#just me rambling about voices

[animasola86]

Voice Appreciation Post

I’ve always loved certain voices. Mostly male voices of a certain timbre, I cannot explain their sound exactly, but when I hear these voices, it does something to me, not necessarily in a romantic/sexual way, mind you. I just enjoy them, very much. They are soothing and relaxing and I could listen to these voices forever. They could say the dumbest or most mundane things, but I would still listen to the sound of them.

And it doesn’t even matter what language they are speaking. I’m German, so my first “voice crush” (if you want to call it that) was a popular voice actor we have here (you see, most/all of foreign movies and shows and video games are being dubbed here and that in a very high quality kind of way), who voiced the German version of Ezio Auditore from Assassin’s Creed II or Geralt of Rivia in the Witcher games, etc. (making these characters my all-time favorite videogame characters, btw).

I also enjoy listening to Japanese seiju - which makes it hard sometimes to read the subtitles of my favorite anime/drama, as I only listen (without understanding much) and enjoy. I don’t know what it is about Japanese men, but most of them just sound so good to me.

As for my newest (or oldest) love and obsession and why I’m writing this post to begin with: I also have a knack for British guys. It’s the accent (I’m not an expert on British accents so I couldn’t tell you which dialect it is or from where it hails, except maybe the Scottish accent, but that’s a no-brainer and also a favorite of mine). So I’ve had my voice crushes on, let’s say, Giles from Buffy, or Mr. Sheffield from The Nanny. (Or maybe I always liked older men too? Hmm.)

This also explains my deep obsession with Chamber of Secrets’ Tom Riddle played by Christian Coulson, whose voice is just, so, ugh. (Highly recommend any audio books he has narrated!) I can’t explain it. It just does things to me.

And the same happened when I played Hogwarts Legacy. I became totally obsessed by one particular voice and you might have guessed from the tags. Sebastian Sallow is not only the best character of the whole game, because he is so versatile and conflicted and adorable and whatnot, but his voice... the way his voice actor (Alfie Nugent, you are my absolute hero, btw!) says things, how his voice just vibrates through me, so low at times, the perfect timbre, no matter what situation Sebastian finds himself in, cheeky, flirty, worried, sad, it always sounds so mind-bogglingly good to me.

I find myself listening to his voice lines over and over again (thank you YouTube) and it helps me so much in writing my fanfiction. I love his voice, really, truly love his voice, it gives me all the good vibes love would do (in a completely platonic kind of way). And it’s just a voice.

Now, speaking about voices, I have to address the AI issue. Is it an issue? Well, I do feel bad for voice actors whose voices are (ab)used without their consent, but from a fan perspective it is the best thing that ever happened to this world. (That took a turn, eh?) Having all these creative people of the Hogwarts Legacy fandom create their own voice lines for Sebastian (and other charaters for that matter) is truly such a blessing. Every day I find more and they are all so good and authentic and the way an AI program can mimic these perfect voices is just beyond me.

So thank you, lovely people who have perfected ElevenLabs, and thank you to the original voice actors for providing those voices in the first place. I salute you all. I thank your voices for keeping me sane in these troubling times we live in.

[applestorms]

L can be such a possessive character at times. he always strikes me as the type of person who is deeply aware of everything that he owns, both in a more literal sense and metaphorically-- like, he knows what money he has and how to use it, what resources are readily available to him and what he has to be sneakier to utilize, the habits and tendencies and emotional states of individuals and world governments both. the DN musical really puts an emphasis on the more computer-y aspects of how his brain functions, which isn't as obvious in the manga/anime but i think still works well as a way to follow his thinking. it's kinda what near does too: everything is a factor to them, every tiny detail a new opening to optimize for the best results, every person and location and object a part of a puzzle waiting to be solved. and as a part of that, L is deeply aware of every and any little thing he may or may not have control over, and exactly to what degree.

his habit of stealing titles as depicted in the LABB murders novel is such a good example of this. ryuzaki, eraldo coil, deneuve. he eats people alive and then takes their names for himself like some kind of fucked up fae or trickster god, creating new masks and personas to hide behind from the remains of the people he's devoured. i have to wonder if he would've used the title of KIRA for himself had he won-- i can hardly imagine what kind of power such a title could hold if held in his hands. of course, he could've just used the defeat of KIRA as a way to build up the L title even further, offering up the body of a dead god like perseus showing off the head of medusa. but L is so emotionally attached to the kira case, i struggle to see him allowing it to fade from existence so thoroughly as near does, even if it is only kept close on a private level...

this is part of why i think it genuinely makes a lot of sense that L's ultimate win state would include capturing light to some degree. even if the memory of KIRA somehow manages to fully disappear from the public consciousness, there is no fucking way L is letting light yagami out of his grasp. honestly, the moment that L truly loses this game is not when he starts investigating misa while still under rem's watch, not when light gets back his memories, not even when he dies, but the moment when he allows light to be freed from the handcuffs. the moment when he allows the other members of the task force to turn off the cameras and keep him from watching light and misa talk in the lobby. the moment when he gives up, lets light yagami go outside of L's personal sphere of control, is the moment when L starts the clock ticking down to the end of his own life.

this is one of the key ways in which i see light as a true equal and parallel to L, as after L's death he, intentionally or no, continues the same tradition and takes L's title for himself, twisting the two sides together into the L-KIRA amalgamation. only, the L title functions a little bit differently than every other persona or title that we see in the series-- because L's true name is L. that's all that he is. on a literal, legal, and emotional level, i don't think that L is anything more than L. he is the world's greatest detective, he's an incredible, weirdo super genius, but he does not afford himself much more than that, barely allows himself personhood or humanity outside of his work. light was the one to ultimately defeat L because he did not just put a stain on his character (as BB attempted), did not just kill him, but stole his very identity and took it for himself.

one of the biggest contradictions of L's character that i think you must accept should you attempt to portray him accurately is that he is both deeply detached from humanity while also having all of his work and effort and life be focused around saving it. it's one of the ways in which he is an exact opposite to light-- where light relies on humanity for external validation, to be Seen, while also looking down on it as dumb and immoral and spineless, L is so separated from it that he barely exists as a person, all the while dedicating almost every action he takes to helping it. remember: for all the emotional turmoil that wammy's house and the legacy of L may put on the kids living there, ultimately it's entire existence is nothing more than L's logical solution to his potential demise. if he dies, the world goes down with him, all of the cases that are yet to happen and he is yet to solve being left in the air. he has the foresight to set up a fail safe, but not to consider the emotional implications of what being that fail safe might feel like, how high the price of your own humanity is if you are not already alienated from it, the inability to have your own name on your gravestone-- though perhaps some of the blame also falls on watari's shoulders in this case, philanthropic old bastard that he is.

imo, playing his game really got it right in presenting L and light as one and the same, synonyms on either side of the mirror. in every action they take they are both so selfishly selfless, playing the game for themselves and their own pleasure but plastering the needs and will of humanity on top of it. L isn't invested in saving humanity for the sake of humanity-- he just likes the thrill of having the stakes raised so high. hard to shit on ryuk for wanting entertainment when the humans he finds are just the same as him.

[secriden]

I thought I was done talking about Style in THK's episode 2, but jokes on me, no I'm not.

I keep thinking about Style and Bison's first interaction and how pure and sweet it was. In the middle of the mess that is this 4-way whirlwind of lies and deception, it felt like a refreshingly honest conversation between two people who are only accidentally lying to each other.

Style seems incredibly earnest when he tells Bison that Kant is "down bad" for him. It doesn't feel like Style is 'wingmanning' Kant here; or if he is, it isn't meant to be malicious or to mislead Bison. It feels like someone being friendly with his bff's crush and hoping that they can get along because he thinks this one's going to stick around.

Similarly, when Bison tells Style to go for Fadel for real, it feels very honest and earnest. Setting aside whatever games Bison is playing with Kant, Bison seems to genuinely want someone for his big brother, and not just so he can date who he wants or as a distraction.

It's also interesting how Style's protest is that he can't see himself actually gaining feelings for Fadel because in a way there's nothing to recommend Fadel to Style at this point. As far as Style is concerned, Fadel is arrogant and condescending, rude and ungrateful (after all, he did replace a bunch of parts in Fadel's car for free), a stick in the mud about his brother dating, and can't seem to take a joke.

We see the polite, pleasant and reasonable Fadel, but Style doesn't.

Which is why I've been obsessing over Style's expressions immediately after the conversation with Bison. Bison's parting insight is "He's rough on the outside, and on the inside," and I think he accidentally piqued Style's curiosity with that line. Because why does Bison still want his brother to have a "real" relationship, then? What makes Fadel worth loving, despite (what Style thinks is) nothing to recommend him?

Ugh I wish I knew how to make gifs because BLESS @airenyah FOR MAKING THESE GIFS!!! Dunk goes through a whole sequence of expressions here that suggests a shift happens in the way he's thinking of Fadel. There's a pensive and thoughtful look and then almost like, "Oh what the hell, might as well see where this goes" kind of amusement at the end. And I think the reason he has this shift is because he's realised that Bison clearly loves his brother and that must mean that there's more to Fadel then his initial impression of the man.

It's interesting that his next attempt at messing with Fadel actually invites Fadel to play along with it. It's so much tamer and more private than the previous attempts because he isn't actively trying to humiliate Fadel this time. And it works?? Fadel engages in the roleplay, indulges Style's ridiculousness, actually chops faster (whilst the most hysterical series of minute expressions play over Fadel's face <3). Perhaps this was Style testing the waters: can Fadel engage with something playful and not take everything way too seriously? Huh, turns out, he can!

The next time Style shows up around Fadel, he's circled back to that playful over-the-top flirting that characterised the garage scene. This is the first time in this episode that Style is actually flirting. Every other time was just to frustrate/humiliate Fadel but notice how he's actively trying to look attractive to Fadel now? He's putting all his best (ahem) assets on display, and poor Fadel has no real protection against this. And, oh, Style is loving this! He's gleefully lapping up every single time Fadel fails to completely hide that he's affected by him.

This, though. THIS precisely is the point I think Style decides that he really does want Fadel for himself. There's so much playing out over Style's face: the determination to push things further, the delighted surprise to see Fadel so rattled, the razor sharp focus, and then desire. Style has finally broken through Fadel's "roughness" and he loves it.

If that uncle hadn't walked in, I'm convinced Fadel would have let Style do anything he wanted, and I think Style knew that.

It's the first time Style immediately chases after Fadel when he walks away from him, and he's absolutely delighted when Fadel all but chokes him against the lockers because that means he still has Fadel within reach.

The whole conversation about "love at first sight" is breathtaking because it feels like Style is discovering what's going to make Fadel crack as he says it and realising just how much he wants this. And no, I don't think he's in love with Fadel yet (not by a LONG shot), but I think he realises that he wants Fadel to fall in love with him. This is such a shift from what he expressed in the diner to Bison. In the diner, there was no hope, no chance for this.

The kisses catch Style by surprise too: you can see that he's just reacting, pushing to see where Fadel will finally draw the line. Because Fadel kisses back in the first kiss and actually fails to push Style away for quite some time in the 2nd kiss (the camera purposely lingers on the way Fadel's hands hover over Style's waist without shoving him back). The third kiss is the point Fadel finally starts fighting, and in the immidate aftermath you can see Style watching so carefully again. And Fadel nearly kisses him again, you see the way Fadel's eyes drop to Style's lips, the way they both freeze and linger in the moment for that one second. The way Style registers that moment and it leaves Style shaken himself.

It's so interesting that this is how we leave Style in this episode (we only see Fadel's fantasy version of Style after this point). I've got two possible interpretations for this line:

Style possibly catches on that Fadel is more dangerous than he seems. Maybe just from vibes, maybe from something in the way Fadel threatened him that kicks off some kind of fearful instinct. This could be what makes Style start questioning if Kant told him the full story and lead to whatever scene it is where Style demands answers in the episode 3 preview.

Alternatively, perhaps Fadel is starting to become real to Style in ways he wasn't before. Fadel was almost a caricature of a man, one which Style didn't like very much before, and that made it easier to fool around with him. But this? This almost tortured man who clearly wants Style but can't seem to give into that desire? Something is going on and Style isn't sure it's worth the game to either of them anymore. Because maybe Style recognises that he's more affected than he should be. And that has implications that Style was not ready for.

[crowsgrudge]

fionna's world being represented by a dandelion makes so much sense ... they're weeds. yet people make wishes through them, changing their whole meaning from something meant to be destroyed to something hopeful.

dandelions are also resilient and it makes sense that something associated with them would. you know. perservere despite the destruction caused by the scarab.

but ultimately i think what REALLY made me tear up over this is that dandelions are really boring plants. when you're a kid you blow on them and make your wish but they're not eyecatching or anything but still, fionna's final wish was for her old world to still exist as it was when she left it (> plain and simple. boring even).

like the moment she realized she would lose her friends, and that her friends might forget each other if the world got its magic back, she immediately decided she didn't want it and I think that ties back to the dandelion metaphor so well... like, do you really need magic to be real to find it everywhere? or can you turn something boring into something magical?

[madamemiz]

votv is really clever in how it makes you care about dr. kel as a protagonist despite that he barely has a tangible presence in the game

for the first few days, aside from a name in an email, you don't have much to go on. there are what appear to be fun/nerdy stickers on his suitcase and he brought emergency toilet paper and a plushy with him to his solitary job in the middle of nowhere. so he's maybe a bit practical, a little quirky, but those are just crumbs of information, and these sort of first person games tend to lean a little more on the self-insert side anyway. without much else to go on, the next handful of quiet days proceed with you easily slipping into his shoes, forgetting he exists as the protagonist. you're doing the job, you're cleaning your base, you're getting creeped out by every random noise. you live here now. the game is clever about making you care about the base too, but that's a post for another day

time passes, and little by little, you notice small details that add up. the strange and specific nightmares about work and drowning and mannequins. the roaches you can eat with no ill effects that give you a food boost to boot. the clumsy tendency to trip and fall over pretty much anything, the pickiness over food

you save up enough to get a kerfur, have the bright idea to check their camera while they're in the room with you, and there you see it in the camera; not you, but him. maybe he looks the way you imaged, maybe he looks completely different, but suddenly you're very aware that dr. kel exists

then you start to get a glimpse of how other people perceive him--croissants snuck on the drone for him by a friend who brags about her cooking, sushi snuck to you by another friend who calls him an asshole and says she misses him, both of whom are presumably his colleagues and both of whom seem worried for him. the smiling plushie of him the arirals gift if he gets on their good side, their note calling him cute attached to it along with an ominius offer of help in bad times. kerfur calling him a dumbass if he makes them do the reports twice, but also leaning down to his eye level to happily get pets

he's endearing in an odd sort of way, and people in-universe care about him. you start to care about him, which makes it all the more troubling when he makes pained sounds when he falls from too high, or starts coughing out of the blue. makes you wince when he falls off the radio tower or gets launched from the atv. makes it downright horrifying when he's caught by a wisp and torn apart limb by limb while you as the player can do nothing but watch

you find yourself wanting him to succeed, to be safe, to get out of the situation he's found himself in. or at least, i do. there isn't a ton to go on aside from some environmental storytelling and a breadcrumb trail of personality tidbits, but I personally find that trail to lead to an interesting and compelling character with enough wiggle room for further interpretation. i'm very excited to see what else we learn in future updates

[sophsicle]

OKAY question

i wanna reread choices and edit it but i can never make myself do it cause im like "ugh wow so long i simply cannot"

but also, every time i do reread parts of it i have like *thoughts* like SO many thoughts about it and about what i was thinking at the time and how that has or hasn't changed and what i was trying to do and what i love and what i hate and blah blah blah

SO the question: if i did like a lil read-a-long with soph thing, would anyone be interested? like maybe in the form of small podcast episodes where i discuss the chapters as i edit them and you guys can like tell me the different stuff you want me to talk about etc etc and then i will have the motivation to actually do this and also somewhere to dump all of my *thoughts*

or is that like, a stupid idea that no one asked for? i cannot decide whether this is leaning more on the fun cute side or the annoying keep this to yourself side, Y'KNOW????? so i ask

[mzuul]

“The sluttiest thing Draco can do is wear lingerie”

WRONG.

the sluttiest thing he can do is wear a 3 peice suit that snatches his waist.

[itsybitsybatsyspider]

When I think of all the times I said 'yes' for you And I walked into the wind 'cause I adored you Well, I wish for once to turn this game around Say, "I guess it's your turn to find me now." Will you meet me in Vienna? Oh, it won't wait forever

[writerfae]

I think what I struggle with most is that whole “each character has a different voice” thing.

Because in my head and when I write, for me personally, I do think my characters have different voices when talking or like being pov character.

But then I’m thinking ‘but do they really?’

Because I never actively given them different voices. Like I’m aware of some of their quirks but even those I don’t build in knowingly but more instinctively.

I write them without paying much attention to their voice, not actively that is.

So whenever I try to do pay attention and ask myself do their voices sound different or like try to actively make them talk different it feels so off.

So idk I hope that the way my ocs have different voices in my head when I write them translates good enough into my writing because I can’t actively try and make them sound different.

[tariah23]

aisjsjjensnJAJAJ

[sskk-manifesto]

Bungou Stray Dogs: Dead Apple and how “ability users” (opposite to “normal people”) learning to accept themselves through the acceptance of their own abilities is a queer metaphor of acceptance of own's sexual orientation and gender: an essay by me

[aka-indulgence]

Ok, what's your weirdest monster crush

Uh. Um. Ok. I, hm. I’m gonna ramble about something obscure and I think you’ll agree this is Out There but um,

THESE GUYS

I think I might be. The first on the internet to say “Hey I think I could have a relationship with one of these guys” 💀💀💀 LET ME EXPLAIN MYSELF

Because without prior knowledge and context im also like “what is this choice” jfsdfkgf

They’re from star control 2, also a game i watch clips of (obsessively at one time) to get the lore (and also there are certain game genres i’d get stressed in and this is one of them i think fkljfd) and these guys are the main antagonists- I’m going to do a really abridged version or else we’ll be here all day

Both used to be one race, got mind controlled for thousands of years and got split in two, had to fight through immense pain to free themselves, and due to their background they both have goals to get rid of the threat of ever being controlled again: one by controlling everyone else and the other by just. Killing them

Both have awesome themes and they speak with such authority and conviction/calm unrelenting confidence, and through all the alien races the protagonist meets in this game, they are the *current* biggest threat

I just like imagining some situation where you can. Teach them to accept other aliens… and maybe not change all of their minds but just one individual and I think that’s very romantic o(-(

[secriden]

Ok, but I actually think this was an incredibly subtle way of showing something really important about the way both Style and Sky feel about Fadel and Prapai on an instinctive level.

In both Style and Sky's stories, their dads are the only parent still present in their lives (Style because of his mother passing; Sky because of his mother leaving). Moreover, to both of them, their recovery from their respective traumas figure their dads in some very significant way. So their dads are incredibly important figures in their lives that they associate with safety, comfort, and protection.

And in both these cases neither Style nor Sky should be associating Fadel and Prapai with those feelings at all: Style, because he knows Fadel is a killer, one he is actively lying to and who has a reason to hurt him if he finds out. Sky, because of his misgivings about Prapai's motivations at this point in the narrative.

Yet in these moments of semi-wakefulness (Style is still mostly asleep; Sky is running a very high fever), they both hear a voice that should be unfamiliar and cause confusion and anxiety and instead call out to the one figure in their lives that they have always been able to rely on.

And yes, Style and Sky are in very different places in their respective narratives with Fadel and Prapai, but I just love how this little writing choice shows us that -- despite all their respective circumstances suggesting otherwise -- on some deep, subconscious, and intuitive level, our boys both heard a voice that sounded like the call of home.

[zhongrin]

passionate people genuinely pulls me in. i genuinely think that i would absolutely adore listening to zhongli's stories (be it his memories or random knowledges) or al haitham's hyperfixation (he seems like someone who would have small projects or interests in different topics and just laser focuses on them until he finds another thing that interests him).

i can listen to people gush about their current hyperfixation for hours on end. yall are amazing. keep at it. i hope it brings you even more joy. ily /p

[ethosiab]

Worst feeling ever is realising halfway through explaining to my friend why I like ethos videos that i genuinely sound like a middle school girl talking to her bestie about her newest infatuation with a boy. Fucking kill me

[stiffyck]

Can we talk about how Karen definitely has some sort of PTSD because you can't just wake up one day with a knife and bloody hands and a dead coworker on your carpet one and then be fine. You don't get arrested and then almost strangled to death while in custody and be fine. You don't get kidnapped and threatened and then kill someone in self defense and be fine.

Oh my god can we PLEASE talk about Karen and her trauma oh my GOD.