#ayra goes crazy

[clickvibes]

Apple Music's Africa Now Radio With Nandi Madida this Friday with Rema

This Week's Episode Features a Conversation With Rema, a Look Back at the Top Songs of 2023, and the Year’s Biggest Breakout Artists!  Tune in to Africa Now Radio with Nandi Madida this Friday, December 15th at 9a London / 10a Lagos/Paris / 11a Johannesburg / 1a LA / 4a NYC on Apple Music 1 and broadcast on Cool FM in Nigeria every Sunday at 6pm. Cover Star InterviewNigerian Afropop star Rema joins Nandi Madida via FaceTime on Apple Music 1 to talk about his chart-topping hit, “Calm Down.” He also discusses his latest EP, ‘RAVAGE,’ evolving his sound, exploring amapiano, and creating a legacy. The Big 5: 2023’s Top African SongsTo close out 2023, Nandi Madida shares some of the top songs from every corner of the continent, with chart-topping tracks from Omah Lay, Asake, Harmonize, Ayra Starr, and Tyler ICU & Tumelo.za feat. DJ Maphorisa, Nandipha808, Ceeka RSA & Tyron Dee. Check out the full collection of the year’s biggest tracks on Apple Music’s Africa Now 2023 playlist, HERE. The Breakouts of 2023This week’s show highlights the biggest breakout stars from across the continent, including South African pop singer-songwriter Tyla, Nigerian rapper ODUMODUBLVCK, and Tanzanian soul singer-songwriter Abigail Chams. Discover the full collection of the continent’s biggest emerging acts on Apple Music’s Africa Rising playlist, a campaign which shines a light on the next generation of African superstars. Listen HERE.Tune in and listen to the full episode this Friday, December 15th at 9a London / 10a Lagos/Paris / 11a Johannesburg / 1a LA / 4a NYC on Apple Music 1 at apple.co/_AfricaNow and broadcast on Cool FM in Nigeria every Sunday at 6pm. *** Rema tells Apple Music about Evolving His Sound When you’re blessed with a gift, it’s beyond making it seem logical. To me, it’s more like a spirit thing, it’s not like a brain thing, it’s not like a thought process. There’s nothing I needed to study to be able to get others to tap in with me. I was just tapping in with myself, and if others follow me? Great. If they don’t? Great. I’d say for me it’s mostly internal, when I hear the voice in my head it’s leading me and I feel like a vessel, to leave a mark in the world. It’s like I’m chosen for it so whether or not I try to run away from it, it’s just what it is. Rema tells Apple Music how He Aims to Create a Legacy I’m supportive to creatives. You see all these great things that have to do with my storytelling, my journey, my branding, my visuals, my photos. I’m not the one taking the photos, I’m not the one shooting the videos, I’m not the one doing all if that they’re just young youths waiting for someone to invest in them, to bring out them crazy ideas, right? That’s what I live for, I live for investing in the youth. It’s beyond musicians, it’s beyond my peers and colleagues. Everyone wants to create, I feel like a lot of creatives have a place in my journey, so I do as best as possible to reinvest in my career, in myself. I’m not just here because I want to drop a banger, make some money and live a flashy life. In 50 years to come, people are going to trace a lot of things back to me - songs back to me, fashion style back to me, visuals back to me, a whole bunch. I want to be able to touch all areas of life, but music is like the first rocket. When it detaches, it goes to wherever it needs to go. Rema tells Apple Music How He Explores Amapiano Authentically I feel like tapping into a sound, most especially when it’s within Africa, I take my time to study. I don’t jump on the wave, I take my time to understand things. When me and Musa Keys were in the studio, I was like ‘I know a lot of Nigerians are doing amapiano but I need you to educate me about amapiano’. I don’t want to just hop on it. Yes I can make a banger, but it’s like can you teach me? When I hear the ones from South Africa it holds more spirit  than the ones from anywhere else. Although I don’t understand everything they’re saying, I can feel the particles, the elements or the spiritual essence of the music. I know there’s a lot of amapiano from different parts of Africa, but educate me about yours, right? I feel like that’s necessary. I’m so down to collaborate, and while I collaborate I want to learn, I don’t want to do it the wrong way. Yes, amapiano is a sound I really want to tap into, but give me time with that!  Read the full article

[lovleez]

oner 《恶浪》 mv/film theory

(this is less of a theory and more of a debunking of the mv though)

warnings: mentions of violence, murder (i wont include gifs of the bloody moments but it will be discussed!!!), animal abuse, and a bomb or two ? (someone gets blown up ;-;)

honestly the debunking might get a lil bit dark around the ling chao and ziyang individual parts, so be warned of that!

it would be helpful for you to watch/listen to these to process whats going on here:

oner 《恶浪》 mv (cw blood, murder, animal abuse, & heavy violence - please dont watch if these are triggers for you!!!) (there’s also eng subs in this link ^^)

oner - AGENT  (this is a song, but there’s quite a bit of dialogue near the end that ties into this plot!)  (cw gunshot, beeping noises that resemble a bomb ?? - all at the end of the song w/ the dialogue)

okay lets dive into it d(^-^)> !!!

to get the important info out of the way!

the start of the mv shows the three of them chilling on the couch, as friends do, watching,,well themselves on the screen (oner’s past performances as idols) (and i do believe that the idols part of this has some significance that i can figure out). the important takeaway from the beginning rlly is that they’re three good friends...who are completely unaware of each other’s secret occupations

their occupations being: ziyang, a murderer, yueyue, a spy, and ling chao, a hacker

now to jump into the main story! (starting around 1:35)

yueyue and ziyang both have the same target: the man in the restaurant. however yueyue gets there first and does his job well, as he gets away without being caught. ziyang is frustrated that his target is taken already.

*interesting detail here, but when trying to enter, ziyang shows them a ring with a purple jewel in the middle for entry,,,coincidentally, the man yueyue kills in the bar in his personal segment in the film later also has the same ring? obv the ring is for the restaurant entry so maybe ziyang wasn’t going to kill this “boss” but maybe negotiate/discuss something with him instead...but also thats disproven by the fact that ziyang pulled out a gun to presumably shoot him before realizing the dude was dead....

but also,,,suspicious how there was a zoom in to the purple ring when yueyue kills the man in the bar..maybe it means more than we think it does? altho im not too sure what  to think abt it for now

     for reference:

     ziyang’s ring                                    

     dead man in bar’s ring

.

moving on 

okay so since yueyue is a spy n all, he has to confirm his kill somewhere right? this somewhere is a phone booth,,,one that ling chao has rigged up with a bomb,,,,

speculation: someone hired ling chao to kill someone who will be approaching the phone booth; at this time, lc doesn’t know that this someone is yueyue (and is v shocked to see him there through his cameras as evident by his “what the hell! are you kidding me?”)

....and after this part the film dives into their personal stories to give more background on who  these three are (i’ll expand on those after i finish explaining the present timeline ^^) before coming back to the main story 

so!

ling chao “accidentally” blew up yueyue oh no (he’s still alive tho yey)

& then yueyue holds up a piece of candy,,,and immediately knows its ling chao (cuz its the piece of candy lc was eating earlier in the film) 

(and to take care of all loose ends that my brain is providing me with: in the beginning they didn’t know abt each other’s secret occupations...how does yueyue know that lc is capable of doing this? my answer: they used to be agent buddies!!! i’ll expand on this later hehe)

 .

and so

it was at this moment ling chao knew...he fucked up

he’s afraid yueyue might come after him.

which, is exactly what yueyue does

after going home or somewhere, yueyue receives a text telling him to get rid of “them” (ling chao) bc his “identity is exposed” 

....so now yueyue has to go and hunt down his buddy ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ

and they fight! looks very painful for ling chao,,,poor dude,,,

since ziyang comes out from the back door to join the fight, theres two possibilities that come from this:

1) ling chao knew yueyue was coming and knew he couldnt take him down himself (lets be honest; he looks rlly scrawny) so he called ziyang to his location for backup (how could he know ziyang can fight? agent buddies 👐) 

2) ziyang and ling chao live together in the same house

anyways, both results making it obvious that ling chao and ziyang are on the same team while yueyue is on another (lets ignore the fact that ling chao was getting up to fight ziyang as well)

the fight scene is so dramatic oml T-T

ziyang could also be motivated to beat up yueyue in this fight cuz the dude did  take his target before he himself could (loophole: how did ziyang know it was yueyue who took his target? answer: maybe yueyue left like a signature or smthn at the crime scene, or ziyang saw him walk out  ¯\_ (ツ)_/¯ )

and when they all beat the living heck out of each other and are dramatically lying down in different areas of the room 

the tv turns on to a council saying “still want to be idols?”

(and remember, the thing they were watching on tv earlier was themselves performing,,,as idols. i cant connect it further than that so lemme know if yall figure smthn out ^-^)

so mayhaps this council is yueyue’s agency and they wanted to turn the trio against each other...? they would have set this whole situation up: they knew ziyang wanted to kill the restaurant “boss”, so they assigned yueyue to take care of him first, which creates conflict between those two. then, they hired ling chao to rig up a phone booth with a bomb; basically setting him up against yueyue

whether this council succeeds with their plan or not is unrevealed bc the film has a “to be continued” at the end, so the storyline still will have more to it!!!

although i would say the council succeeded since they all did beat each other bruised and bloody

.

that leaves the question: why  is the council setting them up against each other?

what are there previous connections beyond them just being friends 👀 ?

and here i shall bring back the “agent buddies” bit i was talking abt earlier, as well as why i linked the agent song in the beginning

near the end of the mv, there’s quite a lot of dialogue between the three of them, and it goes like this:

[robotic voice: welcome agent oner

ling chao (?): check 

yueyue: yo what up guys!

ziyang: yo what up bro

ziyang (yueyue?): alright lets take them out

yueyue: okay gentlemen we got a lot to do

ziyang: ey we gotta finish this quick, i got a date tonight

yueyue: really?

ziyang: no hard feelings (couldnt catch the rest)

yueyue: okay shut up

ling chao: hey guys, i saw a hit

(?): copy that

yueyue (ziyang?): hold your breath....now

ling chao: guys watch out

yueyue: okay guys locked and loaded

*single shot can be heard, then the reloading of a gun*

yueyue (?): go go go!

yueyue: fire fire fire!

yueyue: ???? *indistinguishable orders*

ziyang?: i got trouble i got trouble

yueyue: ?? i got ?? lets go

ling chao: stay together

ziyang (yueyue??): okay set to kill

ling chao: damn the truck is (blown?)

yueyue: what the hell

ziyang: okay let me (???) it

*bomb beeping noises*

yueyue: ???? clean this blood on my shirt]

(not sure how accurate my hearing is but its enough to make some guesses 😅)

agent buddies! the three of them used to be agents, as the song is titled, at some agency...and they probably made a pretty strong team together

the agency story would explain why they all seem to be good fighters too!

thats why the council might have wanted to tear them apart. perhaps the council was doing something that they knew would displease the trio, so they needed them separated lest they team up and try to defeat them 

i also think this audio could have been describing a mission going wrong for them, possibly their last one as a team. someone was probably hurt (im betting on either ziyang or ling chao), and they quit the agency and aimed to live normal lives from then on

...but old habits are hard to forget, so ziyang starts to kill ppl in his free time, yueyue joined another agency as a spy, and ling chao uses his hacking skills for other purposes

however they all dont tell each other, which could add on to the tension of their fight at the end of the film

.

now to dive into their individual bits of the film. these all don’t connect much to the main lore, just expands onto their lives with their secret occupations btw!

.

YUEYUE

his segment details moments in his daily agent life; im guessing he’s not very happy with it judging by his nightmares? or the nightmares are bringing up his past at his old agency which he does not like

he’s also master of disguise woah

personally i think he’s losing “who he is”. he’s always playing the role of another person, always putting on another disguise...so he starts losing his sense of identity (if that makes sense ;-;) 

(and if you wanna stretch it and make things wholesome, maybe the only times he [feels like himself] is when he’s around his two friends)

so basically: he’s always filling out other personas to the point where he doesnt know who he is anymore

(this is also the segment where he kills a man in the bar with poison,,,and the man was wearing the same ring as ziyang,,,,which is like Hm. why’d the directors do that 🤔)

.

ZIYANG

aka the murderer :D

(and not just regular serial killer type, more like joker-esque type where they’re a bit insane,,,)

okay his segment starts of with him dragging a man through a white room, where the floors is covered with plastic, and on the walls are a bunch of clay molds of human body parts

:D

my brain has concluded that! ziyang takes clay and makes molds of his victim’s faces/body parts of who he kills! to make statues! 

(i dont even know how i got there aksjdhdh but thats just what i assumed the first time i watched this film thingy)

and to make it more messed up than it already sounds,,,im guessing he’s a famous statue maker too, and holds shows where he presents his works to the public and maybe even bids them off ?

     ,,,,little did the audience know,,,,

          (this kinda remind me of sally and gabe’s statue from the pjo too now aksjhdkdh)

(i got this assumption from 6:50 in the film where he walks out in front of an audience who start clapping,,,and let my brain run wild with the rest,,,)

of course, he probably kills off the people he was the molding the clay off of once he’s done with his works,,,or sometimes even in the middle of his works as shown in the mv (*-* )

but alas that is not all to his story,,,

judging by his flashbacks when he’s beating that one dude to death with a bat, he used to be bullied when he was in school, which seems to be the source of all his anger throughout the film..

    ( yeah he killed the bullies too (_ _ )> )

its part of his personality to be rough and short tempered - he doesn’t like people looking down on him (as the bullies did)

and,,,if you want to be wholesome again! perhaps he found some bits of happiness and peace when hanging out with the others :]

.

LING CHAO

cw: animals abuse!!! 

his is pretty simple and is already explained in the mv itself! i’ll walk ya’ll through it though in case you didn’t watch the film tho akdjdjkf

basically: he’s just a dude who loves dogs :]

a lot

in his segment, a girl (handong, looking absolutely stunning ToT) approaches him wanting to take home another stray, and when he asks her where how the previous dog she adopted was doing, she says that “my bestie loved him a lot, so i gave him to her” ( -_- )

so...he lets her keep the dog, but also decides to keep an eye on her...to the point where she becomes very paranoid that someone is stalking her (which..she isnt wrong in)(but she doesn’t believe it to be ling chao because they’re..dating? i think? and he lulls her into a false sense of security that he’ll protect her from harm)

and then bam! one day he breaks into her house, steals the dog away, and then,,,,blows her up,,,,,

(i must say as disturbing this scene is,,,,i absolutely adore ling chao’s look here askjdjfd)

(i mean?? look at him?? loving the black lipstick ugh)

(v pale tho ;-;)

okay anyways the next flashbacks reveal that handong was abusing her dogs & starving them, and him being the animal lover he is, decides to kill her for it ig

(also she,,,stabbed the other dog that she “gave to her bestie” so-)

yeahh thats the end of his story; nothing much to take from it except that his hacker skills are still intact past agent days 

.

.

.

annnd thats a wrap folks! nothing else to expand on; i’ll definitely make another part to expand on this if they decide to release another mini film in the future tho :]

[isfjmel-phleg]

Further Selections from the Correspondence of the Lockridge Family?

This was an ambitious idea for a follow-up to the previous epistolary story, in the same style, picking up after Emenor is given the violin. It would cover the beginning of her correspondence with Josiah, some complications for the family now that Tamett is going to be attending Hollingham (his working for Josiah will cover his tuition but nothing else, and an interview is part of his admission process), and more friction between Josiah and Bollingfurt.

This is the current state of the outline notes. Everything is subject to change!

Emenor to Josiah: thank you

Josiah to Emenor: violin questions

Emenor to Josiah: further chatter

Tamett to Emenor: dreading going to Hollingham and having to submit an essay and do an interview, asides about his doings and what a pill Josiah is being, intro to Bollingfurt

Emenor to Tamett: advice about how to handle it, starting to defend Josiah

Lovisa to Tamett: her doings, their aunt and uncle’s response to his going to school

Cille to Tamett: her doings, calmly announcing bad news

Zella to Tamett: her doings

Tamett to family: replies to sisters, sending in the essay

Elina to Tamett: congratulations, when were you going to tell us about expenses

Josiah to Emenor: reply, violin business, how about that scholarship

Cille to Tamett: I could make your uniforms myself

Tamett to family: sorry, I don’t know what to do, the royal household won’t help and taking it out of my salary will just hurt matters

Lovisa to Tamett: tried to haggle with aunt and uncle but they won’t/can’t help

Tamett to Lovisa: thanks, I think I might have an idea

Emenor to Josiah: replying, hinting at helping her brother, scholarship plans?

[WHAT GOES HERE?]

Josiah to Emenor: absolutely not

Emenor to Tamett: take my conservatory money

Tamett to Emenor: no, I’m going to fail the interview, I don’t care anymore, the fitting

[SOMETHING DRASTIC HAPPENS HERE]

Tamett to family: the interview, a solution is found

Zella to Tamett: [SOMETHING]

Emenor to Josiah: what is the address to apply for that scholarship?

Hollingham sends new pupils Hogwarts letters detailing what supplies they’ll need

Tamett’s father (or both parents?) have already gone through much of his recent salary, many sudden or perhaps reckless expenses

Money needed for Hollingham preparation, the King won’t supply it

Lovisa tries to haggle with their aunt and uncle

Meanwhile, Josiah is urging Emenor to try for a conservatory scholarship

Does Ayra talk her father into counting some of Tamett’s expenses as for the household?

Why would she? How does she get involved in this?

Is she present when a tailor comes to fit clothes and notices that Tamett’s not there?

Lockridge family expenses related to Zella?

Josiah point-blank refuses to help Tamett, even when asked or hinted at by Emenor?

How is Tamett trying to solve the dang problem? Is he trying to sell things? Earn money somehow? Asking Bollingfurt about hand-me-downs?

If Bollingfurt gets involved, Josiah is NOT going to be happy and will make things more miserable for Tamett

Is Bollingfurt at the fitting? (Take care to keep this from getting too Sorcerer's Stone)

Build up to the interview--is Bollingfurt there?

I’m not crazy about the plot, which not only is incomplete and spotty but feels more like an excuse to continue the story than a tale worth telling in its own right. As fun as these characters are to revisit, they need to be doing something actually worthwhile or it’s just a lot of pointless rambling. So I’m not sure if I’ll keep going with this one more or less where it’s heading but with some doctoring, or completely overhaul it, or try it set in another time/situation, or scrap it altogether.

Several of the letters are already drafted (and unedited), with the notes and some details still missing. Here are the first few.

1 Emenor to Josiah

[DATE]

To His Royal Highness the Crown Prince

Sir,

I would like to thank you for your kindness in granting me an audience and an opportunity to play for you, but most of all for your generous gift of the violin. I have never owned anything so beautiful, and you wouldn’t believe the way it sings. Well, actually, you would, because I’m sure you have all sorts of violins like it, so you know exactly what I mean. I’ve hardly been able to put it down since I came home. I promise I will be a credit to the gift and use it to make something of myself. Perhaps the next time you hear me play it will be in a concert hall. I hope so, anyway.

Please convey my best wishes to your family.

Your obedient servant

Emenor Klariesa Lockridge

2 Josiah to Emenor

[DATE]

Dear Miss Lockridge,

You are indeed welcome to the violin. It is my pleasure to bestow generosity on deserving citizens in need. See that you continue to deserve this honor.

When you played the Niccolini piece, I noticed your use of double harmonics. This is a rather advanced technique and of course one with which I myself am quite familiar. Would you mind expounding on your methods? I require precise detail, for purposes of comparison of our strategies, for I assure you I am no stranger to double harmonics. My violin instructor has often had occasion to praise my work in this area, as no doubt yours has as well. I have been a student of the violin for nearly ten years now. How long have you been playing?

Yours sincerely

Josiah, Crown Prince of Lienne

3 Emenor to Josiah

[DATE]

To His Royal Highness the Crown Prince

Sir,

Nearly ten years is a respectable amount to have been playing. I started when I was six, but I think I’ve practiced enough for ten years. Mr. Winther was impressed with my work when he took me on. Do you know Mr. Winther? I suppose the palace hosts all sorts of musicians all the time. I can only imagine what that must sound like.

You noticed the double harmonics! I’m rather proud of those. They don’t come up often, but Mr. Winther insists on our knowing how to do them because they’re excellent for one’s control, both with fingering and bowing. And of course precision and control probably aren’t difficult for you, but if you’d like to know how to manage it...

[Several paragraphs of violin jargon.]

...and that’s all there is to it. I’m still mastering it myself but you should see some of the other pupils at Mr. Winther’s go at it.

Why, may I ask, did you take up violin? Tamett says you also play piano, probably more often. That’s a lot of instruments to take on, especially with all the other studying you boys do. (I say you boys, but that means mostly you. I know my brother.) I have to resort to military-like strategy to set aside enough hours to practice most days--not that I don’t want to, of course, but someone always needs me for something. Don’t have three younger sisters if you can help it. It’s a frightful drain on one’s time. And then they complain when I’m practicing at all hours of the night because they’ve kept me busy all day. I’ve suggested that they start learning instruments too and we could practice together, but then they look at me if I recommended they take up murder as a hobby. My family is sadly unmusical; I’ve no idea where I get it. You’re awfully lucky that all your siblings play too. Your elder sisters must be a great help. Oh, by the way, please thank Princess Ateva for the loan of her phonograph when I came to visit. It was quite generous and I didn’t get to properly express my gratitude at the time because she was about to entertain another visitor. What a lot of people you all must see every day!

Thank you for your agreeable letter. It was a pleasure to hear from you.

Your obedient servant

Emenor Lockridge

4 Tamett to Emenor

[DATE]

Dear Em,

How are you? I’m all right. Played handball most of the afternoon and made 22 goals, not bad. It was a proper match too, not practice, since some of the academy boys were stopping by and we had to do something with them besides inflict HRH on them all day. Not bad fellows, most of them. I had a chat with one of them about how things were at their school and it sounds so much better than Hollingham. Less Latin and Greek and more strategy and athletics and things like that. I still don’t understand why HRH isn’t going there. His father is awfully keen on Discipline and Lienne’s Military Future--at least, he is whenever I have to hear him talk--so you’d think that’s what he’d want for HRH. But HRH wants--I don’t know. None of this makes any sense.

The bear is biting, worse than usual. Herrich Bollingfurt was doing lessons with us today because he’s home from school later than usual for some reason and that was good because whenever he’s with us HRH practically forgets I’m there.

Before you can go to Hollingham you have to write an essay and do an interview with one of their people, especially if you’re not anybody in particular, so that’s what I have to do now. I wonder what they would say if all I wrote was “I want to go to Hollingham because I have to.” Because it would be the truth.

At least I don’t have to play the stupid violin anymore. And I’m not sorry I called it that. It was.

Your brother

Tamett

PS: I guess it’s all right when you do it.

5 Emenor to Tamett

[DATE]

Dear Tam,

No brother of mine would speak such blasphemies, and I refuse to listen to them. There was nothing wrong with the violin except your playing, and you weren’t really trying half the time anyway. Your talents lie elsewhere. Collecting bugs, for instance. They should have kept you busy doing that instead. Come on, you know you really love to hear some well-done fiddling when you get the chance. I’ve seen your face at my recitals.

The new violin is working out well. Mr. Winther says he’s never seen one of such exquisite craftsmanship. I’ve told him the story of how I came by it, but he didn’t seem to believe me, and the other students are now convinced I’m a dreadful liar. They have yet to provide a plausible alternate explanation for how this violin got here though. I suspect they think I stole it, and I’m not sure whether that explanation impresses them more or not. If so, I won’t debate it. Andar Vind has been tiresome enough lately about his “being a composer” (by which he means he’s cobbled together a few sloppy little tunes and played them for his admiring mother, which apparently elevates him to the status of Boschbrandt), and it’ll be satisfying to take him down a peg or two. I’ve been deliberately not playing as well as I can in front of him at lessons so he’ll have a surprise at our next recital.

So far no one has been complaining about my practicing on this instrument. (It’s boring calling it “the violin” constantly. It’s simply too important to be termed so plainly. I ought to give it a name, like knights give their swords in the fairy tales. Haven’t the slightest idea what name though. What do you suggest?) Clearly it has magical properties or something. Or everyone’s suddenly come to their senses about the importance of Musicality. That stamp on the back of the violin must have convinced them. At any rate, Lovisa and Cille are too busy quarreling about something to bother with me, and Zella is prowling about trying to get someone to take her up in the treehouse. Someone spilt jam on the dining room rug yesterday and the crisis is still the chief topic of conversation. A delivery of vegetables arrived at our kitchen in a state of wiltedness that none of us had previously thought possible. The neighbor’s dog went loose and invaded our garden and made a colossal mess. And I lost a flower off my good hat. We are an exciting set, aren’t we? I would tell you about the stamp that Father stuck in the album upside-down, but I’ll let him share that thrilling tale himself.

Bears do bite, and I’m sorry. It might not be intended for you really. I know I would be all on edge myself if I were off to a new school in another country so suddenly. Avoidance works. But bears, I might add, are supposed to be fond of honey. Whatever form it takes for this one. Try it sometime. Talk about--I don’t know--the stars here in the north. I know you both like that sort of thing, and I don’t know why you two haven’t discussed it together at all.

Would one of the tutors help you with your essay? You should ask. The writing has to be extra good if they’re ever going to let you in (I mean, if I were the school, I’d let you in with no questions asked, but this school of course doesn’t work that way), and I know you could manage it with some polish. Even if you don’t really have anything very eloquent to say, pretend you do, and you’ll probably convince them. It’s worked for me. And however boring Hollingham might be, it’s still literally the best school in Corege and at least you’d have that behind you for the rest of your life. It’s not really so worthless.

And neither are you. Miss you! How soon are they letting you come home?

Your sister

Emenor

[oveliagirlhaditright]

Because of @roselevesque wondering what kind of trouble a Lawlight child would get into... here are some ridiculous headcanons I’ve come up with, about Arya Stark from “A Song of Ice and Fire” being Light and L’s adopted daughter in some weird AU.

So, Light and L adopt Arya for an A+ reason to start with (I say sarcastically. But they really do come to love her and vice versa. Even though they’re sometimes shit at being parents, and Arya kind of shows it). 

Like, she’s some orphan that they meet after some case. I imagine the “Death Note version of Cersei(?)” is some political leader somewhere, and killed Arya’s father who was a threat to her. But L and Light were actually beginning to suspect Cersei of foul play a long time ago. So they finally bring her in for questioning--and Arya with her, who’s Cersei’s “ward”--and Arya’s all like, “I don’t like Cersei.” She didn’t buy the Stockholm-Syndrome thing the woman was trying to do with her for a second. 

Light and L then decide they like this child. 

L may even get the idea to have Arya judge everyone’s character from now on, as she seems good at it. And Light and L grow attached to this kid, which is part of the reason why they decide to adopt her. But the real one? L: “I just think we’re in a rut, Light-kun. We don’t do anything new anymore. It’s very boring. Why don’t we try something new, like adopting a child?” Light: “We are not adopting a child just because we’re bored, Ryuzaki!” L gives him a look. Light: “...Okay. Maybe we’re adopting a child...”

I should probably mention that this is an AU where Light gave up the Death Note and being Kira (somewhat. Though part of him is biding his time, hoping he can get his perfect world back. And L knows this. Light remembers everything, because he has a microscopic piece of the Death Note in his watch). 

Light and L decided to not tell Arya that Light was Kira--as a whole, the world doesn’t know Light Yagami was Kira--but Arya eventually finds out. More on that later.

I feel Arya loves both parents pretty equally. But she may slllllllllllllllllightly prefer Light. Just because there are times that L isn’t understanding at all. He doesn’t get, for instance, why someone calling Ayra “horserace” hurt her feelings, because it’s kind of true. L is very much with the “never forget who you are, the rest of the world will not. Wear it like armor and it can never be used to hurt you” mentality of Tyrion Lannister.

Arya may even have a hard time gravitating around L, because he has a hard time talking. But so does Arya, somewhat. So perhaps they actually bond over that? -shrugs- 

But L is good at trying to cheer Arya up, at times, by silly things like sweets (even though he was once miffed at her for not liking lemon cake. But then was okay with her again for loving tea) and swivel chairs. He was also the one who wanted to buy her a pony... or a wolf (since Arya wanted one) And Light had to tell him “no”. 

And both L and Light are A-okay with Arya wanting to learn sword play and horseback riding. 

L also probably taught Arya capoeira. 

And eventually, Arya does help him with some of L’s cases, since she is pretty sharp (they’re more L’s cases than Light’s, since Light is sort of on “probation”). 

There were also times that Arya would come to L, worrying that Light was Kira--and he would just kind of look at her gravely--before Arya realized she maybe agreed with Kira.

L is the one who goes to most of the parent-teacher-conferences. Because one time, Arya got in trouble for punching a kid in the face. And Light said, “What? She absolutely should have punched that creep, and I’m glad she did. She should do it again.” 

Light’s probably the one who tries the hardest to give Arya a normal, happy lifestyle and everything she needs. 

He’s also the one who brushes her hair, when Arya refuses to do that. (Speaking of... there are definitely times when L admits privately to Light, “Light-kun, what were we thinking in adopting a girl? We know nothing about them.” And Light responds with, “For your information, I’m great with girls!”) He’s not. And he might even somewhat resent Arya being such a tomboy at first, but he gets over it. L, however, has always loved that Arya is that.

Light’s also probably the one who realizes that Arya isn’t misogynistic? Which is hilarious, because Light can certainly be that himself. With helpful gems like, “Arya, I don’t think you actually resent female things, like embroidering--or your female peers for being good at it--but rather yourself for being bad at it. So if you want... I can try and figure it out myself and teach you, I guess.” 

Also... one day when Light is reading Arya a story and she says, “They killed the slaves? They should have killed the slavers,” Light has never been more proud of her than in that moment.

Both Light and L are of the mind that if anyone ever tries to touch Arya, she should kill them dead. Light and L might actually wish that Light had kept the Death Note, so they could put in it anyone’s name who would ever harm Arya.

Eventually, Arya is separated from Light and L. Basically, it’s found out that L was “aiding and embedding Kira”, so there’s this whole coup. Some people even discover L’s identity for a crazy second (before L gets that under control again. And convinces the general public that Kira is dead, and they’re all just cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs). 

And in this chaos, the family is completely torn apart. Even Light and L are away from each other for a while (and this is what stars Arya’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” journey. More on that in a minute). 

L finds Light... and there may actually be some tension there for a while, because Light thinks that L should have found Arya over him. 

L: “I tried to find you both, Light!” Light: “But if you had to choose... you should have put more energy into finding her, because Arya’s a hopeless child, L! I’m not!”

So, Arya’s mayhap put into this “home” where children of Kira-worshippers are tortured (it’s the closest thing I can think of for Harenhal here). And she’s deeply traumatized and fucked up by it. She escapes, and commits her first kill to do so (as a nine-year-old, no less)... and gets a taste for it. 

Like A Song of Ice and Fire!Arya, she begins keeping a list of all the people she’s going to kill, and that’s the only thing that keeps her going. And like in A Song of Ice and Fire canon, she changes her name multiple times, pretends to be a boy for safer travel, etc. 

During all of this, Arya has to try and come to amends with Light being Kira (as she knows now). Death Note’s version of “The Hound”, I guess, kidnaps Arya eventually to try and ransom her back to her parents (after the friend she’d made, “Gendry”, leaves her). But that doesn’t happen when Arya, perhaps, murders the Hound to get away from his abuse?

Still not entirely knowing how she feels about the “Light having been Kira, and Light and L having lied to her about it” thing, Arya might purposefully stay away from them for a while and join the “House of Black and White” cult, that worships death... She then realizes that maybe she will drink that Kira Kool-aid.

L and Light finally find Arya after this her stay at the House of Black and White (they never gave up looking for her, and knew that she was alive because their girl is a survivor. So eventually, they probably just had to face the truth that she didn’t want to be found). And there are issues again, because Arya now knows that Light was Kira and tells him this and wishes he would be Kira again (and Light, has, like, never been happier). But L thinks he might leave both of them here... I haven’t quite figured how they work this out yet.

Maybe because while this Light is somewhat biding his time, and does still think the system is corrupt and shit, he also gave the Death Note up for a reason? Did he realize that just soullessly killing everyone wouldn’t solve everything? And is her fearful that Arya is romanticizing death so much? And the deaths of some “innocent people”, even? Like this one guard, who didn’t know what he was there for, that she killed to get out of that first torture house? There’s probably some moment where Light is honest and says what being Kira almost cost him, and then tells Arya to not be like him. And then she isn’t.

L is upset by how damaged Arya now is, of course. And that he let it happen. “I can’t believe our daughter is nine and already a murderer--and that she enjoys it--...but she only did what she had to do to survive. And I am glad she found a way to survive.” 

Light: “You have to admit that you seem to be attracted to murderers, and vice versa. Maybe it’s only natural that this happened... And you have to realize that she got her affinity for changing names now from you, right?”

Some other things just off the top of my head: Light and L don’t think Gendry is good enough for Arya (until he makes her a sword? Then they sort of get it). Before then, they at least got her crush on Jaqen--if murder apparently interested her, as it would an honorable Wammy’s kid--but who was this Gendry fellow? And what kind of name was Gendry, anyway?

Sachiko loves Arya, because of course she would. Soichiro is somewhat afraid of what a child of Light and L will be like (he knows that his son was Kira), but is choosing to be hopeful and put all of his eggs into one basket, anyway. Sayu and Arya don’t get along that well (probably because of the tomboy and girly-girl thing. But they do try to be civil). And Matsuda is constantly thinking Arya’s going to be Kira 2.0, because he doesn’t want to be blindsided/betrayed again, but doesn’t say anything... But L, Light, and Arya all know Matsuda fears her, and probably laugh about it after their dinners together.

Though a part of L wants Arya to follow the “family business” and become a detective, he’s also open to any of her dreams. Arya decides she wants to travel some. That maybe she’ll be the first person to figure out what’s up with the Bermuda Triangle, and he thinks that that’s a beautiful thing. And he can’t say anything about her potentially wanting to risk her life to do it, because he risks his life for his line of work all the time, too. But eventually Arya does come home, and does probably become a detective like her parents.

The three probably have a lot of fun family outings, like to bakeries for one thing. And maybe Alaska?  L is from Britain, so he’s used to the cold. And I headcanon that this Arya likes the cold, even without being from Winterfell. So one time they visit there to look at wolves or something... and enjoy not having to pay taxes (even though L doesn’t even have to worry about it. Because he’s so rich) while they’re there... This was not Light’s favorite trip, but they still got a lot of cute pictures together, with wool coats and stuff. IDK.

Edit: So, in the books, there’s this scene where Arya is put in a dress and Gendry just bursts out laughing. Because it isn’t her. That scene probably still happens. And Light and L are probably there, too, and also laugh (maybe it’s a moment where Light and L finally get the Gendry thing), because they all know it isn’t her.

Edit 2: I forgot to mention that even though Arya is a quiet introvert, somewhat (like L). She’s also very charismatic (people always love her) and a good leader (like Light).

Edit 3: Arya totally gets to the point where she can beat Light and L in fights, of course... and most people.

[zebra-all-the-time]

Thank you for answering. ^^

So I thought about Ayra being in the tunnel vision au, because this au is one of my favorites and I thought about it all day. x3

I thought maybe Ayra isn‘t as affected as Morro and Zane are, because her elements are only half as strong, but when there‘s like a snowstorm she goes really crazy, because it‘s basically a mix of both her powers and the other‘s have to lock her up and/or cuff her so she doesn‘t kill herself.

I could see that!! I’m sure when she’s with either alone it’s annoying, but both at the same time is an UH OH

And we like to use the term “disappearing” in this AU /teasing

[randomnameless]

Since Leif’s major blooded sister is going to be released, time for some musings about some chapters in Project Exile

I guess i sort of understand some reactions that appeared when Project Naga gave us a new FE4 translation, there were things i have taken for granted in the FireLizard script that aren’t here anymore

but after a brief reading i’m finding some odd things that aren’t tied to a specific choice made by the new team (i understand the honorifics and titles used to call Eyvel and Leif were changed to show more familiarity between people who lived together as a mother and child)

In Chapter 5

When Raydrick panicks because Eyvel killed Mareeta and is out for his blood next, in the old translation he asked “someone to do something quick” underlining his own incompetence because the someone who is supposed to give orders to the randoms is, well, Raydrick himself!

In the new translation he orders people “his garrison” to kill Eyvel and it makes him a “little” more competent.

Earlier, when he explains what he did to Mareeta, Eyvel accuses him of wanting him to turn Mareeta into, in the old translation, “a crazed killer” but in the new one he wants to turn her into a “pitfighter” - is it supposed to mean that all pitfighters are completely crazy or that Mareeta is acting like a normal, sane, pitfighter?

But that’s not really important.

In Chapter 6 

August calling Ethlyn a “just maiden” instead of lumping her with Quan in the “tragic hero” label feels a bit strange, Ethlyn was no maiden since she had two children, and why is being “just” the adjective attached to Ethlyn? Is it just as in righteous or something else? We have “loyal Quan” - Loyal because he went to help Siggy, but Etlyn being “just”?

more important though

(is it readable?)

anyways it’s the tidbit of infodump Raydrick gives us on the Rivough situation (what did you expect^^)

in the old translation, Raydrick says that the Kingdom of Rivough was “demolished” - something that is missing in the new translated line, but adding that Galzus is “technically the prince of Rivough” with the death of his kin is kind of misleading

Why adding technically? or is it because Rivough is not a state/duchy/whatever so it can’t have any royalty ? (think of FE4!Finn, he would never call Miranda the Princess of Alster given how Leonster was the only stronghold in northern Thracia/Manster District, you don’t call the daughter of a random mayor who happens to have a castle a princess, do you?)

oh and

was it in OG script or not (google translate told me it wasn’t) but

FireLizard’s Raydrick never said that Rivough betrayed Isaach, we know it from FE4 (rather, Ayra tells us) - and the adding of “home kingdom of Isaach” feels like a unecessary addition. Did JP Raydrick infodump on us about Mananan’s name?

Thing is, I understand most people forgot about Rivough while playing FE5, it’s in a misseable convo between Ayra and Quan and it’s Danan’s castle in the second gen - but info dumping - by Raydrick - that the Rivough betrayed the Kingdom? How could Raydrick be aware that Rivough attacked Darna and it wasn’t something endorsed by King Mananan himself?

If Raydrick knows, then who else? Was Kurth himself aware of it? Or has it become widespread during Arvis’ reign?

And, finally, in the old version, Raydrick says (the most reliable narrator ever) that the Kingdom/whatever of Rivough had been invaded and destroyed.

In the newest translation, only the royal family died. 

So has Mananan killed his daughter and son-in-law and, idk, any siblings Galzus might have had, handwaved to the Rivough randoms with the head of their leader in a bag and rode to meet Reptor?

Or has he lead his army to destroy the kingdom/clan/whatever Rivough was, captured/pillaged randoms (or worse?) and rode to meet Reptor with his son-in-law’s head in a bag?

Why is it important? 

Rivough is the little grain of salt that prevents Isaach from being the land of “good barbarians who have no dirt on them” and, also, Rivough’s story being in FE5 goes with the general trend of the game, showing the greyest tones of Jugdral’s various states.

So no, not everyone and their cats wanted to see House Leonster assume the only, and defacto leading role in the Northern peninsula, and no, Isaach isn’t a safeheaven where barbarians live in harmony, even Isaach has its own share of dirt.

Again, why does it matter? Because it shows that humans can do shit regardless of Loptyr or Naga’s influence. Also, because more grey to Isaach.

[lovleez]

cai xukun “hard to get” mv theory

i’m back at it again!

i don’t think this one will need any warnings itself because everything is connected strictly to the mv itself (no, no killer sirens this time around) (but killer clowns tho 👀👀👀) (update: the killer clown IS the warning itself plz don’t read this if you have severe coulrophobia akjhdfjdh)

i’d recommended watching this to process what goes on in this post:

hard to get mv 

theory one 

this ones going to be really weird, so if you want a sensible theory, scroll down to the second one :D

let’s start here with clown xukun:

or more specifically, i want to talk about the clown, not xukun himself

okay here’s the driving force of this theory: this clown is a killing spirit that can possess people (and i’ll be referring to this entity as either clown  or ‘killer spirit’ throughout the rest of this theory)

(it’ll make sense later i hope)

now that this is established, let’s travel back to the beginning of the mv

the first 30 seconds or so are clearly a mix between the future and the present, as evidenced by the flashes

our first solid shot that signifies the actual start of the mv (aside from kun) is the main girl of this story

- her eyes are scouring around the room, obviously looking for something. when they settle, the scene jumps back to xukun 

moving on

at this part, when it flashed as if she was in a confused state, listen closely and you’ll hear a little woosh multiple times

this sound does come up multiple times in the mv, but never in the actual audio itself (yes i double checked w/ full volume 😌)

when does this sound come in? whenever the clown is involved (you’ll see)

what am i implying? at this point in the mv, this ‘killer spirit’ is possessing the girl at the moment

earlier when she was looking around, the clown was looking for a new host. why? well perhaps the current one was trying to fight for control (which is why in the scene seemed like she was disorientated for a bit) (or she could be drunk but shhh) 

and who does it pick? xukun obviously. but how did the clown switch hosts 

when the girl comes up to him, she hands him a drink, and xukun drinks it almost immediately (ʳᵉᵐᵉᵐᵇᵉʳ ᶠᵒˡᵏˢ, ᵈᵒⁿ'ᵗ ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗ ᵗʰᶦⁿᵍˢ ᶠʳᵒᵐ ˢᵗʳᵃⁿᵍᵉʳˢ)

and then this happens immediately:

which leads me to believe that there was some sort of drugging substance in there (or again, he could be drunk 🤫)

(also someone tell me why what looks like an old lady is at the club in the first place)

he heads over to the bathroom to clear his mind, but look who’s waiting for him there 

i’m assuming this is where the clown would switch hosts other stuff aside and all

the girl seems to leave in an awful hurry afterwards 👀

probably to escape the clown or something 

xukun also leaves the party . . . but what’s this in the scene?

a jump cut 👀👀👀

(i don’t know how to explain it for those who don’t know what that is...but it’s like  the little jump between kun walking down the path to him arriving at the mansions doorsteps in a flash)

well placed too

lend your ear to the noise before the cut 👂

it’s a whoosh, then clown giggles  👀

👀 👀 👀 👀 👀

okay, before we move into what’s happening after this scene, i’m going to fast forward the mv to 2:23

where the familiar clown giggles can be heard again, and the scene opens to the clown chasing the poor girl D:

i believe that this scene slots in perfectly to what happens during that jump

my brain tells me that when he was simply walkin down to the mansion here, but (obv) he spotted the girl and chased her down. what did he do? 

turn her into a puppet (not like literal, but you know those mind controlled human puppets you see on tv shows....yeah like those)

how’d i get to that conclusion?

👀 

when he walks into the mansion, and into the room, there’s a couch full of other people there just sitting there nearly lifeless

these ‘puppets’ are all presumably the clown’s previous hosts (and i draw this from the fact that the girl is sitting among them)

one more thing 

see how the girl was standing behind the couch in this gif, but when kun settles down, she’s sitting on the ground

its as if she (as a puppet) is welcoming him as the new host, and moves back to the ground to start her life as a presumably insignificant puppet

anyways lets call this theory to an end with the assumption that the clown finally found a permanent host in xukun 

(further proof he is possessed by a killer spirit...his eyes are glowing r e d...now go ahead and try telling me that’s normal 😤) (no it doesn’t seem like a reflection of the light to me,,,,where’d the light even come from in the first place?)

theory two

(aka the more sensible one \(`-`)/ )

this one is going to be more straightforward

the second theory follows a quite simple story line:

the two, kun and the girl, could possibly be a pair (whether it be as a couple or partners in crime, the only important fact about this is that xukun is a killer in this verse) 

and for whatever reason, the girl is simply unhappy with him. so what does she decide to do? drug him, with a side of assassination in mind

so when he heads out to clear up his mind in the bathroom, she plans to murder him there 

however, the attempt was unsuccessful, so she heads out. xukun heads out too, maybe a few hours later. 

however, this jump cut would signify that something else happened before he arrived there

when we go back inside the mansion, to the girl, we see these shots:

it seems like she’s rather expressionless, but she also looks annoyed

there’s also this scene (+ the lyrics)

do i gotta clear it up / swear i ain’t in a rush / i could only play with you so much

does it not seem like he is mocking her here???

before this scene is the clown chasing her. so what does my brain conclude?

after the assassination attempt, he went after her in his killer clown attire to give her a scare, and it worked.

as we can see, she’s sitting by his feet pretty obediently so.

also there’s this scene at the end of the mv:

its probably hard to tell from the gif, but just take a look from the mv and look at the gaze. 

he knew what she was going to go through, but probably played along to give her a lesson.

or,

this mv is quite simple and is what it is: xukun is a killer clown who targeted the girl as his next victim, those scenes where in both theories i stated he was drugged was probably just him getting drunk, and the people in the mansion are simply his past victims (yes i could make this into theory #3 but i’m lazy)

....but where’s the fun in that

however, the solid takeaway from this mv no matter the theory is that xukun is indefinitely: a clown (an angel too 🥺) (not in the mv tho)

[lovleez]

s.k.y “burn” mv (short-ish) theory

link to watch the mv (for reference) (maybe keep it open while reading this bc i didnt provide gifs to back up my thoughts for this 😔 ) 

no warnings needed for this (for once) !

okay so! first of all there are 2 worlds in this mv - the regular s.k.y (maybe even their real selves aka idols that were training or smthn) and the second world is a dystopian one

     - i say this bc for a majority of the mv the setting/filtering is orange/yellow/red ish which is usually the hue for apocalyptical/dystopian stories

     - plus all the lightning storms kind of set up a gloomy-ish mood? maybe?

     - when that one member (idk his name yet sorry) is riding his motorcycle through an area, everywhere around him is desolate without much signs of life (this ones a bit of a stretch ehe)

most of the mv takes place in the dystopian world, so regular s.k.y will be a bit irrelevant for now

as most dystopian plot follows, there’s another bad group of humans out there (maybe hogging all the resources needed to live or something along those lines) to which s.k.y is a group who opposes them

     - im going to assume this bad group is the military solely for the reason that in one dance set theyre wearing miltary pants

          - to expand on that: s.k.y could have been part of this military once (hence why they have the pants) and broke off from them to make a resistance group when they realized they were doing something wrong

what were they doing wrong? building androids! maybe to replace the human population or so

     - i get the androids from linjie’s solo scenes where he’s walking through a room full of skeleton models of what i assume is for androids + a lot of head/body busts (mayhaps for the skeleton to be modelled after ?)

and not only a just androids in general...the military were building androids replicating real living people 

     - 3:12 xikan is standing across another member...but not the actual member, an android version of the member

          - i say this only bc his gaze is kind of standoff-ish (hostile?) towards the other (idk this one’s name either T-T) 

               - why would he feel hostile towards his fellow comrade right? so it has to be a military built android :D !

so! s.k.y probably takes it upon themselves to destroy this android building area and mayhaps take down the military too by 

*drumroll please*

.

burning it down! 

     - minor detail of the mission: s.k.y split themselves into teams on how to take down the place = xikan + linmo set off to take down the monitors the army has on them, zuo ye + linjie are tasked with destroying the androids, and everyone else is guarding the perimeters? they’re all outside on stand by is what im assuming

         - the team (or specifically xikan?) being monitored is backed up by the tvs showing xikan on them early in the mv (both of them also appear in what i assume is the monitor room so)

          - i paired linjie + zuo ye up and gave them their specific task bc 1) around 1:12 ish linjie is seen knocking an android skeleton thingie down 2) all of zuo ye’s solo shots are in similar rooms as linjie’s 3) at 2:20 ish theyre standing back to back (at least i think thats linjie behind zuo ye??)

whether they succeed at their whole scheme is unsure, but when scouring/destroying the place they might have found a portal/a way of contact with regular s.k.y (namely a mirror?)

...the end :D !!!

i cant rlly figure anything else out abt the connection between the two worlds (_ _ )>

.

- extra 1: the ring that one member holds at 1:28 are member rings for their resistance <3

     - but this same member also takes of his ring and burns it so maybe he’s a traitor :0

- extra 2: some members can control fire (namely wenxuan)

     - or maybe even all of them bc at 3:46 the fire from the projector above makes it looks like there is fire running through their veins/bodies (= an implication abt their abilities ?)

- extra 3:  maybe its not  two worlds, but instead s.k.y in the dance practice room is actually dystopia s.k.y in the present (or they escaped to another world) and they were just reminiscing the past (and hinting that they were successful w/ burning the military down as implied by xikan blowing the ash out of his hand ) (but this can be disproven? by the mirror reflecting the two worlds..?) (does this part even make sense ajksdfhjkfh)

[lovleez]

you zhangjing "azoraland” mv theory

i finally found the words to write this :D

if you want, it might be easier for you to process this if you watch these two before reading:

azoraland mv

night of one star mv

okay, to start off

i'm going to assume the start of this mv could have taken place before humans  have been "created" (it’ll make sense soon just wait)

i think we all can agree here when i say that zhangjing emits an aura of a supernatural being, right?

so like in the beginning of the mv we see zhangjing in a sort of mournful state. the colors around him are all dark/purple-ish hue, which gives way to a depressing mood. you can also see zhangjing expressing sorrowful movements with his body (ex: reaching out for something, which expresses his yearning for something that was lost perhaps?). another hint to this mood is the lightning and rain. these two elements in media are usually used to express a depressing mood, which is exactly what they are doing here. you can even say that the electric rain represents his tears.

now why is zhangjing so sad? idk man. moving on-

jk jk, i'm actually going to loop in the "night of one star" mv here. in contrast to azoraland, its bright and pink, full of explosive color. you felt happy watching it right? (or not because i felt confused but well. yeah) perhaps zhangjing found his happiness there too. perhaps in the time between these two mvs, zhangjing lost his happiness, causing him to be in the state he is now. i won't go further into this 

now fast forward to 1:45 in the mv. the weird part. ppl are exploding from the ground. why? idk. it was a weird decision on the hand of the creative team. but this could as well as represent the birth of humans, no? note down that as zhangjing is walking through the field of exploding humans, we can see interest is shown in his face (or maybe i'm seeing things, lets just pretend he looks interested for my sake) 

ok then fast forward in time (not like mv time but in the mv universe) and you see the humans simply chillin in the sand. but whats this? the atmosphere is quite dull, no? as if the humans are all lost.

cue zhangjing (obv, it is his mv)

in this part of the mv, zhangjing is simply going "oooooooo" (very pleasing to hear btw, thank u for ur heavenly vocals). but what if, take this, its a call to the humans?

(yes it may look like he's purely singing in these, but lets think abt it creatively for my sake once more okay)

see, everyone is perking up towards voice. moments after/during the call, the humans start walking towards zhangjing's assumed location in what seems to me like a trance like state.

-

okay, pause about the mv for a lil while. what does everybody know abt sirens?

in greek mythology, sirens were:

“singing enchantresses capable of luring passing sailors to their islands, and, subsequently, to their doom.“

are the pieces clicking in your mind yet 👀👀👀

if not then

yes, i am implying that mayhaps zhangjing could possibly have powers similar to a siren. but not that he is a siren, no. just similar to one. (keep in mind we've already established that zhangjing is perhaps a powerful creature)

ok so

this part really is what stood out the most to me. it seems very out of place, right? there's two things about the gif i want to address.

before i do, i want to say that what we see in this scene could possibly be what the humans are seeing themselves (basically it’s in their pov)

okay so

1) his gaze. its very entrancing and sharp right? like it's beckoning you to come closer

2) the sudden change in scenery. no longer are things dark and gloomy. now we have arrived at a sunrise, everything is bathed in light. which, to me, seems like all this sudden yellow hue is representing hope (from the dark gloomy scenery or whatever else). also sunrises represent new beginning right? which is kinda related to hope???

as it zooms out, we see humans running towards zhangjing.

but whats this? back to the original scenery, are we?

i won't go further into this until later, but this scene suites the more darker route for the mv ending

ok so for the lighter route :D

where are the humans going? the mv suggests nothing, but my brain came up with something.

brushing back to the earlier half of this mv, we have to remember zhangjing seemed like he was in a pretty dark place himself. but what if he saw these humans just be vibing sadly and thought "what if i could offer them the happiness i once found in my life (the night of one star mv)"

basically, zhangjing saw that they were experiencing the same sorrow as him, and wanted to offer them something better. so, where they jump to would basically be a place that makes them happier, which could be implied by the golden rays representing happiness and better times.

right? right??? ayra plz tell me this ends happily :')

ahahaha its a likely theory but i have a stronger one that gets a bit dark ;-;

(aka plz kadoodle off here and accept that as the only theory if your uncomfy with death)

so ;-;

look we all knew this was coming the moment i mentioned sirens okay.

now lets go back to that one scene

recall that i told ya'll that zhangjing's hawk gaze was in the pov of humans. that is a key piece.

this scene would be in the pov of zhangjing.

the humans are in a trance like state, yes? they are too blinded by what zhangjing is showing them. whats he showing them? happiness maybe. that's why everything is in a golden hue.

this gif shows that everything is not as it seems.

they are, for sure, in a trance

note down in the mv that when they start jumping off the cliff, zhangjing is nowhere to be seen.

it is neither shown, nor implied that he jumped off with them.

what conclusion do i draw from this? the sunrise and whatever the humans see is an illusion.

zhangjing is, in fact, leading them to their deaths, as is the nature of the sirens.

why? idk man.

i just don't know.

(actually i need to connect this back to the first half of the mv for the sake of closure. remember that the humans were just vibin (sadly) on the sand....but they were in pairs. maybe they were actually happy. maybe zhangjing just didn't like that they achieved something he had lost)

anyways.....plz take this with a pinch of salt. i pulled this out of nowhere, and surely the mv had a different meaning. i didn't even bother looking into the song lyrics too so. yeah. ✌

[isfjmel-phleg]

OC Asks: 9, 10, 16, 17, 19, 25

9. What is your favorite platonic relationship between your OCs?

I don’t know if I have an exact favorite, but Elystan and Tamett’s dynamic is fun to write, although I haven’t done much with it yet. Plenty of banter opportunities, and for once Elystan gets to interact with someone he likes who likes him back without obligation. Alternately, I’ve become curious about where Amarantha and Ayra’s interactions are going; they ended up having some unplanned chemistry (if I could presume to call it that) and more in common than they seem to.

10. What is your favorite familial relationship between your OCs?

...these OCs have a lot of terrible familial relationships, yikes. I hesitate to call most of those favorites, although they’re interesting to work with. But as far as sibling relationships go, the Lockridge kids are the most stable and unambiguously fond of each other and thus a joy to write. For parental relationships, Amarantha and her father, who is open, hands-on, mentoring, and playful with her (unlike my other fictional fathers, who tend to be distant, problematic, or dead). For marital relationships, Levico and Edmara, who actually chose to marry each other and are still crazy about each other even with all the nonsense life puts them through.

(the theme here seems to be “don’t be royalty, and you will have a stable family”?)

16. Which OCs don’t know each other, but would get along great if they did?

Rietta and Antavia would hit it off. Rietta likes most people, so it wouldn’t be hard for her to warm up, but she’d be especially fascinated with all the stories Antavia could tell her about her travels and her bohemian existence. She’d be fascinated by Antavia’s short hair and daring clothes and probably want to copy them. Antavia, meanwhile, is very particular about the people she favors with her presence and has spoken very snarkily about the pedestrian nature practically inherent to anyone born royal. But Rietta’s exuberance would appeal to her taste for novelty, and she’d see something of her younger self in the girl--one of the highest honors she can bestow. She’d probably try to be an influence on Rietta, try to warn her away from the miserable existence she’s up against, so it’s fortunate they don’t know each other.

17. Which OCs don’t know each other, but would hate each other if they did?

If, by some horrific twist of fate, Josiah had been born Talfrin’s son instead, they would loathe each other. Josiah’s mindset represents everything Talfrin is opposed to, and Josiah would have nothing but criticism for a man who is loud, forceful, reckless, and of dubious reputation. Talfrin would take every opportunity to set Josiah up for embarrassment; Josiah would be in a constant state of spluttering exasperation.

(and I suppose that this hypothetical scenario implies that Elystan and Odren are somewhere being father and son, which is just as bad or worse)

19. What’s the strangest way two (or more) OCs have met?

In Book 1 (still unwritten), Rietta meets ten-year-old Elystan at a party he’s not supposed to be at, shortly after he’s got hold of what he doesn’t realize is a glass of champagne, which goes about as well as you would expect.

Tamett meets [redacted] when he confronts [redacted] with his certainty that [redacted] is spying on Elystan, only to embarrassingly learn just who [redacted] really is...but we’ll have to wait forever to get to that.

25. Do any OCs have imaginary friends?

Not explicitly. Mikaiah is about the right age to do this and rather overlooked by his family, so he’s the most likely candidate. Unless you count Levico’s fictional characters as imaginary friends.