the total to 107,533 words - which means, doing some math, that's + 4,000 words exactly, apparently! There'll be one more chapter. I know what it is, I just haven't had the time to write it. 2020 goal: finish off this series, completely, entirely, at the end. I'm still so amazed by this whole universe that I somehow made, and by the fandom response to it. *hugs you all* Cherik When It's Time, T, 2852 words - this one's not up on AO3 yet, though I think I can do that now, if it's okay with the @cherikzine  people! This was my story for the Bookends Cherik 'zine, and it's an AU with magicians in a sort of present-day fantasy setting version of the ending of Dark Phoenix, and it was fun to get back to one of my first real fandom loves, and I'm glad I wrote it. we are electric hearts, T,  2,732 words - fluffy little fun universe-crossover in which Erik and Charles meet Kris and Justin, my original Demon for Midwinter characters, written for @kernezelda <3 Original Fic (written and published in 2019) Gingerbread Dreams, M, 23,662 words - holiday m/m gingerbread competition baking fluff! A cranky judge! A cheerful ugly-sweater-wearing baker! The Grumpy One Is Soft For The Adorable One! The story I looked up medieval gingerbread recipes for, for a contestant challenge! Also contains a couple of familiar characters from "October Spice" in supporting roles... This story is also available as part of the Most Wonderful Time of the Year Trio Collection from JMS Books - three novellas bundled together, at a discount! October Spice, E, 3,130 words - the story that briefly made it to #1 Best Seller on Amazon in the LGBTQ Short Reads category! My super-short flash fiction romance for JMS Books, priced at only 99 cents! (Or even less, when on sale!) A first meeting, instant attraction (and some orgasms!), a Halloween-loving baker, and an adorable firefighter. (Evan and Matt (well, Matt in baked-goods artistic tribute) get a supporting role in Gingerbread Dreams, as mentioned above, if you want to know what they're up to...) (Also, Evan's last name is 100% an Ace of Cakes reference.) Bisclavret, T, 11,756 words - technically I had about 5k of this written YEARS ago, back when I first read Marie de France's 12th-century lai in grad school and immediately had to write an adaptation of it. But this version has extensive revisions, and ended up over twice as long. If you like stories about a medieval bisexual werewolf and the demisexual king he falls in love with, and a love of books and cuddling...well, that's basically what this one is! A Leather and Tea Morning, E,6,993 words - the first of the Leather and Tea sequels! (There'll be at least one more, about which more below.) Ben and Simon, a lazy morning, and some emotional comfort sex in the wake of Simon having been in a car accident. He's all recovered and everything - but there're some emotions that need to be dealt with, about Ben and protectiveness and tenderness and care and getting back to a very cautious-but-satisfying kinky scene. Sound the Fairy-Call, E, 5,545 words - the heavily rewritten (like, nearly twice as long, new original characters, world-building, all of that) original-fic version of my old Evanstan fic Glow, and it's basically the medieval fantasy healing-sex-in-a-forest story, with a fairy and a tired mercenary and Eastern European folklore references! Plus I've managed to quote Robert Graves in the epigraph! (To be precise, I wrote the first draft of this at the very very end of 2018 - I had literally just signed the contract before last year's writing round-up post. But then there was editing, revisions, etc, in 2019. So it counts!) This story is also available as part of the JMS Books 2019 Top Ten Gay Romance collection! Come pick up a copy and discover all the bestselling gay romance authors! The Ninepenny Element, M, 12,274 words - my first published lesbian romance! With a lawyer, a witch, some hexed earrings, a psychic younger brother, and a ghost puppy! This is essentially the sequel to Elemental (m/m, E, 12,776 words), since Verity's the older sister of Sterling from that story, but you don't necessarily have to've read that one first. There'll likely be one more - I have a vague idea about weather magic, and there's more to explore in this universe. The Pooka's Share, E, 20,205 words - a weary magical cop, an unruly faerie horse shapeshifter, and some creative punishments for apple-theft! More fun with folklore and sex and two people finding each other and turning out to be exactly what they both need, full of magic and compassion. This story is also available as part of the Legendary Loves Trio collection from JMS Books - three novellas bundled together, at a discount! Original Fic (written in 2019, publication contracts signed but stories not yet published) A Demon for Forever, E, 13,752 words - surprise! I thought I was done with the Demon for Midwinter universe - but JMS did a submissions call for stories celebrating LGBTQ marriage, and, well - I'd written the proposal story for Kris and Justin, so...we should get to see the wedding, right? This one'll be out in February. Justin may or may not wear a wedding dress. A sparkly one. :D Leather and Tea in London, E, 20,909 words - the third of the Leather and Tea stories! Written for the JMS Books BDSM collection call. Simon's brother needs a favor. So Ben and Simon head to London, bringing Ben's retired-spy skill set and also some fun toys for enjoying themselves... Original Fic (written in 2019, not yet under contract or published other than on AO3) Character Bleed, E, 254,099 words. Which means...since last year I had 40,371 words done...that's +213,728 words. In a year. Not even counting the Bonus Scenes (see below) or the sequel-in-progress. THIS STORY, YOU GUYS. I love it and these characters so much. It's the most ambitious thing I've ever tried to write, that whole story-within-a-story, being about actors filming a Regency-era gay love story, and falling in love themselves. I'm just looking at it all...and I'm in awe...and the response to this, oh wow. I've been so amazed and so grateful and so thrilled - the art, the trailer, the comments, the people thinking about these characters and loving them along with me - I'm so lucky to have all of you. *hugs everyone* And now I have to figure out what to do with it, and how and where one even publishes this behemoth, and how to cut it into manageable book-length divisions...! Character Bleed Bonus Scenes, E, 25,697 words currently - there'll be one more chapter, of which I have about a sentence written. I know exactly what that is, too - Colby getting to top, albeit still with Jason giving some directions. :D The untitled Character Bleed sequel, which is Leo's story - not up on AO3 yet, though I might start that with at least the prologue, later today or tomorrow. But it's already up to 15,511 words, plus my outline... Ember and Serenity, E, 20,752 words currently - I added chapter 4 in 2019, so about +5k words in 2019, I think? I do have plans for this one. Oh yes. My librarian-magician and his book-thief...yes. And if you're wondering who hired Serenity, well, there already has been a clue... :D

A few little scenes, odds and ends, plot bunnies like that necromancer/prince opening...not sure what the word count is there, probably a couple thousand. ~~ Okay, I THINK that's everything! Which is...a lot of words. Character Bleed alone...wow. Just...wow. It's definitely tilted even more toward original fic this year, and I didn't finish 'rain on tin,' which means it's been over a year since I've touched that one, so I'll have to get back to it!

But I did get to go back and write a couple things for my old Cherik loves, plus at least some Stucky & Evanstan, so that felt good, and I'm super-excited about lots of those original fic accomplishments - Amazon sales rank, sheer length, fun with medievalism, Top Ten achievements, my first lesbian romance, and of course everything about Character Bleed, which is, I think, my favorite thing I've written - it's so real in my head, and it was so weirdly easy to write, despite the length! Thanks for reading! I hope your year is starting off splendidly. <3

[lcgendcfzvlda]

☆ — wait , is that ZELDA KING ? dean lockwood has been looking for them . you didn’t hear it from me but , apparently the JUNIOR might know something about the whole omega chi & kappa tau situation . while they can be BRASH & IMPULSIVE , they’re far too WELCOMING & COURAGEOUS  to be involved , right ? those who know them say they’re reminded of FLANNELS WRAPPED AROUND THE WAIST, THE CLICKING OF A CAMERA, A COMPUTER SCREEN ILLUMINATING A PITCH BLACK ROOM, THE “IT’S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA” THEME, BAGPIPES PLAYING IN THE DISTANCE whenever they’re around .  honestly , the DIGITAL MEDIA major should try to keep their head down . after the events of last semester , lockwood is out for blood . did you know that ZELDA is a member of GAMMA RHO ALPHA ? that might explain why their name is being brought up .

                                               you’re an explosion , you’re dynamite                                                   playlist. pinterest. to listen as you read.                                                like for a plotting dm on tumblr , react for a discord dm                                                rocky lynch lovebot / hylia.#0329 on discord.

WOOOO I really can’t keep myself from holding only one muse can’t I. WELL. This is Zelda , a bit more of a happy-go-lucky muse compared to Sam !! She’s both her own character mixed with a few others I have - I love her dearly , so please please please feel free to come at me for plots !! <3 HERE WE GO :

HISTORY

Zelda’s backstory isn’t anything special - growing up in Scotland her parents had a nice marriage , she grew up an only child , always got good grades

But she always felt... average. She never was really anyone to anybody , so Zelda had a bit of a knack for wanting attention and trying to get her voice out there. So some took this as endearing , some took it as annoying.

In high school , she was lucky enough to be selected for an exchange student program in Salem , Massachusetts - and then she’d meet the FIRST person who would make her feel special in SAGA ( Sexuality And Gender Acceptance ) Club , a cheeky blonde boy named Cyrus who had a tendency to hide in the corner of the room and not talk to many people. And they’d date for about a year , up until Zelda would have to go back to Scotland.

They had to break up when Zelda would leave , but remained extremely close and communicating daily through digital connections.

ANYWAY , that little one year romance sort of gave her more confidence to use her voice and try and light up the room - since if she could do it for one person , she could do it for multiple people. That’s what gave her the idea to pursue a career in DIGITAL MEDIA -  namely , film & video ( with digital art and photography on the side ) in the more comedic aspect. Screenplaying and the technicals behind sketch-comedy skits. Stand-up comedy , even though that was more performing.

Think like Saturday Night Live - and then think of all the technical stuff that goes into it besides the acting. The script-writing , camera angles , etc. Zelda just wanted to make people laugh.

Soooo… when she told her parents that would be what she wanted to do , her average home-life would turn sour CONSIDERING they didn’t want her to explore such risky career choices. An easier life would be to become a lawyer or a doctor - more stable. But that’s not what she wanted. So after a LENGTHY argument with her parents , Zelda would be thrown out of the house with only the money she saved ( thankfully , she’d always been the frugal one ) , and would call . . . her ex-boyfriend and his mother. Since even though they’d only been communicating digitally over the past two years , it still felt like home in Massachusetts.

Her ex’s mother would pay for a flight for her to go back to the United States , and after some time of adjusting , she’d get into Hollingsworth to pursue her career in Digital Media - staying there , but often traveling home ( being where her ex and his mom lived ) routinely.

Pledging to Gamma , her insistence for encouraging people to live their life to the fullest and readiness to include people in her free spirited antics would leave a great impression on the sorority - eventually even leading to her current position as its president.

CHARACTER / FACTS

So again !! Zelda is my trans female pansexual bby , 5’11 bc tall girls make the world go round and she is the LIVING EXAMPLE of the Halcyon label. She’s loud , carefree , optimistic - never really known to pass up an opportunity to have fun.

...that’s so basic of an intro to her personality BUT IN MY DEFENSE IT’S EARLY

BUT YEAH Zelda ?? Does not give a shit about anything. She holds no grudges towards anyone , waaaay too chill - but she flips from extremely chill and laid back to “HEY HEY LET’S GO DO THESE TEN THINGS” and it’s. Definitely a 360. But nobody’s ever seen her angry and it sort of makes people wonder if she even feels anger or if she has a secret dark side nobody knows about.

...She doesn’t. Zelda’s only habits when angry are that she’s short , to the point , and WILL call you out if you’ve done something wrong. But making her mad is extremely hard and she’ll only remotely get upset if you prove time and time after again to be a shitty person.

Which , can sort of lead her to get taken advantage of because of her chill nature - that’s how the previous issue with Gamma getting in trouble at one of their parties happened. Zelda got pissed. She knows she’s chill but she doesn’t think about how that could lead SOME people to thinking “oh I can do anything I want and she’ll be fine with it” because she doesn’t. Get angry about much.

ALSO THAT DOES MAKE HER A BIT NAIVE - just again. She’s easy to take advantage of because she believes the best in everyone and automatically assumes people will do the right thing as people. Doesn’t really understand why people will do things to hurt others and doesn’t really want to.

Also kind of jumpy like she’s a social person and definitely flips between lax and loud but it is SO easy to startle her.

AS FOR HER INTERESTS IN DIGITAL MEDIA - she is extremely talented with the entire Adobe Creative Suite , especially Premiere , Photoshop , and After Effects.

She has an Instagram dedicated to posting manips , edits , etc. she made in both PS & AE. You know those funky Insta edits you see all the time ?? Zelda makes those.

She ALSO does a lot of editing and promotion for Gamma - a lot of times they’re memey little videos or advertisements or skits that display how welcoming Gamma is , and they do a great job at leaving a good impression on possible recruits.

Her BIG thing though would be a little YouTube channel she runs where she often posts videos just around campus - think Billy On The Street , which is what she really wants to do with her digital media career.

“I’M RUNNING AROUND HOLLINGSWORTH WITH A PACK OF WILD LESBIANS”

“LET’S GO LESBIANS LET’S GO”

She either wants to do that - or mockumentaries to put on Youtube ( or even documentaries in a whole that she approaches with her extremely sunny demeanor on conspiracies or the like ). She’d also like to film her own show to put on TV , either something like reality comedy , a reality show spoof , or even something like It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia or The Office or Brooklyn 99. Comedy film is her passion.

Commentary videos are ALSO something she’s considered , much like iNabber or Strange AEons , but she thinks mockumentaries , skits , and her other work

Also that person who Photoshops heads on people’s bodies and makes memes for all the group chats she’s in

She really doesn’t take herself seriously often but frankly that’s just Gamma as a whole so it WORKS.

A good portion of Zelda’s existence is a meme tbh I honestly adore her

She has a LOT of tattoos that were designed by her ex-boyfriend since he was an art major and now is a tattoo artist in Salem - I’d point you in the direction of Hannah Pixie Snowdon’s body art as a reference , just Zelda isn’t nearly as covered as she is.

This would be the best reference I can think of rn , lots of pretty designs and some animals, maybe some symbols and references from stuff. 

Olivia doesn’t have any tattoos but WE CAN CERTAINLY PRETEND

A lot of her spare money is made doing either graphics commissions or even photography from whoever needs her services !! The majority of her stuff has been done for cosplayers , budding models , budding actors and actresses , and even for other fraternities and sororities around campus. Zelda knows no rivalries when it comes to these things.

She’s also 100% that person who keeps around a polaroid camera so she can hang up pictures she takes she’s just That Person

Decorates the Gamma house with a lot of polaroids she’s taken and memey edits she’s done in Photoshop

INSIDE JOKES ARE HER THING

She also plays guitar and is fairly good at it but doesn’t have a band or anything rn bc she’s just someone who does it bc she wants to look cool ( and also bc the guitar’s a neato instrument but yeah she started it out just bc she wanted to play SOME kind of instrument at least )

,,,but she also knows how to play the bagpipes

and she owns a pair.

they’re in the gamma house. zelda plays them at meetings.

Also I can’t 100% guarantee she didn’t get her name from the Legend of Zelda series if y’all know me u know how much I adore that series so yeah

WANTED PLOTS / CONNECTIONS

GIVE ME A COMEDY SQUAD PLEEEEEEEEASE maybe even ppl she works to make a webseries or something with ?? give me people who work constantly just to make other people laugh

People she routinely takes photographs of !!

Whether they pay her or she uses as a muse for whatever

OTHER PPL FROM THE GREEK ROW THAT JUST DON’T… LIKE ZELDA FOR WHATEVER REASON

Maybe they think she’s too chill. Maybe they think she’s hiding something. Maybe they don’t like how she’s running Gamma but for whatever reason they just DON’T LIKE HER and I want enemies so fucking give me enemies

This is so general but more Gamma sisters would be lovely Zelda’s so eager to bring in more people to make their sorority feel like home

Give me crushes Zelda pines over !! Crushes that pine over Zelda !! Gimme that skinny love shit bc my god it gets me going !!

Hookup plots are also 100% acceptable bc again Zelda’s a carefree spirit and gives No Fucks

Also 100% down 4 cute romantic plots too - Zelda is ur regular poly pan babe w/ room in her heart for 12000 suns

it’s very on brand of me to place the romance/sex plots right smack in the middle as I’m thinking of what to put down

Okay when I was in high school we had majors and I was a Digital Art major and all the Visual Art majors had this bond with us for no reason so I’d really love some Vis. Art buddies that Zelda gets along with much like the bond she has with her ex-boyfriend now

OTHER PEOPLE TO DESIGN MORE TATTOOS FOR HER PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE one day she hopes to be a coloring book

I’D LOVE SOME UNLIKELY FRIENDS TOO JUST SOME GRUMPS ZELDA’S CONSTANTLY BOTHERING W/ HER SHIT

Memey group chat pls

THATS ALL I CAN THINK OF FOR NOW maybe i’ll do a more detailed / organized list soon but yeah !! Come at me !!!

[0poole]

Psychonauts is a funny thing

So, I got recommended the game on Steam after playing A Hat in Time because the games are uncannily similar (and Hat in Time definitely, 100% took some things from the game, I’m absolutely sure of it) and I just sort of passively cared about it for a while. I watched one of those compilations of the boss battles in the game, and it did look pretty cool to me. Then, the trailer for the sequel came out, and I watched it, had no idea what was going on, and reasoned I could probably play the original between then and the time it came out. The sequel looked pretty visually interesting, and if a sequel looks interesting surely the original has to be too. And, after a few months of sporadic playing, I finally finished it a few seconds ago. Basically, I’d recommend playing it.

But, I don’t think I’ve ever gotten this mad at a game before. It’s an odd feeling, being mad.

First of all, I bought the game on a Steam sale where it was literally only 99 cents. It was soon after the sequel trailer released, so surely it was there to draw people like me in. But, the issue was that the game wouldn’t even start when I first downloaded it. It played the intro, but it instantly minimized itself whenever I tried to pull it up. So, I put that off for a few weeks, and sure enough with no rhyme or reason it started working as intended again. Great. Surely this wouldn’t be representative of the future, right?

Well, sort of. There were a ton of glitches in the game. Most of them involving sketchy platforming, where I should’ve landed or grabbed onto a ledge but didn’t somehow, but only one legitimately stopped me from progressing. Not exactly spoilery, but I confused the first knife thrower you meat (no joke that was unintentional, but I’m keeping it) in the last (second to last?) level, and that made him completely stop doing anything, so I had to reset there. Not very fun. 

But, before that, there was a glitch that actually was relatively cool. During the Den Mother boss fight, I used clairvoyance as intended, but after the first time it glitched (but I didn’t realize it) and the platform when completely invisible, but I could still see Raz’s body, so I just reasoned that it was just a progression of the difficulty of the fight. I could still piece together where I had to go to hit the boss, it was just going to be harder. Then, I died, and it started working as intended. It was a little lame, to be honest. Nothing changed from that point. I was obviously having trouble, though, so I wasn’t going to complain.

Then, an issue on my side of things was that I very often was stuck on what to do, and basically just ran around confused for 30+ minutes. I’m a pussy when it comes to video games, to be honest. I genuinely appreciate direction when I play, even if too much of it is obviously a bad thing. It’s usually because of how many Nintendo games I play. They usually give pretty clear hints where to go. I swear, if I couldn’t call on Cruller to help me, I would’ve never made it. 

The funny thing is that, most of the time my confusion was a result of me just forgetting about the floating power. I would jump, fall, try again, and stare at the ledge until something magically appeared. Once I looked up the answer to my first problem online (where the old meat’s stench was the thing you had to float up on) I realized it, but still got stuck on later instances where you had to use it. I don’t know why that one mechanic constantly slipped my mind. I play video games. I should know updraft = you can float on it. That, and wood = burnable.

I do wish they forced you to get an item/power that you needed to get before you progressed BEFORE you actually got to the point where you needed it. Mainly when it came to the cobweb duster, at least. That thing was hella expensive, but I avoided it because I thought it was just one of those things for collectathon-ers who wanted to 100% the game. But, turns out, there’s only like one or two points where cobwebs are actually blocking your path, so I had to stop all progress and farm arrowheads to get that. Even worse, I bought other stuff with the arrowheads I got up until that point, so I had to farm a lot more. 

But, apart from more specific stuff, that’s basically all the negative things I have to say about the game. Even though I did actually, legitimately get mad at multiple points, looking back on it all with a sound mind, it’s actually a really good, interesting game.

Honestly, the overall concept of the game is the best part. It has such insane potential, probably more so than any other concept I’ve heard of. The idea that you can go inside a person’s mind and interact with it in the form of a physical world/level is so cool. Really, there’s no better form of characterization. The serious contrast between the minds of someone like Milla, who’s clearly a partier, and Sasha, who’s clearly straight out of the Matrix, is such fun to experience. Obviously anyone would have a metaphorical, sprawling land as their mind, but how Sasha can control all of that and pull it out at will is really cool. On the other hand, Fred barely has a world to explore. He cares so much about the game that he only exists in a room, and the game is represented in the larger land, with all the different types of people. Then, Boyd the conspiracy theorist is trying to connect everything with winding pathways that flip over and cross with each other. Apart from the obvious ““normal”” neighborhood that’s constantly spying on him.

That level has to be my favorite in the entire game, even though it’s one of the ones that I got stuck on. A lot of that definitely came down to how the G-Men clearly inspired the C.A.W. Agents in A Hat in Time, who were really well done in both games. I noticed it instantly, and that made it so much more fun. Plus, that level introduced Clairvoyance, which might be the must useless yet the most interesting power in the game. They put so much effort into how you appear in the eyes of other characters (even the NPCs and enemies) that it’s kind of shocking. You really only use it for a part or two of that level and the boss fight (which made really good use of it), and then it just becomes a device for Easter eggs. Considering each of the other campers were mostly seemed like occasional throwaway jokes or funny images, they really thought about who they were and what they wanted. 

Obviously, I’d be remiss to not talk about the character designs. This is essentially The Nightmare Before Christmas on steroids when it comes to character models. Some were obvious references to other things, like Sasha looking like Neo, or Cruller looking like Einstein, but even then they felt like their own characters. Overall, they’re a little too crazy to be at the top of my tastes, but they’re perfect for the atmosphere. I especially loved the Butcher’s design for some reason, even though it’s pretty standard for an over-exaggerated butcher character. He just looked really cool. The only design I was kinda iffy about was the Censors, who were awesome in concept, but looked a little too mortal-looking for something present in pretty much everyone’s mind. Maybe people just associate censoring with Cog-esque business people, and that’s why they always look like that. I do like the idea of them progressing into the giant Judges you see in the sequel trailer, though. 

Then, the unsung hero of them all: The little bubble bug you always see in everyone’s psyches. I don’t think I ever actually used him, but he was adorable. Apparently his name is Oatmeal too? That’s adorable. I love him. 

Back to the Butcher, though, with spoilers if you care: I liked the idea that both Oleander and Raz were embellishing their parents’ impressions of them and who they themselves actually were. It made sense, because children are so much more impressionable. They’d think that their dads are monsters, and carry that into adulthood (or, just later childhood in Raz’s case). Although, I do understand why Oly would be scarred by his father, but I don’t think we really got confirmation as to why Raz thought his father was so against his Psychic powers. Maybe that’ll be explained in the sequel? Maybe there’s some backstory I forgot about/didn’t know about? Probably. I doubt the writers just forgot about it. 

Worth the 99 cents? Fuck yeah man. It sold me on the sequel, so they’re gonna get my money one way or another.

[metalshea]

Guys and gals, let’s talk about nü metal.

Are you still reading?

Great! Because I’m about to take a very unpopular position: I think nü metal has some value as a genre and is surprisingly influential.

Are you STILL reading?

Nü metal is probably the most maligned sub genre in all of metal. So much so that I would hazard to say that more people dislike it than hair metal. There are still people walking around that appreciate bands like Poison, Ratt, or Mötley Crüe, after all. I don’t know of anyone that still says: “Limp Bizkit, that’s my jam”.

But there was a time when people did say that. Limp Bizkit are multi-platinum selling artists, after all. They were one of the top draws in all of music, headlined Woodstock ‘99, and even toured with Metallica. People loved Limp Bizkit.

I’ll let that sink in a moment.

It wasn’t just Durst et. al. that filled arenas around the world: Korn, Linkin Park, Mudvayne, POD, Godsmack, Static-X, System of a Down, Disturbed, all were, and in some cases still are, huge concert draws. Just look up some of the pictures of System of Down’s show in Yerevan, Armenia, back in 2015. Something, something, a joke about crowd sizes, amiright?! Does anyone have any doubt that if SOAD announced a tour tomorrow that it wouldn’t sell out? (Before we get too far away from Limp Bizkit, I should probably mention that Wes Borland is actually pretty popular in Indonesia)

I’d even go so far as to argue that most metalheads that lived through the nü metal years actually like at least one band from those times. Sound crazy? How do you feel about, say, Mudvayne (Dig)? Static-X (Push It, I’m With Stupid), Slipknot (Wait and Bleed), System of a Down (any song)? Maybe nü metal isn’t so bad.

Obligatory disclaimer: that all being said there’s a ton of Nü Metal that is just awful. Back to Limp Bizkit: Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water hasn’t aged well at all. POD. Papa Roach. Freaking Crazy Town.

There’s a lot of bad nü metal out there.

But we’ve gotten off topic. The whole point of this article is to talk about nü metal as still remaining valid and influential to modern metal, after all, so let’s explore that. Let’s start with definitions.

Quick: if I asked you “what is it that musically differentiates nü metal from other types of metal,” what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Probably rapping, right? But not all nü metal acts rap. Korn doesn’t. Orgy doesn’t. So what else?

I think there are 4 major descriptors—aside from rapping—that we can use to define the genre: heavily syncopated riffs, song structure/length borrowed from pop, angsty or self-reflective song lyrics, vocal centric while musically riff- and beat-driven.

Let’s break this down a bit starting with syncopation.

Syncopation is a musical term that refers to emphasizing the off beats in a piece of music. Most music emphasizes what are known as downbeats. When you hear a song and start tapping along, your usually counting out groups 4 taps and hitting a little bit harder on the first beat. That first beat is a downbeat. The groups of 4 tell us the song is written in 4/4 time. Sometimes in addition to the hard beat on the 1, you’ll also do a hard beat on the 3. This is still considered a “normal” or conventional beat.

In a syncopated song, the downbeats are played on the 2nd and 4th beats instead of the 1st and 3rd. This gives the song a bit of a bouncy feel. And syncopation is all over nü metal. Check out Linkin Park’s “Crawling” and Static-X’s “I Want to Break It” in the linked playlist to really hear this at work.

Let’s talk song structure: nü metal typically borrows a really basic song structure that comes straight out of pop that is known as AABABCBB. If you break a typical pop song down into different parts and assign those parts a letter, you get this formula. Essentially “A” are the verses, “B” the chorus, and “C” the bridge or breakdown. Many pop songs will set their songs up to have do an extra long first verse, a quick and catchy chorus, a shorter second verse, a quick and catchy chorus, a bridge, and then back to the chorus (sometime played twice) to close out the song. It’s an easy formula that makes songs pretty memorable. Especially if you have a catchy chorus.

Let’s take Korn’s “Freak on a Leash” as an example. We have the intro riff which rolls right into the first verse (8 lines). After a short prechorus (“sometimes...”), it rolls into the chorus (something takes a part of me), right into a short second verse (4 lines), prechorus, chorus, a two-part bridge with Jonathan Davis scatting, followed by a variation on a double long chorus to close out the song. Formulaically, the song goes: AAABCABCDECF, which is really, really close to the pop song formula.

Most other nü metal acts tend to follow the same basic song pattern with some variations. Mudvayne’s “Determined” front loads the chorus at the very beginning of the song. So does Slipknot’s “Wait and Bleed”. But they all tend to at least superficially follow the same pattern that artists from The Beatles to Ariana Grande have utilized for decades.

Next are the lyrics. Nü metal borrows it’s angst directly from grunge. Lyrically, the genre is very inwardly focused, often touching on depression, anxiety, post traumatic stress, and in the moment emotions. Now this is certainly not unique to nü metal compared to other genres of metal, but let’s be honest: nü metal takes it to a whole different level of superficiality. While there are countless songs about being angry, Linkin Park will often dive into the underlying emotions driving that anger. It’s an extremely self-reflective genre that was perfect for the postmodernist late-90’s.

Finally, nü metal is vocal centric and riff and beat driven. We already talked beats so let’s leave that aside. As for riffs, the songs are constructed usually around 1 distinctive riff. While a lot of metal will try to use multiple riffs in a song (ahem, Between the Buried and Me). Nü metal keeps it simple, using 1 riff and several variations to drive the music. We’ll use Sevendust’s “Praise” as the example here. We’re hit with the main riff right at the very beginning of the song. From there we hear constant variations pop up throughout the rest of the tune. It’s under the verses. It is the riff the makes up first prechorus. A third variation is under the second prechorus. Over and over: variations on a theme. I should say that Sevendust are really good at squeezing everything they can out of riff to pull off a catchy song. But it underscores the point, the songs are constructed around 1 catchy riff.

As for the vocals: they’re front and center. In Death metal, the vocals often compliment the instrumentation. The growled vocals mimic the distortion of the guitars. In nü metal, the vocals are brought up in the mix. You hear every word.

All these thing combine to make nü metal. Compared to other parts of metal one thing is really, really clear: nü metal borrows a TON from pop, grunge, and hip hop. In fact, it borrows the best parts of all 3. It is a genre that is distinctly ripe for commercialization. And woooo boy was it commercialized. Which, let’s be honest, is probably why most metalheads hate it: it pays lip service to “heaviness” while throwing in with pop sensibilities. It feels artificial and at times frankly juvenile. And sometimes, the bands themselves are just awful and untalented: looking at you again, Crazy Town.

But! Nü metal has a legacy, and it’s not all bad. There are still acts that are selling out arenas and inspiring the next generation of musicians. Slipknot is probably THE gateway band for heavy music today, and their music still sells. Their 2014 release, “.5: The Gray Chapter” was rock solid. System of a Down are in limbo pending the return of Serj Tankian, but let’s be honest, they are one of the most beloved and respected bands in heavy music in the world, even though they haven’t released a record in 13 years. Linkin Park we’re past their heyday when Chester Bennington sadly took his own life, but they were still actively writing new music and regularly touring (and say what you want about LP, they put on a great live show). Finally, most metalheads like to forget Machine Head’s foray into nü metal, but no one can argue their importance to metal today, especially following 2007’s “The Blackening”.

We like to think of all these bands as somehow being separated from the utter nonsense of other nü metal acts—a friend used the term nü metal-adjacent. But they built their fan bases from among the angsty kids of the late 90’s early 00’s. They drove record sales in the days before Napster and file sharing. They kept MTV musically-relevant for years longer than it probably otherwise would have been. And they introduced a new generation to heavy music. I’ll put it out here: I listened to Korn and Slipknot well before I listened to In Flames, let alone any black metal. I’ve covered System of Down songs in my own bands and I still jam out to Static-X.

Nü metal is a lot of things to a lot of different people. It’s divisive, juvenile, self-absorbed, and often superficial in its song writing and lyrics. It reeks of consumerism. But it also birthed some of the most influential artists in heavy music and left an important mark on the history of metal. Maybe we can redirect the hate that we would normally throw at the genre as a whole back to where it belongs: at Fred Durst.

[rainbowkosmos]

Thoughts on Love Yourself: Tear

i’ve been listening to this album nonstop for over a week now, but I really want to organize some of my thoughts so Here We Go

(this is very long and i’m sorry)

Singularity:

This one has been out for a while and it was slow to grow on me, but now I really like it. it’s dark, sort of haunting, the kind of song that’s good for playing low at 3 am.

“감싸 보려하지만” especially sounds really good.

god this style of music suits taehyung so well. i also think this is definitely a song that is enhanced by it’s music video.

I just wanna talk for a sec about how Namjoon has had a hand in writing all three LY intros so far and how they’re all fuckin amazing

Fake Love:

I love the descending eerie “ding ding ding ding” in the background of this song. It just adds so much character.

whenever i sing this I try to sing “fake love” and then the fanchant “fake love” in the same verse lmao

“love you so bad, love you so bad, 널 위해 예쁜 거짓을 빚어내” is probably my favourite part of the song, it sound so good

also shoutout to namjoon who has two verses in this song and kills them both

jin sounds fantastic on the chorus. he really shines on this song- the way he sings “fake love” is just so pleasing to the ear.

the structure of this song is really weird. like, I don’t hate it, i actually kind of like it, but I wish they had pulled back for an instrumental break after “I just know why, it’s all fake love” and maybe built the song back up again with the “ding ding ding ding”s. it could have used the break in vocals imo.

The Truth Untold

I cried the first time I heard this song and it was 99% because of the rawness of these vocals.

god listen to jin on his first verse.

Jimin sounds beautiful on this song. jimin sounds beautiful always tbh but it’s especially noticeable here, and a lot of my favourite jimin moments from this album are on this track

“you know that I can’t show you me, give you me” i haven’t been fine since i first heard these lyrics

the connection between the first three songs (talk of masks, blooming flowers, hiding oneself) is pretty incredible tbh.

can you believe this is a steve aoki song? i can’t. well done to him for stepping outside the box.

“and i still want you” did????? i ask??????

134340

ngl this is probably my least favourite song on the album, but I can still appreciate it for it’s lyrical cleverness and the frankly amazing flute.

“Us is the plural form of U” i just. really fuckin love namjoon.

I will say, i really like the pre-chorus on this song, the “난 맴돌고만 있어“ bit. it sounds so... adventurous? idk when i first heard this song I was driving through really heavy fog at 3:30 in the morning and i honestly felt like i’d been transported back to the dawn of the dinosaurs and was about to run into a triceratops. anyway, moving on.

Paradise

Okay lyrically, this song is one of my favourites on the album, but instrumentally, it just can’t hold my attention. there’s nothing about it that grabs me except for the “Stop running for nothing, my friend” near the end. as it is, i really love the lyrics, and it has a message that i’m clinging to right now.

“We deserve a life, 뭐가 크건 작건 그냥 너는 너잖어” (whether big or small, you are just you) namjoon is like dr seuss for 20 year olds i love it

“꿈이 없어도 괜찮아” thank u bts this is a message i need rn

yoongi often raps like he’s pulled his verses straight out of my own thoughts and this one is no different. it’s kind of comforting, honestly.

why are he and hoseok turning into the same person though. like on this song and a few others, they trade verses seamlessly and it’s frankly kind of eerie.

this entire album is so cohesive though.

너를 이루는 모든 언어는 이미 낙원에 i kind of really love this line. it’s gorgeous. “every language that makes you is already in paradise”.

Love Maze

I feel like I haven’t explored this song lyrically enough, but I do like it. I especially like how defiant it sounds. Where it’s placed on the album feels very fitting.

“Love ain't a business, rather like a fitness” “Love is a maze damn, but you is amaze” goddamnit namjoon why do i love these lyrics so much

“baby, just don’t give a damn” seokjin.

tbh that’s all i have to say

that really warped sound that becomes prominent in yoongi’s verse is so cool and adds so much character and atmosphere to the song

also the reference to paradise after the last song was actually called paradise is a nice touch and again, makes this album feel like a story with a beginning, a middle and an end.

i’m really sorry. I know the actual lyrics in hoseok’s verse are “와 있고” but it 100% sounds like “white girl” and that’s all I ever hear when i listen to the song.

it’s interesting to me that some people say this song is romantic, whereas others say it’s about the relationship between bts and their fans. what i love about bts’s lyrics is they often leave a lot of things up for interpretation, and i don’t think they’d be bothered by either viewpoint.

Magic Shop

alright this is one of my favourite songs on the album and i have a Lot to say

i have the lyrics to this song saved on my phone so that i can go and look at them whenever i’m feeling down

also if a song is ‘atmospheric’ enough, i associate colours/images with them in my head, and magic shop is one of the most beautiful songs i’ve ever “seen”.

“So show me (I’ll show you)” is gonna be so fuckin powerful at concerts i can just tell

isn’t hoseok’s verse from his thank you in HYYH pt 1? ugh their minds

also hoseok sounds gorgeous here

the little “ey ey“s in yoongi’s verse please i love

and then there’s a reference to The Last here, but it’s written in a much gentler way and with a flip to it. god i love this song.

and then it goes back to hoseok rly quickly before the chorus again and have i mentioned how much i adore the way sope just fits together on this album

there’s something so calming about this song that just quiets my head for a few minutes

“you gave me the best of me, so you’ll give you the best of you” these are my favourite lyrics on the entire goddamn album, they’re just so impactful. a: a throwback to best of me, and b: a reminder to their fans that they should love themselves as much as they love bts (i’m trying, okay).

before we move on, I want to mention that Magic Shop marks a very obvious tonal shift in the album, the previous songs have all been sad, bitter, defiant, dark. there’s a consistent theme of hiding yourself behind a mask and worrying you won’t be loved (by others or yourself) if you take that mask off. in Magic Shop, the tone finally grows vulnerable, they talk of past fears, of using the “magic shop” to trade worries for happiness, and the rest of the album (until the outro) is going to be tonally more upbeat. this is not a coincidence.

Airplane Part 2

i’m not gonna lie, airplane was my least favourite song on hope world, but this? this is a fucking Jam.

the first time i heard this my mouth genuinely dropped open when jk started singing lmao

kings of singing latin pop in korean

okay jin and namjoon trading off lines is one of the most iconic parts of this entire album

EL MARIACHI

EL MARIACHI

EL MARIACHI

and then yoongi and jimin trading lines? also iconic. the rap and vocal lines worked so well on this album and it truly shows on songs like this.

this song ends on what feels like an unfinished note. like the structure here is weird too. is there a bridge?? i don’t feel like there is???

Anpanman

I LOVE THIS SONG SO MUCH

i remember listening to this for the first time and just laughing through the whole thing bc i was so delighted

this is a song where taehyung sounds very much in his element, but in a different way from singularity

this just feels like classic bangtan to me and it makes me so happy

“keep ballin ballin, still bangtan” there is something about this line that makes me smile so much.

“눈 뜨니 hero but still in 미로” interesting. “still in a maze”- is this a reference to love maze or am i overthinking things.

also this song seems all light and fluffy on the outside until u remember that anpanman was a hero made of bread who gave parts of himself to others to make them happy and then the rapline all get a turn singing “i’m a new generation anpanman”.... i see. pls don’t do what the old generation anpanman did.

even though things have gotten tonally lighter there are still dark undertones here and that comes to a head later in the outro

i fucking love jk’s verse in this song, it might be my favourite of his on the entire album

i stan a band of Nerds

So What

this is a very surface song that i enjoy jamming to in my car, but have no thoughts on it beyond that haha

i laugh every time one of them uses “bae” in a song bc it just sounds... off

“고민보다 Go Go” god i love it when they reference their older songs

this may not have been as surface as i thought it was upon closer examination of the lyrics. idk what i was expecting tbh like, this is bts.

“hope world, let’s go” that’s fantastic

tbh this might be one of my favourite hoseok verses on the album

wait so namjoon’s not saying “i wanna die right now”? i just now figured that out.

the last minute and a half of this song simply did not need to be there

Outro: Tear

i saw someone say that the instrumental for this belongs in a movie score and i 100% agree

namjoon goes the fuck off in this song like holy shit it’s been a while

and then he repeats “you’re my tear” three times, which alone isn’t interesting but is made interesting by the fact that when rapline comes together later, this bit is changed

okay this is my favourite hoseok verse on the album

and then again with the seamless transition to yoongi! god i’m curious as to why they decided to structure their verses like that, as far as I can remember they haven’t done this before and i really like this stylistic choice because they compliment each other so well.

“we thought we dreamed the same dream, but that dream has finally become a dream“ goddamn

this song sounds so raw, like the truth untold sounded raw too, but I really liked that this album had a vocal and a rap line track to showcase how music can sound vulnerable in different ways.

OKAY here it is, one of my absolute favourite pieces of wordplay (that i can understand) on the album

namjoon says “you’re my tear,” just like he did earlier. yoongi follows that up with “you’re my tear” but he uses the other pronunciation, changing the meaning to “you’re my tear (as in, tearing something).” then hoseok comes in and rhymes “fear” with namjoon’s pronunciation of tear. these are god tier (lmao i can wordplay too) lyrics my friends.

god i love yoongi’s verse so much. first the autotune, then the layering of autotune and his lower register (which he’s used so much more on this album and i adore it) like he switches things up so well and he’s such a versatile rapper i’m literally constantly floored by him.

and then there’s another really nice transition from namjoon to yoongi. what i like about bts’s rapline is that hoseok and yoongi sound really good together, but their higher rapping styles compliment namjoon’s deeper voice so well.

i just need you all to know that the first time i listened to this song i was driving at four am and it’s a good thing i was alone bc when yoongi started singing on the bridge i literally shrieked ‘fUCK’ and clapped a hand over my mouth

hoseok was a fuckin brilliant way to finish this album off, he gives this last verse the emotion and speed it needs and i love it. they’re all good at rapping over instrumental pieces like this but there’s something about hoseok (he did it in boy meets evil too) that just drives home the emotion.

and breathe.

Standout Things:

The cohesive storyline within a larger storyline

Love Yourself: Tear is almost what I would call a concept album, which is classified as an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical.” (yes i got that from wikipedia, but the point stands because there’s definitely a concept here.) Love Yourself: Her also falls within the larger storyline of the Love Yourself era (the rise, fall and resolution of love) but I wouldn’t classify that as a concept album in the same way. Sure, a few of it’s songs dealt with the same sort of ideas, a love that was destined by fate, but a few others veered wildly off of that course. Love Yourself Tear remains steady on it’s concept of masks, pain, self love, giving too much to other people and how to be an idol and still love and be loved for your true self. There’s truly a story being told here and I love it.

The metaphors

Kpop love songs usually do nothing for me, but BTS has been getting a lot better at writing them lately, and what I really liked about the romantic songs on this album is that they were explored using metaphors and references to old stories. 134340 refers to both Pluto and Hades to make it’s point. Love Maze weaves a picture of a dark maze with no way out. The Truth Untold references the smeraldo flower. Even the non romantic songs tell a story in a roundabout way- Anpanman and Magic Shop are both for the fans, one is built around a superhero, the other a psychological technique used in therapy to change one’s way of thinking. The writing on this album has matured greatly and it really makes you think about what they’re saying.

Yoongi’s style experimentation

There were a couple times while listening to this album that I had to take a moment to go “wait, is that Yoongi?” I’m rather used to Yoongi rapping in a certain way. his style-   occasionally cocky, occasionally bitter, usually high toned, fast and emotional- is pretty distinct, and for the most part, he ditched that on this album in favour of a style that’s more mellowed out and lower pitched. he experimented with autotune, sound effects and even singing and i think his experimentation paid off, because he was one of the most memorable parts about this album for me.

Namjoon’s writing

Namjoon is a phenomenal lyricist, we all know that, but every single verse of his on this album stood out to me in some way or another. he had a hand in writing/producing every single song on this album, and i could really see his influence all over it. I just love words and well written lines, and there are so many lines on this album, particularly in Namjoon’s verses that just make me stop for a moment so I can just appreciate the beauty.

Magic Shop’s themes

This. Song.

First of all, the concept of the “magic shop” is such a cool idea for a song, and the way they incorporated it is actually really clever? It’s literally a therapeutic song, because it is a real psychological technique and they’re saying ‘we’ll be your happiness, just come to the “magic shop” and trade in your worries, you’ll be okay’. but, it goes further than “we’ll fix you!!!” with the line “You gave me the best of me, so you’ll give you the best of you”. Here, they encourage their fans to find the “best of themselves”. Basically, saying “love yourself as much as you’ve loved me”. god this is so good.

I have to mention that this song just sounds magical. There’s a calming, celestial vibe to it that A: fits with the rest of the album up until that point and B: acts as a bridge between the rather sad first half of the album and the more upbeat second half.

Bangtan’s chemistry

A minor problem I had with a few of BTS’s older albums was the disconnect between members. (not in person, just in their music). They were all singing on the same tracks, but it didn’t always feel very cohesive. Wings especially (although it remains my favourite Bangtan album) felt like a bunch of separate artists got together and decided to make an album (an amazing album and that style really worked for them at the time, but i digress). On this album, BTS finally feels like a band.  Sure, I praise both the rap and vocal line separately for the truth untold and outro tear, but I’ve never heard BTS sound so strong as a group. The rapping and the vocals felt seamless- there were so many times where they rapidly went back and forth between members, or shared lines, or harmonized beautifully. It rarely, if ever, felt like the vocal line ft: rapline, or the other way around. They blend the two so well these days, from Jungkook and Namjoon’s bit in Fake Love to Yoongi and Jimin during Airplane Part 2. I’m honestly delighted at how well this album works as a whole. Those eight years of living and working together have really paid off for them.

Overall: Love Yourself Tear is a beautiful piece of music that shows a more mature side of BTS. It’s flaws- lack of energy in the middle of the album, more autotune than their previous works, occasionally hard to follow song structure- are not even so much flaws as they are stylistic choices that I can respect. It is a phenomenal 2nd part of a 3 part act, and I eagerly await Love Yourself: Answer for the conclusion of this story, and to see where BTS will take their ever-evolving sound next.

Rating: 9/10.