#also uroboros is a great if

[yuuugay]

simple luciel from @uroboros-if lineart to complete my list of stuff to draw this weekend sabfjkgfgsg

[talonabraxas]

Carl Jung on “Our Uroboros.”

Prof Jung:

That is the hero again. The snake always means resurrection on account of shedding its skin.

According to an African myth, there was no death on earth originally; death came in by mistake.

People could shed their skins every year and so they were always new, rejuvenated, until once an old woman, in a distracted condition and feeble-minded, put on her old skin again and then she died.

That is the way death came into the world.

It is again the idea that human beings were like snakes originally: they did not die.

It was a snake that brought the idea of death to Adam and Eve in Paradise.

The snake was always associated with death, but death out of which new life was born.

But what is that definite symbol? A great deal has been said about it lately.

Miss von Franz: The Ouroboros.

Prof Jung: Exactly. The tail eater, or the two animals that devour each other. In alchemy that is represented in the form of the winged dragon and the wingless dragon that devour each other, one catching the tail of the other and forming a ring.

The simplest form is of course the dragon or the serpent that bites its own tail, so making the ring; the tail is the serpent and the head is as if it belonged to another animal.

The same idea has also been expressed by two animals, the dog and the wolf, devouring each other, or the winged and the wingless lion, or a male and a female lion, always forming a ring, so that one cannot see which is eating which.

They are eating each other; both destroy and both are destroyed.

And that expresses the idea that once the hero eats the serpent and once the serpent eats the hero.

You see, in these Gnostic rituals, or the ritual of Sabazios, man is superior to the serpent in a way-he makes use of the serpent.

That the golden snake descends through the body of the initiate means that the initiate asserts himself against the divine element of the snake: he is then a sort of dragon that

eats or overcomes the other dragon.

So it is one and the same symbolism whether expressed in this form or that.

In primitive myths it is usually the dragon that devours everything.

Even the hero, who by sheer luck and at the last moment succeeds in destroying the monster that has eaten him, cannot overcome the monster by a frontal attack, but he is able to defend his life and destroy the monster from within by the peculiar means of making a fire in its belly.

Fire is the artificial light against nature, as consciousness is the light which man has made against nature.

Nature herself is unconscious and the original man is unconscious; his great achievement against nature is that he becomes conscious.

And that light of consciousness against the unconsciousness of nature is expressed, for instance, by fire.

Against the powers of darkness, the dangers of the night, man can make a fire which enables him to see and to protect himself. Fire is an extraordinary fact really.

I often felt that when we were travelling in the wilds of Africa.

The pitch dark tropical night comes on quite suddenly: it just drops down on the earth, and everything becomes quite black.

And then we made a fire.

That is an amazing thing, the most impressive demonstration of man’s victory over nature; it was the means of the primitive hero against the power of devouring beasts, his attack against the great unconsciousness, when the light of consciousness disappeared again into the original darkness.

Now, in the alchemistic symbol of the two animals that devour each other, that peculiar functional relationship of man’s conscious to the natural darkness is depicted, and it is an astonishing fact that such a symbol developed in a time when the idea of the manifest religion was that the light had definitely overcome the darkness, that evil-or the

devil-had been overcome by the redeemer.

In just that time, this symbol developed, where darkness and light were on the same level practically; they were even represented as functioning together in a sort of natural rhythm.

Like the operation of the Chinese Yin and Yang, the transformation into each other, being conceived and born of each other, the one eating the other, and the one dying becoming the seed of itself in its own opposite.

This symbol of the Taigitu expresses the idea of the essence of life, because it shows the operation of the pairs of opposites.

In the heart of the darkness, the Yin, lies the seed of the light, the Yang; and in the light, the day, the Yang, lies the dark seed of the Yin again.

This is often represented in the East as two fishes in that position, meaning the two sides or the two aspects of man, the conscious and the unconscious man.

Now this preparation should make us understand the situation of the shepherd and the serpent.

What does it mean in the psychology of Nietzsche-Zarathustra that he suddenly discovers that shepherd in deadly embrace with the serpent?

He is apparently swallowing the snake, but the snake is attacking him at the same time, penetrating him.

Why such an image, or symbol, at this place?

You remember in his discussion with the dwarf just before, the dwarf was already the chthonic power. ~Carl Jung, Zarathustra Seminar

[weskie]

Does Albert have a high alcohol tolerance? How does he behave with reader when he gets really drunk?

(it will be great if we have some smut😭😭🙏🙏)

ah, my specialty. i serve alcohol for a living and have to re-learn this stuff for my recertifications every two years lol

i imagine he could tolerate a bit more than the average person pre t-virus, but after is definitely something to consider.

wesker is definitely a guy with muscle even if he's not a brick shithouse like how chris ended up. that said, muscle mass does impact alcohol's effectiveness and so does body weight.

(90kg = 198.4lbs) jesus christ i need him to lay on me like a weighted blanket

plus, amab people tend to have more of the enzyme dehydrogenase which contributes to the rate at which alcohol is broken down, they typically have greater body-water content, and so on, all of which affects alcohol's impact on a person.

these things considered, i'd say pre t-virus wesker could probably knock back a couple drinks (depending on the type. wine vs beer vs liquor) before really feeling the effect, but it's also going to depend on the rate of consumption and if he's perhaps eating anything as well.

i would wager his tolerance grows after mutating. i absolutely think he becomes even more tolerant after uroboros enters his system given he grows significantly larger in the final fight (hot).

smut headcanons below the cut:

drunk wesker can end up a few ways: lamenting his choices, giggly and/or sleepy, or intensely horny.

should you be lucky enough to end up with the last of the three, expect him to be quite unlike himself.

precise touches become fumbling grasps. he's less methodical, simply going along with whatever his alcohol addled mind decides is the best path to sate his need.

depending on how intoxicated he is, he may end up on his back insisting that you ride him. he'll grip the sheets and give weak thrusts into your heat. wesker becomes downright needy.

he'll be much more vocal. every sound that would typically be a suppressed moan or a simple groan is now a full whine and whimper. fuck him right and he'll sing for you.

the best, though, has to be how he'll look at you. there's always some degree of reverence in his eyes when you two have sex, but he'll look at you like there's a halo over your head while you take him apart. there might even be a weak smile or two that tugs at the corner of his mouth before you wipe it off his face with a particularly languid movement of your hips. your name will fall from his lips like breathy prayers until he's curling up to cling to you while he rides wave after wave of pure bliss.

expect plenty of kisses and snuggling in the afterglow. maybe even a lazy bubble bath to get cleaned up. by the time you two are dry and back in bed, he'll have come down just enough to tug you into his arms as if to take back the reins he'd so happily handed you earlier.

[magneticallyyours]

...wesker hcs for a reader who's very into microbiology and bacteriology? :D maybe while Wesker is more virology and bioweaponry practical production, they're more extremophile production and exploring the siberian permafrost for viable specimens? (it'd be fun if they weren't aware of what their research was truly being used on)

Sorry it took so long, I've been in a horrible writer's block. I tried to get this as accurate to the ask as possible, enjoy!

Albert Wesker x Scientist!Reader headcanons (GN)

SUMMARY: Headcanons for Wesker working with/dating a reader who's a scientist; researching microbiology, bacteriology and the like.

TAGS: Headcanons, mildly dark

CW: Possessive Wesker, Unhealthy relationships (To nobody's surprise.)

WORD COUNT: 448

★★★★★★★★★

Okay, now this is a tricky one. With a reader that’s into microbiology, bacteriology, or any other similar field, Wesker would probably find you worth keeping around.

He’s definitely attracted to intelligence more than anything. Man's a sapiosexual--

100% intends to experiment on you to see if you can withstand Uroboros.

Most likely keeps you in the dark of what he’s using all this research for. Would cook up a believable story to keep you blindfolded.

If you find out and are unwilling to help him in his research, too bad, because he’s keeping you anyway.

Of course, if you’re all for it, even better for him and you. Less of a hassle.

Anyhow, he wouldn’t let that happen. He’d keep everything under wraps. Platonic or otherwise. Borderline possessive in the sense that he’d pay you so well and allow you to access such a broad range of landscapes/resources that you wouldn’t otherwise, just to keep you working with him and only him.

On the contrary, if you are great in your respective field, expect clashes with his ego. 

Whatever specimens you found would help him with his bioweaponry, which he likes.

 

He could use them to further strengthen his own projects.

Though, he’d be to the point, and wouldn’t beat around the bush. He would make you wonder if he even had hobbies outside of his work.

He wouldn’t make small talk except for when he needs to string you along. Just to keep you curious and wanting more.

If you two were dating, he’d talk more. Otherwise, it’d be like he is with Birkin. Not an overly friendly situation. Just associates.

He would also find your research on extremophiles intriguing, because that’s more specimens for his bioweaponry and viral research to interact with.

Your research, focused on microorganisms that thrive in environments such as the Siberian permafrost, fascinates him because it touches on the limits of biological survival; Something he finds relevant to his own work with his plan of global saturation with the Uroboros.

He never acknowledges the darker side of Umbrella’s projects directly to you, keeping everything focused on "pure" science, but there’s always a slight sense that he’s hiding something. He enjoys watching you work with the specimens, often making the occasional calculated comment about their potential, though it’s always vague enough to avoid giving anything away.

Relationship-wise, definitely HEAVY on the slow-burn. He wouldn’t rush anything. You’d slowly start noticing the tension in his eyes, even behind those black lenses of his. He’d start being around more. 

Rest assured that it’d be far from healthy– But that’s the fun with Wesker, I suppose. 

If Uroboros worked on you, more reason for him to find you worth keeping. Do expect him to keep you under wraps. He can’t have anyone find out about his prized scientist.

★★★★★★★★★

[argumentl]

My Dir en grey year in 2024!

I'm so very grateful😭🥰

January

✨Got new single 19990120

✨Attended 01/20 Anniversary live at Gorilla Hall, Osaka.

✨Visited Kaoru's panel display in Osaka.

✨Got 音楽と人 with that amazing Kaoru photoshoot.

February

✨Sent Kaoru a birthday message via TFOE, which was read out to him live on air! He said thank you 😍

✨Pined for, but did not attend Nagano Tora no ana 😭

March

✨Got questions published and answered in Haiiro no ginka.

✨Won the English Dir twitter campaign.

✨Got PHY Vol.25.

✨Asked Kaoru to have a pint in the UK for me. He said he would🍺

April

✨Had a question read out live on TFOE and got a laugh out of Kaoru, also live 🥰

✨Got the new single TDIM.

✨Met and spoke to Shinya at the Devil In Me sign event in Kyoto.

May

✨Attended PSYCHONNECT at the Rohm Theatre in Kyoto.

✨Recieved the prize from the twitter campaign (It was the rare postcard and sticker set from the EU tour).

✨Bought myself the Burrn Japan Dir special edition for Mother's day 😅

✨Got my Tour stamp book in the mail.

✨Got a hand-made badge as a present from Kaoru in the mail 💜😭😭😭💜 (via TTD)

June

✨Attended PSYCHONNECT at the Orix Theatre in Osaka.

August

✨Met a great friend (Dani) when I went back to the UK for 3 weeks in Summer, and she gave me two awesome Kaoru dolls which she made herself 😍

✨Got the Phalaris DVD boxset.

September

✨Got the aknot movie tickets in the mail

✨Got aknot renewal gift.

✨Saw the WTD movie (A great friend sent me the pamphlet in the mail from Tokyo, since it was sold out in Kyoto).

✨Kaoru wished me a happy birthday directly 🥴💜

October

✨Saw the Uroboros movie

✨Attended the movie stage greeting in Kyoto, front row seat.

November

✨Attended Who Is This Hell For in Kyoto, and was right up front. This was special for me, since I don't do VIP. It was a VIP experience for ¥9000 😂 (Im not fussed about the merch)

✨Made lots of new Dir toriko friends.

December

✨Attended Who Is This Hell For In Osaka, and saw Marie Kaoru 🗡️🩸

✨And so many questions answerer by Kaoru on TTD throughout the year, I can't count them. TTD is happiness.

Hoping for a Dir filled 2025!

[uroboros-if]

Small Update

Hello, just checking in again. 🩷

I'm happy to announce that I've successfully completed NaNoWriMo for my side project, which I'm super happy about. It really helped improved my confidence as a writer in proving that I am capable of staying consistent and productive, in spite of my less than typical neurology battling against me!

It has inspired me to set a goal of writing to contribute towards a goal. Maybe 10-25k would be a good start monthly instead of the hectic 50k, but I think it'll be a great relaxed pace for writing the IF!

On a very side note, it's also my birthday! 🎂

December will be extremely hectic as my work gets intense for the holiday season, and I will also be traveling continents to visit family. I hope to squeeze in some time to write, though. Again, maybe I'll set a goal so that I'll feel compelled to write even when I'm busy! But hopefully when work dies down, I can get some peace and go back to pulling all-nighters purely for entertainment.

Thank you so much for being incredibly patient about the development of Uroboros. I'm so excited to get back into it, and I'm glad I took a break because I'm massively inspired and ecstatic to return to it!!

- Misty

[2nd-toughest-in-the-infants]

Uroboros (WIP) on itch.io Review

@uroboros-if

Characters: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Plot: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Choice: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Writing: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Replayability: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Overall: 3.8/5

Pros: Angst 😁, well-written, smooth interface, lovely supporting characters

Cons: short demo, not the fastest updating WIP, so far not much romance

**SLIGHT SPOILERS**

Notes:

So, for me this was a great one to revisit for a first review on this blog because it was actually one of the first WIPs I played on Itch.io and boy did it set the standard. It’s also one I’ve revisited a few times and is deefinitely on my list of most anticipated WIPs.

As I understand it, you are born into a kind of mount olympus-esque realm and play as the deity of eternity which, in a rather cruel twist of fate, makes you essentially powerless as of course, nothing lasts forever. This is a rather nice spin on the typical gods/mythology IF MC and also gives us the opportunity to play a super angsty MC (which I love). Also a big fan of the in depth character customisation you can do.

There are also a handful of (gender selectable) ROs which so far have great potential and can have some really interesting interactions with MC BUT unfortunately the demo is still pretty short so romance with the RO’s is still quite limited. I have to say though, that the lack of romance (so far) hasn’t really bothered me as I am in love with MC’s parents and they way they act towards them is just so wholesome and such a refreshing departure from the usual tragic home life trope and also provides a really nice respite from the (at times cruel) way MC’s world treats them because of their situation.

Another thing I’d like to add, is that in general, it’s just a really beautiful game, which I know seems odd to write about a text based game but I think that the attention to detail in the UI along with the high quality writing really makes for an immersive experience and that in and of itself makes the game worth checking out.

[slapthebass]

EUROPE TOUR24 FROM DEPRESSION TO [mode of Withering to death & UROBOROS] - Live reports (Warsaw + Paris)

Warsaw - Progresja 19/03/24 (mode of WTD)

Travelled to Poland on the 16th, we had mixed weather during the week-end but it was luckily quite sunny (albeit cold-ish) while we queued outside the venue! My friend and I had Priority upgrades for this show so we arrived around 14:30 & waited right next to the VIP queue. Venue logistics for the queue(s) were a bit fuzzy at first* but we got our laminated passes around 16:00 (just after the VIPs got theirs + goodies) then waited for a bit after 18:00 when the VIPs entered the building. Diru/prod staff keeps a printed list of VIP/priority passes holders and distributes passes and goodies by checking the names.

*Fans were better organised with sharpies and unofficial waiting numbers :)

We went in and waited (again :) ) in the pit for 1h, behind the caution tape separating the VIP from the rest of the room. This allowed us to get some merch at the stand, then at 19:00 the security guards lifted the caution tape and we managed to get nice spots at the 2nd & 3rd rows in front of Die's mic. We waited again for another hour while the general attendance ticket holders entered the venue, then the show started around 20:20 (a bit late because of a technical issue with Die's guitar apparently, that had all their technicians running around looking stressed out), without any intro if I remember correctly, maybe because of said technical issue (but there were Diru remixes being played through the speakers during the whole time we waited inside).

I was unfortunately right next to an annoying (& bulky) man who kept pushing me & other fans around the whole time (I fought for my life the whole set and almost fell when the members entered the stage), but otherwise the show was very nice, it was great seeing them live for the first time even though it felt quite unreal! WTD is not my favourite album but it was still amazing to hear the songs live and the audience was really into it <3 I could see Die very clearly, Toshiya also came around a few times, as well as Kaoru in the end, but my view of Kyo and Shinya was a bit blocked. Die wore his usual tights with a black sleeveless top and red jacket; Shinya had a flowy white shirt as always; Kyo sported a simple black t-shirt & track pants (?) with a nice white make-up on the top half of his face; Toshiya wore the black siren dress (I almost died seeing it with my own two eyes) with thigh-high boots (not the same pair as in the 2024 Yurameki PV though, they had bulky heels instead of stilettos heels for practical reasons obviously :D), and Kaoru wore a black suit with a white shirt.

They all looked a bit jetlagged, having landed in Poland only the day before the 1st concert, and Die was breathing quite heavily during Akuro no oka in the end! The show ended quite abruptly with Akuro no oka, I was expecting Rasetsukoku as they tend to end most concerts with it but they all left the stage (Kaoru, Die and Toshiya being of course the last to leave after throwing picks everywhere).

On a personal note, I was overjoyed the finally see the brown ESP bass which is heavily featured on WTD songs <3

The setlist: https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/dir-en-grey/2024/progresja-warsaw-poland-6baa32c2.html

The show ended around 22:00, it took a while for everyone to leave the venue!

Warsaw - Progresja 20/03/24 (mode of UROBOROS)

We had VIP upgrades this time & arrived around the same time as the day before, to wait with other fans under a nice sun :) Logistics were better than for the 1st show, with barriers already in place and 3 visible queues (VIP/Priority at the front + GA at the back of the 1st two lines). We heard reports & anecdotes from the previous day's VIP meet & greet and were 'warned' that Kyo had a paper bag on his head, so that saved us some awkwardness later :').

Staff also came while we were waiting, to check the names/tickets and distribute laminated passes & VIP goodies. We got a nice cotton bag, a fan, and an enveloppe to protect the postcards distributed by the group members. This time we got both a laminated pass and a wrist bracelet, to avoid cheating with passes from the day before. Staff also warned us no to take pictures/touch them during the M&G, then we entered the venue around 18:00 as expected. People queued in the stairs then before the doors of the main room upstairs (some went directly to the merch stand while we waited here), then the doors opened and we went inside one by one in a continued file, to meet the members and get the postcards. It was all very quick, I was a bit confused because they stayed in a quite dark area and I almost didn't recognize Kaoru who was first in line, oops. We didn't really had time to speak with them so I just took the signed postcards while thanking each of them; after Kaoru was Die with big sunglasses, Kyo with a paper bag on his head, Shinya with a mask on and Toshiya with sunglasses (he was the most smiley of them all and looked really nice and patient!). They were not yet wearing their stage outfits/makeup (except maybe for Kyo under the bag I guess?), and there was a gift box right next to the table to leave stuff for them.

Then we rushed to the stage and got 1st/2nd row spots, right between Kyo's platform on the left and Die's mic on the right! We waited again for two hours while speaking with nice fans from Romania who were right next to and behind us (hi if you're reading that!).

The show started on time with a nice intro video; it started with Vinushka, which is one of my favourite songs so I was really ecstatic to hear it live **. Kyo had a nice skull make-up which was really impressive with the visuals displayed on the screen! Then everything went blurry & heavy really fast haha, Uroboros really has to be experienced live at least once! HYDRA -666- & Reiketsu Nariseba in particular were especially impressive, they put them at the end of the main set to try and kill us I think :') (I was lucky enough to record the Toshiya-Die interaction during Reiketsu!). One calmer moment was Inconvenient Ideal, during which both Kaoru & Die went AWOL for a while (Kyo seemed to be looking for them at the beginning).

Not that the encore was softer, it started deceivingly 'calmly' with Dozing Green, then it was chaos again with Stuck Man, T.D.F.F. and Eddie back to back. Akuro no oka was again the last song of the encore/show, but they all looked less tired than the day before even though the show was more intense!

The audience was enthusiastic once again and we got pushed a lot from behind, but it was an overall great show.

Kyo left the stage first as usual after saying bye-bye, then Shinya briefly went on the platform to throw his drumsticks before leaving. Kaoru, Die and Toshiya stayed for a bit, throwing picks and water, and I managed to get one of Toshiya's bass picks!

The setlist: https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/dir-en-grey/2024/progresja-warsaw-poland-6baa32c2.html

We took again a while to leave the venue, and headed to the merch stand to get more stuff (WTD/Uroboros lucky charms, stickers and postcards with cute drawings of the band members as monsters enjoying their trip to Europe <3).

Paris - Bataclan 22/03/24 (mode of WTD)

After a day of respite to travel back home, we headed to the Bataclan concert hall early in the afternoon to queue. I was a bit nervous as I'd never been to this venue before despite living in Paris, and its name was of course associated with dark memories from the 2015 terror attacks, but in the end the excitement to see Diru live again was greater than my anxiety :)

We had Priority upgrades and waited in the queue that was already in place; everything seemed quite well organised at first with three delimited lines but it ended a bit messy in the end with the VIPs moving to another line on the other side of the sidewalk, Priority upgrades members not knowing where to wait, etc. Luckily the weather was nice and sunny, and we waited more or less patiently until staff came with the laminated passes around 16:00. The VIPs got inside the venue a bit before 18:00, then the Priority upgrades; we waited again behind a caution tape inside the concert hall, which was then lifted at 19:00 and we managed to grab nice spots on the left side of the stage this time, I was at the barrier (1st row) right before Kaoru's mic and with an amazing view of Toshiya & Kyo!

There was a support artist this time, a French DJ who did his best to entertain us but I must admit we weren't really into it as we were waiting for the main set to begin. It wasn't that bad but I'd have preferred to wait with the Diru remixes like in Warsaw!

Unlike the 1st day in Warsaw, we had the intro music + video just before the band entered the stage (Die in red&white, Shinya in white, Kyo in black with a touch of eye-liner, Toshiya in the white dress and Kaoru in a steampunk-ish suit and vest **). Mode of WTD was great in Warsaw but it was wild in Paris, the audience sang everything loudly, cheered & clapped and the band seemed to really appreciate the vibe :)

It was the first time I really saw Kaoru so close (except for a few appearances on the right side of the stage in Warsaw) and it was amazing to see him play and make faces at the crowd & cameras, he really knows how to motivate people by (lovingly) yelling at them \o/

There was a funny moment during Akuro no oka in the end, when Toshiya almost began his bass solo too early with a single "klonk" and looked sheepish for a second (Kaoru was like "erm, i'm not finished yet mate" while still playing the guitar :D). I recorded the whole song but my phone mysteriously freezed right at this point so we concluded that Toshiya is actually a telepath and erased it with his preternatural powers :').

A very nice evening overall, it was the perfect combination of great songs & performances from the band + overjoyed participation from the audience! And the crowd was both enthusiastic and very chill pushing-wise on our end, so that was a nice respite from the Warsaw shows physically speaking :)

The setlist: https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/dir-en-grey/2024/le-bataclan-paris-france-3aa096f.html

Paris - Bataclan 23/03/24 (mode of UROBOROS)

THE BEST CONCERT EVER

(Sorry, this needed to be said first).

4th (and last :'( ) show of the tour for us, so we hoped it would be great and we were not disappointed!

The queue outside was incredibly chaotic: despite being more or less organised the day before, it was a mess this time and nobody really knew where to wait. In addition, the weather was atrocious and we got rain showers, a chilly wind *and* a freezing hailstorm during the afternoon, everybody ended up soaked with chattering teeth for the remainder of the waiting time... But the VIPs finally went inside around 18:00, then us (Priority upgrades again) around 20 mn later.

After the caution tape was lifted, we went to the right side of the stage and had a nice spot in front of Die's mic once again! Then the GA ticket holders went in and the room quickly got quite warm, before the support act even started. It was the same DJ as the previous evening but the audience was a bit more into it this time.

The band entered the stage around 20:25 like the other days, with intro song + video again. There was a technical issue with the projected images on the screen during at least 20 mn, the visuals for Vinushka were really blurry and we also saw a computer error message during the following songs, but it got fixed at some point and didn't stop us from enjoying the show: from Vinushka to Bugaboo, everything was already wild but the band + crowd went really insane after that until near the end of the encore: Doukoku to Sarinu, HYDRA -666-, Gaika, Reiketsu Nariseba... the end of the main set was even wilder than the first time, they left us no time to breathe and we were all screaming, headbanging and jumping everywhere. Kyo looked really satisfied and apparently parted the crowd in two at some point (this is from another live report i read), the audience went wild and the security staff had to douse us with water to avoid more faintings (they had to evacuate at least three people from the pit from what i saw). I almost didn't take pictures this time, except for a few during the calmer songs and interludes because i just couldn't move for anything else than jumping up and down :')

We were already almost dead on our feet at the end of the main set, and the encore finished us, it was as wild as the main set but we managed to find some unexpected resources within us to scream and jump some more! Akuro no oka was a welcome and moving respite at the end (no bass solo mishap this time, a certain bassist was focusing haha), I personally wouldn't have survived another song like the rest and had to sit down after the show ended to re-learn how to breathe properly :') Luckily the venue staff took pity on us and put the AC on during the encore, so we barely managed not to pass out from heat exhaustion...

Then another great time at the end when the band members stayed on the stage: Kyo left quickly as usual but Shinya stayed a second longer than the other nights and threw not only his drumsticks but also a drumskin (??) like a frisbee in the crowd, then the usual suspects Kaoru, Toshiya and Die loitered for a while, throwing picks and smiling at the crowd <3 They looked like they didn't want to leave and neither did we!

The setlist: https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/dir-en-grey/2024/le-bataclan-paris-france-1baa7d90.html

Gear

Don't think you can get out from a gear overview! For both albums/shows combined, we got:

Kaoru:

ESP D-KV 7str [Nothing]

ESP D-KV custom (blue JZH)

ESP D-KV 薰 custom (greenish/yellowish DKV - tag to be updated)

Die:

ESP D-DR 7str (lava D-DR)

ESP D-DR (red ESP)

ESP D-DR-300 (red mesh)

Morris S-custom D (acoustic black)

Toshiya:

ESP D-TR [RU-DRIVE Arch] (the brown one)

ESP D-TT [TRICK STAR] 00 (the black one)

ESP D-TT [TRICK STAR] 04 (striped blue)

Shinya:

Remo + Signia drumkit (it seems to be his default drumkit for abroad tours, maybe not to damage his usual Pearl one ?)

Sabian cymbals (probably as I didn't manage to take clear pictures of the brand)

Aaand that's it, thanks for reading all that! :)

[mementoboni]

About the lyrics of VINUSHKA and UROBOROS

Kyo: (...) What's in the lyrics is also not the hatred or loathing that was mentioned earlier, but the open world seen from the bottom. Even the same sky, I think it looks and feels different when you look at it from the plain, and from low down at the bottom. What Kyo of DIR EN GREY wants to do is to look at the sky from the bottom. And a sense of aftertaste.

Kyo: However, there are no open words in the lyrics, just full of despair and anger, but when I finish listening to it, strangely, I don't feel a sense of despair. Although it wasn't written directly in words, it left an impression of great positivity and strength.

source: SPECIAL INTERVIEW-UROBOROS by PURE VOICE MAN (GIGS magazine [ December 2008 ] )

This is one of my favorite interviews of Kyo :)

[dirubtrentfree]

Seen a lot of 2024 wrapped stuff, but I felt like writing a little.

What I bought in 2024:

Okay, to be exact, what I've bought since August. 😄 Because that's when I decided to start over my physical media collection. (I lost all my old CD's / concert DVD's. 😿) I'm first focusing on stuff I can buy new, before I need to start relying on second-hand market.

About DEG

Coming back to diru properly this year has been a wonderful experience. DIR EN GREY was the band I listened to the most in my teenage years and early adulthood. Then I drifted away from them. Life got busy. Also, back then I was always afraid of them disbanding. I liked them so much, and couldn't bear the idea, so I created emotional distance. Nothing came to claim their place in my heart while I was away.

I started listening to Phalaris and DAMN. When Uroboros came out it was so good I cried. Phalaris mesmerized me much the same. From there I started to do catching up!

≡Σ((( つ•̀ω•́)つ

Last summer I started to search what tumblr has to offer, and seeing photos of them after a long break was just... ☺️ such a warm feeling. Also, the vibe I get from the band is somehow more positive. They are on social media! O_O It's quite different from the old days and hearing them mostly on interviews, sounding somewhat uncomfortable.

About B-T

2024 has been spent also falling deeper and deeper in love with BUCK-TICK. I started by just listening to their music. Watching lives/PV's/interviews came later, in 2024. I've had so much fun! 😹 But it also intensified the grief I felt about missing out all these years. Last summer I was cycling long distances through countryside, and happened to find an abandoned playground by a pond. With no-one around, I ended up spending way too long on a merry-go-round while listening to 80's BUCK-TICK. Maybe it was the abandoned retro milieu, but for some reason it just hit me really hard that I was really alone with my B-T enthusiasm. After that I started to check out tumblr, and created this blog in October. Now it's no longer a lonely fan experience. 😊 Just seeing other people loving the same music and caring about the band, it warms my heart. ❤

On some level I had assumed that the enthusiasm I once felt for music/bands was at least partially because of youth. I thought it might be different now, but no. 😄 It feels exactly the same. I'm just more chill, and in terms with the fact that these bands cannot outlive me. I must enjoy them NOW. 👍

About tumblr; I don't use any other social media, so finding shared stuff here is great! If you wrote about your thoughts or experiences as fan - THANK YOU, I enjoy text posts very much! 😊 And people who translate interviews and stuff – you're heroes! Thank you so much!

(ﾉ´ヮ´)ﾉ*: ･ﾟ

~Happy New Year~

[lucascecil]

Doctor Who - Eighth Doctor Guide

This incarnation first appeared in the 1996 movie ‘Doctor Who’ in which was, at the time, an attempt to bring the show back while trying to bring in American viewers. It was a total failure and the show would only come back on TV in 2005 with the new series. However, these were exciting news to the expanded universe: the Eighth Doctor opened a door to explore new and imaginative ideas in this second half of the wilderness years (as we call the show hiatus from 1989 to 2005).

Virgin Books would lose their license to Doctor Who and therefore their publication of the Seventh Doctor books, at the time the only continuation to the show we had, stopped. Instead, the Eighth Doctor Adventures were released, a book series focusing on the adventures of the Eighth Doctor with new, original companions. And, five years later, Paul McGann would once again step into the role in Big Finish.

These guides include only tv, books and audio stories, but this time only I will make an exception: we’ll include the Doctor Who Magazine Comics too. You totally should give these comics a chance for other Doctors too, but Eight is getting special treatment because the Magazine did its own thing with him just as the other media. It has four well defined narrative arcs/”seasons” and introduces their own original companion. So let’s start!

INTO THE COMICS

‘Season one’ – Adventures with Izzy

[ ] Endgame

[ ] The Keep

[ ] A Life of Matter and Death

[ ] Fire and Brimstone

[ ] By Hook or by Crook

[ ] Tooth and Claw

[ ] The Final Chapter

[ ] Wormwood

[ ] Happy Deathday

This season picks up a plot point from the Seventh Doctor DWM’s comics regarding a recurring villain, but you’ll understand it fine enough even if haven’t read what came before. This is collected as The Eighth Doctor Comics Strips volume 01, as that edition has a summary of what you need to know. Otherwise, it’s a perfect jumping point. The Doctor meets Izzy Sinclair, a young girl from Stockbridge that helps him fight the Toymaker when the elder god takes control of the town, quickstating a long road of self-discovery for Izzy.

‘Season two’ – Continued adventures with Izzy, plus Kroton

[ ] The Fallen

[ ] Unnatural Born Killers

[ ] The Road to Hell

[ ] TV Action!

[ ] The Company of Thieves

[ ] The Glorious Dead

[ ] The Autonomy Bug

This season is collected as The Eighth Doctor Comics Strips volume 02 and introduces a temporary companion I love: Kroton, the good Cybermen. It also has one of the best Master stories ever. It also features the only other proper Grace story ever since I think they just ignored the copyright issue and used her anyway.

‘Season three’ – Continued adventures with Izzy

[ ] Ophidius

[ ] Beautiful Freak

[ ] The Way of All Flesh

[ ] Children of the Revolution

[ ] Me and My Shadow

[ ] Uroboros

[ ] Oblivion

This season is collected as the Eighth Doctor Comics Strips volume 03. This season finishes Izzy’s story while also introducing the next companion, Destrii. It also has one of my favorite Daleks stories.

‘Season four’ – Solo adventures, then joined by Destrii

[ ] Where Nobody Know Your Name

[ ] The Nightmare Game

[ ] The Power of Thoueris!

[ ] The Curious Tale of Spring-Heeled Jack

[ ] The Land of Happy Endings

[ ] Bad Blood

[ ] Sins of the Father

[ ] The Flood

This season is collected as the Eighth Doctor Comics Strips volume 04. For the most part it shows the Doctor rebounding from his goodbye to Izzy (platonically, I see their relationship as paternal), kinda trying to find a new companion (he is pathetic in The Nightmare Game) and dealing with solitude. Then the story picks up when he is reunited with Destrii and they begin travelling together. It has a great Cybermen story.

INTO THE BOOKS

‘Season 01’ – Adventures with Sam

[ ] The Eight Doctors

[ ] Vampire Science

[ ] The Bodysnatchers

[ ] Genocide

[ ] War of the Daleks

[ ] Alien Bodies

The Eight Doctors is a terrible first book, just skip it and start with Vampire Science – which is much better. There is a certain character there who was supposed to be Grace but then they couldn’t use her because of copyright and I do think knowing that gives an interesting perspective to the book. Alien Bodies (great, too) starts a story arc about the War in Heaven. Or, simply put, a much more engaging time war done in the books years before the TV series ever thought about it.

‘Season 02’ – Continued adventures with Sam

[ ] Kursaal

[ ] Option Lock

[ ] Longest Day

[ ] Legacy of the Daleks

[ ] Dreamstone Moon

[ ] Seeing I

‘Season 03’ – Continued adventures with Sam

[ ] Placebo Effect

[ ] Vanderdeken’s Children

[ ] The Scarlet Empress

[ ] The Janus Conjuction

[ ] Beltempest

[ ] The Face-Eater

‘Season 04’ – Adventures with Sam and Fitz

[ ] The Taint

[ ] Demontage

[ ] Revolution Man

[ ] Dominion

[ ] Unnatural History

[ ] Autumn Mist

[ ] Interference – Book One: Shock Tactic

[ ] Interference – Book Two: The Hour of the Geek

‘Season 04’ – Adventures with Fitz and Compassion

[ ] The Blue Angel

[ ] The Taking of Planet 5

[ ] Frontier Worlds

[ ] Parallel 59

[ ] The Shadows of Avalon

[ ] The Fall of Yquatine

[ ] Coldheart

[ ] The Space Age

[ ] The Banquo Legacy

[ ] The Ancestor Cell

‘Season 05’ – Exiled on Earth

[ ] The Burning

[ ] Casualties of War

[ ] The Turing Test

[ ] Endgame

[ ] Father Time

[ ] Escape Velocity

Following the ending of The Ancestor Cell, there is this smaller story arc with the Doctor stuck on Earth for plot reasons I will not elaborate because I don’t want spoil it too much.

‘Season 06’ – Adventures with Fitz and Anji

[ ] EarthWorld

[ ] Fear Itself

[ ] Vanishing Point

[ ] Eater of Wasps

[ ] The Year of Intelligent Tigers

[ ] Dark Progeny

[ ]  The City of the Dead

[ ] Griim Reality

[ ] The Adventuress of Henrietta Street

‘Season 07’ – Continued adventures with Fitz and Anji

[ ] Mad Dogs and Englishmen

[ ] Hope

[ ] Anachrophobia

[ ] Trading Futures

[ ] The Book of the Still

[ ] The Crooked World

[ ] History 101

[ ] Camera Obscura

[ ] Time Zero

‘Season 08’ – Continued adventures with Fitz and Anji, joined by Trix

[ ] The Infinity Race

[ ] The Domino Effect

[ ] Reckless Engineering

[ ] The Last Resort

[ ] Timeless

[ ] Emotional Chemistry

[ ] Sometime Never…

‘Season 09’ – Adventures with Fitz and Trix

[ ] Halflife

[ ] The Tomorrow Windows

[ ] The Sleep of Reason

[ ] The Deadstone Memorial

[ ] To the Slaughter

[ ] The Gallifrey Chronicles

INTO THE AUDIOS – THE MAIN RANGE ERA

‘Season 01’ – Adventures with Charley

[ ] Storm Warning

[ ] The Sword of Orion

[ ] The Stones of Venice

[ ] Minuet in Hell

[ ] Solitaire

[ ] If I Should Die Before I Wake

The Eighth Doctor joined Big Finish a little bit after Doctors Five to Seven, but it was still quite early when their main releases were ‘just’ a monthly two-hour long story in the style of the classic series. We call this range of releases the Main Range. As the current Doctor at that point, having McGann back in the role was obviously a novelty and he was instantly joined by India Fisher as Charlotte Pollard, Edwardian adventurer.

Solitaire and If I Should Die Before I Wake are not main range releases but I do think they fit tonally well enough with theses stories and therefore I don’t think there is any problem listening to them here.

‘Season 02’ – Continued adventures with Charley

[ ] Invaders from Mars

[ ] The Chimes of Midnight

[ ] Seasons of Fear

[ ] Embrace the Darkness

[ ] The Time of the Daleks

[ ] Neverland

[ ] Zagreus

This finish the story arc of Charley’s life as was set up in Storm Warning. It all culminates in Zagreus, which is also a 40 years anniversary story of the series. Romana and Leela, former companions of the Fourth Doctor, reappear at the end of this arc and their interaction starts a spin-off just about them in Gallifrey – a series also called Gallifrey. I will not elaborate on it in this post, but let it be noted it happens.

‘Season 03’ – Adventures with Charley and C’rizz

[ ] Scherzo

[ ] The Creed of the Kromon

[ ] The Natural History of Fear

[ ] The Twilight Kingdom

[ ] Faith Stealer

[ ] The Last

[ ] Caerdroia

[ ] The Next Life

Also known as the Divergent Universe arc. It continues at the point Zagreus ended, with Doctor exploring a brand new universe – but there is something disturbingly wrong there. He and Charley are joined by a new companion from this universe, C’rizz.

‘Season 04’ – Adventures with Charley and C’rizz

[ ] Terror Firma

[ ] Scaredy Cat

[ ] Other Lives

[ ] Time Works

[ ] Something Inside

[ ] Memo Lane

[ ] Absolution

[ ] The Girl Who Never Was

The end of this era of Eighth Doctor audios. A goodbye to C’rizz, but a see you soon for Charley. There is a huge cliffhanger at The Girl Who Never Was that is continued on later releases – look at ‘beyond the Eighth Doctor’ if you wanna know about that, but ONLY if you are fine with being SPOILED. Again: THERE ARE SPOILERS THERE.

More from Charley and Eight

‘Season 01’ – The Further Adventures of Charlotte Pollard

[ ] The Mummy Speaks

[ ] Eclipse

[ ] The Slaying of the Writhing Mass

[ ] Heart of Orion

Specifically, this was one single released of four one-hour long stories that are set during the first story arc of Charley in the Main Range. So, certainly before Neverland but you could argue about the when specifically. I like to put it between Minuet in Hell and Invaders from Mars. But why didn’t I put it there, then? To be honest, it’s because I don’t think they fit tonally with the Main Range adventures and therefore it will break immersion if listened then. They are much, much closer to the new who style and just don’t capture the era, for me. So, listen to them as an extra to Charley story, when you miss her.

‘Season 02’ – Adventures with Charley and Audacity

[ ] The Devouring

[ ] The Great Cyber-War

[ ] Twenty-Four Doors in December

[ ] The Empty Man

[ ] Winter of the Demon

2023 saw the Doctor being joined by a new companion, lady Audacity. The first release, which included the first stories in this season, had a cliffhanger that placed them as the Doctor was still travelling with Charley, in their earlier days. So this is also a season that happens during the first story arc on the Main Range, but I wouldn’t place it there because not only it’s still happening, being published, but also because it’s better if you listen to it as its own thing already having the knowledge of how Charley’s story originally developed.

Beyond the Eighth Doctor

‘Season 01’ – Adventures with Charley

[ ] The Condemned

[ ] The Doomwood Curse

[ ] Brotherhood of the Daleks

[ ] Return of the Krotons

[ ] The Raincloud Man

[ ] Patient Zero

[ ] Paper Cuts

[ ] Blue Forgotten Planet

I already WARNED you of the SPOILERS. So, at the end of The Girl Who Never Was, the Eighth Doctor and Charley are separated. He thinks she chose of leave him, and she thinks that he is dead. She is isolated in a terrible situation and sends a distress signal, hoping that someone will rescue her. A TARDIS arrives and she thinks Eight is alive and came for her, but when she enters, she finds an unexpected face – the Sixth Doctor. And they would have a handful of adventures together, as listed here.

‘Season 02’

[ ] The Lamentation Cipher

[ ] The Shadow at the Edge of the World

[ ] The Fall of the House of Pollard

[ ] The Viryan Solution

But Charley story doesn’t end with Six. They do eventually part ways, as told in Blue Forgotten Planet, but Charley got her own spin-off that continues from there. There have been two seasons since then, but the story is unfinished: there is a third series that should be released at some point to wrap the story but we haven’t gotten any news from it for a long, long time.

‘Season 03’

[ ] Embankment Station

[ ] Ruffling

[ ] Seed of Chaos

[ ] The Destructive Quality of Life

THE CLASSICALS

‘Season 00’ – Adventures with Mary Shelley

[ ] The Company of Friends

[ ] The Silver Turk

[ ] The Witch from the Well

[ ] Army of Death

The Company of Friends is a ‘special’ Main Range release as it’s the only audio story that features the Eighth Doctor exclusive companions from other medias. It’s four half-a-hour story: the first with Benny, former companion of the Seventh Doctor. The second have Fitz and the third have Izzy. And then there is the fourth one, that shows the Eight Doctor meeting Mary Shelley. She wasn’t a companion, but would soon become one as a trilogy featuring their travels together would be released in the Main Range.

These stories happened before Eight meets Charley and honestly could be listened at any point, but I put them here, after Charley, because I do think it’s a better experience to enjoy the Eighth Doctor main range era in the order the stories were published.

INTO THE AUDIOS – THE LUCIE MILLER ERA

Beginning 2006, it all changed for Eight. His stories were probably the most popular of the Main Range – much because of the novelty of exploring the Doctor that never had anything on TV – and so he got his own range. The Main Range was now only for Doctors Five, Six and Seven, and ‘The Eighth Doctor Adventures’ began. But it was also 2006, Doctor Who was back on TV. And much because of that, this era is structured more alike to a new who season than classic.

You can jump into this era without any prior knowledge of the Eighth Doctor if you want to.

‘Season 01’ – Adventures with Lucie

[ ] Blood of the Daleks [two-parter]

[ ] Horror of Fang Rock

[ ] Immortal Beloved

[ ] Phobos

[ ] No More Lies

[ ] Human Resources [two-parter]

Notably, Horror of Glam Rock starts a ongoing arc through the seasons about Lucie’s aunt Pat.

'Extras Season’ – Continued adventures with Lucie

[ ] The Dalek Trap

[ ] The Revolution Game

[ ] The House on the Edge of Chaos

[ ] Island of the Fendahl

This was actually a release called The Further Adventures of Lucie Miller, four one-hour stories that makes a small season. It fits the tone of the era very well and it happens relatively early in her timeline, so if you want to listen to it between seasons 1 and 2, you can. The finally feature the Fendahl, a villain from Classic Who, so it’s a good idea to check out Image of the Fendahl from the Fourth Doctor era if you want more context.

‘Season 02’ – Continued adventures with Lucie

[ ] Dead London

[ ] Max Warp

[ ] Brave New Town

[ ] The Skull of Sobek

[ ] Grand Theft Cosmos

[ ] The Zygon Who Fell to Earth

[ ] Sisters of the Flame/The Vengeance of Morbius

The Zygon Who Fell to Earth is part of the aunt Pat story arc. The finale features Morbius, a villain from Classic Who, and it’s a good idea to check the Fourth Doctor story The Brain of Morbius if you want more context.

‘Season 03’ – Continued adventures with Lucie

[ ] Orbis

[ ] Hothouse

[ ] The Beast of Orlok

[ ] Wirnn Dawn

[ ] The Scapegoat

[ ] The Cannibalists

[ ] The Eight Truths/Worldwide Web

There are plenty of villains from Classic Who this season. You don’t need to watch any of their original stories to understand theses audios, and this is valid for the previous seasons too, but as I said if you want more context… You can watch The Seeds of Doom, The Ark in Space and Planet of Spiders.

‘Season 04’ – Adventures with Lucie and Tamsin

[ ] Death in Blackpool

[ ] An Earthly Child

[ ] Situation Vacant

[ ] Nervermore

[ ] The Book of Kelis

[ ] Deimos/The Resurrection of Mars

[ ] Relative Dimensions

[ ] Prisoner of the Sun

[ ] Lucie Miller/To the Death

Lucie’s era ends with a bang. Death in Blackpool is a Christmas special that wraps up the aunt Pat storyline. In An Earthly Child, the Doctor is reunited with someone from his past. Then, the rest of the season deals with Lucie and Eight’s friendship and how they are dealing with everything that happening recently, while also introducing new companion Tamsin Drew.

INTO THE AUDIOS – THE BOXSETS ERA

With the end of Lucie’s era, the publishing format shifted again. Now, the stories were released four at a time, as a boxset. These stories also build up bigger arcs, in sixteen parts, and therefore should be listened sequentially: Dark Eyes, Doom Coalition, Ravenous and Stranded. You can jump into the Eighth Doctor audios with Dark Eyes, but it’s better appreciated after listening to Lucie’s era.

‘Dark Eyes’ – Adventures with Molly and Liv

[ ] The Great War

[ ] Fugitives

[ ] Tangled Web

[ ] X and the Daleks

[ ] The Traitor

[ ] The White Room

[ ] Time’s Horizon

[ ] Eyes of the Master

[ ] The Death of Hope

[ ] The Reviled

[ ] Masterplan

[ ] Rule of the Eminence

[ ] A Life in the Day

[ ] The Monster of Montmartre

[ ] Master of the Daleks/Eye of Darkness

Liv Chenka is a character introduced in Robophobia, a Seventh Doctor story that you can listen to if you want more from her, but isn’t necessarily needed here. It’s good, though. She didn’t become a companion until reuniting with the Doctor, this time Eight, here in Dark Eyes. This season explores a temporal conflict between the Daleks, some Time Lords and an enemy from the future, the Eminence. It’s not part of the Time War, tho.

‘Doom Coalition’ – Adventures with Liv and Helen

[ ] The Eleven

[ ] The Red Lady

[ ] The Galileo Trap

[ ] The Satanic Mill

[ ] Beachhead

[ ] Scenes from her Life

[ ] The Gift

[ ] The Sonomancer

[ ] Absent Friends

[ ] The Eighth Piece/The Doomsday Chronometer

[ ] The Crucible of Souls

[ ] Ship in a Bottle

[ ] Songs of Love

[ ] The Side of Angels

[ ] Stop the Clock

Molly’s story wraps up during Dark Eyes, but Liv goes on a companion. She is then joined by Helen, introduced here in The Red Lady. This season is full of time lord political conflicts and if you have watched New Who you’ll notice River Song is a recurring character.

‘Ravenous’ – Continued adventures with Liv and Helen

[ ] Their Finest Hour

[ ] How to Make a Killing in Time Travel

[ ] World of Damnation/Sweet Salvation

[ ] Escape from Kaldor

[ ] Better Watch Out/The Fairytale of Salzburg

[ ] Seizure

[ ] Deeptime Frontier

[ ] Companion Piece

[ ] L.E.G.E.N.D.

[ ] The Odds Against

[ ] Whisper

[ ] Planet of Dust

[ ] Day of the Master

This season deals with a terrible fairy tale from the Time Lord’s past that seems to be real. Liv reunites with her sister Tula in Escape from Kaldor, and then spends one year with her before the Doctor and Helen pick her back. This is que start point to a spin-off, The Robots, which explores focusing on her and Tula during that one year. I will elaborate on it later on.

‘Stranded’ – Continued adventures with Liv and Helen, joined by Tania and Andy

[ ] Lost Property

[ ] Wild Animals

[ ] Must-See TV

[ ] Divine Intervation

[ ] Dead Time

[ ] UNIT Dating

[ ] Baker Street Irregulars

[ ] The Long Way Round

[ ] Patience

[ ] Twisted Folklore

[ ] Snow

[ ] What Just Happened

[ ] Crossed Lines

[ ] Get Andy

[ ] The Keys of Baker Street

[ ] Best Year Ever

Stranded picks up where Ravenous ended: the TARDIS have been damaged and now the Doctor, Liv and Helen are stuck for one year on Earth while it heals. And so, they start their lives in a house the Doctor used to own in Baker Street, but are met by unexpected neighbors. This season starts very slice-of-live/sitcom-like, kinda, but then evolves in a temporal conflict.

‘Season 05’ – Continued adventures with Liv and Helen

[ ] Paradox of the Daleks

[ ] The Dalby Spook

[ ] Here Lies Drax

[ ] The Love Vampires

[ ] Albie’s Angels

[ ] Birdsong

[ ] Lost Hearts

[ ] Slow Beasts

It’s the current era. Big Finish is still releasing Liv and Helen stories, but they are not the only ongoing story arc for Eight (see: Audacity; and the Time War). However, things changed a bit. They are still released in boxsets – with three one-hour stories rather than four -, but there is no sixteen-parts epic anymore. They are just standalone stories that starts where Stranded ends.

Spin-off – The Robots

[ ] The Robots of Life

[ ] The Sentient

[ ] Love Me Not

[ ] The Robots of War

[ ] Toos and Paul

[ ] Do No Harm

[ ] The Mystery of Sector 13

[ ] Circuit Breaker

[ ] A Matter of Conscience

[ ] Closed Loop

[ ] Off Grid

[ ] The Janus Deception

[ ] The Enhancement

[ ] Machines Like Us

[ ] Kaldor Nights

[ ] Force of Nature

[ ] Face to Face

[ ] The Final Hour

As I said in the Ravenous section, there is a spin-off about Liv reuniting with her sister Tula that is set during Escape form Kaldor. They are both from Kaldor, a planet from the Classic series, and to better appreciate what this spin-off is doing I recommend watching the Fourth Doctor story The Robots of Death. And, why not, listen to Robophobia, which itself is a sequel to The Robots of Death.

INTO THE AUDIOS – THE TIME WAR

And of course, we have stories with Eight set during the Time War. We can divide it into eras: the first four boxsets, when he is travelling with the new companion Bliss; and the current releases, with him travelling with Alex – listen to Lucie Miller season 4 for more context – and Cass. Yes, Cass from the Night of the Doctor. How that’s possible given the circumstances of that story have not yet been fully explained, but of course it’s safe to assume it’s the War’s fault.

‘Season 01’ – Adventures with Bliss

[ ] The Starship of Theseus

[ ] Echoes of War

[ ] The Conscript

[ ] One Life

[ ] The Lords of Terror

[ ]  Planet of the Ogrons

[ ] In the Garden of Death

[ ] Jonah

‘Season 02’ – Continued adventures with Bliss

[ ] State of Bliss

[ ] The Famished Lands

[ ] Fugitive in Time

[ ] The War Valeyard

[ ] Palindrome

[ ] Dreadshade

[ ] Restoration of the Daleks [two-parter]

The Valeyard is a villain from Classic Who. You’ll get more out of The War Valeyard with more context – so watch season 23, Trial of a Time Lord, or simply know that he is a “version” of the Doctor from the future that encapsulates everything bad and evil that exists in the Doctor.

‘Season 02’ – Adventures with Alex and Cass

[ ] Meanwhile, Elsewhere

[ ] Verpertine

[ ] Previously, Next Time [two-parter]

[ ] Nowhere, Never

[ ] The Road Untravelled

[ ] Cass-cade

[ ] Borrow or Rob

OTHERS

The stories ‘Day of the Vashta Nerada’, ‘The Sontaran Ordeal’ and ‘The Silent Priest’, all of them featuring monsters from New Who, are set during the Time War. However, the Doctor is travelling alone and they are all standalone stories.

There are plenty of ‘short trips’, short stories set in the Doctor Who universe, featuring the Eight Doctor. Both in prose and in audio. I did not include them in this guide, and they are not really essential, but they can be good. So, listen or read them if you ever miss a companion or the Eighth Doctor.

ABOUT THIS GUIDE

I will be updating the guide as new stories are released. I will also do one for each classic Doctor, at least, at some point.

[whiskers-my-beloved]

What do you think of DBD (Dead by daylight) Wesker?

Ohhh yeah. I feel he is really cool in it. Finally using Uroboros to kill people. In RE5 he only used it at the end. Which is fine but I would have enjoyed it more if he used it sooner. Imagen you fighting him the first time with it!

Plus DBD Wesker seems to be having fun there lol. He is so strong and fast. Plus he can wear his old S.T.A.R.S. uniform. The lines he has in it are great too. Love he has a special line for Chris lol. And apperently calls Sheva a bitch :/ Not cool Wesker! That's the homie right here!

Also I enjoy this Mode a lot. He looks so good. Yall we had this as his next gen model for a while. Before the RE4 remake dlc came out.

[ummmmandy]

Thank you so much for recommending those IFs because I have been brain rotting for the past five days. Are there any others that you like? The only one I’ve read aside from your recs is CTOS and I’ve finished them all, so I’m hungry for more

under the cut i guess cause this might be annoyingly long

this question is so dangerous actually, if I wrote all the ones I've read that I liked down it'd be a list a million years long

first, just the @interact-if tumblr is great if you don't already know about that, there's a lotta lists and resources for like..everything there, so you can go dig through that ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I'm just gonna throw a few things out there I can think of I guess cause idk where to even begin

--handful of completed games that are good -

Night Market

Fallen Hero Rebirth & Retribution

The Passenger

Blood Moon

The Fernweh Saga

The Golden Rose

(there are more of course…..)

--WIPS that are good (that I could recall off the top of my head or remembered to actually follow the project somewhere so I wouldn't forget about it, there are manymanymanyyyy more than these too)

Greenwarden

The Northern Passage

The Bastard of Camelot (love games that give me the option to burst into tears at every opportunity)

Mind Blind

Body Count

Checkmate In Three Moves

Project Hadea

Attollo

Adoriel's Tears

Sentience

The Gray Ascendancy

Uroboros

REMEMBER, YOU WILL DIE (looking at this, it's gonna have a new demo link soon it seems??)

Idk if there's a way to play the demo atm, but Larkin is also very good. (Vampire Western. Need I say more.)

& I don't know if this one will ever get updated but I still think about it sometimes and I think it's the only IF that ever made me cry forreal, like if The Velveteen Rabbit gets you this will get you, honorable mention for that reason,

The Cain Foundation

[dollivication]

Hihiiiii, this is gonna be long, i've got a rant AND an idea thingy. i've mentioned before not bein into anyone other than Wesker in Resident Evil buuuut I just watched Resident Evil: Vendetta and I GET THE HYPE, I ADMIT, I GET IT. LEON'S MODEL IS SO FINE. I'm guilty to say seeing him in the movie and the old games vs in RE2+4 Remake, I prefer this design. He's more rugged? LAIK I KNOW HE STARTS OFF AS A ROOKIE BUUUT THEY COULDA KEPT HIS LOOK I saw people speaking about the newer design for his character saying they gave him the 'dumbass pretty boy' look cuz it makes more sense for him as a rookie cop in 2 but man.... Rookies can look like anything so if that were the case for the change....eeeeeh.... Also unpopular opinion, I also prefer Louis' old design. I'M SORRY, HE DOES GIVE OFF THE CREEPY UNCLE VIBE IN THE REMAKES MODEL. ANYWAY, I hope you're doing well today, staying hydrated and fed! Gotta look after yourself above all else. To make this less of a rant, I shall be the first (I think) to make a Wesker scenario/idea thingy. Wesker is all about himself, right? It's a part I surprisingly love about him. BUT LAIK, if he deems you special enough to make you his 'pet', just know he's NEVER letting you leave him. He knows all, where you go, who you talk to, what you're doing, etc. And if you even think of trying to contact anyone (perhaps a certain STARS agent...) you can find yourself tied up by his Uroboros tentacles and used for hours until he's done with work and uses you himself. He's superior, he tells you that, and he'll fill you up with his cum, talk about giving you a 'purpose' , laik breeding you to have his obviously 'superior, god-like children' OOP- He's a feckin menace, I can imagine if you go to get help in person (he has eyes on you at all times, so ofc you can roam around but not for long if you keep creep round some rookie or CHRIS) you'll end up in a bloody puddle, not dead but certainly taught a lesson... ☉▵☉ JUST AN IDEA FROM A DEPRAVED WESKER FAN DON'T MIND MEEE Love ya, Dolly (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧ -Nell 🍓

NELLLLLL HAI HAILLO HEY :3!!!! WHEN I SAW THIS I LIT UP I CANNOT LAI… it’s always a treat to hear from yu!!! ^.^ and oh my we have MUCH TO DISCUSS TAKE A SEAT MWAAA 🩷🩷🩷

VENDETTA LEON IS JUST A SKRUNKLE!!!! HE IS a sopping wet andgrumpy kity… AND NOW THAT YOU MENTION IT,, it would be interesting to see him laik dat in re2.. laik how could this stingy critter get even stingier… a leon miserable from the start would’ve been pretty funy methinks LMAO

you are SO right about luis’ old design you are voicing thoughts i am 2 shy to say.. laik his new design is great!! but there’s a certain peculiarity to his old wan that screams yucky weirdo uncle.. might be dat wack ass hair and outfit GIGGLING he looks laik a vampire too !!! they’re both in special parts of my heart…. 🩷

I AMMM DOING SPLENDID and oh my lordy lord i forgot to drink water today THANK you for the reminder LMHREKSLFG i promise that’s not usually like me.. I HOPE YOU ARE DOING THE SAME HOWEVER !!!!!! please take lots o care!!!! >.<

THE. THE WESKER SCENARIO. IM SAT.!!!!??? TENTACLES,, ESPECIALLY FROM UROBOROS,,, ARE THE WAY TO MY HEART …. THE SUPERIORITY COMPLEX. BY JOVE!!! he’s so narcissistic and he’d probably tell you to be thankful that he chose you to have his kids… anyone would die for a chance like that!! (he is NOT wrong HEL))

his freaky ass would probably even put a shock collar on you,… god forbid you do anything that’s remotely out of line! AND ESPECIALLY god forbid you go near chris he’ll actually tweak the fuck out … i want wesker to stab me and say it was my fault for pushing him i CANNOT lie.. laik yur rite king i’m sorryIMSO SANE IM SO SANY

nell i’m hugging yu so tightly rn this crumb of thought was yumy… i lauv wesker so badly….sighs dreamily💔💔💔

[yridenergyridenergy]

Phalaris Vol.II - Yokosuka Arts Theatre [2023/05/01] live report

Setlist

Hibiki

Schadenfreude

Uroko

Mouai ni Shosu

Utsutsu, Bouga o Kurau

Ningen o Kaburu

13

Devote My Life

Eddie

GRIEF

Beautiful Dirt (2018 Ver.)

Otogi

The Perfume of Sins

Encore:

DOZING GREEN (Acoustic Ver.)

Un deux

Utafumi

T.D.F.F.

Revelation of mankind

First live in which the fans can officially cheer, and we gave it pretty much our all from the moment that the venue turned dark!

I don't remember much about the SE. First, there were three vertical rectangular screens in the back that showed some Roman or mythological painting in the centre, with the long Phalaris album cover mirrored left and right. That reminded me of the UROBOROS era a lot.

Then, the members came on stage and I kept getting struck by the obversation that they were almost all dressed very Phalaris-like! Shinya was in a white outfit as usual, but Die had some foggy black and white tunic (I was on the complete opposite side of him so I couldn't catch all the details); Toshiya had a quite dense black lace head piece like a mourning veil with a brilliant gold crown to hold it in place, a kind of black robe, black dress shirt underneath, skinny black shorts that were about mid-thigh, black boots or high socks, with a separate black lace long skirt; Kaoru wore low and ample black sarouel pants with a sort of black captain/major jacket thar had golden highlights (for makeup, he put some fade to highlight his cheekbones and little 'corners' near his temples with shade around his eyes); Kyo was more normal, wearing super wide beige pants with a large punk shirt (it read in Katakana something-Mugger?) but the highlight was definitely the spiky collar he wore! He had subtle makeup and his hair is short, spiky and blond (maybe blond-pink, or that was a trick of the lights?).

The band had clearly missed our incessant cheering. People still ended up crying out once in a while in the past year but it wasn't official and most definitely held back because it was against the rules. But now, to be granted that freedom again! I was running on very poor breathing and the mask had a tendency to dry my mouth a lot, so I was lucky that this was a seat-assigned concert where I could easily bring a beverage, but my throat's condition turned out better than expected!

The descriptions of songs will definitely be perfected through the next few shows, but here are segments that I remember:

Hibiki was sung emotionally of course but maybe not "uniquely yet", I would say. I certainly was hell into it though.

For Schadenfreude, it's such a poetic, long song, that it felt like the band was still working on giving it its live personality as well, even though they performed it in a previous tour, I think. Also, it surprised me that Kyo did not request that we sing "Ikedomo jigoku ka". There was less interaction with the audience throughout that song, I think. For the back screens, there were some scenes of a mage or ghost, as if they were drawn by the same artist who did Rinkaku and Agitated Screams of Maggots. The lighting was mostly red from what I remember, but I'll have to see it again.

Uroko was a surprise, just like un deux and Revelation of mankind. I had hoped that there would be Uroboros tracks mixed in with the Phalaris songs, but Arche is a good alternative! It felt so great for both us and Kyo that we were able to shout "Anata shidai de" again. The whole band was really into Uroko, Kyo reproducing some of the gestures from the PV, which was shown on the back screen.

By the way, we cheered and clapped after virtually every song, even though the audience sometimes stays quiet after quieter songs. Remember, it only takes one person to have guts and break the silence for the rest to let loose too!

Mouai ni shosu felt tamer than Utsutsu, bouga o kurau. The latter had piercing lines of light from what I recall and Kyo was way more into it. The sound was horrible when you weren't in the middle though, so I couldn't hear Kyo sometimes, even when he later came to the left ramp of the stage right beside me. But during Utsutsu, he went to the right ramp and went a bit crazy, so it's damned that the mic or speakers didn't render the ranges in those two songs well at all. In Utsutsu, Kyo seemed to expect us to sing the second: "Nananananananaze nanda?" He pointed at us when singing: "Onaji ningen desho". And when talking about the laughing eyes, he circled his right eye with his index and thumb.

In Mouai ni Shosu, Kyo also pointed to us when asking: "Docchi da, docchi ga ii?"

Ningen wo kaburu, we did the traditional bits of: "Dare no tame no ikiru no darou?" but for some reason, I thought we backed up Toshiya more with his "Blessing to lose heart" finals.

General things I don't remember which songs they happened in: Toshiya spun two or three times widely with his base and he jumped from Kyo's crate with it, which Kyo promptly took possession right after he left; Kyo signed the throat slicing a couple of times especially in the first half, and he asked us if we were ready to keep going, to break our necks, etc. There was one song where he slid to his knees in the wide space in front of his crate while singing.

During the first break for the change of gears, Kyo sat on Shinya's platform and looked at us nonchalantly, scratching his head but obviously demanding more shouts from us. Before one of the breaks, he threw his mic way up and let it drop on the ground, a technician rushing to place it back on the crate immediately after.

13 had totally different imaging in the background this time. When talking about throwing everything away, Kyo gripped his shirt tightly and gestured pulling it widely toward the back. He seemed to sing the last part in English (Never die), more attentively, like he corrected or clarified the pronunciation. Kyo also slowly put his red mic cord around his neck as he kind of kneeled on his crate while singing about looking down the 13 flights of stairs.

I was right in front of Kaoru but he only came up to the edge of the stage two or three times, compared to Toshiya, Kyo and Die. It felt like Kaoru was really focused, just sometimes teasing us with a kind of frown or nod. He did come on the left ramp of the stage once near the end of the main set, where we could see his fade makeup near his ears dripping down his face because of his sweat. By the way, his speakers in the back feature two new drawings. One is white with a black drawing that honestly looks like his head with a previous makeup but no pupil, upside down and being sucked into a void, while the second is a white drawing on black that seems to represent a skinny big-headed form all haggard-looking with weak but grim arms up at its side.

Kyo came to the left ramp during Devote my life! I really could almost not hear him, but he had us sing the "Zankoku na" throughout the song. He gestured mostly at the fans on the second floor/first balcony. He trotted back to the main stage with a technician ready to take care of his mic cord again.

I can't remember which songs, but Toshiya came to the left ramp and the right one too. Quite sure he was there twice on the left? The second one was right on time for his bass part in one of the songs. By that time, Toshiya had removed his veil (dramatically thrown toward the back of the stage from the front), his lace coat was off and we could at least partly see his chest. He smiled so much throughout the show and he was so dramatic during his single picks especially at the start of the concert.

During Eddie, Kyo called us "kuso, kuso, kuso", pointing at different spots of the crowd. I think he wanted us to sing some parts but it's a very fast song hah.

GRIEF was so intense too. The whole band liked bringing back that song. It might be then that Toshiya was really active?

Oh man, in GRIEF, at the part where we traditionally clap to the rythm, Kyo started clapping too as if he was seriously mocking us, like he was saying we were lobotomized zombies, but it became more and more disturbing to see, more "loose-screws"-like as he did wider and more disorganized claps as he went.

Otogi was so cool! Not yet the sensual performance it ought to be, but Toshiya certainly brought it all! It started with Kaoru playing loyd guitar noise with the three screen panels filling in red from the bottom, then the song's actual first notes were played. The mandela was present in the video, sand, a spiral staircase, etc. It just surprised me so much that the colour associated with that song would be red. Anyway, Kyo was a bit sensual in the way he moved, but he was totally outshined by Toshiya during the slower part. I think that it was at "Hakai no yukusaki/The destination of destruction" that Toshiya opened his dress shirt way wider with his right hand, then traced from his heart all the way to his crotch and just convenientlt transitioned onto his bass to play, then he waved his right arm super wide at the same time as Kyo did so with his left for the parr about: "The spreading of the sky, Go to the Madara". The song ended with the screen filling with bright red again but from the top this time. Holy hell what a song.

The Perfume of Sins man, refer to my previous post. I just want an official recording with that growled "Eyes, nose, ears" segment. Gimme, gimme, gimme! From what I remember, Toshiya was really into this song too.

They left after the main set and it took a while for them to return, even if we were actively screaming for it this time.

When they did come back, it was very serene as the musicians had chairs installed for them and they played Dozing Green in acoustic. It was quite an emotional rendition, but I specifically remember Toshiya setting his bass vertically, so his half-naked legs were literally hugging the bottom part of it.

The rest of the encore kind of blurred into something intense. We didn't get much room to breath or think. Die finally came to the left ramp, wearing those leather tights he showed on Instagram recently and very short shorts. He headbanged right in front of me and I don't know how he could not have possibly meant for me to be able to touch his hair, but I felt it was more respectful to retract my hand a bit. He seemed super happy and like a rock star overall.

For the encore, Kaoru changed to a black "Witched" (?) T-shirt with white and red lines on the front, while Shinya was in black, Toshiya kept the bottom part of his earlier outfit but changed the top for a white arm-less dress shirt, and Kyo changed to a different band T-shirt (some heavy metal band with scribbles for a logo and some Japanese on the back).

Before the last song, Kyo asked if we were alive a few times, then got interrupted by someone who shouted something inaudible, which made him pause in what he planned to say and he went frowning, uttering an: "Ah/huh?" Then he fires us up for the Last Song!

It seemed to me like Revelation of mankind was the wrong song to end, because there is less opportunity for the members to interact, the song demands too much concentration, but everybody on sight was glad to have it.

Kyo stayed for a short time on stage afterward to clap with us and demand more. Then he waved goodbye. Kaoru did so much teasing and threw a lot of picks. He perked his head up and nodded in a smug way when somebody called his name while he was drinking from his Thermos at first. Toshiya and Die smiled so much at the end. Toshiya distributed stuff but the highlight is how he poured the rest of his water bottle on his head, then used his towel to remove some, tied it and threw it very far into the crowd. Die also threw his somewhere. Kaoru stayed last and did the hand/bow thing when he finally left the stage.

[dyedcomrade]

Wesker with trans male reader

based on me, it's very likely your experience or boundaries are different from mine, don't take offense.

in the first place he is either interested by your skills and your workplace performance or their lack of. the two extremes intrigue him, he can't help it.

your appearance comes only second in why he wants to pursue you.

with his god complex he likes that no matter how hard you try you can never equate to his genius. even if you do he just doesn't acknowledge it - after all, one of the main driving force of his uroboros project is his presumed superiority. if you are not the one on the top of the food-chain at your job, that's the most favorable to him. knowing his darling won't even get near his greatness is comforting to him. you won't leave him for someone better, simply because none exists. and surely you need someone to take care of you or at least help.

he doesn't realise people don't have a value ranging from one to ten based on their intelligence, money and power, and how his theoretical hierarchy is nonexistent in everyone else's mind, so you are, in fact, not chained to him forever.

his mind is in dvd screensaver mode most of the time when he is not working, so it is possible he either waved you off when trying ro open up to him about yourself or didn't get any of it.

he will go with any of your fashion choices though. as long as it's proper for the occasion and high-quality clothing, he won't have any negative comments about it. he thinks you are hot in everything and even if he could have had a better outfir in mind for you, he shrugs it off thinking it's a new trend he didn't have time to catch up on.

he would be over the moon if you dressed exactly like him. his little human looks so much up to him that he wants to copy him the best his ability? how cute. he may even want to introduce your body to uroboros. - of course if he deems it safe for you.

if you ask him to recommend you a doctor for hrt or gender reassignment surgery he will be caught off guard. like for what? and you have to explain it to him all over again.

he understands of course. feeling alien from the person your environment taught or at least wanted you to be. but also a forever outcast in society. people just won't take their time and understand. and what they don't, feels strange to them. but don't worry, he will be with you on this road. will ask you if you would like to join him on his throne when his plan is done. of course you can choose to stay the way you are. he will mention, though, the benefits of his creation on healing and regeneration if you choose to have surgeries.

if you can't or don't want to for some reason, he still will see you as a man. he will be more fussy about your safety - for example he will remind you a couple of times to take your binder off and just breathe throughout the day. he also makes sure that you feel as comfortable as you can with him without the binder as well.

he will make your transition smooth and fast. no footlong waiting lists and irresponsible, careless or transphobic doctors. in case, he w i l l ruin the ones who mistreat you. and some others who abuse their power just for the fun of it. they've got the opportunity and smarts to make it through med school and use it for making other's lives miserabble? well then, he just has to dig up some controversy from their past, sue them over it, aaand consider it done.

he immediately switches to your preferred name and feels kind od horrible for seeming untrustworthy for a time, thus forcing you to go by your deadname around him.

he will proudly refer to you as his boyfriend and if you are okay with it he will be open about the fact that you're trans.

any transphonic comment will at least get the person thrown through the room by uroboros. they must have not been the sharpest tool anyway, so not much of a loss if they get hurt or die by it.

from the start of the relationship he would prefer if you just moved in. not because he has ulterior motives, but it's just more convenient and he hasn't got time to commute. he will provide you with a separate room if you don't yet want to sleep with him.

if you for some reason can't go yet, he will be extra attentive when you two meet up. he makes sure you know that he enjoys getting flooded by text messages or pictures from you any time of the day. he is kind of dependent on you so he usually wants to facetalk into the night. that's how you both fall asleep on these occasions.

he is very patient with every step of the relationship. before you come out to him and after especially. he asks before he does something new it it's okay, whether you want to try it or not.

if marriage is important for you he will spare no expenses to arrange one for the two of you. just reminds you he really has noone to invite from his side. (maybe in another universe his s.t.a.r.s. team with chris being his best man. he is not, but funny enough for the role.) although if you want only a small one, even just the two of you with or without a priest/pastor he will be delighted. after all he doesn't have to waste his time on people who he barely even knows. and who may even barely even know you.

he makes sure you don't accidentally consume extra oestrogen with your food and plans meals for you - if you allow him to. his love language is more like gifts and physical touch but you make him want to try new ways to love: making time for you and helping out however he can.

he believes you are the only person worth leaving untouched uroboros. preserving something from the old world, something only you could have. by remaining human, the fragility he was never allowed to posess and the strength to still have it despite the world being disgusting towards you, the courage, which should really be called recklessness, to still be by the side of most powerful being