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putschki1969 · 1 year ago

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2024/02/19 Blog post by Wakana ふむふむの日2024を振り返ろう♪〜映画と衣装と肩の骨〜

❗This is Fan Club EXCLUSIVE content❗ ❗PERSONAL USE ONLY❗ ❗Do NOT SHARE on other sites❗ ❗Join her FAN CLUB! Check out my detailed TUTORIAL ❗

Looking Back At February 6 2024 ♪〜Movie, Dresses And Shoulder Bones〜

The other day, I went to see the movie "Golden Kamuy" with a friend 😊I received a special git at the cinema! A panel drawn by the original creator＼＼\\٩( 'ω' )و //／／ I was so happy because I didn't expect to get something like this! 😍 The girl I went with is a big fan of the original work, actually, she is such a hardcore fan that she and her husband have even gone on a proper pilgrimage to Abashiri which is a place from the manga. I also enjoyed the manga so I decided to go and watch the film with her! The visuals were so powerful and the music was so wonderful that (despite the fairly fantasy-like setting) I felt a strange sense of reality that made me cry many times... It was the first time I watched a movie at the cinema since ``The Boy and the Heron'', I had a lot of fun! 😆 (By the way, the girl who went with me was the same friend who went with me when I watched “The Boy and the Heron�� for the second time♪) Being at the movie theater for the first time in a long while got me really excited, initially, I only wanted to get some oolong tea at the snack bar but then, I ended up with all of this😂 How did this happen? When I looked at the menu, I got really excited 🤣I got a large popcorn and a hot dog *laughs*

Hello, this is Wakana (0￣▽￣0)／

I couldn't finish the giant popcorn and had to take it home *laughs* I quietly stuffed my mouth with the hot dog before the film had even begun🤤 Even though I had told myself that it would be better to wait until the film was over to avoid getting tired...🥺 Such a fickle nature🥺(Thankfully the movie was so interesting that I didn't feel sleepy at any point)

Now, I would like to talk a little about my “Wakana 5th Anniversary “Prologue” ~Premium Online Live~” which was held on February 6th! Here I am together with Saku-chan who joined me on the piano 😊We also made sure to take a picture where we look a bit cool📸 With this premium online live I celebrated a milestone, the 5th anniversary of my solo debut. I wanted to start my celebrations together with everyone from my fan club! For some reason, those five years actually feel like a longer time... or rather, it feels like a lot more years have passed already. I included the entire “journey” from my solo debut up until now in the setlist!

M-01 Yureru Haru M-02 Tsubasa MC M-03 Ai no Hana M-04 Aki no Sakura (Acoustic ver.) MC M-05 Orange MC M-06 Haru wo Matsu (Kalafina) M-07 Shirushi MC M-08 Kinmokusei M-09 Flag MC M-10 magic moment MC M-11 Sono Saki e

There are songs from my 1st album "Wakana", my 2nd album "magic moment", my EP "Aki no Sakura" and my 3rd album "Sono Saki e"! I ended up cramming in as much as possible since I wanted to create a setlist that would allow me to look back on the past 5 years.😊 During my MCs I tried to express my feelings from each period, hopefully I was able to share some fresh thoughts with you.

I once again realized that the "chat" may be the best part of an online live performances! At live performances with an actual on-site audience it's not really possible to have a real conversation, but online, everyone can talk about all sorts of things. Of course, even if there are no words exchanged between us, I know that people are watching and supporting me but I always feel very relieved when people say a lot of things in the chat (*´- `) It's honestly so reassuring to know that everyone is watching and listening (^-^)

Despite all of that, my surprise lyric mishaps keep happening, whether it's been 5 years or 15 years, I will never get rid of those...😂Why? ? 😂 I could really feel everyone's surprise and kindness from the chat messages, it was a special sense of gratitude that I probably couldn't experience at a live performances with an on-site audience. Thank you again to everyone who watched and supported me! ! My 5th Anniversary celebrations have only just begun. At my upcoming band live on May 12th, I would like to have the time to reflect even more on the past five years ! Details will be posted soon! Please be patient a little while longer~･:*+.\(( °ω° ))/.:+

Lastly, I would like to post some pictures of my dress from February 6th 😆This is the same dress I wore on the cover of my 1st album "Wakana"♪ I also wore it during the encore for my ``VOICE'' tour, at that time, it was altered a bit so it would work better for a live performance 😍 I had my hair down, which is quite unusual for me ♡ The makeup artist also added some sparkling hairpins 😍

I always wonder why my shoulder bones are so prominent...🤣 I think it's a skeletal issue because I am pretty sure not everyone's shoulder looks like that, right? 😂 I don't have any particular pain or problems in this area but I always feel like there's just a lot of bone sticking out. I envy people with smoother shoulders🥺

Anyway, I'm glad I was able to fit into a dress from 5 years ago ･:*+.\(( °ω° ))/.:+ For some reason, that got me super excited! 😂😂 Easy peasy🤗 Yay!

So, that’s it for today! Until next time~ ☆( *'▽'*)/

＊＊＊Wakana＊＊＊

『Wakana 5th Anniversary Live』 Details Revealed

To commemorate the 5th Anniversary of Wakana’s solo debut, a special band live will be held for the first time in 3 years! Once again, Wakana will be joined by Satoshi Takebe to deliver a unique live performance together with other musicians. Please look forward to it!

Title: “Wakana 5th Anniversary Live (tentative)” Date: May 12, 2024 ◆1st Stage◆ Open 14:45 / Start 15:30 ◆2nd Stage◆ Open 18:15 / Start 19:00 Venue: I’M A SHOW (capacity: 398 seats) Starring: Wakana, Satoshi Takebe (Music Director/Piano), etc. 【Ticket price】 All seats reserved 8,500円 ※An additional 600円 drink fee will be charged at the venue

Advanced Ticket Lottery for BL Members

[Ticket Sales Service] SKIYAKI TICKET ※To apply, you will need to register your SC ID at "Botanical Land" and your SKIYAKI ID on the SKIYAKI TICKET site/app. Pre-registration is possible, so it is recommended to do this before the application period starts. Please note: The registration procedure includes a verfication via text message which apparently does not work for some overseas phone numbers. ※On the day of the event, present the screen displaying the QR code issued to the SKIYAKI TICKET app (no prints or screenshots permitted); Please note: To display the electronic ticket, a separate app is required

Quantity limit: Up to 2 tickets per person Payment method: Credit card/convenience store payment Ticketing method: Download the dedicated app to issue a QR code ticket Application period: February 21 to February 27 Announcement of Results: March 1~ Payment deadline: March 8

#kalafina #wakana #wakana blog #botanical land #fan club exclusive content #wakana's shoulders are the sexiest thing ever #Wakana 5th Anniversary Live #I still don't know if I should make a trip in May #T_T #I hate that the Wakana lottery ends before the Jump Out lottery #I need to know if I have tickets for HiKei first before making any plans

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louisupdates · 2 years ago

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EXCLUSIVE: Inside Louis Tomlinson's Faith in the Future tour as support act praises 'mentor'

Louis Tomlinson has been entertaining his stateside fans with his Faith In The Future tour and up-and-coming singer and support act Andrew Cushin has heaped the praise on the star

By Jamie Roberts | 3 AUG 2023

Louis Tomlinson has once again been wowing the crowds as he continues his hugely successful solo career.

The former One Direction man, 31, has recently finished his immensely popular stateside leg of his Faith in the Future tour, playing at some of the most iconic venues the country has to offer - and having his shirt ripped off his back along the way. One man who has been up close and personal with the singer over the past few months is fellow musician Andrew Cushin.

The confident English rising talent was selected to be a support act on a number of the shows, playing in the likes of Chicago, Las Vegas and New York. It's been a dream come true for the talented Newcastle native who has opened up to Mirror US about the epic experience.

Labelling Louis a "mentor," Andrew - who is signed to Pete Doherty's record label, Strap Originals - explained he has been able to lean on the star for advice at times on the tour, and admitted it had been "such a good learning experience".

📸 Stephen Lovekin

He's a busy lad as you can imagine," Andrew said. "We've spoke and we've had a couple of drinks and all that and there's been bits of advice when I've needed it. So it's good that I know that he's there if I ever need anything. He's been there and done it all, so he's been a very good tour mentor."

Andrew continued to say he had been extremely impressed with how everything runs on a tour of this magnitude. "Everybody's such a seasoned pro on this tour," he admitted, revealing how it seems nobody is fazed by anything.

He said the entire behind-the-scenes staff show such a high level of professionalism which in turn has given him a huge aspiration and something to work for.

"There's things that I can look at on this tour and take to my own gigs which will make a massive difference," he added. While Andrew has got a big following of his own building nicely at home in the UK, he admits Louis' fans have been nothing short of phenomenal as he tried to turn them into fans of his own - something he seems to have had big success in doing, with homemade signs, bracelets and even tattoos being shared in support.

"These fans really are so, so dedicated to everything that Louis is doing and it's an absolute pleasure to play for them. I was a bit nervous for the first few shows to see how it was going to go down because I'm here without the band and all that and I didn't know if it would have the same effect just me and an acoustic and piano but it's getting the same reception, so it's just a credit to the audience. It's been amazing.

"It's been one massive learning curve and it's so much fun and I'm enjoying it."

Andrew, whose previous tune Where's My Family Gone featured former Oasis man Noel Gallagher, has also released two records during his time with Louis. It's Coming Round Again has been winning rave reviews online by those at the gigs and was filmed at one of the concerts, so too has newest hit Wor Flags.

#louis press #louis tomlinson #4.8.2023

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ivaalo · 4 months ago

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Hi!

I managed to install Linux Mint on my own computer, some days ago (dual boot). The installation was very scary, as I was afraid to kill the computer. Cutting your disk into multiple partition is stressful! And BitLocker is even more stressful!

On Windows 11, before trying to install another OS, be sure to have access to a long code of numbers, that should be located in your Microsoft account, online.

I managed to install everything I did on the other test laptop.

There was still things to test, like softwares. Guitar Pro 8 works like a charm with Wine, which was a big relief. I had to do it twice, because the first installation didn't work. Guitar Pro 5 doesn't have MIDI sounds, as expected, but I cannot select Fluidsynth. TuxGuitar works very well and has evolved since the last time I used it!

Shortcuts are broken when targeting another drive. So doing a Shell line is the way to go. But that's shitty for opening folders in apps. I don't know if there are aliases on Linux.

Steam games don't open, unfortunately. I tried different versions of Proton but cannot play Just Cause 3 :c

I still have to try Clip Studio Paint, Piano From Above / Synthesia, Dolphin and vGBA.

Discord works great. Messenger, WhatsApp and Teams are now in browser only, where they belong lmao

I'll keep Windows to play Steam games, I guess.

#linux mint #text

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goldeneyedgirl · 1 year ago

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Twilight Advent Calendar Day 5

Dec. 5 - What is each Cullen's favorite college major so far? What new major should they try someday?

Carlisle's favorite: Neurology. I think that Carlisle is someone who connects his faith and his medical practice together, and learning about the brain from a medical standpoint would have fascinated him. I see him studying this in Europe in the late 1700s/early 1800s, and then again in the very early 1980s.

Try someday: I'm going to say Pediatric Oncology. He's never specialized in children's medicine before, and the oncology specialty is particularly difficult because of the amount of loss associated with the department. But if he can use his abilities and lifetime of skills to get one child diagnosis or treatment a little bit sooner, then it's worth it. But the emotional toll would affect his family, so he hasn't tried yet.

Oh, or something revolving around English History, with a specific focuses on religion's role. He'd like to examine that part of his past from an analytical and academic perspective.

Esme's favorite: Interior Architecture. It's one thing to decorate a room, which Esme enjoys, but it's a totally different thing to build the room from scratch to capture a specific kind of light, and be a specific shape, accentuate the sound of Edward's piano, and work with the movements and behaviours of her family. She just loves how she gets to create this sanctuary from nothing. And getting to explore that across residential and commercial spaces was magical to her. It's also one of those degrees she gets to use regularly.

Try someday: Languages. Like the rest of the family, she can speak quite a few, but she'd love to go back and get a formal qualification so that she could do translation work professionally. Esme always seeks out her favourite books in foreign editions to compare the translations, and would love to work on book translations.

Edward's favorite: Music. It's his passion, and he loves to be able to study it so in depth, and get feedback from an academic and practical perspective from someone with a similar interest and passion. Carlisle insists he can only study music once every two decades to encourage diverse interests and prevent a connection being made between identities, so he really savors it when he gets to study it again.

Try someday: Family Law. As as a way to honour his biological father, but Edward has no use for more money or fighting for the prestige in law school, so he likes Family Law the best. It would also come in handy for the Cullens' cover story, and with his gift he believes he could make sure children are protected. Realistically, though, he would only get away with practicing for a year or two, so he keeps putting it off. With the rise in video conferencing and online consultations, though, there's potential for the future.

Rosalie's favorite: Nothing will ever take away the joy and pride Rosalie felt graduating from her very first Engineering degree. It's the one degree she prizes over the others because she was one of the first girls allowed in the program, and she graduated with honours (second place in the class because the school didn't want controversy, but Rose knows they fudged the grades.)

Try someday: Either Social Work or Early Childhood. Rosalie would love to advocate for women, especially those struggling, but she also recognises her bad temper would probably make a mess of the situation. Maybe one day. Early Childhood is more likely; it sounds wonderful but it's still hard - a little easier after Renesmee, but something she's working towards in the future.

Emmett's favorite: Video game design - he loved every aspect of that because it was such a great mix of hardcore coding and computer work combined with more creative aspects. He also loved the diverse applications of it, and explaining how it was valuable for medicine and engineering. His final project was technically a failure because it ran too fast and the controllers were buggy according to his professors, but it was also the first vampire-speed video game to be made and he still adds levels to it every so often.

Try someday: Emmett puts a bunch of degrees that sound mildly interesting or really weird in a hat and draws one out each time. He claims that this creates diverse interests and keeps him on his toes. He just loves the looks at his family's faces when he announces that he'll be tackling a degree in Turfgrass Science or Amusement Park Engineering. Gunsmithing and Surf Science have both caught his eye, though.

Alice's favorite: The very first fashion design degree she ever took. She went from being a girl that stole most of her clothing and wore them until they were destroyed, to learning how to choose fabric, how to draw patterns, cut and sew her own clothes. She learnt about designers, about how fashion shaped society, and it allowed Alice to build herself up from nothing - clothing is such a comfort to her, and being able to make it from scratch is just another level of security.

Try someday: Finance Law. It would be useful for her own wheelings and dealings, since most of her education in finance is from the 50s and 60s night school, playing the stock market, and what she gets from her visions. Having a formal degree in that area would also streamline a lot of stuff for the family. It's just so dry, Alice keeps putting it off. And yes, there would be major Elle Woods vibes if she gets around to it.

Jasper's favorite: Philosophy. The boy does love a little bit of navel gazing and contemplation about humanity as a concept. It's helped him deal with a lot of things that happened in his past, and the choices that he made, as well as how to move forward. He loves getting out the old books and sinking into them for days; it's the only study area where he's actually worked as an online professor.

Try someday: Forensic Psychology. Jasper would love to understand what makes people tick, especially abnormal ones. He would love to understand how he became such a monster, and if it was inevitable or if there was a trigger. And he would really enjoy figuring out the motivations behind crimes. Everything about Forensic Psychology appeals to the strategic side of him.

Bella's favorite: English literature. Bella loves it. She loves classic novels, and getting to study them is a dream. She loves discussing them in depth with other people who are just as passionate about them, and examining the difference in language and media portrayals, as well as the reflections from the author's real lives. She gets to shut herself up with a stack of her favourites, write about them, and get graded on her thoughts. It's perfect.

Try someday: Education or publishing. I think Bella would enjoy teaching literature to high school students, especially at a selective school where the kids were high achievers and invested in their education. She'd be a deadly serious English teacher, maybe even aim for a year or two teaching at a college-level. Or I could see her going into media to get into publishing and editing, allowing her to commit extensive time into reading, but also helping shape future books.

#twilightadvent23 #late to the party #and wearing a temporary brace on my hand so this took three times as long to type out #headcanons #i had a few thoughts about my choices #emmett has the weirdest collection of degrees out of the family #you can't change my mind

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vatoms33 · 13 days ago

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A Running List of things that are Precious Me Oddeties

For context. I mostly grew up in the heart of East Campus, of Mizzou in Columbia Missouri. Where most kids my age were mall rats, who didn't invite me to things... I was an Art District Squirrel. I knew most of the best places Downtown, and my community work garnered me a few fans in the area that would have let me get away with anything, and loved that I was respectful in the way that didnt require the extra effort on my behalf.

So, alot if these will be townie specific gems, but they are worth writing down in my opinion. Gotta make sure my futute spawnlings understand I earned my reputation, and I didn't do a bunch of wild things to do so. While also respecting TF out of people who do, for the sake of progress.

Bitching about people being rude to the resident piano downtown, that I only got past my anxiety once, to sit and play with.

Not long after, bitching about the lawyer who was rude AT the resident piano. Taking snarky glee in pointing out people of genius IQ tend to prefer piano music for focus, so he might want to pick a different career, if it was a piano being played in The Art District that he was willingly choosing to pay more money to practice in, was a distraction.

Scolding Richard King online about how his festivals getting too popular was BS, from the stand point of understanding business is business, it was just making it harder to enjoy his on the fly feeling events. Also, doing so with enough thoughtful understanding, that he didn't even need to defend himself or explain the natural progression of the business side of music festivals one of his favorite Lee School Dragonflies. Much Respect, Mr. King. Obviously, as I was also secretly the best taxi dispatcher you didn't know was on your team for about 5 years. I made sure you Party Hosts (verbiage from my Spencer's work) got their rides quickly, no matter the football game status, and no matter which company I was dispatching for. Their safety was first priority over the temporary influx of sportsball visitors, in my eyes.

Saying "Thank you?" to the rando who called me (at the sweet age of 15) a "Fucking Devil Worshipper" as he walked into the vegan snack joint, and I was minding my business looking at used books a few store fronts away.

Crying about the isolating concept of Mars Rover dying, but still being able to sing itself Happy Birthday.

Going to Peace Park to advise Jason Maraz NOT set up for his show, because the air smelled like minos, and that meant a nasty storm was on the way. I did this because it was going to be my youngest sister's first concert. Fortunately, a TA for my summer school math class slipped my a copy of The Goo Goo Dolls playing Dizzy Up the Girl in Buffalo, during a really bad storm. I remember being motified and concerned the entire time I watched, because I know how electricity works, and they were clearly favored by ALL dieties that day. I didn't want Maraz to get hurt, so Shortie and I handled town crier duties that day, even though it meant not seeing him play.

Flipping off and cursing a cop out, then going to tell on him to the owner of Living Canvas. I asked if I could sit for a munute, because I was pretty sure that cop tried to hit me, since I heard him accelerate when the light was red AND he did not have his siren or lights going. I was between 14-18 when this happened, so clearly someone assuming I'm a problem child when I was actually one of the peer educators trying to make his damn job easier. Asshole.

While working at the local costume shop (Gotcha) my boss cruised by in his Johnny Depp Baby Blue Convertible, with a gorilla costume in the back seat, about a half hour before a Sing-O-Gram for a gackle of nurses throwing a retirement party around the corner. Next thing I know, my work crush has silvertounged me into a chicken costume to go do The Chicken Dance at Room 38, when I am not old enough to be doing such shenanigans. While my "adult" walked me to the bar, someone at Boone Tavern baqued at me "Hey! Why'd the Chicken cross the road?" and me in all of my annoyed teen angsty glory (because the absolute unprofessionalism at the sweetest lady who booked us was just really grinding in insides) I yelled "bcause her idiot boss forgot he had a gig!" and I clomp flopped my stupid little chicken feet right into the bar, and turned my party on for these ladies. I sang the song, did the dance while doing my little turn on the catwalk. They were so happy, and I had a blast taking pictures with them, and letting them flirt with the chicken a little. I believe I was 16 at this point, and this is forever one of my favorite memories. To be 1000% clear, I fucking ADORE my ex emoloyer and his family, and I'm glad he forgot.

Adopting Monsuier Elfman around 10-13 years old when he found me sobbing. He attempted to speak at me, to which I had him follow me halfway around the block, and kindly sat him between my parents in the computer room. I sat in front on him, pointed at the TV and asked Daddy Glenn to put Oingo Boingo back on the TV. He attempted to NOT embarass this gentleman, but my Onward stare suggested better of the room. I watched, saw what I needed to see (this IS in fact my audiophile hero.) So I dead pan told my parents he found me crying on the otherside of the block (while having just parted from a dear, sweet Elisabeth) and I wanted to make sure you both met him, before we went on a walk, and not talk about it. To which we did just that. There was a time where those two also adopted me in their hearts as a bit of their Cosmic kid, and just let me play. I also clocked him in the secret garden block of D.T. como, when I was staying with the semisweet chocolate chip of a nurse, Diana, and he had a cherry red stoop and beautiful foliage display acriss the street. I have taken time to track him in my memories to the sound of a random rooster bewildering and delighting me when I had my iwn Big Girl spot in The District. I ADORE Monsuier Elfman for being the perfect gentleman to the wee one he dubbed King Midas's Daughter (not caring about the dynamic titles, or messy things out of their realm of simplistic understanding. He treated me like a tiny lady, and didn't try to shame My Mom when she doing her best against her own demons.)

Cried like a lil' baby at the last Stan Lee Cameo I saw. It moved me to my absolute core that his send off from Marvel was a nod to MY hero, MY first quiet intellectual crush, the first guy on my *Celebrity Hall Pass* List, of which he and Liv Tyler were the ONLY 2 on for most of my life(to which Weird Al was added much later, right before I figured out I actually have a sex drivel....Yea, I sobbed when I realized Stan Lee, placed in the correct time period and place, reviewing and LOVING Mallrats was the most epic ode to Peace on Earth and a pointed " You're My Boy Blue" for MY Kevin Smith a bunch of my favorite fucking nerds could have come up with. It hit me equally as hard as our honoring of Carrie Fisher in her final Star Wars appearance, where thry honored her entire personal, and professional plight.

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arbitrarygreay · 3 months ago

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youtube

Technical making of details and source credits under the cut, or, "making a FMV in Linux with some custom audio generation" (i.e. beyond what I did for MFS EoE, which only needed my usual editing in Audacity)

Obviously, first I had to check if there was an oboe rendition already that I could plop onto the video. I found clarinet and flute versions, and even considered for a hot second using the bagpipes version. I also found a wind quintet + piano arrangement, but it didn't get across the joke I was going for. So, it was going to have to be generating the oboe solo via synth.

Credit goes here to whoever uploaded Online Sequencer MIDI composition ID 3905932 for the MIDI track I ultimately used to excerpt the solo part.

Next, being on a linux desktop, I did the bare minimum to generate the oboe solo via Rosegarden. I first followed this page and set up the TimGM6mb soundfont:

Next, I tried the second answer on this page:

Still no luck with sound. However, as I started working through the third answer on the page, I had sound simply after entering the two following commands:

sudo apt install rosegarden pulseaudio-module-jack pacmd load-module module-jack-sink

After that, I set the guitar solo track to oboe synth, tweaked the tempo, and recorded it into Audacity. In the Audacity recording area, for the dropdown to the left of the microphone symbol, select "Jack Audio Connection Kit." For the dropdown to the right, select "rosegarden."

Now I just need a backing track. At first, I was going to go with the original song's arrangement (someone has made a version stripping out the solo, exactly for the purpose of making cover videos), but then I found Roger Holmes' jazz ensemble arrangement. What made it extra useful compared to e.g. the Clifton Taylor or Tim Waters arrangements was that it had a significant number of measures at fast tempo that did NOT have the solo part being played, by guitar or otherwise. So, I edited that in Audacity to be the backing track you hear above.

youtube

Video editing was done via Kdenlive.

#liz and the blue bird #liz to aoi tori #hibike! euphonium #hibike euphonium #sound euphonium #free bird #Lynyrd Skynyrd #category: anime #category: music #category: my stuff #Youtube #fanvid

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audio-luddite · 8 months ago

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Serious Listening? Maybe.

I got the streaming Nano thing running and decided to try it out. Hey I spent the money, I suffered the installation drama. What do I get for it?

So streaming from the couch here I go.

Using my iphone with it set to lossless I played several pieces to get a feel for it. The lossless symbol was displayed so lets assume it was that. Apparently even older Iphones will do Airplay 2 (Hi Rez) if they have recent IOS versions and mine does.

I started with a stream selection of solo piano. It sounded like piano alright. I gave the system about an hour to get happy with that.

I have a cover album by Morgan James of Joni Mitchel's Blue. Just a singer and piano. It sounds like it is one continuous take. It is wonderful music. It is on file on my iphone as I bought it. Sounded very nice. Extremely simple production.

I then tried streaming some tunes I am familiar with on LP or CD. Tony Bennett and Faith Hill from Duets 2 has some tiny things on LP I was looking for. I did not get them. They are like the lip parting sound. If I was going full geek I should have run the LP right then to compare. That would have been the audiophile thing to do. I didn't.

Next I tried "Postcard Blues" from Trinity Session by Cowboy Junkies. Here I noticed something interesting. There seemed to be a bias to the right speaker. I may have done that in the configuration, but shifting a bit over on my couch helped. Usually not that critical.

All the sounds were there, but different. Recall I have the original CD and a fancy LP of this album. Those sound very similar to each other, this was different somehow. Less room sound?

This was a quick and dirty exercise so all first impressions.

I then tried "Soul Cages" by Sting first song "Island of Souls". This sounded pretty good. I have an LP of this and the album is processed with Qsound which is a quasi binaural trick. And it worked pretty well. Some instruments sounded far out past the speakers both left and right. The LP has a less prominent rendition of that. Qsound uses phase shifting and filtering for its effects. So the feed was pretty accurate I suppose.

Summary of impressions: I feel something is missing. The sound is clear, and clean, but there is a but. I am not sure what it is. Maybe it is too quiet? Maybe something is actually missing. Maybe lossless aint?

One thing I feel disoriented by is there is too much available online. If I put an album on the turntable the document is there and I only decide if I want to flip it in 20 minutes. I have time to think about what is next. On a stream you can change your mind instantly and go from classical music to Jazz to pop in seconds. That is stressful, this is supposed to be fun.

I am old.

I recall a comment from somewhere that a person said streaming is for background music. Serious listening is better some other way. I can see truth in that.

I pay for apple music so I can explore and consider albums for purchase. Maybe more obscure works by composers. Also sometimes background music is a good thing.

Next challenge is getting my Wife's iPhone rigged into this thing.

#audiophile #high end audio #audioblr #cheap audiophile #Streaming from iphone #bluesound node nano

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joeabdelsater3 · 9 months ago

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Rendering and post-production

In this wrapping-up stage, it was finally time to start rendering my cinematic video. Before doing so, I had to add all Niagara particle systems to the level sequence and animate their automatic spawn and visibility by adding keyframes. Following that, since I had previously configured different levels for atmosphere and lighting for the first scene, I had to switch the visibility on or off for each lighting scenario depending on the camera rendering. The render settings were relatively basic, with an Antialiasing value set to 32 and a Warmup render count set to 100 to give enough time for cameras to adjust t the exposure of the environment and the particle systems to start spawning.

Then came the time for post-production and editing. The first thing I did was working on the voice over narration in Adobe Premiere Pro. I had asked my cousin Joyce if she would like to do the voice acting for Kaia and read the script I had written, and she agreed to it. The main task was to clean up the recording a bit by reducing noise levels and adjusting the pitch and volume so that they didn't fluctuate an lot and remained stable. I tried out some echo and voice effect presets but decided to keep it simple in the end as it felt too distracting.

In Adobe After Effects, I ordered the renders according to the chain of though based on the script, and added some simple fade in and fade out transitions using solid layers. I played over a royalty-free piano soundtrack I found on YouTube that added a cinematic calm atmosphere similar to anime films. The rest was just adding other copyright-free ambient noise and nature sounds also from YouTube. In the end of the video, I added the "Solark" game title I designed last semester in Adobe Illustrator, as well as my name.

Resources:

BreakingCopyright -- Royalty Free Music. (2020). ♾️ Free Piano Music For YouTube - ‘Purpose’ by Jonny Easton 🇬🇧. YouTube. [online video] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZEczfSAjVQ

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superhotsongs · 1 year ago

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Various Artists - Brias & Ivy [1970]

Probably one of my favourite folk albums, published by a school. Normally most of the folk albums from a school I hear are in Japan but this is a American one. Which is amazing! it makes finding information about it way easier.

This album was made by Briarcliff High School which is based in New York City. It's a very rare collector item. Most copies usually come with a generic cover, A small amount of them actually do have a proper cover. There is scans of it online but there very low quality...

Brias & Ivy - Cover

Despite it being made in a school, the music is better than I thought. the producing of, Gordon Lee & Peter Glazer are very good. Gordon Lee actually has worked on other music and played in multiple bands. Which is surprising. You don't normally see producers who work on stuff like this credited much. is a American jazz pianist. Sadly Pater Glazer isn't credited anything other than this album on discogs.

Gordon Lee

Each track is from a different student in the school. There is some really good vocals in this album, really powerful and emotional stuff.

The combination of amateur innocence and skilful producing makes for a great album. It might be a corny opinion to have but i think the lack of skill doesn't really matter in music like this. To me it's all about the passion you feel from the artists. And i feel a lot of passion from this record. Peter Glaze and Gordon Lee's track, "To Get By" is a brilliant example of that. It probably has my favourite production on the album. The vocals sound emotional and personal. I also love the jazzy piano in this track, it has a really good solo that you hear halfway through the track, that I just love. I wonder if Gordon Lee recorded it. That would make sense since he is a pianist.

"I met you in the morning" By Annie Nininger Reminds me of the works of Karen Brook with her soft quiet vocals and even her guitar playing is similar to Karen Brooks playing. I do think Annie Nininger's playing is slightly more cleaner than Karen Brooks but the simplistic playing is still very similar.

Even though it's not my favourite track heck i didn't even enjoy a lot of the parts in it. The finally track is a massive 15 minute monolith. And i respect a lot of what it tries to do. The track has a prog rock sound too it. It starts off with a flute and a bass. Next you hear a chord organy synth not really sure what it is but you do tend to hear it a lot in 1970/1980s folk music. Later on you hear these muddy vocals not really sure what there saying but apparently it's from a book called, "The World of Christopher Robin" by A.A.Milne Specifically the poem in the book, "The Engineer" Its a very short poem. It's about a young child who doesn't care about the rain's because they have a train that they customized. The train works in weird ways it jerks because the break was made with a string type thing. The wheels also don't work because it was made with a break. Obviously the kid used the wrong parts... 4 minutes in and I started to actually really like it the intro felt a bit long and unnecessary but once it picks up it's pretty enjoyable. Not really sure how much of A. A Milne work they used but apparently a guy named, "Steve Worthy" also wrote some stuff for it.

High recommend checking this album out. The full thing is available on archive.org so you might as well give it a listen.

#folk #lost media #obscure #school music #jazz

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obeyme-lost-thought · 2 years ago

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Angst: MC come back

Most of people show an aspect of MC that is different towards the brothers after coming back.... I show an MC that is broken and ask Lucifer for help. Sort of a general spoiler of Nightbringer

A little of Mc×Lucifer

________________________________

It passed some days form when MC returned to the present. All the while they never managed to utter a word. That's why Lucifer decided to get to the bottom of MC's feelings.

As he slowly enters the room, he finds the little human looking up at the tree that stands in the center of the room. They have a lost gaze, accentuated by dark circles under their eyes.

Lucifer: "MC, how are you? It's been more than 3 days since you locked yourself in this room. You need to have a full meal."

...

No respons

Lucifer: "Please talk to me. Tell me what's on your mind."

...

Mc: "I... am tired. When will all this end? When will I be able to stop worrying if this is really my room? What will I find if I go out?"

"I fought so hard to help you sort out your family dynamics. Now that I had done it, I thought we could enjoy this peace. Yet I found myself in the past."

"You were cold again towards me; Mammon didn't involve me in his plans; Levi was shy and avoided me; Satan... how could I deal with him?; Asmo could not look at himself in the mirror; Beel didn't know how to deal with this constant feeling of hunger, and Belphie still hated humans"

"It was you, but you weren't my family! Maybe it's just me, but I can't help but consider you my family. I just want to be with you, no worries or problems."

"You know how hard it was to wake up every day and keep from hugging you? I missed the good mornings and goodnights given on our chat. In the afternoon I didn't know what to do, having no homework to do. I'm serious Lucifer, I missed homework!. I also missed gaming nights with Levi or piano sessions with you. I missed the loud silence of the livingroom while watching DDD by the fireplace. I missed the impromptu dinners because others always showed up and we never had enough to eat"

"The others… You know how hard it was having to remember to be more formal with Diavolo? He also said for a long time that he had to send me back to the human realm. What was I supposed to do centuries or millennia in the past ?! Luckily Barbatos was inclined to let me stay. Besides, he couldn't stand Solomon. What the heck had he been up to at the time. But in the end I missed the afternoons spent at the castle talking of this and that over a cup of tea"

"Not even with Simeon and Luke was the same. I didn't help Luke in the kitchen and Simeno didn't ask me for advice on how to use the DDD. Only Salomon was a fixed point in all that chaos, but it wasn't like here in the present."

"I'm tired Lucifer. I was tired of fighting, I just wanted to come home here with you. And I'm worn out even now by this perpetual fear that it's not finished. That if I leave here I will be your "DevilSitter" and not just MC"

"Please.. Tell me it's all over. Tell me I can rest. Tell me that you are my family and that you love me"

As the human began to cry aloud, the Avatar of Pride could do nothing but embrace them. His mighty wings came out to wrap around their fragile bodies as much as possible.

Lucifer: "It is all right. You're at home Mc."

"If you go out you will find Mammon who is looking at the DDD sitting on the floor in front of your door; Leviathan in his room refusing to leave until you do too and checking your team games online to see if you are logged in; Satan is sitting on the couch in the living room near your favorite seat; Asmo is preparing a skin treatment for when you get out of here; Beel tries not to eat all the meals he has made for you these days; Belphie is sleeping next to Mammon on the floor, waiting for you. "

"Even Lord Diavolk comes constantly to find out how you are. If he can't come, call and send Barbatos. Then this one is working day and night to find out who did this to you. Luke cries every day in front of your door begging you to come out. Have you ever heard him? Simeon should console him, except that he stands at the door of the corridor praying that Luke's requests are heard. Solomon he said at the beginning that we had to give you time to get used to it, but now he too is starting to worry.

"And I'm here for you MC. I'm here for whatever you need. You're done dealing with us, now it's our turn. You just have to go out and get pampered."

"You are home MC, with your family"

________________________________

Little but sad. Lucifer big brother/mom

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holly-fixation · 2 years ago

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Sharing my first FFVII experiences for fun: (spoilers for a 25 year old game below)

-I have no idea when or how I learned who Sephiroth was. I just knew "oh yeah that's Cloud Strife and Sephiroth from Final Fantasy VII". "Cloud has a big sword called the buster sword. Sephiroth has a big katana". Literally Cloud got into Smash and I'm like "Oh cool it's Cloud" But I knew NOTHING

-let me be clear, I haven't played a kingdom hearts game either. WHY I knew them both, I do not know.

-my brother introduced me to to One Winged Angel about a year after Cloud got onto smash. And I fell in love immediately. With the song. Yes, the song. He said "hey you should learn how to play this on piano". It took me 2 years to learn but that's besides the point. He showed me the Advent Children fight and I thought it was cool and all but it was really the SONG that got me.

-soon after he showed me Aerith's death. Why? There's this mash up of Spongebob's "stepping on the beach" and OWA and it WORKED?? But in the video they photoshop spongebob's face on Sephiroth when he kills Aerith. Then he kinda had no choice but to show me the actual scene (again, I had no context)

-So my brother bought me VII after he played it under the condition that I do not look anything up. No online walk through or anything, He was my only guide. He didn't want me spoiling myself with anything else that happened in the game, which was fair. Because he purchased VII for me, I listened. He was my only source of help.

-This lead to a few problems. Recruiting Yuffie without a guide is just AWFUL. I got lost and confused so many times. I never learned how to breed chocobos. I never got Knights of the Round. I didn't understand that stronger summons were just summons you got later, not a higher level materia. I didn't know about the single save point you can set in the Northern cave.

-Most inportantly: I never met Vincent.

-I had no idea how good of a healer Aerith was, so losing her abilities hurt. Yes her death still made me sad even though I knew it was coming. Ill argue it hurt the same amount because I watched every piece fall into place up to her death knowing what was at the end of the tunnel. But after it, I was so mad I had no good healers, I made Cloud my healer so I'd never lose them again.

-Two words: Black Materia. God I was not ready.

-Because I played it on a modern console, it had cheats like max health + limit breaks at all times, turning off random encounters, and triple speed. I did use triple speed a lot for farming sessions. And Though I made it through most of the game without the (basically) god mode, I did use them for the two robots in the elevator of Shinra Tower.

-I also used them through the entire Northern Crater because I didn't think the game was over yet. The third disk just started, I went straight down into the crater, and I didn't see a single save point. This couldn't be the end of the game, right?

-I literally did not acknowledge this was truly the end of the game until One Winged Angel began. I turned off cheats immediately and genuinely tried with what might possibly be the worst materia set up possible.

-I used Ramuh against Sephiroth. RAMUH. The man was doing so little damage it was pissing me off because "This materia is maxed out! Why isnt it doing more damage??"

-So after probably 10 Supernovas and at least 45 minutes, I turned cheats back on. I did not care anymore. NONE of my characters/materia were strong enough for this and I'd been playing for probably 4-5 hours straight at this point.

-anyway I had already seen and not understood any thing that happened in Advent children, so once I finished the game, I watched the movie again a few days later.

-Skip a few years and now we're here.

-oh I also never got that scene with Zack in the bottom of Shinra Manor.

-use a spoiler free strategy guide, kids.

#sephiroth #final fantasy vii #ffvii #ff7 #cloud strife #final fantasy 7 #jenova #vincent valentine

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officialromaniantranslatiuni · 4 years ago

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doamna mea, badeiuta draga, cred ca este timpul si vreau sa ma re-orientez spre educatie - chiar daca in alta tara toti copiii tot la fel de trantori si teribilisti sunt so :))) does it bother you if i ask - what are the pros&cons of your job si la ce grupe/varste predai?

*baditica pliz

pros:

- at a very personal level: i can't have kids so it was quite cathartic for me to work with them and i eventually grew to realize that i don't really want them and if I ever change my mind, I'm fine with adopting

- I didn't agree with many teaching ways during my younger years and as a grown-up I don't agree with parenting methods, so I'm trying my best to shape the kids in a non-traumatic way while still shaping them and not leaving them just be like their parents do (of course, I don't think that I am 100% right but I keep learning more and with each generation,

- the many opportunities they have nowadays (though it makes me feel so jealous because I had that post '89 messed up and poor childhood experience so no piano lessons, no fencing, no karate, no french lessons, no Chinese lessons, no tennis) i love seeing them bloom from buds to flowers

- always feeling young and up to date with everything even when you just have to face the fact that you're old and you don't like/care about any of the things they like

- idk I just like teaching

cons:

- I hate all the paperwork and I'm always behind

- the lack of patience and lack of response towards anything that implies using logic - kids go through anything so fast and they are so superficial and don't appreciate anything anymore, making me feel as if I'm surrounded by baby sociopaths or rabid rabbits sometimes

- THE PARENTS

- mostly the extracurricular activities... i mean I love them but it's so much work to do

- the fact that many of them are just like a sandcastle - it took me a lot of time and work to shape them and they'll just disappoint me in a couple of years and make me feel as if I have wasted my time

- THE SILLY LIES I CAN SEE THROUGH THEM AND I FEEL INSULTED AF

- the fact that I became one of those "ugh phones and videogames make kids so lazy and aggressive" people (really now... i kid tried to snap another one's neck because he saw it in a game and I have kids who didn't attend any online lesson because they'd rather be on their phones, bothering their classmates with nonsense conversations)

---

also, my kids are 4th graders right now (they're organizing a prom and I can't miss it unless I die or something) but I became their teacher when they were 3rd graders and I might have first graders next year because someone got pregnant and I'm the new girl

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chronicallylatetotheparty · 5 years ago

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Float Like A Butterfly Ch.3 Unwanted Burdens

Summary:

Marinette and Adrien are trapped in cages of duty and resentment.

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

"Don't you think Adrien's been acting weird?" Marinette asked.

Alya glanced from Kitty Section readying their instruments to her best friend. She wanted to reassure Marinette that her concerns were just her imagination running away with her again. But Alya noticed it too.

"You mean with Chloe?"

Marinette's nose wrinkled at the mention of Adrien's first friend. But her worry quickly came back. She never realized how little time they spent together until they started spending more. It wasn't what she would call a positive development. They seemed to argue a lot more now.

Alya looked at Marinette and knew they were thinking the same thing. Going over what she overheard in her head.

"I'm no good at being nice, Adrien."

"You don't have to be nice. You just have to not be cruel."

That was after Chloe had acted like her usual self with Sabrina. Alya didn't know if she agreed with Adrien or not but she never told anyone. It was a private conversation. And Chloe sounded oddly... vulnerable.

"They've been acting weird," Marinette conceded. "But there's something else that's... off about him." Her eyes widened. "What if it's something I did? Or something his fans said online? Or something worse!?"

Marinette blinked as she realized she was leaning into Alya's space. Stepping back Marinette slowed her words down to a less panicky level. "Could you check with Nino, please. Just, of course, you know, casually."

As if she summoned him with talk of his best friend Nino showed up. Frowning at his phone.

Giving Marinette a worried look Alya complied. "Nino, any word from Adrien?"

Nino bit his lip. "He can't make it."

"What!?" Marinette winced as her yelp attracted unwanted attention from the rest of the ship. "Did he say why?"

"Something about messing up on the piano?" Nino glanced back at his phone, expression shifting into a glare. "It's just like Adrien's old man to be a killjoy the five seconds he spends with my bro!"

"Hey," Forcing some optimism into her voice Alya placed a reassuring hand on her boyfriend's shoulder. "I'm sure Adrien will sort it out. It's not the first time his dad has kept him from hanging out with us.

Nino wasn't convinced but he nodded anyway and let Alya kiss his cheek. He also noticed that Adrien was acting weird. But no matter how Nino asked, Adrien always evaded the question. It was wearing on his patience.

"Captain Anarka speakin' to ya! So, how's it comin' along me young pirates!"

Marinette started as Juleka's maman appeared out of nowhere. She was loud and jovial and apparently didn't like cleaning? Maybe it worked for the Couffaines but Marinette's mind needed a bit more order to function properly.

Still, it was her home, er, ship so Marinette could appreciate Anarka's unconventional hospitality. A smile formed slowly as Captain Couffaine's exuberance pulled her and her friends out of less pleasant thoughts.

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

Adrien played the piano mechanically. Feeling his skin burn under his Father's stern gaze. When he wished for more time together Adrien didn't mean being judged in person.

Despite the focus Gabriel's mere presence demanded, Adrien's mind wandered. Juleka had extended an open invitation to the entire class for the music festival. That was the first time one of his... not-exactly-close friends had actually invited him over.

And he was stuck here.

Adrien winced as a discordant note echoed from where his finger slipped on the wrong key. Eyes glancing fearfully at his father.

"I've heard enough." Gabriel raised his hand to forestall any more noise from Adrien. "Are you sure you're practicing, Adrien?"

Standing, Gabriel showed his back to his son. Not looking at Adrien when speaking to him. Voice full of accusation and annoyance.

In other words, Gabriel acted the same as always.

"... I'm just doing the same exercises over and over again..." An idea came to him. "I think I could make better progress if I could just play with other musicians." Adrien forced his tone to be hopeful, trying to reason with his father. "After all, music is meant to be shared with other people don't you think?"

"We Agrestes are soloists." Gabriel crushed Adrien's argument dismissively, deigning a glance at his son. "Not mere group members. I suggest you rehearse your piece some more. You'll play it for me again later today."

His heartbeat spiked. "But- Father! You promised that I could attend my friends' concert!"

"Not after that performance you've just given."

But you promised! Adrien's jaw clenched to keep the words down. There was no point in arguing with someone who didn't listen.

"Which is probably due to their influence.

His hands trembled. You don't know them! You don't know anything!

"You need to refocus, Adrien."

With that Gabriel and Nathalie, who Adrien had forgotten was even there, left without a backward glance.

"You need to refocus, Adrien."

Adrien sat their as a growing pressure built in his chest. Clawing, demanding, yelling. Jerking to his feet Adrien paced, trying to get his body and mind to quiet down.

"You need to refocus, Adrien."

Rubbing at his eyes Adrien sent a brief text to Nino. Forcing his breath to even out. He didn't feel like talking at the moment.

"You need to refocus, Adrien!"

That done Adrien snatched up his basketball and threw it at the net. His piano disappearing into the floor. Grabbing the ball as it bounced he threw it into the net again. His piano rising from its hiding place.

"YOU NEED TO REFOCUS, ADRIEN!"

Again he threw the ball.

Down it went.

Again into the net.

Up it came.

Again.

Down.

Again.

Up.

Again.

Down.

Again.

Up.

Again.

Down.

Again.

Up.

Again.

Down.

Again.

Up.

Again.

Down.

Again.

Up-

"YOU NEED TO REFOCUS, ADRIEN!"

Adrien shoved the ball forcefully away from him. Not caring what it hit. Grabbing the remote he turned on his TV and raised the volume as high as it would go.

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

Marinette stared openmouthed at the massive shockwave that came from Luka's electric guitar. By comparison she was only mildly surprised when police helicopters appeared overhead.

Sabrina's dad pulled up with a megaphone. "Mme. Anarka, are you completely out of your mind!?"

M. Raincomprix was on a first name basis with Juleka's maman? That probably wasn't good.

"It's the National Music Festival today, Officer Roger! My crew's allowed to play whatever they want!" Anarka projected over the speakers.

Definitely not good. Marinette tried to de-escalate the situation. "Uh, maybe we could turn the volume down a bit, Captain? Then there'd be no more problem, right?"

"No! Out of the question!" Anarka dismissed immediately. "I didn't name my galleon Liberty for nuthin' y'know! It's a matter of principle!"

From there things quickly spiraled. Anarka's stubborn refusal to listen to anything Roger had to say prompting him to pettily give more and more tickets. Each addition enraging her so much her voice stuck in her throat.

Anarka stalked away from the others on deck once Officer Roger and the other police left. Face red and fists clenched.

Marinette looked at her friends, all of them worried. Especially Juleka and Luka.

Luka. "Are you okay?" Marinette asked.

"Um, yeah." Luka gave a wan smile. "It isn't the first time ma's gotten mad at the cops."

That didn't reassure Marinette the way he probably meant it to. "So, this, happens often?"

"I wouldn't say often." Luka's gaze landed on Juleka, currently being comforted by Rose. Appreciation lit up his eyes. "It's harder on Juleka. I help where I can but I can't stay with her all the time. Rose has been amazing the past year. She stays with Juleka if me and ma are working."

"You have a job?" Marinette blinked in surprise.

"I have to. Maman can't pay for-" Luka stopped. Apparently realizing that he might've said too much. "Anyway I help her out... Doesn't leave much room for hanging out, though."

His gaze travelled across the deck. Taking in all of Marinette's friends. For the first time she realized no one from Luka's school was there.

"That's... You're a good brother, Luka." Marinette felt she understood the older boy a bit better. Even if the Couffaine's as a whole were even more unclear.

He shrugged in a 'anyone would do it for family' kinda way. "I-"

Dark, purple-ish fluid flowed from the helm, covering the entire Liberty.

Marinette went cold. "Oh, no!"

Sure enough, Anarka was akumatized.

Captain Hardrock wanted to destroy the music festival until only their song remained. Amid the fear and uncertainty of being in the power of an akuma without her transformation, Marinette felt pride that her friends rejected Captain Hardrock without hesitation.

Marinette's mind raced as she struggled to find a way out of the chains that bound her with Luka. No one else was coming. She was the only hero Paris had to protect it! She had to find a way out! She had to-

Tikki peered at Marinette from her purse. Smiling in relief, Marinette gave her a subtle nod. Stealthily, Tikki phased through the lock, chains falling with a clatter.

"Wow! How'd you do that?" Luka gave her a wondering look.

"Uh, I, uh- With this!" She held up the guitar pick he'd given her.

"Your amazing," he praised, helping her up. "A real magician, Marinette."

"Uh, you think so? Oh, it was nothing. Uh, amazing? Really?"

" 'Scuse me but some of us are still chained up here, y'know," Alya interrupted.

"Right!" Marinette placed herself between her friends line of sight and the locks. Obscuring Tikki from view. Soon everyone was freed.

"How're we getting off this crazy ride, dudes?" Nino asked.

Luka looked around the inside of the Liberty, which wasn't as transformed as the outside. "I have an idea."

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

"Few! That was close!" Tikki looked out from Marinette's purse at the others who made it off the Liberty in makeshift rafts.

They were on the opposite side of the Seine. Luka, Juleka, Rose and Ivan. Marinette gazed after the Liberty. Alya, Nino and Mylene still onboard. Liberty's chains catching them before they could take off.

Anxious, persistent defeat loomed in the back of Marinette's mind. Threatening to drown her. She pushed it back with difficulty. "Tikki, I have to save my friends!"

"But last time you struggled without someone to help you," Tikki pointed out. Concern for Marinette's wellbeing overriding any other considerations. "You should go to Master Fu for help."

Conflicting emotions flickered across Marinette's face. "... You're right," she agreed, resigned.

Quickly, Marinette found a hiding spot and transformed. With a backward glance at the destruction wrought by Captain Hardrock, Ladybug reluctantly swung towards the Guardian.

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

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng, pick an ally you can trust to fight alongside you in this mission. Choose wisely. Such powers are meant to serve the greater good. Once the mission is over you will retrieve the Miraculous and return it to me."

Ladybug was only half listening. Engrossed by the only Miraculous that lit up in her mind.

No. Please not his. Please.

But no matter which Miraculous she looked at her gaze was drawn back to his ring. Hand trembling, stomach turning itself inside out, (Ladybug didn't want anyone else) her fingers closed around Chat Noir's ring. Once it was in her hand she pressed it to her chest. It was the only thing she had of him.

Master Fu's eyes widened at her choice. "Are you sure, Marinette?"

Ladybug just nodded.

Staring at her for a moment, he finally spoke. "The Miraculous of the Black Cat is the most dangerous out of all in existence. Whoever you choose must put others above himself."

The words entered but did not impact her. Like a stone being thrown into waters too turbulent to make ripples. "Of course... Master Fu."

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

"Luka Couffaine, this is the Miraculous of the Black Cat. Which grants the power of Destruction. Once our mission is complete you will return it to me."

Eyes wide in disbelief, Luka carefully took the offered Miraculous. Wonder quickly morphed into confusion, however. "Wait. Black Cat? But what about-"

A ball of green energy shooting out of the ring interrupted him. When he lowered his hand at the fading light a small, cat-like being floated in front of him. Its ears drooping and eyes sad.

Luka took an involuntary step back as a requiem filled his head at the sight of it. Fingers twitching for his guitar.

"You're not-" Green bubbles erupted from its- his mouth, gaze turning toward Ladybug. "Why isn't it-" Again green bubbles came out before he could finish.

Ladybug gave the small, sad, cat-like being a pained look. "We need your help, Plagg. Paris needs your help... Please."

An unspoken understanding passed between Ladybug and Plagg. A conversation Luka was not privy to.

With a nod Plagg sized Luka up. "Well," he said with a mocking grin. "You're not much to look at. Name's Plagg."

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

With every misstep Ladybug reminded herself that Panthera was not Chat Noir.

That she couldn't expect him to function on the same level as someone who had his Miraculous for over a year. Couldn't expect someone she only just met to know her movements as well as someone who'd fought by her side since the very first akuma. Someone who'd never held a staff to wield it as expertly as someone who'd spent hours trying to figure out every possible use.

Ladybug reminded herself of this every time Panthera was caught in Liberty's chains or lost his staff to Captain Hardrock's swordplay or held back when he should push forward.

Her earrings beeped insistently, reminding her that time was almost up. Finally, Ladybug managed to trap Captain Hardrock to the helm with her Lucky Charm. Cataclysm destroying only the compass instead of the entire ship like she planned. Luckily, it turned out that's all they needed and she purified the akuma.

As the Miraculous Cure set everything right Ladybug turned to Panthera and- Luka was grinning at her. Relief adding to his joy. He held up a fist. Hesitantly, Ladybug raised her own, rewarding him with a smile.

"Bien joue."

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

I hate you!

Adrien glared at the screen, having turned down the volume once the news reported something of actual interest: the akuma attack... And Ladybug's new partner.

I hate you!

Panthera, as he called himself, had a rather uninspired suit design. The only significant difference from Chat Noir's look was his green hair.

I hate you!

Heartbeat pounding in his ears, Adrien dissected everything about this 'Panthera' as he could from the shaky broadcast. The newbie held his staff like a club, having trouble with the extending functions.

I hate you!

Captain Hardrock thrust with her sword. Pushing Panthera back. Splitting his staff in two he held them in an X, blocking an overhead blow. But immediately Captain Hardrock switched to an underhand strike, separating the two halves of the staff and sending one flying into the Seine.

I hate you!

Ladybug's yo-yo pulled Panthera out of the supervillain's sword range. But not before losing his remaining staff.

Captain Hardrock charged. Ladybug dodging both her and the flying chains. Panthera jumped away from her sword... and right into the boat's chains.

The remote creaked in Adrien's tightening grip; teeth clenched.

I hate you!

Quickly breaking Panthera's restraints, Ladybug helped him to his feet. Together they charged. Or rather, it should have been together. Panthera had to retrieve his staff which threw off their timing.

Ladybug leapt from chain to chain in midair, as graceful as a gymnast. Panthera a fraction behind her. Captain Hardrock took advantage of the minut delay by breaking past Ladybug's assault, jumping onto the mast net.

I hate you!

Sweat beaded on Adrien's forehead despite the coolness of his room.

Ladybug summoned her Lucky Charm -her own chain- and searched for how to use it while Panthera protected her from the Liberty's attacks. Finally getting into his role.

They conferred for a moment before the chains forced them to split up. Ladybug disappearing below deck while Panthera took on Captain Hardrock. He was marginally better than before, returning her strikes blow for blow. But Captain Hardrock still managed to pin him to the mast with her chains.

I hate you!

Panthera was saying something to the supervillain... Attempting to reason with her. It didn't work, of course, but it gave Ladybug the distraction she needed to rescue him. As they fought Ladybug maneuvered the supervillain towards the helm. In one swift movement she tied Captain Hardrock to her own wheel.

I hate-

Adrien jumped to his feet, eyes wide as the first vestiges of fear mixed with his already pounding heart; the ship sailed through the air for one moment before crashing to the ground. Sagging back down he saw Panthera call on Cataclysm. And Ladybug's cure put everything back to normal.

Nadja went on to heap praise on this 'new Chat Noir' and ask questions Adrien hoped no one ever found out. I hate you! Scowling he turned it off.

I hate you! Adrien's frown deepened. Ladybug... was usually better at communicating her plans. I hate you! It was a confusing thought. I hate you! As it meant Panthera wasn't the only one to blame for such abysmal teamwork. I hate you!

A sharp crack brought Adrien's attention to the remote still in his clenched fist. Uncurling his fingers Adrien stared at the break running along the bottom. I hate you! If you weren't looking for it you wouldn't even notice. I hate you!

The sound of Adrien's door opening was the only warning he got of Nathalie's entrance. (Why didn't he have a lock? Every other room in the manor had a lock, even the kitchen had a lock! So, why didn't he?) Not for the first time Adrien noted how she didn't knock before entering.

His father's assistant glanced between him and the piano but said nothing about it to Adrien. That didn't mean she'd say nothing about it to Gabriel.

"Adrien. Your father had something come up at work and won't be able to hear your recital today." Nathalie's impassive expression never changed. "...He still expects you to practice. I'll try to fit you in tomorrow."

"..."

"Adrien-"

"I get it." Adrien snapped, unclenching his jaw. "Father has more important things to deal with."

Nodding once, Nathalie left as quickly as she arrived.

Adrien's chest rose and fell as his breath came rapidly. I hate you! Mind snapping back to the akuma fight -fingernails digging into his palms- or more specifically, Ladybug's new partner.

Panthera wasn't any better than Chat Noir. I hate you! Adrien's hands were shaking. I hate you! He wasn't a better fighter. I hate you! The remote slipped from his grip as he clenched and unclenched his fingers like claws. I hate you! He couldn't follow Ladybug's signals like Chat Noir could. I hate you! Adrien's vision blurred, eyes burning. I hate you! It was hard to tell across a screen. I hate you! His throat was too tight. I hate you! But the only significant difference was how silent Panthera was compared to-

I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate-

Was that the only reason?

I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I-

Wildfire raged in Adrien's chest. Burning his throat, his stomach, his head.

I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!

Did they really choose this wannabe Chat Noir because he WOULDN'T ASK QUESTIONS!?

I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!

Building pressure pushed at Adrien's chest and jaw and throat and eyes and fists.

I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!

Choose him because he would be quiet and obedient and SYCOPHANTIC!?

I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!

Bile rose into his mouth and stung his throat.

I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!

Adrien's whole body shook. Everything blurred, nothing was clear. Except the great, persistent, growing pain that threatened to shake him apart. He could feel himself cracking, breaking, shattering-

His phone rang.

Adrien scrambled for it. Like it was a rope tossed into the deep, dark well he found himself drowning in.

I hate you!

Without bothering to glance at the caller Adrien answered.

"Sup, bro!"

Blinking rapidly, Adrien saw Nino, Alya and Marinette crowding into the screen. Behind them were their other friends making some last minute preparations for the music festival. Suddenly his raging storm was much more endurable.

Nino leaned into the camera. "Dude, is your camera off? It's all dark."

"Uh, yeah, just a sec." Realizing that he must look like a mess Adrien hit mute and hurried into his bathroom. The red eyed, tear stained face that he washed away made him grateful his friends hadn't seen him.

I hate you!

With a deep breath Adrien turned the mic and camera back on, forcing a smile. "Hey."

"There he is!" Nino grinned.

Alya turned the phone to focus on her. "So, we know you were looking forward to being here. Which is why this girl," Alya wrapped an arm around Marinette and hugged her close. "Had the brilliant idea to do this video chat!"

Smile softening into something more genuine Adrien gazed at Marinette's pink face. "You were thinking of me?"

"W-well, I just thought that it was a shame you couldn't tea- be here! So, I just, yeah..." Marinette trailed off, eyes everywhere but the screen.

His heart slowed from breakneck speed to merely sprinting. "Thank you."

Marinette squeaked and muttered what could have been a 'you're welcome' before pushing the phone back to Nino. Wiggling out of Alya's grasp as she dashed off.

His best friend grinned at them as Alya chased after Marinette offscreen. But once his eyes came back to Adrien, Nino's brow furrowed slightly. "Seriously, bro, how you holding up?"

I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!

Something must've shown on Adrien's face as Nino asked: "That bad?"

Trying to downplay it Adrien shrugged. "It's not like it's the first time he's changed his mind."

That was apparently the wrong thing to say, as Nino scowled at the specter of Gabriel Agreste. "Dude. No offence, but I wanna sock your old man."

Laughter bubbled up and spilled out of Adrien. Blocking his breath and forming a stitch in his side. Vision blurring. Hand covering his mouth as he tried to control himself. Tried to stop it from devolving into hysterical sobbing.

"Adrien!?" Nino's eyes were wide with alarm.

Biting the inside of his cheek Adrien gasped for breath. "S-sorry." He fought of the giggles that threatened to choke him. "It's just... he's a head taller than you."

Nino drew himself up indignantly and Adrien was relieved to see his misdirection work.

"That bony hermit never gets off his rear-end! My little brother could kick him into next week, dude!"

A bark of laughter escaped Adrien's control. Thankfully not igniting the false manic glee. "Thanks for that."

Despite his confusion Nino still smiled at Adrien. "What are bros for?"

Gazing gratefully at Nino, Adrien felt himself balance on a melancholy plateau. "I really will be okay. This," by which he meant their call, "helps."

Nino fidgeted, adjusting his cap. "I just... wish I could do more, y'know?" The unspoken for you was clear as day.

A pleasant warmth bloomed in Adrien's chest, softening further the ache that remained. "I know, bro. That's why I love you."

"I love you, too." Nino searched for something more to say as he searched Adrien's face for what remained unsaid, but nothing came to him. "Well... Kitty Section is starting soon. Might as well greet the band before they become famous and forget they know us."

"No, we wouldn't want that would we..." Adrien could almost ignore the pressure in his chest.

After a round of waving and sympathizing with him for not being able to make it, they began. Kitty Section was amazing. Rose's voice was never like that! Juleka smiled widely, carefree. Ivan was the most intense Adrien had ever seen. They looked... alive.

Gabriel would certainly classify it as 'classless noise' but to Adrien? Kitty Section had something that he couldn't replicate inside the four walls of his cage.

I hate you.

At least, not without Plagg.

While he stayed in frame Luka never took his eyes off Marinette. A hopeful smile evident even across the screen. As night came on and the band went from rehearsing to performing, Luka seemed to play for one person only.

Adrien had never met Luka, despite hearing about him from the bandmembers in his class. And he didn't really count saying hello over video chat like his father. The older boy was nice, polite and good at guitar. Besides dyeing their hair Adrien couldn't honestly say Luka bore any resemblance to his sister.

"-out of chaos comes creation!" He heard Anarka spout in the background, talking to someone he couldn't see. Adrien didn't know why but the phrase stuck in his head. It was like a promise.

Out of Chaos comes Creation.

Wrapping it tightly about himself, Adrien brandished it like an amulet against the voice that wouldn't stop whispering at the edges of his thoughts.

I hate you.

Apparently, that wasn't why Adrien's mind had latched onto the phrase.

Trying to drown it out with Kitty Section's illegally loud music didn't work. It was always the same volume.

I hate you.

Distracting Adrien from enjoying his friends' concert. Like a thorn in his side.

He knew what it was. It was everything he was trying to ignore. Everything he felt at seeing himself replaced so easily. At the excitement in Alya's voice when she shot out theories about Panthera. At the Guardian, at Ladybug, at himself. All summed up into three little words Adrien had never said to anyone.

I hate you.

Despite Adrien's attempts to even his breathing and calm his heartbeat, the voice continued to plague his thoughts for the rest of the night.

I hate you.

A reminder that, even in his own mind, Adrien could never be free.

#ml angst #ml au #adrien angst #adrien agreste #captain hardrock #marinette dupain cheng #float like a butterfly #ml fanfic #ml fanfiction

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