#BROKEN RONDO

[migueldelaguila]

Just uploaded! Miguel del Aguila's #BrokenRondo's new version for #solo #bassoon and #windensemble performed by bassoonist Carlos Clark, Central Michigan University #Sympyhonic #Wind #Ensemble/#ChrisChapman, conductor https://youtu.be/wDFCBKjyVQE Versions for bassoon and chamber orchestra or piano also available. - Miguel del Aguila

[xavigab]

Ollie being a masochist :3

So like TW‼️ for violence 

Felix goes to Ollie’s room where he hears another voice calling Ollie a whore and all these degrading names. He also heard the sounds of slapping, like, hard slapping, so he bangs on the door calling for Ollie thinking he’s getting beat up. After a while Ollie opens the door with a hand mark print on his face (he was trying to hide it with his own hand) and Felix just stares at him before pushing the door open. His eyes land on a random guy (he looks like an off-brand version of Felix) and he like punches him hard ass fuck. Ollie panics and tried to tell Felix to stop, although he’s getting really horny by seeing this side of Felix. Felix isn’t really listening to Ollie as he drags rondo out the room and throws him out with a broken nose. He closes the door, looks back at Ollie and caresses his face asking if he’s hurt and Ollie just stares at him. Felix isn’t getting an answer and thinks he should go hunt the guy down. Ollie then tells him that he shouldn’t have done that which catches Felix so off guard cuz ???

Ollie saw his confusion and then in the quietest voice said “I- I consented to…um”, then looks away not wanting to look at Felix. Ollie’s words don’t really register, so Felix is just looking at him for a bit before he drops his hand from Ollie’s face. Ollie’s just biting his bottom lip not wanting to cry as he feels Felix stare on him. Felix smiles before he violently grabs Ollie’s face making him look at Felix. Ollie let out a whimper because Felix’s grip is pushing against his already bruising cheek. Felix moves his face close enough to Ollie’s that they could practically kiss, “why didn’t you just ask me Ollie? :( I thought we were friends :( do you actually not like me at all :(“, he would totally be pouting, this little manipulating piece of shit haha. Anyways Ollie just looks at Felix before “what-“ and he didn’t get to say anything else as Felix slapped him. “You’ll let me be the only one now right? :( I mean now I know so I should be the only one, right? :)” and I mean Ollie got what he wanted I guess (・ω・)

Anyway idk, I think Felix would be a little sadistic, being so “nice” can get really boring. I just know he gets really pent up, like he would purposely make accidental problems out in the clubs just to fight someone. Anyways they get into a consensual relationship, it’s just hard to figure out new lies for Ollie’s bruises.

[waitet]

Just found out that every side order enemy has music terms in its name, so I made a list of them (spoilers below the cut)

Battering Lento - To play slowly or sluggishly , even slower than Adagio

Marching Adante - Moderate speed, ‘walking pace’

Swarming Lenguendo - To perform dramatically and feeble

Drizzling Cappriccisoso - Free, impulsive, whimsical

Panicking Allá Mambo - Salsa, up-tempo Latin music

Whirling Accelerando - Speed

Springing Spiccato - Bowing technique where the bow bounces lightly on a string

Gushing Trionfale - Triumphant, victorious

Spawning Accordo - Chord

Homing Arpeggio - ‘Broken Chord’, melodic pattern that arranges each note of a chord individually for them to be performed one by one in a sequence

Towering Nobilmente - Nobly, exclusively

Bosses:

Marina Agitando - Couldn’t find much for this, but the closest thing I could find was Agitato— agitated, restless and hurried. The Italian translation of Agitando is shaking, freaking out so take either meaning

Asynchronous Rondo - This one probably makes the most sense for the boss. A Rondo is a piece of music where the musical material stated at the beginning of the piece keeps returning over and over

Pinging Marciale - A rhythmic march

Parallel Canon - A piece of voices (or instrumental parts) that sing or play the same music starting at different times.

[its-ya-girl-phoeni]

I love the fact that Asynchronous Rondo's garbled, broken-sounding voice is actually singing the chorus to "Ebb And Flow"

[shrimplythesilliest]

Knowing that the Asychrounous Rondo is singing ebb n flow makes it more terrifying because ebb n flow seems like a song about freedom and how the Rondo sings it so tortured and broken it seems like it wants freedom because it sounds also like a male octoling sing but know it can't have its freedom so it seeks comfort through the song

[light-end-dragon]

Rondo in Amber and Lapis-En Lyrics

✦✦Valkyrie ✦✦Enstars ✦✦

**This is not an official translation. All rights to the lyrics and characters etc. are property of Happy Elements. The only thing that is my own is the translation**

Note: I suggest reading/listening to these lyrics along with Shu's solo, as they have many moments that relate to each other.

~琥珀ト瑠璃ノ輪舞曲 "Rondo in Amber and Lapis"~(1)

煤けた硝子玉  淡い月と碧い夜

The two glass beads are covered in grime / as I lay hidden, unbidden by time 

それだけを映して  時の函に横たわっていた

The pale moonlight reflects onto me / the glint in my eyes answers back ever so feebly 

優しく触れた指 轉々捲かれてく

Those fingers gently turn the gears round / over and over they spin as i am wound  

発条の魔法が 壊れていた魂にかかった

The magic of their clockworks grow / fastening life onto pieces of my shattered soul

✦✦✦✦✦

暗く……くすんでいた世界

Oh, it’s so dark….Oh, how gloomy it all carries on

色を与えてくれた 嗚呼、旋律は

Can your hands paint my world full of color too …. That song that you play….

この朽ちゆく身すら救済う

Oh, can it save me as I’m rotting away? 

✦✦✦✦✦

踊ろう 唯、その意の侭 人形に意思は要らない

And all I ask is that I can dance as you please  / A doll like me hasn’t a will to appease

黄金の繰糸が 紡いでくお伽話が  一つだけの真実

The only wish that a thing like me needs   / is to come along with the strings that you lead

それ以外棄ててしまおう 

Oh yes-tell me what you don’t like -let me gather it-and I’ll cast it away 

憧れが染み付いた琥珀も    絶望��染み付いた瑠璃も

Like this broken amber I have caught in a prayer / And this piece of lapis dark with despair 

✦✦✦✦✦

下限の三日月の   欠けた影の一片を (2)

The moon above me calls my shadow night / One a replica gave here upon the light

繕ってくれたから    人の形を纏えたんだ

The broken strings brings it as I’m sewn /  fragments that give me a body that looks like your own

時計の歯車が    轉々廻り出す

The gears click into place as they spin / round and around they all turn once again

調律師の振るう   指揮棒こそが命の鼓動さ

The rhythm of the tuner’s baton /  is the same beat that calls me to live on and on

✦✦✦✦✦

例え……崩れていく世界

Yes, and I know….that the world may crumble away

潰えてしまおうとも   嗚呼、構わない

And if I do too, then let it be so, I am just a doll

そう、痛みなどない救済

No, I don’t feel any pain at all!

✦✦✦✦✦

 歌おう 唯、欲しいのは  完璧な環を成す輪舞曲 (3)

Oh please I ask, just let me sing to the end / and let my rondo meet at its refrain

黄金の琴糸が    奏でゆく絢なる調べ     たった一つの星

If it lies with the song you once played / then the desolate star in the sky might have stayed 

この魂……燃え尽きても

Yes, that is my soul you see ….And just like the moon, it may disappear soon

溶けてゆく硝子にも映そう   永遠に消えはしない愛を

Know that though my eyes burn out on this final day / endless is their love as they melt away…..

✦✦✦✦✦

This is not as much a translation note (those are below) as it is me pointing out that I've noticed a lot of the things Mika says in these lyrics are very heavily reminiscent of things Nazuna also says during ExValk days. Mika himself has even admitted that he used his nii-chan as a reference in Acanthe, so I would like to believe this is very intentional.

✦✦✦✦✦

(1). There are a lot of 'everyone knows this' moments I'm pointing out, but either way, the 'amber' and 'lapis' here are referring to his eyes, same as in the lyrics. I also chose to translate the title as "Rondo in Amber and Lapis' b/c most classical songs are titled "Rondo in X Key" and it just sounds better to me that way.

(2). Another 'probably obvious' moment as I've seen it get pointed out before, but it also took me a little while to realize this entire line is a play on words involving Mika's own name.

三日月 "mi-ka-d(z)u-ki"  

欠けた影の一片を "ka-ke-ta ka-ge no hi-to-hi-ra"

plus, the 'kage' and 'hira' use the same kanji as his name does.

There isn't a really good way for this to translate it into english while keeping the meaning of the lines, but I wanted to really try my best b/c I'm stubborn, which is why the line might sound a bit odd. (I'm hoping not, but...)

However, while english has a lot more syllables and sounds for things than jp does, I did manage to get something to work.

The moon above me calls my shadow night (mi:- kɑ:)

One a replica gave here upon the light (kə: - ɡeɪ: -hɪr: əˈpɑː)

Translated more literally, the original line is something like "a piece of the waning crescent moon's broken shadow" so I was trying to match the phonetics while keeping it in line with the moon and shadow imagery, as well as Mika inferring that this is what made up his body as he was given a human form.

(3). This is another very important not for the whole song, but the line here more literally translated has Mika singing something like "my only wish is to sing/be able to sing / a rondo that forms a perfect loop"

Rondo form in music is typically characterized as a main theme or refrain of sorts (I'm using that term b/c it rhymes, I dunno if its supposed to be called that lol) alternating contrasting episodes. A typical rondo is in ABABA formation or variations of. This is likely what he means in the lyrics; he wishes to be able to sing his song until the end, so it can meet back at the beginning again like a proper rondo.

Another note like in Shu's song, a rondo can also be both a music form and a dance, and looking it up, the closest thing I see it coming out to is a ring or circle dance, which seems pretty similar to square dancing in the US. It refers to a pretty broad genre so its hard to pin down exactly what people might be saying when referring to it, but an interesting note is that a waltz can be considered a round dance, round/circle dancing is more associated with communal and folk dancing than typical waltzes.

This likely has rather little bearing on the song in general, but I didn't spend an inordinate amount of time on Wikipedia and other sites to not put something down.

And the final note that is far more relevant to the composition, is about the end. I have to preface this saying that i am not an expert on musical theory, nor am I wholly confident in saying this, so take it as you will.

That being said, I've been listening to the song and melody left and right, and if you recall what I said before about rondo structure, its typically at its simplest, ABABA? There of course can be many variations, but I don't think Mika's song ever finally loops back.

He very well might be singing an incomplete rondo, which makes his line right before it about asking that he's able to finish his song before he burns away....

I certainly feel an emotion, and it isn't good.

These lyrics are not a word for word translation, and are an adaptation of the original song's message, made to (pretty much) fit in with the original vocals. It's my interpretation, but I wanted to keep the meaning close to what it was in Jp while coming across as what one would write in an En song.

[ariaofsorrows]

My Thoughts On Castlevania: Nocturne’s Richter

So I recently watched the trailer for Castlevania: Nocturne, and I… have a lot of things to say regarding Richter’s characterization in the show. Minor spoilers for Symphony of the Night and Rondo of Blood. but it’s not like you’ll be playing the games anyways

Since yesterday, I was already worried about the direction Richter’s story would go, and it seems like I was right to be worried. Richter is presented as broken and sad, without much to live for. I believe this is so that the viewer will be more sympathetic towards Richter when he eventually becomes evil, just like how Dracula’s backstory was presented so that you feel bad for him.

However, having Richter be broken from the beginning would actually lessen the impact that his possession will have in the future. Symphony of the Night is all about contrast. Alucard is the main character instead of the Belmont family. Richter, the guy we knew as the hero, is now one of the villains. The reason why this contrast works so well, especially if you played Rondo of Blood beforehand, is because not only do we get to see Richter at is peak career-wise, but he also see him at his peak emotionally.

In Rondo of Blood, which is what Nocturne is adapting, Richter is happy and full of life. He is a sweet boy that’s excited to do what he’s been training for all his life. He also cares so much, maybe too much about the people around him and the job he’s doing. Right after, in Symphony of the Night, Richter is at his worst. He’s broken and desperately clinging on to fame that is fading away. He doesn’t know what to do, now that his life’s purpose has been fulfilled.

I’m definitely biased here, but I do like the games’ execution of Richter’s story a lot more. It gives me a lot to think about instead of leading me by the hand like the show is doing. Now that’s Richter’s already sad in the show, there is now an expectation that he will go bad instead of it being a surprise and a contrast like in the games.

Also, Richter’s eventual villain arc will get him sidelined, opening a spot for Alucard to save the day again because he’s the he- *gunshots*

Anyways, that’s it for the first of many posts I’ll probably make about Nocturne.

[6ad6ro]

so bloodstained rotn 2 is likely going to be announced this year. it should be something i'm really excited about, but conversely i have incredibly low expectations. because, over time, i've grown to lowkey hate rotn 1. here's why: i played the switch version first, which wasn't gonna help with my first impressions. but i've since played on pc with fixed framerate and better graphics? and it's still the ugliest castlevania i've ever played. i just wrote a long rant about 2d games being shoehorned into 3d, so i won't go back into that. but this game is such good proof of 2.5d consistently making 2d games worse. or that's the only sense i can make of one of the kings of beautiful 2d suddenly making one of the most hideous 2.5d games. i say that, but iga also made the 3d castlevania games on ps2. of all the problems with those games, the visuals weren't one of them. and then there's "dracula x chronicles", the 2.5d remake of rondo. even tho i was one of the many who mostly bought that game for the unlockable sotn and rondo PORTS (orig 2d rondo was much better), the remake wasn't horrible visually. the polygons and lighting didn't feel like clownvomit like it does in bs rotn. everything with rotn just feels amateur, low budget, and incompetent. the way enemies die by just fizzling out their polygons is so hideous. it feels like a budget mobile game from 2012. remember the weird occasional 3d that was in sotn? imagine an entire game made from that, but lacking any of the charm. to wrap it up in a bow, the graphics suck. but it isn't just the raw graphics, it's also the art direction. if i had one word to sum up the art, it'd be "uninspired". nothing feels like an artist made this, outside of a handful of moments. this is "paint by numbers castlevania" at it's worst. sure, games like cv cotm were a bit bland, and sometimes cv could feel somewhat formulaic? but rotn took mediocrity to a whole new level. do you like grey caves? do you like grey stone buildings? do you want your castlevania to look like the overworld in fallout 3? welcome to bloodstained ritual of the night! if i were avgn, i'd be like "bloodstained more like shitstained, everything looks like brown and grey ASS" idfk. maybe things would be better if they understood how to use lighting effects, but they don't so we'll never know. cover the already ugly visuals in shitoil and then... well my inner avgn has returned so i'll digress. the areas are all samey and boring, generally feeling like placeholders they never bothered to fix. the music sucks. it feels mostly generic and there's very little melody to be found in the tracks. it's hard to believe yamane had any involvement in this. except... when you go play bs curse of the moon, suddenly it makes sense. because there's melody hidden in the composition, but the execution is just bad. almost like the devs went to yamane and asked her to make things less melodic and more "atmospheric". idk what happened, maybe it was just rushed. but i've never known ANY castlevania to have unmemorable music. and yet rotn somehow pulls it off. i'm def biased, but a cv without good music isn't a castlevania at all.

the gameplay seems... fine? but it's just executed poorly. i've seen people complain about "sotn weapon variety plus aos ability variety is overwhelming", but actually that's one of the only things they did right. as i'm typing this hatepost, suddenly i'm finding myself "wanting to play" just to unlock all the fun abilities and gear. but no, then i remember how clumsy it all is. on top of that, the devs are morons and constantly added "balance patches", for a singleplayer game, that nerfed most of the fun things into the ground. finding broken or super powerful gear is part of what makes castlevania so fun, fuck these idiot bs devs. they don't understand why cv is good. not at all. before i forget, there's also way too much forced grinding and dumb sidemissions for basic unlocks. i don't need world of warcraft fetchquests in my castlevanias, sorry. lastly, there's kickstarter. i hate what kickstarter does to games. don't get me wrong, undertale was a kickstarter game, and that's one of the best games ever made. but undertale somehow finished development and met all its kickstarter goals in a bit over 2 years. even though it was developed by just one dude and an artist. undertale released in a finished form, too. bs, on the flipside, had a whole development studio, a fucking publisher, AND a whole lot more money (set crowdfunding records iiirc). but it only just recently finished delivering on it's development promises. that's like 10 years. and the promises were often barely fulfilled, like there are compromises everywhere. you have ks games like shovelknight, which take forever to finish releasing content (but all the content is really good, and feels like a full game at launch). then you have ks games like shenmue 3, which release "finished" but looks and feels like shit. bs rotn is the worst of both worlds. when i played bloodstained at launch, that was it's one chance. sorry, but if i go to a restaurant for the first time and the food is bland and the experience is bad? i'm not gonna go back. i have replayed every castlevania, even ones like cv cotm that i wasn't huge on. i have not replayed bs rotn and i don't see that changing any time soon. i tried somewhat recently, with most of the new content? still felt shit. lost interest in under an hour (and that was with the blodless content which was comparatively good).

adding on to the disaster which is bloodstained, we then have the "8bit game" goal. which resulted in bs cotm. which is, bizarrely, absolutely incredible. it's like a spiritual successor to akumajou densetsu (the good version of cv3). unlike rotn, almost every song is awesome and memorable. the gameplay is great. the areas are rad as fuck. it's legit amazing and the only truly good thing to come out of the whole series. cotm 2 isn't as good, but it still feels like magic compared to rotn. and guess what? both are 2d. can you believe it? iga makes a 2d game and it's incredible, right after making a 2.5d game that was dogshit. maybe he shouldn't fuck with 3d anymore? will he get a clue? probably not. it's frustrating to see one of my heroes of game development going in such a dumb direction. sorta reminding me of how aonuma "doesn't understand why people want pre-botw zelda elements back". or miyazaki "doesn't know why elden ring was so successful" and turns around and regresses the fuck out of the gameplay with the miserable tryhard dlc. i complain about zelda and elden, but i would still rather play totk or elden 100x over bloodstained rotn. even though iga seems to be remaining more "faithful" to his genre, his execution is somehow worse. in my heart, whether it's logical or not, i blame kickstarter. to me, bs rotn was a ks scam game. a soulless imitation of cv sotn, that held less value than a low effort fanmod of a real castlevania. and i TRIED to like it. i put up a lot of money for it's kickstarter, and was an apologist of all it's bullshit for years. but i can't do it anymore. it's a bad castlevania. maybe the worst. so am i excited for rotn 2? not really. there's a faint glimmer of hope knowing it won't be another kickstarter game, and that they're using all the money they made from the first one to make it (prob a significant sum, they certainly weren't using their profit to fix the orig game, the new content is budget/slow as hell). and they're gonna try and fix the art direction, which "couldn't get any worse" except they plan to make it more realistic "like final fantasy 7 remake". why? ok rant over. bs cotm sucked. i hope cotm 2 won't suck so bad. but i'm not holding my breath.

[dalmascan-requiem]

Lente's Rondo: Captain

(Gen-uary Jubilee 3: Strangers)

-------

Is the best path to fight, or is it something else?

-------

Read on AO3 or keep reading after the jump

content warnings: death, wounds, blood. This fic takes place on a battlefield, so please keep this in mind before reading.

------

So lots going on here. First off this is my longest single chapter fic by a long shot, haha. So that's cool! Next, this is a companion piece to Ink, as it's the same incident but from the POV of one of the new recruits at the encampment that was attacked. This is also the third Gen-uary Jubilee prompt! There was a choice between 'roommates' and 'strangers', and I went the strangers route with Laurent training the recruits.

The reason this is broken out the 'Moments' section (and Ink isn't) is because I really like Benjamin now LOL and I think he's gonna end up being a new OC. Cicia too, though we don't see her much. The brainworms are already nestling in my head lol... maybe after I get through more WIPs? I think their perspectives would be interesting as they're far more normal than the boys end up being. We'll see!

"Alright, we'll be working on melee drills today."

Benjamin watches the captain flipping through a few pieces of paper with trepidation. Melee combat? I've never been particularly good at fighting up close—or afar for that matter…

Their latest training captain had only been there for a couple of weeks, but he had already managed to scare even the most unruly of the recruits into obedience. Benjamin had never directly interacted with the man yet, but he could see why the others were wary around him. The Viera struck an imposing figure, tall with long reddish brown hair that ran down his back, and a permanent frown on his face. Even though he didn't talk much, his piercing fuchsia eyes said more than his words would anyway.

The recruits often whispered and gossiped about the captain—What was up with the gunblade on his back? Was he Bozjan, then, or was the weapon just for show? Were they going to learn how to be gunbreakers? What even is his name, anyway?

While the recruits buzzed with excitement, Benjamin just wanted all of this training to be over with. Not out of confidence—he was never a strong fighter, and he wasn't trained in how to use his magic. But more training is going to change that… only fighting the Garleans could. How could he not make them pay after they destroyed his home? After—

Benjamin's thoughts are interrupted when he hears the captain growl under his breath at the papers and looks up. "These are useless. Pick the weapon you're most comfortable with. You'll train in groups of three—of my choosing."

There is some grumbling at the orders, but when the captain clears his throat, they fall silent. "Complacency teaches you nothing. I'd rather have you all learn how to adapt than die on the battlefield." The captain's blunt statement makes the atmosphere tense, but he thinks nothing of it and begins assigning recruits to one another.

** **

"Hah! What's wrong Benjamin, too fast for you?"

Benjamin nurses his bruised knuckles as Cicia smirks and silently picks up his wooden sword. She flips it around to hand it back to him. "Surely you'll learn to adapt this time?"

He takes the sword back with a heavy sigh. Gods, she's so annoying. Cicia had always been great at fighting, and she knew it. Unfortunately, he got paired with her and her friend, and that meant having to deal with her snide comments.

"You."

The three turn around in the direction of the voice to find the captain staring at them. He gestures to Benjamin. "Come here."

Oh no… Is this the day I die? Benjamin slowly walks to the captain, and once he's close enough, he nods down at Benjamin's wooden sword. "Why do you keep dropping it?"

Benjamin bristles at the question, trying and failing to keep the annoyance out of his voice. "Because Cicia keeps hitting my hand—"

"No."

"What? What do you mean no!?" The Viera raises his eyebrows ever so slightly at Benjamin's outburst, and the recruit realizes what he did. "O-oh, I apologize—"

"Don't." The captain interrupts him again. "It's fine to be spirited." He nods at the wooden sword again. "Lift it off the ground with just your wrist."

…Huh? Benjamin looks down at the sword and tries to flick it up with his wrist, but it barely budges. Why is this so hard? He tries a few more times before the captain, shaking his head, takes it out of his hand. As he moves the sword around with his wrist while looking at it, Benjamin silently bristles again. Does he just want to show me how weak I am?

"It's too heavy for you." The captain sighs and puts the weapon on the rack, his back turned to Benjamin.

"I-I know, but I'm trying to get stronger—"

"I didn't say you were weak. I said it's too heavy for you." He taps a finger to his lips in thought for a moment, before pulling out two small wooden daggers and handing them to Benjamin. "Getting stronger doesn't mean you'll get better at holding a sword. Try these."

Benjamin stared at the daggers blankly for a moment before looking back up. "Um… the other captain only taught us how to use swords."

The Viera pinches the bridge of his nose in annoyance and mumbles under his breath. "Hells, no wonder…" He looks back at Benjamin. "I'll teach you how to use them. As well as the rest of you. Clearly, the last captain was incompetent."

"Oh…" Not knowing what to say, Benjamin turned the daggers a few times in his hands before looking up. "Thank you, Captain… um… I don't know your name…"

"Elja." The captain casts his gaze over the recruits, perplexed. "Did I not tell you all?"

** **

The next few days were spent teaching the recruits different weapon types, and many of them started feeling more comfortable sparring with something other than swords. Captain Elja was right that the daggers felt better to Benjamin—he was even able to occasionally parry Cicia's attacks—but he still didn't feel particularly strong. I still feel like I'm wasting my time… but what do I do, if not fight?

"Captain Elja's late…" Benjamin heard someone mumble next to him, which caused some of the recruits to become restless. The captain had never been late before.

Then came the explosion.

The recruits all looked up in shock at the roof of the encampment, now on fire, halfway caved in. A few of the nearby soldiers jumped up, grabbing their weapons and shouting at the recruits. "Garleans! Hide!"

What…? Benjamin stood there, frozen. Garleans? Here? Why… I thought they were farther… The others barely moved either—where would they hide, anyway?

As if sensing their immobility, the captain rushes through a door. "What are you all doing!?" He runs towards the recruits. "You need to get out of this field, now!" Instead of stopping, however, the Viera continues to dash past the group, drawing his weapon, and Benjamin then notices three Garleans heading towards them.

The captain's words roused a few of the recruits into action, trying to get the others to ignore their fears and run. A rough push from someone—he wasn't sure who—snapped him out of his trance. As Benjamin turned to run somewhere, anywhere, he saw a flash and heard the heavy clang of metal as the captain engaged the Garleans.

As one quickly fell, Benjamin only had one thought as he dashed to a nearby building: I guess he can use that gunblade.

** **

What followed after was a blur, but Benjamin would never forget it. The sound of a struggle surrounded him—of fighting, of fire, of people dying—and the smoke made his eyes water and tears streak down his face (or was it the fear?). He didn't know if it was minutes or hours, but it felt like an eternity.

They all had to keep running. Sometimes the captain would make it back to them, quickly shouting out directions and telling them to 'get to the the armored vehicles'. Benjamin didn't—couldn't—look back, but something told him each time they stopped, there were less of them than before.

Eventually, Captain Elja came back again, roughly grabbed Benjamin's arm, and started dragging him along. "Come on!"

The pain of Benjamin's arm being yanked brought him back to some semblance of awareness. "…Wait… what about the others…"

"Don't talk, you'll breathe in more smoke."

He simply complies, and after a moment, the captain pushes Benjamin, and his hands feel the cold metal of the vehicle before he realizes he's against it. "Get on."

"What about you?"

Benjamin isn't given a chance to object any further as strong arms pull him into the back of the truck. The captain looks back, and he couldn't help but notice his fuchsia eyes look softer than normal. "I won't die here, Benjamin."

He… knows my name? The truck drives away, leaving the sounds of battle behind him.

** **

The ride felt like an eternity, and it was even more terrifying than the battlefield. Here, he had to see and hear the other soldiers in the truck—their groans of pain and stifled sobs. He didn't know any of them, either. Where are the rest of the recruits…?

Benjamin was almost certain the man next to him breathed his last already, but he dared not check. He sat curled up, holding his knees and praying the vehicle would stop soon.

Mercifully, the armored vehicle stopped, but hearing the commotion outside, Benjamin didn't want to move. What is happening now? Are there more Garleans? He hears someone climb into the vehicle and start quietly talking to some of the soldiers near him. They asked one if she was hurt, gently tried to wake another up (followed by a soft sigh), and quietly directed someone else to help the soldiers off the truck.

Eventually, Benjamin felt them stop next to him.

"Are you alright? Can you look at me?" He felt a hand lightly close over one of his own, and he stopped shaking—when did I start shaking?—and looked up at the owner of the voice.

A Viera with calm emerald eyes looked back at him, and they gave Benjamin a soft smile. "Good. It'll be alright. Tell me, are you hurt anywhere?"

The question made Benjamin realize that he never bothered to check. He looked at his arms and torso, and nothing felt like it hurt—even if he felt utterly exhausted. "No… I don't think so…"

The medic nods, lightly touching Benjamin on the forehead. It was strange, but it felt comforting. "It'll be okay." They squeezed his hand. "Head out of the truck and the others will take care of you."

Benjamin nods and makes to get up, but a sudden thought stops him. "W-wait!" The Viera turns around, startled by him suddenly yelling. "Oh, I.. I'm sorry… I just… what about the captain?"

They frown and seem to hesitate before answering. "Who is your captain?"

"He… he stayed behind and… is he okay?" Benjamin belatedly realized the question the medic asked. "Is, is Captain Elja okay?"

An unreadable, intense expression crosses their face as they run a hand through their hair—leaving a faint streak of green in their bright blue hair—before turning away slightly. "I haven't seen Captain Elja yet, I apologize. But… I'm sure he'll be fine."

Benjamin wanted to ask how they'd know that, but he heard the sound of another truck pulling up, and the medic shakes their head and rushes out of the vehicle without another word.

** **

What do I even do…? Benjamin stood near a tent, watching the chaos. He didn't know where this was, exactly, but he could tell it was a medical encampment away from the frontlines. Idly watching the medics rushing back and forth, a thought passed his mind that they didn't expect something like this to happen. Not like any of us did either, to be fair.

He watched the Vieran medic for a while, wishing to talk to them again—he wasn't sure why, but they felt comforting. The medic also happened to be a captain though, and was far too busy directing the others and handling the endless stream of vehicles to sit with one unhurt recruit.

I don't want to stand here, but what do I do… He wanders a few feet away from the tent and catches the eye of one of the medics, who immediately flags him down. "Hey, are you okay? No injuries?" Benjamin nods. "Can you help us with getting this tent up, then?" She gestures to a half-erected tent that some soldiers were trying to get completely upright.

"Yes…" Thankful for the opportunity to do anything, he moves to one side of the tent, holding it up so the medic can duck under the canvas and set up more poles. "What's the tent for?"

"Oh…" She looks Benjamin up and down for a moment and mutters something under her breath—he's so young—before answering. "…Not all of the soldiers are well off. Gale—uh, Captain—asked us to set up a place for them to have some peace."

She danced around the subject, but Benjamin already knew what she meant. A place to die.

"What else are you able to do, soldier?" The medic eyes him as she ties another knot to the pole.

"I-I… I'm not a soldier, I'm just—"

"A recruit, I know. Most of you are. But we can use all the help we can get around here and…" She trails off, unable to think of what to say next.

"Can I be with them?"

"Huh?"

"The… ones that need peace. Can I stay with them? So someone's there…"

The medic stops what she's doing to face him, a grave look on her face. "Do you know what I mean by—"

"Yes."

"I… I see." She nods at Benjamin. "Yes, that is fine. Just… don't overdo it, okay?" The medic gives Benjamin another glance before walking away, waving down a soldier near a vehicle and calling out. "Yes, the tent here. Try and be gentle…"

** **

The tent was quieter than Benjamin expected. It was for the best, he thought—most of the soldiers knew this was where they came to pass, so maybe they simply waited instead of crying out. The conjurers also passed by, touching some of the soldiers' foreheads. Probably a spell to numb the pain.

Benjamin would sit near someone and hold their hand, or place a hand on their shoulder. He never said anything—it'd all ring hollow—and stayed with them until they passed. At one point, he sat next to Cicia's friend. He couldn't remember their name, but they gave Benjamin a slight smile and squeezed his hand before their strength left them. I wonder if Cicia is alright…

He hears others move about the tent, some saying quiet words, but Benjimin paid them no mind. He was here to give these soldiers some semblance of peace, as were the others. It wasn't a place for idle chat.

Eventually, someone lightly tapped his shoulder, and he looked up to see his captain. "Captain Elja! You're—" The captain puts a finger to his lips and motions towards the tent's opening.

Once outside of the tent, Benjamin turns to the Viera again, more excitement than he expected bubbling up in his tone. "You're alright!"

He looks to Benjamin. "I told you I wouldn't die." The captain looks away, and Benjamin tries to follow his gaze. Is he watching one of the medics? I can't tell…

"You were in the tent a long time." The Viera looks at him through the side of his eyes.

"I, uh, lost track of time…"

"You're quite empathetic. Perhaps too much so." The captain sighs, returning his gaze to the medics. "Not everyone is meant to fight, Benjamin."

"…I don't understand what you mean…" Benjamin looks down at the ground. Is he… is he trying to send me away? Is he saying—"that I'm not good enough? After what happened? You want me to walk away—"

"You seem to have a habit of putting words in people's mouths." The captain sighs again, annoyance clear in his voice. "Not everyone is meant to fight on the frontlines, Benjamin. You see him?" He gestures toward the medic captain, who is gesturing to one of the drivers in an armed vehicle to move somewhere else. "Gale's not much of a fighter, either. But he does what he can—even if sometimes he does too much."

"You know them—um, him, Captain Elja?"

"I know most of the captains, but Gale…" He trails off, but Benjamin understands his meaning.

"O-oh. I wouldn't think you'd—"

"Don't finish that." Captain Elja huffs, though he no longer sounds annoyed. "I've watched you—well, all of you. You can defend yourself in a normal fight… but out on the battlefield, you'd just panic and die. That accomplishes nothing. There are different ways for you to help."

"I see…" Benjamin watches the medic, lost in thought. Perhaps I could be a medic, like them? There were some conjurers, after all…

"First, though, you need to rest. You've done more than enough for now." The captain turns to face Benjamin, his intense gaze brokering no argument. "That's an order, by the way."

** **

Benjamin sits in his tent, nervousness overwhelming him. It had been a few days since the attack, but he'd been unable to rest much. So many soldiers—so many of the recruits—died that day, and he couldn't do anything to save them. When he saw Cicia, her arm heavily bandaged but still bleeding, crying over the bodies of her friend and the other recruits, Benjamin decided that he wanted to help in any way he could.

Why am I so nervous, though? Perhaps it's better than apathy… Benjamin stands up and hurries out of the tent before he can second-guess himself, and manages to find his new captain quickly.

"Uh, h-hello, Captain…"

"Are you my new recruit?" The captain doesn't look up from the papers he was shuffling through, and his second in command gives an apologetic look in response.

"Ah, yes…" Benjamin straightens a bit, looking to make a good first impression.

The Viera's emerald eyes flick up for a second before he returns his attention to the papers. "You're the one that yelled at me a few days ago."

"Oh, I'm… I'm sorry…"

"Don't worry about it. So, your previous captain was Laurent, I see…" Captain Gale finally looks away from his papers, an amused glint in his eyes. "Interesting. I think you'll find that I'm… a bit less lenient than he is."

"What…" Less lenient? How is that possible…

The other medic looks between the two, sighs, and pats Benjamin on the shoulder. "Good luck, soldier."

[spinningbuster98]

Castlevania Symphony of the Night Part 5: eltsaC detrevnI ehT

And here we are in the half of the game that makes it pretty obvious that this game was subjected to some crunch later in development

Yeah the idea of just having you explore the castle again only this time it’s upside down and with tougher enemies is just inherently kinda lazy and reeks of wanting to extend play time at all costs

I used to hate the Inverted Castle, mostly due to the enemy placement. Most areas are fine enough, but the Clock Tower, the Caverns and the fucking Alchemy Lab just spam enemies relentlessly without rhyme or reason, and since Sotn has a similar issue with knockback and invincibility frames as Rondo you’re gonna find yourself being more frustrated here than anything else. Then you combine the upside down level design being inherently more awkward to traverse and you have an experience that in many ways could be considered subpar

Over time however I’ve started to view this place in a more positive light

For starters the atmosphere is deliciously oppressive and dark. Yeah sure having Finale Toccata as the ost for 70% of the areas was not the best choice, but the actual track is great once it truly gets going and in general the Inverted Castle really does give off more dangerous, even abstratc vibes, also thanks to the overall darker color pallette

The fact that you have complete freedom in how you wanna approach it is also quite nice, as it means that you’ll be able to do things like gunning for the strongest weapons as soon as possible, or just go for the 5 bosses that hold the pieces of Dracula while skipping everything else just to get going if you don’t feel like it 

And while I wouldn’t call this difficulty spike well executed (or even long lasting) it at least finally forces the player to tackle the game in a more strategic way rather than just power through. It’s usually a good idea here to stand back and use spells to take out enemies, which isn’t the easiest thing to do given how irritating some of their button combinations can get, but it’s satisfying to clear a room full of tough enemies with a well placed Soul Steal or Tetra Spirits 

The worst enemy in the game by far to me are the Blue Roses. Unless you have Holy Water (which you should as it’s beyond broken in this game, like in Castlevania 1), these bitches take a while to kill and they just spam their hard hitting attacks relentlessly, not giving you a second to properly attack them. Luckily they’re only really present in the Caverns (and 1 room in the Entrance), but jeez!

Unfortunately getting 200% map completion for the best ending is a real pain here due to the inverted level design, especially in the Caverns where you have no choice but to use the wolf’s swimming ability to “poke” specific spots that won’t register on the map otherwise for some baffling reason

I have one question though: what is this place? Was it conjured up by Shaft’s magic somehow? Then why are the monsters who posses Dracula’s remains here? And also Alucard’s stolen equipment? Say what you will about HoD’s twin castles but at least that game gave a nice explanation as to their existence. Alucard? Mister “this Castle is a creature of Chaos”? Wanna explain things a bit?

[theforgowolf]

so you all know that the Asynchronous Rondo sings a broken version of Ebb and Flow, but did you know that the Pinging Marciale also sings? Apparently it is trying to sing Fly Octo Fly.

[fictional-character-fight-poll]

Milo Thatch vs. Nana Daiba

Propaganda under the cut:

Milo Thatch:

This dude has basically superhuman intelligence. Graduated/survived high school at age 11, was a double doctorate before he turned 30, this guy is SCARY smart. He's not much physically, but he thinks fast and he's resourceful. Also, the man is pretty much immune to death. He falls down a frickin cliff and only gets a tiny cut, no bruises or broken body parts at all (which he absolutely should've gotten from this fall) He also runs across ground that is breaking apart under him with LAVA splashing up just inches away from him. And he does this while holding a black metal chain. Then he's pressed onto a metal box being flown mere feet above a river of lava. Not even any burns AT ALL. He's basically Daniel Jackson, but without the dying. This guy is either an alien or a mutant of some kind.

Milo knows ways to kick your ass you'd never even think of. And ways to get away with doing it, too. (Dude figured out how to beat the mutated rage-hulk that used to be a guy he knew, and he did it in mere seconds while on board a sinking balloon that, oh yeah, WAS ON FIRE, all while somehow not getting hit by all the weapon fire around him from both sides. How did you think straight enough to do that, man? I would've panicked….and then probably died.

Nana Daiba:

Okay if you give her some swords I think she could stand a fair chance here. She beat her buddies in a 6v1 once, albeit when they were starting to lose their brilliance, and also beat said friends in battle many, many times before due to her rondos. She has two swords and is good at using them. Also I'm just saying that if it's instead a theatre, script writing (for whatever reason) or baking competition she is very good at all of those too

Reasons as to why one or the other would win are encouraged in the notes. Send in additional propaganda and I'll add it to the post!

[fukuokanodivision]

An Unaware Drunkard [Kiiro Solo]

[Yuno-] Now awake as this unaware drunkard Their bickering rolling on till dawn comes Anyone looks horrible all worn out Until those thousand “voices” become hoarse Neglecting my happiness, I’ll never sober up Until I can listen to your “voice” I give into you, who has nothing to say Now, my body is dyed [Chorus] And then The mountain smeared in mud — “Though it truly isn’t that bad” Just a milligram away from succumbing… Only getting drunk, again and again — “It isn’t half bad” I’m the unaware drunkard of my rivals! [Yuno-] Their “singing” voices are uncountable Once lost in them, escape is inevitable “Hey, look at how pretty this is!,” the daydream rondo They hide a thousand while I only spit out ten

I won’t let this happiness go away Until I’m lent an ear by your side I give into you, who has nothing to say Now, my heart is dyed [Chorus] That’s just My muddy, obscured, broken vision of this future — Now it isn’t that bad I give and give in, staying alive Only getting drunk again and again — It isn’t exactly bad They’re the drunkards unaware of my story!

Dabadababibidabido — Woah~ Dabadababibidabido — Woah~ Dabadababibidabido — Woah~ Dabadababibidabido — Woah~

[shyroism]

Pokemon Violet, broken up with a Nintendo Direct, topped with Bug-types. Bon appetit~

STARTING: 21/2/24 - 22:00 JST

[vocalyrics]

Unaware Drunkard - Translyrics

I woke up from a dream

So drunk and unaware,

Until the sun comes out, I have all this fighting to bear;

I must look terrible,

I'm feeling so worn out,

Until all the voices, start to break and make no more sound.

Neglecting my own feelings,

I don't want to sober up,

Until the time comes when

I get to hear your voice again.

I give you my everything,

But you don't even say a word,

And my body is dyed red.

And so then,

Muddy and stained, something sacred chips away, but hey

That's not so bad, is it?

I feel a miligram away from just giving up.

Getting drunk again and again unexpectedly

Isn't so bad, is it?

After all, I'm a drunkard unaware of my rival in love.

Singing voices, who knows

How many they are,

And once you become lost in them, they'll end up as your– aah...

Hey, look, it's so pretty,

That daydream rondo,

I can only spit out ten from the thousand that I swallowed.

Don't let this fleeting feeling

That feels so happy fly away,

Until the time comes when

I can be by your side again.

I give you my everything,

Don't you have anything to say?

And so my heart is dyed black.

But that's just

My muddy, broken view of the future, but hey,

That's not so bad, is it?

I'm still living on, even though I've long given up.

Getting drunk again and again unexpectedly

Isn't so bad, is it?

I'm a drunkard unaware of how the story ends.

[ebvermin]

Imma just combine both asks into one;

Do you think Maxim is lowkey the true main character of Harmony of Dissonance, with how the title itself refers to him?

Additionally, I know people criticize HoD's brighter colors, but I think there's something to consider about the almost psychedelic vibes they give off, which fits into the theme of Maxim's spiritual and mental crisis. It is a game called Harmony of Dissonance after all.

Honestly, he very well could be, if you lean into the idea that HoD is a sorta prequel to Rondo and Symphony, what with Maxim's pride and downfall mirroring Richter's! Really makes me wish that the post-game second character modes had more dialogue like in DoS, would have been really interesting to see Maxim struggle with his vanity, probably egged on by Death and the spirit of Dracula? Though, I think the actual "Harmony of Dissonance" is the way the two castles kinda merge together, two broken halves becoming one mismatched whole? Or maybe it refers more to the soundtrack, i dunno And oh, i absolutely love the visuals! Never saw how it'd look on an actual GBA, but it does a really great job of highlighting the more deranged and hellish parts of Castle B, which really personifies the twisted evil of Dracula, and in turn, the darker aspects of Maxim's character!

Either way HoD rules so hard and i hope Juste grabs those fuckin books in the anime and gets back to being cool as heck