#because I would assume its in the same way writing a song is different than arguing with someone

[rubydubydoo122]

What is an activity Cass likes to do that has nothing to do with vigilantism? Is there even such a thing for her?

Dance. I feel like it's an outlet for her, and she's been told her whole life that all she is supposed to be is a weapon, but while dancing she knows for certain that she isn't one.

because dancers and assassins aren't much different. There's grace, there's strength, there's a rhythym to follow. But an assassin uses those things to harm, while a dancer uses those things to express.

[basil-does-arttt]

so we all know how Bury The Light as a theme song represents Vergil and subsequently his story and themes within DMC 5??

Well obviously that means Subhuman is the same for Dante. So i did some thinking (wow big surprise there shocking i know)

The TLDR of this is my conclusion that Dante is reckless and overconfident because of his half-devil nature and as a result disregards his life and safety. Also, that Dante has mixed feelings about his demon side.

Specifically what got me to this thought was the line we all know if you've listened to subhuman:

"You cannot kill me, i am subhuman."

And,

I mean come on, the message couldn't have been written any clearer here. Because he's part demon, because he's - as Dante puts it, assumably the writing of this song is from his POV much like i assume Bury the Light is from Vergil's POV - sub-human, he believes he cant die. That whatever is thrown at him, no matter what or how dangerous the situation is, he naively believes he will come out the other end unscathed.

And to be honest, he kinda has reason to believe that thus far. If being stabbed at least 5 times throughout your life and brushing each one off as if it were a mere scratch wasn't enough to convince him, defeating so many different great demonic beasts including Mundus himself definitely would. I mean, who wouldnt? Whatever hell throws at Dante, surely cant be any worse than the actual fucking demon king or his own brother post-DMC 5. In a sense, he believes he is immortal.

But that way of thinking is shallow, its naive and leaves him open to danger because it makes him cocky. He thinks he's untouchable, and that way of thinking could get him seriously hurt or worse if he isnt careful. (As we see in the beginning of DMC 5 actually. He thinks "eh, ive fought worse, how bad could this actually be?" That "Its only Vergil, and ive fought him before." Only to have his shit kicked in and end up in a coma for a month. Imagine if that happened with a different demon that wasn't so merciful as to keep him alive for all that time, who would've jumped at the opportunity to rip him to shreds in an instant.)

I also want to go into how the song reflects Dante's (poor) mental health and his thoughts on being a half-demon.

Its kinda hard to catch unless you really think about it but the song is clearly negative in tone when it comes to describing Dante's own devil form. "As i call upon the dark gift to erupt" is one line that sticks out to me and i think is the best example of this. I also believe from the song that Dante views his DT as a seperate entity from himself; "I feel the devil in me, we're coming right for you".

"Funny how the mind tries to sink me deeper, as the evil tries to turn me around." The evil could be in reference to other demons, yes, but it also could be referencing his own "demon"; "i must not forget that i have bled, from no respect to the demons in my head". Wether that line means he's gotten himself hurt because of his own recklessness or self-harm i cant tell, and i wont assume one or the other specifically.

Throughout the song too, the lines "i cannot erupt, i must control, i cannot erupt, i must explode" to me also seems like Dante struggles with control of his DT, and is scared of losing himself when triggered. The whole tone of the song seems like a rampage of sorts too, its very aggresive and almost violent. "Something save me, put me out of my destiny, and drop me safely in this hell"; yet at the same time as his fears toward his own DT, it feels natural to him, this kind of "bloodlust" he feels in his triggered form is something he doesnt want but he knows he cant keep from happening entirely, so as a result the most comfortable place for him is in danger. He can let loose and he doesnt have to worry when all he's killing is demons. One last thing, "i see right past me, the eyes are flashing" to me sounds like Dante becomes almost dissociated when triggered, he's not really present in his mind and body and is acting on pure instinct alone.

All in all, Subhuman (like i said earlier) at first just sounded like an epic battle theme for Dante, but when i really listen to it, it becomes much sadder. Of course all of this could just be me bullshitting so id love to hear other's takes on this.

i also wanna analyze Bury the Light too. So i might do that later.

[mcverse]

Hi can i ask a scenario wherein how would the sakamaki brothers react to a guy asking yui for a date and she says yes *bcs a sakamaki × yui were having an arguement*.

Oh look, there’s one of my vitals organs on the floor… I guess I laughed too much???

Yui! Reader dead.

The person she dared to even accept is dead.

It’s not meant to be funny but I can’t help it !!! You know what they are and what they can do. 🙃🙃

Okay but maybe I’m being to quick to assume, it could be plausible it’s anything but death… for some! Let’s see how this plays out cuz idon even know yet

Reminder: The boys (+ Mukami bros) are cute ngl and have moments of genuine affection and adoration toward reader (not really Yui! Reader — same difference tho) but they are very deadly, and that’s what I based this post off. Actually, it’s what I base all my dialovers posts off.

Pairing: Yui! Reader x a Sakamaki Brother

Type: Scenario

Word count: 3.2K

Warning: Death, Jealousy, Possessive, Insecurities, Yandere-ish??, Yui! Reader being self sabotage maybe, torture, not spell checked

Side bar: If you can’t tell, I love dark humor. You’ve been warned. Also this is definitely a x reader blog only, so I made the post to represent that. I didn’t want to not do the post cause the ask was really good! Some are longer than others, I got way ahead of myself. Subaru is kinda shorter cuz it’s hard to write him :/

Like always, characters are aged up appropriately!

Yui! Reader dating anyone but a Sakamki brother

Shu Sakamaki

You were a nuisance. A tiny, insignificant spec inside his world all because of that man couldn’t stop scheming. The existence of you has caused so much trouble—so many anomalies—he lost count after a while.

A human girl who couldn’t leave well enough alone. One that couldn’t obey, know right from wrong despite knowing all the facts and yet still being clueless. You made his life very difficult. He proved it to you time and time again.

Yet here he was, very out of character as he stood over your broken body. The feeling from earlier upon hearing the rumor of you leaving for someone else only now left his body. He felt like he wasn’t in control of his body during what he was doing to you.

He felt every emotion under the sun screaming at him loudly, blocking the noise of his music through his headphone. It was infuriating; he just wanted to relax. Do nothing and relax… Not break your fucking legs.

But what’s done is done.

He no longer felt this unwelcome discomfort in his chest when he saw you standing near another. It wasn’t him then. He was someone else, someone mad, someone crazy infatuated.

Shu has never been one to like someone.

So where did he fuck up?

Why did he fuck up?

He was always calm, calculated. The man he was today was driven by pure rage. Your screams in agony were music to his ears, better than any of the songs he enjoyed. Your pain, your scrunched up face and screaming, it was because of him. All because of his touch.

That thought alone satisfied him as he came down from his high, expression back to its blank slate, unreadable. He scuffs as your sound turns to whimpers and at your weak attempts to crawl away. It was almost cute… almost.

Bending down, he grips one of you legs causing a whale to leave you. Your hand instantly goes to his arm to stop him. He shakes it off him effortlessly, starring intensely at your face as he yanks you to him, you are now face to face.

With a tilt of his head, he smirks, “This is your mistake. For meddling in my life… take responsibility as I drain you of everything.” He grabs your hair, yanking back your head, “The only thought in your head should be giving yourself to me.” he finishes with the sinking of his teeth in your throat.

Reiji Sakamaki

Honestly, he thought he kneeded you into the perfect pet. At this point you should know better. His teachings should have gotten you into shape, but here you are once again being disobedient. Oh, how he detested that part of you. This hurts you more than him.. perhaps you like it?

Without missing a beat, when you arrive home he calls you to his office. This insolence has to be put to rest. You have soiled his family name, much less his pride though he would never tell.

This rumor, even though it was just that, was disgraceful. And it spread, reaching his ears. As if you would be with the trash that litter these halls. Who did they think they were compared to him. They were nothing, that’s what. You knew this. So why would you think it was okay?

Yes, it brings him great satisfaction when he saw you close in on yourself under his gaze, body trembling in fear. At least your body knows his touch, your mind still seemed to show some resistance. No worries, Reiji considers himself a excellent teacher. He was never one to give up, no matter the challenge.

“I don’t wanna hear your excuses…” he starts, getting up from his seat. On his way over to you, he grabs a cup filled with liquid and stands in front of you, pushing it towards you, “Drink this.”

Scared, you shake your head already knowing it’s something bad. You remember the last time he gave you something, the nightmares are everlasting.

Reiji inhales deeply, frowning down at you, “Drink it or I’ll shove it down your throat. I’ll be anything but gentle.” Again he pushes it to you, this time settling it in your hands after his threat weighed heavy in the air.

Cautiously you take a sip, tasting a honey dew hibiscus blend before swallowing the rest. You hand him the empty cup after, noticing no effect. It confused you, was that simply tea?

You’re question was answered shortly after when your eyes felt heavy and your body light as air. You stumbled into Reiji’s arms loosely, looking at him through blurry vision. The last thing you see is him smiling.

…

When you came to, you found you were strapped to a chair, in what looked to be the dungeon. How could you forget? You had the worst happen to you here, a shiver travels down your spine when you think about it.

“You’re up.” Reiji, a voice you’ll never forget, spoke behind you. You tried to turn to see him, but it was difficult. He chuckles are you attempt, walking around you to face you. Your eyes immediately notice a cloth bag in his gloved hands, the bottom cut open.

“What’s that for?” You squeeze out, heartbeat picking up.

“A lesson.” was all he said when he forces it over your head till it hang around your neck. He pulls away to walk around you again, making noise behind you. Then you heard a squeak. Your breath stills.

Please tell me that’s not a—

Reiji comes back into view, holding a rat in front of your face. It was mid size, black and ugly. You were going to cry, already feel the tears pool at your eyes.

“Reiji, please!” You shake your head, thrashing around in the chair.

He clicks his tongue, “Bad girls get punished.” He holds the bag in one hand and the rat in the holder. Inch by inch the rat gets closer to your face, thrashing in Reiji hand not liking the harsh treatment just like you.

A scream rips from your throat when he drops it on your head and quickly ties the bag.

You had to learn your place one way or another.

Ayato Sakamaki

Ayato had to have heard wrong because there was no fucking way that you chose someone other then him. Especially knowing that you were his and his alone. This rumor had to be just that, false information spreading around the school.

He knew he didn’t have anything to worry about, it was him for crying out loud. No one can compete… but he still needed to hear how wrong everyone was from the source.

He found you easily in the girls bathroom, locking the door to avoid any interruptions. It was a miracle he was thinking clearly, usually it was so unlike him. And that’s why it was scary.

His stare was intense and focused, it made you squirm under the heat of it. He taunts you with slow forward steps, making you take steps back until your back was flush against one of the walls. He caged you in between his arms immediately, decreasing your chances to escape. As if you had any to begin with..

“Ore-sama’s been hearing some things he shouldn’t, Chichinashi.” He begin, his left hand sliding down to grip one of your shoulder, “It’s not true right? You wouldn’t dare go against Ore-sama?”

“A-Ayato.” Your mouth felt dry all of a sudden. You knew what he was talking about. After having a disagreement once again between you both, you foolishly accepted a date with another. You thought it would come to nothing, little did you know that the person would spread the news like a wild fire.

His grip tightens, nails digging through your uniform into your skin, drawing blood from you. The smell was intoxicating as always to Ayato, but he was to busy seething inside to notice completely.

“It was a mistake! I didn’t mean it, I was upset. Forgive me.” You plea body trembling in both pain and fear.

A scowl stretches onto his face, his hand long left your shoulder the minute those words left your lips. Instead, they wrap around your throat, tightening as he processes your words. It came to the point, you were clawing at his hand, letting out choked gasps.

Ayato couldn’t think straight. All he can think about is you being with someone that’s not him. How dare you? Ayato should be your whole world, your first thought when you wake up and your last thought when you sleep. You should feel suffocated by his presence, otherwise he wasn’t doing his job.

Slowly he loosens his hold on you, leaving you chugging down air desperately. A few minutes pass before you glance at him, body going still when you see the huge sinister grin on his face.

“Ore-sama’s just gonna have to remind you who you belong to,” he suddenly grabs your hair and throws you on top of the faucets counter, “No matter how long it takes, everyone will know you belong to Ore-sama.” He finishes before sinking his sharp teeth into your neck with purpose.

Kanato Sakamaki

If it was any normal person, they would be heart broken and move on. But Kanato was anything but normal.

First he lets you get away with talking back to him in your argument yesterday, chosen to forgive you after you reluctantly make him snacks and now.. you had the audacity to cheat on him.

You filthy, untrustworthy mortal.

He was aware all woman were the same. Hell, he constantly reminded him despite the kind attention you gave him. He always assumed your kindness had ulterior motives. Why else would someone be kind to him? He knew he was a handful. He just didn’t care.

Now it was clear how you felt about him, there was no hiding it. There was no hiding from him. This time, you actions are unforgivable. You thought you can toy with his feelings… You’ll pay in the worst way.

When he invited you to his room, you didn’t think much of it. Somehow you were completely oblivious to the news spread throughout the school. In fact, the situation with the date was so far in the back of your head, you have forgotten it had happened. You were just upset in the moment. It was never more than just a sway of words.

That’s why after entering his room to see the person who asked lying lifeless in a pool of blood a few feet away from Kanato, were you shocked. Just a few hours ago, he was alive. Guilt quickly creeped up on you but it was shortly lived when Kanato called for your attention.

“So glad you’re here. Good to know you’re still a little obedient,” he smiles but it doesn’t reach his eyes. He points to the dead on his floor, “Remember them?” he laughs, “Of course they do! Right teddy?” he turns to the bear in his hand.

You remain still, time ticking like a bomb about to go off. Which in all honestly it could, Kanato was unpredictable and if he found out about that and this was the outcome, imagine what he would do to you.

How do you get out of this situation?

“Look at her, teddy. She’s planning something… whatever it is won’t work. No. I don’t like it.” he shakes his head, “I’d much rather your expression be twisted in pain than whatever this is…” he walks towards you, face twisting from one emotion to another before settling into a deep frown. He stops a feet away from you, your back against the door before she even realizes it.

“I do enjoy your terrified expression too, it’s adorable.” he mumbles. It felt like time froze with how long you both been staring at each other. Kanato hold on his bear tights as he stares numbly at you. It was too much, you had to say something.

“Kanato—“ your voice trails off because in a split second, a knife was lunged into your abdomen. It hurt so much, it pulsed with heat. Your mind couldn’t wrap around what was happening. Gripping the arm it was attached to, you looked the culprit in his crazed eyes, “Kan-ato..”

He sneered twisting it harshly, “Did you think you can get away with using me?! I told you I’d break you. Down to your last breath.” he yanks it out, watching your body drop to the floor, struggling to inhale.

“You’re lucky you’re pretty enough to be added to my collection,” he bends down to stab you again in your shoulder. He smiles when you haller out in pain, “To stay with me forever… you should be grateful.” he stabs your leg.

“That’s right.. look at me like that.” he repeatedly stabs you over and over until the life drifts from your eyes to nothing, “You’ll never leave me. Will you?”

Laito Sakamaki

What was this? Is his hearing finally going, has he finally reached that age? No, that can’t be it. So whst exactly was happening?

His little bitch going on a date with some that’s not him? How outrageous. Not possible. He’s the only one who can take you out on sexy rendezvous and risky trips. You liked it better when it was him. He knew that.

So why is it that hearing the rumor stirs something unsettling in him. It tugs at his undead heart and gnaws at his brilliant brain. Before he could do anything, it seeped through the cracks, drowning him.

Every memory with his mother, with every woman he encountered, every person who he thought he loved—who he thought showed him love and every betrayal he assumed or saw came full surface.

It hurt so much. He swore to never feel like this again. And it ate at his mind. If he had a breath to give, it would be ripped right out of him. He didn’t like this. He wasn’t the one in control, he wasn’t the one getting your love. He wasn’t the one playing the game. He felt like the game played… him.

When Laito found you, he all but dragged you to the roof top. A place where terrifying, haunting memories were held. The same ones that kept you on your toes, but failed you every time.

Laito was uncharacteristically quiet, his back turned to you as he stared out into the open planes. It could have been a pleasant sight if you didn’t know what kind of monster he really was.

“Y’know, little bitch.” he starts, taking his hat off to run his free hand through his hair, “There was only one other time I truly loved someone to the point of hate. All the others… they weren’t real.”

Hearing where this conversation was heading, you reach back to grip the handle when a gasp leaves you. No longer were you standing in front of the door, instead Laito has you dangling off the rails of the school on your toes. His right hand was twisted into your uniform shirt, the only thing keeping you from falling.

Quickly, you grab his arm, tears swelling in your eyes as you see the sad expression on his face. It squeezed at you heart, but maybe that was actually the fear of falling.

“Lait-o please!” You lean forward into his touch.

He clicks his tongue, shaking his head at your attempt to sway him. He knew this scene all too well. The first was hard on him, he drowned himself in body after body. No doubt this would be the same. It didn’t bring him the same joy as his usual actions did. This time he truly felt torn.

“Little bitch,” he draws in your attention and you lock eyes, “It doesn’t bring me joy from this. I would have rather spent the rest of our lives together… exploring each other but I can’t tolerate the betrayal.”

It only dawned on you what he was talking about. From the start of this interaction you thought he was being moody but you should have known; play your cards just a little better but it was too late. With a easy unraveling, he lets you go with a gentle push and watches as you descends to the floor.

So many emotions raved through him as he did. He wanted to grab you back and tell you it was a joke. But he stays in place when he hears a loud splat and a pierced scream.

He couldn’t even bring himself to peek before he left. You brought up to many bad memories, how could he forgive you?

Subaru Sakamaki

Subaru really couldn’t stand you. From the moment you entered their home and disrupted his peace. It was always something with you. Always needing saving from someone or something, always needing to be reminded that you were beneath him and everyone in this house.

Yet you seem to not understand it or that you do but you completely throw it to the wind, whatever the reason it pissed him off. All your stupid attempts to get close to him, to try and understand him… to get him to open up.

Then, despite his constant attacks on you, he actually grew some form of attachment. The thought of you sicken him, but the thought of you gone made him mad more. You disgusting, weak human did something to him.

So when he heard the rumor of you agreeing to date someone else. It was like… something broke in him. All his thoughts consumed him, he was a monster. Less than trash. His mother didn’t want him nor his father. Why would you?

He didn’t even like himself sometimes. It’s no surprise the time you have another argument, you agree to date someone else. If he was in your position, he’d run to. Run so far, the chances of anyone catching him was slim to none. But you weren’t that good at running… actually, you couldn’t really run after he caught you.

There was a permanent snarl on his face as he stares down at you. A chained collar secured tightly around your neck, identical to the ones around your wrist. If Subaru wasn’t so aggravated, he could have enjoyed seeing you ruined.

He grips the knife in his left hand, which drips of your blood, “Shut up!” he shouts, listening to your whimpers, “You brought this on yourself. Stupid.. You just don’t learn.”

He moves to crouch in front of you, lifting your head up by the chin, “I told you you’ll die if you stay here.” His left hand raises as he speaks and makes another slash across your skin.

You groan loudly with shut eyes, shaking as he does it again… and again, and again till more and the same wounds bleed profoundly. It was agonizing, with how many hours he’s been at it. It felt like he was never going to lighten up his assaults.

But a miracle shines on you when he pulls away and drops the knife. He stands over you for minutes, chest heaving up and down. You never understood why they pretended to breathe, but you weren’t in the position to question.

There you laid out like a doll. So broken, bruised and bloody. Almost beyond repair. Subaru smiles at that acknowledgment. As much as he was tempted to tear your throat out, the smell of your blood begging him to drain you dry till you were foaming at the mouth; this would have to do.

”I told you… you’ll die.” was the last thing he said before leaving the dungeon, locking it on the way out.

Fuck he hated you.

DL Masterlist

[yuraslefttoe]

hey tart! I finally dared to write you a question, omg. so I want to start with formalities, because I am damn delighted with every song of yours!! I swear, I am in absolute love for your work, and I am interested in everything connected with it! (and I apologize in advance for possible illiteracy, I am not a native english speaker and am only in the process of learning it *TwT*)

therefore, I would like to know more about your characters. for example, how tall are each of them? or what about their clothes? andrey’s is quite strange, is it some kind of uniform?? Same question about misha, lmao! oh, besides andrey has a scar along his eye. do you have a lore moment of how he got it???

and one last thing. I don’t run social networks as such, but I want to show you my various sketches and other little things, if you don’t mind. can I attach them to my future questions just so you can see them, okay?)

👉👈

ohh thank you so much for all the kind words :) sometimes i feel sad because people enjoy these characters so much and i do not give them any real lore but ill try to answer these questions to the best of my brain power. if you havent read the big overall summary post i did awhile ago its tagged somewhere under #adm.

i have no idea how tall they are. it is assumed andrei is noticeably shorter than misha but not too much shorter.

as far as clothes go, (this is so stupid) but they were designed by TWO different people and at the beginning i never had any intentions of using misha outside of enigma but then i started writing more song about him. misha was designed by @roseclemshipper and the general idea back then was some mash between that bitch from ungray days, ci flower, and a wolf plush from ikea (we made a mood board). andrei was designed by lon and i think i told him something along the lines of "tactical combat boyfriend" who knows. i think they are silly and clash with eachother in a good way.

idk exactly how he got the scar but id like to think it was whatever caused him to need the eye visor screen thingy in the first place

yes of course :) you can always send fanart here or you can just post stuff and tag me or use #adm i check that tag maybe once every few weeks

hope this doesnt disappoint you with the overwhelming lack of concrete lore. the story is WHATEVERRR you want it to be guys

[agentravensong]

two scenes i would add to nerdy prudes must die

the thing about being autistic is that i will have no motivation to sit down and write stuff for my grad school applications all day, but then at night i'll find it in me to spend 3+ hours writing a tumblr post about my latest hyperfixation ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

this time that hyperfixation is nerdy prudes must die, a show that, despite still not being my favorite starkid hatchetfield musical, has really dug its claws into me. i'm gonna detail two scenes that i think would add to certain character arcs, give ritchie (and ruth)'s death(s) more impact, and really drive home the show's themes. don't think i need much more preamble than that, so, here we go!

1. Second Lauter family scene

A scene set between Ritchie's death and Ruth's, fitting best in the plot as is right after "Hatchet Town".

Primary purpose: Show more of Steph's character and her relationship with her father; show that the attitudes that made the teens' high school experience hell (pre-ghost!max) are reinforced by the adults

Basic outline: Steph and her dad are having a convo, prompted by the mayor, about how school is going; a kind of convo that, with how awkward it is, clearly doesn't happen often. Lauter says something half-hearted about how it's a shame her high school experience is being ruined by these events, because it was the happiest time of his life (as a contrast to the opinions our protags express in the opening number).

Steph doesn't want to talk about the murder stuff (duh) so she redirects to how her grades have genuinely improved (or at least did for a minute there) thanks to her studying with Pete, in a way that makes it clear she's genuinely proud of her improvement.

Mayor Lauter, in response, tells her that he doesn't want her hanging out with the nerds anymore, in or out of school, because it makes her a target (and also a suspect).

Steph gets upset at this dismissal; what kind of dad, she scoffs, would tell their daughter who was finally succeeding academically to stop trying? Especially when he was the one who told her to get her grades up?

And Mayor Lauter says something to the effect of, "You don't need to be a star student. I know you, Stephanie; that's never going to be you. All you need to be is good enough. Can you just do that for me?"

We have the mayor leave at this point; let's say he gets a phone call, cause that makes sense, and also is a deeply ironic reason for him to leave a family conversation considering his criticism of Steph's phone use. Steph could even point that out as a joke.

Here is where, if we have time, we give Steph a solo number. Well, it could be a solo, or it could be a duet with her dad — the kind where they're not singing to each other or aware that the other is singing, but they're basically singing their different perspectives on the same thing (in this case, their relationship). I propose the duet version because Corey deserves to get to show off his vocals more prominently in these shows.

Alternate ending if we're not doing the song: Steph can storm out, and the mayor can have an ominous line foreshadowing the drastic measures he'll be taking when we see him again.

The idea with this scene is that I want to give more weight to the whole "she's smarter than she thinks she is" angle to Steph's character. Show that she has found something through her bond with the nerds (Pete mainly) that makes her want to be more than just the "cool girl". And show that there is a part of her that wants a better relationship with her father (because if he won't believe in her, be proud of her, then who will?).

But also, we see how her dad has pigeonholed her into being that kind of airhead. All he cares about is that she stays out of trouble (which is to say, anything that would cause trouble for him). He doesn't care what she's genuinely interested in, what she aspires to; he's spent most of her teenage-hood assuming she's not interested in anything worthwhile, that she doesn't aspire to anything. He doesn't see her as a full person.

And, perhaps most importantly, him telling her not to associate with the nerds draws a direct line between him and our main antagonist, Max. Which matters for reasons that will become clearer as I discuss the second additional scene I came up with.

For the record, if I only got to add one of these scenes (NPMD is the longest of the Hatchetfield shows already, and both these scenes would have to be Act 2 additions), I'd pick this next one. So let's get to it.

2. High School Regression scene

Primary purpose: Showing how the murder(s) has/have affected the student body, and making the point that the hierarchies Max represented can't be disposed of that easily when he's still, literally and metaphorically, haunting the place.

This one would happen in between when the protags find out about Ritchie's death and when Grace informs Pete and Steph of Ruth's death. Practically, this means it would have to be set either:

A) right before Ruth goes to the BBQ Monologues rehearsal, with the scene centering around her, and leading directly into her arrival there (maybe replacing the cop convo entirely? maybe they're at the end of it)

or B) as basically a replacement for the Beanie's scene, but still leading into "If I Loved You" (and everything that comes after)

The beat-by-beat for this one is less solid in my head compared to the first scene, but the idea is that we see some of the cheerleaders and jocks going back to bullying Ruth in version A or Pete in version B (though in a less confident and malicious manner than Max did, as if their hearts aren't fully in it). Ruth or Pete gives some pushback and asks what changed to make them revert to this behavior.

I'm not sure how exactly the bullies express the "why", but in plain-speak, it's this: the students know about Ritchie (and Ruth)'s murder(s), and, maybe more importantly, the "nerdy prudes must die" that was written in Richie's blood. The message they've taken from that is that there is a killer reinforcing the social hierarchies they all abandoned when Max died. And so, with that latent threat hanging in the air, these students have decided to fall in line, in the hopes that they'll therefore be spared. Maybe, even, the murders will stop.

(you could also have one or two kids who are genuinely almost as cruel as max and are using this as an excuse to going back to being the assholes they were before, but you'd need more proper set-up for such a character i think)

Version A is pretty straightforward. I like the idea of Pete and/or Steph being there as well so it isn't just Ruth experiencing the misery (considering where things go from here)... but I know that they need to be dressed as different characters for when Ruth gets to the auditorium, so that probably isn't practical. Maybe there'd be time for Mariah to have made that quick change if Joey really stretched out his bit? But I know the change was tight even for Angela as is.

For version B, you could have the bullies find Steph and Pete at or on their way to Beanie's and be assholes to them there (because it makes sense to me that Steph and Pete would want to have their potentially incriminating conversation off high school grounds), but I think it has more thematic punch to set it in the high school.

Wherever it's set, in version B, Steph and Pete talk a bit about how the bullies' regression sucks, how things are even worse now than they were before Max died, which then leads into their conversation as it is in the actual show over whose fault this all is.

With Pete specifically, I think it'd be neat to call back to what he said to Steph way back in the show about his desire to blend in, to be invisible. That maybe, for a little bit, he liked being accepted, being important (to one person in particular), but it wasn't worth it. And with Steph, if we do have the second dad convo in this version of the show, we can maybe have her comment on how even her dad seems to believe in this bullshit social hierarchy, how they might never escape it.

I mentioned in my post detailing my initial nerdy prudes thoughts that I wished Pete and Steph had a convo that felt like Paul and Emma's convo right before "Join Us and Die". Basically, this is my attempt to give these teens that, without adding an entirely new scene just for that.

As a whole, this scene is my best attempt to Make Something of the themes and plot threads that are so well set up but get kind of lost in the last... third? of the show. Plenty of people have rightly posted that the adults are the real villains of this story. Max isn't scary just because he's one guy; he's representative of larger ideas, a larger system, perpetuated by those adults. Hierarchy, competition, and domination, treated as the natural, necessary state of the world. A system that reduces the personhood of all those ensnared in it.

Those ideas won't just disappear with his death. Max might have peaked in high school even if he lived because of the specific brand of boisterous asshole he was, but the world that instilled those ideas in him, the world beyond high school, will keep fostering and enforcing them, in its more mundane, subtle (comparatively) ways. It will keep producing more Maxs, and more Solomon Lauters.

Like, the whole "fuck clivesdale" bit is a running joke, and a funny one! But, also, I think there's something to be said about the fact that both the teens and adults are all in on this seemingly one-way rivalry, and how much focus is placed on it, in a show about *bullying*. A show about people who have arbitrary labels slapped on them as an excuse to be cruel to them.

"you're fucking losers, and we'll kill you!" isn't that far off as a sentiment from "nerdy prudes must die", is it?

and, like. their team name is the clivesdale chemists. chemists, like, nerds. it's supposed to be part of the joke, i'm pretty sure, that they're named after something nerdy, not a cool animal. if that parallel isn't intentional, then, i dunno man. it's still there either way.

(see also: the musical motif underneath the "who will pray for me" section of nerdy prudes must die also appearing as the chorus of "hatchet town". a motif that plays both when max asks ritchie who will remember him (who will remember *them*), right before enacting his ultimate "justice", and when the adults twist their memories into an excuse for a witch hunt, their own paranoid search for "justice".)

In real life, getting rid of the one asshole at the top of a rotten system doesn't fix the system. If the non-nerdy teens in this school were impressionable enough that one asshole could make them all act in line with his arbitrary beliefs, then his haunting presence (even if they don't know it's literally his ghost) should absolutely have *some* effect on them too.

And I think if you included a scene like this, it would make all that stuff in the script that's subtext, or half-developed, feel like it really was intentional, purposeful.

Does that all make sense? I hope so.

I know that actually trying to fit both of these into the show would require cutting some other stuff down for time, and it would complicate scene transitions and maybe fuck with the overall pacing. Really, this is more a thought experiment than anything else. I'm just glad to have it out of my head after it's been brewing there for multiple days, There's other stuff I'd change if I were to do a full edit of the script, sure, but these are the big things that really would've made the show click for me on the level tgwdlm does.

[serendertothesquad]

Seren's Studies: Odd Squad UK -- "Club 37" Episode Followup, Part 2

...I'm doing this for all of you reading these followups, and I hope you realize that.

Let's go below the break as I pray that this episode gets better.

Okay, I'll have to assume that this girl is "Oh-Oh", even though Ozzie pronounces her name as "Uh-Oh".

Either way, she's way too chipper for someone going completely against the grind.

"We solve oddness. We don't cause it."

"But some people want their cases unsolved."

THAT IS THE SAME EXACT FUCKING THING. BY UNSOLVING YOU ARE, IN ESSENCE, CAUSING ODDNESS. THIS IS NOT STEPHEN HAWKING LOGIC WE ARE RUNNING ON FOR FUCK'S SAKE.

AND THEN THEY TRY TO FUCKING JUSTIFY IT BY MAKING THE VICTIMS WANT THEIR ODDITIES REAPPLIED?????? ARE YOU FUCKING INSANE.

Y'know...at least when people wanted odd stuff to happen to them, it was funny. It wasn't a common thing. It was a joke, a one-off gag. And I was fine with that, because those people were outliers, whether they were clients or villains.

The existence of Oh-Oh implies that this happens on a regular fucking basis and we're just supposed to take this as part of the franchise lore.

I don't know about you guys, but I am not, in fact, taking this as part of the franchise lore.

I don't know if I can give a bigger "fuck you" than the "fuck you" I'm giving right now. Not at work, not while driving, not at this goddamn franchise.

I would probably like this girl more if she wasn't in this episode and wasn't in the business of undoing the hard work of the other employees of the organization she works for.

And I would probably like this math lesson more if it wasn't in this VERY STUPID-ASS MOTHERFUCKING EPISODE.

*sigh so hard it cracked a rib bone*

The songs are bangers, though. But they are not this episode's saving grace by a fucking long shot.

...No, actually, I lied. I listened to the lyrics. This version is not a banger, and fuck you.

Good. Good on Orwell and his superb Security access system. Good for him. Proud of him. Proud of him for having sense and reason.

Too bad he's at the whim of Omar and these two will get in there anyway.

So...so cases are sorted by indivi- I can't. No. I fucking can't. There are four minutes left of this episode and I have never been more ready to shove it into a cannon, shoost it to the moon, and put it out of its fucking misery.

When Season 3 had lore, at least a lot of it was consistent. And they could bend the rules because they were visiting different precincts that had different rules and regulations depending on where they were. Things were fine, and aside from the writing and...well, several other non-lore criticisms, I was generally happy.

This episode? Gives a "fuck you" to the lore of the last 10 years and just laughs and says "forget about all that, here's some new nonsensical lore". And you can't do that to a decade-old franchise! There are rules! There are laws! There are established things! We already struggle with continuity and the timeline, stop making it worse!

God...it's really a shame I'm writing this at night, because otherwise I would go and take a walk and scream in the park and then walk back and regret my life decisions again.

Ozzie is such a hardcore brony that he's willing to skydive with a unicorn that may or may not have self-levitating abilities.

And a pair of wings.

"I need Phillip the unicorn!"

"No, no. What you need are some My Little Ponies."

"I...what?"

"Toy brand? Been around since at least the 80s."

"...Oh my God..."

"I'm taking you to the toy store later."

Recognition doth not this episode's infernal sinfulness undo, OMAR.

"Ozzie...karma...is...a bitch. A...stupid...bitch."

YOU FUCKING ASSHOLES. HELP THE DAMN MAN. HE TAKES PRIORITY OVER SEEING SOME GODDAMN NON-MLP UNICORN WHAT IN GOD'S BUTT'S NAME ARE YOU D O I N G .

And once again, OMAR...RECOGNITION DOTH NOT AN INFERNAL SINFUL EPISODE UNDO.

YESSSSSSSSSSSS MY GIRL ORLI GOT SOME PRIORITIES MHM. BLESS HER FOR DEVELOPING A BRAIN IN THE FINAL FEW MINUTES.

Ozzie, you bitch-ass bastard, any sane brony would have zapped the portal already. You have AN ENTIRE FRANCHISE THAT REDEFINED MAGICAL HORSES in Britain. Go watch some of that ancillary media.

OH WELL NOW YOU DEVELOP A BRAIN TOO HUH. JESUS F U C K.

*snaps fingers* KARMA'S A BITCH ISN'T IT. A SMART-ASS BITCH.

But of course. They're the main characters. We got half a season yet. Wouldn't be right if the focus shifted to all the side characters when these two got fired.

(Though honestly? I might like that better.)

"But I think we need to find a different way to reward the agents."

Mm...hmm...well, I dunno, this might be a dumb idea, but...a pizza party for every X amount of cases solved? Or maybe just the first 100?

Already sounds more sane to me, and it was executed better two seasons ago!

*deep sigh*

It was going so well...it was such a beautiful hope spot...

And then Opie decided to rip out that hope spot, stomp on it, run it over with an industrial steamroller, and feed it to the people at Alcatraz.

I mean okay, maybe this precinct doesn't have an Agent of the Month award. Fine. I can live with that. But this seems to be implying that this is an entirely new idea, when it was already brought up and used in the first two seasons twice over.

Yeah, there's a Captain's Club. But it's for Management agents only.

And that, folks, is where you can slip in a line reference to Ozzie's past to. Riiiight in there.

"There's a unicorn!"

But it's a My Little Pony unicorn. That is the difference.

And like an angel, in the wind, with a weird sea euphemism...she's gone.

Can't sea her anymore.

*sips Pepsi* Oldie but a goodie.

"Now, how can we make this unicorn so distinct, such a bootleg, even, that Hasbro can't sue us?"

"Put big eyes on it. Cartoonishly big. Like one you'd find in a 3D cartoon."

"...Perfect! I love it! Send it to editing!"

(Also, hi, bootleg Rainbow Dash unicorn. Nice to see you too. And nice to see my joke from forever and a half ago still holds up.)

Congratulations to Rainbow Dash for her successful gender transition and her eye surgery, done in the same scene. Best of luck!

Is that...is that a fucking cutie mark on its flank?

Is that a FUCKING CUTIE MARK or am I trippin'?

...I'm looking it up, that's Twilight Sparkle's cutie mark from Generation 1. She's got white in her mane...but there was no Rainbow Dash in G1; she came in G3 and had a rainbow mane. (Her counterpart from G1 is Firefly, who shares some colors but looks nothing like this unicorn.)

Because they're too scared to make an actual reference, the fucking bastards.

So essentially, it's bootleg Rainbow Dash with the white from G1 Twilight's mane (or perhaps the coat of Rarity from G4) and her cutie mark from that generation. A mix-and-match, if you will. (Or, likewise, the very-fanon Super Rainbow Dash, where her fur is, in fact, white.)

You didn't have to include the cutie mark. You chose to add that. And then you half-assed the rest of it. Could have made the unicorn have G1 Twilight's colors and that's it, but God forbid, Hasbro's gonna hunt them down for money, oooooooh scawy.

0/10. See me after class.

And your credits for this episode. My guess is that Ashleigh Ball refused to be credited as the voice of "Phillip". And I completely understand.

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

So overall, that was...huh. It was...well, first off, it was an awful episode. I think my rage pretty much speaks for itself. The Rainbow Dash/Twilight mashup bootleg unicorn, nor the songs, were not saving graces for this episode at all -- if anything, they were the cherries on top of an already-existing shitstorm. Awful pretty much across the entire board. If I want something leagues better, I'll go watch something like "Rookie Night", with a similar exclusivity premise, or "The Jackies", with a similar "solve X amount of cases" premise. Both are equally good episodes.

I need to...destress, lol. So next on the chopping block will be "Odd Way Round", which is Orli-centric and will probably feature lots of new stupid lore for me to nitpick at like an old-fart sod.

Seren out!

[astronomicalcandy]

Kimetsu no Yaiba Stage Play Act 4: Entertainment District Infiltration report

10 December 2023, 18:00 show, Tokyo Dome City Hall

Went on a getaway to Japan right after internship ended and watched kny stage play bcus it’s my current fixation (especially Tengen 😭)

The report will mostly be comments on the actors’ singing and acting because I assume everyone has watched entertainment district arc but I’ll just write whatever is fitting with the event

Report with pictures of what I could get (not much) under cut

1. Arrived at Tokyo Dome City Hall from Roppongi after lunch with friend and went to the Tokyo Revengers Last Line exhibition at Roppongi Mori Tower around 4:30 pm bcus the show I bought starts at 6 pm and queue opens at 5. I arrived early to exchange my online ticket with a physical one (this is required and was mentioned early in the website upon purchasing the ticket)

2. Lined up and redeemed my ticket. Went inside to find my area seat written in the ticket (balcony 1, row 7, seat 79) and at this point I was conflicted if I should buy merch first or just wait until the end 😭😭😭😭😭 I‘ve never been to this place before so I went to look for my seat first. They don’t let you in until 15 minutes before show starts so we had to wait at the lobby

3. While waiting for the show to start, I gave out my muscle mice stickers that I just cut and wrote a small message at the back last night to the people that sat beside me. A seat to my left were two lovely couple from Canada. They reached out to me on Instagram a couple of days after the show 💕 and a seat to my right were two friends that went to see the show together. They were lovely as well 💜 I’m so happy that people seem to like the stickers

4. Before the show starts, they let us take pictures but not videos of the stage. It’s super pretty!!!

I love that they decided the ensembles to come out, walk around and interact with each other. Like a real entertainment district

5. The show starts with an opening number from all of the casts. The story starts from when Tengen captured Aoi and another butterfly mansion helper to help him with his mission. That scene was showed through a screen. THEN BAM TENGEN MY BELOVED?!!!??! he’s so… he really is flashy in real life I fr couldn’t take my eyes off him 😭😭😭😭 OK SEE u know Tengen’s headband right? When the spotlight hits, it shines and dazzles a lot I’m so. IDK LIKE IM SPEECHLESS I GUESS never thought it would look that way (ITS PRETY) he also runs with his arms behind he’s so cute 😭💙 stage play Tengen ponytail is longer than manga/anime and that made him look cute too… (u can tell that I just looked at him whenever he’s on stage HAHAAH)

6. Sending off the Kamaboko team to work! Tengen in his yukata… pretty… the wig he wore for both uniform and yukata is really soft??? Like when he runs, his hair bounces ☁️ anyway, Kamaboko team so funny I love them sm 😭🫶 everyone clapped to Zenitsu shamisen rush play! That was fun hehe

7. Muzan comes in to see Daki. The song that the actor sang was pretty catchy and his voice is sooooo so GOOD!!!!!! Genuinely speechless. The scene where okami confronts Daki was so cool. Yknow that Daki flew above and dropped her from a height right? They used the screen to show that she was in the sky and when she dropped okami, the background showed those rush lines when she falls. I think it’s a creative way to show that! This also was done similarly when Inosuke went chasing Daki’s obi after it captured Makio in her room. Inosuke was actually running in the same spot but facing different directions along with the background. Making it look like he’s running chasing the obi in the walls

8. Ooohhhh the scene where Tengen came from behind the owner asking him about Warabi Hime’s whereabouts was so 👁️🫦👁️ then moved to when Inosuke calling the muscle mice to bring his nichirin. THE MUSCLE MICE REAL AND THEY TALK HAHAGAHSJJF yea they had 2 ensembles in black with muscle mice on their hands on the floor bringing Inosuke’s nichirin 😭😭😭😭 IT WAS SO CUTE?!!?! The song Koinatsu sang when Tanjiro is leaving the brothel was really nice ;;; bittersweet bcus she’s also leaving for someone that is willing to marry her but she’s also worried for the people she’s leaving behind the brothel 😔

9. The scene when Tengen found Hinatsuru ill and gave her an antidote… god I wish that were me… it might be just me liking the character too much but it somehow feels different in stage play than when ure reading the manga/watching the anime. Moved to Inosuke getting underground finding the obi’s nest of victims. The obi with people inside were shown through the screen. Inosuke spins while waving his swords around to cut and free the victims. There were ensembles in black moving the obi around. Very pretty! Like those gymnasts with ribbons!!! THE SCEEEENEEEEEE THE SCENE WHEN TENGEN COMES AND MET UP WITH SUMA AND MAKIO AAWHWHABWJEJFN 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭🫶🫶🫶 god I wish that were me!!!! (2) Tengen patting their heads was the cutest 😭💕

10. The fight scenes for a stage play were executed very well by using extra ensembles and the screen at the back. So, Tanjiro fighting Daki. Nezuko woke up and fought her. She beat Daki up and went berserk. Tanjiro sang a lullaby to calm her down and there they were, the mom with little Nezuko at the back as demon Nezuko reminiscence the past. Tanjiro actor’s singing is so good… I could listen to him sing all day 😳

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The show then entered 20 minutes break and continued with the second half. I took the chance to buy merch at this time lol

Only able to get Tengen pin and the others were mostly dupes of Inosuke, Daki and Obanai… planning to sell them soon 😭

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11. Gyuutaro appeared from Daki’s back. I love the Shabana sibling actors so so much??? 😭😭😭 they were soooo good acting as the demons!!! I couldn’t get enough. Honestly when Gyuutaro uses his sickles, it kinda look like crab waving its claws… 😭 one of Gyuutaro’s moves was his spinning blood move right? The ensembles in black come out with props spinning it around like those spinning blood move. It was so cool I was so amazed by that lmao Gyuutaro’s singing was top notch 👌👌👌 my absolute fav

12. Y’all… the scene when Hinatsuru came to shoot her kunais at Gyuutaro and everything went slo-mo, they really went slo-mo 😭 when Gyuutaro grabbed Hina by the face… that stirred something in me ngl at that moment came the flashback to when Tengen tells his wives to value their lives first then him, that song was cute. I felt the impact more during stage play. He really loves his wives equally and very much 💙💜🧡 Tengen’s siblings also appeared on stage during the flashback. Definitely didn’t expect that at all! It was very nice

13. Moving on to Kamaboko vs Daki. They made it into a number and while Inosuke was singing, Daki was at the back dancing 💃 I swear I love her so much. They made the stage play so funny and entertaining 😭👏 when Inosuke successfully cut Daki’s head, they had her actor wrapped in black cloth and Inosuke was holding it instead of just a dummy head. Inosuke then said we’re gonna run far now to Daki which wasn’t in the original and he said that so that Daki actor would be ready to run. Everyone in the hall laughed at that 😭😭😭😭😭😭

14. I can’t quite remember well the fight scenes but Tengen still had his left eye and arm fighting Gyuutaro until the end lol the fight with Gyuutaro and Daki until both of their heads were cut off were intense 🫨 lots of flashing lights and stuff were everywhere. It was cool

15. The Shabana siblings’ laid under rubble to hide their bodies so that only their heads could be seen. Gyuutaro’s past was so heart wrenching to watch. Demon Gyuutaro was even there to see his kid self being bullied and abused, demon Gyuutaro tried to stop those people away but he was just looking at his memory so the rocks still hits his kid self AND GOD THAT WAS SO PAINFUL TO WATCH. He hugged his kid self aa… demon Gyuutaro was also there to see his sister being burnt alive… AGAIN… 😭 I can’t get those scenes out of my head. It was so good, I cried along with everyone else ;;;; the part where kid Gyuutaro tried to call for help for his sister, demon Gyuutaro joined in the line and that made me welled up so badly 😭😭😭😭😭

16. In manga/anime, Daki changed to her kid self but in stage play, she was in her demon form when she begged to her brother to let her follow him. Gyuutaro carried Daki on his back to hell :( they finally cut off Tengen’s hand during the aftermath 😭😭😭 Suma actor was so cute when she yelled at Nezuko for burning her husband alive LMAOAOAAO

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Show ended, everyone clapped for the casts and ensembles. Standing ovation and the casts came out for a short comment. The time slot that I went to was the last day and last show

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My thoughts/comments

Everyone acted in character and tried to be as close as possible to source. It was such an amazing experience 😭👏 this was actually my first time went to see a stage play so I didn’t have any expectations at all.

If you guys like a series and have the chance to go for their stage play, please go!!

I was genuinely 50/50 at first bcus I know I did this for my stupidly big fixation on Tengen. My friend who’s studying there really liked BSD watched the stage play live online and she really recommended me to go for it. I’m glad I went to watch it honestly 😭

[lactoesfreee]

not to defend Harlow, but his verse does not strike me as misogynistic AT ALL.

the line people refer to when they say that he is misogynistic says:

I had one girl (One girl), too boring Two girls (Two girls), that was cool for me Three girls, damn, dude's horny Four girls, okay, now you whorin'

People don’t seem to get that he’s calling HIMSELF a whore. He’s calling HIMSELF horny. Not the girls.

When I seen that body, you would think it was a dead body. The way I told my boys, come look

This lyric could definitely be said in a different way, but basics what he means is that the girl is so gorgeous it shocked him, like how how a dead body would shock a person. Like you’d think he’s looking at a dead body when you see the expression on his face when he sees her. It’s also a Boyz 2 men reference. Anyways, He’s so shocked at her beauty, that he tells his friends to come look and see for themselves.

Please don’t take this message badly, I didn’t mean to send this with the intention of offending you or anything, I’m just seeing so many people misunderstanding the lyrics it’s almost funny to me. Also, as someone who listens to a lot of hip hop, don’t ever take Jack Harlow seriously. He’s the most unserious rapper out there right now, so when I heard he was on the track, I already knew this song was gonna be campy.

Sorry for writing a whole book in your asks!

Ah, i figured theyd be talking about that line about being a whore hahah. for me, i knew he was referring to himself as a whore, but it grosses me out because he's collecting women like dolls because having just 1 is boring to him. and in the music video, theyre all wearing the same exact thing and following him around which feels like he doesn't care that theyre individuals, he just sees hot women to fuck yknow? thats my personal take tho, i assume its standard Jack Harlow stuff and he's not the only one that does it of course lol.

the dead body one surprises me, it doesnt feel misogynistic just a bad line skjdfsdf like i interpreted it as a play on 'drop dead gorgeous' but said really corny hahah.

i dont take it badly! i like having these conversations, and since i deleted twitter yesterday ive been dyin to know what people think of it so i've been seeking out opinions! im not someone that enjoys overtly sexual songs myself usually, so im kinda picky with the songs i listen to since it seems like so much mainstream music is sexual. but i respect people who make sexual music and listen to it! i think that theres better ways to go about it than how jack did, but i suppose it coulda been worse pff

[werothegreat]

Music lied to me

Growing up, and until very recently, this is how I assumed vocal ranges worked:

It makes it seem like there's a lot of space between male and female vocal registers.

At the same time, I was aware of different vocal ranges, which are usually presented like this:

See how the boys still live on the bass clef, and the girls still live on the treble clef. It becomes a bit less stark if we overlap them:

Now they definitely look closer together, but there still seems to be at least an octave difference between the highest and lowest notes of each corresponding range, and the highest bass note is only a third above the lowest soprano note, which still makes it seem like there is some stark biological difference between the genders in voices.

But one thing to remember is that S(M)AT(B)B is not a reflection of human vocal ability, divvied into 4 or 6 categories - it's a compositional division made to have 4 or 6 different parts in a piece of music. It's not that sopranos can only sing from C4 to C6, it's that those are the notes that composers write for them.

What started to throw me was listening to Idina Menzel belt.

I noticed that in the first half, there are parts where her vocal quality clearly changes to falsetto. She is reaching into a range where her chest voice is not comfortable. And in the second half, she hits those same notes with her belt.

Some terminology: chest voice is your "normal" or "speaking" voice - it's the register you're most comfortable in, and where you sound most natural. It's so called because most of your sound production is coming from resonating in your chest, in your lungs. Head voice or falsetto is a different method of sound production, where the main resonance is in your mouth and nasal cavity. It sounds "breathier" or "lighter", and can often have a very nasal quality (think Billy Joel in Uptown Girl). Belting is when you push your chest voice higher than is comfortable into the range you normally would switch to falsetto - it requires a lot of breath support, and you can only do it loud - you're basically screaming, with some vibrato. It's not the best for you vocal chords, but it can sound good. It's more common in pop music and musicals; opera singers instead use passaggio, which is a mix of chest and head voices, but is harder to do. People can pick up belting just by hearing someone else do it; passaggio can only really be sung by learning the technique first.

Anyway, I was curious what the actual notes were where Idina Menzel switched into falsetto or belting. And it was only an Eb5. Only here:

I've been working on my own voice, trying to practice passaggio, while working on my belt. My chest voice starts to give out at F4, and I've gotten to a point where I can consistently belt to Bb4. These:

In other words, Defying Gravity isn't sung an octave above my normal range as a baritone/tenor. It's only sung a fourth above. I, a cis boy pumped full of testosterone, am within spitting distance of singing a song written for a cis girl pumped full of estrogen at original pitch.

And I'm not the only one! This is Brendon Urie, a cis man, singing another Idina Menzel song, Into the Unknown, at its original pitch! With just his belt!

It sounds like he's mixing in some head voice at that highest note (again, Eb5!) but everything else is crystal clear belt, all chest voice, singing the exact same notes that Idina Menzel does. This cis man has the same vocal range as a cis woman. And he's not called a freak male soprano or anything, he's just a tenor.

And it goes both ways! Here is this lovely woman singing in a traditionally male range:

In that song, she gets as low as Bb2, here:

That's only a fourth above my own lowest comfortable note, F2. And a lot of basses can only go down as far as G2! This woman could have sung a lot of bass parts at pitch!

The point I'm trying to make is, the gender distinction in vocal ranges is largely imagined, and trans people please please stop worrying so much about your voices. I guarantee you there are cis people of your gender who have the same vocal range you got from (first) puberty. If you still want to vocal train, more power to you, may you receive every piece of gender euphoria you desire, but you don't need to worry about it as much.

[andmaybegayer]

Last Monday of the Week 2024-07-22

There are many upsides to the city in the summer. But there's also the horrors.

Listening: I am (I think) almost but not quite done with Paradise Killer, a first-person detective game set on the extradimensional luxury island headquarters of an eldritch cult with a truly incredible soundtrack. A mix of city pop and vaporwave that really goes hard if you love the sound of the perfect imagined city. Here's "Knife and Crystal"

The entire Paradise Killer soundtrack is great, and in game each song has a little snippet of text to go with it, this one's is

The heat helps cook mysteries. People get weird in the heat. They get dangerous. Dangerous people create mysteries.

I'll write this up probably separately and it'll go in next week's monday, since I haven't called the trial yet and still have some snooping to do, but it really is a fantastic game. Try it, if you have the time, I got most of the way through it in about 8 hours.

This music sounds like a perfect summer day in the city we all wish we could be in, where there are exactly as many people around as you want, and you always stumble into what you need.

As a note, I think it is an interesting comparison to the Marielda soundtrack, which feels to me like a very different kind of summer city, a languorous city on the edge, an, overwhelmingly hot city, with only a few afternoon thunderstorms and passing clouds to break an almost oppressive heat. So you know, where I am now. I'll link the title song here too:

I mean the podcast helps sell it, but this would also fit into uh. The spanish civil war? Clarinet is like that sometimes.

God damn I have opinions on city-esque music huh.

Reading: Had a bit of a slump coming off of The Traitor Baru Cormorant but I finally picked up Monster and was immediately blindsided by the perspective change. Very interesting. The letter Baru receives from one of the other cryptarchs is making me go insane.

Watching: Movie night this week was RRR, which I have seen a couple times already but did get the joy of watching with some friends who had not seen it at all. There is so much going on, it turns out if you run out of making one movie you can just pivot to making another movie with the same guys and if you do that for long enough you have a three hour feature film.

RRR has lots of subtlety that can be debated but it is also so much fun to watch. It is up front and largely unironic in a way that is very refreshing because it is also done well. There are a lot of bad movies that are unironic and unfortunately that mostly hurts them because they can't deliver on their earnestness.

The thing that really stands out is that it knows how to hold a shot well. So many scenes in the movie just go on forever, whether that's the extended BFF montage or the torture scenes or the slow motion action, it just holds a shot in a way that feels obnoxious at times.

It helps that they're both impossibly hot.

Playing: I picked up a couple VR games in the steam sale to try and expands my horizons. One of those is The Utility Room, a fairly old VR experience based on a VR museum that's even older. Its age shows, it lacks a lot of the creature comforts of more modern games, but it is clever. It uses VR to put you in huge spaces in proximity to enormous objects that move way faster than anything like that does regularly for most people. It's a fun little experiment.

Also got Half Life: Alyx which I am really enjoying, I just got to the part where you get the flashlight which I assume means I'm about to get sosososo scared. VR so dramatically changes the way you think about interaction especially in games. Most obviously, this is a shooter, but in a normal shooter you shoot things by putting them in the middle of the screen and pressing "shoot" and then some HP is deducted. Here I am reminded that even when I handle real pistols I have a bad habit of raising the barrel a few degrees too high and I have to compensate for that. You have to fumble with magazines and rack the slide in the heat of panicked combat where you feel very much like a headcrab is about to tear your face off. It's great.

You also get the sheer physicality of the environment. Valve did not skimp on this game, it's not a little demo or a toy, it's a whole-ass game, and they made sure that almost anything reasonable you can think to do works. You just reach out, you can move barrels by grabbing the rim and rolling them, you can open boxes, you can smash crates. You have a really smart gravity grabber system that makes interacting with the environment less arduous, and some very intelligent use of the fact that you have to switch what's in your hand to make you feel endangered any time you have to put your pistol away to hack a circuit or move an object.

Making: Disastrous burfee making misadventure when a friend said she had been wanting to make burfee and I invited her over. Got mixed up while trying to host and cook simultaneously and didn't boil the syrup long enough, resulting in liquid burfee that did not ever set up into something usable. Salvaged haphazardly with some dessicated coconut to form a structural mesh, but it was not good. Syrup is the most important and least fixable part of a burfee recipe, you really just have to learn to eyeball it to make sure it's right before you continue. Learn from my mistake. Make sure your bubbles are stacking to know you've driven off enough water.

Tools and Equipment: Thin, fine cotton sheets are a great way to avoid messing up pillows if you aren't able to wash your hair as regularly as you'd like, or if you just don't like generic grease build-up. You can keep so many of them on hand and toss them in for washing every couple days.

I didn't have hot water this week because of the annual maintenance cycle, so. You know.

[jacksope-lives]

Lazily with any ship of your choice!

In that case, I'll finish this off with the ship that brought us together.

16. ...lazily

There was not a lot of downtime in the Apex. Most of the time Grace found herself wrangling the kids, or reeling in Simon. Of course, that was all fun, she wouldn’t have done it if it wasn’t, but it was also, on some level, work. And that was why Grace was always more than happy to take advantage of any downtime that she did get, using it to lie around, to look at herself, or to generally do anything that amused her. What was the point of being in charge if you were always on the clock, after all. Simon was very different. The guy didn’t have a relaxed bone in his body. If he wasn’t actively leading a raid he was preparing a plan for one, or monologuing to whoever would listen about his book, or, on rare occasion, writing his book. The only even semi-relaxing thing he did was work on his figurines, but Grace didn’t count that either because that, too, was work. She remembered vaguely that Simon had always been antsy, had always needed to be doing something, but he did at least used to try and relax.

Now, and maybe it was because the Apex had expanded its control over so many people, Grace hardly saw him at all outside of their duties as leaders, and whenever she did, it wasn’t for relaxing purposes. But, what was the point of the two of them being in charge if they couldn’t hang out together, like they had back in the old days. Grace wasn’t sure, and so she decided to change that.  Considering they’d already had a successful raid and the kids were busying themselves, it seemed like a good time.

“Hello, Simon,” Grace said in a sing-song voice as she casually walked into his room and flopped down on his bed. Simon was sitting at his desk in there, seemingly writing something when she’d come in. He fixed his posture upon hearing her words, and Grace quietly tutted to herself that he couldn’t even bring himself to sit in a relaxed way. 

“What’s up? Is something wrong?” Simon asked, and it honestly made Grace a little sad that he’d assume that was the reason she came to visit. Grace simply shook her head and gestured him over to the bed, where she was lounging. He, of course, followed without hesitation.

“You, need to relax.” she said and Simon bristled at the comment, probably about to launch into a speech about the importance of alertness and being prepared, which she shut down. “I’m serious. Lay down and relax. Just let yourself laze around, for a bit, the world isn’t going to end.” she assessed, and he muttered under his breath.

“It might.” he said before adding something. “And anyway, I hate being lazy, it just puts me on edge,” he explained as he followed her instructions and forced himself to lay down. Grace sat next to him on the bed and just watched as he tried to breathe casually, as he tried to let himself sink in to comfort. “How can you live like this?” he asked incredulously, and Grace let out a laugh, trilling her lips as she searched for an answer.

“Um, I don’t know, it feels nice?” she offered and Simon seemed to scoff at her assertion, disagreeing heavily.

“What about this feels nice? Just laying here doing nothing?” he questioned, and Grace stretched before slotting herself next to him, laying beside him to try and demonstrate the bountiful fun to be had by doing absolutely nothing. Simon turned beet red, a fact that she was deeply amused by, and Grace figured that if she was going to teach him to be less of a stick in the mud, she might as well have fun with it.

“Well,” Grace offered as she rolled over on her side to look at him. “I think being lazy is easy. It's comfortable, and warm, and soft,” she offered, speaking in that same sweet voice she knew always flustered him. She scooted closer to him, an impressive feat considering how little space there was on the bed, and gave him a casual a peck on the check. His stubble brushed against her face as she did so, and she couldn’t help but feel good at how much it seemed to floor him. “Kind of like that kiss. Do you get it now?” she questioned and Simon nodded robotically.

“Y-yeah. I get it.” he said, clearly embarrassed as Grace let out a little laugh and the two went back to laying next to each other in comfortable silence, letting their worries melt away into easy, lazy bliss.

[deshimango]

sumaya reviews kuch kuch hota hai

for sunny @amarakaran

rating: 9.75/10

2/2 set + costume design + makeup

2/2 general production (visual and sound)

2/2 acting/casting/chemistry

2.75/3 writing (including plot and character)

1/1 does it hit?

overall thoughts:

this movie made me who i am. absolutely no joke but it’s a solid 10% of my personality. my perspective and philosophy of love was directly influenced by it. like yeah!! pyaar dosti hai!!! so i don’t know if i would have the same reaction if i watched it for the first time now but it definitely is very well crafted and there is a reason for the hype it gets as a bollywood classic

the narrative build up is insane. you cannot take a step away from it, it’s a 3 hour rollercoaster of emotions that is never boring

all the songs are bangers and the score is amazing, and it really enhances the story

the costumes are great and still they hold up!! each character has their own style and it’s very well thought out, and i cant even lie, a huge part of my personal style is built off of the tina-anjali-rahul gender expression spectrum

my only real problems with it are, salmonella khans existence, and some of the weird dialogue with little anjali?? especially between her and aman, it just makes me uncomfortable

there’s the whole thing where people assume that rahul only falls for anjali when she starts presenting feminine but like it’s clear to me that he likes her the whole time, he just comes to terms with it way later and by that time she’s grown into someone vastly different than her college self? i understand weariness surrounding the idea of “you’ll grow into your femininity and stop wanting to look like a boy” because that’s a real comment that lot of desi gnc people have to deal with constantly, but i’ve always read it as anjali is both versions of herself and that neither is more true than the other. she’s made peace with her gender expression and it can fluctuate in the future but she’s still herself regardless. she likes what she likes and is who she is. kkhh is a product of its time and while i don’t know the intentions behind the creators choices, i choose to read it as an exploration of gender expression because that’s what i take away from it.

would i watch again: i’ve seen it a thousand times and i will watch it a thousand more times

[elfstuck]

Gettin the Band Back Together

Finally watching the Homestuck Recap and trying to catch up. (It is 8pm on Apr 13 for me, as I write this. I want to post something for Homestuck Day that's not just 'hey I am aware it's Homestuck Day.') I have not given up on this blog, but as you can see, it is not at the top of my "do this now" priority lists.

(Since I last did serious blogging here, I have created two (tiny) solo TTRPGs, watched BNHA and Untamed and read ridiculous amounts of fic for both, and gotten a Real Job. With. Like. Union benefits. Also my father died in the early Covid era (not of Covid) and this made the whole lockdown thing much easier to handle because I had no interest in being social for at least six months after that.) (And every week, my Google calender says "Reminder: Homestuck liveblogging!" which has served as a weird touchstone for normality throughout the hellscape years.)

GENERAL NOTES: I want ZERO SPOILERS. NONE. I have a friend (@chibipaw) to help me by reading my inbox, but that just means "she will delete stuff that has spoilers" and I won't see it. I have a broad definition of spoilers. Like. I do not want to hear "oh you'll see that one again" or "wait'll you see what happens when they meet." I was not happy to be told that the people chatting with Our Protagonists were the trolls I'd heard so much about. Don't assume "everyone knows that"; I have managed to block out an incredible amount of knowledge about this fandom.

I am here for the tentabulges. Eventually. I will be reading all the depraved fic. Eventually. I ship them all. Eventually.

…I may ship them all before eventually.

Lemme see if I got this:

It's John's 13th birthday. It has been John's 13th birthday for longer than John has been alive.

His neighborhood got blown up. But he's safe (…for some values of "safe") in the Medium, where things are weird.

Kernelsprites. More than one of them.

Rose is playing with the server version of Sburb

Dave is arguing with trolls

Jade is doing something with a dreamscape something or other

Wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey

Wayward Vagabond yay

Midnight crew. Midnight crew song. (Not actually part of the story.) (I want Midnight Crew song fanfic.)

Prospit. Derse. Multiple peoples with the same initials in different settings.

Chess war something (I have kinda stopped paying attention to the recap.)

Multiple strange worlds: Land of Wind and Shade; Land of Light and Rain; Land of Heat & Clockwork, all of which I want custom dragons for. This is complexified by the fact that Flight Rising expanded its color scheme while I was reading Homestuck, and also there are now swarms of new dragon types so I will have to rethink my plans for LOWAS and LOHAC dragons. I don't think I've seen Jade's realm yet.

Trolls with initials that are all "lower case letter followed by capital letter," with meanings that maybe attach to zodiac signs. (PLZ NO SPOILERS I already know too much.)

Flash has died but I have the Unofficial Homestuck Collection and also there's something kinda-sorta like Flash support in Firefox now although I may not have all the features I used in the past.

I have lost both my place in the story and my awareness of context so WHO CARES HERE WE GO.

…Is this too long? Should I bump the actual liveblogging to next post? Should I put it under a read-more tag? I have lost all sense of how I normally pace these things.

gC gives John (eB) a map. An FL4 map. Because that was a thing when Homestuck was written. FL4 files are no longer viable ways to give information. However, given what I know of HS trolls, that would not prevent them from using it.

(Huh my HSLB folder already has a "Google LOWAS.png" file which means this is probably ground I have already covered. Oh well.)

GOOGLE LOWAS

John goes to gate on top of mountain, sees pretty swirly colors that are LOLAR, and crashes into Rose's room. Talks to Dave on Rose's computer.

…Yeah, this looks familiar. Huh.

Look this is the last pic from my regular liveblogging days:

if someone could give me a link for that page, I'd be grateful. In the meantime, I'll go through from where I am and try to catch up. I probably backed up some deliberately but I am now entirely lost.

John is chatting with two Daves. One in orange. One in red. There are timeline issues. I think.

John goes poking through Rose's room. (The wone with MEOWMEOWMEOW all over the walls. Rose: Not the sane one.) He grabs some books with his captchalogue. Or into his sylladex. Dammit, I have forgotten the terminology attached to my favorite feature of this game. Story. Webcomic. Whateverthefuck this is.

Gets the codes from the books.

…and then we're back to… Dave in Derse? Dave and Rose in Derse? Back to John, getting his birthday gift from Rose: some kind of purple-black stuffed rabbit. More bunnies in boxes for John. John is happy with all the bunnies in boxes.

(Huh I already had a 'Chaos Dunk' image too, but not the animated gif. Apparently years of ignoring this have not changed my ideas about which images are interesting & worth sharing.)

This section has NEW RELEVANCE since I am now into Untamed fandom and gifts of rabbits are emotionally meaningful in ways that they were not when I started reading Homestuck. If John loves receiving bunnies, does that make him a Hanguang-Jun analogue? I will have to explore this idea.

John leaves a salamander for Rose in thanks.

There are pesterlog conversations of which I understand almost nothing. Timey-wimey shenanigans. Gonna hope I can pick up the gist of it later because I am not rereading the whole damn thing up to now to get context for these, which I kind of had before but have long lost.

There is a jam session with Dave and Rose in Derse, with 5 musical options. These are selectable by having Dave press buttons. Or by clicking on them directly in the new app.

These open in separate tabs in the Homestuck Collection. Right. The other reason to work my way through Homestuck: The music is awesome.

Of these, I like Derse Dreamers best.

Huh. the Collection and the website have DIFFERENT CONTENT wtf. Website: Page 1720. Altered from the original - the sound button is at the top because Flash support is now all wonky. Fine. But the second picture here isn't in the collection. (I am fine with this. I don't like the second picture. But it means, sigh, I really will be needing to go back and forth between the Collection app & the website. Ghah.)

Plz throw thoughts at me so I will be inspired to keep doing this.

Only. Not spoilery thoughts. Please.

[litcityblues]

'Perdido Street Station' --A Review

China Mieville has been an author I've been curious about for a while now but had never actually read prior to this book. I had no idea what to expect. I had some vague idea that the Bas-Lag novels were influenced by Mieville's politics in the same way that Ken Macleod's Fall Revolution Cycle was influenced by his and as I like Macleod's books (that I've read so far), I figured why not try Mieville?

(Both Macleod and Mieville fall on the capital L Left side of the political spectrum, but in what I feel is a more authentic, real way than a lot of the performative leftism you see on this side of the pond. I think they'd probably approve of people like Nina Turner and Bernie Sanders if that gives you an idea of where they'd land on the American political spectrum. I also don't find that their writing makes their politics preachy or gavage-like. They don't shove it down your throats.)

As this was an Audible offering I snatched up, I have to take a brief detour to talk about the narration. I didn't know what to expect from this book, but once I did, the narration of John Lee is a perfect complement to this book. He's got a beautiful range that allows him to imbue all the characters with distinct personalities (as one would expect of any good narrator) however, it's his portrayal of the avian garuda Yagharek as well as the monstrous Weaver that really stands out. It might be the power of suggestion, but once you know that the garuda is an avian species Lee makes the dialogue sound like you would expect a bird too- if that makes sense. It seems like it's coming from a fundamentally different throat than just a regular human and that's a neat trick. His portrayal of The Weaver (a monstrous, inter-dimensional spider) is equally great-- it speaks in a sing-song voice of rhyming nonsense and is described several times as a 'mad god' which Lee encapsulates perfectly. Excellent stuff!

But, back to the book: Isaac Dan Der Grimnebulin (the names are all great in this book by the way) is a scientist living in the city of New Crobuzon. He's approached by the garuda Yagharek, who has had his wings removed as a punishment for an undisclosed crime in his native land. He wants Isaac to help him fly again. Isaac agrees and starts collecting flying creatures to research the mechanics of flight with the aid of Lemuel Pigeon, a fence that has links to the criminal underworld. One creature captured is an unusual caterpillar stolen from a government research lab.

Isaac also has a girlfriend-- Lin, a khepri, who is an insect-like humanoid species. Their interspecies love isn't exactly forbidden, but they're discreet about it. She's commissioned by Mr. Motley, a mob boss to make a sculpture of him.

The caterpillar that Isaac acquired looks like it's getting sick and might die, but Isaac discovers that it feeds on a popular hallucinogenic drug and when he feeds it some, it starts to grow and pupate and eventually emerges as a monstrous flying beast known as a slakemoth that eats the minds of people and leaves its victims catatonic.

This proves to be a problem for Lin because Mr. Motley has more of the slakemoths in captivity and is using their milk to make the popular hallucinogenic drug and when he finds out Lin's connection to Isaac, he assumes that Isaac is trying to muscle in on his business and imprisons Lin, demanding that Isaac return the creatures. Isaac's slakemoth finds its siblings and frees them and then they've got a whole city to feast on.

Isaac, believing Lin dead and realizing the enormity of the problem with the slakemoths, teams up with a radical journalist friend of theirs, Derkhan, and learns that Mr. Motley, in fact, got his slakemoths from the government. Isaac, believing Lin dead is determined to destroy them and together with Yagharek and an assembled crew, which includes a sentient machine known as the construct council starts taking them out one by one.

The government, headed by Mayor Bentham Rudgutter also realizes the danger the city is in and contacts the Ambassador from Hell (a sharp left turn in the narrative I certainly didn't see coming) to see if the demons will help them. When the demons decline, they're left with The Weaver, a multi-dimensional spider of dubious mental stability- who soon ends up helping Isaac and company instead.

Eventually, and at great cost, the slakemoths are destroyed and, at the last, the truth behind Yagharek's crime is revealed and Isaac must make one final decision about whether or not to help him fly again.

I had no idea what to expect going into this book. Mieville's wiki-age describes his genres as urban fantasy, weird fiction, and steampunk all of which would apply to this book. His literary movement is known as New Weird, which is also very apt. His writing style is incredibly descriptive which makes sense both from the point of view of the characters/society he's creating as well as for the setting itself. Whether it's a khepri, human, garuda or wyrman or vodunoi, or any of the other species that inhabit New Crobuzon, you're given a sense of who they each are, what they do, how they function, and what the rules of their society/species are in beautiful detail.

The same goes for the city itself-- the steampunk vibes only add to the sense that New Crobuzon is a sprawling massive city with different districts and a dark and seedy underbelly. Mieville immerses you seamlessly into a complex, delicately crafted world and it's incredible.

He plays around with all kinds of genres ranging from fantasy to science fiction to steampunk and even horror. The slakemoths are terrifying enough but The Weaver is one of the creepiest characters I've come across in a book for a very long time. (Horror is not my genre, so it was definitely not my usual fare.)

Overall: Beautiful writing immerses the reader in a complex, well-crafted world with distinct characters. It's an incredible book, but I would say a reader's reaction to it is going to largely depend on what they're in the mood for. To me, this is a book that you finish, put down and it sits with you for a while. It didn't leave me wanting to run out and find the next Bas-Lag novel right away and that's fine. Sometimes you need to have books that just sit with you for a bit and Mieville's writing, his world-building, and just this book, in general, are a trip worth taking. My Grade: **** out of *****

[rigelmejo]

Some updates 9/4/2024:

I am through 2723 sentences in glossika japanese, which is still A1 (in the app). In reality I think the A1-B2 categories glossika is using must not match the actual kind of level's vocab or grammar. I predict A2 will go to arond the 5000 sentences mark, and the last 1000-2000 sentences in the glossika japanese collection will be randomly categorized B level. Supposedly glossika japanese teaches 5000 unique words, I hope that's true by the end. So far the A1 sentences Ive gone through (2700s lol) have a lot of words just used multiple ways or in multiple conjugations, and if iku counts as like 10+ words just for each conjugation... that could mean significantly less unique words are actually taught. If glossika japanese doesnt at least teach over 3000 unique words (and all verbs etc counted as 1 word each even if various forms are in sentences), then its gonna be beyond a disappointment. Its fairly doable to find free japanese learning resources that teach around 2000-3000 words. The reason Im slogging through glossika is because it gives the promise of potentially MORE WORDS TO LEARN than the free stuff i could find. Like... japaneseaudiolessons.com, a free site with great lessons, teaches at least 2000 words (i calculated it once ;-; if needed ill go figure it out again) if the grammar notes are included. So if glossika turns out barely more than that, ill be pretty fucking beyond annoyed.

In other news, japanese progress? Ahahahhaa

Well really. I've mostly just been focusing on writing stuff lately, so I haven't studied much. But I've noticed some things in passing I find kind of fun?

I can now translate (roughly) 70% of the lyrics of the Yakuza games karaoke songs in passing as a friend plays them. I can also translate (roughly) about 50% of what people are saying in-game. I assume this means if I tried to play Ishin in japanese again, this time I might feel less drained than the first time I tried. (The first time I tried, I understood enough to play the game and roughly guess what was going on, but it took a ton of focus and I felt burned out quick).

Chinese progress? Im in a weird holding pattern where I just dont have time in my schedule to dedicate enough to it to make good progress for a while. I definitely refreshed my memory over the summer, and I can listen to audiobooks now! Which is a huge personal goal I had. But the comprehension of audiobook plots goes between "can follow almost all details" to "roughly can guess where the scene is and actions taken and understood some key dialogue details". Even if I relisten to the same chapter of an audiobook just on different weeks. My comprehension of audio details varies WILDLY right now. Im not sure if its because my vocab recognition is just rusty until used, then rusty again quickly after a break (aka i recall meaning slower than the audio plays). Or if its because listening is just hard. Since i am comprehending something when i listen, ive just chosen to keep listening to audiobooks. I do think a good round of REVIEWING vocabulary (like relistening to chinese spoonfed anki audio files) would help. Or just listening to an audiobook for HOURS a day would probably help. But again, im focusing on writing lately so i just havent carved out dedicated time for chinese listening that id like to be doing eventually.

Reading chinese goes a bit differently. I am rusty with reading too, but it comes back within a few dozen minutes. My recognition of hanzi is sort of like "rusty when not recalled" but once im reading for a few minutes it goes back to an easy to flip to part of my brain and stuff i already know. When trying to read japanese in any context, my brain still jumps right to hanzi chinese pronunciations before i can recall any japanese words. When i see a chinese webpage or subtitles im lost for a little while, then things click and its about as easy as it was last time i was reading a lot. I seem to remember how to read chinese fairly well, and rustiness wears off and goes back to Quick Reading comprehension (which quick for me is still like 150 characters per minute but u get the idea) fairly quickly. Its even a little better than my french reading skill... which does degrade a little over time, and i compensate with cognates usually until ive read for a few hours and the french reading skill returns. Whereas my chinese reading skill seems to come back within an hour usually of trying to read.

[anothermansjeans]

karma

pairing: Aaron Hotchner x fem!reader (she/her pronouns)

warnings: none!

word count: 946

a/n: it’s been 84 years… but ANYWAY… miss taylor swift has infiltrated my mind once again and i just had to a fic inspired by karma because it’s one of my favorite songs on midnights! im sorry if it’s a little rushed (its currently 1:16 a.m when i write this but i am also excited about it)! i also apologize for any mistakes!

inspiration: karma by taylor swift

masterlist

++

Aaron Hotchner has been through a lot. Between being stabbed, hearing his ex-wife being murdered, being blown up, and having to go into witness protection with his kid, you would think he would be a cynical man, but recently that’s changed. He now believes in karma.

It was a year after leaving witness protection when he had his first dose of good karma. He took Jack to a bakery after school and the woman behind the counter offered them each a free cookie since it was the “bakery’s birthday”. It was trivial, he knows, but the way the woman’s eyes lit up when both him and Jack praised the treat made him feel good. It was a feeling that was always fleeting in the past, but this feeling seemed to stay.

It stayed because the next week when he took Jack to the same bakery, the same woman was standing at the counter and had an even brighter smile when she saw them. This time, the visit went a little differently. After he and Jack had gotten their baked goods for the day and started to head out, he stopped at the sound of her voice calling out to him.

“Sir, you left your card!”

He didn’t have time to walk back up to the counter, because she was making her way up to him, and the moment her hand slightly touched his, he swore his body was shocked with one of the most intense feelings.

And he knew she felt it too, her eyes said it all.

“Um… h-have a nice day…?” She trailed off, not knowing his name.

“Aaron”, he responded, giving her a nod. “You too…”

She stared into his eyes for a moment longer before leaving her trance due to the sound of the be above the door ringing. “Y/N.”

“Y/N… have a nice day Y/N.”

That was his second dose of good karma.

The third time karma was in his favor happened a lot sooner than anyone would ever expect. He was alone the next time he went into the bakery— Jack having an after school activity— and when he saw Y/N at the counter she looked more nervous than happy to see him.

“Hi!” Her voice was pitchy, and she fiddled with her fingers as he got closer. “No uh… Your son— I’m assuming— isn’t with you today?”

“No, no. Jack had a school thing. I still wanted to pick something up for him, though.” And then they continued their routine— talking about the specials, picking out two to three treats, paying for it, and saying goodbye. The only difference was… Aaron stayed a minute longer.

She told him to have a nice day, he said the same, but he stood there, standing at the counter, wanting to stay in her presence just a moment longer. He didn’t know how weird it looked until after they stared each down for a good minute, proceeded by her clearing her throat.

“Is there um, anything else… that I can help you with?”

“No… no.” He tried to stay stoic, but he saw her face slightly fall, and he felt something in his stomach make the same movement.

“Okay, well you probably have someone waiting for you—”

“Actually, there is something.” He cut her off, knowing exactly what she had been implying, but he didn’t want her thinking that. “I want to take you out. On a date.”

It was impulsive, and Aaron Hotchner didn’t do impulsive. Until that moment apparently.

She looked shocked at first, but a delicate smile danced on her lips seconds later, and she grabbed a napkin, writing her number down and giving it to him. He used it almost immediately when he got home.

They had gone on several dates after that. So many that they were officially together, and the next step was to tell Jack, which coincidentally was Aaron’s fourth strike of karma.

Jack was ecstatic the moment he heard the news. He loved Y/N. She gave him baked goods whenever she went over, she always talked with him about his current hobbies, and she made his dad happy. Jack loved Y/N.

Seeing this love from him was one of the best things Aaron had witnessed in a long time. The way she would interact with him, the sparkle in Jack’s eyes when he’s told Y/N would be joining them, the overall sense of happiness that radiated from him at the mere mention of her— these were things Aaron was grateful for.

He was so grateful for them that months down the line, after a long day of family activities, he was able to settle on the couch in his home with her once Jack had gone to sleep and have nothing but adoration in his gaze down at her.

And that feeling was so strong— strong in the sense that he hadn’t known the next words coming from his lips.

“I’m in love with you.”

She was laying between his legs, back pressed up against him. Her head was tilted up at an angle, literal stars could be seen in her eyes. “Really?”

He couldn’t help but chuckle at her question. “Yes, really.”

“Good.” She shifted up a bit and kissed under his jaw, lips lingering as she spoke in a soft whisper, “because I have never been so in love with someone in my entire life.”

And right then and there, he noticed something.

Karma is a good feeling. Karma is an electric touch. Karma is getting a date. Karma is seeing his son happy. Karma is the love of his life. Y/N is his karma.

++

tags: @sylvieofasgard @jhiddles03 @skyyyreads @captainamericasmotercycle @gothwifehotchner @ssamorganhotchner (i tagged people who interacted with my recent post so i apologize if you didn’t want to be tagged!!)

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