#please excuse the version of the song on the Spotify playlist. they don't have the original anymore. this cover is p good too tho

[goshdangronpa]

“I-I’m sorry,” the girl stammers, then steels herself. “Um … my name’s Mikan Tsumiki. I’m the Ultimate Nurse. A moment ago, you p-passed out. I was only taking off your choker to make sure you could breathe …” She braces, as if anticipating a punch. “Th-that’s why my hands were on your … um … your throat …”

This - the first scene in “I DISAGREE: An Ibuki Mioda SDR2 Protag Swap AU,” echoing the first scene from SDR2 - is Ibuki Mioda’s first interaction with Mikan Tsumiki. She sees nothing to forgive. She sees someone trying to help an unconscious stranger, caught in a situation so awkward it’s funny. And endearing.

She decides that they’re friends now.

Bacterial Contamination: Mikan Tsumiki, Ultimate Despair

Less than a week later, Ibuki’s reeling from a disturbing realization. That morning, she’d been thrilled to find Mikan beside her in bed for the second night in the row. She has her own assigned room, and each hotel room has two beds. Yet there she was, subverting that "only one bed" ship fic trope, snug and warm with Ibuki. Quite warm, in fact … Noticeably warmer than the day before …

It’s true. After being in more constant contact with the patients than anyone else, Mikan Tsumiki caught the Despair Disease. That’d be true, I reckon, in just about any universe where she’s the Ultimate Nurse during such an outbreak. And once again, she’s the reason two of her classmates are dead.

What’s different in this AU is that she doesn’t even have to carry out any murders herself. With Chiaki already in a malicious mood and Kazuichi already spoiling for a fight, kicking off the killing game was as simple as opening their doors. The only other necessary task was retrieving a weapon for Kazuichi, to even the playing field. I can’t think of a good idea for how she finds Byakuya’s hiding spot and gets Peko’s sword, but she does (I’m sure glad this is just a series of speculative posts and not a fleshed-out fanfic or a full-on fan game!). Very little work on her part, and very little risk …

Or so she believed. Remember, Monokuma suggested that if anyone died at this makeshift hospital, the medical staff might be considered guilty. When Kazuichi returned from his fight with serious wounds on his chest, Mikan had to patch him up so he wouldn’t bleed out. The bandaging jobs was so professional, in fact, that no one else could’ve done it. Her efforts to save her own skin only gave away her role in the night’s slaughter.

“And she gets to live?” Nagito asserts with surprising coldness. With the trial already over, a new conversation threatens to break out among a group that threatens to become a mob. Once they start asking questions like “Could they even trust her around them?” and “What if she does it again?”, the responses could get real ugly real fast …

“But everything’s okay!” Ibuki asserts. “I mean, not okay okay. It’s all tragic. But Mikan’s okay now!” It had to be like what happened with Chiaki and Kazuichi, right? She only did something so horrible because that’s how the disease would affect such a sweet and caring girl, right? And Kazuichi and Nagito independently confirmed that their symptoms vanished in a snap after Monokuma’s bloody terms were met, so she’s fine now, right?

Ya know … she could be. This is a direction I could go. Mikan would have something to actually be sorry about, a strong reason to hate herself and shun all company. Ibuki could then insist on being her friend, resolute in her knowledge that all this only happened because she’s a good nurse and a good person. There’s room for drama, interpersonal conflict, Hiyoko going beyond her usual bullying into someplace darker, and redemption through love in a victory for hope. It absolves the girl of all actual guilt, making her easier to get behind. Removing the whole “one person murders the shit out of the other thing” also expunges all the toxicity that some people don’t like about any killer-victim ship.

That’d be great and all, and I would love to see an AU like that. But I’m taking this AU somewhere different. I can’t make the path to tsumioda so smooth and straightforward! Partly because I’m trying to stick with DR’s typical reluctance to canonize any pairings (Imposter’s right there too!), but mostly because I love the drama. So I’m spicing things up and making this ship problematic in a completely different way.

"It's all over, so she's fine now, right?!" Ibuki shouts. The response comes: "No, that's wrong!" Although Ibuki’s suggestion makes complete sense, Hajime awkwardly notes one problem. One could read pure altruism into Mikan stopping Kazuichi from bleeding to death - of course the nurse, faculties now recovered, would do anything she could to save a life. But such a severe wound would leave a trail of blood from the restaurant to his room. A trail that could’ve resolved the whodunnit a lot faster if it hadn’t vanished. Someone must’ve cleaned it, and cleaned it so well that they didn’t leave a trace. As with the bandaging job, only a professional could’ve done this so well.

Everyone presses Mikan for an explanation. 13 sets of eyes bore into hers. She laughs. “I was hoping to save this for later …” (I really thought about it!) “... but I can’t avoid it.” Just like in SDR2, Despair Disease hit Mikan differently than anyone else: instead of flipping personalities, she regains the one she had before they landed on that beach six days ago. And as Monokuma confirms, though the cheeky bastard won’t give away why just yet, personalities can flip back but memories regained aren’t so easily forgotten again. And what’s not just like in SDR2 is that they’re stuck with her.

Nagito, placed right between Mikan and Ibuki in the courtroom’s podium arrangement, lunges for the traitor. She breaks out with shocking force, knocking her former patient to the ground, then sprints away at an even more shocking speed. (I love the idea that Mikan’s a fast runner - a necessary skill for evading bullies and pulling off that otherwise impossible murder plot in SDR2 Chapter 3.) Making it to the elevator before anyone else, she exits Monokuma Rock by herself. The rest of the class will have to catch the next lift. By then, she’ll be long gone.

Gone. The person Ibuki had worked so hard to figure out, the girl with whom she managed to carve out some good memories out of some truly stressful days, the kind of close friend she’d hoped to make when she accepted the invite to Hope’s Peak … she’s gone. The thought crosses Ibuki’s mind that maybe that girl was never really there. She shudders.

Next week: the end of Chapter 1, for real.

PREV: The First Blackened

NEXT: Ending Chapter 1 with a Sleepover

[monsterkin-culture-is]

10 Fave Grim Reaper Songs 💀

I kinfirmed grim reaper the day I was making this so trust it has my heart in it! It's so hard to give a write-up for each song that isn't just "trust me bro" so please excuse the completely unprofessional commentary and just (hopefully) enjoy the music! I'm taking species requests through my ask box if you have any ideas. All song names link to Spotify.

10. Hangout at the Gallows by Father John Misty My friend sent me the link to this one a couple weeks back and my jaw dropped. I'm so in love with this song and its raw emotion.

9. Nocturnal Me by Echo & The Bunnymen. You can't tell me the lyrics here don't somewhat strike you as death related. It's a brutal, gothic number that I could absolutely see a ballroom dance being paired with.

8. (Don't Fear) The Reaper by Blue Oyster Cult. It's a staple of every Grim Reaper playlist and for good reason! If you want to keep it fresh and need a good cover then I recommend Baltic House Orchestra's epic orchestral cover or this haunting atmospheric cover by Denmark + Winter

7. Shinigami Eyes by Grimes. Fun, macabre fact of the day: Shinigami are Japanese spirits that lead humans towards death or encourage them to commit suicide. Hence the song's place in this playlist! The music video for this one is a feast for the eyes to say the least - there is nothing else like it.

6. Baby I'm Dead Inside by KOPPS. Dark electronic x a bit of rock for a modern and sultry grim reaper! Grim Reaper's nightclub vibes maybe?

5. My Boy Builds Coffins by Florence & The Machine. I perceive it as a potential human x reaper song and you know I love a good ship! It has such a subtle sinister tone.

4. (Ghost) Riders in the Sky by Johnny Cash. Am I obsessed with the old country Grim Reaper? Maybe. It's an apocalyptic number that tells a story. And it's Johnny Cash. What's not to love?

3. Enter Sandman by Alessia Cara & The Warning. I might get some hate for not putting the Metallica version (I promise I love that one too) but I think Cara's version is more ethereal, lending itself to the otherworldly Grim Reaper.

2. Dead Man Walking by WAR*HALL. This song has so much power to it. It's one of my favourite songs of all time. The chains add so much to its narrative. A bit of a country rock spin on the Grim Reaper theme but I suppose that matches the scythe... If you want an amazing female cover, listen to this one by Lauren Babic made for the Remnant 2 trailer.

1. Dead Hearts by Dead Man's Bones. What a surprise, another Dead Man's Bones song at number 1! Dead Hearts is one of the less popular pieces on the album but I love it. It's a softspoken song about grief & embracing death. The way Gosling's vocal rise to the shattering glass gives me goosebumps every time.

Let me know if you like any of these songs & feel free to add your own in the notes!

[greywindys]

oh mate, i don't know if this is something you've done before but it'd be cool to get some 2doc analysis based on their new spotify playlists.

Hi, anon! After ignoring them for 3+ years, I’ve finally become a playlist analysis believer. I have reason to believe that they have some connection to what occurs in the videos, and I think it’s possible to infer info about 2Doc from the lyrics of the songs chosen. TBH, I don’t think I can fit everything here so I’m going to start with 2D. I’ll get to Murdoc’s tomorrow (it’s been a long week 😭). Please excuse the stream on consciousness! Also, feel free to peruse the songs yourself. These are just a selection of lines that stood out to me from 8/10 songs on 2D’s playlist. 

So, idk about you guys but it’s wild how easily you can identify a narrative.

The first two songs seem to have a pining tone. They make me think of P1 Stu who was anxious about his impending fame but wanted to be someone, anyone, for Murdoc because of how much he cared for him. That Stu still exists in him, I believe (sfdkal I’m SO tempted to get psychological and ramble about parts work...perhaps another time) hence why he makes a couple of appearances throughout this playlist. “But you never know I’m out in the deep end” also seems to echo “it feels like I’m falling in,” from “Aries.”

Then you have “Slip Away,” which to me, represents the pendulum-like pattern of their relationship. Things are going well until they aren’t. In this case, the “Aries” video comes to mind. 2D thought they both trusted each other again but comes to realize Murdoc is on a completely different page, that he’s still struggling with trust and probably everything else. It’s compounded by the implication that 2D feels guilty about this as if he’s taking some responsibility for not creating a stable enough base for Murdoc to get his life together -which is so sad because that’s not 2D’s responsibility!

The next two songs are angry, understandably. #Never4get 2D holds a lot of resentment towards Murdoc, too. “Better Off Alone” (not the Alice Deejay version) gets right to the point. “Blue Monday” (funny this song just made an appearance on a favorite reality show of mine a few weeks ago. What a coincidence lmao.) has a similar tone and is commonly interpreted to be about an unhealthy relationship. To quote a dead account from Song Meanings:

“Maybe he waits for an apologie or something. He realise that she [Well, Murdoc in this case] wasn't the person that he spects, but, deeply, he still love her a little and hope that she can change and be diferent. You can't stop love someone just like that. Some feelings never dissapear at all.”

Very well said, dead account.

But by the end of the playlist, the tone circles back around. “Pogo” includes some particularly sad lines about missing the “good old days” (love kinda sort having this hc confirmed) and a hopeful longing for the song’s subject - “Now, you’ve got a brighter smile and I think I’m going to like it.” MY HEART. Also, check how this song matches up with the lyrics from “Tangerine” by Led Zeppelin on Murdoc’s playlist.😭

Then there’s The Cure. Honestly, you could probably write an analysis of this song alone. I’ll try to keep it succinct. This song is typically interpreted to be about the singer trying to make it up to the song’s subject. 2D doesn’t have anything to make up to Murdoc that we know of, but I see this more as a continuation of his confusion initially expressed in “Slip Away” from earlier. I can hear his internal monologue now. What’s the matter, Murdoc? What happened? Are you okay? Was it something I did? What can I do, if anything, to make it better? I’ll do it! Just tell me! Say something, please. Why are you so difficult? etc. etc. MY HEART (again).

tl;dr this playlist is about 2D’s complicated feelings for Murdoc and how he’s internally at war with himself.

[emo-scene-fm]

Artist Name: These Hearts Genres: Post Hardcore, Easycore, Metalcore, Pop Punk, Emo Pop, Christian Hardcore, Melodic Hardcore Similar Artists: A Day To Remember, Taking Back Sunday, Fight Fair, Four Year Strong, Me vs Hero, Chunk! No, Captain Chunk!, Can't Bear This Party, Set Your Goals, New Found Glory, Sleeping With Sirens, Pierce The Veil, From First To Last, We Are Defiance, Four Letter Lie Bio: I've been listening to this next band quite a lot recently. When I'm not teetering on the edge of everything I've been blasting this like I'm being paid to do it. These Hearts has been, and I can say this 100% honestly, the very best thing I've listened to in a while because of what it's done for my mood. I actually discovered a new subgenre of Post Hardcore because of these guys when I first discovered them. It's called "Easycore." Now at first glance it seems like an elitist phrase created by Fugazi and Husker Du loving snobs who don't like sharing the term Post Hardcore with anything in skinny jeans and swoopy hair but it actually isn't all that bad of a term. It's essentially the crossbreed of Post Hardcore, Metalcore, and Pop Punk which just so happen to be some of my three favorite things. If you're not familiar with this type of music, I feel like this along with Fight Fair are very good introductions to the style. Now, onto the band themselves. The band got started all the way back in the magical musical year of 2007 in Fargo, North Dakota. The original lineup consisted of Ryan Saunders as the lead vocalist, Daryl Van Beek on guitar, Isaih Folk on drums, and Skyler Patzer on Bass. Tom Westerholm would join them as a guitarist in 2008. Also in 2008 was their first independent release, a gorgeous EP called Mistakes and Second Takes that came out on September 16th. This EP contains the right amount of post hardcore intricacies and guitarwork, speed, screams, with all of the catchiness of Pop Punk. I'm not going to lie though, some of Ryan's vocals on this release is a bit of an aquired taste but they will either grow on you or you'll appreciate the growth he has in releases after this. His voice is somewhere between Sonny Moore and Kellin Quinn on the "I-don't-know-how-he-can-hit-that-note-o-meter". It's still a solid release with a nice piano interlude and some fantastic songs such as She'd like To Wear The Pants, But She Can't Fit Into Mine, the title track which felt like if Taking Back Sunday was a little more hardcore, and ending strong with Hats Off For Discontentment. In 2009 Skyler leaves the band and Kyle Colby joins as lead guitarist and backing vocalist. This year is when they put out a two track demo called the "Nada Demo." Somewhere around this time, the band was signed to Victory Records. Greg Gentzkow becomes the new bassist for the year of 2010 but it later replaced by Tyler Rice in 2011. On June 21st, 2011, the band puts out their first studio album Forever Ended Yesterday. With strong songs on this record like Apology Rejected, Denial Is Not Just A River In Egypt, Romans 15, Are You Mad?, and Live To The Point Of Tears, this also features a studio version of She's Like To Wear The Pants which is even better than the original. This album also has perhaps one of the sweetest songs I've ever heard, Thinking In Terms Of Two. Just go listen to it and feel the feels. In 2012 they put out the Elephant In The Room EP which features Denial and a new track called The Inconvienience along with some acoustic tracks. There are many faith-based elements to the lyrics of These Hearts, as they were a Christian hardcore band. I feel like it's worth mentioning at this point that although they were a Christian band, they're probably some of the coolest types of Christians ever and it's never overbearing or judgemental. It's overt and proud, but not toxic. I felt like saying that since sometimes religion can be a bit of a sore subject with some people who listen to hardcore music, especially those who were raised in Conservative environments. There's nothing toxic about These Hearts, in fact it's totally encouraging and positive if anything. I consider myself someone of faith so music like this really makes me happy, but I feel like non-Christians can enjoy These Hearts just as much. In 2013 they'd put out Yours To Take on July 19th before disbanding, but not before being a breakthrough release upon the Billboard magazine charts, peaking at No. 36 on the Christian Albums chart and 33 on the Heatseekers Albums chart. By this point Ryan's vocals improved greatly and so did the musicianship. The easycore sound on this album are absolutely killer with all of the speed and catchiness you'd ever want. Whenever I've been down (which I have been a LOT as of late by the way) I've listened to These Hearts. It's been great driving music but even greater singing into my hairbrush music. I'm definitely proud to admit that I'm a massive fan of this band and if you give them a chance, I doubt they'll disappoint you. EDIT: Tristan had originally taken this post down after harassment from another user regarding the problematic things that Ryan Saunders has done in the past. (He has since apologised though apparently) I'd just like to let everyone know that both me and Tristan do not condone or excuse the actions of Ryan Saunders. Nor do we support his questionable political views. This post was made purely to appreciate the music the band had created, while separating the art from the artist. I'd like to make a disclaimer that in a few future posts I'll potentially be covering artists who may have done problematic things. Whether I'm aware of it or not, if I know an artist is really problematic I will indeed clarify it in the post about them. If I don't know if they're problematic, please message me privately (in a polite way) and I can add a disclaimer like this one. Remember that if I cover a problematic artist, I'm purely doing a post to appreciate the talent of their music or other members who've worked with them and not to condone their bad actions. I hope you guys understand. Anyway... go check out the discography for These Heart's music down here. Discography: Mistakes And Second Takes (iTunes)(Spotify)(YouTube)(Deezer)(GooglePlay) https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/mistakes-and-second-takes/291788447 https://open.spotify.com/album/3VztFF4jqkZZHZPPgpAZ2v?autoplay=true&v=L https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPd0PhXe3Hn_oJKAbaQRu950y82W72sDO https://www.deezer.com/album/774467?autoplay=true https://play.google.com/music/m/Bkbhe5puq4c4oshhwmitqf2j5wa?play=1 Nada Demo (iTunes)(Spotify)(YouTube)(Deezer)(GooglePlay) https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/nada-demo/320113752 https://open.spotify.com/album/7sGUYnbKZr9GGZqgYlcCt2?autoplay=true&v=L https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-psFLkeb48bS2qd67Cl3q2cD2Zi8aARP https://www.deezer.com/album/774636?autoplay=true https://play.google.com/music/m/Bu2yghtdyduw6z2ylpx5olaujjm?play=1 Forever Ended Yesterday (iTunes)(Spotify)(YouTube)(Deezer)(GooglePlay) https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/forever-ended-yesterday/467076580 https://open.spotify.com/album/2AeLF6gAlqqckO17CEQxh5?autoplay=true&v=L https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB6Y_0YwwQIP8PvWc5PsYY95oIbD-Mkay https://www.deezer.com/album/1266912?autoplay=true https://play.google.com/music/m/Bx52efkbywn72td6hw4lrligtwq?play=1 Elephant In The Room (iTunes)(Spotify)(YouTube)(Deezer)(GooglePlay) https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/elephant-in-the-room-ep/554449559 https://open.spotify.com/album/5pFBnsqirD2ihFCJczrhfW?autoplay=true&v=L https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLca7REVQkotlNf-bT8SY4lsyEPRyhxJD7 https://www.deezer.com/album/5549771?autoplay=true https://play.google.com/music/m/Bx2xpenuje5yjrilufjphus4w4q?play=1 Yours To Take (iTunes)(Spotify)(YouTube)(Deezer)(GooglePlay) https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/yours-to-take/662293127 https://open.spotify.com/album/3NsWXiSZQ474zqqH6GvMSZ?autoplay=true&v=L https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDsMHHY9vx8sjnUG2Mo6MNmXXIwVWyRID https://www.deezer.com/album/6689451?autoplay=true https://play.google.com/music/m/Bdyag4kzhsfzbxcyzz7uowm5y4m?play=1 Favorite Lyrics: "Tonight I'll fix what's left of your soul, the scars that you have are emotional. This is how you break a bad habit. What were you thinking all along? This is how you break a bad habit when your life means more than what you're good for." (Romans 15) Recommended Songs: Romans 15 (x)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPHyl5BeIBQ Are You Mad? (x)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPHOjqxS0mU Apology Rejected (x)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bZCrPybKww Denial Is Not Just A River In Egypt (x)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tut7Wz4vm_0 She'd Like To Wear The Pants, But She Can't Fit Into Mine (x)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOaL2hjwbSk Hats Off For Discontentment (x)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ax8ElRruNNk Thinking In Terms Of Two (x)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AnXrYPHmYaQ Miserable (x)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbJ2MIxpjsk Mistakes And Second Takes (x)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSHcSZZj2g4&index=5

Bio.txtBio.txtOpen with Google Docs