#even by. like. the 50s. they were singing the generic version

[soracities]

what are your suggestions for starter poetry for people who dont have strong reading/analysis backgrounds

I've answered this a few times so I'm going to compile and expand them all into one post here.

I think if you haven't read much poetry before or aren't sure of your own tastes yet, then poetry anthologies are a great place to start: many of them will have a unifying theme so you can hone in based on a subject that interests you, or pick your way through something more general. I haven't read all of the ones below, but I have read most of them; the rest I came across in my own readings and added to my list either because I like the concept or am familiar with the editor(s) / their work:

Staying Alive: Real Poems for Unreal Times (ed. Nick Astley) & Being Alive: The Sequel to Staying Alive (there's two more books in this series, but I'm recommending these two just because it's where I started)

The Rattlebag (ed. Seamus Heaney and Ted Hughes)

The Ecco Anthology of International Poetry (ed. Ilya Kaminsky & Susan Harris)

The Essential Haiku, Versions of Basho, Buson and Issa (ed. Robert Hass)

A Book of Luminous Things (ed. Czesław Miłosz )

Now and Then: The Poet's Choice Columns by Robert Hass (this may be a good place to start if you're also looking for commentary on the poems themselves)

Poetry Unbound: 50 Poems to Open Your World(ed. Pádraig Ó'Tuama)

African American Poetry: 250 Years of Struggle and Song (ed. Kevin Young)

The Art of Losing: Poems of Grief and Healing (ed. Kevin Young)

Lifelines: Letters from Famous People about their Favourite Poems

The following lists are authors I love in one regard or another and is a small mix of different styles / time periods which I think are still fairly accessible regardless of what your reading background is! It's be no means exhaustice but hopefully it gives you even just a small glimpse of the range that's available so you can branch off and explore for yourself if any particular work speaks to you.

But in any case, for individual collections, I would try:

anything by Sara Teasdale

Devotions / Wild Geese / Felicity by Mary Oliver

Selected Poems and Prose by Christina Rossetti

Collected Poems by Langston Hughes

Where the Sidewalk Endsby Shel Silverstein

Morning Haiku by Sonia Sanchez

Revolutionary Letters, Diane di Prima

Concerning the Book That Is the Body of the Beloved by Gregory Orr

Rose: Poems by Li-Young Lee

A Red Cherry on a White-Tiled Floor / Barefoot Souls by Maram al-Masri

Deaf Republic by Ilya Kaminsky

Tell Me: Poems / What is This Thing Called Love? by Kim Addonizio

The Trouble with Poetry by Billy Collins (Billy Collins is THE go-to for accessible / beginner poetry in my view so I think any of his collections would probably do)

Crush by Richard Siken

Rapture / The World's Wife by Carol Ann Duffy

The War Works Hard by Dunya Mikhail

Selected Poems by Walt Whitman

View with a Grain of Sand by Wislawa Szymborska

Collected Poems by Vasko Popa

Under Milkwood by Dylan Thomas (this is a play, but Thomas is a poet and the language & structure is definitely poetic to me)

Bright Dead Things: Poems by Ada Limón

Teaching My Mother How to Give Birth by Warsan Shire,

Nostalgia, My Enemy: Selected Poems by Saadi Youssef

As for individual poems:

“Wild Geese” by Mary Oliver

[Dear The Vatican] erasure poem by Pádraig Ó'Tuama // "The Pedagogy of Conflict"

"Good Bones" by Maggie Smith

"The Author Writes the First Draft of His Weddings Vows (An erasure of Virginia Woolf's suicide letter to her husband, Leonard)" by Hanif Abdurraqib

"I Can Tell You a Story" by Chuck Carlise

"The Sciences Sing a Lullabye" by Albert Goldbarth

"One Last Poem for Richard" by Sandra Cisneros

"We Lived Happily During the War" by Ilya Kaminsky

“I’m Explaining a Few Things”by Pablo Neruda

"Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening" //"Nothing Gold Can Stay"//"Out, Out--" by Robert Frost

"Tablets: I // II // III"by Dunya Mikhail

"What Were They Like?" by Denise Levertov

"Those Winter Sundays" by Robert Hayden,

"The Patience of Ordinary Things" by Pat Schneider

“I, too” // "The Negro Speaks of Rivers” // "Harlem” // “Theme for English B” by Langston Hughes

“The Mower” // "The Trees" // "High Windows" by Philip Larkin

“The Leash” // “Love Poem with Apologies for My Appearance” // "Downhearted" by Ada Limón

“The Flea” by John Donne

"The Last Rose of Summer" by Thomas Moore

"Beauty" // "Please don't" // "How it Adds Up" by Tony Hoagland

“My Friend Yeshi” by Alice Walker

"De Humanis Corporis Fabrica"byJohn Burnside

“What Do Women Want?” // “For Desire” // "Stolen Moments" // "The Numbers" by Kim Addonizio

“Hummingbird” // "For Tess" by Raymond Carver

"The Two-Headed Calf" by Laura Gilpin

“Bleecker Street, Summer” by Derek Walcott

“Dirge Without Music” // "What Lips My Lips Have Kissed" by Edna St. Vincent Millay

“Digging” // “Mid-Term Break” // “The Rain Stick” // "Blackberry Picking" // "Twice Shy" by Seamus Heaney

“Dulce Et Decorum Est”by Wilfred Owen

“Notes from a Nonexistent Himalayan Expedition”by Wislawa Szymborska

"Hour" //"Medusa" byCarol Ann Duffy

“The More Loving One” // “Musée des Beaux Arts” by W.H. Auden

“Small Kindnesses” // "Feeding the Worms" by Danusha Laméris

"Down by the Salley Gardens” // “The Stolen Child” by W.B. Yeats

"The Thing Is" by Ellen Bass

"The Last Love Letter from an Entymologist" by Jared Singer

"[i like my body when it is with your]" by e.e. cummings

"Try to Praise the Mutilated World" by Adam Zagajewski

"The Cinnamon Peeler" by Michael Ondaatje

"Last Night I Dreamed I Made Myself" by Paige Lewis

"A Dream Within a Dream" // "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe (highly recommend reading the last one out loud or listening to it recited)

"Ars Poetica?" // "Encounter" // "A Song on the End of the World"by Czeslaw Milosz

"Wandering Around an Albequerque Airport Terminal” // "Two Countries” // "Kindness” by Naoimi Shihab Nye

"Slow Dance” by Matthew Dickman

"The Archipelago of Kisses" // "The Quiet World" by Jeffrey McDaniel

"Mimesis" by Fady Joudah

"The Great Fires" // "The Forgotten Dialect of the Heart" // "Failing and Flying" by Jack Gilbert

"The Mermaid" // "Virtuosi" by Lisel Mueller

"Macrophobia (Fear of Waiting)" by Jamaal May

"Someday I'll Love Ocean Vuong" by Ocean Vuong

"Still I Rise" by Maya Angelou

I would also recommend spending some times with essays, interviews, or other non-fiction, creative or otherwise (especially by other poets) if you want to broaden and improve how you read poetry; they can help give you a wider idea of the landscape behind and beyond the actual poems themselves, or even just let you acquaint yourself with how particular writers see and describe things in the world around them. The following are some of my favourites:

Upstream: Essays by Mary Oliver

"Theory and Play of the Duende" by Federico García Lorca

"The White Bird" and "Some Notes on Song" by John Berger

In That Great River: A Notebook by Anna Kamienska

A Little Devil in America: Notes in Praise of Black Performance by Hanif Abdurraqib

The Book of Delights by Ross Gay

"Of Strangeness That Wakes Us" and "Still Dancing: An Interview with Ilya Kaminsky" by Ilya Kaminsky

"The Sentence is a Lonely Place" by Garielle Lutz

Still Life with Oysters and Lemon by Mark Doty

Paris, When It's Naked by Etel Adnan

[empty-dream]

Just watched Orb: On the Movements of the Earth

Anime about heliocentrism.

Yes I know that sounds boring and at first I was like, "An anime about heliocentrism? What, are they gonna animate ancient classes discussing it?" then I recalled "Wait, wasn't the church really against heliocentrism so they, like, thrased Galileo and others for supporting it?"

Yeah that's basically the plot.

Story time! My first contact with this show was with a tweet that said "this is the hidden gem of the season!" to which I was ok maybe I'll check it out later. I forgot about the tweet but later, I saw the OP credit MV for the show and watched it (simply because I was looking for a new song to listen to) and iT WAS GOOD, like HAUNTING GOOD.

The OP gave me the impression that it is some epic historical work like Vinland Saga, just mellower with far less action scenes. I remembered that tweet right then and decided to watch the series immediately. This was when there were still 2 episodes.

THANK GOD I didn't decide to read the manga until episode 3 was out because GODDAMN EPISODE 3 SLAPPED ME HARD.

It was right then when I realized what this story is actually about and why the OP credit is like that. Even the OP and ED credit in EP4 are modified slightly to reflect the shift in the story.

Copernicus, the father of heliocentrism, probably was able to avoid inquisition only because he delayed his publication and died soon after. (And apparently it was so technical only advanced astronomers could understand, clever move but also typical academia.) And it was more than 50 years later until Galileo openly supported his idea and got the church hot on his tail. 50+ years. You'd think there are a lot of things happening in that time. A lot, generation after generation, until mankind could accept the truth.

I won't say more on this post so I'll leave it at that.

I love Rafal so much lmao he's such lovable little shit.

By the way, the series' title is probably a homage to Copernicus' heliocentrism work "De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres)." As for "Orb", the Japanese title uses the katakana "チ" (Chi) which in kanji is also how you say "地" (earth/ground), "知" (wisdom/knowledge) and "血" (blood). These are all connected in the story. Incredibly clever and deep word play, I must say.

I am so conflicted like I want to read the manga ASAP but the anime is so profound and well-directed that I just want to keep watching it with full anticipation without knowing what's gonna happen. I'm so gonna suffer and be insufferable again every week.

*frothing at the mouth* Sakanaction, when will you release Kaiju full version????????

I love Yorushika's Aporia chirpy melody at the beginning of the song. It sounds like a child song, but the lyrics is basically a poetic story of curiousity towards the unknown.

*frothing at the mouth even more* OOOH SO THAT AMAZARASHI'S CASSIOPEIA MOORING MV COLLAB WAS WITH THIS SERIES????!!! If Amazarashi got their hands on it then it must have been some philosophical heavy hitter. Source=trust me.

Please tell me there will be a second cour just so Amazarashi can sing on the second cour too

Tl;Dr: Flat earthers have it easy, back in the day you got burned at stake for saying something different about the universe.

[lemonisntreal]

heyo! Just found your blog and I was scrolling through your stuff and noticed your AU tone deaf. And I haven't found anything about what it is or what your idea is behind it. So I wanted to ask if you could give me an introduction to your AU!

Oh! And I absolutely love your artstyle and how you draw Buster! Anyway, hope you drink enough water and have a good day/night! ;)

Dear god this has been in my drafts for a while-

Hiya! Sorry for that lack of info lol, I'd been inactive for a long time, and the time that I actually WAS posting consistently was back when things were still being sorta fleshed out. But I've got a pretty good idea of how every single part moves at this point, so sure :D I'll give a not-so-brief summary lol [under a cut because I couldn't not dump multiple paragraphs teehee ~_~]

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

Tone Deaf is like a dystopian version of Sing, if I were to put it super duper simply. One where Buster's issues get more emotional focus, and we get actual bonds with the cast because the movie forgot to do that.

Buster is, also, a lot more unhinged, fair warning. This fic's gonna contain violence and tackle some darker subjects [adjacent to grief and denial more specifically] so if it feels like I jumped a lot of sharks, it's because I 100% did.

It kinda started with me noticing how, in the actual movies btw, smaller characters like Buster and Mike had more difficulty getting around places. This led me to ask myself about how species differences could lead to struggles for certain animals since the city just isn't built for everyone [this is NOT Zootopia]. Ash's quills, and Meena's towering size were things I noticed too that would be massive problems, realistically. So after a lot of pondering, now we're here.

The world of Tone Deaf in present day is in a post-war period that's lasted about 50 years now [Crawly is actually a veteran from this war- which was more like complete and total anarchy if I'm being real, since there weren't really any sides until near the end...]

Long story short, the wealthy capitalized off of the war and taking people prisoner- so they purposefully kept it going. A resistance ended up forming to stand against this [Miss Crawly being one of the generals, with that classic missing eye] and after their army stormed the unsuspecting stronghold, the war finally began to conclude. It still took around a year after that to release all of the prisoners of war, and by the end of it all, the damage that had been done to some races was permanent. Even extinction-level in some cases- some animals just straight up don't exist anymore because of it.

Back to Calatonia. Laws that are in place to protect animals from tearing eachother apart are still relatively new, and the criminal underbelly of Calatonia is kinda out of control. Animals get kidnapped/poached, smaller animals are at a huge disadvantage and have basically no power [politically or otherwise], endangered species are a very real thing, poverty is a huge issue for most of the population- and in the middle of all this is Buster Moon.

He's gonna be the main perspective. And the story will also serve as a slight character study on him, mixed with my own grittier and batshit insane changes/headcanons/alternate universe ideas on his backstory. He's a ray of sunshine with a lot of bottled-up feelings that will kinda really take control of the story.

Buster has been arrested multiple times. He's been put in unsuccessful therapy. He's still grieving his dad. He's committing crime and compulsively lying about those illegal actions too. He has emotional difficulties that he hasn't dared try touching on in years, and he has issues with letting go- which, is kinda how all of his new problems come to be.

The threat of his theater being repossessed if his show isn't a success gets a LOT more emphasis too.

But on top of that is the added threat of Buster getting sent out of the city if he can't get his business up and running. Remember how I mentioned endangered animals?? Well Koalas are one of them. One of the big ones, actually. He's the only Koala in a city of almost five hundred thousand, and it's been that way for almost half a decade now. It's been causing issues for the people in charge for half a decade now. Koalas have government-protected settlements far away from here due to their numbers being so few, so if Buster loses the theater? That's the next step for him.

But, to help this poor dude through all the stress of life is the found-family he develops with the cast he hired. He helps them for a lot of the first act, and then they give back his kindness in the second. They connect through their similar experiences, as well as their shared passion for music and performance. And by the end, maybe Buster's okay. Or maybe he's had a complete downward spiral [not gonna speak of act three 🥰]

Other characters have also had a shift in their dynamics. Things in the story have changed. Like for instance- Gunter already knew Buster and was a close friend of him and Eddie before the show, Judith is now the mayor and a main character, Pete has been put in place of the banker in charge of Buster's accounts, Buster unfortunately gets involved in politics, Mike actually gets to bond with the cast- actually the cast gets to bond with the cast point blank period [idc what you say, this just straight up doesn't happen in the canon movies], and to top it all of is a generous helping of angst with a few acts of violence sprinkled in 🤭

The actual Act I summary is this right now:

Buster had been in tight situations before-- suffocating situations, even. He’d been in every kind of trouble imaginable, he thought. With family, friends, local businesses, the law. But he'd always wormed his way out, either through loopholes or by charm. Or usually just by stacking another lie on top of his already crumbling facade. But this time it's gonna take more than a cover-up to fix this. ‏‏‎ Buster’s dishonesty takes him too far once again, a simple typo causing him to unintentionally land himself in a wager that could cost his very life. He has two months to fix this- to ACTUALLY fix this. And the worst part is that he hadn't even meant to lie this time. ‏‏‎ The First Act of Tone Deaf.

TLDR; Buster learns to love again after experiencing the horrors of animalkind firsthand and being healed by theater kids LMFAO

[marcussour]

Sadly, yesterday chilean music icon Cecilia passed away at 79 years old after a sudden illness, and I wanted to take a moment to write something regarding what an important figure she was to chilean music and culture in general.

Mireya Cecilia Ramona Pantoja Levi, known just as Cecilia -nicknamed “la incomparable” (the unmatched)- was a jewish chilean singer. Even though she started her career in the 50′s in her hometown of Tomé, she rose to prominence and stardom in the early 60′s as part of a movement that was known as the chilean “new wave”, that was basically a bunch of artists that took the rock n roll and twist anthems of the 50′s and 60′s and made versions in spanish (often more softened or “tame” versions of the most sugestive songs), that was part of a bigger movement of the same name that happened in almost all of Spain and Latin America.

But Cecilia was special because she always distanced herself from her peers, first by making her own music, and second, by singing songs made famous by spanish and italian artists, instead of usamerican or british ones. Those songs were also more romantic and sad than was the norm back then, to the point that now she’s known as an icon of the “cebolla” music (”onion music”, basically sad songs that made you cry). 

She was also special because of her looks: she had shorter hair and she mostly wore pants or suits similar to the ones Elvis wore in the 60′s and 70′s, all of this at a time when chilean society was even more conservative than today, to the point that her looks and her onstage dancing (that included her signature move, called “beso de taquito”, where she basically sent a kiss flying by doing a move similar to a football heel kick) brought her outrage and criticism from chilean society (there’s a well known episode where she performed at the Viña del Mar’s festival, the most famous music event of Chile, and they tried to censor her).

The things she did and the music she sang kinda made her an outlier between the more tame artists on the chilean new wave. But it was also what made her stand out, not only as a musical icon, but as a feminist and countercultural one: she was friends with some of Chile’s musical legends like folklorist Violeta Parra and singer/theater director Victor Jara (she even made covers of popular songs of both artists). She also founded her own record label during Allende’s government.

Sadly, with the US backed coup of 1973 and the arrival of Pinochet’s dictatorship, Cecilia had to move to a more underground life, partly due to her perceived political sympathies (it’s a well known fact that in the 80′s she was accused of fraud and spent time in jail as part of a political prosecution by the dictatorship because she was seen as “a communist” due to her having a cover of Violeta Parra’s legendary song “Gracias a la Vida”, even though she always referred to herself as an “apolitical” figure). It’s also worth noting that most of the chilean new wave artists were figures that aligned themselves with Pinochet’s dictatorship, either by conviction or convenience, and she was one of the few that refused, which is one of the reasons why she was removed from public eye.

When Chile’s buoyant night life disappeared under curfews and the perils of the dictatorship, Cecilia moved to perform in underground nightclubs, where she became an icon and a cult figure for other audiences: queer people and sex workers (in one of her last interviews, she said she was “the queen of the gays and the ladies of the night”).

With the return of democracy, her figure grew in stature not only among older generations, but also the newer ones, who not only saw in her a music legend, but a feminist icon and an important ally of the LGBTQIA+ community (besides her express support for queer people, there has been speculation for years regarding her sexual orientation due to the fact that she never married, never had a public romance or partner, nor did she had children; even when asked about her sexual orientation, she always kept it hidden due to wanting to have a private life -she once said that even if she was a lesbian, that’s part of her privacy and not something for the public to know-).

Well known chilean artists like Mon Laferte (with whom she recorded a duet), Anita Thijoux, Álvaro Henríquez, Los Bunkers and Javiera Mena always expressed admiration towards her figure. She also received in 2016 the presidential music award, the official award where the chilean government recognizes musicians for their contributions to chilean society.

Even now in death, thousands of people have come to her wake to say their final goodbyes to a musical legend, usually by singing along their songs. It’s a fitting tribute, after all, she stated that one of her final wishes was that, after she died, she wanted to be remembered and celebrated like a party.

Here are some of her most well known songs:

Tango de las Rosas

Puré de Papas

Baño de Mar a Medianoche

Un Compromiso

[ddejavvu]

hybrid guide / faq

hello! this is a guide to my hybrid aus, which will be linked at the top of any of my hybrid posts. i get a lot of questions about not only hybrid aus in general but also my version of hybrids, and i'm happy to answer them all!

so a hybrid is, in essence, a combination of a human being and some animal traits or characteristics. people all write hybrids very differently, but it always comes back to the basic idea of fusion between the two. they're in the same vein as werewolves and catgirls (which are hybrids themselves if i'm not mistaken, just by a different name).

the way that i write my hybrids is not the way everyone else writes theirs!! authors have a lot of different creative ideas for the au and mine is just one.

the hybrids that i write about are fully human. they do have added animal traits and characteristics, but they are human first and foremost. meaning, they're not 50/50, they're not 70/30, they are 100% human. on top of that, they have extra, added animal features or characteristics. so they're not subhuman in any way, they're more than human. dog hybrids have dog ears and tails added to their fully human bodies. cat hybrids have cat ears and tails added to their fully human bodies. bird hybrids might have an exceptionally good singing voice added to their fully human bodies. they. are. fully. human.

even though i've made it clear thus far that the hybrid aus i write are about humans, sometimes people freak out! if you're wondering: are hybrid aus bestiality? the answer is no!

the harkness test, pictured here, is a very helpful checklist to make sure that what you're interested in is not bestiality or pedophilia. its categories are:

does it have human intelligence? (or greater?)

can it talk or otherwise communicate with language?

is it of sexual maturity for its species?

and if you can check all three of those boxes, you're good to go. my hybrid aus check all of those boxes!

my hybrids have human intelligence because they are fully human, with human brains.

my hybrids can communicate with language (and therefore have the power of consent) because they are fully human with human speech capabilities.

my hybrids are of sexual maturity for their species, they are all humans with human bodies that are over 18 years of age.

rest assured, my hybrid aus are not bestiality, nor will they ever be. i do not engage with or condone bestiality in any way, shape, or form.

my hybrid aus are also not always romantic/sexual! sometimes they're just platonic.

sometimes people request smut with a hybrid au, and if it's a dog hybrid, meaning a human with dog ears and a tail, maybe a penchant for collecting sticks, they include specifications of a knot in their request. when i include knots in my writing, know that they are at the base of a human dick. it would make no sense for my characters to be fully human with human bodies and then have the dick of an animal. the knot is at the base of their fully human dick. they are humans.

sometimes when people request a hybrid au for a dog, they'll say 'puppy!(character)'. does this mean they're underage/young? no! i know that it's a confusing term, and i try to use 'dog hybrid!(character)' myself to avoid any of that confusion, which i will continue to be diligent about. when people are request 'puppy!(character)' they are not requesting underage/young characters, they're saying puppy as a cutesy, affectionate term. like, i would call an absolutely ancient dog 'puppy' if they were cute. but again i know it's somewhat of a misleading term and i will always clarify if you need me to! i usually tag my works with 'dog hybrid!(character)' and 'puppy!character' so that i get the official title in there to avoid confusion, and i can include the more common, shorthand version of it.

sometimes when people request smutty hybrid aus from me the scenario is described or phrased as something less human than i'm comfortable with! when this happens, I try to write the blurb or word vomit my way. i will incorporate as much of the original request as possible to cater to the person who requested it, but I typically don't dip below my standards of humanization. however, if the request is not smutty, i don't mind writing less intelligent hybrids.

it's okay to be confused about this, and it's okay to ask questions! i'm happy to answer any that you may still have after reading this post, and if i've forgotten something important that you ask me later on, i'll edit this post to explain it further! i know that a lot of people know what hybrid aus are, they're very common in fanfiction, but just in case anyone has questions i wanted to make this post!

[cybernightart]

Mildly amusing head cannons featuring Genji, Hanzo and kiriko (with some brief Gency and phariko at the end)

Since in being a ninja you have to be able to go about undetected, be able to blend in with your surroundings, even disguise yourself and be convincing when doing so. So in order to make sure the trio were skilled in this department in between their ninja training and the education the clan was providing they would get sent to acting and drama classes. They would go by fake names so no one was able to pick up on the fact they were shamatic clan members, and this was easier to do then it may seem as none of them were known to the public of even existing. As part of the clans thing was that they would keep all of the members born into the clan within the walls until they were 18, which once they're 18 they can leave on their own, the trio we're giving an exception to this occasionally but only if they were being escorted by a senior member of the clan or sojiro shimada himself, but even then they did not leave the grounds of hanamura, with only kiriko ever going into kanezeka.

And because of these classes the three are really good at acting and just slipping into roles when need be. Which means if it were for the fact Genji was a red-eyed rage powered murder ninja during black watch he would have been the perfect person to go undercover as the waiter instead of Cassidy, as part of their acting was being able to mimic accents which all three of them can do relatively well.

Genji never once mentioned this though, and it was only after kiriko joins OverWatch after Hanzo had already joined as well, and casually mentions how she finds old recordings of genji's performances on one of her old devices and everyone else is so confused at what she means. Kiriko then goes into excited annoying little sibling mode with "OH MY GOD YOU DON'T KNOW GENJI DID THIS?!?!" Ask Genji is slowly starting to panic with that panic rapidly picking up pace the further kiriko gets into explaining, even worse so for Genji because 90% of his performances where musicals or just him singing in general. This revelation is even more shocking to people like Cassidy and Angela who he had told that he was not good at singing, only to come to find the Genji has the voice of an angel or at least had.

Even with the cybernetics he still can sing really well but it's just so different from what he was used to before, that even with his acceptance of his body and improved mental state it still just doesn't fully sit right with him. He likes his voice now ,so it's not even like back in black watch when he only talked when absolutely necessary because he hated hearing his voice, or that he still hates the sound of his own voice, but rather anytime he goes to sing internally(to himself) he still pictures what he used to sound like when he was in his early twenties and not the raspier Metalalicy autotuned version of his voice now. With the only times anyone has heard Genji singing since being when he intentionally sings bad or over does it for comedic effect.

This then of course leads into kiriko playing a bunch of the recordings of genji's performances with the smuggiest look on her face as she stares Genji directly in the eyes the entire time they're playing with a facial expression only describable using >:3 . So in retaliation Genji leaves and comes back with the recordings of kirikos performances, and to continue on the trend of annoying little siblings also hanzos.

While kiriko did a mix of plays from around the world mainly more Western culture with the occasional Japanese one, with one particular picture Genji showed being kiriko in one of those 1950's pink poodle skirts complete with an ascot to match and her hair done up in a hairstyle screaming the 50's. Hanzo did primarily quite traditional Japanese performances, primary kabuki. So in the old photos from these performances, falkirko was wearing a range of different costumes, Hanzo was in full traditional attire, makeup ,masks everything.

And now for some Gency stuff,

Later on as they were going to bed (Genji literally walked into Angela's office and without a word just and just scooped her out of her desk and carried her to the bedrooms. she started off wiggling and kicking to trying to get him to drop her, but since she was so tired from sleeping for far too long she eventually caved and just started snuggling into him as he carried her. Also the ninja strength combined with the additional strength from being a cyborg kind of helped in Genji not letting go like he was unfazed the entire time, except for under his mask he was trying to hide the giggles building up which men under the mask he just had the biggest dorkiest grin but Angela couldn't see that currently) Angela turned to Genji and said how she couldn't sleep because she wasn't tired (a very very blatant lie), and with a smirk on her face asked if Genji could sing her a lullaby to help her sleep, with a sigh and a chuckle Genji agreed. So as they lay in bed cuddled into each other, Angela's head on genji's collarbone area, Genji quietly sang her one of the only lullabies he could remember off the top of his head which was one his father used to somewhat sing to him and Hanzo when they were very little. And between her already incredible exhaustion, the sweet quiet vocals, Genji running is hand through her hair, and the hum in reverberations from within genji's chest/cybernetic throat she passed out almost immediately.

Meanwhile, pharah was trying her absolute hardest to get her hands on that picture of kiriko, using all the compliments in the book and every tactic she could think of, well kirko is trying her best to resist these "torture methods" to get her to give her the picture.

[princesssarisa]

Sandy from Grease for the character ask

It's been many years since I last saw Grease and I'm not sure how well I remember it, but here goes.

Favorite thing about them: She's a likable every-girl, who navigates the difficulties of teenage romance and friendships in a relatable way. She sings great music too.

Least favorite thing about them: Well, her ending is rightfully controversial, both for the fact that she goes back to Danny after he repeatedly treated her shabbily, and for her transformation into a greaser chick. I don't think it's an inherently bad ending (see "Unpopular opinion" below), but it's not unproblematic either.

Three things I have in common with them:

*I was innocent and never a "cool kid" in school.

*I usually seem sweet, but I can have an edge too.

*I was nervous when I got my ears pierced. (Fortunately, I had it done professionally, not by a teenage friend, and I didn't throw up.)

Three things I don't have in common with them:

*I wasn't born yet in the 1950s.

*I've never had a relationship with a "bad boy."

*I've never worn a skin-tight black outfit in public.

Favorite line: Probably the lyrics to her final love duet with Danny, either "All Choked Up" from the stage version or the more iconic "You're the One That I Want" from the movie.

brOTP: All the Pink Ladies by the end, but especially Frenchy.

OTP: Danny.

nOTP: Any adult.

Random headcanon: Her verses in "Summer Nights" stretch the truth, just like Danny's do. While her version of how they met is the real one, as opposed to Danny's contrived story of saving her from drowning, their romance at the beach was less chaste and innocent than she paints it. He was sweeter and she was naughtier than either one lets themself be in their everyday life.

Unpopular opinion: Her transformation in the end isn't inherently anti-feminist – it can be viewed as just the opposite – or a case of succumbing to peer pressure. I've read a few analyses online that make a convincing defense for it. The key is to remember how conservative, conformist, and stifling 1950s culture was. Sandy's good-girl persona is exactly how girls were "supposed" to be according to that culture. She might be a misfit among Danny and Rizzo's gangs, but she's the one who fits into society in general. Arguably, she isn't just being herself, but following the rules she's been taught by her parents and society, and in the end she realizes she's not happy this way. Meanwhile, Danny and his friends might be the school's "cool kids" one one level, but at the same time, they're the "bad kids" – from the wrong side of the tracks, almost all Italian or Polish (ethnic groups that weren't fully privileged as "white" back in the '50s), and in short, the ones who don't fit in. By loosening up and embracing her inner bad girl, Sandy arguably isn't denying her true self to fit in with the cool kids and get her man, but finally discovering her true self, rejecting conformity, and coming into her own power. Now, maybe it's not well-written enough for this to come across. And I'm not saying it's unproblematic. The show was written by men, and there is an element of male fantasy in it as Sandy becomes Danny's sexy dream girl. Still, just listen to the lyrics of both "All Choked Up" (Sandy and Danny's original final duet) and "You're the One That I Want" (which replaced it in the movie and later stage revivals), and try to deny that they empower Sandy! She makes it clear that even though she's joining Danny's world, she's not going to put up with any more disrespect. "You better shape up" she tells him in "You're the One That I Want," and he echoes it with "I better shape up"; and in "All Choked Up" she literally makes him beg her to take him back, and still insists that he "take it slow" and not expect her to sleep with him right away. So she doesn't abandon her morals either.

Song I associate with them:

There are quite a few of these, some exclusive to the stage version, others sung in the movie.

"Summer Nights"

"Hopelessly Devoted to You"

"It's Raining on Prom Night"

"All Choked Up"

"You're the One That I Want"

Favorite picture of them:

Olivia Newton-John in the movie.

This rare picture of Carole Demas in the original Broadway production, 1972.

A 20-year-old, pre-stardom Sutton Foster in the 1995 US tour:

Laura Osnes in the 2009 Broadway revival:

Julianne Hough in 2016's Grease Live!:

[pokemon-card-of-the-day]

Pokemon Card of the Day #2999: Jigglypuff (Southern Islands)

Jigglypuff was not something you'd expect to get much out of, seeing that it did no damage and didn't even help set up. What it did do, however, is force switches at a time where Trainer lock, from either Slowking or Dark Vileplume depending on the ruleset, was quite common. With the existence of a card that could sometimes just win a game if the opponent was locked into the wrong Pokemon, this was a notable role, even if there was some competition for it.

The stats were pretty unimpressive, but you'd expect that on a Jigglypuff. 50 HP meant that even moderate hits were a problem, with the note that Jigglypuff could be the type of Pokemon that just got in and did its job quickly. It was not the easiest target due to this and the tendency to be paired with cards that locked Trainers. The Fighting Weakness meant that there was always the threat of a Tyrogue KO if the opponent could get back to it, while a Psychic Resistance was nice to see for Dark Gengar, Espeon and the like. The Retreat Cost was fine at just 1, letting you switch out to the Murkrow you were almost certainly using with this.

Tempting Eyes needed a Colorless Energy, and while it did no damage, it was very notable. It let you choose 1 of the opponent's Benched Pokemon and switch it with the Defending Pokemon. It was basically Gust of Wind in attack form, and if you could get something that wasn't able to do much back up front and had Trainer denial (mostly Slowking back in the pre-errata days), you could set up for a Mean Look from Murkrow on the next turn. You could also try this with Dark Vileplume in the modern take on Rocket-On, and if it all went together it was devastating. It was, however, a long combo if you needed to also use Smeargle to change the type of something, so that gave time for the opponent to find a way out.

Sing also needed just a Colorless Energy but was awful. It was simply a coin flip that, if heads, put the Defending Pokemon to Sleep. This was not worth your time.

Jigglypuff got a bit of play back in the Slowking era, as it could force a switch to what you wanted without an opponent's Slowking forcing you to flip coins like you'd have to with Double Gust. It even kept some value in the more recent post-errata version of the format with Dark Vileplume. That being said, if going for the full lock thing, Erika's Victreebel was strong competition, as while that took a lot more deck space, you got to have it sit on the Bench and keep flipping for chances, giving you an opportunity to get everything in place in 1 less turn and the ability to try more than once at it. Jigglypuff, however, needed just one spot in the deck and was guaranteed to do its role, but had to attack and wasn't the most sturdy thing in the world. Erika's Victreebel is generally preferred today, but Jigglypuff had plenty of advocates in the past and certainly is worth considering if you really want the forced switching aspect without worrying about locks or coin flips.

[the-blank-crossing-os]

TBC lore dump 5: More general tidbits

(^What the ancients looked like! They were the first ever objects on Fiearth.)

Fiearth's exact creation is a whole mystery that no object is sure of. Some say it formed like our earth, some say it was created by gods... Its a common tale that the ancients were created by the gods though, and they had to figure out the nooks and crannies of the planet on their own. They eventually learned how to use most of the godly marks available to them, and setting in stone the traditional method of creating new objects.

Only a few godly marks- sentience dust, morph slate, peace cotton, tokens and trinkets, blade ore and hard iron- can be safely kept around objects for an indefinite amount of time. All of the others hold a too strong amount of magic that will accumulate inside objects over extensive exposure, and eventually it will turn fatal for the object- This is called magic overload, and burnflowers will cause it instantaneously if consumed.

Fiearth magic is majorly environmental, but there's a lot of it, with how common godly marks are and all. Occasionally and randomly, an object may be born with magic, but no one has anything spectacular. Hell, even the first object born with magic don't have anything flashy going on

Magic objects don't have anyone to teach them how to use it really, so a lot of the time their skills goes unused. Objects are way more adapted to making use of godly marks eitherway.

Cloning in tbc is really just the canon method of creating more objects but minus the morph slate. Just sprinkle some sentience dust on an inanimate object, provided it wasn't previously alive, and you've got yourself a new living being! And that is Fiearth's version of cloning.

Clones have several debilitating traits so its inherently unethical to make any- though it is SO easy to make them and many at once too. its how one of the ancients discovered it- They accidentally cloned their whole garden and that was the start of plants as a class.

Clones have two physically notable traits that could tell them from other objects: they're MUCH smaller and they have dust markings on their bodies. Clones have a way lower lifespan than normal objects (Most of them die around 50), and they're much, much less mobile, due to the lack of morph slate making their limbs stiff and easy to crack.

Any objects born from the same piece of slate are automatically considered twins, no matter how far apart their births were.

Object names are conforming to their objects as a comfort thing. In the way that they find it nice to know what they are, reflecting that through their names. Objects changing their name will often make their new name a different variation of what their object is. Last names are based on aesthetic-types (like, take charger for example, he's a device meant for connecting things) and will also be passed down from generation to generation. When objects marry, they will not change their last names, so objects having the same last names are indications of kinship. Which parent's last name the child gets is dependent on which aesthetic-type they fit more into, or it can be a mashup of all parents' aesthetic-types into one more general one.

If an object changes their last name and they still have living relatives with the same last name, it is effectively considered an act of disowning.

When objects hold funerals, they don't do coffins. They cover the body (if there is any) with the person's favourite plant godly mark, sing some chants to send them off to the Passing Hallways (though they don't know it exists earlier in the timeline so they used to call it the Beyond), cremate the body and the flowers and bury the ashes in a coffin-shaped hole. If there isn't a body they'll burn just the plants, if the late person's favourite was burnflowers they'll throw water over the flowers.

Fiearth objects don't use human body parts terminologies, they have their own. the biological body parts terms are mostly used to refer to animals (and thus if anyone uses them towards anyone its like calling them an animal). They also use godly mark related terms, particularly "dust".

There is a custom where objects try to avoid saying the word "forget" at all cost, else they'll be erased from existence if they say it enough. It's based on an ancient legend about an object who turned against their own kind, and gains power from things being forgotten. Except, its not a legend, its real.

This is said object. It roams Fiearth, killing objects and causing mayhem everywhere. It aims to become just as powerful as the gods and thus destroy them all

[silentwillowwhisperer]

I guess you guys get to know more about me.

Alright guys Imma do this because my writer's block is being mean to me and I have a headache from crying too much. (Don't worry, I'm fine, I'll explain later in this post.)

Oh and before I forget, thank you @lady-of-nightmares-and-sin for the tag.

I apologize for my mega-long ramble answers.

-----

Named after anyone?

Noop. I have actually never met anyone with the same name as me, though there is a name that comes close that I hear ALL THE TIME. People won't even read my name all the way and just assume that it's the more common version, and it veeery slightly ticks me off.

2. Last time you cried?

Today! It is the last day of school, and an important person/mentor/counselor/friendly-figure is leaving to go to another school closer to her house. Ummmmn... I kinda sobbed for 50 minutes straight, and EVERYONE was staring at me until they started crying too because this important figure is a SAINT and we a love her. I was the worst though. Once I start, I absolutely CANNOT stop. (My friends were all extremely concerned for me, but that's ok, goddammit I'm gonna see these people again next year, I totally just broke down in front of all these people, crap.)

3. Do you have any kids?

Agh. No. I'm... no. Would I be interested later in life? Perhaps. For now Imma try to survive my younger siblings. Also, I'm holding off on dating for a while, (by that I mean like 2-5 years). And even then it would be a long time before I would even CONSIDER raising a child with someone. So I don't have to worry about me-spawns for a good bit.

4. Do you use sarcasm a lot?

Nah, that doesn't fit my personality very well. However, I do this thing where I'll turn up the brightness in my voice and say something that's supposed to be sarcastic and no one can ever tell if I'm being serious or not. Wow. I doubt that any of that made sense.

5. What is the first thin g you notice about people?

Their actions and/or habits. I tend to pick up on other people's fidgets really fast. Also, I'm not even gonna approach you if you don't act like a decent human being through the way you move. In theory, that makes no sense, but I swear I'm not judgmental, I have a process.

6. Color of your eyes?

They look black, but they're obviously just suuuper dark brown. They look kinda cool when I hold a flashlight up to them though. By that I mean that you can see the 3-Dness of them, but they don't have much color in general.

7. Scary movie of happy ending?

Guys. Do I seem like the kind of person who can deal with scary crap? No. Hard pass. I'm an animation child. Lemme tell you, the ending of She-Ra was TOP TEIR. I was crying my eyes out and screeching at the cuteness of this CANONIC GAY COUPLE at the same time. You know what? I'm giving you homework. Go watch She-Ra if you haven't already, and if you have come talk to me about how hot Scorpia is.

8. Any special talents?

I love how these questions are meant to be interesting, but I'm not an interesting person. I... can do a clover with my tongue?

9. Where were you born?

Normally I wouldn't answer, but I'm proud so Imma tell you. California. Now leave before I start singing California Girls.

10. Hobbies?

Stop I'm so basic. Art, reading, writing, music, taking pictures of my friends and stashing them away for further use (Whaaat, no, me? Creepy? Neveeeer.)

11. Pets?

Do my siblings count? JK, no, I love them (88% of the time). I'm not even gonna start on my ramble in here, I'd rather not write (another) paragraph answer.

12. Sports?

Nope, stay away, noooooo.

13. Height?

These questions are starting to freak me out. Can someone stalk you based on height??? I know I sound paranoid, but stay away.

14. Favorite subject in school?

Social Studies! Though people have said that next year's course is gonna be boring.

15. Dream job?

Therapist/phycologist of some kind. Talking to other people about their problems makes me reaaally unreasonably happy. I have this one friend who likes to talk to me because something about my weird eccentric self giving her advice helps her, and as much as I don't like seeing her sad, when she is it makes me feel very helpful and valued. Anyway, if any of you ever need to talk, I'm always willing to lend an ear. <3

I'd also like to be an author because, writing. That's all I'm gonna say about that.

------

Once again, thank you for the tag.

I'm tagging:

@lilcatastrophe (sorry, I do this to you a lot)

@haunted-glassesgurl

@blobfish-whisperer

No pressured, feel free to ignore me! Byeeee!

[frenchibi]

I hope it’s not too much but! For the ask game: 1 9 15 39 50 53 70 84 99 100 Hope you have a nice day!~

Hahaha, not at all, anon, I don't mind! Thank you for asking :D I'm going to put these under a cut though, since I like to ramble and this will be quite long to scroll past otherwise :)

What’s your middle name, and do you like it?

It's Johanna, after my grandmother, who passed away ten years ago. I do like the name, and I like that it connects me to her :) I also recently learned that my first name is the "female version" of my grandfather's legal first name (he went by his middle name, and I only learned that when he passed away this year), so that's pretty cool too :)

9. Do you have any cool talents?

So... I think I am pretty good at a fair number of things, but. I am really good at parking. I enjoy driving a lot, and as an Oldest Sister(TM) I was (and sometimes still am) always driving my siblings places, so I got a lot of practice - and I have always lived in places with very limited parking, so I have gotten very good at it by necessity. I can parallel park anywhere, and have literally squeezed into spots with five centimeters to spare. I am very confident in this ability and I think it's a very useful talent lmao

15. What’s the best dream you’ve had?

I... don't really remember my dreams, and most of my dreams are kind of stressful and confusing xD Sorry, don't have a cool story here ^^

39. Favourite singer?

Oooh, ooh, a juicy question - and one I find really difficult to answer! I always feels so... unprepared, when people ask me about music, even though I do have lots of opinions...? I feel like this also depends on the genre, if it's opera or musical theater or pop or rock music... I definitely have more than one. I'd probably find it easier to talk about bands I currently am into, or something? Sorry, I know this is a non-answer dhfhhkdfk feel free to ask a more specific question and I will do my best to actually find people to respond with :'D

50. How are you doing today?

I'm alright! I just got home from tech rehearsal for our choir concert tomorrow (it went really badly hahaha - but they say if the final rehearsal sucks, the concert will be good, so, eh?) so I'm quite exhausted... but I had a nice morning, my partner and I made French toast for breakfast and went to the gym even though we were both feeling pretty groggy - I'm glad we went though, I felt better afterwards ^^

53. Is there anything you do that you can’t remember ever not doing?

Singing! And talking. I was apparently THE chattiest baby - I was speaking way earlier than kids normally do (but refused to crawl at all lmao just. lots to say but no places to be apparently) and was super interesed in words from before I can remember :) Also learned to read really early, and to write! Which I have always loved, and still do. Singing has always been a thing in the home I grew up in - and now I'm getting qualifications to be a voice teacher, so I'm coming full-circle I think :)

70. What would you change about your life if you knew you would never die?

Oh, that depends - am I the only one who will never die? What about my family? My friends? I'm sorry I need to know more about this hypothetical hsadjfklahsdjk does my back pain also stay forever? My allergies? My dizziness? Seriously though, I don't think knowing when I'll die or even if I'll die would not change much about my behavior. I generally try to do more good than I do harm, and I like to tell people honestly how I feel, especially if I appreciate them. And that's it xD

84. If you could time travel, would you go to the past or the future?

Not to be a boring square here but... the idea of time travel terrifies me. Like, as a narrative device or plot point? Cool. But I personally would not want to go anywhere. If I HAD to - as close as possible to now. I'd go back to last week, or ahead one week. I don't think I would do well in the distant past, and the future I don't want to know about until I get there. What if I go to the future and find out something horrible will happen, but I can't stop it? No. No no no no thanks :')

99. Is there a feeling you are trying to ignore? What is it?

I am always, always, always worrying. I can't really turn it off, I think worrying is natural when you care about things (and I notoriously care way too much about way too many things. It is what it is) so I am mainly trying to get stuff done without being overwhelmed :') It sounds a lot worse than it is, though.

100. Do you live or do you just exist?

I am for sure living, not just existing. I like being an active agent in my own life, and bringing positive things to the lives of people I care about. When I am at my worst, it is because I feel I am just existing and letting things pass me by. Sometimes I get overwhelmed, but I am also always trying to find beauty in things, focus on small joys on purpose, and be kind to myself.

These were really fun, thank you!!

Prompt list here - send me an ask!

[wandringaesthetic]

Final Fantasy Distant Worlds “Coral” Nashville, 1/25/23

Isare went to the symphony. No, it’s not a misspelling of “choral.” I don’t get it either.

Before the show:

I dressed up (basically) as my FFXIV character, so a version of the level 50 Healer’s Robe and elf ears. I feel the effect was pretty good and so did a bunch of random strangers, but I didn’t get a good picture of all of it and don’t feel like sharing my visage right now. We stopped at a bougie bistro/grocery place in Franklin that had among other things a bunch of artisanal olive oils. And here I am some kind of elf priestess and I feel like the people who worked there wanted to ask “what the heck are you wearing?” but were too busy or afraid of losing their job to actually comment. Very nice salmon tacos, though.

Vibes in Nashville on the other hand were extraordinarily good. Like, we went to Opry Mills (big mall) and had casually friendly interactions with multiple people who worked there that did not give off the vibe that they hated their job? Everyone we encountered seemed extremely chipper in a not-feigned way. Even the conversation with a lady trying to solicit us for donations was mostly pleasant. Maybe I should wear elf ears all the time?  

We went to a very cool, extremely fancy cafe/restaurant and I had turkish coffee and some sort of italian fruit and cream pastry. Next time we go to Nashville we’re going to try to eat a meal there.

The show itself:

This was my third Distant Worlds concert. Fourth if you count the Final Fantasy VII Remake concert. (which I suppose you should as it was Arnie Roth conducting and I think was generally part of the same mission and idiom.) I got a music box that plays “Theme of Love” from the merch table.

I think I remember everything that was played, but possibly not in correct order.

“Final Fantasy I-III Medley” (Prelude, Final Fantasy I Main Theme, Matoya’s Cave (I), Elia Maiden of Water (III), Chocobo Theme (II), The Rebel Army (II))

“Eternal Wind” (III)

“The Red Wings”/”Castle Baron” (IV)

“Home Sweet Home”/”Music Box” (V)

“Phantom Forest”/”Phantom Train”/”The Veldt” (VI)

Battle Theme Medley (IIRC, the regular battle themes from I-VI, followed by the victory fanfare)

INTERMISSION (a very nice person gave me a piece of Final Fantasy IX fanart in the hallway)

“Liberi Fatali” (VIII. it is at this point revealed that we have a choir, and because we have gone in order up ‘til now I say “FUCK VII” hopefully not too loudly)

“Not Alone!” (previously “You Are Not Alone!”, IX)

(I know I am probably screwing up the order at this point)

“Ragnarok” (from XI)

“Aerith’s Theme” (VII)

“Apocalypsis Noctis” (with the choir, XV)

“Flash of Steel” (XII)

“Blinded By Light” (XIII)

At some point Arnie Roth introduces SUSAN CALLOWAY. I know that I am IN FOR IT. She, and the choir, and the orchestra perform:

“ANSWERS” (XIV)

Every XIV player is now deceased. We are revived by

“MAIN THEME OF FINAL FANTASY” (also with the choir, singing “aaaaaa”)

Of course we all realize that they have skipped one so there is an

ENCORE:

“To Zanarkand” (X)

And because what would a Distant Worlds concert be without the worstie, a second encore:

“One-Winged Angel” (VII)

OBSERVATIONS/THOUGHTS/FEELINGS:

I seem to have been on whatever point in my hormone cycle that makes it easy to cry, so while there were not, like, tears running down my face, my eyes were wet through more of it than not.

“Matoya’s Cave” and “Eternal Wind” borrow a lot more emotions from XIV than they do from their original games at this point. I find that really interesting, especially with the repeated themes, your “Prelude” and “Main Theme” and “Victory Fanfare” &etc, how things from the future recontextualize and give more weight to the past.

Video montages from the games play during the performance, and for I-VI they used the pixel remasters. I couldn’t swear to the content of each because I spent some of my time paying attention to that and some looking at the orchestra and some with my eyes closed. But I wonder what the impression the moms and girlfriends and boyfriends who have little to no exposure was of this series? Elia DIES, Alus’ dad tries to kill him and then turns the knife on himself (I had straight up forgotten about that), Josef? DIES. Minwu? DIES. Look, a chocobo!

(that post that’s something like: the best pieces of fiction are the most heartrending scenes followed by the most unbelievable bullshit)

The medleys chosen for IV thru VI were interesting because they’re very curated slices of the games in question. For IV, extremely grandiose and martial. For V, the very specific feeling of going back to your hometown and realizing its not home anymore. For VI, a very SPECIFIC part if the experience of playing that game (highlighted by the video): find your way through the SPOOKY WOODS. Hop a ride (with the souls of the dead) on the PHANTOM TRAIN (and suplex it), befriend a FERAL CHILD (thou? thou! thouthouthouthouthouthouthou!)

I love the way that battle medley reflected the experience of playing the games. The video ended on a pile of screens of our 16bit heroes pumping their fists, and, if you’re like me, you’re forced to reflect up the thousands of these screens after the thousands of battles of you’ve been through playing and replaying these games.

In the same way I loved ANSWERS followed by the MAIN THEME. We have been on a LONG JOURNEY. We have reached a CLIMAX. The ending cutscenes have GUTTED YOU. Recover while you listen to some nice orchestral music that dates from the series debut while we roll credits. 

Being in the process of finally playing XI, “Ragnarok” is an interesting choice as representative of that game, no? The video was specifically a quick trip through the plot of Treasures of Aht Urhgan. Luzaf is probably the #1 FFXI character I’ve caught feelings about and my general feeling about that whole expansion was “Man I would be ALL ABOUT THIS were it just SLIGHTLY better written.” But when I think about, say, VIII, or XII, part of what makes the stories great is context embellished or even fully made up by the player. I don’t know. Aht Urhgan hasn’t simmered long enough in my brain to make a good stew.

ANSWERS with the full choir live and in person was basically at the top of my wish list for this concert, but it was hard to slip out of a double consciousness (pay attention! pay attention! savor this! this is your chance!) to be fully in the moment. Susan Calloway is obviously a hell of a performer (IIRC what led to her winding up on the vocal tracks for XIV was being a soloist on this concert series for things like “Eyes On Me” and “Kiss Me Goodbye”). You have to be a hell of a performer to do “Answers” full-throated and with a straight face through those spoken lines (”Roam. Roam! ROAM!”). “Play the actual goddess of this fantasy universe while doing your best Celine Dion” is a tall order. Savored all the “slightly-different from the recorded version I’m most familiar with” vocal embellishments. She did a thing that I’m going to find difficult to describe and I’m not 100% sure I perceived correctly where she started going for like, realized her voice was going to crack on it if she did and did like a less intense aaAAAaaAAA type thing instead. Only really noticeable, I think, if you’re extremely overly familiar with the ARR cutscene recording. What a pro. 

But there was also a TRIPLE consciousness there. Because. I get the idea the person next to me was in the “girlfriend along for the ride” camp from overhearing her talk to her date and she was getting kind of shifty and maybe bored by this point and ANSWERS, if you’re not completely in the headspace of accepting it as a thing, is A Lot. It is probably Too Much. It is. Several layers of cheese. Set over a CG cutscene of a multination battle while the world literally ends and some elf man dies for our sins and the moon is a dragon now, deal with it (which they played as the video accompaniment for this, btw).

*shakes fist at the heavens* HIGH FANTASY!!

I had a lot of feelings about ANSWERS even back in 2013/2014 or whenever it was I played ARR, and now thru Shadowbringers and Endwalker I have much more feelings because its another of those things that has gained meaning over time.

IN CONCLUSION:

I had a very great time. I’ve had a hard time, lately, with doing some things that are supposed to be fun but are going to take a lot of time and preparation. Like trying to party when what you really need to do is sleep. In a way, I was dreading this as much as I was looking forward. Ugh, I’m using one of my off days on this. Ugh, I gotta clean the house because my parents are going to be staying here while we’re gone in order to watch my kid. Ugh, I gotta drive to Nashville. Ugh, I’ve taken it upon myself to wear this whole elf getup. Ugh, I gotta park in downtown Nashville. Ugh, I’m gonna get home after midnight. But it all felt extremely nice and not that effortful. I am grateful. 

[groovesnjams]

40 / 50

"Knockin'" by MJ Lenderman

MG:

What I would like to posit is that “Knockin’” is, in fact, a pretty faithful cover of Bob Dylan’s “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” and that covers, in general, would be a lot better if they pursued this strategy instead of replicating the original’s every detail with, like, a blue filter overlaid on the production or whispers where once were screams. But, in specific, it’s a cover of Dylan’s own reworking of the song for the Rolling Thunder Revue tour, recorded and preserved – I won’t say for all eternity, I’m pretty sure when our alien creators return to end their hasty experiment, our “art” will no longer be a going concern – from a 1975 performance at Cambridge’s Harvard Square Theater. On this version of the song, the atmospherics are wild and cosmic, a swirl of Scarlet Rivera’s sharp and sawing electric violin and Roger McGuinn's weepy 12 string and a whole soup of vocalists wailing the titular line, each in slightly off-key desperation. If you’ve only heard the original, you haven’t heard “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door” at all. If you’ve heard the Guns ‘N Roses rendition, with Axl Rose’s barked “Hey! Hey! Heyheyyeah!” and duet with the two sides of his vocal range, you’re one step closer but the song is still just a bit too lacquered and cinematic. MJ Lenderman’s take is just beneath the definitive version, capturing the essential simplicity of the song’s premise and all the ambivalent sorrow a bit of pedal steel can imbue. His “momma” is the girl at his side and to her he sings, “you’re all I need, babe/ yeah, you’ve heard that one before.” The line has the same uneasy heft, all the love and loneliness, of Dylan begging for “someone to talk to and a new hiding place.” Critically, both the Rolling Thunder Revue version and “Knockin’” (2023) dispose of the overt cop plotline of the original – Dylan’s cover of himself rewrites the opening lines directly but vaguely as he begs momma to “wipe the blood off of [his] face” and Lenderman moves it to the song’s climax where the badge becomes wings and death becomes taking flight. While I’m grateful to MJ Lenderman for broadening the concept of the cover enough that I can agree to like a few more covers, I’m most grateful to him for giving me the opportunity to discuss at length the greatest live song, the greatest cover, and one of the greatest songs of all time and ever.

(And if you've made it this far, here's a post note! The version I like best is the one available on the Bootleg Series Vol. 5 and referred to throughout as the source material. But there's no video recording -- I think -- because the versions available on YouTube are obviously different. But I recommend these, too! I linked above to one from the 1975 leg of the tour which roughly matches what you can hear on the official release but there's also a version from the 1976 leg where Dylan goes back to the original lyrics and everyone seems almost bored with the song which I think does much to underline how special that song was on November 20, 1975, as well as the way the song's primacy has waxed and waned through Dylan's own interpretations and those of the artists who have picked it up and woven it into their catalogs.)

DV:

Unsurprisingly I needed to remind myself what "Knockin on Heaven's Door" sounded like and you know what? Sure, I'll allow that this is a cover. John Coltrane covered "My Favorite Things" and then Andre 3000 covered Coltrane covering "My Favorite Things", and neither of those is even as unconventional as the b-sides to Pulp's "Bad Cover Version" single, and yet we consider all them to be covers. Anyway: "Knockin" is the fuzziest song I've heard all year, as much a tribute to reverb and the limitations of analog recording as it is to Dylan. It's compressed and intense, even as it feels like the band's been crammed into a room where they don't fit and we're listening through an empty soup can at the other end of the hallway.

[mewpot]

‘Night Dancer’ How Did It Become a HIT in Asia?

Do you happen to know about the single 'NIGHT DANCER' by Imase, which has garnered over 1.2 billion views on TikTok and entered the Top 100 on the domestic Melon chart in South Korea? As of May, it's still holding the 22nd position on Spotify's 'Viral 50 - South Korea' chart, where it previously claimed the number one spot back in February.

Imase visited South Korea and made appearances in various content, including being a guest on Everyone Sings Well (전부노래잘함)' hosted by Moon Seyoon (Korean Comedian), where the episode garnered 880,000 views in just 10 days.

Imase’s ‘NIGHT DANCER’ success on TikTok in August 2022 was no coincidence. Imase mentioned, "Seeing how many songs on TikTok were getting people's attention, I thought I'd give it a try and even searched for chord progressions of songs I thought would be popular."

Imase utilized simple instruments like piano and bass to craft the song and melody. It was this effort that caught the attention of the 5-member Japanese dance team 'Hoodie Famちゃんねる,' who chose 'NIGHT DANCER' as the background music for their TikTok dance challenge. This led to the song becoming a trend, entering viral charts in Japan and Korea, and generating revenue through streaming platforms thanks to TikTok.

For those looking to plan challenges and content that showcase their dance and style, creating background music that suits their theme can help them become creators. Platforms like Muput offer sped-up versions of background music that many creators have used and regularly update their library with music tailored to TikTok trends, offering 200 tracks every week.

This time, we hope you can become TikTok's next viral sensation through Mewpot!

[sakiaii]

Armored x Magic girls ‘title forever work in progress’ 3rd era

this era starts with a story in 4th kingdom. this kingdom differs from other in a way that they don't use magic which is around them but absorb it instead with their bodies being like batteries. magic users will often meditate trying to break their limit. story follows a girl that wants to join a special school, despite them also providing basic education they're also like a clan where those that want to stay can dedicate their lives to their interests. the kingdom has 3 problems and i'll go more into that in dedicated post. their king passed away and the youngest heir is stalling the ceremony (btw his older brother was exiled) spoiler he wants to resolve the issues first so that when he accepts the crown it will be a new beginning for the kingdom. he also wants to join the 3 kingdoms alliance but do to issues they don't want to be seen as policing this kingdom so he needs to deal with this if his kingdom is to truly join the alliance. on rare occasion a really powerful army shows up to save the day flying on the sky like dbz characters with many in the kingdom suspecting it's the secret guard of the soon to be king but they're actually from the alliance and their leader is dun dun dun the younger daughter of 1st era eye patch girl.

and that's why this is the 3rd era even tho there was no transition from 2nd but this stories are happening more then 20 years at least (ok just realized somethings are off maybe even more then 50 lol ) in the future from the 1st era's finale.

me saying how this stories are in the future and now i have to talk about next stories which are set in the past xD

a lot of other stories are about 4th kingdom's past

from it's starting days.

to stories where some women, different face keeps showing up and sacrificing herself in the face of tyranny to inspire next generations. could she be Irene. spoiler or maybe 3rd shadow whose a necromancer, maybe.

there was one with time travel but it had nothing to do with shadow. these are kinda unpolished fantasies.

few forgotten stories had monster hunting groups (inspired by mmo i played where the best gear was red and veterans could still be one shotted in raids if tanks skill was on cooldown xD ) and there was another planet where alien ships from 1st era crashed and whatever was on them changed the eco system and cities are now in spheres as outside is too dangerous.. just realized this one also had hunting groups lol and armored 1st era girl shows up here as apparently raven armor device is also among the crashed ships (umm idk this part didn't always sit well with me)(this story actually got recreated few times and in some versions it was earth and raven died in some version through time travel they meet and future Raven had broken system in left arm that makes you wonder what happened)

few things we find out in 3rd era is how Crimson castle actually had an army of red eyed vampires sleeping in their caskets.

also the 2nd kingdom will be more aware of something stirring up, the ancient vampires were awaken because of that and 1st era ruler girl has twin granddaughters one story could be how one of twins was send to earth as means of protecting just one heir as danger lurks and her mother's family all vampires and as well as you the audience would not know that and think she normal with her family being confused and comedically trying to figure out if that's really the case as it is rude to ask "so what are you?" xD

also there's a girl who can see magic. it's an ability of extinct race but some rare people have the gene. in her story a portal with monsters was opened and her friend kicked her out as it was closing and she stayed to hold them off.

and then the bards get a story of their own. but this are modern so they focus more on singing and in their story the kingdom didn't want to cause panic but there was a dangerous horde so bards organised a festival of concerts to distract but also help with gathered magic and as the magic sight girl who was commander of army sent to deal with hoard saw blue magic on the sky she saw it also meet with the red magic from opposite direction and ordered alarm as she flew in that direction much to everyone's confusion and then defeated looks from the bards and their principal as alarm went off then a wave of magic exploded breaking windows and we see principal holding a shield with her room filled with glass and everything tossed around she approaches the window and as she is looking down at people in the city she hears bells, a dragon and drums and sees in the sky multiple arrivals going in that direction and she herself joins them in the sky seeing flying ships, witches, dragon, 3rd kingdom's aircrafts, flying armies. and everyone gathered in front of a sphere there is banging coming from it as someone steps up and says "you did a good job but we're all here now" "you can rest" and the banging stops and sphere vanishes.

and then the finale happens 🥳

PS: 2nd kingdom had so many secrets did you know that in mountain chain there was another castle and a bunch of young dragons. compared to 2 ancient they're like cats next to lions.

[fangirleaconmigo]

a short list of movies/tv shows that are on constant rotation in my family, but first, my family:

me (25 she/her), my dad (50), my stepmom (42), and my grandpa (73)

the movies/shows we all continuously rewatch:

gilmore girls

across the universe (2007)

burlesque (2010)

psych

veronica mars

waitress (2007)

the rocky horror picture show (1975)

a few fun anecdotes:

my dad, stepmom, and i saw the musical version of Waitress on broadway together but my grandpa saw it when it was still being workshopped in boston.

my 93 year old great-grandmother once walked in on me and my stepmom full out screaming (passionately, but not angry at each other) about the last season of gilmore girls and how the new writers wrote everyone out of character. we somehow had to pretend that we were having a normal conversation.

i have never watched burlesque at a normal hour, it’s always at like midnight or 2 in the morning or 7 AM when i should be getting ready for class that i’ve decided to rewatch that movie. once woke up to get some water and found my dad watching it on his ipad at 4 AM so i suspect it’s hereditary.

my grandpa has entire wall of pineapple paintings because of Psych.

my stepmom sings the Psych theme song when she’s driving.

i’ve been to a play version of the rocky horror picture show with my dad and stepmom and last halloween my grandpa and i went to a midnight viewing of the movie.

when i was in college my stepmom and i briefly ran an airbnb together one summer and anytime it wasn’t booked we’d make popcorn and watch veronica mars there as a “quality check” to make sure it was the coziest environment for our guests.

my grandpa travels a lot work for so he owns like 6 copies of across the universe on DVD and somehow i have 3 of them in my apartment even though i no longer own a DVD player.

my favorite quote from across the universe is “music’s the only thing that makes sense anymore” and i have gotten a minimum of 6 people to watch it from this quote alone.

Hi Nonny! ahhh I love these stories, thank you so much. Isn't it the best thing how stories can connect people across generations?

I love that you can argue with your stepmom about Gilmore Girls and that your grandad has pineapple paintings all over (psych is such a great show to connect people). I have never watched Across the Universe (or even heard of it) so I went and watched the trailer for you. You may just add me as number 7.