#(they should all be named fortissimo)

[bassdaily]

Reploid AU Bass/Forte should be named Fortissimo, change my mind.

[pluppsauthor]

Lukas Tiro - Character Description/Info

Hiya, the thought came to me that I should make some character descriptions for my characters. Either to provide extra details or elaborate on pre-existing ones. So, of course, for the first one I chose Lukas Tiro, the main character of Wounded Reflection.

Still working on the formatting a little, so if you have any questions this didn't answer, or want to ask for another character of mine, go ahead. Honestly, there's a lot of info here, but every character I make has this amount or a similar amount of information themselves.

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Name: Lukas Tiro

Other Names/Aliases: Weaver of Time

Age: 16

Gender: Male

Birthday/Birthsign: 2/21, Pisces

Birth Place: Shorstone, Locke

Height: 173 cm / 5'8"

Appearance:

Lukas has slightly tanned skin and his eyes are a brilliant emerald green. His hair runs down to the edge of his shoulders, with a slightly messy, unkempt nature to it. Although, he tends to tie it up on windy days so it doesn't get in his face. He almost exclusively wears his Fortissimo uniform which consists of a black gi with white strips around his wrists, waist, shoulders, and ankles.

Personality:

Still a child at heart, yet chained to his past by an unforgettable tragedy, Lukas is an overall kind person with a glimmer of confusion and lack of confidence. He tries to see the best in people but assumes the worst. He also tends to read people well but struggles to hide his own feelings.

Likes:

Foraging/Hunting

Time-consuming tasks, such as weaving, sewing or mending clothes, wood carving, and sketching

Rhythm, such as dripping water or ticking clocks

Dislikes:

Ghasts

Autumn

Earthquakes

Frequency:

Lukas' Frequency is a simple yet deceptively powerful one. Upon the keyword "Tor" being spoken, Lukas is sent 5 seconds back in time to the position he was in at that time. All that is sent back is Lukas' mind or soul, only information. No physical parts of him are sent back, thus allowing him to undo injuries. Similarly, no one else is brought back with him, and no one else is made aware he has travelled back in time unless they observe his aura shifting, indicating the use of his Frequency.

Backstory:

As a child, Lukas lived a generally normal upbringing. He lived a modest and comfortable life with his family, consisting of two parents and three younger siblings. He did most of the chores and daily activities due to being the eldest child but never came to resent or hate it. However, on a single chilly autumn night, all of what he had grown to love was taken from him. He was the only survivor of a great tragedy that shook the entirety of Shorstone. Despite the mental and physical scars from the night, he strove to fight back against the force that took his life away from him.

Fun Facts:

Lukas is colour-blind, more specifically he has deuteranopia, a form of colour-blindness in which he lacks the green cones in his eye. Preventing him from seeing the colour green, among other colours of course.

When he uses his Frequency he is sent through a realm while travelling through time. The realm itself is green, or that is the closest colour, but Lukas can see it due to his physical eyes not being sent back with him.

Lukas has an impeccable internal sense of time, only losing track of it when he is concentrating on other matters. He always knows what time it is, not to the exact second but at least with a 5 minute window of error.

[lastcompact]

The body augmentation technique Battle Song is interesting, and the brief explanation from Crow about it was even more so. I haven't tapped into its full potential, but what I've already got going already puts me on a more supernatural level of strength and speed - so long as I don't tear my body apart up using it.

I guess the best way to partly describe Battle Song is utilizing perfect form in a punch - where the muscles simultaneously tense in the last moment to maximize power. Except one could cycle that tension and synchronicity of motion into other parts of the body and amplifying it before releasing it elsewhere. The art's creator Crow can summon the force of their entire body into a single strike instantly - and can amplify a blow several times over give a couple of seconds of time.

I can't say I'm particularly stronger or faster than any other seventeen year old. But Battle Song allowed me to kick a steel table flying into a guy wielding a submachine-gun. Pretty sure if the System didn't allow me to change all damage I deal into non-lethal (it's not as convenient as it sounds), that guy would've died by being pancaked into a brick wall.

The problem is that Battle Song requires a certain sturdiness of body to avoid getting shredded by the forces one is using. Pretty sure I sprained several somethings when I wielded it, but since the System allows me to treat my body as if it were in a Game, I took damage to my health instead - 1/20th to be exact for that one use.

There's a whole multitude of physical status effects in my System like burns and broken bones, but it seems sprains and torn muscles aren't one of them. Good to know.

Battle Song's techniques are named after musical notations. The one I used was Mezzoforte. The other one I know is Allegretto, which augments speed. They and Mezzopiano (dampening the body's sounds) are the starting points of Battle Song.

The starting points of Battle Song allow one to eventually direct their full body's force into an action - so if I master mezzoforte, I should be able to throw my full body's strength into a single kick or punch. The higher levels of Battle Song such as Fortissimo can allow one to cycle that force back into their body and allow one to add to it before releasing it, potentially doubling and tripling the force of a blow.

[hunting-songs]

❝ Oh no, thank you but I do not partake in such gambles myself. ❞ The curse user dismisses an offered wager with a wave — affiliative smile unfaltering all throughout this secret meating. The restaurant around them is dimly lit. Crowded just enough to throw off any final suspicions Senritsu may have had before taking up his offer, but not to overshadow their hushed conversation.

❝ Call it a superstition, if you like. Besides, you are here to investigate the topic yourself, correct? ❞ Of course, lesser minds see the tree but not the forest; the curse that transfigured her. While the ambassador accompanying her tonight has mysteriously gotten stuck in a conveniently placed traffic jam after a fire broke out ( ah, Jogo gladly lent them a hand for tonight ) Kenjaku leans a little closer, his head tipping just enough for violet eyes to burrow into the intricacies of her form.

❝ I hear you are interested in a certain curse that has surfaced. ❞

She could hear the cooks in the restaurants kitchen yell. She could hear every single clicking of chopsticks in the restaurant. She could hear the dust carried in by the visitors shoes swirl up loud like a sandstorm whenever a waiter walked over it. Behind Senritsus forehead was a headache throbbing harder at every whisper of a sound around her and she felt herself flinch just so slightly when the curse-user waved a hand with so very charming smile: "Ah did you heard that? Interesting, I could have sworn that hearing about something is usually my metier." She had sat seven hours in a car from Pellworm to Berlin, had sat three hours in Berlin a at the airport waiting for her flight, she had sat fifteen hours in a plane to Tokyo and now she sat here with her back feeling as if her bones had grown spikes. Uncomfortably Senritsu adjusted her position on the chair just so little, even if it did not gave any balm to the ache throbbing in every part of her skeleton. She grimaced quietly, just for a sweet smile to shoo away that grimace. Her short fingers tapped against her ear knowingly.

"Like I am hearing you now sitting beside me, your clothes rustling animando at every breath because you happen to be curious and attentive and keenly focused as anyone with a scientific mind would be when meeting something they are curious about, yet-" She lifted a finger like a teacher and than carefully let that finger dance through the air to a melody in her much too keen ears: "-there is a tension in your muscles hearable in the way your cloth rustle at every move. As if there is a mhmmmmm...." grieved, distressed, desperate. The words lay on her tounge like stones, unable to be spoken, pressing down her tounge. The lines where her skull had been crushed like glass and wrongly mended back together throbbed. Senritsus hestiated only for one second, barely noticeable at all: "- appenato resistance of your body to what you want it to do. As if the body tries to work against you just so little. Almost estinto, but still there."

"You heard that little thing about me and yet you are here singing me such a mhmmm" the stones were there again, the words were stuck in her throat like a clot making it hard to breath. There was a frustrated line appearing between the womans big eyes, but it was only there for a second and eventually she only shaked her head slowly over her own frustration when she should already know better: "...fortissimo and telling orchestra. Maybe you let me hear first what your name is, mhmmmmmm?", Senrisus smile was as innocently as she was not: "Your true name, of course. Lies are very loud and you would not want to be loud in a restaurant, yes? That would not be polite." [ @saiakv ]

[thehigh-waytohell]

Some notes on names

I’m sure many of you have already noticed this, but I have a tendency to follow formulas and patterns in The High Way to Hell. For someone who’s not great at naming stories and chapters, this works in my favor - I set up at the very inception of this story that I would be titling chapters after songs. The reasons for each song were pretty arbitrary - this one had a title that’s kind of a pun, that one had lyrics that made me think of the story, this is just the perfect vibe for the chapter (looking at you, Cherry Bomb) but all of them are, in one way or another, relevant.

For Believers Never Die, though, I knew I’d need to do something different. 

Basically for as long as I’ve had a rough outline for the trajectory of this story I knew that the hiatus season was going to be the most ambitious writing project simply by nature of how different it would have to be. Another tried and true formula I have stuck to for every chapter but the finales is the four act structure. Each boy gets a third-person limited section of each chapter, and in traditional four-as-three scriptwriting structure, the main character of the chapter gets the third (largest) act. But for the hiatus, that wasn’t going to work for the stories I wanted to tell. Writing the story puts you in control, but not enough to make my characters do the emotionally impossible. Pete just wouldn’t be that present in a story focused on the Damned Things. Andy wouldn’t be on tour with Patrick and Panic! (RIP).

Knowing all that, this season had to be a little different, and so I came back to the titles. Initially, I wanted to give each chapter the same name as a song created by the person the chapter was focused on. The problem there is (don’t hate me!) I don’t really like most of the Fall Out Boy side projects? I sure did listen to all of them, but they just aren’t my vibe. I couldn’t dig into a song enough to give it to one of not that many chapters in this absolutely vital season.

And then I thought - maybe these chapters shouldn’t be complete songs. This whole thing is about separating into the building blocks of a thing, about measuring individuals against the sum of them. Maybe rather than a song, it should be more… foundational.

And then I naturally didn’t really follow that and went with vibes instead.

I say this with 110% intention of bragging - Believers Never Die is going to be a ride. It’s complicated in an extratextual way and it’s going to be SO MUCH LONGER THAN I INTENDED. I hope it hurts you and heals you and makes you cry every sort of tear imaginable, and then, selfishly, I hope you tell me so. The beginning of the end is coming in 24 (ish) hours, so set your clocks early, etc, etc. 

And without further ado, the tracklist for this non-album is listed below:

Prelude

Nocturne

Fortissimo

Interlude

A Capella

Mixtape

Believers Never Die

Postlude

Thanks for reading.

[gear-project]

My "Gripes" with GG

So, @vork---m was asking me what I don't like about Guilty Gear's story and a lot of people (over the years) seem to be deeply interested in my negative takes for one reason or another.

I guess, if I had to boil away all the fat that is my interest (and that's a LOT of fat)... it boils down to the gaps and half-baked shoddy efforts that have been made to sew the story together at times.

VastEdge itself was a "certified" cardinal sin in my book, from inception to conclusion, and even promotional materials related to it (Dizzy cosplayers spoiling the plot of the game itself? How low can you go?).

In general, almost all the games that were "made" to cash in on Guilty Gear as a "popular" franchise instead of respecting it as a venerable fighting game saga are guilty of this (not just VastEdge but GG RoA, Dust Strikers, and GG Judgement to an extent post-Isuka days).

Pro-Jumper Guilty Gear Tangent could technically be forgiven for this, since it at least had the sincerity to point out that it was a "tangent" and had more to do with Chimaki, the series' "arbitrarily named" mascot.

Even if you went so far as to say Guilty Gear Puchi was among those, Puchi (Petit) is still a really good fighting game on its own, even as a portable fighting game, and its story (though simple) was at least consistent with what was known of GGX's plot at the time. The same goes for GGX Advance as well (released long AFTER GGXX was gaining popularity in arcades, making it a somewhat alien title).

And while this is more technical/gameplay related... I took great issue with how Guilty Gear Xrd Series was handled on the whole... the localization was poorly handled after Xrd Sign, and the game itself offered a News-based tool but only promised it in Japanese modes of the game, otherwise all you got in the main menu were copy-pasted errors of old DLC that were irrelevant to the current content (in fact it still hasn't been fixed to this very day).

Going further back in GG's history though, I also took issue with how Accent Core Plus R was handled... not just the rebalance choices, but also how the sprites and stages were mismanaged. A lot of this could've been fixed if their sprite assets were taken better care of... instead, A.B.A. and Kliff's stages caused a lot of game-crashing errors among other things (to say nothing of the game crashes we continually got from I-No's Fortissimo glitch during Accent Core's inception on the PS2).

It took a whole year before Accent Core Plus R was given a stable build on the PlayStation 3 back in the day (and even the PC version is technically a toned down version of the PS2 version of the game which had upscaled sprites by comparison). Developing GGXrd simultaneously alongside ACPlusR was a poor decision on their part, as it just increased their workload to crunch levels.

I should also mention the transition from "Red Reload" to "Blue Reload" (the patch updates for the original version of GGXX). Not only did they completely "scrap" the original version of Robo-Ky, but they essentially locked out all that version's assets to the "vanilla" versions of GGXX and GGX, meaning you could only play THOSE versions (pre-Reload) to enjoy the character! Talk about mismanaging DLC. They could've at least given the game a rollback option to the previous stable version.

Of course, much of these issues are gameplay related... but it's still an "aspect" of the story that is mostly lost to history because of poor decisions made (even the Story Mode "clash" intros were modified, meaning you can only see CERTAIN clashes on the original version of vanilla GGXX). That's a complete inconsistency right there!

Oh yeah, speaking of inconsistencies... not only was the majority of the GGXX series NOT handled by Ishiwatari himself, but even the design choices of the characters were continually changed and messed up (they couldn't decide on what color to use for some of Ky's back belt sprites depending on what game you were playing, as an example, but there are other issues too, like Testament's hairline sprites which were misaligned).

Obviously sprites are different from 3D models, but even 3D models have a ton of mistakes on them if you know where to look (I'm sure the people who tinker with Unreal Engine know exactly what I'm talking about here).

I'll take a step back here and just say that... as a longtime fan... these feelings of mine are usually tucked a way in the back of my mind as a not-so-fond memory.

These are still "lessons learned" in the development process, but that also depends on who is manning the ship. I can't speak about other members of Team Red, but Takeshi Yamanaka (for as much work as he has done) is probably the most infamous of the crew for making mistakes throughout the series (which has made him not one of my favorite developers as a result). He's probably done a lot better in recent years... but still, there's a lot of things I'd love to yell at him about (especially the decisions made to nerf Justice in ACPlusR... that was just cruel, Testament and Zappa buffs in PlusR were equally as cruel and unreasonable).

And while I was somewhat "complacent" with how EX Mode was handled in the GGXX Series, I was not mentally prepared for Ishiwatari completely nuking all that came before in Guilty Gear Strive.

Like a bizarre mid-life Crisis, Ishiwatari just arbitrarily decided to boil down every character to their absolute essence (even if that meant making some characters extremely powerful, like Bridget is currently enjoying or Ramlethal)... of course, we're still expecting another rebalance as more characters get added... but it was definitely a rocky start to say the least...

I am, of course, still enjoying the GGStrive Plus Mods that Wistful Hopes (a legend of a modder) has brought back to the table for this game... but that is parallel to a lot of the ideas they COULD have used on the developer's end of things... meaning they could have done even more if they had made that decision in the first place.

I should also mention my gripes about how Arcade Mode in general was handled between GGXrd and GGStrive respectively in terms of story content... there is no way to revisit some aspects of the story in an archive format once you've observed them... instead you still have to jump through all the flaming hoops again (unreasonable bosses included) just to see "that one" cutscene.

Not only that, but the "date structure" of Xrd in particular is egregious for being inconsistent. Certainly Ramlethal declared war on the world in October 2187... but when Justice attacked Illyria Castle, they couldn't decide if it was October or November in the story (the timestamps say October, but the Newscaster says NOVEMBER)!

And they even "gave up" on timestamps for GGStrive. Even the so-called "world map" you see in Mission Mode has absolutely NOTHING to do with the story... they just made it to make the game landscape look neat and connected.

*SHRUG*

Oh goodness... I'm tired just thinking of all the half-baked ideas GG has had over the years.

Normally... I do not voice these thoughts of mine, simply because I am constructive and HOPEFUL that things will be BETTER!

And I am still convinced they WILL BE!

I mean, c'mon, these are the same people introducing ROLLBACK for a lot of their fighting games, AND CROSSPLAY... it can't be all that bad, even if they flub a story or two (or abandon previously used voice actors for totally arbitrary and ludicrous reasons).

Okay, I'm done...

The broad strokes of this that you need to take home with you are TO BE CONSISTENT WITH YOUR WORK... DO NOT FLIPFLOP, stay faithful to the source material, unless there's something absolutely major you need to change for stability reasons or appeal reasons (though even that is questionable to an extent), at least do it with the fans paying attention to the story in mind!

Also for goodness' sake DON'T BE GREEDY... don't make half baked content just for the money.

[whitherliliesbloom]

FFXIVWRITE2021 ☆ MY FILLS ☆ PROMPT LIST ☆ AO3 MIRROR (tba)

// COMPLETED! //

total word count: 52,093 words (including bonus) longest fill: fate matrix [5,241 words] shortest fill: sins of the spectator [537 words]

personal favorites: 03 scale - heartbeat concerto 05 fate - fate matrix 14 commend - lights, camera, duty commenced 17 destruct - when the light blinds 22 fluster - in the eyes of the beholder 23 soul - your voice will save me 29 debonair - all like magic to my riddled heart 31 nocturne - to the moon and back

01 FOSTER - taming the stray kayelily // post-shb // 888 words lily still remembers how kaye’s eyes had looked 7 summers ago, when it was filled with naught but distrust and contempt for the world

02 ABERRANT- style over shadow drk npcs // post-shb // 1,037 words sidurgu convinces himself that the black chunks of metal suited the warrior of light far more than pastel pink frills and flowers. rielle is more than eager to dispute that

03 SCALE - heartbeat concerto alphinaudxwol // nodame cantabile au // 2,605 words illya prays to the heavens that the man beside her does not hear the fortissimo that was her pounding heart.

04 BALEFUL - in scornful eyes wol, gaius & alisaie // post-sb // 838 words gaius van baelsar did not fear death, but it didn’t make the warrior of light’s glare, full of seething hatred and fury any less frightening

05 FATE (free) - fate matrix alphinaudxwol // fate matrix au // 5,241 words in a world where the hands of destiny are ones and zeros, at the center of the matrix was a little goddess who would soon find out that she too, isn’t immune to the pull of fate

06 AVATAR - discord-ance spud squad & alphinaud // modern au // 603 words alphinaud infiltrates the spud squad discord server and finds… what else, but chaos?

07 SPECULATE - sins of the spectator alphinaudxwol // post-hw // 537 words at what point does speculation turn into accusation… and accusation comes to cause harm?

08 ADROIT - sweetened tea and midnight ink alphinaudxwol // post-canon // 1,022 words there’s an art to deflection, one alphinaud thought it has fully mastered. unfortunately, his wife is even better at seeing through lies

09 FRIABLE - by the book tataru & alphinaud // pre-endwalker // 666 words the last time alphinaud tasted scones this unappetizing was back in old sharlayan. and though he doesn’t exactly mind, it is absolutely a problem when the one he hopes to gift his baked goods to also happens to be one of eorzea’s best culinarians and the hero of the star both

10 HEADY - fragrant sorrow implied kayelily // wozwald au // 1,805 words even after all these years, the scent of flowers brought the god of death the most amount of pain

11 PREACHING TO THE CHOIR - a house of cards alphinaudxwol // tears of themis au // 1,468 words it takes unwavering conviction, something alphinaud never once doubted stellis’ best junior attorney to possess in strides

12 WANDERLUST (free) - take me to where your heart meets mine alphinaudxwol // post-canon // 1,265 words the warrior of light’s home is often empty, but her heart will ever be full and bursting to the brim with love

13 ONEIROPHRENIA - quietus kaye & illya // wozwald au // 1,858 words in the midst of his delirious, drunken haze he saw her - he can’t tell if it was meant to be his final blessing or an eternal curse

14 COMMEND - lights, camera, duty commenced! illya, g’raha & emet // actors au // 2,263 words behind the scenes of the critically acclaimed long running tv show, final fantasy fourteen, g’raha tia is (almost) inconsolable after he reads the final act’s script

15 THUNDEROUS - if you can hear my tune alphinaudxwol // nodame cantabile au // 1,120 words on a particularly stormy night, when the angry claps of thunder would normally drown out the sounds of the piano, illya wonders if the boy next door would be able to hear the tune of her sincerity and gratitude

16 CRANE - birds of a feather illya & friends // no particular time period // 1,847 words though their species varies as much as the colors of their plumages, birds of a feather flock the warrior of light together

17 DESTRUCT - when the light blinds alphinaudxwol // major shb spoilers // 1,270 words when the light in her shines so brightly that the stars in her eyes have been blinded completely, alphinaud feared that he’d forever lose that which served as his beacon of hope during his darkest moments

18 DEVIL’S ADVOCATE - pearls of wisdom illya & kokomi // post-sb // 1,291 words it just takes a devil’s advocate clad in the form of an angelic surface dweller to convince kokomi to finally leave the coral palace behind

19 LUMINARY - to you who showed me the stars illya & kokomi // post-5.55 // 880 words the soft ripples upon the mirror like water turns the surface beneath their feet into a sparkling, luminescent stage. and in the midst of a meteor shower, a pair of girls who have had all their wishes fulfilled cast their eyes upwards at the star tide

20 PETRICHOR - river flows in you kaye & eulalie // post-canon, alt canon verse // 1,412 words mama wasn’t lying when she said thanalan was often full of unexpected surprises. heavy downpour upon a place named drybone, and an unplanned run in with one of her parents’ long standing allies being two of them

21 FECKLESS - what the heart is to the weak illya & ardbert // early shb // 1,556 words in both their worlds, victory was not decided by power, but by the strength of  convictions. for they who carry the fate of the realm upon their shoulders, conviction is something that must be hard earned with their blood and tears

22 FLUSTER - in the eyes of the beholder alphinaudxwol // post-canon // 2,042 words they say an artists always inadvertently pours their heart’s true feelings into their drawings

23 SOUL - your voice will save me alphinaudxwol // post-5.3 // 2,416 words it’s a long time coming, but alphinaud thinks he should finally tell the warrior of light the words his soul has been yearning to say for thousands of years

24 ILLUSTRIOUS - eyes fixed upon a shiny ray alphinaudxwol // aetherweave au // 2,858 words asking the star student of the most prestigious magic academy in eorzea out to the end of year prom is as daunting as it sounds

25 SILVER LINING - in a place where dreams continue alphinaudxwol // mermaid au // 1,422 words getting caught in a terrible storm and being thrown overboard may just be the worst thing that has ever happened to alphinaud - or the best

26 HEARTFELT - all that glitters alphinaudxwol // genshin impact au // 2,105 words on the first full moon of the lunar new year, liya has only a single selfish wish as she gazes up into the sea of lights

27 BENTHOS - beyond lulled waters alphinaudxwol // nagi no asukara au // 1,452 words where the sea meets the land, a promise is made between a boy and a girl who come from radically different worlds

28 BOW - towards a tomorrow illya & kirishimi // period drama au // 2,062 words kirishimi didn’t care for frilly dresses or etiquette unless it was to make a statement - so she gets lessons from the most ladylike friend she knows

29 DEBONAIR - all like magic to my riddled heart alphinaudxwol // post-canon // 2,415 words on the occasion that alphinaud feels confident enough to perfectly exude his charm, illya never fails to be swept off her feet

30 ABSTRACTED - weaving the present, illuminating the future illya & friends // streamers au // 2,849 words the spud squad announce their indefinite hiatus right after releasing their one year anniversary single, and illya cannot help but to feel just a tad bit melancholic

31 NOCTURNE - to the moon and back alphinaudxwol // pre-endwalker // 1,000 words “what do we have to fear? after all, we’ve come this far.”

[miss-kittys-magical-library]

The Word Of Your Body Duet (Roland x Rin)

Songbird

Word Count: 1283

Warnings: some language, loads of fluff

A/N: Just decided to drabble some Roland while he was at the musical conservancy mentioned in Three Summers. It takes place a few years before the film. For no particular reason I crossed him over with Rin from I'm A Creep and Auld Lang Syne 💁🏻‍♀️

Rin always found it difficult to play the piano with her gloves on. In spite of their pliable leather, they didn't allow the flexibility. Still she hesitated to take them off to make things easier for herself. Her fingers slipped on the notes she played a hundred times the last few weeks.

“That's meant to be an E minor, yeah?” the young man sat down beside Rin with his back to the keyboard. “That's why I wish you’d take th’ ridiculous gloves off.”

“It's funny how you’re always giving me your opinion, Roland. I never seem to ask for it.”

Dark curls hung over his forehead, and his verdant eyes seemed to stare right into Rin’s soul. “I'm your mentor. I'm supposed t’give you my opinion.”

Rin huffed, “What's your excuse outside the practice room?”

Roland ignored her, or just didn't get it, Rin was never sure. He turned and put his hand over hers to manipulate them into curling further and hitting the right key. The note came out perfectly.

“You’re not th’ problem. The damn gloves are. They're stupid and in the way, Wren.”

“You know I need them, Ro.”

Rin relished how the nickname caused a crimson red to climb up the length of his neck.

“It's Roland.”

“And I go by Rin,” she went back to playing but a bit more aggressively.

“Your real name is Wren. Just because your brother couldn't pronounce your name doesn't mean your parents should have let others do the same. It's a perfectly adequate name.”

Roland’s hand maintained its position over Rin’s but she wiggled free from his grip. Her glove sliding with it.

“Every compliment from you feels like a slap in the face. May I have that back?”

Roland held it aloft, given that his arms were rather long Rin had no way of snatching it back without standing up.

“Not until you play without them. If people have a problem with your scars that's on them, love. You aren't t’blame for their wanderin’ eyes or your parents’ abuse. I think you ought t’be proud of them.”

Roland held out his free hand palm up and wiggled his fingers. Rin gave quite the dramatic sigh and handed him her other glove with reluctance. She flexed her hands and soaked in the cold air that washed over them. She would never admit he was right as she began to play faster and freer.

“I know you've got other.. gifts,” Roland chose his words carefully for once, “That forces you to wear them otherwise. I just think music should be the one time you feel emotions.”

So, so, right. Instead Rin began to play louder with notes at random. This time to push out her thoughts of how she never had to worry about being overwhelmed when she was around Roland. He never held back, whether out of preservation or something in his past. Maybe, she thought, he was just made that way.

It almost mortified Rin that maybe he wasn't couth, but that outspokenness reflected back on her. The way she almost refused to keep anything in. Like Roland’s word vomit became hers, and she just blurted out whatever came to mind. The banter egged him on.

For now, Roland rolled his eyes so hard they nearly went back in his head. Rin kept louder and louder still. Not playing her performance piece, she took to pounding out Chopsticks at random.

“FORTISSIMO, SONGBIRD! PLAY LOUDER THEN! WAKE THE BLOODY DEAD. I DON'T THINK THE DEAF CAN HEAR YOU!”

“WHY DON'T YOU JUST BLEEDING PLAY THEN?! MISTER TEN INSTRUMENTS BUT LONGS TO BOSS US ‘ROUND?!”

Roland started joining in and overpowered Rin. His fingers deftly traveling over the keys and pushing her out of the way so he could play some classical tune or another. He immediately got lost in the process

Rin tentatively moved her hands on top of Roland’s now. She honed in on him the way her gift allowed but he was hollow. There was no connection between him and the notes.

“Technically I’m brilliant,” he wasn't bragging. It was the truth. “I've lost my passion. You wouldn't have started mucking about at my criticism if you didn't have any.”

Rin narrowed her eyes, “Who looks at a porcelain white baby and thinks, ‘Let's name him Roland?’”

“I've one better,” his fingers stopped abruptly. Roland glanced at the young woman beside him, “Who looks at a perfectly innocent child and thinks, ‘Let's turn her int’a circus sideshow?”

Rin’s nostrils flared, but she swatted his hands and arms away from the piano. Her lips sewn shut from making anything worse. “Just listen to my piece so we can get this done. Then I can be rid of you till next semester.”

Roland didn't answer but waved her on so Rin began to play and sing:

For you, there'll be no more crying

For you, the sun will be shining

And I feel that when I'm with you

It's alright, I know it's right

To you, I'll give the world

To you, I'll never be cold

'Cause I feel that when I'm with you

It's alright, I know it's right

And the songbirds are singing,

Like they know the score

And I love you, I love you, I love you

Like never before

And I wish you all the love in the world

But most of all, I wish it from myself

And the songbirds keep singing

Like they know the score

And I love you, I love you, I love you

Like never before, like never before,

Like never before

Rin opened her eyes, held her breath and sat back waiting for something more criticizing and less constructive to come from Roland.

“That was,” he paused, “Rather lovely. Good show, Wren. Sing out a bit more, but honestly it was splendid.”

Rin’s elbow slipped from where she had propped her head up with it. “Pardon? Nothing about Fleetwood Mac being commercial or provincial or something rubbish.”

“The Dance is one of the most well-arranged live albums of the last thirty years. I adore every single part of Tusk from the percussion to the quiet crescendo to the loud raucous chorus and brass accompaniment.”

She couldn't stop herself, Rin leaned forward and hastily pushed her mouth into Roland’s. It wasn't just to prevent him from ruining a perfectly wonderful compliment, but because she felt compelled to do so. A startled “mmf” escaped his lips before he returned the kiss. A hint of tongue from her mouth to his and back.

Roland’s hands settled on Rin’s face and wrapped around her head. His thumbs caressed her cheeks. Meanwhile her fingers got lost in his hair and tugged it softly.

Soon they remembered themselves and broke apart. Roland’s eyes still closed; heat crept along Rin’s skin but in a good way for once. Warm and comforting, it smelled like a campfire and like pine. He tasted nervous but also a good heart muddled by smug self-confidence that hid self-deprecation. And mint?

When did I start chewing gum? Rin grimaced hoping it went undetected.

“Well..” Roland seemed speechless. “Thank you?”

Rin laughed. She had no choice. It just leapt from somewhere deep inside her chest. “Nothing about you knew I'd come to my senses? Or that I had the hots for you this whole time?”

“You’re the Empath with feelings and people's true selves, Wren. I'm the one who can discover true musical talent when no one else can see it. Trust me I didn't see this coming, but it makes my next question easier.”

Roland scratched his head. Rin waited.

“I was thinking.”

“A dangerous pastime for a man like you.”

“We should have sex.”

Tag list: @robertsheehanownsmyass @frogs--are--bitches @super-unpredictable98

[cheese-ception]

To Call You By My Name

Aka "how to propose without using any of the usual words for it whatsoever".

Probably my fluffiest piece as of yet, but one can never be too sure, right? 

warnings: none

word count: 946

big thanks to @masamune-archive​, as always ♡

special tag for @stardust-dreamer13​ ♡

Alice shuddered, pulling at the weighted duvet, tangling her cold feet into it. Her legs felt heavy, almost as if they were made of lead and she cursed under her breath, utterly done with her current state of being. She cracked open one eye, directing her weary gaze towards the window, letting out a strained noise of displeasure. The sky behind the water-kissed glass was steel grey, imposing and gloomy, and she felt another shiver run down her spine as she listened to the sound of thunder filling the air, striking with an unsettling intensity, much too close for her taste. She dove under the thick covers in an attempt to block the sight of the flash she knew would follow, the ghost of it chasing after her regardless, her little sanctuary of pillows and blankets illuminated by its eerie light. She yelped, pulling her knees to her chest, cradling them like they were her only lifeline in the world of stormy madness. She laid perfectly still, arms still wrapped tight around her chilly legs, goosebumps littering her skin, a picture of her dark disquiet, and she sighed, wishing the mayhem away, summoning memories of sunlight and rainbows into her shaken mind. Stirred by a soft sound, barely audible, yet so very apparent in contrast to the thunder’s fortissimo, she turned in its direction, arm bumping against a warm surface. The soft chuckle following that surprising yet pleasant collision brought color to her cheeks, pushing some of the darkness away with it, her vision filling with the bright tones of yellow. Her arms reached towards the soothing warmth, stiffness and cold beginning to lose their hold on her and she was greeted by yet another endearing sound, her own name being called out in the softest of voices. She hummed in response, joy spreading through her chest, fear and anxiety dispelled by the sugary tones she never tired of hearing. "Sunshine! What are you doing here? I thought you were on duty today." A long, graceful digit pressed against her lips, sealing the rest of her words behind them. "That I was, but the weather had been so dreadful that I decided to request a little break. I shall let the ’morrow make up for today’s shortcomings." Edgar murmured, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead. "Plus… times like these my duty is with you, my love – is it not? Or am I perhaps still more frightening than the wild forces of nature?" Alice sighed, swatting his hand away, scowling at the last remark, though the twitch of the corner of her mouth betrayed her display of feigned exasperation. Edgar's laughter filled the room, brilliant and rich, soon followed by her own. She grabbed a hold of his collar, pulling him down onto the mattress, meeting close to no resistance as he followed, an amused grin gracing his lips. "You of all people should know I have never feared you, silly" she murmured, stroking the back of his neck lovingly. Edgar's breath hitched, his smile disappearing in an instant, caught off-guard by her lighthearted response. True as it was, it still never ceased to amaze him. His brave Alice never saw him as the demon others took him for. He pulled her into a tight embrace, sighing softly when her slender arms held him in turn. "Here I thought I was coming to save you, but it would seem you've turned the tables on us, my dear Alice…" he whispered, his voice so sweet it could rival honey. "No matter how wild the storm or how dark the night, your light overcomes it all."

"Tell me, will you stay with me?" he inquired, the question lingering between them. Pushing against his chest, Alice paused at the sudden urgency in his tone, wondering what brought it up. Head titled to the side, she met his gaze, somewhat puzzled, yet her voice rang clear and reassuring. "Of course I will, I wasn’t planning on making you leave tonight." "Not just tonight, my love… Would you let me call you by my name?" She stared at him in pure disbelief, his sudden proposal leaving her completely stunned, till the gentle stroke of his fingers against her face brought her back to reality. “Ed! You can't joke around like that, I might take you seriously if you do!” she exclaimed, her hands shaking a little, grasping at the sheets in sheer confusion.

Surely, he did not just ask her to... He leaned in, kissing the tip of her nose, his hand tracing a line across her jaw in a delicate, almost hesitant way before withdrawing, the heat of his touch persisting on her skin, his gaze expectant and earnest. Surely, he did not just... "I assure you, I have never been more serious, sweet Alice." He paused, taking a deep breath before going on. "Would you allow me be the one to hold your hand through all the storms that follow?" his usually calm voice wavered, the strength of his conviction reflected in the depths of his jade eyes instead, as he studied her face, patiently waiting for her response. She continued to stare at him, the sweet and unpredictable little devil, who has already owned both her heart and soul, yet acted as if somehow unaware of it being so, happiness threatening to spill the tears she tried so hard to hold back.

Before she even knew it, she was kissing him, the overwhelming joy and need for him taking over her, sweeping away the last of any doubts and uncertainties.

She broke the kiss at last, resting her forehead against his.

"Yes, Ed. I would love to."

________

Masterlist

[masterhandss]

Hamefura Idol AU! (part 2)

Here’s a completely unrelated Katarina idol art by @Sangotofura on twitter!

This is a continuation of my first post, the one that is more of an overview of the original FL game and the original descriptions of the characters. I don’t know if I want to write a story for this, since again this is just an excuse to draw, but I’m really having fun with expanding the alternate version of the world of hamefura.

It’s a lot of fun to rewrite hamefura’s story to fit in an idol setting, so I hope you guys don’t mind if I write a bit more for my dumb au dhjgfjs

More tidbits about the ‘Game’:

The game’s name, Fortune Lover: Cinderella Idol! or “Fortune Lover”, is read as “for-tune lover” by the fans (get it? tune?? pls laugh). The ‘F’ of the name is written as a fortissimo.

In the setting for Fortune Lover, the entertainment industry is the biggest industry of all time, with music being the most popular form. It has been like this for decades, and as time progressed, people’s tastes and expectations of music evolved, leading to the creation and popularity of idols.

Idol-Producers are a new project that is testing the capabilities of a idol teen, observing how their involvement in their own success can impact how they manage their time and how they can bring the absolute best out of themselves, on their own. Maria is the first idol who will be testing this new style. She is still a producer to herself, the boys, and even Sophia and Mary if you choose to have them join you. Despite being an idol, they still call Maria their “producer” and treats her like one. 

The characters in the game are in 3D CG, as the game includes the dance choreography or “MV Mode” if you perfect the score of the rhythm game. 

While Katarina’s bullying isn’t really death threatening, it’s more in line with the petty kind like verbal threats, sabotaging Maria’s idol clothes and stage equipment, paying someone to mess up her tracks during performances, badmouthing her infront of tv show producers and hosts, and stuff like that.

Katarina’s bullying isn’t as bad as it is in the original otome game, but she gets shunned by the public because behavior like that is only supposed to be done behind the curtains. The public has such a pure and honest perception of idols that they never think of the idea that the girls who smile and sing on stage actually try to stab each other in the back when the stage lights are off. Some people think that Katarina’s character is just a persona, so knowing that she is actually an ignorant and arrogant rich girl idol-wannabe, her fans lose respect for her. Katarina’s harassment of Maria is one of the few cases that are brought to light by the end of the game, and because of how much the public loves Maria by that point, they are enraged by Katarina’s behavior, making her lose support on all sides

Katarina had been in love with Gerald ever since they were children, and while Gerald has always been a popular boy among both his peers, when she found out Gerald was going to be an idol, she disliked the idea of sharing her beloved Gerald to a huge audience of people, so she became an idol to stand alongside him and to make herself worth of him by charming him as as an idol and gaining a large following herself. Despite this, Katarina didn’t strive too hard to be a talented idol, as she was too confident on herself due to the pampering of her parents.

Even if the player doesn’t desire to romance any of the four boys, given how the game is written and how it is programmed, the boy with the highest relationship points with Maria will confess to her by the end of the game. It would be impossible to not interact and gain points with the boys, as you gain relationship points in most areas of the games (when you “practice” your characters, when you “play” their songs, when you “give” them new clothes, when you “converse” with them in story mode, etc.). In the event that there are two characters with the exact same amount of points, the game will choose a boy for you.

Sorcier Pro.’s current president is Geoffrey Stuart (for reasons that will make sense someday) 

Katarina-Gerald and Mary-Alan aren’t engaged in this au, but are constantly in each other’s presence due to most powerful bussinessmen and celebrities being good friends with each other. 

Each girl has a specialty in a certain area: Katarina with dancing, Sophia with singing, Mary with acting/drama, and Maria (according to the official description of her in the box) with fashion coordination. Maria can be seen as more of a jack of all trades though, as she does represent the player. 

While any of the boys can trigger the condemnation event that will lead to Katarina’s social suicide, the event is specifically associated with Keith and Gerald due to the severity of her presence and bullying if you have high relationship points with the two. With Alan and Nicole, Katarina’s event only happens for a few lines, but for Keith and Gerald, it takes place in complete detail, with it’s own animated cutscene. 

Gerald’s route is also the most popular among the fans, with community surveys reporting that 53% of the game’s player base had Gerald as their final chosen love interest ( 25% with Keith, 12% with Nicol and 10% with Alan)

Monkey Girl/Past-Life Katarina

Since Maria’s name can’t be change in the game, but you can give her a “nickname” that represents the username of the player, Past-life Katarina’s name in the game is “SaruP” (or “Monkey producer” lol)

Saruchan (Monkey Girl) dies before she could finish her playthrough of the game, and all of her knowledge is based on her idol-expert best friend Acchan. She’s a bit tomboyish, and she loves to climb trees and move freely without a hint of poise or shyness, and is friendly to all genders. Her love for climbing, running, gardening with her grandma, and never ending amounts of energy gave her a pretty strong, flexible, agile and energetic body.

In Saruchan’s world, idols do exist, but aren’t portrayed in the cutesy and exaggerated manner that fiction does. Though it’s no surprise to know that in her world, almost every girl had dreamed to become an idol at one point, even herself. Acchan doesn’t find the idea interesting though, as she only lives for the idealized version of idols that exist in fiction. Acchan explains that girls their age are being brainwashed by the idealized version of idols that are presented in the media that they consume, and that they should wake up and learn to enjoy the fictional idols as they are. Despite Acchan’s realistic disapproval of idol fantasies, she does love playing idol rhythm games and gacha games, and spends her allowance on getting DLC costumes for Maria in FL. Acchan even pre-ordered tickets for herself and Saruchan for an idol concert featuring the VA of the characters, that they were supposed to attend to on the day that Saruchan dies. 

She dies the game way: on her way to school and being killed by a truck that runs her over. 

The last thing Saruchan sees before she loses consciousness forever is the wallpaper of the game’s boxart from her phone screen as it flies out of her hands. 

My Next Life as an ‘Idol’?? All Routes Lead to Doom!!!

As usual, Katarina ends up remembering her future as an 8 year old kid, and plans to prepare for her future “banishment” and humiliation. She learns to farm in order to provide for herself once she gets shunned and retreats to the countryside, and (unknowingly) meets all the characters in the game and gains their good favor before the events of the game begins. 

Her head bump still happens with Gerald, but their encounter happened in a party rather than an engagement meeting, with her tripping over a rock as she decides to run to the young man in order to introduce herself. Such introductions never got past beyond their names and few exchanges of dialogue, as the bump occurred and Katarina was immediately brought to the hospital after he called for help. 

Being a girl who wanted to be an idol at one point, Katarina wanted to use this chance to fulfill her dream of becoming one! But knowing the fate that will await her, (public humiliation, isolation, and banishment to some degree) she tries to figure out ways to avoid ruining her future.

While not as bad as death, Katarina is aware that the ending of the game implies that the blemished opinion that everyone will gain of her will lead to her leading a miserable life; one that will prevent her from gaining new allies and even studying in peace without being made fun of or called out for. It might even ruin her marriage prospects, for all she knows (it doesn’t but she’s too stupid to know that). The stakes of the bad ending aren’t life threatening, but it is personal, as Katarina always dreamed of becoming an idol as a teen and doesn’t like the idea of being able to enjoy it for a few months only to be dragged down to hell right afterwards.

The Claes is a wealthy family known for her father’s knowledge and skills when it comes to trades and business, and for her mother’s beautiful opera singing voice and celebrity presence. As usual, Katarina’s father adopts Keith for the purpose of gaining a direct heir for the business, in fear that Katarina’s future significant other might just to interested in her to gain it. 

Katarina’s plan is to learn how to farm in order to be able to support herself after her banishment, give Keith lots of love so he doesn’t end up becoming a playboy like in the game, and to train herself in dancing and singing in order to not embarrass herself like the original Katarina did. After meeting Gerald again and realizes his weakness, she eventually prepares (or buys, since the setting is modern) toy snakes that she can use to surprise him whenever the condemnation event occurs, using his shocked and panicked reaction as a way to distract the media from the claims that will surely fall upon her (since no one would have expected the calm and collected Gerald Stuart to scream like a girl at the sight of a toy snake, right? That would stay in the headlines for weeks! maybe).

As a kid, she has private singing tutors, and takes more general singing classes when she gets older. She doesn’t have dance training as a kid, but she does like to exercise and move her body around, so it slowly turned into the stamina-filled flexible body that she is used to. 

Katarina and Keith - Their meeting and impressions are mostly the same, which the difference being that Katarina used a display axe above a fireplace to break down the door, and Keith got her injured by accidentally pushing her off a pretty high cliff in the Claes grounds while they were both running and playing chase (rather than being isolated for dangerous Earth Magic, Keith as a child was a clutz who attracted danger to everyone around him, making his older brothers make fun of him for being “cursed”).

Katarina showers him with love, making him affectionate towards his step sister, in the same as he was in the original material.

When Keith finds out about Katarina’s desire to train to become an idol, he is very supportive of her, and decides to train with her in order to be able to stand by his sister on stage (as well as to generally gain the same interests as her in order to guarantee that they will stay close as they age). The contrast being that instead of becoming an idol to gain the adoration of millions of nameless faces, he now wants to become an idol to gain the love and attention of a single person, which is Katarina uwu. 

Katarina and Gerald - Gerald eventually attempts to visit Katarina to apologize for the incident, expecting her to blame him for what happened, given the personality she showed him. He was shocked to find a scar on her forehead, farming while wearing a farmer’s attire despite coming from a wealthy and esteemed family, singing and dancing to a song as she waters her vegetables. He watches for only a minute, unable to look away from the girl who danced like deflating balloon and sang off key while almost drowning her small vegetable in water. She looked weird, but she was having the time of her life, and he could see and hear it from where he stood.

 In a daze, thinking he might have entered the wrong house by accident or walked on the daughter of a maid doing chores. He walks out and leave the Claes estate without a word, and visits again after only a few days, as he couldn’t get his mind off of the oddity that he had witnessed. 

He eventually realizes that it was Katarina on his second visit, as he finds the scar of the odd farmer girl on the same girl who boasted about her family’s wealth in the party. After giving formal introductions, Gerald offers to walk around the garden to get to know each other better, in order to continue the conversation that she had originally forced on him back in the party (it was done to be polite and respectful, rather than any interest to continue). In the garden, they pass by the area that Katarina had planned to turn into her farm, and Gerald was in awe at how unorganized and messy everything looked (there was dirt everywhere, the tools were left on the floor because she had to prepare to meet him, there was more bags of manure than what was even needed etc! Katarina internally cursed at her 8 year old delicate rich girl body for not having the same arm strength as her 17 year old self). It was then that it sunk in that the adorable singing and dancing farming girl that he accidentally saw really was Katarina Claes. She wasn’t the very definition of abnormal, but she was nothing like the daughters of his father’s friends that cried when not attended to or complained when not given the best dresses and shoes. There was no shred of worry about her family’s expectations in her eyes, nor expectations of him to act like his perfect and matured self whenever they met in parties, movie premiers or social events, which made him yearn for her company. 

After finding out about Katarina’s desire to become an idol one day, Gerald secretly planned to do the same (and even have her recruited in his brother’s agency) in order to become closer to her through her love of entertainment and to have a chance to be constantly in her presence. When he found out about the charms that male idols have on their female fans, he also plans on using this as an opportunity to gain both her attention and romantic affection, by perfecting his (already maxed out) charms as male idol. 

Katarina and Mary - The two met during a part hosted by Mary’s mother in the Hunt Estate, inviting all of her mother’s old opera acquaintances, sponsors and co-workers for a formal reunion. Katarina and Keith accompanied their parents to the party, leading them to be introduced to the Hunt Family’s daughters. As usual, Katarina had the urge to “release the chocolate shark” during the party and takes an elegant leave. She eventually gets lost in the estate and finds herself in the garden. Katarina was in awe of the garden’s beauty, and stood still as she watched what seemed like beautiful siren sing by herself near a majestic fountain, with a single rose in hand. 

Mary was surprised to hear an aggressive applause after singing to herself. Katarina aggressively complimented Mary for her adorable yet elegant voice, and asked who she was seeing as a singing trainer. When Mary replied that she was not having any singing or vocal training, Katarina rains even more compliments down, claiming that “her voice was that of an angel!”. Mary denied it, so Katarina proceeded to sing the same song that she had sang, as a point of comparison to make her feel more confident in herself. Mary shyly and unexpectedly joins her, and they ended up having a small and quiet duet in the garden. Katarina’s voice sounded a bit rough and squeak-ish, but alongside Mary’s elegant and controlled singing, they didn’t sound bad at all. 

When Katarina finds out that Mary is also the one who tends to the flower garden, she proceeds to shower Mary with even more compliments, and asks her to visit and help with her own farm garden. Being complimented for having a beautiful voice and a green thumb made her feel validated and appreciated, so she often visits the Claes household in order to be in constant presence of her first and dearest friend. The rest is the same.

When Mary found out about Katarina’s dream of becoming an idol, she started taking intense vocal training as well as various exercises in order to be able to join her in her endeavor. She slowly built a more brazen and tough personality in order to be able to join and protect her friend from the rumored cold and intense reality of the idol world, as well as due to the antics of her friends. 

Katarina and Alan - From Mary, she eventually finds out that the event where Mary duets and falls in love with Alan occurred. Katarina realizes that duet must not have been that effective because she has done the same with Mary, but is confident that Mary is in love with him because Alan is a very talented and handsome individual. A few days later, the fourth Stuart son bursts into the doors of the Claes household, and demands to meet with Katarina. She learns that Alan had developed a small crush on Mary, and that he wants to challenge Katarina for her hand. Same shenanigans ensues, leading up to the piano duel where his talents in the piano was in full display to everyone in the manor. 

Katarina knew how to play the piano (just the basics though), so she was in awe listening to someone who almost sounded like a pro! Alan runs off after Gerald compliments him, Katarina chases after him, and they got to talk behind a bush. Alan wouldn’t take her compliments, but Katarina aggressively insisted that his talents are nothing to scoff at. 

When Alan says that he’s sure that his brother can play just as good, if not better than him, Katarina speculates that it wasn’t the case, because everyone had things that they are good and bad at. Not everyone is the same, no one learns at the same pace, and that she’s sure even if Gerald can play the piano better than him (and she doubts he can in the first place), no one can play the piano like Alan can. The scores in his heart are his alone, and that nothing is more beautiful than the melody that the heart enacts. Katarina knew that the score he played wasn’t an existing one, and knowing Alan’s character from the game, it’s probably either an impromptu score or one he had composed by himself. Her guess was correct, leading Alan to be caught off guard by her compliment, almost feeling emotional as no one had ever guessed and believed that the music he played was his own, until Katarina did. 

She shows off the power of the toy snake to Alan, making him laugh and see his brother in a different light. He still constantly visited Katarina for their duels, but as time progressed, he lost the affection for Mary (as he saw her as a little sister now after interacting with her in the Claes Household) that made him want to challenge Katarina. They still followed up on those challenges, for fun rather than for sport. 

When he finds out about Katarina’s dream to become an idol, he is determined to join her in order to be able to compose songs and melodies that she can sing, intending to bring out the absolute best of his muse’s voice with his own music. Someone his age might not be fit to compose songs for an idol, so he intends to become one as well in order to gain a reputation as a competent composer. 

Katarina and Sophia - The two meets at an afternoon party hosted by the Stuarts, as a celebration for the birthday of the twins. Katarina had to “powder her noes” after a few trips to the buffet table, and leaves Keith and Mary. She’s chased down by a dog, climbs up a tree, and accidentally watches a group of kids and older bully a small girl who sounded like she was about to cry. The same events occur, up to their second encounter in the party. Katarina accidentally quotes a line from a novel that she was reading, and after realizing that Sophia understood her reference, she asked for them to meet again in order to discuss their similar interests. 

Everything is pretty much the same, the difference being that somehow idols were brought as a topic of conversation, with Sophia revealing that she is actually a huge fan of idols. Katarina, feeling reminiscent of her idol-expert best friend Acchan, tells her that she actually wants to be an idol herself and insists that Sophia tell her about everything she loves about idols. Sophia, who is surprised to also find another idol fan who is as young as her, becomes even more excited and tells her all about her love for idols: how they are able to wear such adorable outfits onstage, how they sing songs that carry so much meaning, how they carry their fan’s dreams with them when they dance and sing, how amazing it is to be able to juggle so many occupations at once, and much more. 

With both love of novels and idols, Sophia constantly finds herself in the Claes Household in order to talk to Katarina about books, idols, song recommendations etc. 

When Sophia was first told that Katarina wanted to be an idol, she was very supportive of her and announced herself as Katarina’s number one fan. As time passed, she realized she wasn’t just satisfied with just watching Katarina from afar, she wanted to sing and dance alongside her! She wants to use her knowledge of romance novels and idols to help make herself and Katarina the best idols to ever exist! She wants to sing on stage about her feelings: about how much she loves Katarina, idols and their beloved novels!

Katarina and Nicol - When he found out that someone had invited his little sister to a small book club, he was very wary, thinking that she was one of the many other girls who tried to use Sophia in order to become closer with him. He was shocked to realize that that was not the case, and that Katarina had barely seen him at all, and had opened his timid little sister’s heart. When Sophia asked Katarina if she found her appearance creepy, Nicol proceeds to explain further, expecting to see a hint of guilt or displeasure from Katarina Claes, only for both of them to be met with unyielding determination to have Sophia as a close friend. Sophia went home that day in tears, thankful to have found a friend who truly wanted to stick by her side. 

The Claes siblings often visits their home so the girls can have their book club, even bringing Mary Hunt with them occasionally. Katarina, while looking a bit flustered, is capable of having a conversation with him without averting her eyes, which was a breath of fresh air to the countless camera crew, staff, visitors and even strangers who couldn’t look him in the eyes because how of how much of a beautiful child model he was. It all leads up to the moment where Katarina compliments him with how blessed he is to have such a beautiful and wonderful family, which contrasted against the ignorant adults who pitied him for having parents who refused to abuse the potential of his beautiful face and for not being as beautiful as their son, as well as for having a freakish looking sister. 

Nicol, just like his sister, desired to constantly be in Katarina’s positive presence, and visited her often, leading them to be acquainted and friends with the entire group that Katarina enraptured. 

When he found about his sister’s and Katarina’s desire to become idols, Nicol thought of doing the same, in order to be able to continue to watch over and protect both Sophia and Katarina, as well to be able to continue being close with Katarina (as their lack of similar interests and age gap might lead her away from him, but tbh that is never gonna be a problem with Katarina). He also plans to use his influence as a child model to propel Sophia and Katarina’s careers, as a way of supporting his two favorite girls. 

Notes

I’m not sure how I feel about Gerald’s backstory, I might rewrite that if anyone kindly wants to critique it.

Instead of Mary’s green thumb, it’s her voice that leads her to Katarina and Alan, but I still think Sophia would still have a better singing voice than her, so both her voice and green thumbs both play a part in her character. Mary’s high pitched voice gets a bit deeper as she ages, while Sophia’s voice stays very high.

I really like the idea that rather than the original ambitions and goals that leads the harem to become idols in Fortune Lover, now it’s the effect of Katarina’s constant insistence and declarations of becoming an idol that leads to everyone doing the same. In this timeline, the harem probably wouldn’t have thought of (or planned early) becoming an idol if Katarina never brought it up. 

I’m writing this at midnight again, lol, but yeah I’m not planning on writing a fanfiction for this, I guess, but I do want to have an established plot so rather than chapters, I’m just writing a full overview for fun haha

When I mentioned that Sophia loved idols, I didn’t realize that I might have accidentally implied that she was just as an idol fan as Acchan was, but with actual idols this time, so I went with :DD

I’ll touch up on Idol Katarina, Anne, Maria, Sirius/Raphael and Fortune Lover 2 in the next one.

I’m really happy that there are people who actually read my previous post and said that they liked it! Feedback and suggestions are appreciated! I still need a final name for the units so help me pls hahaha.

I’ll rewrite this post when I feel like adding/changing stuff.

[briscoelily]

i would like to hear your thoughts about [redacted]'s italian dubbing, please do enlighten me

i mean, not to encourage avoiding your chores but uhh yes let’s talk about that dubbing

thank you sara for indulging me! i hate the italian adaptation of supernatural with a burning passion!! the italian voices are actually ok but the lines are sooo badly translated t.t i’ll provide some examples:

ok so, generally speaking, swear words tend to be avoided or replaced with “softer” ones: “fuck”, “shit”, “son a bitch” are often replaced by “cavolo” or “diamine” - diamine?? for real??

sexual innuendos tend to be generally disregarded, but especially when regarding religious themes (which lmao good luck trying to avoid meddling with religion in a show like supernatural): “angel condom” (5x01) was translated as “vestitino degli angeli”

there’s also the infamous “i was never in your... [ass]” translated with “non ti stavo appiccicato”(6x19), although i have to admit i personally couldn’t come up with a way to keep the sex joke in italian, so i might let them get away with this one

god’s name in the first seasons was almost never pronounced: every single "oh my god” was translated with expressions like “oh cielo”

“this whistle makes me their god“ (4x13) was translated as “il fischietto mi rende il loro mentore“... i mean, no surprises here as italian television has a history of censoring god’s name when used “in vain“

broken sentences typical of spoken dialogue are rendered in a more prosaic tone which clashes with the characters’ way of expressing themselves: “that was about as fun as getting kicked in the jewels” (2x21) “è stato un dolore intenso e fortissimo” - who even talks like that??

references are completely lost in translation for no reason at all: “you totally should have been jamming ‘eye of the tiger’ right there" (3x16) was rendered as “dico che devi essere completamente impazzito” - did they assume we’re too stupid to know the song? i’m confused

or again: “so, pit stop at mount doom?” was translated as “prossima fermata: viale dell’apocalisse” - do they think we’re too stupid to recognize a lotr reference??

“sam, interrupted“ (5x11) was translated as “il virus della follia“, when “sam, interrotto“ would have been a clear reference enough to the 1999 well known film

and again, titles which reference songs (”sympathy for the devil”, “dark side of the moon”...) could have been left in the original english (but that’s just my opinion)

also i have a minor beef with “jus in bello” (3x12) not being left in the original latin 

“jerk” - “bitch” are recurring catch phrases and as such should always be translated in the same way, but translations tend to change a lot: “idiota” - “imbecille” / “fesso” - “puttana” / “idiota” - “stronzo”...

and finally, my biggets beef against the italian adaptation of supernatural: castiel NEVER being called “cas”. i assume they just thought we were too stupid to realize it’s a nickname, since this happens a lot with other dubbed tv shows as well. however, in this case, it’s relevant how the nickname cancels out the suffix “-iel” (meaning “of god”), showing how castiel no longer belongs to god since he rebelled.

i stopped watching spn in italian around season 7 so i don’t know what kind of atrocities were committed later on. these are just a bunch of examples that came to mind and some other i found in online forums, but back in 2012 i probably could’ve named a lot more 😳

[muthaz-rapapa]

PreCure stock footage

More pointless ponderings.

This is a comparison count of all the recurring attack animation sequences (meaning excluding one-time attacks) we’ve seen so far in Precure’s tv series. Done mainly because I wanted the numbers all on one page. :P

Of course, as I haven’t watched all the seasons (Futari to Splash Star) and my memory is crap, this should not be considered accurate. So any help correcting would be appreciated.

Originally, this was supposed to focus only on sub-attacks but that term’s definition seems to vary widely from season to season. So let’s not confuse ourselves with what counts as a “finisher” and what doesn’t and just stick with the general words “stock footage”.

Futari wa [3?] - Marble Screw, Rainbow Therapy, Rainbow Storm

I’m reading here on the wiki that Rainbow Therapy is “hardly used”...I don’t really know what that means, hence the question mark if it counts as a recurring attack or not.

I also don’t want to include upgraded attacks as separate entries if there are hardly any significant differences between the original and the upgraded one (like StarPre’s) but when I compare it to Marble Screw...it seems okay in my book? Since I haven’t watched this season, I’m not confident enough to make the final call so I will leave it at 3 for now.

Futari wa Max Heart [2?] - Heartiel Action, Extreme Luminario

Alright, Marble Screw Max is pretty much the same as the original with a little extra tacked onto the end. So technically, if there’s nothing else I’m missing, the count for this season should be 2. But still gonna leave room for debate.

Splash Star [3?] - Twin Stream Splash, Spiral Heart Splash (2)

The two versions of Spiral Heart Splash are distinct enough from each other to count as separate.

Spiral Heart Splash Star is a one-time, final boss group attack so not gonna include it.

Yes! 5 [7]

Individual Attacks [6] - Dream Attack, Crystal Shoot, Rouge Fire/Burning, Lemonade Flash/Shining, Mint Protection/Shield, Aqua Stream/Tornado

Group Attacks [1]: Five Explosion

Yes! 5 GoGo [7]

Individual Attacks [6] - Shooting Star, Fire Strike, Prism Chain, Emerald Saucer, Sapphire Arrow, Milky Rose Blizzard/Metal Blizzard

Group Attacks [1]: Rainbow Rose Explosion

Fresh [5]

Individual Attacks [4] - Love Sunshine Fresh, Espoir Shower Fresh, Healing Prayer Fresh, Happiness Hurricane

Group Attacks [1]: Lucky Clover Grand Finale

Not going to include Triple Fresh since it’s just a mash-up of three individual attacks.

Heartcatch [10?]

Individual Attacks [7?] - Pink Forte Wave, Blossom Shower, Blue Forte Wave, Marine Shoot, Gold Forte Burst, Sunshine Flash, Silver Forte Wave

Group Attacks [3?] - Floral Power Fortissimo, Shining Fortissimo, Heartcatch Orchestra

This is where things start to get confusing with the introduction of sub-attacks. I’ve only included Blossom Shower, Marine Shoot and Sunshine Flash because it’s obvious they were meant to be shown as a set for the initial trio while everything else was done in real time.

And after debating about the Fortissimo ones, I decided that I’ll keep Shining as its own entry for now. Not quite happy about it (Shining is just old attacks laid out on top of one another with some minor new animation in between) but it doesn’t seem entirely right to call it just an upgrade either......I dunno.

Suite [10]

Individual Attacks [7] - Music Rondo (2), Miracle Heart Arpeggio, Fantastic Piacere, Heartful Beat Rock, Sparkling Shower, Shining Circle

Group Attacks [3] - Passionato Harmony, Music Rondo Super Quartet, Suite Session Ensemble/Crescendo

...I think Suite has everyone else beat on having attacks with the longest names.

also, it’s a travesty that there is no HD video of Session Ensemble uploaded to youtube.

Smile [7]

Individual Attacks [5] - Happy Shower, Sunny Fire, Peace Thunder, March Shoot, Beauty Blizzard

Group Attacks [2] - Rainbow Healing, Rainbow Burst/Royal/Ultra

Can’t remember how often the upgraded individual attacks were used but to my knowledge, there are no stock footage for those anyways.

DokiPre [17]

Individual Attacks [14] - My Sweet Heart, Heart Shoot, Heart Dynamite, Twinkle Diamond, Diamond Shower, Diamond Swirkle, Rosetta Reflection, Rosetta Wall, Rosetta Balloon, Holy Sword, Sparkle Sword, Sword Hurricane, Ace Shot, Ace Mirror Flash

Group Attacks [3] - Lovely Force Arrow, Lovely Straight Flush, Royal Lovely Straight Flush

*whistles* Quite a jump in number of unique attacks. Just wait till HaCha.

HaCha [20]

Individual Attacks [17] - Pinky Love Shoot, Passion Dynamite, Poppin’ Sonic Attack, Lovely Powerful Kiss, Blue Happy Shoot, Arabesque Shower, Hawaiian Alohaloe, Princess Windy Wink, Sparkling Baton Attack, Ribbon Heart Explosion, Maracas Rhythm Spark, Honey Temptation, Stardust Shoot, Starlight Ascension, Oriental Dream, Sakura Blizzard Dance, Emerald Illusion

Group Attacks [3] - Twin Miracle Power Shoot, Happiness Big Bang, Innocent Purification

Oh yea, if this wasn’t stock footage-restricted, HaCha would still go home with the prize and the cake because of the sheer number of sub-attacks not listed here.

Go!Pri [18]

Individual Attacks [14] - Floral Tourbillon, Rose/Lys Tourbillon, Sakura Turbulence, Mermaid Ripple, Frozen/Bubble Ripple, Coral Maelstrom, Twinkle Humming, Full Moon/Meteor Humming, Galaxy Chorus, Phoenix Blaze, Scarlet Illusion, Scarlet Spark, Scarlet Flame, Scarlet Prominence

Group Attacks [4] - Trinity Lumiere, Trinity Explosion, Eclat Espoir, Grand Printemps

A lot of the secondary attacks are essentially the same thing but with different effects. Scarlet Spark and Flame almost look identical but the movements diverge once the attack is released so I consider them distinct from there.

Trinity Lumiere and Trinity Explosion would’ve been under just one entry, too, but the CGI animation leading up to the attack are different.

MahoPre [9]

Individual Attacks [4] - Linkle Stone Spells (Miracle ver, Magical ver, Felice ver), Emerald Reincarnation

Group Attacks [5] - Diamond Eternal, Ruby Passionale, Sapphire Smartish, Topaz Esperanza, Extreme Rainbow

I’m glad that I changed it from sub-attacks to simply stock footage. Counting the same animation sequence thrice would just make my head spin worser.

KiraPre [10]

Individual Attacks [7] - Whip Decoration, Custard Illusion, Gelato Shake, Macaron Julienne, Chocolat Aromase, Un - Deux - Tres Bien! Kirakuru Rainbow, Parfait Étoile

Group Attacks [3] - Three-2-Wonderful A La Mode, Animal Go Round, Fantastic Animale

Hugtto [13]

Individual Attacks [9] - Heart For You, Flower Shoot, Heart Feather, Feather Blast, Heart Star, Star Slash, Heart Song & Dance, Macherie Poppin’, Amour Rock n’ Roll

Group Attacks [4] - Trinity Concert, Twin Love Rock Beat, Cheerful Attack, Tomorrow with Everyone

I know Heart Song and Heart Dance can be standalone attacks but since we didn’t get to see much of either of them before Macherie and Amour got their Twin Love Guitars not long after, then I count them as one. Also, Macherie and Amour are considered as one Cure split into two anyway so there’s that.

StarPre [8]

Individual Attacks [6] - Star Punch, Milky Shock, Soleil Shoot, Selene Arrow, Rainbow Splash, Cosmos Shining

Group Attacks [2] - Southern Cross Shot, Star Twinkle Imagination

Again, how ironic is it that the season that touts the theme of imagination has the least creative stock footage across all variations in their attack arsenal?

HealPre [tbd]

Individual Attacks [4?] - Healing Flower, Healing Stream, Healing Flash, Healing Hurricane

Group Attacks [1+] - Healing Oasis

Since the secondary elemental bottles barely have any animation sequence and don’t even include the Cures in them, they won’t be counted. 

That said, with the upcoming super form upgrade (new promo art has already been released), we know there will be one more group attack to be added. I suspect there might be another upgraded version of that super group attack as well so perhaps a total of 6 formal attack sequences for HealPre altogether.

Unless they plan to give the Cures individual attacks with that...needle arrow weapon whatever it is but I somewhat doubt it.....we’ll see.

~~~~~~~~~~

Season with the most attack sequences: HaCha [20] Season with the most individual attack sequences: Hacha [17] Season with the most group attack sequences: MahoPre [5]

Top 5 Seasons w/greatest total # of attack sequences: HaCha [20], Go!Pri [18], DokiPre [17], Hugtto [13], Heartcatch/Suite/KiraPre [10]

Again, if I’m missing anything, let me know.

----------------------

Updated 9/10/20

[randbwrite]

La Comtesse Chronicles Chapter 5 Part 2

Words: 1467

CW: Vampires

TW: Blood

B:

The flight was unlike anything either had ever experienced. It was a marvel, seeing the world from a new perspective. Who can put it into words? Or paint a masterpiece capturing just how small and insignificant one feels when seeing how small they were in the greater scheme? Yet every life they passed over would continue on their way, utterly oblivious to the circumstances of their world at large. Inspiring and humbling simultaneously. 

It also made for a splendid distraction from what would be waiting for them, or Cal in particular.

He was used to people hating him; really Derrick was the only person who’d so much as tolerated the scoundrel, with his own mentor ready to strangle him after a few years. The Citadel may have been a death trap waiting to happen, but he knew every inch of the place and how to survive it. This whole experience would be brand new...and they’re all vampires, he assumed. Ones who knew what they were doing with their abilities, if the two he’d seen on the battlefield were any indication. 

Frak it all, get a grip! Since when did he fret about new adventures? He was constantly going into dangerous situations, usually with the intent to kill someone. That aspect was already out of the way! Technically. Which was why everyone would be looking to take his head. You know, entering castles tended to be easier when nobody knew anything about him...but this newness wasn’t all bad. Though saying it out loud would be impossible, he was especially glad for Derrick coming along. The man had been dealt a bad hand...or more accurately an entire deck of darkness. About time he got a break. The...former(?) assassin would figure things out. 

Like wrapping his head around a change of occupation and address all in one day. Oh yeah, and classification? Vampire? There wasn’t any quibbling about that terminology, not after what he’d seen. ...That and the fangs emerging all too easily with the thought of food. He was guessing his usual fare of oranges wasn’t going to cut it either. This strange thirst was beginning to press more insistently at his tolerance for hunger. He wasn’t sure how he felt about...drinking blood. Best to use this time to think it over. Or there’s what he should have done. Never mind! Avoidance it was then! 

.... 

Yeahhh...the reception was about as frigid as one might expect. 

But staring at those doors, seeing someone else answer them and feeling the finality in the sound of them closing behind...none of this may feel real yet, but it was starting to sink in. 

For once, Cal didn’t have a quip questioning the formality, or lack thereof, from the butler. Suppose when one’s a vampire, a few details such as tone weren’t worth quibbling over. Not that he could fault the man his frost. Definitely blaming any failing in the attempts at levity on distracting levels of thirst...and less on the array of Antarctic level temperatures being directed at the pair. Least he wasn’t so pitiful Derrick felt the need to put an arm on his shoulder...ah, never mind. Okay, so he waited till they were out of sight. Small mercies. No one followed them, seeming content to wait for dinner to begin the grilling. 

When Cal floated the suggestion he might take his meal in his room, the words faltered before being fully formed. Dude may have been a butler, but Sebastian could give the assassins a run for their money in the intimidation factor. Got it. No avoiding this. 

Didn’t seem to matter how good Cal was at hiding things, Derrick always saw through it. Annoying...and helpful. The bandages came off from around his rib cage, gnarly bruising explaining stiff movement. Course, Derrick was decked out with his own variety of colors as well. The two made quite the pair, each helping the other with clothes a bit restrictive for current predicaments, but they certainly looked a sight better than their former, somewhat tattered options. 

In the end, the jacket rounding off the outfit refused to stretch over the mountain’s shoulders, threatening to burst down the center seam if Derrick so much as flexed and it had to be left behind. Cal assured him this was just fine...and not to think about it too much. They’d be having more important things occupying their minds shortly anyway. 

.... 

The atmosphere at the table was one of downright hostility, though Comtesse’s appearance was enough to take nearly everyone’s breath away. Derrick had zero trouble catching names, though none of them outside of Napoleon and Jean were familiar to him. Generals and emperors were names that circulated the Citadel; a vague curiosity as to what was happening in the outside world frequently getting the better of him. The animosity didn’t phase him; being the focus of disdain and ridicule was his normal as well. A polite nod and unaffected smile greeted every member, whether returned or ignored. 

For Cal, despite a number of them being famous during or after this current time, they all rang bells. Though with the exception of Dazai, and admittedly the rest were very distant memories he hadn’t dredged up for over a decade. Lot of water under that bridge. And bodies. His expression was one of his typical jester’s grin, the nerves bunched up and singing with no place to go being tightly reigned in. She’d told the residents there was no harm to be done, but he knew rather personally how powerful a desire for vengeance tended to inspire people to action. 

Just maybe not at the dinner table? One can hope. 

“Right! Famous lads from history, eh? If I’d have known the great Napoleon Bonaparte was on the battlefield, I might’ve brought more darts! Course, I thought you’d be shorter an’ all. Inferno or not, you’re reasonably impressive!” 

Derrick could’ve groaned, however if he said he hadn’t anticipated this happening it would’ve been a lie. Leave it to Cal to get the elephant out of the way first thing. Scratch that, Cal would ride the elephant around the room whooping and hollering. 

“We are indebted to your graciousness for freeing us from that place, and accepting us into your home. It may be a moment before I can formulate questions, in the meantime if I can answer anything for you?” 

There were two conversations taking place, one, civilized and calm between Derrick, Comtesse, and whoever was listening to that particular discussion. The second consisting of Cal, Arthur, Theo, Napoleon, and Mozart...mostly in fortissimo. There was a hard glint in Cal’s emeralds, a closing down as he deflected queries calling into question his sanity, morals, and parenting. Shakespeare watched both conversations with avid interest, muttering things to himself while a smile played about his face. 

One thing stood out above the bickering, the scent of rouge putting a crease between Cal’s brows he wasn’t sure what to do with. “Your Comtesse was another job. There was nothing more to it. Take it as personally as you like, she’s important to ya.” (You don’t have the first possible inkling how many people I’ve killed who were important to someone.) That’s why he’d personally taken to not have anyone important to him. Till Derrick took that personal and became someone important. One day he’d recall how the frak that had happened...  ”All I’ve got to offer is my word. I won’t be raising a hand against her from here out. Same goes for any of you all either. Take it or leave it, that’s how it is.”

More of a promise than he’d ever given out before. Even Derrick hadn’t gotten that, understood or not. They both knew, in the Citadel you did what you had to. Avoiding being put in a bad situation was the only way to go; it was why no one had seen them together, let alone knew they were friends. 

The rouge was practically taunting him now. The smell was all too familiar, memories kept locked up tight creeping along the edges. Eat or wither away. Great options. His fangs and throat had specific ideas and didn’t like being ignored. Words dried up along with the inhibition. If he hadn’t have outed himself already, the reaction to his first conscious topping of blood would do it. Revulsion, not for the beverage ingested but for everything that peculiar scent of copper brought back with it, transformed his features from the devil-may-care rascal into a man haunted 

The smile turned fractured façade wouldn’t fool anyone. His question posed for la Comtesse was quiet, the din at the table keeping its animated dissection of actions taken pointedly ignored.

“However did you manage to wrangle a wormhole anyway, swee—Comtesse?”

[mikauzoran]

Lukadrien: Song of the Sun: Chapter Seventeen

@lukadrien-june

Song of the Sun: Chapter Seventeen: Recital

Adrien leaned over in his uncomfortable auditorium chair to rest his chin on his husband’s shoulder. “You can really tell how much she hates this, huh?” he chuckled softly as, onstage, fifteen-year-old Emma begrudgingly played Chopin’s Marche Funèbre, putting extra emphasis on the labored ostinato chords in the left hand.

All three Agreste-Couffaine children were performing in a piano recital at the request of their instructor along with his other pupils. Seven-year-old Hugo had opened the show with the Third Movement of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata, and ten-year-old Louis had come about halfway through, playing Liszt’s Mephisto Waltz. Emma was the penultimate performer.

“Yep,” Luka sighed, giving Adrien a squeeze with the arm he had wrapped around his husband’s shoulders. “At least she’s playing.”

“Did she ever tell you why she picked this piece?” Adrien whispered.

Luka shrugged. “She’s like her dad. She likes the lower register of the instrument…and Chopin.”

Adrien’s cheeks flushed. “Well, at least she inherited something good from me.”

“Shh,” Gabriel hissed from Luka’s other side.

Sheepishly, Adrien settled back into Luka as best as he could with the arm of the chair in between them and listened as their daughter laid into the piano, ignoring the dynamic markings nearly half the time.

 After the concert, Louis was the first one out, tearing across the lobby with an excited cry of, “Grandpapa!” He ran up to Gabriel, catching him around the waist and eagerly demanding, “Did you see me? Did you see me?”

“I did see you,” Gabriel confirmed, the trace of a smile pulling at his lips. “You did very well. Some of the notes were a little sloppy, but I can see how you’ve improved.”

Satisfied with Gabriel’s assessment, Louis made the rounds next to Nathalie (who told him he’d done a good job and that she’d enjoyed his piece) and then to Adrien and Luka.

“You were great, Mazurka.” Luka beamed at his son, giving Louis’s ear an affectionate pinch.

“We’re so proud of you,” Adrien added, bending down to kiss Louis’s forehead.

Hugo came out next, going straight to Nathalie and wrapping his arms around her without a word.

“You did very well, Hugo,” she encouraged. “I found your piece very enjoyable.”

Hugo smiled brilliantly up at her and then moved on to Gabriel, burying his face in his grandfather’s midsection.

Gabriel gave Hugo a fond pat on the head. “Well done. You’ve done the Agreste name honor.”

Adrien’s heart ached, remembering all the times growing up when he’d yearned to hear those words from his father.

Luka looped a comforting arm around Adrien’s waist.

For probably the billionth time, Adrien was grateful to have such an attentive husband.

“You boys are both far ahead of where your father was when he was your age,” Gabriel unintentionally added salt to the wound.

Adrien sighed.

Why was it that he still yearned for his father’s approval so much? He was nearly forty.

Luka leaned in to kiss Adrien’s temple.

There wasn’t much time to dwell as Hugo pulled away from Gabriel and trotted over to his parents, gazing up at them expectantly.

Adrien pulled away from Luka to scoop up their youngest. “You were amazing,” he gushed. “I am so proud of you. Really phenomenal job, Gogo.”

Luka leaned in to kiss the side of Hugo’s head. “You were awesome, Valse,” he added. “You’ll be performing like Papa before you know it.”

Hugo’s face lit up at that, and he looked back and forth between his parents excitedly. “Really?”

Adrien nodded. “If that’s what you want.”

“Mmhm,” Hugo confirmed. “I only got to play one piece today. I want to play more.”

“You should enter him in the concours coming up this autumn,” Gabriel suggested. “He’d do well.”

Adrien frowned, full of misgivings. “I don’t know that he wants to compete, Father. Hugo just enjoys playing.”

Gabriel looked like he was about to say something else, but, just then, Emma came out, giving them a nonchalant wave that reminded Adrien a lot of Juleka.

“Hi, everybody. Enjoy the concert?” She went to Luka’s opposite side, hooking her arm through his.

He grinned at his daughter. “Thank you for performing, Minuet. I’m proud of you.”

“I enjoyed your piece,” Nathalie added cordially. “You did a good job.”

Gabriel frowned sternly. “Emma, your performance—”

“—Father?” Adrien quickly interrupted. “May I talk to you for a minute?”

Gabriel turned his displeasure on his son. “Adrien, I was speaking. Can it not wait?”

“No. It can’t,” Adrien informed, setting Hugo down gently. He motioned for Gabriel to follow as he walked away, heading for an unoccupied corner.

“I have a feeling I know what you were going to say about Emma’s performance,” Adrien sighed as they came to a stop. “I’m asking you to please just tell her she did a good job.”

Gabriel snorted indignantly. “Adrien, she murdered that funeral march. She played forte during the piano sections and fortissimo when forte would have sufficed. Did she practice at all?”

“Father, she did,” Adrien stressed, his protective instinct kicking in. “And she didn’t murder it. Was she good? No. Not really, but it was fine. I know her interpretation—”

“—What interpretation?” Gabriel scoffed. “She put absolutely no thought into the presentation. She was merely playing notes, soulless notes with no feeling whatsoever. Chopin is in his grave weeping at this very moment. How can you defend her performance? You love Chopin. You were always playing it growing up. As a pianist, aren’t you offended by your daughter’s performance? How does Luka feel about this?” Gabriel demanded. “How does he feel as an internationally renown concert pianist to have a daughter who plays like that?”

Adrien’s hands balled into fists in his hurt and frustration. He opened his mouth to respond only to find that Gabriel wasn’t finished.

“How does Luka feel when your sons put in the effort to do well but his own biological daughter doesn’t?”

“You know what?” Adrien growled. “Stop. Just stop, Father. Luka is proud of Emmie. He works with all three of them, and he’s happy that our sons are talented. I’ve told you dozens of times that we don’t divide up our children like that. There is no ‘mine’ or ‘his’. They’re just ours, and we are thrilled with each of their performances today.”

Gabriel’s brow furrowed in confusion, as if he were unable to comprehend Adrien’s words. “I don’t understand,” he finally admitted. “You’re proud of her? Even though she played so poorly? If you had given a performance like that, I would be ashamed to call you my son.”

Adrien dug his nails into his palms to anchor himself and keep from crying. “Yeah, I know, Father…but some people just love their children unconditionally. Some people are just proud of their children for going out there and doing their best. They don’t have to be perfect. They don’t have to be the best to earn their parent’s love.”

Gabriel’s eyes narrowed as he struggled to wrap his mind around this new concept.

“Father, Emma doesn’t enjoy playing the piano. She doesn’t like practicing. She doesn’t like getting up in front of strangers. She knows she’s not particularly good, and she’s self-conscious about it. She only plays because she knows it makes Luka and me happy. It’s a family tradition that connects all of us, something that we all have in common. I’ve told her before that it connects her with you and Maman too. That’s why she plays piano. If she had it her way, she’d be a timpanist. She far prefers percussion instruments, and she’s actually really good. She only keeps playing piano for the rest of us…and Luka and I are proud of Emma for that. It’s enough if she gets up there and tries her best. We love her anyway,” Adrien explained, willing his father to just get it already.

Gabriel pursed his lips, crossing his arms as he processed this new information.

“Unlike some people,” Adrien added softly, “my love for my child has never been predicated on her appearance or talents or achievements or how good she makes me look in public. I just love her, and I know she did her best, so I’m proud. I’m happy just because she did something she didn’t want to do because she wanted to make me happy.”

The tears that had been gathering in the corners of Adrien’s eyes slowly began to spill over and down his cheeks.

Gabriel’s eyes widened as Adrien’s words finally sank in. “You think I didn’t love you?”

Adrien shook his head. “This isn’t about me, Father. This is about Emmie. You don’t have to lie to her and gush about her performance. Just don’t discourage her. She knows she’s not as good as the boys. Don’t rub it in her face. She’s trying her best. I know that doesn’t mean a lot to you, but it does to me, so just tell her you were glad you got to come see her perform or something. Okay?”

Slowly, Gabriel began to nod. “I think I can manage that.”

Adrien let out the breath he’d been holding. “Okay. Thank you.”

They headed back towards the rest of the family, and Adrien went straight to Luka’s arms.

“You okay?” Luka whispered, giving Adrien’s hair a gentle nuzzle.

Adrien shook his head. “Talk later.”

Luka gave Adrien one last squeeze before letting Adrien draw away slightly, keeping their hands linked.

“Emma,” Gabriel intoned austerely as he rejoined the group.

“Yes, Grandpapa?” Emma replied warily, pushing a bang back behind her ear.

“I’m glad that you’ve kept up playing piano…. Your grandmother would be very proud,” Gabriel informed, knowing that Émilie, like Adrien, would be thrilled just to see her granddaughter on stage.

Luka squeezed his husband’s hand as Adrien turned a grateful smile on his father.

[starlight-ascension]

My friend who live sent the reactions to Fresh PreCure is now watching Heartcatch (PART I LOST COUNT BUT THIS IS THE ONE WITH THE MIRAGE PRECURES)

skipping 35 and 36 because i don’t have the patience, i want to get right to the good stuff, kinda like when i skip songs i actually like on a playlist because one of my faves is up next

anyways

Reaction Highlights

Episode 37

“gotta be proud of all the progress every character’s made” 

What was THAT- OH FRICK HOLY FRICK HOLY FRICK GIANT EXPLOSION

After the theme song, she noticed that it was the same thing they were fighting at the end of the regular intro. 

She got really excited over the full group forte wave. The “WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO” was 543 characters long including the almost 300 exclamation marks. 

“What's THAT... W...why is it glowing...” "My name is Dune, the Emperor of the Desert"  “!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

"Pesky Precure, no matter how hard you try, you can't stop me." “Uh, yeah they can, stupid.” 

[direct copy-paste] “Wait WHAT is THAT

The Castle Planet???????? 

WHAT??

WHAT?!?!?!?!?!!??!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!??! D~= D~=- D~= D~= D~= D~= D~= D~= D~=

No, no, no, no, NO-- D~= !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” 

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

NO NO NO NO NO 

Go! Go! Stop the Desert Seed or whatever it's called!

Destroy the HeartCatch Mirage?

How much time IS there left?

Final test? THIS should be good

[end direct copy-paste] 

“Alexa play Total Eclipse of the Heart. I can take it this time. ......Maybe. .......Probably not.” 

She really liked the wind chimes and mysterious glowy setting

She dramatically sang the line “MYSTERIOUS AAAS THE DARK SIDE OF...THE MOOOOOON!” followed by an “XD couldn't help it” when mirage moonlight showed up 

She would NOT STOP capslock cheering. 

She was especially proud of Moonlight, because Moonlight arguably had the biggest load to overcome. 

“YES ERIKA YEAAAAAAHHHHHH WOOP WOOP!!!”

“OKAY ERIKA ACCEPTING THE DARKER PARTS OF HERSELF AS PARTS OF HERSELF AND GIVING THEM A HUG ASDFGHJKLQWTYIOPZNM I LOVE IT <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *sobbing rainbows all over the floor*” 

She kept crying harder. And harder. And harder, especially at Moonlight’s part. 

“ToT ToT ToT ToT ToT ToT ToT ToT ToT ToT ToT ToT ToT ToT ToT ToT ToT ToT ToT ToT ToT ToT ToT ToT ToT ToT ToT ToT ToT ToT ToT ToT ToT <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

...Wait...what about Tsubomi? We haven't seen any of her fight with her inner demons yet...I hope she's doing okay in it...

Yes, Erika, I think you did. :'-)

ToT ToT ToT ToT ToT <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Do all the Precure statues from passing the final test have that serene look? No matter how violently chaotic their personalities may be?” 

She skipped the ending theme song to get right to... 

Episode 38

at one point she sent 18 :-o emoticons in a row

she kept giving advice to Blossom through the whole episode, and telling her she doesn’t need to change the way she thinks she does. 

And then... “What's THAT... Oh no oh no oh no- No, no, NO--!!! Blossom, hurry...!!” *squirms in seat whimpering anxiously*

*after more talking to blossom* “NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! D~= D~= D~= D~= D~= D~= D~= D~= D~= D~= D~= D~= D~= !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

She...she'll pass the test. 

She will. 

She has to.

*sings in wavery voice under breath* “dO-do-dO-Do-do...cOmMercIaL bReAk...”

She started cheering on Erika in capslock. After the battle began, during the parts where it showed Blossom fighting her shadow self, there was a total of 3 ;o; emoticons, 12 ToT crying emoticons, and 53 heart emojis. 

“OHHH SWEET MOTHER OF WHOOPEE CUSHIONS SO MANY HYDRA HEADS”  and then four FRICKs in a row

[begin direct copy paste] 

SHE DID IT!!! SHE PASSED THE TEST!!! YES!!!!!!

YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

YES GO DEFEAT IT

LOVING THIS BACKGROUND MUSIC 

WOOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH

DOUBLE FORTISSIMO AND DOUBLE FORTISSIMO YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

NEW POWERS NEW POWERS NEW POWERS

JIEGHIUREHGUEHGUIERHGUERHUERHIOHTWIOHJOIWHTURHURHGUHUGHRUHGJSKHGJKSHISUHUERWHURWHURHUHUIRWHTUIWHTUWHTUHTUIHIRJIJKDSJSIUHUIERHTUIWHTUWYTIORYTURHGJSHUGIHDFSUINDSUIJKSMOKMAIOJFIOEWNGUINGUSINGRUINHRUHWOHRUTHUTHWOUTWOITYRIGHSJHGUFBJNXJKNSJRNGUIREBGURIBGUIBFSUIGNRJGNRJKGNJKNSDKJGNSJKNMSJKMSJSMSIFNEIGNRUIGRUGBWUIRBTUYRHWTRWHTUIRYTURHGUIHUDHGOIJKSMKXMKNMXNUIXBIUGBUGIBGUIRBGWUBRWUOHRUTHWTURWHTUORJIOJSHXGIOFYDIOGYRTWIPTYWRITRIOGFLKHSKLGHJLSGHJXCVBXMNVBXCMVBXM,FDBGJBGIUEBGIRUEBGUIRBGJSNGRJJNSKMGNIRUBRWNGUIBEGUYBGUYEBNGINRJUEHNUGIBEHGIUEBGHUEBEHBGIUBRGURBEUGEHTEHTUIWHTURTRUHRUWGHOSFJGHJSJKGHRIUHJTKWHNHJVHJKHJKDFNGFDNGJFKGNFSGJKNSGJSKBNRUIBGRUIGBERUYBREITWUWNTJKRNGJKFGJKDFNJKGSNGJSGJREHIUEBGEUIGBEUETUNEJGENGJKGNJKDNJIHEUITHEIUJGNTJKNKDGMDFKMKLMDLKLEJTIOEYTIOWTYIRWOYIOHFDGJLHGJKHGDLFHGJGKFBNKCMCLXL,OGNGJNBUJVNMRIJEGNRUIEGNFJOSKMNRJKGNREGUENTEIGNUEIOJJGNEIRMGKOLGJENRKTHNUIEJNITUHNUJNFJIDSKJKLSKLUEIOHTIRUOEHUHKLL,DL,F,SL,LS,,F,RJGJREIHIROTWIOTRIHIOGHSGKHFG;GKDFNM,,CXNBKMX,BNKIHNETIOUHNTEOINHETOEMNIOTJEKLEIOTIYOJKKLGJKSGHKGKDFHJDKHJD;KLJDLF;HJDL;GJDFKLHJDHMNJKFNDGIJNUIGJKNXKLNGJKNNTTKRJHREIURIWOURUEOUIWHEIRIOGJGJJGHJFGJFKMFLD,CLOJRGORGNORGINGOIINEONEOMEIEJNHIHINTIOHNTEIHOEMKDMGLDJNGIOEHNUIREGNRSUIGHREGENGKLGMNKLRGNEIOGNRJKLGNSRIGOEHNR

(literally just keysmashed for the entire duration of the attack)

THAT WAS TOTALLY EPIC AND WONDERAINBOWMAGICAMAZINGBALLZTASTICALICIOUSLY AWESOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOME WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Yes. Yes. All of them are speaking great truths. When they grow stronger individually they're stronger together.

They're in the Precure hall of fame now

*sings* STANDING IN THE HALL OF FAME... AND THE WORLD'S GONNA KNOW YOUR NAME... 'CAUSE YOU BURN WITH THE BRIGHTEST FLAME!... YOU'LL BE ON THE WALLS OF THE HALL OF FAME!

"You don't need your shy and introverted self anymore?" Ooooh, now we get to see her response don't we

"That's not true." Yessss, and she gave her a hug and everything! "For me to truly be myself, I will need a bit of my shy and introverted self." YES!!!!!!!!

"That's why I also love my shy and introverted self." YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  YEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSS <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And that's the end! It ended on a happy note so I'm gonna watch the end theme 

[venus-says]

Healin’ Good Precure Episode 01

I'm feeling really good about this.

The time has finally come, Healin' Good Precure is among us and I couldn't be more happy about it! I watched this episode twice and my liking for this season just kept growing and growing, I know it's very early to say this (there are at least more 46 episodes for me to change my mind) but I really am in love with this season already.

I believe this is my first time covering a first episode on its own and I don't really know how to do this so if it seems like I keep going back and it seems that I'm just running in circles please bear with me. XD

I think to begin with I'll take the obvious things out of the way and first talk about the OP, the ED, the transformation, and the attack before going into my opinions of the episode itself.

This is gonna sound repetitive but I LOVE THE OPENING AND THE ENDING. More so the ending than the opening, but I love them both, they are very strong on the visual side.

What I like about the OP is that it's a pretty soothing yet energetic song that fits perfectly with the Healin' Good atmosphere, I also love the visuals they look very beautiful, very fun, I got a very light-hearted vibe from the shots of the girls in their civilian lives, and it made me feel like I already know these character for a long time and I really care about them. I'm gonna be a little controversial here and say that the part people liked the most of the OP is actually my least favorite... I know it's a beautiful work of animation and it does look amazing but I wish it was more concentrated on the action scenes, they could've done the overlay on another section of it IMHO. It doesn't ruin it though, I still like this op quite a lot. Also, I saw some people comparing it to Star Twinkle's opening song but I think it's an unfair comparison seeing how different both seasons look, I know in the end it comes to personal preference but I think the Healin' Good opening is perfect for it in the way it is just how Star Twinkle's opening was perfect for it seeing how it was a more quirky and fun season.

Talking about the Ending, the CGI there looks awesome but I do think the camera movements are a bit too hectic, I think they were aiming at something more dynamic, and it does feel like that, but I feel like it's kinda hard to keep track of the dance moves at some parts. But I think the song is so good and the shots are so beautiful it's kinda forgivable this small confusion. I thought precure couldn't top PaPePiPu Romantic and Please tell me...! Twinkle but I was wrong and I'm already hooked on Miracle Link Ring on a way I wasn't expecting to be.

Now going into the stock footage stuff, I love Grace's transformation and attack. I've seen people complaining about how short both the transformation and the attack are but to me that's not a problem, I know we came from a season where the transformation was very big and there was a lot of scenes and everything, but I usually like shorter transformations more, they have a certain charm to me that long transformation sequences usually don't have. One thing I really like about this one is when the white coat appears kinda like a cape and it wraps it around to create the main outfit, I think that a very nice detail and it's also a part of the cure's designs we missed noticing, their vest is actually simulating a doctor's coat and that's very cool to me!

Talking about the attack, it was way simpler than I expected it to be, which on itself isn't really a problem, Leo pointed on his reaction video that it looks like this attack is more easy to be used outside the stock footage sequences which can be quite interesting for the action portion and I agree with that, I also like the ode to Floral Power Fortissimo with the beam punching a whole in the MOTW and taking the Element fairy like a flower heart, and I love the final shot with Grace facing backward and saying "take care", I always love when precure does something like this, but if I didn't say I'm a bit disappointed I'd be lying, I wish it was a bit more detailed.

With the formalities out of the way let's get into the episode itself.

To start things off I really like this city, it seemed like an unusual setting from the descriptions we had, but I like how this is kinda like a touristic/spa city with all those places for different kinds of treatment and the hot springs and all, it makes a lot of sense Nodoka's parents would eventually move to this city.

Speaking of Nodoka herself, she's a real sweetheart. From the trailers we got it seemed like she'd be more of the calm type but she's actually quite energetic and she's more than ready to help other people when they need, she's very pure. And it's very comprehensible that she was this way since she was bed-tied for quite a long time (I assume), I don't know if this was in her profile and I missed this detailed but I was really shocked when they cut to that flashback and she was in a hospital bed, I think this is the first time precure has done something like this for a main cure and it really intrigues me to see how they gonna use this as part of Nodoka's development.

We got to see Hinata and Chiyuu in this episode as well and while their participation was really short I think it was enough to make a good first impression of who they are. Hinata was WAY MORE energetic than I was expecting, I love her, I also love how she broke the tradition and for the first time (I believe) the lead cure bumped heads with another character that wasn't a fairy XD I'm so excited to see more of her. The Chiyuu interaction was very unexpected as well, I knew Chiyuu was athletic and all but she seemed very calm and polite and I thought her first contact with Nodoka wouldn't be in the midst of her training, so I really like that this was our first impression of her to kinda set her apart of her blue comrades of this franchise.

The fairies this time around are quite interesting, they're full of personality and I think they'll be a great addition to this cast. Rabbirin I think will be the fairy that will be harder to connect with, not because she's a bad character but because I sense some level of stubbornness on her that can be a little annoying at times, you know seeing how keen she was on how her partner SHOULD be and seeing that she refused Nodoka's help until the last moment didn't do a huge favor on her likeability but I'm interested in seeing how they will develop her character. Pegitan was the least fleshed out of the fairies and I hope that this was like that because of his shy personality rather than the show overlooking him. Nyatoran also didn't do a lot but since he's more of an outspoken extrovert he left more of an impression on me than Pegitan did and I'm quite liking him, I hope they don't screw his character because I don't wanna hate on the good cat boy. Surprisingly enough, I think Latte was the one that was left behind the most even though she's the main mascot, maybe it's just me but she didn't really leave that much of an impression on me like the other healing animals did (and yes, I'll call her Latte until we see another merch with her name romanized to confirm if Rate is the correct pronunciation or if it was just a fluke).

The villain, Daruizen, didn't leave much of an impression too because he didn't do a lot, he summoned the MOTW and taunted Rabbirin but other than that he didn't do much, we also don't know what his evil team is or what their goals are so I don't really know what to think of him yet. Though I really like the summoning sequence and the concept that the MOTW is a little virus or germ that infects the Element spirit making nature sick, I'm really excited to see what they can do with it during the season.

I think my biggest criticism of this episode is how short the fight was. I was really enjoying the episode through and through, Nodoka's introduction was cool, the scene in the Healing Garden was interesting, I loved when they drew the parallel between Nodoka and Rabbirin at the beginning and then before the action started they drew another parallel between Nodoka and Daruizen with them saying the same phrase with different intonations and meanings, I was really apprehensive seeing the fairies trying to stand up against the villains and that moment where Rabbirin gets trapped under that tree and everything, but then Nodoka transformed and it kinda killed my mood because the fight was short and Rabbirin kinda narrated everything and that took me off from the experience a bit, I think this fight should've lasted longer and only be concluded in the next episode, especially to show more of Rabbirin not trusting Nodoka's abilities to have a good basis for the next episode.

But despite all of this I still had a very good time with this episode, I think this is will become one of my favorite first episodes of the franchise and I'm more than ready to follow this team through this year and I'm very hopeful that this will be a good season (I hope I don't bite my tongue on a few months XD). What are your thoughts on this episode? Let me know in the comments. I'll see you all in the next time. Healin' Goodbye~