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randomvarious · 6 months

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Today's compilation:

Now That's What I Call Music! 9 2002 Pop / Hip Hop / R&B / Teen Pop / Alternative Rock / Latin Pop / Southern Rap

Alright, folks, it's time for another fun trip down memory lane, and today we're going back to 2001 and 2002, with the help of the 9th volume from the most pervasive contemporary pop compilation series that's ever existed in US history: the one and only Now That's What I Call Music!

But first, before we..."Dig In"...let's get a dose of some of that good nostalgia with the ad for this release, shall we? Did you know that if you ordered it over the phone by credit or check/debit, you'd also get a free multi-purpose picture frame-mousepad too?! Wow, so cool! 😎

youtube

Anyway, being that these sets more or less serve as documentations of what the pop music landscape was like during a pretty specific time period, what this CD seems to demonstrate, in retrospect, is that the teen pop that had really dominated the late 90s was on a bit of a downturn in '01 and '02, and its status as the most prominent type of pop music was being usurped by hip hop and R&B.

But that's also not to say that all of the teen pop on here is of a low quality either, because *NSYNC's "Gone," which was the first track of theirs to ever be fully led from start to finish by Justin Timberlake, is really one of the greatest boy band tunes that's ever been made. Minimal, but emotional, and its bridge, specifically, is spectacular 😍.

Outside of that bit of brilliance, though, the R&B and hip hop tunes are just a lot better. And to me, the song that really stands out among the rest within this whole collection is Ginuwine's "Differences," a terrific slow jam that featured some incredibly shimmering and ringing keys. Normally, I don't go for slow R&B ballads, but this one in particular was really something special.

And there's also some bangers on here that you might've just flat out forgot ever existed too. Like, remember that New Jersey co-ed R&B/hip group, City High, that gave us "What Would You Do?" back in 2001? Well, do you remember their follow-up hit that featured Eve on it, "Caramel"? Its remix, by prolific New York duo Trackmasters, seems to be on that vague South Asian fad that so much mainstream hip hop and R&B was on at around that time, and it received a considerable amount of radio play. But looking back on it, I think it's actually been pretty memory-holed!

Also, we gotta give it up for Petey Pablo's ode to his home state of North Carolina too, with "Raise Up," because the Egyptian-sampled beat on that thing was absolutely bananas. And I can't say that I'm all that fond of much southern rap, in general, but Petey's debut hit was an absolute monster. Rather than him having to sacrifice any of his rawness in order to reach a pop audience, he was able to bring his rawness to a pop audience instead. And clearly, it resonated with a whole lot of folks.

And lastly, I think we all know that Ja Rule wasn't the greatest rapper out there, but his contributions to the turn-of-the-millennium pop landscape were pretty important. He got clowned on harshly by the likes of 50 Cent and Eminem, et al, and, as a result, his career was pretty much eviscerated, but songs like his Stevie Wonder-sampled "Livin' It Up" were straight-up party jams that really deserve more love and respect.

So, another highly enjoyable rush of radio and music television memories here. A bunch of commercial classics and a smattering of jams that are a bit more forgotten too. It's pretty much all you can ever ask for out of one of these Now CDs 😊.

P.S.: I'll provide a link to it, but for the love of god, under no circumstances should you ever subject yourself to the first track on this album, which is a remix of P!nk's "Get the Party Started" that features Redman and tries to mesh itself with "Sweet Dreams," by The Eurythmics. Apparently P!nk thought that her hair gave her enough power to also possess the essence of Annie Lennox or something, but good lord, was that calculus completely wrong 🥴. Such an excruciatingly bad song! Don't click on it!

Highlights:

Mary J. Blige - "Family Affair" Jennifer Lopez - "Ain't It Funny" Ja Rule feat. Case - "Livin' It Up" Ludacris - "Rollout (My Business)" Mr. Cheeks - "Lights, Camera, Action" Petey Pablo - "Raise Up (All Cities Remix)" City High - "Caramel (Trackmasters Remix)" Nelly Furtado - "Turn off the Light" *NSYNC - "Gone" Ginuwine - "Differences" Lenny Kravitz - "Dig In" Incubus - "Wish You Were Here"

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fivveweeks · 11 months

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i am so crasy abt ur tweet abt verdante being a tragedy its like in my mind at all times. like ,,, im rotating it in my head, im so ruined, this idea consumes me u do not understand i am opening up google docs and writing a fic im morose im captivated i am making an ao3 account

like ur so right 4 that one banger

KYAAAA ON MY KNEES... i have so much feelings on it u have no idea. twitter doesn't let me go ham but since we are on tumblr let me write a goddamn essay on this

the thing is that yes i enjoy both verdante being a romcom comedy or a tragedy or anything in between. ofc we'd like them to be happy but part of me like to explore what would happen if we really stayed canon-compliant

and like. let's take a look at them both. Vergilius is canonly someone who's weighed down by his past sins (killing and assassinating and orphaning children), who fully well accepts that he deserves the karma that comes for him (like this man literally is expecting it and doesn't fight it), yet he chooses to drag himself forward bc if he doesn't he will sink into despair. he is full of guilt and shame. verg also seems reluctant to form new bonds which is understandable considering that he lost everything prior to limbus, and how he doesn't want to drag people down with his karma, at the same time it would be extremely hard for him to trust people due to the risks of betrayal and manipulation in the city. he KNOWS that kindness and empathy will be consumed by the city if they don't adapt (see leviathan and his thoughts on garnet) therefore anyone would be wary bc there's always a catch. vergilius is also extremely duty bound to restoring garnet and lapis and it weighs down on him a lot

now i dont see Vergilius as oblivious bc the man would obviously recognise signs of attraction from Dante. but vergilius, despite his harsh exterior, is also kind deep down or at least practical, so taking the above into account, in this scenario he would probably outright address it to dante that he has... personal goals. maybe dante will be sacrificed at the end for limbus company as a whole, maybe not, but Verg makes it clear that he WILL choose lapis and garnet over dante bc that is his responsibility. what he owes to them.

executive manager, he doesn't say, do not be a fool.

and to his surprise, dante just nods and writes him, "I'm aware. It's ok, I understand."

bc dante respects him. they respect his space and not push anything at all (alongside how they probably feel that they are not worthy yet, or that they don't want to burden Vergilius, bc c'mon they're stumbling through their responsibilities after losing their memory, work is more important than personal interest now), i also like to think dante isn't say, self-depreciating, but more like they've accepted that they have so much to live up to and Vergilius has something to achieve and they will not stand in his way, so they're content to just spend time with Vergilius as manager and guide.

and there's that. they don't talk about it after the day. nothing changes between them. they continue on as manager and guide.

the only exception is that now Vergilius is aware that Dante fully accepts that he will sacrifice them for his own goals. yet Dante is content to spend time around him and vice versa (he doesn't admit it)

and isn't that the tragedy?

vergilius, to be aware that something could have sparked between the both of you, yet you cannot afford to cross the line due to circumstances. occasionally imagining what it could had been if the both of you were actually allowed to. how should you feel when the other person still seeks you out and befriends you despite knowing that you will never pick them

and dante, getting the confirmation that you will never be picked and will be the third or fourth or whatever choice but that's okay. manager and guide is enough, you WILL enjoy whatever there is between the both of you without asking for more

personally, unrequited love as a tragedy is not effective to me bc it's not that hard to respect another person's feelings and not make yourself the victim.

the REAL tragedy here is being aware of the lost potential and what-could-had-beens, yet IN SPITE OF THAT theres the quiet acceptance and humble enjoyment of whatever there is between the both of them bc that's all they can afford. how fate and the city fucked them both up. yet they stay professional because they respect each other too much (to the point of suppressing their personal feelings for the other) to make this into a hassle

maybe dante dies at the end of limbus and verg would reminisce on what it could had been. maybe verg dies and dante occasionally recalls the little moments they get to spend together. maybe they both die. maybe they both live but they walk a too different path to ever converge again. maybe we slap canon in the face and let them survive or meet up again in the future.

whatever it is, i just really enjoy the sweet sweet pining between the both of them throughout limbus company. the horrors of Knowing. i'm going to bite something

#chatter #limbus company #verdante #yes i am insane i am aware #i don't know if i phrased it as well as i wanted to but i want this out of my brain rn #basically verg tells dante bc god forbid them if they allow personal feelings get in the way of work #then he gets stunned when dante is alr fully aware of it yet they don't let it affect them #so now they're both stuck w the curse of Knowing #verg wise i can see a scenario where he actually slowly gets charmed by dante after this #but does it even matter bc he cannot do anything about it #augh i'm going to lay down #if u write a fic on it just know i will explode myself

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strqyr · 2 years

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So after just listening to Sacrifice…. I have no idea. I can only think retrospectively, bc it’s been so long and maybe this wasn’t their international at the time, but Right Now I can kinda see the song hinting to V3 things? I do agree it feels like Salem talking to Oz, but the fall from grace and “did the things you thought you should, all the things they said were good” makes me think of Pyrrha accepting the Maiden transfer even though she clearly didn’t want to. She was told by the trusted adults around her that it was the best option if she had the powers bc of her skills so she agreed. “Truth will rise revealed by mirrored eyes” is Ruby at the end of V3, her powers activating turned everything white and I think burned Cinder’s Grimm arm. And then the verse directly after that is Salem to Oz again.

In conclusion I have no idea what it meant at the time, but now 8 volumes in I can see the song, accidentally or on purpose, foreshadowing the fallouts to come. Bc Divide, the V3 song, has similar Salem Is Speaking vibes? But that’s all I got in my very quick lyric analysis haha

Also I’ll just say I love your posts bc despite loving the music so much you talk about little details that I registered but never really too in fully? So it’s really cool getting to trace back where we came from and to wonder about those little crumbs

in general i do think most of the songs—if not all of them—can be interpreted in several ways, even if it goes against the intended meaning behind them. maybe not the entirety of a song, but bits and pieces of lyrics here and there, because let's be real: there are so many similarities / parallels / symbolism surrounding these characters that it'd be impossible to avoid that.

so like. i don't think there is a wrong way to interpret sacrifice, especially since there's no official confirmation on what or who it is about. which makes it all the more fun for us, so win-win!

divide also has that... almost lullaby-like part in it, which is a vibe sacrifice also gives me. all things must die also has it in the beginning, so there seems to be a theme building up for villainous ladies' songs, which makes me think sacrifice is from that angle, too.

ngl going back in time to early days of rwby and seeing if there's anything there that i've missed or simply forgotten about with new perspective thanks to the later volumes is my favorite past-time. like sure, analyzing all the current stuff is fun and all, but what if there's something in the early volumes that is The Missing Piece that helps with the current stuff, and making more sense of it?

so maybe sacrifice was hinting about what was to come in v3. maybe we're missing some important story piece that will become a light bulb moment, and it all makes sense now. maybe it's a little bit of both. who knows?

what i do know, though, is that sacrifice is a banger and gods did i listen to it a lot at the time of release.

#rwby #rwby soundtrack #anon #ask.strqyr

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plan-d-to-i · 2 years

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Wait... wangxian lives in the cloud recesses? I thought in the book mxtx heavily implied that cr is just a place that they come back to from time to time especially whenever the clan, juniors, elders, families need wangxian's help or when lwj misses cr?? I was going through your meta/posts and the way you worded lqr, lan clan and gusu lan's actions and words seems very rose-tinted glasses to me sometimes so that's why i asked 😅 but i do agree that wwx might feel comfortable there now though

hm....am I looking at them through rose tinted glasses, or am I saying that the fact that Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian did not think it was necessary to leave the Lan Clan to start their own Sect or become rogue cultivators means something? That the fact the morally ideal protagonists ended up there means something? That in fact it was important to Wei Wuxian to be accepted by the Lan Clan during the family banquet, and that Wei Wuxian is not the type of person to throw away his morals just bc he's in love. He can make small sacrifices like respecting little rules for LWJ's sake, but he wouldn't have been ok returning to the Lan Clan if it went completely against his world views and he thought they were a bunch of piece of shit hypocrites - and Lan Wangji would not have wanted him to. That although the Lan Clan has a whole slew of little tedious rules about etiquette they've also got some bangers that are very much in line with Wei Wuxian's world views:

Do not fear the strong.

Do not bully the weak.

Do not hold grudges.

Do not take advantage of your position to oppress others.

If others win over you, do not envy them.

If others lose to you, do not look down on them.

Do not attach yourself to those in power and influence.

Do not be a follower of the rich and powerful.

Do not look down on the poor.

Uphold the value of justice.

Shoulder the weight of morality.

Have a strong will and anything can be achieved.

People can hate on the Lans all they want but I don't think it's the intention of the story. I don't believe we're meant to blame the Lan Clan or hate on Lan Xichen for being deceived by a master manipulator, or hate on Lan Qiren.

Also did I suggest that they're never stepping out of the Cloud Recesses at all? Naturally although they say they're half retired, they're still trying to go where the chaos is, continuing what Lan Wangji had done for so long, and traveling here and there but Lan Wangji is still very much a part of the Lan Clan and as his cultivation partner Wei Wuxian is part of it as well, accepted and all. Home is where you keep the ugly turtle statue that you won for your husband.

Lan WangJi held the turtle in one hand, “Where will we place this when we return?”

Wei WuXian really didn’t know the answer to this one. The turtle was big and heavy, its craftsmanship far from good. With a bulky head, it could just barely be described as adorably silly. But with a closer look, Wei WuXian realized that its creator was truly careless. It looked as if it was cross-eyed, its pupils beady. In any case, no matter how he looked at it, it was just too incompatible with the Cloud Recesses. Where they could put, it was a real problem indeed.

Wei WuXian thought about it for a moment, “The Jingshi?” Just as he finished, he shook his head, rejecting his own idea, “The Jingshi is only suitable for playing the guqin and burning incense. Such a peaceful place filled with the scent of sandalwood would look awful with the big turtle.”

When Lan WangJi heard him say that the Jingshi was ‘a peaceful place only suitable for playing the guqin and burning incense,’ he glanced at him, as though he wanted to say something but didn’t.

Wei WuXian continued, “But if we don’t put it in the Jingshi and choose anywhere else in the Cloud Recesses, it’d probably be thrown out immediately.”

Lan WangJi nodded in silence. Wei WuXian hesitated for a long while. In the end, he wasn’t so shameless as to say ‘let’s put it into your uncle’s room, but not tell him we did it.’ Smacking his leg, he had an idea, “I’ve got it. Let’s put it in the Lanshi.”

Lan WangJi thought for a bit before asking, “Why the Lanshi?”

Wei WuXian, “Now you don’t get it, do you? Put it in the Lanshi, and when you’re teaching SiZhui, JingYi, and the others, if they ask you about it, you can tell them that the turtle was created by the hands of a mysterious craftsman in memory of you killing the Xuanwu of slaughter. It holds a deep meaning, aiming to motivate the GusuLan Sect’s disciples in admiring their senior’s feat and striving forward. Even though the Black Tortoise* of Slaughter is gone, there’ll definitely be the Vermillion Bird of Carnage, the White Tiger of Brutality, the Azure Dragon of Bloodlust, and so on, waiting for them. They must perform great things that surpass their predecessors and amaze the world.”

“…”

“So how about it?”

A moment later, Lan WangJi replied, “Excellent.”

And so, a few days later, when Lan SiZhui, Lan JingYi, and the others were in HanGuang-Jun’s class, they saw a rough, dull-eyed turtle made of porcelain lying on the desk behind Lan WangJi, every time they looked up. But because of some unknown astonishment, not a single person dared to ask why it was there. That, however, would be another story… (Chapter 126)

Also interesting in the extras we have this small moment from the past where WWX was sweating away in the Yunmeng dreaming of the Cloud Recesses...

Eyes closed, Wei WuXian thought hazily, If only it were as cool as the Cloud Recesses.

The temperature of the piece of wood underneath him was assimilated by his body temperature again, and so he flipped over. (Chapter 125)

#mdzs #answers #Lan Clan #Lan Wangji #Wei Wuxian #WangXian

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scoups4lyfe · 2 years

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Let's get it, bois

Man you already knO what time it is >:)))).

Previous Revice analysis: 1 , 2 , 3.1 , 3.2 , 3.3 , 4

Bonus: Igarashi Ways to Affection

Warnings: Spoilers, mentions of self-harm and suicidal ideation (Spoilers up to ep 19)

Analysis of the Igarashi Sibs Theme Under the cut:

Before we begin, here are some things to keep in mind:

What each sibling sings during their solos

The Lyrics that are duet-ed (and why the third is excluded/not joining in)

The lyrics directly before the solos

.....Right. So, from the moment this song came on in episode 16 I knew I needed to find the full version and then find a translation of it.

When it started playing (in the episode) it surprised me — I wasn’t expecting a character song to pop on…..much less one with the siblings in it, and for it to be about them…..consider me stunned. And you know what else didn’t escape my notice? That in the song we hear *for the first time* (unless I’m wrong here, which is completely possible, wouldn’t be surprised if it flew over my head) Sakura’s name-pun catchphrase. Before this, only Ikki and Daiji used their names during their finishers. So…for the song to come on in the episode where the siblings plead for acceptance (for all of them) to fight; and this *acceptance* is gained the moment the fight breaks out, the sibs theme starts, and all the siblings start fighting together? Poetic cinema.

I only needed to hear their silly little name-puns in that small segment of the episode to know that the song was probably gonna have some banger lines (Haha I was RIGHT. Maybe i'm nOT insane lmaooo). Alright, then.

Onto my analysis (why did I write that longass intro? LOL):

Ikki starts the song — he is the oldest, the MC, annnnnnd the sibling with the most influence over the other two —so this makes sense.

“After having witnessed this drama of tragedy and affliction, I want to do something. Furthermore, if the family is at stake I’ll risk my life — I’ll be there!”

I don’t really need to do any analysis here. Ikki’s solo is obviously what drives him. It’s his own self-sacrificial little motto, and the reason why he became a Kamen Rider in the first place. Self-explanatory. The next two verses move on from Ikki’s solo straight on to Daiji’s.

“Once again you’re playing the hero, burdening yourself alone, can’t you quit it?”

Daiji’s solo coming right after Ikki’s is important for a few reasons.

First, Daiji is obviously commentating on Ikki’s lyrics. It feels like a direct response; Ikki’s lines are about self-sacrifice and martyrdom — something that obviously annoys Daiji. “Once again.” He says, obviously used to watching Ikki carry everyone and their mother’s burdens — “Can’t you quit it?”. Now, on the kamen rider fandom wiki these lines were translated as: “why can't you stop being too nosy or overburdening yourself?.”

I brought up this separate translation, because this second one makes it feel (to me) more like a question. “Can’t you quit it?” Essentially does mean the exact same thing, but the connotation is definitely snottier lol. Is Daiji being snotty here? Helllll yeah :D. But, this is an actual genuine question as well. A question that is *very* important for some of the later Daiji & Ikki verses. Daiji not being able to understand *why* Ikki continues to take other people's burdens — even when he isn’t asked — is what leads to their main conflict.

If Ikki’s solo is why he became a rider + what drives him; then it stands to reason Daiji’s is the same.

....Which is another reason why Daiji coming in right after Ikki is something noteworthy. There’s a lot of symbolism here; Daiji’s the second born son, the middle child, the kid always standing in Ikki’s shadow whether he wants to or not — even at Fenix he got stuck in the position of second fiddle…..all the way up until he snaps and becomes, well, the second Kamen Rider. Second. Second. Second. Second. (Even the second Kanji in Daiji’s name spells out ‘Second son.’) Right, and so what’s Daiji’s second verse in his solo?

“Once in a while, watch me be someone you can rely on, believe in the “family time.”

This.

This is originally why Daiji wanted to become a kamen rider, and it's the reason why he joined Fenix. “Watch me be someone you can rely on.” In the KR Wiki, they translated it as: “Once in a while, I want to be relied on! Believe me, Family Time!”

It’s….exactly that. Daiji joined Fenix because — well…what better way is there to show his family that he *too* can be responsible, trustworthy, and reliable? What better way to show Ikki?

See, Daiji constantly struggles with feeling loveable as he is. As a kid, he saw how achievement resulted in love and praise; Ikki takes care of Daiji and Sakura and is complimented for it? Ikki helps others and is complimented for it? Ikki is capable and reliable and everything else under the sun and he is complimented for it? Daiji internalized this in his mind and he developed his identity around gaining attention through success.

But not *just* success, because being a successful office worker won’t gain Ikki’s trust. It won’t convince Ikki that Daiji’s someone who can also shoulder the family burdens. No. To do that he would need something big, something that will *prove* that Daiji is someone who can be reliable and capable. And well…. Ikki won’t be able to argue and say Daiji can't protect them when Daiji fights Other-worldly monsters in a military organization everyday, now can he?

So yeah, he can get success from a myriad of other places. But the thing Daiji wants most is for Ikki — yes, specifically Ikki, to lean on him. To need him. To confide in him. This is the exact reason why Daiji’s solo verses revolve around Ikki; because his motivations and goals are centered around him.

[This can be seen in episode 1 when Daiji and Ikki are talking in the bath. While this scene is also providing great characterization for Ikki (that he gave up on pro soccer to take care of the family, shows his inherent self-sacrificial nature and how he places his family above his own wants and needs), this scene also has something I didn’t really think much of before.

Daiji’s question.

Daiji asks Ikki *why* he gave up on his dreams of becoming a pro soccer player. While this question tells the audience a lot about Ikki, what I hadn’t realized is what it tells us about Daiji.

(1) That he is interested in Ikki’s goals and motivations

(2) He cares about success. (He didn’t understand how Ikki could give up his dream when he was good enough to become pro.)

(3) He’s curious about his brother’s personal issues

--Here, back when everyone was more innocent, Daiji got a high position in Fenix — the coronation is tomorrow, he’s riding high; probably more than a little hopeful and….seeing how Ikki was acting a bit off during dinner (because of Vice lol) he decides to first imply that Ikki was being weird. Ikki declines to comment. (Just tells him not to worry about it.) And then Daiji asks about the soccer thing; which Ikki also shuts down (again) with a ‘don’t worry about it.’ But the thing is….Daiji does worry about it. He wants Ikki to confide in him. That’s why he asked in the first place.

Perhaps he might have even been thinking that his Fenix position would elevate his status in Ikki’s mind….and so maybe there would be a possibility of Ikki opening up. ]

Digging even deeper, Daiji’s verses are directly related to his duality. The first verse is what creates Kagerou and the second verse is what brings Daiji back to being Daiji. EVIL versus LIVE. (More on this later.)

“I’ve become aware of the cracks. I’ll always realize my inner self.”

All of them sing the first part of the verse, up until “always” and then Ikki has a short solo line. All of them sing about becoming aware ‘of the cracks’ because….well that’s what happened. The three of them started cracking.

Wiki Translation:

“The cracks of awakening! Always comes with inner awareness!”

So conflict hits, and the sibs can’t ignore their inner demons anymore. But more interesting is that Ikki gets the solo line “realize my inner self/comes with inner awareness!” Since Ikki lives his life with repression and rejecting himself, his emotions, and his problems, obviously his solution would be to *confront* his personal issues. So, since Ikki ‘became aware of the cracks’ it led to him ‘realizing his inner self.’

Or, on the flip side —

The cracks that have awakened inside of him have come from his own inner awareness. (Even if he wants to reject or repress it.)

Both translations I would say are correct. Nacho and I were talking about this, and Japan really loves abstract ideas and art because the language can be so vague. We agreed an apt comparison would be ‘text speak.’ Where if an old person sends you a text that reads: “Thanks….” while that might send shivers down your spine because it feels like the texter is being passive aggressive, in actuality they aren’t and they put it that way because they’re writing from a different context. Tldr; context is everything, especially when a language can be vague asf, which means multiple interpretations are possible.

“To change my idealistic philosophy, my heart is heating up and overflowing.”

Wiki trans:

“My changing ideals, and my heart! It's boiling up!”

So, we’ve finally arrived at Sakura’s first solo part.

I think the reason she is *specifically* the one saying the ending line here (even though they all sing the first part) is because Sakura’s the only one whose ideals have really changed. Not to say that Ikki and Daiji’s ‘idealistic philosophy’(s) aren’t going through a metamorphosis — there is a reason they sing that line too— but Sakura’s metamorphosis hit its boiling point and has changed properties already. The philosophy that changed here would be what Sakura defines ‘true strength’ as. For about 11 episodes she struggled with being vulnerable, but when she learned that true strength comes when you accept your vulnerabilities (rather than bury and hide them) she was finally able to transform.

Hmmm, also notice that Ikki starts the song, Daiji goes next and directly riffs off from Ikki, and then after they’ve become aware of the cracks and their ideals have started changing….

THAT’S when Sakura comes in. This is essentially a replay of exactly what happens in the show. Ikki becomes a kamen rider, which then acts as the catalyst that causes Daiji’s personality split, they start to see the cracks and gain inner awareness (because you know, Daiji’s attempting fratricide and Ikki can’t directly ignore that), Sakura has her own crisis because of the Ikki & Daiji arc, then her ideals shift and she joins them in battle.

And that completes the first stanza and we hit the chorus. I don’t really have much to say here about the chorus. Idk. Maybe I’ll come back to this.

Ikki and Daiji duet the verse line of the second stanza.

“The extreme power of perfect misunderstandings — they make the world turn.”

Wiki trans:

“ An extreme power, a complete misunderstanding, and the revolving Earth”

Ikki and Daiji sing this together, because these lines are about their relationship to one another. The “misunderstanding” is making their world turn. Now, what does this mean? Well. This is where that question “can’t you just quit it? /why can't you stop being too nosy or overburdening yourself?.”from Daiji’s stanza 1 solo becomes important.

Daiji’s misunderstanding of why Ikki ‘burdens’ himself is what’s caused each of their worlds to spin. He believes Ikki goes around ‘playing hero’ when it isn’t needed because he’s an attention-whore.

(There's more to this that you'll see below; but that's at least what Daiji wants to believe.)

Yet, for Ikki--- in all actuality, he sacrifices himself over and over again because of his childhood trauma of having to be responsible for their family from a young age. He was never able to properly learn how to love himself and can therefore only be happy when he’s helping others. He’s not doing it for attention. Hahaha it’s the opposite actually. He doesn’t *want* attention or notoriety or fame or success. He’s doing this because he doesn’t know how to live any other way. And I mean this literally.

Sacrificing himself for the sake of others…..is the only thing keeping him alive. He told Vice this in episode 18 when he admitted to not liking himself.

“That’s why I turned my attention to others….to try and make their happiness my reason to live.”

Without his martyrdom…

........Ikki would no longer have a reason to keep living. This is why he-

(and by extension Hiromi because Hiro-micchi literally has the same exact mentality going on here, like #UnfortunateChildhoodTraumaTwins)

--is so fearlessly able to do an incredibly risky and self-harming action like using the Kamikaze stamp even after George warns of the backlash, and again after the backlash lit him on fire. George tells him that using it a second time could kill him. Yet Ikki still goes anyway. He even apologizes to Vice — the literal embodiment of the child Ikki was never allowed to be.

That scene is really f**king tragic too — that Ikki is apologizing to the child he wasn’t able to be for not caring about himself, and for doing borderline-suicidal actions because he has nothing else to live for. In an — ‘I’m sorry that I don’t care about myself and that I keep getting us hurt, I’m sorry for doing things that’ll get us killed. You deserve better than this.” — kind of way. It’s just sad. Even sadder yet is knowing that he would willingly die if that meant his family got to be happy, or if it was what they needed from him.

…..

But Daiji doesn’t understand this, and it leads to Kagerou fully popping out. Hence the line “They (the misunderstanding) make the world turn.” See, when it comes to Ikki and Daiji’s relationship — for Ikki, his family is the most important thing to him, and since he raised his siblings, them even morso.. Not only are Daiji and Sakura Ikki’s 1st place priorities…but to him, they’re his entire world.

A perfect example of this would be during Daiji’s fratricide arc:

I already stated this in my Revice Analysis Post #2, but Daiji’s name is really poetic.

Nacho:

“-Daiji” is also how you pronounce the Japanese word for “important/precious ``. In shows people usually use the term to talk about a vague “important thing” in their lives, like they’re loved ones or whatever.”

… “Man, real funny in a sad way. Like the parents only cared to name him (Daiji) “second son” But his name is the homonym to a word that means “important”. I didn’t really think about it either until Ikki was crawling over to him like “Daiji, Daiji!”. Grabbing onto his foot and stuff. It just hit different when he was groaning his name like that with desperation. I was like “wow, his name sounds like something else ;_;"”

Welp. This always devastates me.

And --as expected--- Ikki did not handle Daiji/Kagerou’s hate and attempted fratricide well. I mean, who would? His reaction here, of crawling over to his brother holding on to his legs and desperately saying his name…and since Daiji’s name is a homonym to a word that means “important / precious” this scene perfectly conveys how Ikki feels and views Daiji (and Sakura/his family)) as his entire world.

So their shared verse ““The extreme power of perfect misunderstandings — they make the world turn.”’ is a reflection of this, and how it’s turned their lives upside down.

The next verse Ikki and Daiji sing is:

“[I + D]: Where is it? The unaffected variance of time—the light I can touch.”

Wiki Trans:

“Time lags when the light hits, wherever you are at the moment..”

.....So what I first took notice of is, “Where is it? — - “the light I can touch.”

Sakura doesn’t sing this line with them because she *knows* where the light is, she’s found it and it touches her through her acceptance of her inner demons. But since Ikki and Daiji refuse or otherwise don’t know exactly how to address this inner darkness / childhood trauma of theirs, essentially “time lags”. They become unaffected by the passing of time because they have become stuck in the past and as such are not able to grow and mature as people.

“[I + D]: I understand that it’s one and the same—to protect your own side and protect the one beside you.

Wiki trans:

“I understand, that both sides, the protector and the protected, are one and the same”

While I was analyzing the lyrics, Daiji’s solo ‘I understand’ here threw me off. I was like 🤔🤔🤔🤔….why does he say this before Ikki’s solo? Obviously the two things were correlated but I didn’t know exactly how. So — I obviously asked Nacho what they thought was going on there.

NACHO:

“Good question. Daiji's solo part is pretty much a raw translation so no translation notes lol.

I wondered it myself tbh when I was translating. All I could think about were those shots when Ikki would talk to George or whoever about wanting to save the Deadmans, and the camera takes its time zooming on Daiji's face all thinky-thinking

NACHO:

“Idk, I started to wonder if this means that Daiji does understand where Ikki is coming from, but refuses to understand y'know?

Like, (I guess this just boils down to the problem with the Igarashi family/Japanese and Asian culture)—maybe Daiji understands and knows that saving people is a hangup Ikki can't get over, and that it's a deep mark on his psyche. Simultaneously though, like everybody else, he (Daiji) doesn't/has a hard time accepting that the family has harmed Ikki.

Like it's one thing to be like "okay, this person's flaw is that they put their self-worth equal to how much they can do for others".

And it's another to be all "our family is responsible for psychologically traumatizing my brother"

Idk if I'm making sense, but basically it allllll goes back to what I'm saying is the root of all tragedy in Re:Vice. Everybody is getting better, facing their traumas, trying to improve, all that good stuff. But everybody (and understandably so) is also tiptoeing around the core issue. That the family has hurt each other permanently. It's partly an Igarashi thing, partly an Asian/Japanese thing, to not talk about past pains in an effort to move on, but not digging out the root means the weed grows back.

ANYWAYS all this to say I think Daiji is saying that, like Ikki, he understands more than he really lets himself.”

…

So…yeah…. speechless.

Daiji understanding more than he’ll let himself…connected a lot of irregular dots that I previously had yet to understand from a bunch of different episodes — (Episode 2; Episode 3 & 4….that I won’t talk about because I’ll be posting an analysis on that soon lmao; episode 7….) A lot of weird little camera-shots that showed Daiji’s reaction to certain things Ikki was doing or saying that had me like ??? Why….is he reacting like that?

(Me, in response):

Yeah this (Ikki being a martyr) I even commented on WAYYYY back as being one of the reasons why he (Kagerou) might hate Ikki -- basically for the guilt of playing bystander to your brother playing hero for everyone except himself.

Cause back when the mom made the comment about Ikki and the father being similar (haha they were having their talk about Ikki's "happiness" and how he should do things that make him happy and Ikki in a confused tone goes: "My,..happiness...?" And we cut to a shot of Daiji, who is awake and listening to this conversation.

….And I thought that was an interesting scene to include; Kagerou/Daiji listening in on the mom telling Ikki to do things that make him happy instead of others / to stop putting others’ happiness before himself.

Then, for Ikki’s solo line: “I understand, that both sides, the protector and the protected, are one and the same” (Wiki)

NACHO:

I was thinking about the wiki translation too, it was going where I was going—Ikki saying that to be "safe" and to protect somebody else is the same thing to him—>aka his self-worth thing again

Next verse,,,,,,

[I + S]: To save each and every person, nothing in this world is more difficult.

The halation of darkness will completely become exposed.

My own convictions and feelings—if I accept them, I’ll truly become invincible.

Wiki trans:

“It's difficult to say how to save each and every person.

The Halation of Darkness, what it brilliantly reveals are

Our feelings and emotions, the acceptance of them... are invincible!

Okay — first things first, yes Ikki and Sakura duet about saving people because that’s what they are both trying to do right now. Daiji’s the only one saying the ‘realistic’ things like: ‘As of right now, we can only kill them, not help them.’ So those lines are self-explanatory.

Moving on to the next line….I know some of you are probably saying: ‘Now, what in the prick plack paddy-whack is halation???’ because that was my exact reaction.

Merrium-Webster defines Halation as:

‘1 : the spreading of light beyond its proper boundaries in a developed photographic image.

2 : a bright ring that sometimes surrounds a bright object on a television screen.”

Okay, so what is being said here is that this light spreading past its boundaries is what causes them to confront their feelings and emotions. This is why Daiji has the solo lines “become exposed.” His convictions and his feelings are coming out for God and everyone else to see.

Now, while they all say “the emotions/feelings” bit, only Sakura says the “invincible” part. Which is, as stated previously — that’s because Sakura is the only Igarashi Sib to have reconciled with her inner demon/accept them. Ikki’s well on his way (as seen from him telling Vice that he doesn’t like himself + ep 18’s end of ep piggyback ride). And who even knows what’s going on with Daiji as of rn.

To BE CONTINUED-

(Give me a second so I can quickly post the last bit hahahaha ...)

#yeah long post #I apologize #I hope you enjoy this essay #cause I'm already writing furiously two other ones #Daiji and Ikki have a really interesting relationship lmaooo #Yeah. I know I gotta make a sakura analysis post #just me a hot sec #I'll try and get all of the essays out this weekend #because I am inSANE and inFIRES and #I got all the time in the worlddddd #very sexy of me #Ill post the tiny one paragraph last bit of this analysis in a second #I just reached the photo limit in this post and was like #ashdfjsdkfljsdf #I do my best to edit in a way that'll cram in as many screenshots as possible #Anyways after I post the last bit of this analysis I'm going to bed #but after Im done with work today It's ep 3 and 4 analysis #and A detailed analysis of Ikki's childhood trauma #backed by psychology articles #you would nOT BeliEVE what I've discovered #let me blow ur minds #tho without Nacho it would take me like 4 months longer to connect the dots #revice #kr revice #kamen rider revice #watching revice #kronthescoup #my thougts #ikki why is ur demon so cringe #kamen rider

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out-of-this-dimension · 3 years

Text

Hypothetically Rewriting Assault’s Story + Some General Assault Opinions

There’s a game my husband and I like to play when we watch a movie, play a game, or read a book that has a story that we don’t really enjoy or we enjoy certain parts of but not others. We look at things we’d keep and things we’d change and we build a story from there-- sort of like an AU but we don’t really go into the writing part, we just stick to theorizing and mapping a general story.

I decided to play that game with Star Fox. Not because I think Star Fox has a bad story but because sometimes I think the stories could have been handled better. Note: for the rewrite game, I only really look at story, even for video games, I don’t really look at gameplay mechanics, but I do understand those have a lot to do with story potential so I do take it in as a factor... I just don’t bother to “rewrite” the mechanics, if that makes any sense at all. Some of my list today will include boss encounters but I wouldn’t necessarily say those are mechanic-related... more like “event-related”.

I’ve mused a bit in the past about rewriting Adventures and Command and I do have plans to do a mock up of an Adventures remake eventually. However, today I was thinking about how I would go about handling an Assault re-write in particular. Much like Command and Adventures, I don’t have any beef with the core story but I do think there’s a few things that could’ve been better about Assault’s storyline-- like they had good ideas rolling but they didn’t quite refine them.

Under the cut because SUPER long.

My basic feelings on Assault are pretty positive. I think the game is generally just fun and I like that it feels like the natural progression from SF64. I liked getting to see planets we haven’t seen since the N64 era in better graphics and I liked seeing Star Wolf return. I also just thought the aparoids were neat enemies.

Generally speaking, though, when it comes to Assault, I think it suffers from the thing it tries to push the most-- the story. I think a lot of people get caught up in thinking the story is better than it is because it’s the first game since SF64 that really follows the same Star Fox vibe without retelling the Lylat Wars. Don’t get me wrong, the overall plot is great but the execution and pacing are... wonky. Certain characterizations also take a hit in some regards but no one really talks about that when Command exists. That’s something we’ll talk about later on with this post.

That being said, Assault really does have a lot good going for it. An absolute banger of a soundtrack, some great dialogue, a neat story synopsis, the introduction of cool characters like Panther and Beltino (who existed but was always off-screen), and just good levels.

So, here’s what I would add, I suppose, if I were to somehow have the ability to rewrite Assault. Originally I had this in paragraph form, but I’ve made it into more of a list under topic segments with main points bolded for your viewing pleasure. Some of these points might be considered nitpicky and while I do understand that yes, this is a game about space animals, I do hold the developers in high enough regard to make a game with a continuity that makes sense.

The Story Changes

- Reduce Pigma’s storyline in Assault. This is the biggest one for me because a bulk of the plotline feels like a giant chase to just get at Pigma and it feels like it derails from the actual plot with the aparoids. We only go to Sargasso because of Pigma. We only go to Fichina and then back to Meteo again, because of Pigma. That’s 3 levels in a 10 level game devoted to just tracking down Pigma and chasing him. While it makes the build up to fighting Pigma kind of nice, I personally feel like the plot could be reduced to 2 levels. If Assault overall was a longer game, I could see them making it 3 levels. Overall, though, in its current state, I feel like the side plot overstays its welcome and the aparoids promptly get shoved to the side in favor of “Oh no, we gotta get to Pigma!” And I get the main motive here is to show how the aparoids affect people and because of the build up, it does a good job at showing how utterly terrifying the aparoids are. But it’s still too long given the length of Assault’s story. The only alternative to this is make Assault longer, which... honestly, it should be.

- Revise the scene with Tricky. I’m obviously not well-versed in dinosaur biology but I’m pretty sure dinos didn’t grow that fast from what studying I HAVE done. And why is he suddenly king now? Did his parents die? He seems not affected by this at all? Like it’s a funny scene with him, Fox, and Krystal, but it’s odd if you really look at it. Give us, as players, more context because I’m still not even sure what happened to make Tricky suddenly the leader and... big. As a note, you’re gonna hear me gripe a lot about the Sauria level in this post.

- The Star Wolf + Peppy sacrifice is a low effort way to raise tension/stakes and then cop out. Oldest trick in the book, imo, is to act like you’re going to kill off important characters only for them to be alive miraculously. And let’s face it, as an audience we all know they aren’t going to kill those characters because it’s Nintendo and those characters are too beloved. I would’ve forgiven them for only doing this with Peppy or Star Wolf, but when you tack them both together and throw in the fact they make it seem like you’re going to have to kill General Pepper too... yeah, it’s just a bit much of the same trope over and over again. I wanted to put a note in here about how I’m fine with the Great Fox being “sacrificed” but overall, it needed to return to the series because of it’s icon status, but I think that’s more of a gripe at Command instead of Assault.

- Keep Pigma alive. This will conflict with a point I have later on about the game consistently having characters cheat death for easy drama points but with Pigma, I would’ve kept him fully alive... but maybe with some physical damage from the aparoids. I understand he’s semi-alive in Command and tbh I don’t know where I stand on that. Why keep Pigma alive, you might ask? I feel like his character has a lot more potential than being “just the greedy guy”. Like he’s got good potential future villain material for future games and... if I’m honest? I just don’t see Nintendo wanting to keep Pigma dead so why even bother killing him off? They couldn’t even commit to him being dead in Command anyways so it seems very moot.

- Bring Bill and Katt back. Assault is acts a bit like a big reunion of all of our SF64 favorites but our two favorite side characters are suspiciously missing. Wouldn’t Bill be out on the front lines fighting against Andrew in the beginning? Or maybe back in Katina? And wouldn’t Katt inevitably show up in the midst of the invasion, maybe to pointedly check in on Falco?

- Bring Andrew back for the final fight. I think Andrew being defeated early into the game is fine overall but I think bringing him back in for a reunion final fight against the aparoids would serve to really solidify that it’s really everyone vs the invading aparoid force. It would show that not only is Star Wolf willing to put aside their differences but so is basically everyone in the Lylat System in the name of survival. Imagine the Venomians and Cornerians working together against an aparoid fleet, giving Star Fox and Star Wolf time to attack the queen? I just think it’d be neat and it’d open up the potential for some fun banter mid-mission. I do understand that quite a few people consider Andrew canonically dead after Assault but personally, I feel that his defeat left his fate questionable (I’m a staunch believer that unless there’s a body, they’re probably alive, especially for Nintendo games because, again, they never like to kill people off) so him returning in Command never really bothered me.

- In general, reconsider some of the character portrayals. Unfortunately, when a series has a different studio for each game, character portrayals will inevitably have inconsistencies. While I give Namco a lot of credit for putting in oodles and oodles of detail into the game (particularly the levels), I think they failed in their portrayal of Fox, at the least, and Wolf is a considerable offender as well. While it’s obvious that Fox in Adventures was effectively modeled off of Sabre even in terms of personality, Rareware was at least able to justify Fox’s newfound jaded attitude with the passing of many years and a distinct lack of steady income, resulting in the team being in disarray. Assault’s Fox is a stark contrast to his cynical interpretation with seemingly no explanation other than maybe “Oh, I have more money and a gf, maybe I should behave myself”. As if the sudden change in personality wasn’t random, Fox also just seems very blah, like a blank slate stereotypical shooter game protagonist dude with little to no emotion. Wolf is less obvious but gets slated into a mentor-like role midway through the game and ends up in a respectful rivalry with Fox... which there’s nothing inherently wrong with that except for it happening abruptly (and, I mean, Peppy is right there). But I take less issue with this and more of an issue with the fact that there’s an entire level establishing that Wolf now runs a crime den with effectively what seems to be an army and no one bats an eye at this. He doesn’t even call on them to help with the aparoids. Did they all die when the aparoids attacked Meteo? Are they safe somewhere else? Where do they go? How was Sargasso able to operate without the CDF being on their doorstep with warrants for arrests?

- Don’t kill all the dinosaurs. A bit of a dramatic statement but the ending screen that showed all the damage to Sauria really bothered me. While I understand that the dinosaurs had less of a chance against the aparoids than a more technology-focused society like Corneria, I was a bit disappointed that the decision was made to just state that a lot of tribes had been wiped out. I know this could easily be retconned in a future game and I feel like it should be. “But why, Amalia? Why are you disappointed by that?” 1) It’s a little too grimdark for my tastes. 2) The fact it all happened off-screen felt very hand-wavy. And 3) It brings into question the entire point of Adventures. Why did we bother to save this planet if it was going to be reduced to rubble and ash 1 year later? Where were the Krazoa in all of this? Why did they not make an appearance at all to try to stop the invasion with their alleged powers? It just raises too many weird questions and I feel like Namco didn’t think it through too much. Which I mean, sure. Family, kiddo game. I’m not asking for bigbrain plot and lore but I’m squinting at this bit because it does feel very contrary to the lore from the previous game.

- Make the aparoids more relevant. As nice as it is to have a random bad guy from another galaxy, I feel like there was more that could be done with the aparoids in terms of their origins. Tiny things, mind you, not huge revelations. Off the top of my head, they could have been tied into Krystal’s backstory to help alleviate some of the complaints that she was too random to be added to the series’ main cast. Alternatively, they could have been a product of Andross or even a weapon prototype from Corneria that fled the lab (I actually thought the game was leaning in that direction for a bit then just Nothing Happened). I get that the vagueness of their origins leaves room for people to speculate and speculation is nice but... when you leave too many things unknown, it starts to feel less like giving fans room to interpret and more like just doing random things for the sake of it. I think a lore tidbit here or there would work wonders for the aparoids instead of leaving them as just borg/zerg clones.

Level-Based Changes

- Add either Aparoid RedEye or Aparoid General Scales as a boss to Sauria. Given that this level mysteriously lacks a boss, which is just weird compared to the other levels, I think that they had the opportunity to add something cool to go along with the cinematic feel they were going for with Assault. Assault’s cutscenes do play in a movie-like fashion and it’s clear they’re trying to make the game as epic as possible. It’s a shame they had so much fodder for a great boss here but they failed to go through with it. Alternatively: Add a Krazoa-Aparoid fusion. Why? Because Star Fox is about cool epic sci-fi and that would be cool epic sci-fi incarnate.

- Add a boss to the Aparoid Homeworld Level, aka the penultimate level. Another one I felt was personally weird that there was no “final defense system” to challenge the team. Would be cool to do an aerial battle over the aparoid planet with some giant flying aparoid.

- Be kinder to Sauria. The level had some good homages but overall was incredibly small and incredibly short. It felt like a bone tossed to Adventures fans but was not entirely true to the setting built by Rareware. I’m... not even sure where the Sauria level is supposed to take place? I presume it’s Walled City but it doesn’t really have the same color scheme or aesthetic? Also where is my revised Adventures music? Why do all the other levels get it but Sauria doesn’t?

- Put some of those funky items from the multiplayer into the main campaign. I don’t know why some of these things, items especially, were omitted unless it was purely due to time constraints. I remember having missile launchers and jetpacks in the multiplayer and was a bit sad that they were not in the main campaign. Retuning the levels and adding those in would be a nice breath of fresh air for the more tedious on-foot missions.

- More levels. Self-explanatory. Still sad we didn’t get the Zoness or Titania levels in the single-player mode.

I think all of the above changes would improve the game, though I recognize all of this is being said 16 years later after lots of time to contemplate Assault’s weaker points. I’m not entirely certain how long Star Fox Assault took to develop but given that there’s obviously quite a bit scrapped from the game (an entire arcade mode was scrapped as well), I’m going to assume that the studio felt pressured to shove the game out the door and into the hands of customers. It’s a shame, really, because I think a little bit longer in the oven would have done a lot of good. Still, the product we got was good in its own right and a game that many people look back on fondly. I haven’t gotten to replay it in years but I hope to quite soon.

You might wonder why I bothered typing this all out and I guess my point was this-- Assault was great but it wasn’t perfect, and while a lot of other games fall under a crushing amount of scrutiny, Assault seems to dodge it. And don’t get me wrong-- I adore Assault. But given that not many takes exist out there about rewriting it, I decided to give it a shot. For variety’s sake.

I do want to a mock up of a revised Assault story, which I think I will get to work on after completing this while all my ideas are still fresh in mind. So stay tuned for that sometime in the near future. I will also be doing my Adventures mock up at some point but probably not for a little bit as I do wanna focus some of my free time on actual fic-writing.

Anyways, if you stuck around this long, thank you for reading! Have any changes you’d like to see to Assault if you could time machine your way back to the early 2000s? Feel free to post in the comments, I’d love to read your ideas!

#star fox assault #starfox assault #super long #queue'd

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tamatojam · 3 years

Note

One take I will never understand that comes from Twitter is the take that Wilbur manipulated everyone to follow some narrative he created and caused Dream to fall into villainy because of this.

What narrative was Wilbur trying to create? From Quackity's lore stream it's clear that after the war Wilbur became cynical and pessimistic towards things he once believed held power (bureaucracy and democracy). He wasn't trying to create a narrative that he was the hero, a valiant man with a pen and paper in hand- if that's what people think he was trying to do. Wilbur literally egged on Big Q for this, that yeah he could start a movement and be everyone's hero, but that wasn't going to change anything.

"They'll cheer for you in the streets but you will change nothing. If you have a revolution everyone will hate you, you will sacrifice everything and you will lose everything you've ever had."

Also I think people miss that being president, having to be a leader wasn't something that Wilbur actually loved to do. Ghostbur said that when Wilbur was alone he would drink and smoke to cope with the stress of his position- he broke down and would have crying sessions by himself (From Tubbo's vod on 11/17, time period 2:14:06).

Dream apologists commonly describe Dream as some tragic character that fell into bad decisions because of declining mental health, and I'm like...you're literally describing Wilbur. He's right there!

A major curse as a Wilbur enthusiast is having to go through so many old vods when it comes to Wilbur's character to find important lore bits. And I really think that this is why people just think Wilbur is "Menace Man Evil Man #1", and that he's just some dude that blew up a country because he was "insane" (I despise using that word).

THEY WERENT KIDDING ABOUT YOU GUYS WRITING ESSAYS HERE /lh

But banger take I agree with a lot of this

#my asks #long post

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rotblut · 3 years

Note

Thoughts on sweet home? Your rating?

GOD I AM PISSED OFF ABOUT THAT FUCKING ADAPTATION. that was a shitty way to adapt a perfectly paced, well-structured, written, and character-driven plot from the webtoon into a messy and confusing drama. and I am mostly speaking about the writing that was a big no from me. the biggest problem for me was the writing for 85% of the time. acting was amazing and have no problem with that (aside from 1 criminal). my problem was how it was written.

if I hadn’t read the webtoon i would be so confused about it all. and I know the webtoon wasn’t finished while they were shooting the drama, so why didn’t or couldn’t they adapt faithfully the first 70 chapters in the first 10 eps (season1) and the last 71 chapters into season 2 (because from that fucking open-ended cliffhanger they sure as hell want to make a season 2). and I know dramas can never be as faithful to a webtoon but still :(((((((((( that shit was insulting they came up with instead.

they kept 30% of the webtoon and said fuck to the rest of the plot that was thhere. the new written plot for the drama was obnoxious af and not needed and hardly better than the plot that was in the webtoon. characters that were in the webtoon were reduced to the minimum or completely re-written, or personalities-events switched. minor side characters were terribly dumb. also, fuck the unnecessary violence. the only new character that was made for the drama who i liked was the pregnant women (and she did a looooooooooooooooot. like they made her do a looooooooooooooooooot of stuff.) but the subplot that they specifically wrote for her??????? NAh, wasn’t a fan of that at all. the actress was amazing tho.

sooooooooooooo many fucking plotholes, the monsters conveniently disappearing and showing up when needed to show up made no sense. also fuck the director for hiring the r*pist to play a character named wook. his character was completely re-written and i hated both him and his newly written character. the only thing they kept was his name and his new subplot was fucking terrible but fuck him to the infinite for his real life crimes. (ironic how they hired a r*pist to play a character in the drama who’s after revenge and murders a guy who's a p*do and r*pist too.......................)

Park Gyu Young as Yoon Ji Su was hardly present at all in the drama the way she was in the webtoon. she was reduced to the bare minimum, even tho her character was one of the main characters but honestly she was better here than in psycho but okay......but not that exciting to me either. really liked Park Gyu Young as Yoon Ji Su too and his character more or less was the same as he was in the webtoon but in the drama he went out with a bigger banger. (also them making him an ex-alcoholic was not needed but oh well). loved the 2 old guys too they had more screentime in the drama but also at the same time they didn’t because in the webtoon they were like father figures to hyun and here it didn’t really work well because of time restrictions. Go Yoon Jung’s character was great too but she was most of the time with the r*pist so that was a no for me.

ANYWAY THE HIGHLIGHT FOR ME was song kang, lee do hyun and go min shi. PERFECT CASTING FOR THEM. PERFECT. LOVED IT. LOVED IT. WANTED MORE. WANTED A LOOOOOOOOOOOOT MORE WITH THEM TOGETHER. the progression of her being a tsundere and all cold and rough on the outside but inside she’s hurt and she just loves her big brother and hyun so much. I did enjoy how they gave her more screen time in the drama and made her more flashed out because in the webtoon she’s more of a comedic character (aside from the last 20 chapters). and I did enjoy those changes a lot and that they focused on her as the main romantic love interest for hyun. she was really perfect and she could balance the rudeness with the tenderness and the comedy with the serious scenes so well. they did give her some plot points that belonged originally to Yoon Ji Su in the webtoon. also the chemistry with the 2 boys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and I watched her act with song kang in love alarm too and i haven’t seen it there because i didn’t like the way her character was written there. but here......yeahhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!)

LEE DO HYUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!! he did what he had to do and he’s the perfect hyuk. the way he loves his lil sister soooooooooooooooooooooooo much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THE LOVE HE HAS FOR HER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BEST BROTHER LIKE BEST BROTHHER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HIM and sang tae for best bros of 2020!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! that was a big part of his character in the webtoon and I am glad they kept that. I do wish that they would have made him sometimes even more of an asshole. wished him and song kang had more scenes together. sad they erased his otaku loving self that he had in the webtoon and for that very reason was connected to hyun in a way the others weren’t. missed the frenemy scenes between them. his *ending* (sacrifice in the webtoon) was much more meaningful in the webtoon. I mean I did cry like a lil bitch at him saying goodbye to his sis and all that because i love my siblings and i love him and it was powerful but something was missing.

SONG KANG SAID THAT HE IS AN ACTOR!!!!!!!!!! LOOK at him act and act well and I am so proud like he did his part in love alarm too but that was hardly challenging acting lmaooooo. again, i am bitter they diminished his otaku self because in the webtoon (i shit you not) he overcomes his inner greed into turning into a monster a loooooooooooooot of the time with the power of the anime-webtoon-gaming gods and his obsession and enjoyment over 1 female character and her knight sidekick. the fanboy inside him was living and the reason for him to survive that long. so I was really sad tthat hey reduced that part because aside from him playing a fps in the first few eps it was hardly important. also wished they went more into his struggle with his inner greed-filled asshole self-monster (I loved those scenes in the webtoon). his webtoon persona was sooooooooooooo rich and it was such a satisfying way to read his character progression and what made him into a hikikomori and how he struggled with his past and how he slowly overcomes it. So sad they reduced that.

also forgot about acting king Kim Sung Chul as the antagonist was amazing but his character in the webtoon had so much more depth but of course in 2 eps you can’t achieve that. still he did that!

I can go on and on but anyway. the ost was nice, i don’t even care about the sometimes tacky looking cgi because that wasn’t really the problem here and i expected something like that. but MY BIG PROBLEM WAS THE FUCKING WRITING FOR THAT DRAMA and for 80% of the time it failed me deeply and it hurt because i wanted to love it and i do like some aspects a loooooooot but fuck it was a mess. alice in borderland did it better. LIKE THEY DID A LOOOOOOOOOOOOT BETTER. and will i gif it? YES. disliking a lot of aspects of a drama doesn’t stop me from not giffing it. but i do wish the writing was better. I’ll give it a 3/10 because they fucked up way too much when it comes to the writing.

#cutie #anyway i was dumb my expectation were too high. should have known better.#frage #lemme gif tomorrow the 3 faves!!!!!!!!!!#lemme know how you liked it #hugs you a lot and <33333333 #my mind had it all planed out better.... maybe 3 seasons of 10 eps each....... anyway the dream is a dream and that's that on that #will likely not gonna get a s2 (I HOPE IT WILL NOT) and they better give human class a s2

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liibrii · 3 years

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In honour of today being National Culture Day in my country and exactly a year since I've seen my favourite band perform live, I've decided to take a minute and talk about Dream Theater. And by talk I mean mostly nerd out about my favourite songs and why I love them so much.

in case you haven’t heard of Dream Theater before, they’re an american progressive metal band, who’s been around since 1985. idk what else to say except even if you don’t like metal/rock give a listen to Beneath the surface.

tw: some pretty heavy topics such as death, murder, mental illness, alcoholism,...

so to start, I love the versatility of their songs and yet they still have that distinct Dream Theater sound. my favourite part of their music are the lyrics. a lot of them are inspired by their own personal experience, which often makes them just the more heart breaking. and for others, I don't know what creator juice these guys are on but I'd like some. they’re the kind of lyrics you want to read while listening to the music just to really get the meaning, and you spend days thinking about them. or maybe that’s just me. :D

also Petrucci's guitar skills are outta this world, which sadly often overshadows others who are also incredible musicians. I have a soft spot the singer LaBrie cause 1. his voice and singing are magnificent, and 2. he damaged his voice pretty badly but perservered even when critics weren’t very nice to his singing and I respect that.

I'll start with my favourite album (and the one I heard live) - Metropolis Pt. 2: scenes from a Memory. it's a concept album, which if you don't know is an album that has a single central narrative (can be lyrics, musical theme,...). in this case it tells a story of Nicholas, a man who keeps having dreams about a girl named Victoria, and how through hypnotic therapy he discovered he was her in the previous life. Victoria was murdered and her death never solved, so we follow him as he discovers the truth behind her death. I won't spoil it, in case you're curious but don't wanna read the lyrics you can find a synopsis here. I'll just say the story of this album is better than majority of movies.

If you put a gun to my head and made me choose my favourite song on this album it would be the very last one: Finally Free. it's charged with so much emotion, the way LaBrie sings the lyrics; you can tell which part belongs to which character, it's just soooo good! The way each repeats the lines This feeling / Inside me / I finally found my love (life) / I've finally broke free - and I'd go on but I'd get into spoiler territory. so. let's move on with the closing melody (it's not much of a melody, more like static) that becomes the opening of the first song on their next album Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence.

Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence is another concept album. this album. man, how do I even begin to explain it? I can't, you gotta listen to it. have you ever imagined an entire album telling stories of people living with things like alcoholism, post-partum depression, autism, schizophrenia? it may sound intimidating and I won't lie, some songs touch you so deeply it's hard to listen to them (looking at you Goodnight kiss).

and now that my fave albums are outta the way let's talk about my favourite songs in no particular order! (just a note, pretty much everything I’ll say about the lyrics is my personal interpretation)

Beneath the Surface (album: A dramatic turn of Events) - the one that makes me cry like a baby. the one I tefuse to shut up about. the story of two people who are in love, neither aware the other feels the same, both too scared to make a move till it’s to late and their feelings fade. just, listen to it, please. it’s also the least ‘metal’ of their songs, if that’s not the kind of music you’re fond of.

Spirit carries on (album: Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a memory): I can’t say much about it without spoiling the story of the album, so let’s say it was experience of a lifetime singing this song on the concert, off key and out of tune, with your bestfriends beside you, all of you crying. 10/10 experience.

Through her eyes (album: Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a memory) - same as Spirit carries on :D

Finally free (album: Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a memory) - the emotion!! I want to sing this song at the top of my lungs while it makes tears pour down my face. it’s such a good final song to this absolutely brilliant album.

Pull me Under (album: Images and Words) - when that LaBrie voice hits... if you’ve ever heard this song you know what I mean, and if you are yet too, you’ll know which part I mean. you’ll hear it, trust me. (it’s at 2:54)

Vacant (album: Train of thought): ah look, another song that makes me cry. LaBrie wrote this after his daughter fell into coma for 3 hours when she was 7, and let me tell you, you can feel the fear. easily one of their most heart breaking songs. but she’s okay now, don’t worry. :)

Stream of Consciousness (album: Train of Thought) - an instrumental song with guys just flexing their skills.

Wither (album: Black Clouds & Silver Linings) - the story behind this song is Petrucci had trouble coming up with new lyrics so this mad-lad pulled a UNO reverse card and wrote a song on having trouble creating. and as a writer who often hits writer’s block I relate to that.

Count of Tuscany (album: Black Clouds & Silver Linings) - the story of this song could easily be a movie. you meet a young count on your travels and he takes you to his home where his slightly eccentric brother lives, and before you know you’re terrified for your life. I have yet to hear a song that captures the fear of dying as well as this one. 20 minutes of pure bliss and singing at the top of your lungs.

Out of Reach (album: Distance over Time) - you know that feeling of falling for someone who’s out of reach? yeah, that.

Fall into the light (album: Distance over Time) - the line Too much love is not enough for us makes me question what is really important in life and I love it when songs make me think. it’s such a simple line and yet so powerful. (spare some of the creator juice?)

Ministry of Lost Souls (album: Systematic Chaos) - you thought we were done with songs that make me cry? ha, think again! this is the song that sold me on Dream Theater. the lyrics have 2 different interpretations, both of which are heart breaking and thus I won’t talk about them. :)

Prophets of War (album: Systematic Chaos) - I’m not saying it’s about the possible ulterior motives of the Iraq war buuuut... oh no, wait that’s exactly what the song is about.

Endless sacrifice (album: Train of Thought) - just a song about how relationships take work and compromising, especially when one is a musician and often on tours. Petrucci wrote this song for his wife. get you a man who recognises how much you’ve sacrificed to make the relationship work.

Build me up, break me down (album: A dramatic turn of events) - I have no other reason for liking this song other than it is an absolute banger.

Panic Attack (album: Octavarium) - this song includes my favourite singing from LaBrie. goosebumps every time. and also the suffocating feeling of pure panic, the paralysis you feel are so well reflected in the music it’s unreal.

Octavarium (album: Octavarium) - this song has my fave line: It's wonderful to know that I could be / Something more than what I dreamed. and it also takes the award of “Lyrics whose meaning I’ve been trying to figure out for years and still have no clue“. and the orchestral parts of this song... I hope to get a chance to hear it live one day.

I was debating putting some of my favourite lyrics here but I think this post is already long enough. :)

in conclusion, I love Dream Theater and I hope they keep making music!! ♡

#dream theater #libri speaks #I just wanted to get this outta my system #things you didn't ask for #might edit/update later

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boogiewrites · 4 years

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Mae Flowers Chapter 5

Characters: Alfie Solomons x Mae LeBlanc (OFC)

Summary: A modern, magical Alfie Solomons AU.

Warnings/Tags: Language.Magic/Supernatural. Soul mates.Some domestic fluff, getting to know you stage. Talk of the unknown.

Click on my screenname then go to Mobile Masterlist in my bio for my other works and chapters. (Had to do this since Tumblr killed links, sorry.)

When she woke to a warm spring morning, Mae was thankful she didn’t have puffy eyes or a headache from crying the night before. She’d sobbed hard, sadness surging from an uncontrolled well of emotion that had always been within her. She was a sensitive soul she’d been told before, both in the form of compliments and insults. Being sad that people weren’t nice to her when she always went into interactions with a good heart wasn’t something new to bring her down. But she’d had something to make the roller coaster of let down shoot back up suddenly and she was caught off guard. A nice man to be kind and take care of her after the rest of the world seemed to be against her all day. It was too much for her still fragile heart to handle and despite being less sad, but mostly confused and uncertain, she cried again. She hated crying in front of others, she quickly became overwhelmed with thoughts of being less than and looking down on her for not controlling herself.

But she hadn’t felt that last night. No, she felt seen and heard. She had someone to look her in the eyes and tell her her feelings were valid, that crying was healthy and being able to feel so deeply was a gift and not a burden. Perhaps that’s why she hadn’t woken up feeling an emotional hangover like she had every other time she’d cried. Things were already proving Alfie right with how they would work better together than apart. Luckily, she had just woken up and therefore didn’t have the capacity to think about that at the moment. Right now all she was really focused on was having to pee.

Alfie sees her scuttle the short distance between her room and the bathroom in her slippers and pajamas. Little shorts and a tank, all her softness wobbling with a sleepy shuffle of her small feet. He grinned, a small huff of amusement for the little fluffy goblin scuttling around her own house. He hears the click of the bathroom door as it opens and calls out to her, “Breakfasts almost ready. Ya in?” his neck stretches in her direction, head tilted to hear her muffled reply in the affirmative.

She entered the kitchen, hand disappearing into her bed head curls to mindlessly scratch as she yawned. “Smells good.” she approves, a sniff and a heavy-footed saunter over to the round kitchen table.

“Fanks.” he mutters, multitasking with pans and spatula. “‘Mornin’ luv. Ya slept well I take it? Didn’t a hear a peep all night.” He could’ve said my dreams were as smooth and clear as a moonless night’s reflection atop a lake. A sure sign that she wasn’t bothered in her sleep.

“Yeah.” she nods, her hair bouncing as she did so. She fusses with her hair, pushing it back as he approaches the table. “Oddly enough.”

“Odd will become commonplace soon enough.” a nod and a self-assured tone she hoped to emulate moves out of a barrel chest in his plain white t-shirt. She recalled the shirt from the first time she’d seen him in her dreams. What an odd fact, she muses to herself. Perhaps he was right. “That’s some immense hair ya got there.” he smiles down at her with an affectionate inkling in his eye and tone.

“Thanks?” she gives him a quirked brow as she tilts her head up at him, peeking out from under her mop of half-formed spirals.

“Was a compliment.” he clarifies as she nods and becomes quickly distracted by the food being slid in front of her. “Full English.” he declares, his shoulders hunched as he turns to retrieve his own overflowing plate. A perk of being immortal was he could eat almost anything and everything and not give a second thought to it. He now had an excuse to make the rich comfort foods he missed. He found himself not neglecting but finding comfort in the things of old that made him, him. He had run from the messier human emotions for a long while. He ran from the things that made him human in the first place as well. That entailed disappearing and not emerging until everyone he knew was long dead. It included religion, sex, and human comforts. He was his darkness for long years, but this little sunspot was bringing him back to his old self. The things that made him Alfie before things took a turn for the worse and he became what he was now. She made him feel human again. Among other things.

“Tomatoes?” she asks, her head tilted like the curious Percy’s that just jumped onto the table to sniff at the mushrooms dissapprovingly.

“Breakfast, innit?” he says, a fork in hand and a sausage already on the way into his mouth.

“And beans?” she keeps the same confused expression.

“It’s what we ate when money was good when I’s growin’ up. Comfort food, that.” he points with a greasy fork across the sun-streaked table from the light coming through the patio doors.

“Full English.” she mutters as if it were still a question to her. “S’good.” she shrugs and pushes things around on the plate.

“Got tea, English as all bloody hell.” he chuckles and points to the kettle. “Coffee, bangers, beans, bacon, beefeaters from the garden and mushrooms. Ya made me some of your soul food, ya comfort food. This is mine.”

“Food is… weird.” the sleep starting to fade fro her voice but clearly her mind wasn’t matching up to what her mouth wanted to say.

He snorts with a mouthful of food as she chews thoughtfully. “You gonna elaborate on that ingenious remark?”

She gives him a smile, knowing there was no ill will in his jab but agreeing that she certainly would have fleshed out what she meant more. “Everyone’s gotta have it, but it’s different everywhere ya go. It’s the backbone of any culture, somethin’ anyone could know about y’know? But somehow it’s also deeply personal despite it bein’ somethin’ that everyone has.” she pauses and takes another bite. “It’s weird.” she shrugs despite that being her final statement.

“Humans are weird would be a more overlapping remark. But it goes without sayin’. Humans can make anything personal. A rock, a meal, a string of words. Very self-absorbed, very self-important. But it’s in their nature. Means of survival ‘n that.”

“Their nature? You aren’t human?”

“I was. At one time. I’m more of a vessel if you will. I am me, yeah? I hold everything that made Alfie Solomons a man, a human. But I am also timeless energy that is simultaneously full to the brim and empty all at once. Knowledge from the very beginning of time, and past the present. I’ve lived in the underworld and on this side as well.”

“That’s… sorta heavy for breakfast, man.” she states blankly before they both move into a shared laugh.

“You asked. I am here to answer.”

“Thanks for answering,” she says sheepishly. “Do I also contain all that? Time and space and the whole Carl Sagan monologue?”

He gives her one of those smiles that makes her avert her eyes. The kind that handsome men have beautiful ladies when they courted them. She wasn’t equipped to deal with his charm and ruggedly handsome face this early in the morning. Or ever, for that matter. “Yeah, love ya do. Which is why we’ll be starting with some meditation today. Help you get in touch with all that. It’ll help every facet of ya complicated self. Gotta learn restraint and control before we move onto the more… intense activities.”

“Am not gonna have to like..sacrifice anyone am I?”

He lets out a sudden laugh. “Nah, love nothin’ of the sort. Not unless ya want to.”

“I don’t.” is a quick and curt answer given. Of course, she didn’t. A little ray of sunshine made of life itself wouldn’t want to get messy. That was more his side of things.

“Noted.” he gives a firm nod and a supportive closed mouth smile before they both become absorbed by the task of fueling up for their work.

-------

He had asked her where she would feel most comfortable, and to no surprise to him, telepathic of not, she had said in her garden. With a reassuring hand on her back, he leads her to the middle of a grassy patch in the center of the back yard. Her land was totally enclosed with a high fence and the outlines covered in different flowers and bushes and fruit-bearing trees, buzzing with insects already so soon into spring. A warm sun beamed down, making her brown skin shine, freckles happy to soak up the rays and darken across her cheeks, the yellow light hitting her eyes and lighting them up golden with her lush mixture of green spun delicately around her tight iris. Her curls shone, the sun-kissed streaks happy to lighten with their long missed sunbaths every day from being stuck inside during the cold months. They were bouncing happily, air dried as she perched with crossed legs on the soft grass.

“This is a lovely garden, by the way, pet. You’ve done a bang-up job on your own.” he grunts out as she adjusts his legs to mirror her.

“Thank you. I’m very proud of it.” a soft but accepting smile graces her round and darling face as she squints in the sun.

“Ya should be.” he nods and clears his throat. “Have ya ever meditated before?”

“Not really no.” she shook her head. “I’ve lit incense and practiced some deep breathing before. But not like... Ommm and…” she pushes her middle fingers and thumbs together, resting them on her knees to explain.

He suppresses a smile at her wordless explanation of her length of knowledge on the subject. “I see.” he moves to take her hands. “Ya have a hard time quietenin’ down that mind of yours don’t ya?”

She nods, a hint of being ashamed in her eyes as she casts them downward.

“Now, now. No judgment here. This is Day 1, Step 1. Any progress is good progress. No progress is still practice, yeah? I’ll be gentle on ya don’t worry. Not here to upset ya.”

She presses her lips together and nods and takes a deep breath to steady herself.

“Now. First, we’re gonna close our eyes, yeah?” He leads her through being in the present. Taking in the moment. Acknowledging every sound and feeling, the blades of grass tickling her bare legs, the buzz of bee’s and the warmth of the sun, a kiss of wind that rustled her hair. She could sense it all, that was fine, but now she had to let it all go. “Work to clear your mind. No worries. No curiosities and philosophical musings. Just be. If a thought comes, say ‘ello, and let ‘im be on ‘is way.”

She smiles at his playful lit in explaining and she finds comfort now with his touch, hands clasped together between them.

“We’re going to have a moment, now. Try to work on that for a bit. I’m here if ya need me.”

“‘Kay.” is her soft reply as she tries to clear her mind. The garden fades away, but her thoughts still clumsily barge in. Worries about the future, the past, is she doing it right, was he sure he had the right girl? She tries to push it away and struggles.

“Ya need help, luv?” he offers with a gentle rub of his thumb against her hand.

“Yes, please.” she asks in an almost whisper of a voice.

“No shame in asking me for help, right? So make it sound like ya aren’t ashamed. I’ll ask ya again. Do you need help, luv?”

“Yes.” she states clearly, louder and a nod to back it up.

“That’s a girl. I’m gonna use my energy to calm ya down. Don’t be afraid of it. You'll feel it.”

She takes a shaky breath. “Okay. I’m not. Thank you.”

“Good girl.” he acknowledges her attempts at being self-assured and squeezes her hands. He didn’t have to, but he thought a physical cue might help her out at these early stages.

She does feel it, and it feels amazing. A shiver up her spine, his power like cool water in her veins as she exhaled in a sigh, feeling her shoulders lose their tension. Is what relaxed felt like? She didn’t know her. “Oh, wow.” she exhales.

“Good?” he asks, concern in his voice.

“S’good.” she gives a dazed smile that he doesn’t see. A grunt in response is all she receives.

There’s an easy silence between them. She doesn’t know how long it goes on, but she felt like a popsicle left out in the sun, a puddle on the grass, a fat happy frog soaking up the sun for energy without a care. A thought floats by, and she decides to share it. “Am I...looking for something?” she asks.

“If ya like. It’s a bit advanced but we certainly can. You can ask a question, ask for guidance, clarity, divination. Whatever ya like.” he explains.

“I’d like to try.” her voice quiet but due to the relaxed state she was in and not from fear any longer.

“Go on, then.” he reassures her.

“Do I have to share it with the class?” the honesty in her voice makes him let out a laugh, a quiet one as not to startle her but her endearing and effortless charm was taking him by surprise.

“Nah, luv.” he chuckles out and gives her hand a delicate brush with his thumb again to show support.

What do I even ask? She wondered. I’d like to know… anything at this point. Okay, focus. I wanna know who he is. Who… we are if we’re these… soul mates. I just wanna know what it all means. Hmmph, not asking for much there are you. She sighs out of frustration and focuses up again.

He feels her drifting and pull back and smiles. She’s learning fast.

I want to know who this man is. Who is this Alfie Solomons? Do I trust him? Is he who he says he is? What is it that I feel when he’s near, this vibrating energy inside that feels like I’m on the verge of something, good or bad I don’t know. I just want to know...anything really….please? She would be the only one who could give puppy dog eyes to the universe and have it bend to her will.

After a short while, a not awkward silence, he feels something. A tingling in his fingers first, then moving up his arms. Were they falling asleep? It wouldn’t make much sense he wonders but he soon realizes it’s coming from her. It grows warmer as if he’d sunk into a hot bath. He ran cold, like a reptile, cold-blooded before her, and feeling warm blood in his veins was something he hadn’t felt in over a hundred years. A wiggle of his heart in his chest, a warm slinking feeling up his neck and into his mind. It was far stronger than anything he expected. But he would soon find out, she was a lot stronger already than he anticipated. Her coy nature and shyness a mere cover for the intensity that lies beneath. She had been protecting everyone else with her reservations, not protecting herself.

Her intention ran through him, she wanted to know him, and her power sought him out. The universe said, if you want him, have him, I only made him for you after all, and lets her creep into his mind. It all came in flashes, waves on a shore that faded in and out, too fast to grasp it all at once.

She smelled alcohol. Something sweet and deep, she could hear machines, men yelling, heavy footsteps up old wooden stairs. There were strongly scented leather books, piles of paperwork and a feeling of unease. Another wash of nostalgia washes over her, she sees a dog, happy and excited. She sees an empty bed sat in a dark room filled with books and papers, the walls covered in so many different things, both common and rare that she couldn’t make them all out. She smells the strong scent of cleaning chemicals, a woman by a sink, working hard and a feeling a longing overtaking her. There’s a hat over the doorway, a beacon for something important, a cane by a bed, bottles that looked like medicine on a nightstand. She saw blood in the sink, a sinking in the pit of her stomach.

“Mae.” she hears him echo in her head. He wasn’t speaking aloud. “Stop it. You don’t want to go there. -I- don’t want you to go there. You won’t find what you want here. Go back.”

Her eyes fluttered behind their lids, her hands grasping his, his underlying anger showing itself for her uninvited intrusion.

A hiss that wasn’t Alfie snaps up and shuts her out. It speaks a language she does not know, but it doesn’t frighten her, although she wonders for a moment if it should. His darkness. She knew it immediately. She’s endlessly fascinated. A black smoke, formless and endless whirling, moving through muck and earth as she pursued it with hungry curiosity. -Come see. Your answers.- a distinctly masculine but not human voice says, the smoke twists into a long cylindrical shape, it forms and shifts, an awe-inspiring black iridescence comes to shape. She sees a snake, endless, it could fit in her mind but was larger than the planet somehow. She knew he, his darkness, was the snake. A fitting symbol of rebirth and transformation, immortality and renewal, as death and destruction were all forms of creation in the end. It was as if she were being gifted with sight for the first time. She could see him, and know what his essence stood for.

Sunlight shone on it and the most beautiful colors came off its scales. She realized she was the source of the light. It twists up and directs her eyes to a moon. It’s blue, purple and green, all pastel and colored like the snake. They were one, they were the night and the darkness and everything that called it home. The dirt, the death it holds, both old and new, the beasts that only emerged to worship the moon and live in the dark were its children. Every cold-blooded animal, every reptile and insect knew it and didn’t fear it. So it came for her to understand, neither should she.

She sees her sun take form, moving towards the moon. She felt no fight between them. It was as if they wanted to be close, but had long been separated by the sides of the earth. Something that existed, but didn’t, that faded in and out unnoticed until it was already upon you. They radiated blindingly bright together, and the behemoth snake reveled in it. She felt a strange pull, a split from herself as a rabbit came into view. The snake circled itself, mouth to tail as it writhed, an ouroboros as the white rabbit neared. The rabbit was her, she realized. She was seeing her light, the mate for his darkness. A rabbit she pondered, watching he fearless bound about in the sunlight, warm thick fur and a wet twitching nose, full of life and energy. Her light was life, fertility, and growth, creation and desire. A vulnerability, a softness unparalleled was what she contained. She suddenly understood it. Understood what it meant to be her, to be him, and thus, understood why they had been destined to find each other.

The rabbit and snake entwine, the sun and moon fusing, something that should’ve seemed unholy or apocalyptic seemed to make perfect sense to her. It all came together, just like everything did, from the first creation to the last, she’d always been there, and so had he. She, life, sending him, death, her gifts that he loved so much he kept them forever. A blinding light went dark and she was no longer separate from herself as she gasped and went eyed, flung back into the present, in her human body, hands tight around Alfie’s forearms, nails digging in and sweat pouring from her.

He blinked at her, the most curious expression on his face as she caught her breath. “You understand now, don’t you?” It was more of a rhetorical question at this point. “You’re more powerful than even I knew, Mae.” he pauses again, waiting for her to process it all.

“Yeah… I am.” she says with the first absolutely certain tone she might’ve ever had in her life.

“You’ll only grow more so from here. You’ve surpassed my expectations already.” he pats her shoulder and they meet eyes, as if for the first time. He sees her with a question and not fear in her eyes. She had found the answers she was looking for. At least she had enough knowledge now to grasp the situation. “This is only the beginning, luv.”

I tried to reverse search the image and came up empty handed so if you know whose it is, I’l gladly credit them.

@jaegeeeeer @brianaisasongbird @hardygal69 @emerald-bijou @captstefanbrandt @coolgh0st @tinastarkandco @xstylishmileage @s-h-e-w-r-i-t-e-s @peakys-mystic

#alfie solomons #alfie solomons au #modern alfie solomons #alfie solomons magical au #alfie solomons x ofc #alfie solomons fic #alfie solomons fan fic #alfie solomons fan fiction #alfie solomons fanfic #alfie solomons fanfiction #soulmate au #peaky blinders fic #peaky blinders fiction #peaky blinders fan fic #peaky blinders fanfiction

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raganandhersurveys · 3 years

Text

3/1/21~5000 question survey 1-100 {CXV}

I started this about 2 years ago and never finished so I’m going to restart and see how far I can get. I’d love to get it done before the end of the year but I am definitely not holding myself to that statement haha. Here we go pt. 2

(also shoutout to @lovemesomesurveys for doing this so i could get the questions from one source. Thanks girl! <3!!

1. Who are you?

~my name is ragan

2. What are the 3 most important things everyone should know about you?

1. I am very outgoing and fun loving

2. I have a big heart but am not afraid to speak my mind

3. I hope I can one day pursue a career in fashion

3. When you aren't filling out 5,000 question surveys like this one what are you doing?

~hanging out with my friends, doing hw, eating, or talking to my bf haha

4. List your classes in school from the ones you like the most to the ones you like the least (or if you are out of school, think of the classes you did like and didn't like at the time).

~choir, drama appreciation, geology, american gov.

5. What is your biggest goal for this year?

~to begin to plan out “big girl things” in my life. i’ll be a freshman in college in the fall and i really wanna feel confident about my future(if that’s possible) so saving money, getting a real job, looking into new opportunities, etc. (if you have any advice, plz send my way haha:))

6. Where do you want to be in 5 years?

~to feel a little secure in my job or career pathway, or at least have a plan

7. What stage of life are you in right now?

~the ending of my teenage years :(

8. Are you more child-like or childish?

~neither honestly

9. What is the last thing you said out loud?

~i was singing along to a song haha

10. What song comes closest to how you feel about your life right now?

~8teen by khalid haha

11. Have you ever taken martial arts classes?

~nope

12. Does your life tend to get better or worse or does it just stay the same?

~it’s honestly one big rollercoaster. i have my good days and bad days but i try to keep a positive mindset:)

13. Does time really heal all wounds?

~it doesn’t necessarily heal it but it does help it some

14. How do you handle a rainy day?

~usually stay inside or take a nap. if it rains for a long period of time i tend to get a headache so i usually take a nap haha

15. Which is worse...losing your luggage or having to sort out tangled holiday lights?

~losing luggage for sure

16. How is your relationship with your parents?

~pretty good. my dad and i are super close. my mom and i have our moments but i love her

Will you miss them when they are gone?

~are you kidding?!?! i don’t know how i’ll recover from losing them tbh

17. Do you tend to be aware of what is going on around you?

~for the most part yes; i’m pretty good at reading the room

18. What is the truest thing that you know?

~God.

19. What did you want to be when you grew up?

~gosh so many different things; teacher, pharmacist, reporter, author, family therapist, actress

20. Have you ever been given a second chance?

~yep

21. Are you more of a giver or a taker?

~both tbh

22. Do you make your decisions with an open heart/mind?

~definitely

23. What is the most physically painful thing that has ever happened to you?

~i had to go to the hospital one time because my stomach was hurting so bad I thought i was gonna die. i don’t think anything except child birth could beat that

24. What is the most emotionally painful thing that has ever happened to you?

~some things my mom has said to me

25. Who have you hugged today?

~honestly no one :(

26. Who has done something today to show they care about you?

~i can’t think of anything but i’m sure there was something

27. Do you have a lot to learn?

~for sure. i don’t think we should ever stop

28. If you could learn how to do three things just by wishing and not by working what would they be?

~how to start my own clothing brand, how to make straight a’s, and to cook perfectly

29. Which do you remember the longest: what other people say, what other people do or how other people make you feel?

~how they make me feel fo sure

30. What are the key ingredients to having a good relationship?

~communication, loyalty, passion,

31. What 3 things do you want to do before you die?

~have a successful job, find the love of my life, and travel the world

32. What three things would you want to die to avoid doing?

~having to get divorced, letting down my future children, and emotionally traumatizing someone

33. Is there a cause you believe in more than any other cause?

~not a cause, but i’m a christain and that’s the truest thing in my life

34. What does each decade make you think of:

The 19..

20's: flapper dancers and the roaring 20s

30's: the great depression and poverty

40's: world war II and classic movies

50's: sock hops and diners

60's: iconic fashion and audrey hepburn

70's: my dad and classic rock

80's: the breakfast club and how much i wished i grew up then ahahah

90's: rnb and friends

2000 (so far): brittany spears and my early childhood

2010's: middle school and social media

35. Which decade do you feel the most special connection to and why?

~the 80s because i’ve always felt like that was the decade for me. that’s when my mom grew up and i envy her so much for growing up then. but also the 2000s because that was my early childhood and its crazy to think i’ll never get those days back

36. What is your favorite oldie/classic rock song?

~stairway to heaven: led zeppelin

37. What country do you live in and who is the leader of that country?

~the usa and president biden

If you could say any sentence to the current leader of your country what would it be?

~you good homie?

38. What's your favorite TV channel to watch in the middle of the night?

~i rarely watch live tv

39. What Disney villain are you the most like and why?

~bahah probs ursula because if i knew ariel could sing like that, i’d steal her voice too

40. Have you ever been a girl scout/boy scout?

~no

41. If you were traveling to another continent would you rather fly or take a boat?

~neither but a boat in the middle of the ocean during a storm would be terrifying

42. Why is the sky blue during the day and black at night?

~the sun?

43. What does your name mean?

~i just looked it up and apparently it means noble LMFAO

44. Would you rather explore the deeps of the ocean or outer space?

~neither. both of those sound like a bad idea

45. Word association What is the first word that comes to mind when you see the word:

Air: traffic

Meat: steak

Different: breed

Pink: drink

Deserve: freedom

White: elephant

Elvis: graceland

Magic: treehouse

Heart: pump

Clash: boom

Pulp: fiction

46. If you could meet any person in the world who is dead who would you want it to be?

~audrey hepburn 100%

47. What if you could meet anyone who is alive?

~jimmy garoppolo ;))

48. Is there a movie that you love so much you could watch it everyday?

~not everyday but i’m always down for a lotr/hobbit marathon

49. You are going to be stuck alone in an elevator for a week. What do you bring to do?

~a phone with some kind of wifi box so i can gtfo lmao

50. Have you ever saved someone's life or had your life saved?

~uhhhh not that i can think of

51. Make up a definition for the following silly words...

Fruitgoogle: a website you can search up fruits with

Ambytime: free time

Asscactus: an annoying person

52. What was the last thing you made with your own hands?

~this little gift bag for my mom’s students

53. What was your favorite toy as a child?

~american girl dolls omfg

54. How many TV’s are in your house?

55. What is your favorite thing to do outside?

~swimming or just being at the beach

56. How do you feel when you see a rainbow?

~awwwwww

57. Have you ever dreamt a dream that came true?

~i have dreamed about people and then met them which is a super weird experience

58. Have you ever been to a psychic/tarot reader?

~no

59. What is your idea of paradise?

~i think it would be a couple of different places or themes because i love to see the beauty in a lot of different ideas

60. Do you believe in god and if so what is he/she/it like?

~absolutely. He’s just and loving

61. Do you believe in Hell?

~yes

62. What one thing have you done that most people haven't?

~i honestly cannot think of anything

63. What is the kindest thing you have ever done?

~i’ve done some volunteer stuff for other people so ig something like that

64. Are you a patient person?

~i try to be

65. What holiday should exist but doesn't?

~free shopping day where only i can shop for free :))))))

66. What holiday shouldn't exist but does?

~i love all the holidays

67. What's the best joke you ever heard?

~apparently none because i can’t think of one

68. Where is the most fun place you have EVER been?

~southpoint mall in charlotte. it was shopper’s heaven

69. Is your hair natural or dyed?

~all natural .

70. Do you have any deep dark secrets or are you pretty much up front?

~none that are interesting

71. What is under your bed right now?

~dust and stuff from my childhood

72. If you were in the Land of Oz would you want to live there or go home?

~gtfo bahaha

73. If you drive do you frequently speed?

~always

74. What is the world's best song to dance to?

~depends on what kind of dancing. any 2000s club song is an absolute banger

75. What song was on the last time you danced with someone?

~some tik tok sound. just a gen z kid here :)

76. Do you prefer Disney or Warner Brothers?

~probs disney

77. What is the first animal you would run to see if you went to the zoo?

~otters or tigers

78. Would you consider yourself to be romantic?

~if i’m crazy about you, absolutely. .

79. If the earth stopped rotating would we all fly off?

~ig lol

80. What is the one thing that you love to do so much that you would make sacrifices to be able to do it?

~travel all over

81. If you (and everyone) had to lose one right or freedom, but you could pick which one everyone had to lose, what would you pick?

~i’m sorry that’s too stressful lol

82. If you had to choose would you live on the equator or at the North Pole? ~equator. i hate the cold

83. Would you rather give up listening to music or watching television?

~tv. i can’t live w/o music

84. What do you think makes someone a hero?

~being selfless

85. What cartoon would you like to be a character in?

~powderpuff girls 100%

86. Name one thing that turns your stomach:

~rats

87. What was the last thing you paid for?

~clothes from shein

88. Are you a coupon clipper?

~nah

89. Get anything good in the mail recently?

~not super recently

90. Which would you rather take as a gym class...dancing, sailing, karate, or bowling?

~dancing

91. In Star Trek people 'beam' back and forth between different places. What this means is they stand in a little tube and their molecules are deconstructed and sent to another tube somewhere else where they are reassembled. Only problem is when the molecules are deconstructed the person is dead. When they are put back together it is only a clone that has all the dead person's memories. So... Is the person who gets beamed the same person on both ends?

~no because the real person died, so it’s a clone but not the original

92. What insects are you afraid of?

~roaches and wasps

93. If you could print any phrase on a T-shirt, what would it say?

~”she stressin’ over her wardrobe”

94. What's the most eccentric thing you have ever worn?

~i have these huuuuge tiger earrings that are freaking extra. i wore them with green corduroy flair pants and a brown stripped shirt and literally looked like the 70s threw up on me hahah

95. If you could pick one food that you could eat all you wanted but it would have no effect on how much you weigh, what food would it be?

~chick fil a

96. What are your parents interested in?

~my mom loves 70s tv shows and christmas lol and my dad likes classic rock and anything to do with christianity

97. Have you ever caught an insect and kept it as a pet?

~we used to catch lightning bugs in a jar when i was little and put them in a jar.

98. What is more helpful to you, wishes or plans?

~uhhh plans....lol

99. When do you feel your life energy the strongest?

~when i’m hanging out with friends or at a high energy place like an amusement park or concert

100. You are spending the night alone in the woods and may bring only 3 items with you. What do you bring?

~water, a flashlight, and something for protection like a gun

#survey #115 #5000 question survey

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soundrooms · 5 years

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Soundrs: DJ CYBERDAD

My name is John Verchot, I’ve released music under several names: J-chot as well as DJ CYBERDAD. Locally, I’m usually just billed as DJ Verchot. I feel like the first thing I should tell you about myself is that I have severe ADHD, which seems to be the single most consistent force guiding my art and existence. I often get distracted and always get ahead of myself when I try to explain things. DJ CYBERDAD started out as a funny pseudonym to release more profane songs that I didn’t want my son to hear, but changed into an outlet for my smoother dance jams as well as more introspective music.

What are your inspiration sources?

It varies from project to project. Often times with tracks, the inspiration to work on them comes in two or three different phases. Inspiration to create sounds is one thing, as inspiration to finish and structure tracks, create moods/themes, or even package them into a finished project, all feel like different driving forces/processes that need to happen in order for me to get anything done. However, whichever one of those forces I am able to utilize when I sit down at my laptop often seems to be beyond my control.

Most times I’ll hear a sound, loop or phrase, I’ll start to wonder what I can do with it, or how I can change and manipulate it. It might be the timbre of an old instructional video’s narrator, or an odd metallic sound I’ve managed to coax out of some equipment. Occasionally I’ll think of a concept, either of overall sound or thematic content and before I know it, I’ve got half a track planned out in my head. Many times I’ll hear other tracks or songs, and want to use just one part/concept/sound or re-do the whole track differently. With “Emotional in Destin”, I was trying to convey moods or feelings I felt during an unexpected trip to Florida in the middle of a crushing depression. It sounds bizarre, but I've never channeled personal experiences into my music before.

Overall what inspires me to create different sounds is the novelty of technology and bits and other people’s music.

What makes me want to sit down and make music is personal or professional success.

What inspires me to finish tracks and projects is the distant white noise of overwhelming anxiety and dread setting in as the ennui of the imminent collapse of western society fades giving way to the dark, almost imperceivable thrumming of the void drawing nearer, and is definitely getting louder. Your “time” is almost up John. Did you even do anything, or are you too skiddish and feeble of heart and head to make any clear decisions, impulsively flitting from one animal urge to another bad habit, clogging the chemical receptors of your brain for simple stupid pleasure. It’s night now and your eyes and fingers grow weary…

What was the question again?

Tell us something about your workflow.

Most times, it starts with just noodling around. Sometimes, it’s with synths and sequencers, either recording sounds or looping notes and tweaking/loading patches (virtual or real synths), sometimes I’m browsing potential sample material, but what happens next is the same regardless of how I’m making sounds or what I’m doing:

…I think hear something.

…And I STOP noodling. Basically, I either hear something I like, or I hit a riff or whatever and it’s like a tiny, tiny light bulb that blinks barely. Occasionally it’s like a hundred watt, and other ideas quickly fall into place. Most times, it’s a process of trial and error, but I’m making sure to document or isolate the little pieces that click and then attempt to refine or improve on those ideas. Ideas can quickly diverge, multiple sets with different names get saved, and I often jump around and get lost. I use color coding on clips and pieces in Ableton to help me sort those ideas. Some ideas form by running one sequence I’ve had already through a whole different synth/patch.

Very rarely, I’ll get a concrete idea while I’m driving, maybe I’ll make some notes on my phone (text to speech notes, voice recording).

When I get a spark that makes me imagine a full concept (“Charles Nelson Riley”, or that “My P**sy tastes like Pepsi Cola” remix for example), the track is formed VERY quickly (four to eight hours working time) and I finish the mix, structure, everything. This is rare, but these tracks are almost always my better material.

The next step is always the same: Let the track “cool-off”. Leave it alone. Do something else for a few days, or weeks… or in some cases, years… Then I’ll fuck around with it even more, or move on to:

STRUCTURE & MIXING:

I look for/experiment with arrangements that compliment my DJ style, or allow someone to do a rough edit if they want, (breakdowns at the end), or I’ll load a track that I like to DJ that’s similar enough and I will STRAIGHT UP copy the song structure in terms of intro, (drums or keys?) repeating bits, breakdowns, outros… Most times I fuck with it until it sounds okay, which is kinda bad because I end up drastically overscrutinizing it.

When it comes to mixing, something that I should do more often but don’t is load a reference track (someone else’s track) and try to get my mix to sound like theirs… This technique REALLY helps stop “nasty surprises” when you listen to it on a big system, or in the car.

Most of the time, I’ve been tweaking the mix the entire time I’ve been working on the project.

TL;DR

The “Emotional in Destin” EP is almost entirely soft synths, but lately my flow is:

1. dick around on hardware

2. “oh that sounds good, let me make another sound to go with it” (see step 1)

3. record a few pieces to an Ableton project.

4. “I don't know what to do now.” …maybe mixing or structure…

…almost ALL THE TIME, however I jump around and do everything very non-linearly. Hardware helps me not spend so much time tweaking patches or EQ-ing a snare drum for an hour. Texture is SUPER important to me, so I’ll often get hung up on EQ and compression before I even start on structure or mixing.

How would creative rituals benefit your workflow?

The hardest part for me is ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS getting started, or shifting gears from other activities (resting after work, reading tumblr, goofing off…) and going to sit down at my desk and start music stuff. I’m certain it’s an executive dysfunction thing. The less I think about doing it before I do it, the better.

Animal sacrifice SIGNIFICANTLY speeds things up. Try not to get blood on the gear/laptop, and make sure never to clean, but regularly sharpen the ceremonial dagger (VERY important).

How do you get in the zone?

I don’t really try…

As soon as I start to approach a task as “a thing” I get nervous and anxious. If I go “okay, I’ve got this task to complete…” my subconscious hijacks my higher functions to make me look at memes or tumblr for three hours instead of do what I “should” or “want”… The problem with me in the past has been how do I get OUT of the zone?

How do you start a track?

Oh jeez, I really jumped the shark with that question earlier, didn’t I? A technique I’ll sometimes employ is load up an old track, keep the drum sounds/patches but delete all the data, and make an entirely different genre of track… or one that's very similar… That’s kind of a fun exercise if nothing else. Also it often winds up getting tweaked and adjusted to hell and back.

Do you have a special template?

Nope. I make TONS of drum, EQ, and effects presets though. And they all have terrible names like “gooddrums”, “$GOODrums” and such.

Even though I’ve started with carbon copies, they ALWAYS end up sounding completely different by the time I’m finished with the track, because I can’t leave em well enough alone.

What do you put on the master channel?

Sometimes EQ, but always a phat ass compressor (limiting). I’ve been thinking about investing in a nice non-free one lately, but for some reason I am not comfortable with purchasing software plugins… I also have learned recently, that I’ve been using compression on the individual tracks way too much… which makes final-mixing a pain in the ass.

How do you arrange and finish a track?

DAMN IT. I really did go too hard with the first couple questions. The “finishing” of a track for me (arrangement, mixing) is usually done much later than the rest of the process. I try not to force stuff, but lately I’m realizing more and more that I need to not do this as much.

I can’t stress enough how using a reference track for structure or mixing can very often break up stagnation on a project.

How do you deal with unfinished projects?

Several ways. The first step is to judge an old file and see if it's worth finishing. If there is ANYTHING of creative/sonic merit, I put it in a folder with the other “sketches and ideas” (project graveyard). Otherwise, I have been trying to delete the “junk” projects… this can make it easier to focus. Another thing I often do is to make presets/patches/Ableton instruments from the parts I like, then drop it in a folder called “meh”. Or I drop them into several categorical folders, i.e.: “uncircumcised electro bangers”, “abrasive techno”.

How do you store and organize your projects?

Aw jeez. Oh gosh-oh darn. (See above answer.)

How do you take care of studio ergonomics?

Trial and error, trial and error, trial and error. This year alone my studio has been restructured and moved about my downstairs room at least five times. I’ve finally settled on something that feels very useful and productive. I am also this way with my work station at my job. CHANGE IT UNTIL IT WORKS GREAT. This can also help with creative stagnation, or can trigger it, so be careful. I keep my “electronics laboratory” close at hand so that more of that tinkering can find it’s way into my music… no such luck, YET.

I’ve currently decorated my space with all the crap I’ve saved up over the years, that for some reason, I’ve looked at this and thought: “This makes me happy” …SUUURE, my studio now looks like a fourteen year old decorated it, but I gotta say, I feel pretty phenomenal. Soon I’m gonna try to put this “stars and space” wall paper on my ceiling… I’ll update with a photo when that’s done.

Also I would like to say:

Minimalist spaces and studios are bullshit, y’all look like sick baby birds in empty shoe-boxes.

I mean, NOBODY LIVES THAT WAY, right? Maybe some boring rich people do, but damn… I mean, I try to clean and stay organized… and it helps, but I also try not to get to hung up on it.

Tell us something about your daily routine, how is your day structured, how do you make room for creativity?

**LOUD SUCKING SOUND THROUGH TEETH** I don't… at least, not very well at all… but I’m working on that.

I am not the person you should ask this question, because THIS RIGHT HERE is the BANE of my existence…

Share a quick producing tip.

MAN, I’ve already dropped like… seven, but okay, here goes:

BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY, FINISH THE TRACK. For me, this means ghetto-rigging, DIY, using the same goddamn audio interface from 2002 for f****ng fifteen YEARS… (recently fixed) don’t get hung up on “proper” ways, or ways that are outside your current means. Also, get a set of decent monitors… or use several pairs of headphones/speakers to double check mixes.

Recently, I’ve had less time, but a little bit of money, which is the opposite of how I’ve ALWAYS operated… it’s been difficult to unlearn “time consuming but cheap”. Also difficult not to impulse buy synths.

Making music with just a mouse and keyboard may be the least sexy thing ever… it works tho… cheap MIDI controllers CAN work faster however.

Share a link to an interesting website (doesn’t have to be music related).

My son just showed me this ➜ https://dddance.party/ and I have to say, this is an outstanding achievement of mankind.

List ten sounds you are hearing right this moment : )

Traffic outside my window, gentle hum of laptop cooling fan, dog snoring, fingers typing, birds chirping… that’s it.

John has a lo-fi house EP out on UltraBold Records as DJ CYBERDAD. It’s called ‘Emotional in Destin’. Stream it ➜ here, audio cassettes are available ➜ here.

Thanks John! If you want to get featured next, send a message here on tumblr or email [email protected].

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icharchivist · 5 years

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hey icha whats hypmic??

Heyaaa and ooooh dear where do i even begin…..

Erg so in very short it’s a musical mixed media story that have kind of a corny set up that is mostly an excuse to have fictional male characters of different background involve themselves into rap battles? Most of its content comes from songs and drama CD, even if there are a few manga adaptation covering a couple of the drama tracks (albeit all those covered are how the teams got together and all).

In a little more depth: Basically a group of 12 Seiyuu decided to band together into a principe of rap battle, that would also give a spotlight to multiple rap artists in Japan, as they do collaboration by writting/composing the songs. All of the Seiyuu play different characters divided in 4 divisions: Buster Bros!! for Ikebukuro, Mad Trigger Crew for Yokohama, Fling Posse for Shibuya, and Matenrou for Shinjuku. Each divisions/characters have distinct styles of music or text to differenciate them.

The idea is that, after World War 3 and a lot of the population dying, weapons causing harms had been outlawed, instead remplaced by what we call Hypnosis Microphone (or Hypmic), weapons that attack the brain via its sonic vibes, thus are more powerful depending on how savy you are with words and sounds and all of that. (like i said, it’s corny, it’s really just a pretext for the battles ahah)

The Government, that is kinda shady, took hold into Chuuouku, the center of the city, and the rest of the towns are left to fend for their own, indulging in territories battles. By the time the story start, 4 teams have taken a hand into 4 divisions where they try their best to low the crime rate and make life better, this sort of stuff. Recently however, the Government decided to keep a closer eye on the Rap Battle themselves, organizing huge Event in Chuuouku for the Divisions to fight each other, and the winner can therefore have major impact on what gets developped in the city and all.

It’s also important to know that the 4 leaders of the divisions, Ichiro, Samatoki, Ramuda and Jakurai, used to be in a band together, The Dirty Dawg, and they were very close - Something ended up breaking up the band (it is unsure what it is exactly) and left them with sort of bittersweet relationship with each other as they’re now in a position where they have to fight each other.

Again though most of it is mostly a pretext for songs and character driven plotlines for those 12 to fuck shit up:

youtube

(here a link to the translation, and here’s a link for the playlist of the songs they put on youtube - mostly previews except for the Ensemble songs - i can send the full songs/drama CDs but in private since it’s… illegal and all.You’ll find all the translations out on this website, and here you’ll find the drama tracks. And there for the solo songs only but idk how long this website will keep them up.)

(btw here’s the second ensemble song and here’s the third one - i tend to prefer them to the first one so here they are)

So like i said, corny, but character driven and i love those morons, and the songs are bangers, and i ended up loving it ways too much.

I’ll enter more in depth on the Divisions under the cut bc i do think knowing a bit the characters give a better idea but yeah kdjfhd my latest obsession rip.

If you’re reading this i’m so sorry i’m going to geek out over my 12 stupid sons.

btw (MC: ___) is their scene names, basically.

And erg while i try to avoid spoilers from the latest season, there’s a lot of “spoilers” from backstory exposition or information spreads through the drama tracks and the songs, so either just scroll to see the name and all or read at your own risks?

Buster Bros!!! representing Ikebukuro Division - in red, Ichiro Yamada (19yo) the leader,in blue, Jiro Yamada (16yo), in yellow Saburo Yamada (14). (Previews of their solo songs, preview of their first group song Ikebukuro West Game Park, their second group song: Ohayo Ikebukuro!)

Ichiro, Jiro and Saburo are brothers - they are orphans (unknown why but since Ichiro rejects any fathr figure p strongly i think it’s linked to their father) and Ichiro, the eldest brother, had taken care of his two little brothers most of his life to the point of being a delicant before being recruited by the Dirty Dawg. Before the story started the boys weren’t all that close, but by now, both little brothers want to prove their worth to their eldest brothers and when the Dirty Dawg broke up and Ichiro had to figure out which team to make for the Rap Battles, both brothers offered to help. Despite both being ways too young for this they still both ended up proving themselves. They also tend to fight for their big brother’s attention a lot.

Ichiro (MC Big Brother) himself seems to be a rather warm and friendly person - he works odd jobs all around town, kind of like a mercenary but doing just… any sort of work being asked of him, just not in the illegal stuff when he can avoid it. He’s rather hot headed. He used to be very close from the Dirty Dawg who took care of him when they met, especially Samatoki, but since the band’s break up, it seems there is a particularly sour relationship with Samatoki neither of them are over with. Ichiro often disses Samatoki out of nowhere in his raps lmao. Aside from that he’s a complete geek and loves manga and anime and video game - all the stuff you’d expect.

Jiro, (MC Middle Brother) the second, tends to follow Ichiro’s path a lot, being a bit in delincance and stuff, creating himself a web of contacts. He tends to copy Ichiro in his passions in order to impress him. He’s also very social and get friends very easily. He’s constantly bickering with Saburo who seems to see their “brotherhood” as a competition. They used to be very close when they were younger but now they’re always at each other’s throat.

Saburo (MC Little Brother), the third, doesn’t really want to follow the path of his brothers but he wants to be useful in his own way. Incredibly clever, he is a very good hacker and can find information very quickly. He also has some of the sickest burn of the lot but i’m biased. Unlike Jiro, Saburo is really not social at all and has very few friends. His whole world is about being the best he can be for Ichiro.He likes things that can stimulate his brian, especially board games and the likes.

Mad Trigger Crew, representing Yokohama Divison- Center in white, Samatoki Aohitsugi(25) the Leader - with glasses, Juuto Iruma (29), in military uniform, Riou Busujima Manson (28).(Previews of their solo songs, preview of their first group song: Yokohama Walker, their second group song: Dead Pools)

If The BB are linked by the fact they’re brothers, MTC is linked by being….. Involved in armed illegal activities? Samatoki is the second in command of a Yakuza family, Juuto is a corrupted cop who is close to Samatoki because of… work…. and Riou kinda ended up tagging along. Anyway they’re in charge of Yokohama which seems to be a part of the city that suffered pretty badly from the war and have high crime rates.

In more details, Samatoki (MC Mr Hardcore) is involved in the mafia. He explains in his personal song that his mother killed his abusive father before killing herself, leaving him to take care of his little sister, Nemu, which is what led him to a life of crime. His Yakuza clan seems to have a honor code though so they’re not involved in too much dirty stuff. Every sacrifice Samatoki did was for his sister. So obviously he saw a bit of himself in Ichiro when they originally met, and was one of the influencial force to keep Ichiro out of the crime life knowing pretty well where it’s headed. The Band breakup left a particularly sour taste in Samatoki’s mouth regarding Ichiro, feeling betrayed by whatever happened back then, and since then he tends to be. touchy. when it’s question of Ichiro. As in, almost caused a car crash while he wasn’t driving just thinking about Ichiro. He’s a mess. He’s also very short tempered.

Juuto (MC 45 Rabbit) is a corrupted cop: while he works with the police and all the stuff, he has ties with Samatoki’s yakuza clan and will do shady stuff in order to maintain this alliance. Mostly blackmail, bailing Samatoki out of jail, all this sort of things. He seems to have a specific reason to accept it, a necessary evil to get rid of wickedness in the city. Juuto’s backstory was only developped in the latest drama tracks so it would count as spoilers but let’s say he has reasons to do so.He’s generally more down to earth and more tongue in cheek. He knows how to pick up people’s weaknesses let’s say.

Riou (MC Crazy M) is an army man who isn’t aware the war is over. He has been living in survival mode in the forest of Yokohama for the past few years, having also one of the prototype Hypnosis Mic, with more raw power. His hobbies is to cook from… unusual sources. Samatoki and Juuto are terrified by his cooking. There isn’t much revealed yet about Riou’s backstory however. Juuto found out about him and put him in contact with Samatoki when it was question to develop MTC, and they have since then developped a companionship of sort.

Fling Posse, representing Shibuya Division (also they’re my favs❤ which will be obvious in two mins bc i rambled much more about them holy fuck)- In the middle with pink hair, Ramuda Amemura (24), with brown hair, Gentaro Yumeno (24), with blue hair, Dice Arisugawa (20)(Previews of their solo songs, preview of their first group song, Shibuya Marble Texture, their second group song: Stella (aka my most listened hypmic song that made me unhealthily obsessed with the series) )

I don’t even know where to start with them. Don’t be fooled by how cute they look, they’re the most shady group. Officially, they’ve all been recruited by Ramuda “only for the thrill of it”, “To kill boredom”, but it also happens that they are the three with the most ties to the government. But none of them tend to really talk about it. Not really. They are very “living in the present” kind of people, even if it comes with risks. Ramuda gathered them for his own agenda. Neither Gentaro nor Dice knew each other before Ramuda put them together and neither know why Ramuda gathered them aside as “for the thrill”. Gentaro however has major doubts over the kind of person Ramuda is.

Ramuda (MC Easy R) is their leader. He is a fashion designer. He was the one who put the Dirty Dawg together back in the days, and seems to have… weird reasons to do anything he’s ever doing. Honestly i don’t know how to even touch how shady he is, but he’s all shade of shady. He will however always sound super cute. The only person he seems to not bear the sight of is Jakurai, his ex-teammate from the Dirty Dawg. They used to be very close but now things are very tense in between them, mostly with Ramuda setting as much distances as possible he can and hardly managing to remain cheerful around him.

Gentaro (MC Phantom) is a writter and also a chronic liar. You litterally cannot trust a single thing coming out of his mouth, he’s always making something up. His personal song is supposed to talk about his past but there’s like, a big lie in the begining of it (”I was born in winter” yOU’RE BORN ON APRIL THE FIRST.). One thing that is certain about him however, is that he has a friend who is very sick and at the hospital and that it seems to be the motivation behind all of his lies, as he started to make up fictions to cheer up his friend and turned his own life into a fiction by extension. There’s more shady stuff about him and his past, i could discuss it for hours (he’s my fav kdhfd). But mostly, he’s just the kind to tease people a lot and to not really expect to have friends that stick arounds, considering himself a untrustworthy unredeemable trash. He has a weird dynamic with his own sense of self, always making up false selves. I legit could talk for hours about it kdjhfd. He tends to over-tease Dice because Dice falls for every single of his lies, and he tends to have a soft spot for him. He’s also extremely observant since he writes story he makes up from people he observes, so he catches on stuff more easily. Gentaro’s lyrics are often more inclined toward poetry or well, work of fictions (he wrote Stella in verse and Stella is kindof a Posse!Au of how Gentaro sees the Posse. Stellaaaaaa)

Dice (MC Dead or Alive) is… a professional disaster? Joke aside, he’s a gambler who tends to push his luck a loooot. (there’s a lot of implications about how he doesn’t have a stable place to crash in because most of his rent money go into gambling). His outlook on life are really mostly that he wants to live a life that gives him legit thrills. He hates being bored. It’s heavily implied that he comes from a rich, influencial family but threw it all away for his addiction. The only reason he agreed to join the Posse was for the thrill the rap battles would provide. He also kinda considers himself a lowrate trash due to the lifestyle he’s living.He’s rather guilible, falling for every single of Gentaro’s lies despite how obvious they are, and gets teased a lot by both of his teammates. He’s also fiercely protective and combative. He is also the king of bad decisions and of having to drag his posse in them. (well mostly Gentaro). He’s also loves the Posse in itself and is the one who’s the most likely to brag about how great his band is. He genuinely loves his teammates and it makes me so soft,,. He’s also very perceptive, realizing very quickly when his teammates are changing their mood. And again he protecc,,

Matenrou - Representing Shinjuku DivisionCenter with purple hair: Jakurai Jinguji (35), the blond is Hifumi Izanami (29) and the gingerhead is Doppo Kannonzaka (29)(Previews of their solo songs, preview of their first group song, Shinjuku Style, their second group song: Papiyon that wasn’t put on youtube yet but should in a couple of weeks)

Matenrou is the band with the darkest aesthetic, protecting the Shinjuku’s division that came to be known mostly for the health problems, if i understand well also because the only functioning hospital is located there. Jakurai is a doctor and Doppo is his patient, while Hifumi is Doppo’s childhood friend and roomate. They end up tangled together after Hifumi gets threats on his life pushing Doppo to reach out for Jakurai, who took an interest on them as possible teammates when everything unfolded.

Jakurai (MC ill-Doc) is… an interesting character i dare not to spoil the backstory of but let’s say he has some dark past. As a person however, he is fascinated by people’s psychee, how they work, what pushes them to do stuff, and is therefore attracted to “interesting people”, people that makes him want to explore human’s psychee. Back in the Dirty Dawg’s day, it was what drove Jakurai to be very interested in Ramuda…. Until he considered Ramuda’s humanity too lost to be saved after the band broke up, which Jakurai blames partially on Ramuda. Ramuda remains the only person to have ever made Jakurai lose his patience. Otherwise, Jakurai is a rather collected and a very kind man, who tries to reach out and help others when he can. But again, dark past and stuff and some shady stuff went on with Ramuda. He found an interest in Doppo and Hifumi as he got to know them and now is rather protective of the two of them, often going fishing with Hifumi and doing anything to uplift Doppo.He’s also a terrible drinker. Don’t let him drink.He has one of my favorite solo song though and he has a sort of goth existantialism vibe to him i just love.

Hifumi (MC Gigolo) is Doppo’s childhood best friend and roomate. Now Hifumi’s story is a bit huh.. particular. When he was very young he had had a very traumatic experience with women that led him to be utterly terrified of being even nearby one. When he reached adulthood, he considered he couldn’t keep going like that and forced himself into a woman dominated space by becoming a Host, to overcome his fear. It was so hard on him however that he ended up… coping by considering that when he was wearing the Suit of the Host, he was a complete different person. Not quite split personality, but autosuggestion mostly. He gets into all sort of troubles with the suit on however. The only person he relies completely on is Doppo, whom he knows from childhood and with whom he lives. Hifumi is a good cook, and is always trying to cheer up his friend. because…

Doppo (MC Doppo) is an anxious disaster of a man. He’s your typical overworked office worker, who is handling this life pretty badly. He feels like his whole life is something he should be apologizing for, which he does all the time. He’s honestly unhealthily anxious and that’s why he is Jakurai’s patient. He’s seriously a depressed, anxious disaster who’s only light seems to mostly be that Hifumi cheers on him all the time… when Hifumi doesn’t create a terrible situation Doppo feels like he has to apologize for. However Doppo is someone you can rely on, with a lot of frustration bottled inside him to the point of it becoming an amazing weapon once unleashed with the rap battles. He’s very quick and ressourceful when put into extreme lifethreatening situation, which got Jakurai’s attention a lot.

So this is the main divisions and characters. There are more developped via the drama CDs obviously, more plot and all, but that’s the gist of it. Honestly again it’s just a pretext for characters and songs that fits their characters.

I personally never expected to care about it that much - i have friends who had been talking about it for over a year and i just knew it a bit in passing until i started to casually listen to the songs - and then i went down the rabbit hole when i ended up loving the songs too much to not care for the characters. (Stella was my breaking point though. The moment it came out I was lost. This was the moment i dedicated myself to it. I could go on a full ramble just on Stella alone.)

And yeah it kinda shows i have a major bias but my favs are truly the Posse - both as characters and as music style goes. Close second is Matenrou though i love their aesthetics.

the first battle season is over, it’s easy to know from their youtube how it unfolded ahah. The first round was BB VS MTC, the second FP VS MTR. Each rounds came with drama CD setting up the dynamics of the characters in and out of their bands, which was pretty cool.

After the First Battle Season ended we were blessed with a drama track and song from the Dirty Dawg era which is why i cannot stop shutting the fuck up about it dkjhfd it makes me so sad to look back to how close they were and how they threw all of this away….

Now a new season is starting but this is where we’re missing translations so we just… wait.

There are a few manga that covers a few of the drama tracks but not all, and there will be a mobile game soon.

But yeah that’s. that’s basically the basis.

And it is far too entertaining to me kdjhfd

and i probably shouldn’t have written all of that with a killer headache but i,, love they,,,

so yeah this is all there is to know. If you’ve read it this far… i admire your patience. Thank u

And take care!

#ichafantalks hpm #ay ay ay!#long post for ts #if the cut doesn't work dkfhdf #draculater #ichareply

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hiphopmademedoit · 6 years

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Czarquan- Hunting Season Review

Written by DJ Toasty Z

Three weeks ago, NY underground heavyweight Czarquan released Hunting Season, his much anticipated follow up to Juice Wayne.

With Juice Wayne, Czarquan established himself as a household name and a force to be reckoned with in the New York underground scene. He stood out as a commanding figure whose “just ate a bowl of nails for breakfast” voice paralleled the darker side of the city he called home. His gritty voice over airy eirie production painted a picture of a true new yorker’s new york. On Hunting Season, Czarquan builds on this while showing a degree of versatility like never before.

The 12-track project clocks in at around 30 minutes. Short and Sweet. No Filler. Just 12 high-quality tracks. The album is produced almost entirely by Czarquan himself and his partner in crime Tony Seltzer.

When, I sat down with Czarquan for an interview, he emphasized how influential Tony Seltzer is on his art. They create a partnership where each one fuels the other, in turn elevating the final product. In today’s internet age, where rappers and producers are often just emailing tracks back and forth, the two processes are often detached from one another. It’s refreshing to see Tony and Czarquan’s chemistry, which allows them to carve out a truly unique sound on Hunting Season. Peep a clip from our interview below where Czarquan speaks on the genius of Tony Seltzer.

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The album also features production from Black Noi$e, Terror, Rago Foot, & A Lau.

The album has no guest features, another point that Czarquan emphasized when we sat down. He mentioned that there was a Nocturnal Sons Posse collaborative tape coming sometime in the near future and that the much anticipated sequel to the Jaguar Pyramids self-titled project was “lowkey in the chamber”. He wanted to buckle down and feed the fans with some fresh solo material. He did just that with Hunting Season.

If I had two describe Czarquan in one way, it’d be “so New York”. This comes through on Hunting Season as he draws from the New York OG’s, while creating a new innovative sound that isn't stuck in the 90’s. On the album, he also sprinkles in nods to everyone from Mickey Mantle to the late great Prodigy.

The Record starts with the incredibly high-energy, “456″, which serves as a great introduction of what’s to come. The line “shorty so fly, I don’t need no sidechick” stands out as a refreshing line that subtly supports faithful monogamy. He goes on to re-emphasize this sentiment saying, “baby fuck me good. I don't think bout cheating.” This subtly offers a refreshing sentiment that is not often represented in mainstream hip-hop culture.

Czarquan shows a degree of versatility that he haven’t seen before in his other solo work. He hits the listener with high energy bangers in songs like “456”, “Mikey”, “Remix”, and “No Scope”, but also brings a more chilled out vibe with tracks like “Grand Prix” and “Tens”.

We also see a much more introspective side to Czarquan this time around. On “Stuck”, he speaks on much of his discomfort and disdain with the business part of the music business. The fakers, the fronters, the dwellers.

On, “Sacrifice” he goes on to offer an important commentary on how the city he loves is slowly changing from the influx of outsiders.

Next thing you know they go and gentrify Brownsville.

I can tell from the first word, you ain’t from round here.

Out of staters should need visas, yeah that sounds fair.

Though he feels a bit of resentment towards these people he goes on to say “Very few that I fuck with aren’t city kids, but they all authentic”. At the end of the day, he can get down with the real ones no matter where they are from.

While, hitting on more impactive and introspective topics, he still hits us with many of the stereotypical themes of luxury and drug use that are found in much of mainstream hip-hop today. However, his lyricism allows him to talk about these topics in a rather atypical unique manner.

Rather than using simply terminology like purp, drank, syrup, etc., He hits us with clever lines like “this year I probably drank 20 louie belts”. Many rappers often compare the amount of money they spend on drugs to other luxury items. However to use the metaphor of drinking louie belt stands out in the listener's mind. He similarly remarks, “Pint costs a breast implant, that’s a D cup”. That may not be the first breast implant reference that I’ve heard in a rap song before, but it's nonetheless a clever line that gives me a good chuckle.

He uses similar witty lines when talking about spilling his drank saying “technically I got a $4,000 floor now” and “$100 in a bounty”.

On “Remix”, he remarks “We sippin’ muddy, not that cheap shit, remix remix remix, I don’t do that watered down shit”. This has both a literal meaning, but also touches on the fact he doesn’t fuck with watered down fake individuals that “move funny”. Check out the music video for “Remix” below.

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On, “No Scope”, Czarquan uses the phrase “diamonds dancing like disco”, giving a spin to the common reference to diamonds “dancing” on one’s wrist. This conjures up the image of literal disco dancing, but also how the “dimaonds” on a disco ball dance and spins. It’s fitting that I can’t help but dance when this track comes on.

Even on “Money Prey” and “Exfoliate”, Czarquan uses simply analogies to create a catchy hook that fits perfectly into the themes of the album. Money is to prey, as he is to a hunter. Nothing profound, but a simple way to seamlessly tie back into the title of the album. There is often beauty in simplicity and Czarquan understands that perfectly.

All in all, this project lives up to the hype. If you are looking for something fresh and new that’s innovative, while still having the spirit of traditional New York hip-hop, Hunting Season is a must listen.

Standout Tracks: 456, Mickey, Stuck, Remix No Scope, Sacrifice

Rating: 8/10

Peep Hunting Season below and also check out full length interview with the man himself.

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If you like this interview check out our other artist interviews HERE and consider subscribing to our youtube channel to keep up to date our weekly interviews, freestyle videos, music vlogs, and other content.

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thewritermuses · 5 years

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Call of Duty - The TV Series

Strike Back - Chris Ryan - Season 1 - 5 7/10 In a post 9/11 world Section 20 strikes foreign targets in a bid to stop threats to the UK and its allies. It's just a bit sad that it took them three seasons to really hit their stride. Season four was the best, a mix of action and comedy. Great characters and interesting plot. Section 20 are a deniable military force run out of the home office in the UK. This story follows their fight against threats to the UK and the world. This is a really interesting and unexplored idea for me. I feel that we generally see this story told from the point of view of the brass back in Whitehall and rarely get to see the it play out from the soldier's perspective. Great Episodic Narrative The storytelling is generally fantastic on at the meta level. Each season follows an overall plot, generally perpetrated by a main villain. Each episode follows a single part of the story but fits neatly into the meta plot. This allows us to get to know all the characters on a deeper level as less time needs to be spent focusing on the plot in each episode. In turn it doesn't detract from the narrative because it is all part of the seasons meta plot The investment in the characters is also true for the story. They are interesting and thought provoking. Each season poses what if scenarios that are allowed to play out. Playing in this space is very fun for writers and you can tell this as it shines through on the screen. Buddy Series After the first season the show changes quite dramatically. For the first season it has been a one man show. John Porter, Richard Armitage (The Hobbit & Spooks), carries the season on his ample shoulders.

From then onwards it becomes a buddy series. Sgt. Michael Stonebridge, Phillip Winchester (Crusoe & Chicago Justice), plays a straight laced SAS officer who plays by-the-book. Sgt. Damien Scott, Sullivan Stapleton (Animal Kingdom & 300: Rise of an Empire), plays a wise-cracking, philandering Yank. They make a great team, each playing off each other's strengths. The tension between the two is also very good. They have their differences but also have each other's back when it matters. Big Names in the Supporting Roles There are some big names throughout this series. Because of the structure of the narrative they are given a lot of opportunity to really sink their teeth into their roles. Conrad Knox, Charles Dance (Game of Thrones & The Imitation Game), is the main villain in season three - Vengeance. He plays the charismatic South African billionaire who is trying to change the face of the political landscape in Africa. Li-Na, Michelle Yeoh (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon & Star Trek: Discovery), is the lead of North Korea's Section 39. She is a ruthless and effective killer. Michelle nails this role. Unfortunately I gave up on the show before the end of her season. Some Bad Parts There were many mistakes and issues with the series so I'll just list some of them here. S2 E1 - There is a gunfight at the start of the episode. It takes place in a street and the kid running away from Section 20 goes down before they fire. S3 E1 - Up until this point Stonebridge has been the stoic reliable part of the combo. He flies completely off the rails and puts a bullet in Jake Hanson's head after Jake himself loses his mind and murders his squad. Then Stonebridge runs to his side to check his vitals. Come on, you know he's dead.

Photo by Lucas Fonseca from Pexels S4 E2 - Rebecca is shot in the head and yet is still able to move and talk. The scene is quite good apart from the particular injury that would have made her continued role in it impossible. Perhaps the issue is a lack of understanding of how debilitating head wounds are. Some Worse Parts S3 E3 - There is a fight in a hotel and three grenades go off. There is a market happening outside and everyone here would have clearly heard the explosions, but they go about their business as if nothing has happened. In season two there is part of the meta plot of a secretive operation called Trojan Horse which is the main villain's motivation. We only start seeing reference to this towards the end of the season. It is buried too deep for us to understand it. Essentially the entire last episode is one big reveal which we couldn't have see coming. Season two ends with the death of the section chief. We are supposed to care and feel for her sacrifice. But this is just not possible. First, she has been utterly unbearable for the leads the entire season. Fine, but you cannot expect us to take a complete one-eighty. Second, the reason that she sacrificed herself was to stop Operation Trojan leaking - an operation that we had no idea about until moments before. Glaring Plot Holes S2 E6 - A doctor working with Doctors Without borders, or another similar group, is treating people at a hospital under guard of the UN. As night approaches they are told they have to leave. This appears to be a daily routine and she must have some understanding of the threat that she puts everyone in by refusing to leave when an injured lady arrives. Her naivety gets everyone killed. It was also key for her to be captured - but that doesn't excuse the terrible writing. S2 E8 - People working as organ harvesters see their boss murdered and continue working. Everyone up to this point has been a captive working at gun point. Why don't they immediately try to escape? Perhaps the perks are just really good as an organ harvester in eastern Europe? We made it to Season 5. We don't have to worry about the Plot now right? In the first episode Section 20 get a tracking device onto their target's car - the idea to follow him to where he is holding a kidnap victim and perhaps whomever is running him. But they don't pull back at this point - they keep following. It proves important for them to be there so why did they need the tracker at all? In the third episode it gets even more ludicrous. After an attack on their new safe house Julia learns the surname of one of the attackers and finds out the city he is from. From this information she determines that he is Yakuza AND that the Yakuza are working with Section 39. Seems a little farfetched to me but it gets better.

Photo by Cristian Benavides from Pexels Stonebridge then walks into the room and says that they think we killed their boss. Presumably he learnt this from the Yakuza he was just fighting. Surely it would have been good to show us this part of the fight rather than cutting away right before it happened. Also isn't this contradictory to what Julia has just discovered? It would be a huge coincidence if the Yakuza were after vengeance as well as being in league with Section 39. And that is exactly what happens, even if the target of their vengeance is misguided in this instance. The End of the Show for Me The problems and plot flaws above were wearing a bit thin for me but there were also some great bits which we will talk about in a moment. The end of the show for me, and literally where I stopped watching, was S5 E4. They have tracked a truck of metal to a Yakuza stronghold. The metal was going to allow North Korea to have a nuclear weapon. They also know that Li-Na, head of Section 39 is here. They begin the assault on the stronghold, as normal outnumbered at least three to one. The head of Section 20 says: "The only thing that matters is the metal." So they fight their way until they are in sight of the truck and it is heavily defended. Click edit button to change this text. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.

Photo by Chandler Cruttenden on Unsplash At this point the section head orders Julia and Kim to take down the truck as he and Stonebridge go after Li-Na. So in a couple of minutes North Korea getting nuclear weapons switches from priority one two somewhere else down the list. He has to pay a heavy price for this decision but it feels completely unbelievable that he made it in the first place. Why did I watch Five seasons? There is some really great stuff in this show. I think if it had just been episodic I would have been done long before season five. The meta plot spanning a season was really engaging. The way subtitles are done in this show are awesome. With a lot of the show taking place in non-English speaking locations it was great to see them try something new and it worked. The subtitles were huge and felt more like speech bubbles from a comic. It's really fun. There is a great scene in S2 E2 where Section 20 storm a hotel that has been rigged with explosives. A bomb has been suspended above the centre of the floor. As it falls and everyone dives for cover. Stonebridge pelts towards it, catching it at the last second. Other things that they did really well The title music, Short Change Hero by The Heavy, is a banger. It sets up every episode perfectly. You cannot be anything but pumped up for them to storm in, guns-a-blazing, after hearing this track. Generally the editing and pacing are both good. A great example of this is S3 E10. Various teams have been separated as they travel back to base from Nigerian HQ. This thoughtful editing is so fantastically handled. S4 E9 has a portion of the episode where Stonebridge and Scott are assaulting a base while wearing night vision. They transition between first and third person. It works extremely well and lets us experience what the characters are experiencing. Good use of Plot Devices Using Hugh as the villain in S1 E1 and then as a red herring was brilliant. This makes us think that he is always the bad guy, even when he isn't. Great misdirection. Season two sees a double cross of Pakistani intelligence. This aspect of the story is well told and its unfolding is handled with nuance and skill. The show is great at toying with our expectations. It shows us time and time again that it has no qualms killing main characters. It then uses this to setup characters to appear to die or look like they are going to die. As an audience we feel that their death is almost certain and then they escape. They also do the reverse when they kill main characters. They meet our expectations in ways we don't expect which is a hallmark of great storytelling.

Photo by Quentin Kemmel on Unsplash A Missed Opportunity to Use Hatred Well In S3 E1 Stonebridge's wife miscarries. She takes her anger out on him saying that he is happy because he never wanted the child. Stonebridge has been struggling with the decision about the child for a while. He left Section 20 to return to a desk job all so that he could be around. Her reaction is important because we have to hate her. We have to hate her otherwise we will hate Stonebridge when he rejoins Section 20. If they had left this there it would have been great and Stonebridge could have tottered off to kill some bad guys and we would have been on his side. But no - they had to have someone kill her as well. This is supposed to make Stonebridge go on a mad rampage now whenever he sees the perpetrator. This makes little sense. Why setup the hatred of the wife and then make us kind of upset about her death. This makes Stonebridge's decisions from here on appear wishy-washy. He kind of just chooses the motivation that fits best for the situation he is in. Which just takes away from his character. Read the full article

#tv #tvreview #callofduty

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