#Makina Watches
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Celebrate Father's Day with Unforgettable Experiences at Seda Manila Bay
This Father’s Day, show your appreciation for the man who means the world to you with an extraordinary celebration at Seda Manila Bay. The hotel has crafted exclusive offers that promise to make his day truly special. Toast to all the amazing dads out there with a luxurious room package and delectable dining options that will leave lasting memories. Dad-ventures by the Bay Treat your dad to a…
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#American Crew#celebrate dad#deluxe room package#family bonding#family staycation#Father&039;s Day#Father&039;s Day 2024#Father&039;s Day gifts#Father&039;s Day lunch buffet#Father&039;s Day special offers#Gouache Waxed Canvas#hotel dining#hotel spa massage#Jade’s Temple#Karabella Gelato#luxury staycation#Makina Watches#Manila Bay activities#Manila Bay hotel deals#Misto restaurant#Nike#press release#Pup Up#Seda Hotels#Seda Manila Bay#Straight Up Bar
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#macross delta#macross#makina nakajima#reina prowler#i don't know why i didn't appreciate makina when i watched delta#i love her
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The OC's At A Summer Festival
Eats everything in sight: Shian Meizono (Pixel Syndicate), Karada Kessaku (Jet Set Trio), Asahi Tomoharu (Miraitabi), Kanra Akemi (Wicked Requiem), Kanon Hojo (Silent Tragedy), Max Soukoku (Lovesick), Asato Rikiya (ECO BooN), Ryuunosuke Sekiguchi (Wild Shīnu), Sen (地獄Riderz)
Buys every souvenir: Queen Card (R.I.P Märchen), Miku Shirazuki (R.I.P Märchen), Tomi Chōten (Jet Set Trio), Alexis Ward (Sounds of Silence), Yuuya Kanata (Miraitabi), Aika Yumi (Oculus), Criss Hiromi (Otaku Corps), Reika Aichi (Silent Tragedy), Sayaka Miyuki (Femme Fatale), Lola Takahashi (Femme Fatale), Maki Umemoto (山茶花 Zombeez), Yuki Kuraokami (Polar Knights), Naoki Hamasaki (Wild Shīnu)
Only there to watch fireworks: Anika Kiyozaki (Pixel Syndicate), Kisouna Yuzairu (Sakura Clan), Luis Kōkyū (Jet Set Trio), Ivelisse Martinez (Sounds of Silence), Kai Quinlan (Private Party), Mireya Quinlan (Private Party), Saigo Fuyugami (Miraitabi), Nadya Kuromiya (Oculus), Mina Nakayama (ENIGMA), Yuriko Kuromiya (Wicked Requiem), Akihisa Mashiro (Death Row Block), Seiji Tsukimoto (Valor Guard), Miho Kobayashi (CodeX), Kureha Koizumi (Femme Fatale), Wataru Sasaki (Justice Shield), Kyler Aaron (Justice Shield), Yano Ietsuna (ECO BooN), Ishihara Daisuke (地獄Riderz)
Tries to confess to their crush: Shisuta Heisha (Sakura Clan), Ayumu Hayami (Valor Guard), Keiko Yumi (Otaku Corps), Elliot Shimizu (ENIGMA), Yorii Sakuma (ENIGMA), Lyall Shiba (Valor Guard), Ren Nakashima (Lovesick), Kensaku Morimoto (ECO BooN)
Wasted so much money on festival games that they don't have anymore money to go home: Makina Setsukura (Pixel Syndicate), Zakari Hiiroya (Private Party), Nikki Yoshie (Otaku Corps), Sakura Kito (Silent Tragedy), Joey Kurusu (Justice Shield), Ryuko Umemoto (山茶花 Zombeez), Shuu Edogawa (山茶花 Zombeez), Daiki Kamiyama (Veiled Vanguard), Kyō Sakuma (Wild Shīnu), Yoichi Shujo (Polar Knights)
Tries to meet their "true love": Touya Kisaragi (Death Row Block), Kaiji Sano (Lovesick)
"I could cause chaos tonight": Reiaki Suzubayashi (R.I.P Märchen), Aranai Norikoru (Sakura Clan), Hoàng Diệu (Sounds of Silence), Meari Miracle (Oculus), Kaoru Shinozaki (Wicked Requiem), Rintaro Himura (Death Row Block), Sumire Shinomiya (CodeX), Jack Verrill (Veiled Vanguard), Iwao Masuda (Polar Knights)
Arrived hours after the festival was over: Ritsuko Okada (CodeX), Hisoka Tetsuma (Veiled Vanguard), Teijo Masakazu (地獄Riderz)
@akihabara-division03 @minato-division03 @uenodivision @aoyama-division @arakawa-division @roppongi-division @naradivision @edogawa-division @shizuokadivision @katsushika-division @niigata-division @saitama-division @shinagawa-division @kobedivision @kanazawa-division @toyama-division @suginami-division @obihiro-division @naha-division @sapporo-division @oita-division
#hypnosis mic#hypnosis mic oc#hypmic#hypmic oc#hypnosis mic arb#hypmic arb#meme chart#by the way kaiji sano was actually in a different category#i was just asked to move him to be with touya after this was posted lmaooooo
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Chaos Gremlins: Silly mode
Makina banging the ground while Toki watches in amusement.
A shot from my latest short.
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Medusa Ex Makina
Prologue: And the Winner is…
Rated: M for Mature
Warnings: None
Author’s note: This is a redo of the Prologue from my art blog, @kattartsblog from here on out I will be posting future chapters and canon Makina events here. Vignettes and other silly events outside of the main plot will be on the art blog.
It had been 3 years after the events of “Army of the Doomstar”. Dethklok was asked to judge the third annual “Doom-opolis”, a battle of the bands styled competition that also was a celebration of Dethklok saving the world from utter destruction. It was down to the final 3 groups; the Ska punk group, PulsinG, the Idol group, Jennifer’s Corpse, and the emo metal band Lycan RIOT. Nathan really didn’t want to be there, he was disappointed by the lack of creativity and spark the two acts he sat through were. He was already anticipating Lycan RIOT to be just as lackluster. Nathan had decided it was best to stretch his legs and wander about a bit before the band had to make their final decision. His mindless wandering ended him backstage where Lycan RIOT excitedly waited for their turn. Or at least their singer was excited. She peaked behind one of the curtains to see an ocean of cheering. Her eyes filled with excitement, “Isn’t this awesome?! We’re in the finals and Dethklok is here! I mean, even if we don’t win the prize, our names will be in lights and we can say that we opened for THE Dethklok! We gotta make every second count.” The singer’s bandmates were not as enthused, the guitarist put a hand on her shoulder, “Maki, look man. We’ve been friends since high school. And you brought us all together. But now… damn, what I’m trying to say is-"
"We’re done screwin’ around!” shouted the band’s drummer. “We got new jobs ‘n’ lives now, like normal gits. We got no time or dosh for your little doolally! Yer rockstar dream’s stone dead!” The singer furrowed her brow, fury and sadness had overcome her, “Are you serious right now?! Look at how close we are, how far we’ve come! And you guys have the nerve to just throw out this dream we built?!” The dark haired woman began shedding tears, slightly smudging her corpse paint, “After years of hard work, the countless failed gigs, and even a freaking catastrophic apocalypse; you’re all going to quit?!” The man with the ponytail nodded, “We’ve moved on from this shindig ‘Dusy, so pull yer head outta yer arse.” The purple haired one had hummed in agreement, “We’re bound to fail, so let’s make this our final show.” The woman clenched her teeth, there was a fiery anger burning deep in her soul. But it was covered by devastation in her voice. “Fine then, after this performance…” she sighed, “We break up.” Nathan heard the shakiness in her voice, he could tell that this was a passion of the lady. It was something he could relate to. Music was his calling, he wouldn’t be the man he was without it. “Oh and we’re changing the fucking song.”
“What, we could get disqualified!” The bassist exclaimed. “Well it doesn’t matter anymore to you, right? If we’re performing together for the last time, I wanna go out with a bang.” The announcer calls Lycan RIOT to the stage as Nathan watches in the distance, the rage festering in the young lady was something almost refreshing to him. But then that’s when Nathan felt a chill in the air, his eyes widened. The way she carried herself on stage gave him a fright. He stood there frozen in awe. It was as if he was staring at a mirror. The woman reminded him of his younger years; the frustration to start something big, the passion she possessed, and the sheer raw emotion from her stance alone was enough to make him almost crack a manic grin. Nathan didn’t quite know what he was feeling. He was reminded of the vision from the whale prophet all those years ago, to be the hand. Maybe this time it was a different kind of hand? The lady looked down at the stage, closed her eyes, raised her microphone in a pair of devil horns, and then… “FFFFFUUUUUUUCCCCCKKK!” She growled, then a very familiar melody began to play.
Meanwhile, back in the VIP booth, Skwisgaar leaped out of his seat and ran to the railing with eyes widened with a sense of horror, disgust, and genuine surprise. “HOLYS SHIT THEMS PLAYINGS OUR SONGS!” The swede exclaimed. Murderface and Toki got up to join him, “Hey yeah, didn’t they submit a different piece?!” Murderface exclaimed, “They’re breaking the rules!” Toki nodded in agreement. The vocalist roared and screamed her heart out, the melody became clear and soon Pickles realized what song they were covering. Hatredcopter, a song that was meant to be sung as a duet, but now both parts were being sung by one artist. He had laughed at other covers in this style that failed to meet his expectations before, but not this time. Pickles couldn’t look away at the young singer. The raw emotion being poured out onto the stage, every note was in perfect pitch, and even the girl’s lowest death growl delighted him. “I’m kinda impressed, what do you think Nathan?” The ginger haired man looked towards his left and Nathan was not there. Backstage, Nathan’s heart began to beat fast, the sheer power in this girl’s voice him feel something. However something strange began to occur, there was a slight tinge of a green aura surrounding her. Initially, Nathan thought it was the lighting but now he see that there was something more mysterious at play. The large man gripped his chest, he wanted to run onto the stage and just talk to her but instead he just listened to the harmony of a duet being sung by one vocalist. Once the song was over, Makina raised the microphone to the sky holding it in a set of devil horns and chucked it straight into the face of an audience member, breaking their nose and teeth. “Wowie, that’s ams brutals!” Toki exclaimed, Murderface started laughing his ass off, “Ha! That guy had it coming!” The crowd cheered and applauded at the violence from the vocalist, it almost made Nathan chuckle a little bit. This performance was the best Dethklok had witnessed all night, but the only one that had the balls to cover one of their songs!
The announcer asked the audience to wait for the results as Lycan RIOT was then escorted off stage and into the green room. Nathan watched on, “Ok it’s over. You can go now.” the woman hissed, crossing her arms. “Whatevuh. Toddle off then, ‘Dusy.” the drummer said, flipping her off as the rest of the group packed up their stuff. Alone in the green room, the woman saw the bottle of champagne and popped it open. She had originally bought it for the group as a celebratory reward, now it was to be used to drown out her sadness. She didn’t bother pouring it in a cup and began chugging it down like a frat boy at a house party. Seething, she punched the wall as hard as she could, her knuckles began to bleed. Nothing mattered to her, she began to open the wine bottle on the vanity table and poured herself a glass. After taking a swig, she flopped her head in her arms on the vanity and began to silently cry. Nathan’s face grew concerned and without thinking, he knocked on the door. The woman rolled her eyes, “Chester I swear to fucking god if you left something I-” she was now face to face with Nathan. His intimidating size made her shiver, “Uh… Hi.” Nathan said and gave a slight wave. “Mind if I join you?” The lady nodded, “Sorry for the outburst. I thought you were someone else.” The woman gestured to Nathan as he entered the room. “You put on one hell of a performance.”
“Thank you, god I wish it didn’t have to end like this.” The woman sniffed as she swirled around her champagne. “Are you ok man?” Nathan asked, tears began to well up in the woman’s eyes but she violently wiped them away. “I’m fine, it’s just been a rough night. But nothing a little booze can’t fix, right?" She lied jokingly. Nathan invited himself in and sat on the couch. He pondered for a moment and tried to say something positive, “You were pretty brutal up there.” She giggled at the comment, “You don’t have to lie, I looked like a toddler with a temper tantrum.” Nathan shook his head, “No I mean it, it was great.” The vocalist smiled and thanked him. Just then, there was another knock at the door, this time it was a stage hand. “Excuse me, are you a part of Lycan RIOT?” The black haired woman nodded, “Sorry to interrupt, but your charcuterie board has arrived.” The lady thanked the stage hand and placed it on the table. “I was supposed to drink and eat with my stupid band to celebrate a job well done, but they left me to drown. And I can't finish this all by my- Wait, where are my manners? Would you like some?” Nathan nodded and took some cheese and crackers, she continued on. Something in his blackened heart shifted as she spoke. He wanted to reach out. But he couldn’t. Instead he kept listening. The woman stuffed a few pieces of cheese in her mouth, “I do all of the manager stuff, I got us this gig, and we practice like crazy. But no, they leave me high and dry!”
“Damn kid that sucks!” Nathan stated, “I mean you guys slaughtered that set. Kinda ballsy doing a Dethklok song though, let alone a duet.”
“It was a risk I was willing to take. I know we’ll get disqualified, but I hope that Dethklok had a good laugh out of it. I bet right now they’re probably disgusted with us.” Nathan smirked, “What do you think they’re saying right now?”
“Heh, probably something like ‘What a bunch of self righteous idiots. They sucked assholes! And that singer, who does she think she is?’” she chuckled but her breath began to stifle, her heart began to spill out, “What a poser, she is nothing more than an ugly wannabe loser who’s going to die alone. I mean really, wow. Her singing was like a little kid learning how to do a monster voice. How fucking pathetic!” The vocalist curled up in her chair and hugged her knees, she felt like the world was crashing down around her as she kept on venting. For some odd reason, Nathan wanted to comfort her. He wanted to tell her that everything was going to be okay and that she wasn’t who she said she was. But his hesitancy bit his tongue, he mindlessly walked toward the spiraling singer. The woman snapped back to reality when she saw Nathan hulking over her, he knelt down to her level and quietly stared at her with a look of calm understanding in his eyes. Nathan finally spoke up, “You know what, fuck your old band. You were more metal by yourself than with those dildos! And sure Dethklok would laugh, but I don’t think it would be at you.” The lady was stunned at such kind words from a complete stranger. The vocalist aggressively wiped her tears away again, this time messing up her already tear stained makeup, “Ack, sorry. I just kinda drowned there for a second. Look at me talking too much again.” she sighed, “Thank you for listening to my stupidity.” She looked towards the bottle of champagne, “You can have the booze and the snacks. I think I’m gonna grab an uber home.” Nathan backed away slowly to give her some space and straighten herself out in her chair. “By the way, I didn’t catch your name.”
“It’s Nathan.”
“Nathan… I’ll remember that. I’m Makina Gorgon, that’s why they call me Medusa.” she smiled pitifully, trying to play off her sadness. Makina made little devil horns with her hands and winked playfully. Just then there was a sound coming towards the green room, a voice called out along with a set of footsteps. “Nathan, come on where the-. AH! There you are, come on we’re going up soon.” Pickles looked over at Makina who’s mascara was clearly messed up from crying. “Oh hey, you’re that singer from Lycan RIOT. That was metal as fuck, great pipes kid.” Makima blinked hard and fast, were her eyes deceiving her at this very moment? Pickles grabbed Nathan’s arm and began to drag him out of the room, “Come on man, let’s go!” Then the realization finally set in, her cheeks flushed a deep shade of red and her hands were shaking. “It was nice chatting with you, Medusa.” He said smiling as he exited the room, following Pickles out. Makina’s heart sank, the man who she was venting all her stupid little problems to was none other than Nathan motherfucking Explosion, the Nathan Explosion.
Nathan and Pickles regrouped with the rest of Dethklok, “Ah there you are.” The announcer greeted the two, “Gentlemen, we need you to make a decision before you go on stage. Which of the finalists should win?”
“Lycan RIOT.” Nathan stated bluntly, “They had my attention and deserve to win.”
“I second that vote, they were entertaining.” Pickles chimed in. “I agrees too! The lady singers was like if Nathans was a womens!” Toki gleefully exclaimed. “I would agree too. But I think those idiots had a lot of balls to cover us, especially since they broke the rules.” Murderface interrupted. “What rules?” Nathan asked. “It’s like that stupid European contest, they played a different song than the one they submitted.”
“That’s bullshit!”
“I can’t believe I’m saying this but, for once, Murderface is right.” The announcer straightened his tie, “They would be disqualified by default. Also for a number of other reasons. I’m sorry, but you all cannot vote for Lycan RIOT. We also received word that all the members left without a trace.”
“Damns, so it’s betweens that skas-punk trash heaps or dumb internets rap kids. Such disgustings choosinings.” Skwisgaar sneered. “Hold on a second, not all of Lycan RIOT left. The lead’s still here, I can find her. I’ll be back.” Nathan ran back to the green room. All Makina wanted to do was hide away in a hole 16 leagues under the sea. She debated whether to stay and watch the show or get that uber she promised herself. But before she could make that decision, Nathan bursted through the doorway. “DON’T LEAVE!” He yelled, “I NEED YOU TO STAY HERE, GOT IT?” And just like that Nathan left to join the other members of Dethklok onstage. Regrouping back with his band, Nathan pointed to the green room. “You, dildo, she’s still there. Make sure she doesn’t leave!” Pickles was surprised by Nathan’s words, he had never seen the raven haired man so adamant before on anything. Makina hesitated and cautiously walked near the wings, peeking from backstage. She could hear the sound of Guts Punch Balls Throw Up begin to play, her stomach twisted. What exactly was happening?
After Dethklok’s performance, the announcer was handed a microphone, “Alright, it’s time for our judges to make a final decision. What’s your verdict fellas?” Nathan looked to his band and then towards the wings, “We decided that Lycan RIOT should win.”
“Ooh, I’m sorry. Unfortunately, due to Lycan RIOT breaking some rules and some faces, they will be disqualified from the competition. So Dethklok, which band is going to win Doom-opolis this year?” Nathan snatched the microphone from the announcer, “We said Lycan RIOT wins, got it?” The frontman said more firmly. “But, they’re not even here! No representatives, no win! And like I stated before the band was disqualified.“
“WHO GIVES A SHIT!” Nathan shouted defensively. Meanwhile in the wings, Makina was utterly stunned when her band’s name was called. “We, Dethklok, have decided that Lycan- no, that Medusa should take the golden facebones.” She couldn’t believe it, Makina actually won something?! Maybe her string of putrid luck was finally coming to an end. At that moment she knew she had to stick a middle finger to the world and accept this award, after all it was the most metal thing to do. In a flash, all of her worry and doubt had melted away. It was as if everything she had suffered through that night was worth it. Makina walked on stage with pride in her soul, Nathan smirked and tossed the microphone to her. Makina wore the biggest shit eating grin and began her acceptance speech, “I am Makina Gorgon, former lead singer of Lycan RIOT and now a solo artist. I humbly accept this award on behalf of my stupid bandmates who decided to scurry away like sewer rats. Thank you Dethklok, thank you Doom-opolis, and a big fuck you to everyone who didn’t fear the Medusa!” The crowd roared and rumbled with applause. The other members of Dethklok were not paying attention to her speech, instead they were puzzled by Nathan’s facial expressions and body language. He was smiling and nodding in a fatherly manner, acting as if Makina was his own flesh and blood. Nathan crossed his arms proudly almost as if he wanted to say ‘That’s my little girl.’. The announcer and the award presenter were appalled by the disrespectful display that took place. Murderface snatched the award away and handed it to her, “You are one crazy son of a bitch.” He whispered. The crowd cheered, Makina handed the microphone to a stage hand and was ready to pose for a photo with the band for the press. Makina smiled widely and raised the award in the air in a pair of devil horns, Dethklok and Makina walked off stage together. They could see the angry look of the other bands but they didn’t care.
After the many photos, Nathan realized what he needed to say to them. How to reach out to them. “Medusa, since you’re solo now I think it’s best if you get some help. How about I become your mentor?” Makina’s eyes lit up like a christmas tree, “You mean, I can be your protégé?!”
“Is that a fancies words for pets?” Toki asked naively. “Nah Toki, she will be his apprentice, a student in the ways of metal. ” Pickles corrected. Nathan looked at Makina, he saw it again, that younger version of himself in her. The young man who he once was, when he signed onto Crystal Mountain Records. The same young man who had felt the betrayal of his former bandmate Magnus Hammersmith. A singer that could scream out their tragedies and make it into the most brutal form of art in the world. He didn’t want to fully admit his admiration for the singer. But in that very moment, Nathan wanted nothing more than to see Makina thrive. He could imagine how badass of an artist she could be. And with his guidance, the possibilities seemed endless.
“What do you say?” Makina wanted to scream and jump around like a little kid on a sugar high. All she wanted to do was to hug Nathan and thank him for the opportunity, but she didn’t. She held back her glee with all her might, her hands were still shivering as she went to shake Nathan’s hand to seal the deal in a professional matter. “I- I look forward to working with you!” Makina said nervously. “We start in a week.”
“YES SIR!” Makina said stiffly, the professional dam that held her excitement was slowly crumbling away. “Dude, you can let loose a little.” Pickles said, patting her reassuringly on the back. “Yeah s-sure. Totally totally totally. I’ll just be uh… right back.” Makina backed away slowly to the green room and slammed the door behind her. She smiled widely and began to squee like the fan girl she was. She pumped her fists in the air in a victorious manner and danced around like an idiot. Nathan didn’t realize it, but his world was about to be shaken. This was only the start of Makina’s metal journey.
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Season of the Swamp by Yuri Herrera
This frustrating novella by a star of global fiction imagines the formative years of Mexico’s first Indigenous president, exiled to New Orleans in the 1850s
Every novel by Yuri Herrera teaches you how to read it in the opening scene. His debut, Kingdom Cons, begins with a musician watching a king shoot a drunk man in his court. The victim’s offence? He refused to pay the musician for his song. The novel unfurls into a parable of patronage and art, cartels and complicity. Signs Preceding the End of the World opens with a young woman named Makina witnessing a sinkhole swallow a man, a car and a dog. I’m dead, Makina thinks, and the novel plunges into a journey from Mexico to the United States to find her brother, its chapters modelled on the underworlds of Mexican mythology. The Transmigration of Bodies starts with a hungover man stumbling out of his house in search of water. He notices the silence first, then “a dense block of mosquitos tethering themselves to a puddle … as though attempting to lift it”. The puddle is blood, and the silence is death. A plague has arrived in the night.
Like his previous novellas, Season of the Swamp follows a nimble, reluctant interloper as he learns to navigate a dangerous new environment. It also calibrates our attention in the opening scene, but even before teaching us how to read it, this novel teaches us why to read it. In a preface, Herrera writes: “1853. Benito Juárez has served as a judge, deputy, and governor of the state of Oaxaca. But he has yet to become the man who will lead his country’s liberal reform, first as minister and then as president, and he is certainly not the hardheaded visionary who will lead the resistance against France’s invasion of Mexico and restore the republic.” In his autobiography, “Juárez says not a word about his nearly eighteen months in New Orleans … despite the fact that it is there he evolved into the liberal leader who would transform the trajectory of his country”. Benito Juárez, orphaned at the age of three, would one day become Mexico’s first Indigenous president, prying his country back from the vice-like grip of the aristocracy and the Catholic church. Biographers agree that his exile in New Orleans was formative, but no one knows what, exactly, happened there. Who could bring this story to life better than Herrera? A novelist of unparalleled tonal agility and negative capability, one with a passion for archival research, who has split his time between Pachuca, his home town, and New Orleans for the past 13 years.
Like his previous novellas, this one begins with its protagonist witnessing violence. Benito and his brother-in-law watch “badges” (policemen) drag an enslaved man from a ship, thwarting an escape. The badges club the man and order him to drop the compass he’s cradling to his chest. Herrera wrote much of Season of the Swamp during pre-vaccination Covid-19, and when I read these lines, I can see the white officer kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, killing him on a public, daylit street as he asked for his mother. Season of the Swamp is about the galvanising power of witnessing. It’s about a revolutionary finding his compass. It also, unfortunately, suffers from an uncharacteristic, unignorable vagueness: vagueness of syntax, character and scope.
Benito and his fellow exiles spend the book wandering Herrera’s meticulously researched reconstruction of 1853 New Orleans. They witness bear fights, poor sewage systems, operas, dead bodies, sex work, duelling pianos, horse races, public executions and numerous parades. They find and lose housing, get drunk, discuss politics. Benito finds work at a printing press, then a cigar shop. He becomes infatuated with a Black woman named Thisbee who sells the best coffee in town. Her true vocation, however, is helping enslaved people escape to freedom. Benito befriends the Cuban poet Pedro Santacilia, who takes him on a harrowing tour of a market that sells human beings. New Orleans was the epicentre of the United States slave trade, and Herrera animates Benito’s experience with factual details of slavery’s daily horrors. Mexico outlawed slavery in 1837 – 16 years before the real Benito Juárez arrived in New Orleans – and the novel suggests that it was his encounter with the American slave trade, above all, that transformed Benito into the leader he became.
Herrera’s exceptional sensitivity to language, penchant for neologisms, ear for regional dialects and dexterous shifts in register make him uniquely challenging to translate. Fortunately, Lisa Dillman has risen to every occasion, brilliantly sailing all of Herrera’s work into English. While she has described him as “astonishingly hands-off”, their dynamic is more collaborative than most; Herrera is fluent in English, and the two maintain an open channel of communication as she works. Despite his propulsive plots, I don’t read his work to find out what happens, but to find out how he (and Dillman) will describe it.
The thick linguistic fog of Season of the Swamp is therefore aberrant. The English translation keeps Benito unnamed, referring to him only as he and him, which is especially confusing in a novel with a large cast of men and very few women. In addition to the pronoun slippage, the diction of the novel can be disorienting. Season of the Swamp is cluttered with the vague syntax of a rough draft, paired with culturally and temporally dissonant phrases. I delight in thoughtful anachronism, but it was jarring to encounter an abundance of contemporary American vernacular. Often, I felt I was watching a McDonald’s bag tumble-weed on to the set of a period drama. When semantic haziness obscures characterisation, the damage is more consequential. Season of the Swamp instructs us to read Benito’s inner life as the stage of its primary drama. Unfortunately, very little is visible in this theatre. When we meet him, Benito is 47 years old and he has already made a political impact substantial enough to get him exiled. In place of an interior life, however, we find notes toward an interior life. Even his encounters with the kidnapping and sale of human beings are rendered in bizarrely flat language; from both Juárez and Herrera, I longed for more than prosaic reflections on the general badness of slavery.
As I tried to identify the fundamental software bug of this novel, I kept returning to the opening of the second chapter, a curious cascade of language: “The most pivotal thing to happen in the weeks that followed was the drumming; no, the most pivotal thing in the weeks that followed was the dances; no, the most pivotal thing in the weeks that followed was the concerts; no, in a way it was kind of the hippodrome, which was fun and also pivotal though in another way …” Further candidates for most pivotal thing to happen in the weeks that followed include the “inner courtyard”, meeting “the canaille”, learning “what funk was”, and “more or less” figuring out “what Thisbee might or might not have done”. On my first read, I read this as an unsuccessful form of linguistic play. By my fourth reading, however, its rapid descent into absurdity began to register as the author’s confrontation – conscious or not – with the formula he has chosen. He decided to write a novel about a chrysalis of time in which a regular man transforms into a Great Man. But what if he fundamentally rejects the Great Man trope of history? What if Herrera – who chose to write about a leader’s pivotal months in exile – rejects the most pivotal thing as an organising force of identity and narrative? The opening of the second chapter seems to say: look how ridiculous this formula is. From the start, it was clear to me that both Herrera and Benito are too interesting to collapse 18 months into three-act structures, tidy conclusions, lessons learned. Regrettably, Herrera never offers an effective alternative. The novel was built on sand. Or perhaps more accurately: on a swamp.
Compared with his previous work, Season of the Swamp reads like notes toward a novel rather than a final manuscript. It is distracted, muddled with placeholders, declaring its purpose every few chapters while desperately searching for one. It is my love for his work – along with Dillman’s delicate, adept translations – that forces me to notice the perfunctory nature of this novel. Herrera’s rough drafts are better than most people’s final drafts, and many descriptions within this book – of languages and crowds, music and ecosystems, tenderness and violence – sing. Perhaps it is unfair to hold a genius to his own standards, but Herrera is a sublime astrological event that will never again occur in my lifetime. I can’t hide my disappointment when he behaves like an average star.
Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at Just for Books…?
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Hypmic OC Halloween Party 2023 🎃 ~Part II
Disclaimer: Please note that these are not the actual titles to the songs, I just made them up of course. All these songs obviously belong to their respective artists.
And the OCs mentioned belong to their respective creators as well!
*see more notes from the part 1*
Meet the Halloween Shuffle Teams!
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Team R-rated B-Boy
Ren “Vox” Nakashima
Rintaro “Ignis” Himuro
Raiden “Tesla” Otoha
Ryuko “Mista Z.B.” Umemoto
#7 Parade of Horror ☠️
youtube
Real title: Bad Monster Original by UraShimaSakataSen Fun fact: This Shima is that same SHIMA who voiced Zen Gaho from paralive...
Team Heroic Youngsta
Joey “Joker” Kurusu
Saji “Street Dog” Buranka
Ryūnosuke “Fist N Fury” Sekiguchi
Haruto “Pheonix” Hirabayashi
#8 Justice In Action! 🚨
youtube
Real title: PANDA HERO Covered by mafumafu x nqrse x luz x soraru | Original by HACHI ft. GUMI Fun fact: HACHI the Vocaloid-P is later known as Kenshi Yonezu
Team SolaLune Fairies
Lola “Aphrodite” Takahashi
Evelyn “SPIRIT” Rose
Moriko “Carnopus” Himawari
Miku “Hex 13” Shirazuki
#9 Who’s the Fairest? 👑
youtube
Real title: ECLIPSE Original by Raon x DAZBEE Yeah, sorry again for not making the number of voice casts matched... They just look gorgeous together XD
Team Pop★Teen Sensation
Kanade “Spooky” Alarie
Criss “Paradox” Hiromi
Kirara “Cupid” Suzuki
Ririko “2cute!” Akihara
Makina “Screen Shot” Setsukura
#10 Supa☆Supa☆Halloween
youtube
Real title: Happy Halloween Covered by MORE MORE JUMP! ft. Kagamine Rin | Original by Junky ft. Kagamine Rin
[At the moment after the girls have already returned to the backstage, suddenly, the thick and hazy mist from nowhere then emerged into the stage from all directions, fogging over the entire scene as if it was curtain in the theater]
Greetings, ladies and gentlemen,
Welcome to the wonderful night of October the 31st,
...At long last, we’re going to reach the finale.
[Starting off with the sound of bells resonating in distants, the prelude music began playing before the hazy mist became dissolved —revealing the obscure figures of people standing there in the midst of stage]
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Team Curtain Call
Queen card
Kunio “Arsene” Kurome
Iwao “TRIXT4R” Masuda
Sanyu “MC Rogue” Inouye
Naoki “Stage Queen” Hamasaki
Mitsuru “Odette” Tenjo
Saigo “Tsukumogami” Fuyugami
Nishio “24/7” Tokishou
#11 To the Final Act 🪄
youtube
Real title: Finale Original by XYZ 2019 (luz, senra, mafumafu, soraru, nqrse, meychan, araki, un:c)
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Wait— Wait,
Even if this night is going to end soon, how should we forget something really really important…?
Yeah, we haven’t even got our treats yet!
If you want them, then why don’t we go get some?
C’mon, stand up & sing along~~
Team Bakemono:)
Asahi “SWEET-T” Tomoharu
Kohaku “KANDATA-KUN” Meguno
Taria “Misfit” Chinen
Honoka “Maniakin” Ajisai
Ayaka “Marionette” Kagawa
After Story: Are Ghosts Real?
youtube
Real title: 異世界混合大舞踏会 (I Wanna Be Your Ghost) Covered by StarLightPolaris (You Kisaragi, Relu, Coe, Kuni, Kottaro) | Original by Gen Hoshino Unfortunately, you can only find subtitles in the original video
In this night where ghosts will emerge,
But they’re not all that bad
Ghost are real, you know?
But they’re not as scary as the living!
They’re always watching from the sidelines, so don’t you forget,
Farewell mortals, and take care :P
🎃 Live Reports & Behind the scenes Pt.2
According to the interview from some audiences after the reveal of 6th’s and 7th’s cast, they thought it’s funny that team Bad Boy felt oddly cool to them, while on the other hand, team Hero were also cool but with even more chaotic vibes than the previous one —Everyone did wonder in unison that what went through the organizer’s head when they decided to put them together. Well, Raiden and Saji were the only exceptions since both of them were naturally pretty dedicated to their team titles.
Raiden got a bit carried away as he started laughing like some maniac by the end of his show. And in consequence of that, his temporary teammates were just… letting him be before all left the scene like nothing happened.
Since the beginning of the 9th show, the ladies of team “SolaLune Fairies” were seen solemnly walking out of the backstage with a dark long veil covering most part of their face and their outfits. Each of them were also noted to hold a bouquet with different flowers. Lola were red tulips, Evelyn were blue roses, Moriko were sunflowers, and Miku were moon orchids. But once the first beat of the song dropped out, they suddenly changed their moods and threw their veils away ...showing off their party dresses which were delicately designed just for each of them (ultimate kudos were given to those from the costume team). Thus, the true catwalk showdown began!
After all the teasing to throw their bouquets to the audience like in the wedding, it was still unknown who those ladies decide to give their bouquets to at the end. Maybe it was their lover/ bestie or etc. Who knows anyway? But as the show title hinted, they might probably give it to their fairest…
Before the 10th show starts, the camera caught Kanade having a high-five with Lola in the same fashion as those two boys from the first half.
Despite not being much active around these days, Hana Izanami (@snowmantita) was spotted coming here in secret to cheer for her friends.
The 11th show was obviously one of the best highlights of this event, given 6 of them were actually the famed performers to begin with! In addition, Queen card was the one who planned most details of the performance herself. Besides, some of them were really going all-out to the point where they attempted to compete with each other even. No wonder this show received very loud applause as a result, just like their team’s name implied.
There was one funny moment getting leaked out from the backstage. It was the photo of two gentlemen who literally had no idea why they were put in the same line with other talented showmen in the 11th show. Saigo seemed to be deep in thought about how much the staff have spent on props and special effects, while Nishio… He was caught flirting with other participants —Well, let’s hope that he wasn’t flirting with the wrong person there.
Despite the chill and anti-climax vibe that was very contrast to the intense impression from the previous show, the final show performed by team Bakemono was unexpectedly the children’s most favorite! Why was that? The secret of success not only lied in the lyrics of the song, but also its cute and catchy choreography. Moreover, they had also brought in the massive number of candies to throw into the crowd.
And due to some interviews with the parents, they told that this show truly deserved to be the closing show as it was in fact spoke the moral of this spooky event…
Before the show started, it was a record of five of them chatting with each other. And although it was all according to the script, Asahi confessed that they had retaken it so many rounds he actually lost count of.
And just as the name of their team indicated, they were all wearing the yokāi costumes! For example, Asahi was the Oni, Kohaku was attempting to look like Kasa-obake (even if it came out rather funny), Taria was Karasu tengu, Honoka had animal ears so maybe she was bakeneko or kitsune, and Ayaka wore triangle headband with a kimono to represent the yurēi ghost.
From what live reports said, despite being the performers of the show, both Asahi & Kohaku were noted to really enjoy their time the most —These two spiritual(?) twins loved throwing candies like they’re playing with snow, while Honoka and Ayaka might seem a bit stiff due to their not so great experiences with people. However, Taria was the one making them warm up and enjoy the moment just like other children did —Who else would understand the kids best if not someone with a children’s heart?
Live reports by
Snowflake Sentinel News, Yoichi Shujo
Verne Publishing-house, Nellie Yukimura
◀︎ SEE THE RECORD FROM PT. 1
Amazing OCs mentioned above are from:
@kobedivision @katsushika-division @chiyoda-division2 @suginami-division @kanazawa-division @megurodivision @naha-division @nagasakidivision @saitama-division @okinawa-division @gion-division @minato-division03 @kyoto-division @akihabaradivision @urayasu-division @nakanodivision @akihabara-division03 @kumamoto-division @sapporo-division @fukuokadivision1 @naha-division @nerima-division @naradivision @echizen-division @ota-division @gion-division @sagadivision @tokyo-division (@snowmantita) @hamamatsu-divison
P.S. Apologizing if I missed out some divisions or have made anyone sound OOC —I'm trying lmao.
...Happy Halloween & hoping y’all enjoy it :)
#hypmic oc#hypnosis microphone oc#not only nara division#halloween event 2023#hypmic halloween#SecretZ Night Out#shuffle teams#concert style#made-up album#yeah can't tag all divisions here
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Jack’s Thoughts on Akihabara Division
Anika Kiyozaki
“Remind me to avoid Ms. Kiyozaki… I jest, I jest! I have nothing to hide, not from a hypnotherapist. Still, how funny to see her entering the Division Rap battles. Wonder if her interest was piqued when she learned of the Hypnosis Microphones? Perhaps she’s looking to utilize its abilities for her sessions? I don’t mean to come off rude, I’m just curious. And it is not very hard to make that connection, I think. Hypnotherapist, Hypnosis Mic… You can see my thought process, yes?”
Shian Meizono
“Bail…? My, I wasn’t aware Japan had those. I’m sure the legalities of running such a business differ greatly from what the US has. Unfortunately, I am not very familiar with the process, so I will have to end my commentary there. I’m sure Ms. Meizono is a lovely lady outside her wild career.”
Makina Setsukura
“S-Streaming? I… I had no idea such an occupation existed. I suppose someone in the world might find entertainment watching another do something they are passionate about. It could be said for any common television broadcast. Watching a young lady play video games is beyond me I’m afraid. So again, I will have to end my statement here.”
Pixel Syndicate
“Pixel Syndicate? Feels heavily inspired by Miss. Setsukura, but perhaps the team shares an interest in technological entertainment. I look forward to seeing them perform on stage, whether or not we share the floor. Either way, I will cheer for them to do their best.”
#hypmic#hypnosis mic#hypnosis microphone#hypmic oc#hypnosis mic oc#hypnosis microphone oc#obihiro division#veiled vanguard#jack verrill#akihabara division#pixel syndicate#anika kiyozaki#shian meizono#makina setsukura
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spotify wrapped ! 2024
it's been a whole year!!! i think i'm more happy with my spotify wrapped this year, since all the songs on my top listened are all very important to me (or at least, i can remember listening to them during a specific time).
okay i'm not sure how much 33,000 minutes is, but my longest day of listening was 547 minutes, which is over 9 hours. jesus christ. but june 30... that was an important day to me. i had an essay due on that day, so the night before i stayed up until 6am writing it (and reading fanfics to take a break, lol). it's really nostalgic, watching the sun rise and hearing everyone wake up.
.................... i'm a little sad that my top 3 songs are all songs i listened to in order to cope with a.... certain event. but. they are all good songs. truly.
hibana (ES COVER....): i fucking love this cover so much. i was recommended to listen to it after an es fan on tumblr said it was really good and i agree. it changed my life. i love the fast tempo, es's cv (i know i've said this before... idc she is so good), es sounds so emotional, i love the lyrics SO MUCH ("amidst a love that missed saying "no"- or something, "i don't want to harbor a love that never ends" and stuff along the lines of "do it properly", etc.)... and. the key change. absolute insanity.
help me, erin!: to be honest, i think this is my most listened to song, since i listened to it way more consistently and i've looped multiple covers (makina remix, piano cover, MUSESCORE piano cover, "sh-style", 8-bit, utau cover, MY ALARM. i'm not joking this is my alarm- or at least the instrumental version is) . awesome lyrics (i don't know why but.... these lyrics are relatable: "ahh, what will i do!? i raise my arm on high", "you are my princess, my selfish princess", etc.), fast tempo, dancy, IV-V-iii-vi progression, the way miku is tuned helps me cope with life okay... idk, it's weird to be obsessed with a touhou fansong (i don't even know touhou) but i just cope like this, okay.
kimagure mercy: what a fun and dancy song. i did transcribe this (and i'm quite proud of it). i think my favorite lyric has to be jubyphobic's english ver, "lonely girl needs a guy to hold on tight, baby". which is SO heteronormative but that's the fun of the song. this was also a major coping song lmao. i think i found all of these songs in the april-june range when i was dying. this song told me that you gotta just let it go and leave. "letting him walk? and walk upon you?" "even if i cry and beg you not to go, nothing can possibly change!" "let me hope just a little bit, dammit..."
good child and the fox spirit: yeah.... i found it because of that 0909 animatic lmao. no shame. i originally thought it was amane (before i actually watched milgram) bc i never watched the animatic. i don't have much to say about this song, but it's insanely catchy. that part that goes, "love you, i love you, i love love love love you when you're a good child" or something scratches my brain just right. can't believe kikuo doesn't have music theory knowledge. it's insane.
empurple: ARGHHHHH i found this the last week of june and it powered me to finish my essay. it really reminds me of samsa, with the rhythm and all. i love the tuning of miku (i think it's miku...). rhyming, "please forgive me and purple" and "empurple" is really amazing to me. it's so catchy.
honorable mentions: string theocracy (saved my life), butcher vanity (ashe...), mozaik role (actually saved my life. seriously i don't know where i would be without this song), yin-yang relationship (reminds me of a certain someone....), the nights (good times don't last forever), say it back (also reminds me of...)
WHAT DOES THIS EVEN MEAN??? i got into milgram during april (spring break) so i'm not surprised lol. i can't read the third one, i know the first two are es and kotoko- i'm... really surprised about kotoko? i think i listen to haruka, shidou, mahiru and amane the most? i wish they put all milgram songs under one artist though.
this is ONLY because i listened to fontaine's main and battle themes when i briefly got back into genshin during summer break. it was really fun and reminded me of good days in 2021... but i have no idea how it was that significant.
guys i hate deco27 i swear. i only have him here because he makes a lot of vocaloid songs. i usually don't like this new songs that much, but i think he still has got it sometimes. for example, i really liked aitai-lians and neverland. personally i think his milgram stuff is so much more creative. if milgram counted under his name, i would understand him being my top artist lmao.
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@valiantxunion continued from here!
Yes, a real break. Between running from enforcers on a near regular basis, having to deal with people who were less than willing to accept them as transgressors, and everything else, the former knight found himself exhausted. That wasn't even including how he felt like he was constantly the butt of everyone's jokes among his companions. He wasn't too sure if Kanata would feel much sympathy for that last sentiment, though. So he kept his mouth shut and listened to the blond.
It didn't help, he supposed, that he insisted on having someone keep watch during the night. The task seemed to fall to him a lot recently. It wasn't something he fully trusted Vicious in particular with, if nothing else. The others could be hit or miss. Kanata's anecdote about the other day did cement the point a little further.
"I did wonder what Yuna was doing," he admitted. He'd thought it was odd that she kept trying to stick things in Kanata's mouth. Now he understood it better. "But you see my point, Kanata? Even you're exhausted! We can't hope to keep on like this." What could they do about this situation, though? It wasn't as though one good night's sleep would erase the general exhaustion of the day to day they dealt with.
"I fear it won't be so easily remedied with a simple stay in an inn," he said. It was a nice idea to stay in an inn, there was no mistaking. The problem was that they didn't know where really would be safe anymore. It wasn't like they were unknown people.
"If we could just find somewhere to rest without worrying about people turning against us..." he mused. But there was no place like that. The closest would have been the Nation of Sin, and that was long since ruined because Makina had laid waste to it. He heaved a sigh.
"I apologize, Kanata. You didn't ask for me to dump all my troubles on you," he said. "I do appreciate your offer. Truly, I do. I suppose all of what we've been through has just been getting to me more recently."
#ic#valiantxunion#Lance That Lights the Way (Aegis)#Following Our Paths#Kanata is a good bean ;A;#Aegis is just worn out and worn down
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“Package for… Sumire Shinomiya?”
She really shouldn’t have been all that surprised. It was her birthday, after all. The sun was beginning to rise over the city of Shinagawa and Sumire’s 21st birthday was only getting started.
She quickly thanked the delivery man and carried the package with the word ‘DELICATE’ printed over it.
After tearing through the wrapping paper, she was met with a letter addressed to her in small, bubbly handwriting.
“Well hey there again, Diabla,
It’s that time of the year again and it’s time that I send another present your way. Lets game again so I can kick your ass, girlie. I’m kidding.
Not really.
-Screen Shot (you know me, from Akihabara)”
Inside was a fluorescent resin lamp with a grotesque alien crawling through neon terrains.
Sumire looked at the letter then at the gift before snorting and giving a smirk, leave it to Makina to come up with the most weird yet creative gifts. “It has been a while since I’ve been online, I can only imagine what my place on the leaderboard looks like now.” She mumbled to herself as she examined the lamp, she could appreciate the originality and it definitely did fit in with the aesthetic she has.
Unbeknownst to her, Seizou had sneaked up on her while she was looking through the gift and eyed the lamp with curious eyes, without warning, his scorpion tail had shot out of his back hand wrapped around the lamp, snatching it from Sumire’s hands (and scaring the absolute shit out of her in the process) and bringing it over to him so that he could look more closely.
“HOLY FUCK-SEIZOU!!!” Sumire yelled, one hand gripping the area over her heart as she snapped her head to the young AI. “What the fuck?! Don’t do that! You almost gave me a heart attack! How did you even get in here anyways?!”
Seizou merely looked at his creator, blinked, and looked back at the lamp. “Seizou cannot identify what species is inside this enclosure, Seizou suggests that we just destroy it to increase safety.”
Sumire blinked once, twice, before sighing and giving a light chuckle, “Sei…” She affectionately ruffled the boy’s hair, earning a monotone protest in response. “The creature in there isn’t real, it’s a lamp, sweetie, a friend of me gave it to me as a gift.”
That seemed to register in the young AI as his eyes flashed in recognition and he nodded slowly. “Seizou understands, Seizou is sorry that he scared Creator.” He lowered his head and gave the lamp back to Sumire, retracting his tail. Sumire looked at Seizou then back at the lamp before making a mental decision and smiling. “Hey Seizou, why don’t you keep it? Maybe you can put it in your room? Study it a little? Look, it even has a tail like you!” She pointed out the similarities between the alien’s tail and Seizou’s scorpion tail.
Handing the lamp back to Seizou, the boy looked at it with a sense of wonder, as much as he can feel of it anyways. “Is Creator sure? This is a gift meant for Creator, Seizou does not want to take it away if Creator wants it.”
“Nah, it’s fine, I don’t think Makina cares what happens to it, at least it’s getting used…probably not in the way she thinks it is but it still has a purpose.” Sumire waved off Seizou’s concerns and grinned as she watched Seizou nodded and wandered off most likely “eager” to examine and take apart his new toy to see what makes it tick.
Thank you for the gift!
#hypmic oc#hypnosis mic oc#hypnosis mic#hypmic#hypnosis microphone#sumire shinomiya#seizou shinomiya#makina setsukura#gift#minato division03#happy birthday sumire 2024
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just started watching chainsaw man. miss makina is soooo me coded
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Parallel Life Happiness; Forfeited Growth
Honestly, I kinda liked what I did for Bettel, so I'm gonna do the same blog for Flayon. I like looking at the perspective of the rest of Holostars.
source: https://x.com/miyabihanasaki/status/1799671208549716105
Its nice to see that most of Holostars JP promoted Machina's 3D showcase, sadly there weren't a lot for Bettel but it was understandable since Stars JP were busy with the 5th Anniversary live.
【3D Showcase】 Parallel Life Happiness; Forfeited Growth #Flayon3D link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bj5BVrDa89A
source: https://x.com/goldbullet_en/status/1799639192190025993
source: https://x.com/crimzonruze/status/1799649437582844408
source: https://x.com/banzoinhakka/status/1799639323333234895
source: https://x.com/banzoinhakka/status/1799639870895534482
source: https://x.com/goldbullet_en/status/1799641957720834310
source: https://x.com/octavio_holo/status/1799641771124863096
honestly, this is what I was imagining Flayon would pull for his 3D showcase. I'm happy!
source: https://x.com/banzoinhakka/status/1799640227017117939
source: https://x.com/octavio_holo/status/1799642620307951659
surprised he sung aishite!!
source: https://x.com/crimzonruze/status/1799644321932521843
source: https://x.com/banzoinhakka/status/1799646955334963532
source: https://x.com/goldbullet_en/status/1799644838100349361
source: https://x.com/minaserioch/status/1799649010581688335
source: https://x.com/gavisbettel/status/1799658273752404401
source: https://x.com/kishidotemma/status/1799734039554949397
Temma: I was invited to Makina's 3D unveiling and we had a strength training contest! I'm glad I've been working out regularly!! Even the staff praised me!! Congratulations Makina!
source: https://x.com/aragamioga/status/1799641680716644730
Oga: Robots are nice. I adore it.
also:
source: https://x.com/aragamioga/status/1799639809696387581
Oga: This might be a little too sexy. Please forgive me, YouTube.
#holostars#holotempus#holostars notes#holostars in 3d#kishido temma#minase rio#gavis bettel#machina x flayon#Flayon3D
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Round One: Show Me What You’re Gonna Do
Pixel Syndicate Drama Track Teaser
✦ Two months before the formation of Pixel Syndicate ✦
“Hey cousin! It's your birthday today, isn’t it? Why don’t you guys bring Makina out and we can all go get something today?”
Fuck that.
Anika gripped her phone tightly to the point it almost shattered in her hands.
It took me almost a year trying to get you guys away from Makina, like hell I’m letting you anywhere near her.
And there’s no way in hell you’re coming anywhere near me.
Anika sighed and flopped face-first onto her bed, her face meeting the fuzzy green blankets and not giving a care in the world that she was still in her work clothes.
Oh my god, I’m so tired… she thought, keeping her face planted onto her mattress.
The phone that had been in her hand vibrated again, and she dragged her hand back, taking a look at the latest message she’d received.
Makina: ‘Didn’t you come home just now? I thought we were all going out tonight.’
Yes, yes, I know, Anika grumbled in her head.
She had been dismissed from work early that day. Most would be elated at the thought of getting to leave work early. But for Anika, even on her birthday, there was still much to do.
So much to prepare in so little time…
With a groan, she pushed herself off her bed and headed for Makina’s room, her high heel foot attachment to her prosthetic leg making her waddle awkwardly. Though she couldn’t be bothered to remove it only to have to put it back on shortly.
She quickly clicked on Makina’s chat room and typed in her phone.
“Is it safe for me to enter?”
Anika waited in front of the shut door for any potential reply from the streamer who freeloaded in her apartment.
Well…
No reply from Makina was more than enough of a reply.
“I’m entering, then,” Anika said as she opened the door and entered.
Snuggled up against her pillow fort made up entirely of plushies on her bed was Makina, who’d look like she had been caught off-guard and had been coughing up a storm, a cloud of vape smoke escaping her mouth.
Anika crossed her arms. She sighed and shook her head. “I can’t stop you if you don’t want to, but you’re not going to be doing that again when inside the house,” she said as she signed.
Makina’s coughing fit died down and she sat upright, her mouth appearing to be moving.
She was clearly speaking…
But to Anika, it was all empty motions.
She tapped on her own ear.
Makina clicked her tongue and began typing on her phone which had been faced down beside her on the bed. She began mumbling under her breath as she typed away.
She flipped her phone screen around and showed it to Anika.
“you ready to go now?”
Anika began typing on her phone.
“I mean I still have my prosthetic on so I’m ready. We’ll just all meet up at the restaurant so we can head out if you’re all set”
“I was waiting for YOU. Btw this came in for you today”
Makina took a letter that had been sitting on her bedside table, handing it to her guardian.
Anika took one look at the seal over the envelope and her stomach sank.
A hot pink seal in the shape of an inverted triangle.
The seal of the Party of Words.
With an irritated click of the tongue, she carefully tore through the envelope and silently read the contents of the letter addressed to her.
Makina placed a finger over the top of the letter, tilting it her way to read the contents of it, despite the characters being upside down from her view.
“‘You are cordially invited to the gates of Chuohku Division…’” Makina murmured the rest of the letter. She picked up the envelope again and inside was a single VIP pass. “So in short, you get a whole VIP room to yourself so you can watch the Division Rap Battle live…”
Anika crumpled the letter in her hands. “Hah… is this her sick idea of a joke?”
Makina blinked. “Whose idea?”
Anika dropped her hands. “Your great-aunt’s.” She formed the crumpled-up letter into a taut ball and tossed it into a nearby rubbish bin. She watched as it bounced off the rim of the bin and landed perfectly on top of the stack of empty energy drinks inside. “My mother.”
Oh…
Right… back when Makina was still under her adoptive mother’s care, she had heard about the relative who was a high-ranking official within the Party of Words. What title she held, she’d long forgotten.
Though she had passed it off as if the relative were distant, she didn’t even consider the possibility that the Chuohku official was immediate family member.
“I… I didn’t know that was your mom…” Makina signed carefully as she whispered.
“Well, I’ve never exactly mentioned it,” Anika signed back as she spoke aloud. This is a whole new level of low…
Makina hummed, distracting Anika away from the mention of her own mother. “So are you going?”
“I don’t think I exactly have a choice, but what’s the point? I’m deaf.”
“But you go to concerts all the time.”
“To support the artist, I can’t actually hear the music. Plus it’s not like I really have any division I’m rooting for.” Anika sighed. “Look, I’d have you go in my stead since you’ve been curious about the hypnosis mics and you like music and all… I just don’t know how Chuohku would feel having a substitute go.” She hung her head down and narrowed her eyes.
Besides…
If this is all just to be a new way of rubbing it in my face that I’ve failed your embarrassing little family because of the accident and my retirement…
Then you really are pathetic…
But I know you better than anybody else, mom…
What is it you really want from me…?
What is it about me that you keep coming after…?
Anika chuckled, casting her thoughts aside. “I’d prefer it if I were given two more tickets so you guys could join me too, at least you two would be have fun.”
Makina rolled her eyes, though in more of a teasing manner. “Probably. Like you said, what’s the point of you going?”
Anika chuckled at Makina’s little attempt to lift the mood.
Makina had been under her care for the past nine months or so. It had been a task and a half trying to make the young girl feel comfortable in her new home without pushing her out of her comfort zone.
Her heart had been entirely shut off and refused to let any new people in.
The concept of ‘family’ had been warped to her.
Can’t blame her… Anika thought. After going through a number of awful parents, she probably doesn’t have room left for a new family.
And I’ll bet anything that the things I know about you are only surface level…
And yet, here Makina was, teasing her back in her own lazy, deadpan way, she started learning sign language to communicate with her appointed guardian…
Little by little, the girls seemed to become more open to her new life. She was still adjusting, but it was a start.
Let’s keep this atmosphere going, then, hm?
“Hey, Makina…” Anika said carefully.
“What?”
Anika rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. “So you know I’m not really the most fashion-forward…” she signed slowly.
Makina swiveled her seat around to fully face her guardian. “Damn straight,” she signed back.
Dammit child, you’re not supposed to agree with that so easily—
Anika sucked in a breath and took Makina’s tiny hands in hers.
Makina looked down at their hands, the silver metal around Anika’s left ring finger feeling cold around her skin.
Anika smiled cheekily.
“Could you come with me tomorrow to finalize on my wedding dress?”
✦ Release Date TBA ✦ ‘First’ Track List
#hypnosis mic#hypnosis mic oc#hypmic#hypmic oc#hypnosis mic arb#hypmic arb#akihabara division#pixel syndicate#anika birthday 2024#drama track#teaser#First#Round One: Show Me What You’re Gonna Do
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Into the Maki-verse (Some Makina AUs)
Some of these are based off of convos I had with some buds, while others have been in the back of my mind for a while
Maki “Deus” Gorgon: a classic genderswap.
Makinightcrawler: Fun fact, Nightcrawler is my favorite X-Men. I combined a few elements from my favorite versions of the character into the ultimate chaos gremlin. >:3c (Biased, I love this little one so much she’s such a silly lil bap) Marvel x Mtl OC AU when? X3
Envy Stampingston “The Diva”: In this universe, her mother never reunited with her birth father and dumped her onto him. Instead she was left on the doorstep of a random stranger. This ended up being Senetor Stampingston, she was raised to hate Dethklok and was trained in more classical music. Later learned of her existence and asked to have an audience with her. He knows about the mysterious aura and the power it holds. Under the watchful eye of the tribunal she is held and trained in the harshest conditions to improve her craft. After the death of every tribunal member, she comes into play as the “Medusa Protocol”, Salacia’s last laugh.
Makina Yamata: In this universe, Makina’s mother actually desired to raise her, she still never reunited with her birth father. Makina still has a love for metal music but never perused it, and is still a big fan of Dethklok in her spare time. Instead, she becomes a talk show host for a japanese version of “The Dethklok Minute”. She later gets married and is currently expecting her first child.
#my art#makina ‘medusa’ gorgon#genderswap makina#mtl oc#metalocalypse oc#maki ‘deus’ gorgon#makina yamata#envy stampingston#makinightcrawler#makina AU
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Medusa Ex Makina
Chapter 4: Not an Instructor
Rated: M for Mature
Warnings: None
Author’s Note: Ohoho, now we’re getting into some crazy shenanigans! The first arc is slowly coming to a close but the curtains rise on something bigger going on in the background.
From the morning she woke up on her new high end mattress, to eating the most extravagant breakfast, and to even getting ready in her very own private luxury bathroom, Makina felt like a fairytale princess. A very brutal, fairytale princess. She still couldn’t believe that she went from the world’s shittiest apartment, to living in a ginormous castle that was also home to the world’s most famous metal band in the universe! It was a dream come true for the rookie metal singer, and she didn’t want to wake up. It had been a whole week since she began living in Mordhaus and the first thing she wanted to do today was to check out that state of the art music room she was shown on the house tour. Makina remembered that the music room was close to one of the recording studios. The room itself had a satin red velvet carpet with the signature medieval theming on one of the walls, there was another vampiric looking sofa and sawblade coffee table near the back end of the room. There were various different instruments placed around, from hanging on display to larger instruments that took up more space. This room oozed with creativity that got the gears in her brain turning as inspiration struck. The one thing that caught Makina’s eye was the bright sunburst orange, limited edition, Gibson “Les Paul” piano. A beautiful Baldwin 243, aka a classically shaped upright piano. Pressing a G note, it showed that the piano was perfectly tuned and maintained. Makina giddily sat down and began to play a favorite song of hers. As she played, she began to sing along with her own accompaniment.
She hummed along to the instrumentals and lost herself to the melody and rhythm of the song. She was completely engulfed in her own fantasy of being on a large stage, the thousands of imaginary people watching and raising their phones’ flashlights to the sky like a sea of twinkling stars. A set of tiptoeing footsteps came way towards Makina as she began to sing the next part of the song. Makina’s eyes still shut, imagining the crowd cheering for her. Her piano playing became more intricate and elaborate as the mystery viewer gingerly opened the music room door wider. The onlooker watched on as she played with frantic precision and grace, slowly coming back down to the simple melody she was playing at the start. The figure walked closer to her, ever so slightly leaning against the piano’s body. Gently coming back down, playing the last few notes until she accidentally missed. Makina opened her eyes at the sour note and then was taken aback by the reveal of her secret spectator. “Nots bads fors a pianos players.” Skwisgaar smirked, “It ams nots the sames as playings guitars, but it ams stills verys talenteds-ka.” Makina’s face began to burn up. She didn’t know what to say to the suave swede, it was as if words of gratitude had completely been erased from her vocabulary and instead replaced with stuttering nonsense.
Deep down in the pits of her soul, Makina would have screamed like the rabid fangirl she was. To her this was cloud 9, the highest praise she was ever going to get for a long time. Skwisgaar was always her favorite member of Dethklok; not for his looks, his foreign european charm, or his supposed “raw sex appeal” that made everyone drool over him. No, she admired him for his passionate love for music. The way he talked about building custom guitars, his avid knowledge about song composition in interviews. Makina had always admired him for the skills that he possessed. And now he was complimenting her piano playing! Makina’s expression became dopey as she was completely deaf to the criticism coming from the slim man’s lips; she was far too distracted by his fervor to even care. “Ams yous listenings or watchings fairies dancings?” Makina was shaken back to reality by Skwisgaar’s annoyance. “S-sorry, I didn’t catch that last bit. Can you please repeat that?” Makina asked dumbfoundedly. Skwisgaar exasperatedly sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose, “Oks, Ams goings to puts its in babies termkanologists. Yous gots a vibratos problems whens you do thems melotics singings. Thats ams whens yous makes yours voices sounds like you ams in an earths shakers. You ams puts too much ofs its ams in the last notes ins everys verses. You ams gots a goods voices buts stills lots of needings improverments.” And there it was, Makina finally got her wake up call.
She had a vibrato problem?! She supposed a death growling vocal set could only take her so far. ‘Wait, how come no one told me about my vibrato!?’ “Oh… damn…” those were the only words she managed to say before slouching further into her seat. Makina closed the piano, ashamed to even play anymore and leaned onto her elbows on the hard wooden cover. She was forever grateful that a musical genius like Skwisgaar would catch such an obvious problem. But boy, he placed a real shiner on her ego. “How do you suppose I fix it?” Makina questioned with dullness in her voice. “Simples fix, practice lots. Haves yous evers taken proper vocals lessons?” Makina tried to recall a time in her life where she had any form of formal training, then it dawned on her. “Well, I was in a children’s choir from pre-k to eighth grade. But that’s ‘cause I went to an all girls church school.”
“And there ams the trunks ofs thems problem. Choirs does nots shows your fullest range ofs singings, you ams playing matchings with others harmonies. Plus thems operatics mess with yous as a solo singers. So, you ams gots to retrains yous voices.” Makina’s eyes filled with a sudden burst of pluck, “If that’s what it takes, then I’ll do it!” she exclaimed with a fiery passion. Skwisgaar was taken aback by Makina’s sudden enthusiasm, he had never seen anyone determined after being harshly reprimanded. Makina was truly something else. “Skwisgaar, you should give me more pointers!”
”What, nos! That jobs shoulds bes for someones like maybes Pickle or more importantlys Nathans. Am’st he not yours mentors?” Skwisgaar questioned. “Yeah, but it’s good to get other people’s perspectives. Besides, Nathan keeps pushing back my apprenticeship.” Skwisgaar raised an eyebrow of concern at Makina’s nonchalant attitude. Back when he was mentoring Toki, there was a sense of urgency to advance his training. But since Makina wasn’t a part of Dethklok, he supposed that the circumstances were entirely different. Even still, the guitarist couldn’t stand to see Makina flounder without a sense of direction.
XxxX
Meanwhile in Nathan’s bedroom, the hulking vocalist was hunched over at his desk scribbling away in a notebook. He was discussing with Pickles more ideas for a new record. “What if you added that idea you had when we were in Costa Rica. You know, the one about underbites hooking onto flesh.” Pickles suggested as he laid on the singer’s bed. “Uh… oh the anglerfish thing! We did that already.”
”Oh fuck. Guess you’re really losing your touch.” Nathan placed his pen down and put his hand on his forehead. “Don’t say that, it’s just been a bit more… I don’t know. Is stressed the right word?” He said with frustration. Pickles sat up from the bed and crossed his legs, “Stressed? About what, the record?” Nathan shook his head, he didn’t have the right words to describe what was bothering him. Before he could give his drummer a response, Skwisgaar opened his door with Makina tucked away behind him. The slender musician roughly tugged Makina’s arm, dragging her into Nathan’s room and leading her towards the singer’s desk. Pickles turned to see the younger vocalist with an apprehensive look on their face. “Medusas, tells Nathan’s whats yous needs.” Skwisgaar pulled Makina’s arm a bit more. He gestured her to speak, she sighed. “Mr. Explosion, I… I need you to… I need you to give me proper vocal lessons during my apprenticeship. Um… now would be nice.” Makina sheepishly stated, she looked away with embarrassment. The bruise on her ego made itself known as she fiddled with the zipper on her hoodie, hiding her hands in the sleeves. Nathan looked up at Pickles and pointed at Makina. “This, this is my answer.” Nathan said with a drop of frustration in his tone. Pickles scratched his beard with a wide eyed expression, he somewhat comprehended Nathan’s emotions. The ginger dreaded man hopped off of Nathan’s bed and walked closer towards Makina and Skwisgaar. “You know what kiddo, how about I take over for Nathan as your mentor for today. Is that fine?” Pickles asked warmly, Makina hummed in agreement and Pickles led the raven haired lady out of the room with Skwisgaar following suit. She took a quick glance to see Nathan with a disappointed look on his face.
XxxX
“Alright so let me get this straight, you have a vibrato problem?” Makina silently nodded, “How is that possible? When you covered ‘Hatredcopter’ at Doom-opolis, I couldn’t hear any issues.”
”That’s because the song had more growling and it wasn’t as melotic. I want to be able to sing properly without having to overuse my voice with only death screams.” Pickles leaned into the music room’s couch arm and placed his hand over his mouth. “Whys don’ts yous shows Pickle.” Skwisgaar said as he leaned a bit into the piano, Makina gulped nervously and looked down at the ebony and ivory shine of the keys. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and began playing the same song as before. Taking into consideration that Pickles and Skwisgaar were watching, her concentration began to falter a bit. Missing a few notes here and there and then finally before the end of the second verse, her voice cracked. Makina stopped playing and began to cough up the saliva that was caught in her windpipe. “Geez, You got more than a vibrato issue there.”
”Ja, you soundeds worsers that times.” Skwisgaar cringed. “I don’t know about that I mean, it was more… pitchy.” Pickles said as he walked towards the piano. “Sorry, just nerves. I can try again.” Makina began playing from the second verse onward, her heart felt as if it was twisting in knots as every beat made her chest tighter. Her hands shook as Makina attempted to calm down, and once more she missed another note. “I’m sorry… I just don’t think I can do this.”
”Oh come on Makina, you got this. Here, maybe just try another song?” Makina put her hands back in the sleeves of her hoodie, Skwisgaar noticed this and realized something. “Medusas, take offs yours jackets and toss it overs theres.” Skwisgaar commanded, he pointed back to the sofa. Without hesitation, Makina did as she was told and threw her hoodie to the side. The air in the music room was much colder than she had expected, shivers went down her spine as the crisp air conditioned room touched her skin. “Skwisgaar, how the hell is that going to help?”
“Justs watchs. Ok now, sings.” Makina closed her eyes, and began to play a different song.
As she sang, something strange began to happen. The lighting in the room began to darken, with her concentration deepened Makina’s voice began to echo. Her vocals became louder and louder, the melody of the piano began to swell. But somehow, they could hear more than just a piano playing. It was as if there was a whole orchestra accompanying Makina’s song. And it was here Pickles and Skwisgaar had seen something unreal, a greenish glow began to surround Makina. They could see a faint string of lights begin to form some sort of image, but it was far too blurry for them to comprehend. Skwisgaar’s eyes widened at the display he so inevitably caused. Meanwhile Pickles was far too stunned to utter a word. He just knew something about this felt so wrong and yet, this sight felt so oddly comforting to him. As if right on cue, Nathan walked in to see the familiar display of lights. Makina began to softly sing and the green aura began to die down a bit. But then with a burst of fortissimo, the aura became clear to them. Green floating metal chains began surrounding Makina as if she was in a tangled bird cage.
The music began to die down as she was playing the last few notes of the song. She didn’t even miss one and her singing was once again, in perfect pitch. “What the actual hell was that?!” Pickles shouted. “I don’t know what you’re talking about?” Makina replied. “Oks so it ams nots a fluke, yous cans sings nots likes shits!”
”Forget about that Skwisgaar, did you hear the background music or those chains?! Makina what was that?!” Pickles exasperated, Nathan walked closer and placed a hand on the shorter man’s shoulders to calm him down. He then quietly looked at Makina, who was confused by the whole ordeal. “Makina, care to explain yourself?” Nathan questioned, Makina shook her head. “I honestly have no clue what you're all on about. I’m sorry.” Pickles and Nathan’s faces were painted with disappointment, leaving them with more questions than answers. “Medusas, I thinks yous needs more praticings stills. Don’ts overdos its.” Skwisgaar commented calmly. Nathan looked to the side in shame, he didn’t know how or what to say to his protege. He was just as completely lost as Makina was, she gave him a look of dread.
XxxX
That night, Nathan restlessly stared at the ceiling. He was the one to vouch for Makina to be her mentor, he was the one who took interest in her singing abilities, so why was it that now he couldn’t speak with her about starting her training? ‘Mentor’, a word he was sort of familiar with. While the concept was easy to grasp, the idea of what a mentor was supposed to do was incomprehensible to the death metal vocalist. Nathan remembered the look on Makina’s face earlier that day; an expression of confusion and anxiety. He felt as frozen as the day he first saw her perform. Nathan desperately tried to wrap his head around how to fill that mentor role. Only problem was that he really didn’t have a mentor when he was starting out, Nathan had no one to go off of. The long haired singer shifted his weight, laying down on the side of his left arm. His mind began to wander off as he finally drifted to sleep.
XxxX
Within the dream, Nathan was partially nude with only his underpants deep underwater. He was all too familiar with this setting, but something about it felt off. The whale prophet was nowhere to be seen and the oceanic waters seemed shallower than usual. The only logical explanation would be to swim upward to see what he could find. Upon swimming further up, he could clearly see a shoreline. It was unusual for him to be near the surface of the water, but then he saw her. The whale prophet breached the water and was floating next to him. Nathan swam closer to the whale and gently petted her, she clicked with affection. “It is good to see you daughter, I see you have found the egg.” The prophet whispered. “What do I do?” Nathan asked. The whale whistled and nudged the singer to the shore. “Find her before he does.” She said as a large wave washed Nathan closer to the shore. Landing on the hot warm sand, he could see in the distance Makina walking closer and closer to a cave. He wanted to get up and run to her, but was paralyzed on the beach like a fish flopping about. Nathan tried to call out to her, but his voice was suffocated by hoarse coughing. It was as if Nathan couldn’t breathe and desperately tried to reach out to her. But then…
XxxX
BANG! Nathan awoke to something very loud, large beads of sweat came pouring out of him like a waterfall. He hadn’t had a dream that visceral since the eve of the Metalocalypse. Nathan rolled out of bed to see what disturbed him from his slumber, he opened the door. “Who the fuck did that!?” Nathan shouted down the hall. No answer, then a few seconds later the sound of whimpers. He rubbed his eyes, grabbed a pair of slippers, and a flashlight. ‘Probably just Toki.’ Nathan thought to himself as he followed the sound to a few doors down the hallway. Instead of Toki’s room, the sound came from Makina’s. Nathan sighed and opened her room door to find her life sized coffin shelf toppled on top of her. Makina looked up with tears in her eyes, pouting as to not make it look like she was in pain. “S-sorry for waking you. I… I fell. Clumsy me.” Makina did her best to try and make herself smile but Nathan could see right through her pained expression. The vocalist quickly stood the shelf back up and offered a hand to his raven haired student. Makina grabbed it and pulled herself up, seeing the mess around her. Nathan quickly scanned Makina to see if she was bleeding, thankfully it was only one small thin cut under the bottom of her left jaw. Nathan put his hand on her face to inspect it further, “I’m fine, really.” Makina protested, she sniffled a little bit to hide her obvious crying. “We can get a klokateer to help clean this up.” Nathan suggested, “No no, I got it. Besides, most of this stuff is very valuable.” Makina replied as she wiped away some of her tears, she knelt down and began picking up some of her belongings.
Upon moving some books around, Nathan spotted a very familiar snow globe. He knelt down to examine it further. It was a miniature Mordhaus snowglobe; the same kind of snow globe they sold at concerts, the same kind of snow globe he had given to Toki when he left for Rock-a-Rooni Fantasy Camp, and now it was shattered on the ground with the glass and water scattered on the floor. “When did you get this?” Nathan asked as Makina grabbed some tissues from her personal bathroom. “Ah, uh… well, my friend Gerard got it for me. He wasn’t able to go to the concert that year but he did buy it from the online shop. It’s too bad that I gotta toss it.” Makina said wistfully. She knelt down and began wiping the water off of the brick tile floor. Gingerly she began sweeping the glass into hand and placing it into the wastebasket by her computer desk. Nathan watched on as Makina sniffled again, tears began to flow out from her eyes. “Why were you up?” Nathan attempted to ask softly, he did his best to not push too many questions on the poor vocalist. Makina stopped dead in her tracks. “I… uh, it’s stupid and embarrassing.” The singer looked to the side sheepishly, her tears kept drizzling out from her face. “I was, I was…” Makina looked back up at Nathan and saw how concerned he looked, Makina took a breath and then spoke. “I was trying to open the coffin cabinet but it got stuck. Then everything was about to fall so I went under to try and stop it but, I got noodles for arms, and I just ended up becoming a pillow for the shelf’s fall.”
‘She was right, it was stupid.’ Nathan thought to himself as he tried to keep his composure. “Why did you want to open the coffin?” Makina looked to her right and saw the thing she was looking for. She pointed to it and Nathan picked it up, it was a crimson stained leather bound journal. Curiously, Nathan opened it up. Makina’s face flushed bright pink. Inside there were scribbles about song ideas and little doodles too. He flipped through the pages and saw a note written in red ink.
“If only Dad, Rats, and that rockstar guy could see me now. I’m sure they’d be proud.
Note to self: fix vibrato. Do it for Nathan, make him not regret choosing me!”
Nathan’s heart sank, he realized Makina was pushing herself to the max in order to impress him. But when he read over the first part again, the word ‘Dad’ echoed in his mind. Maybe Makina was homesick. “You know, you could alway call your dad.” Nathan offered, gently handing back the journal to her. Makina limply grabbed it and let it fall to the floor, “My dad’s dead Mr. Explosion, he’s been dead since I was 10.”
”You could drop the formalities Medusa.” Nathan said bluntly, “No offense, I get that you’re wanting to give me respect and all, but it’s kind of fucking weird.” Makina couldn’t hold back anymore, she couldn’t compose herself any longer and began to sob. “I’m sorry I’m not as good or as brutal as you are. I’m trying really hard to live up to your standard and I fucked up again. Please don’t kick me out!” Nathan couldn’t believe what he was hearing, her anxieties were being poured out in front of him just like back at Doom-opolis. This time he knew what he needed to do. Nathan swiftly wrapped his arms around the crying singer, her muffled screams into his shoulder now wet with her salty tears. He rubbed her back, in an attempt to finally give the singer some form of comfort. Makina’s sobs were now nothing but hushed whimpers as Nathan kept holding her. Out of instinct, Makina hugged her mentor back gripping his pajama shirt by the waist. “Makina,” Nathan said in a fatherly tone, “You’re doing a good job. Stop beating yourself up over the small shit. And you will do better, I know it. I will start your training properly tomorrow, I promise. Ok?” Makina gave a small ‘Mmm-hmm.’ And with that Nathan released Makina from the hug. He ruffled her hair a bit before helping her clean a bit of the remaining mess. Makina crawled back into her bed, “Good night Mr- I mean, Nathan.” The singer gave a small smile back and bidded his pupil good night.
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