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deadcactuswalking · 7 months

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REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 16/03/2024 (Ariana Grande's eternal sunshine, 4batz/Drake)

For a fourth week, Beyoncé holds the throne on the UK Singles Chart with “TEXAS HOLD ‘EM”. Outside of that, it’s Ariana Grande week, so welcome back to REVIEWING THE CHARTS!

Rundown

Before we get to Ari or, well, anything else, we always start with our notable dropouts, those being songs dropping out of the UK Top 75, which is what I cover, after five weeks in the region or a peak in the more prestigious top 40. This week in particular, we bid adieu to: “Overcompensate” by twenty one pilots (not a surprise there, it seems like a pretty inaccessible lead single), “Forever” by Noah Kahan, “On My Love” by Zara Larsson and David Guetta, “Fast Car” by Tracy Chapman, “Perfect (Exceeder)” by Mason and Princess Superstar and finally, “Popular” by The Weeknd, Playboi Carti and Madonna.

As for our re-entries and gains, God, it was a big day for those this week, especially given not much else was going on between the top 20 and well, everything else. Mitski’s “My Love Mine All Mine” is back at #75, “Make You Mine” by Madison Beer is back at #53 (great!) and two well-deserved awards show boosts are present here - Jungle, the BRIT Awards’ Best British Group, re-enter at #43 with the incredible “Back on 74” and thanks to Billie Eilish getting her Oscar win for Best Original Song, the equally incredible “What Was I Made For?” zooms back at #16. It’s pretty impressive that there are four re-entries here, all in vastly different spaces of the chart, and they’re all fantastic. As for the gains, we see a lot, scouring pretty much all of the chart, so let’s any% speedrun this section: “Thank You (Not So Bad)” by FBI’s top six most wanted criminals at #68, “Anti-Hero” by Taylor Swift at #65, “Happier” by The Blessed Madonna and Clementine Douglas at #61 and okay, break - that song apparently samples “Du hast” by Rammstein, which I just didn’t hear last week when it debuted. Despite being a classic on rock radio all over Europe, the song never charted in the UK’s top 100, and I always preferred “Sonne”. Now back to the list: “Would You (go to bed with me?)” by Campbell and Alcemist at #60, “ONE CALL” by Rich Amiri at #59, freaking “Baby Shark” at #57, “I Remember Everything” by Zach Bryan featuring Kacey Musgraves at #55, “Green & Gold” by Rudimental and Skepsis featuring Charlotte Plank and Riko Dan at #54 (not really excited for how a trend of the 2020s is having so many artists credited), “FE!N” by Travis Scott featuring Playboi Carti at #41, “Evergreen” by Richy Mitch & the Coal Miners at #37, “Austin” by Dasha at #25, “Kitchen Stove” by Pozer at #22, and finally, thanks to the release of her album, “yes, and?” by Ariana Grande rebounds to #6, just outside the range for our next segment.

Now for our top five, starting with “Lose Control” by Teddy Swims at #5, “End of Beginning” by Djo at #4, and Ariana Grande landing her second top 10 hit in this week, the clunkily two-titled “we can’t be friends (wait for your love)” at #3. Obviously, there’s more on that later. As for the rest, it’s to be expected: Beyoncé leads and the pack and Benson Boone’s “Beautiful Things” isn’t far behind at #2. Now for… less beautiful things, let’s dissect some of the new entries we have here.

New Entries

#71 - “if u think i’m pretty” - Artemas

Produced by Artemas and Daintree

Alright, I’ll bite: who the Hell are Artemas? Or Daintree for that matter? Well, Artemas Diamandis is a budding singer-songwriter with a questionable moustache who’s popular on social media, with this being a breakout hit from October last year, though it now of course has slowed and sped-up versions because the world is not safe from TikTok’s impact on popular music. Daintree seems to be Artemas’ go-to producer, and the two wrote this alt-pop song about a toxic relationship where to put it bluntly, he needs to pick up his standards. There’s a unique androgyny to Mr. Diamandis’ voice and it actually meshes very well - at least his falsetto does - into the vaguely eerie synth distortion and haunting elements very fitting for a song released in late October. I think the effects end up a bit overdone sometimes, attempting to make up for an underwritten song, and I really don’t like how the snare sounds, even if the constantly repeating vocal chop, and the way the lead vocal melody ends up stuck in a jam with it, is really clever, there was a lot of effort put into the song’s sound design, it just doesn’t really translate into a full song for me, especially at barely two minutes. Cool ideas are definitely here though.

#70 - “Uh Uh” - Clavish and Fredo

Produced by KP Beatz

We don’t have many other new names here: Clavish, Fredo, Nathan Dawe - they’re staples of UK chart weeks in the 2020s - and Drake and Ari are inescapable, so this’ll be a pretty familiar episode I feel, which is kind of refreshing. I mean, I’ve been listening to ratrace90210 and Yeat and Butterfly Boy, there’s something relaxing about knowing partly what you’ll have to say about something going into it. With that said, even I was surprised with how cheap and basic the piano and flute sounds in this beat were, the piano in particular really sticks out and unintentionally sounds off-beat due to just how basic the loop is. I would prefer for more layers of the RPG-sounding flute, but once the trap beat comes in, it’s easy to ignore some of the lacking melodies, it goes pretty hard and has much more of a pace than Clavish’s usual output. He’s definitely improving as a rapper too, the sheer length that he goes on for considering the wordy flow and delivery he chooses is kind of impressive and there are some interesting lines, particularly when he… denies living the life in his raps which is just surprising if anything. The way the “uh-uh” ad-lib is implemented sounds a bit tacky sometimes but given the rhyme scheme often delivers a similar sound, it can be pretty seamless sometimes as a call-and-response, it’s just a shame that Clavish doesn’t have the personality to sell it more. Fredo does though and this is an incredible verse from him. His cold rhetorical questions, much more developed rhyme schemes than Clavish, and how much more command he has of his flow despite using a similar one to his fellow rapper and even taking time to be further off of the beat… it really shows who’s been in the game for longer. “I hit any girl I want like a woman beater” is a crazy bar though, I have no idea how to feel about that, and he doesn’t really give you the time to think about it.

#66 - “We Ain’t Here for Long” - Nathan Dawe

Produced by Nathan Dawe, Neave Applebaum and Punctual

Nathan Dawe and its three ghost producers are back in the top 75 with a song I… already had liked? Yeah, this song is from early February, and I don’t know in what context I heard it but I should say that this is, for Dawe’s standard, a pretty great track. The singer is Sam Harper, a songwriter who’s worked with… BTS? Damn, well, okay, make that bank, girl, you can probably live off of that and don’t need to take credit for the heavily filtered vocals here that stand out in a mix that feels a bit barebones: it has the boiled-down essentials of a modern Eurodance jam but not much more, and that really picks up the pace in an “end-of-the-world” kind of way. She sings that she’s barely holding on and she’s got to live her life before it’s gone, with every element of this song feeling like it wants to just make way with itself and flee, and that’s definitely a compliment in this case, there’s a certain frantic sense to how the ATB-esque acoustic guitar drop is placed into staccato formation like old video game music. With how much the song wants to be done, you’d think it’d peter out by two minute, but no, we get that fizzling and striking bridge where Harper laments how much she’s doing for other people just to feel empty in return. We immediately get back to dancing of course, but after that resonant bridge, it hits way harder than it did before, with both Harper and Dawe adding little tricks into the final chorus, whether that be a change in the inflection, an added refrain of “I gotta live my life” or a flashy pre-drop glitch. It’s all very obsessed with desperately wanting to stop existing and for a trance song in an ever-increasing dystopia of how we live now, this feels particularly relevant… and it would be pretty poetic for the UK in particular to make this a hit in 2024. And please do, it’s great.

#18 - “act ii: date @ 8” - 4batz featuring Drake

Produced by Untitled Beatz and 40

Okay, firstly: Official Charts Company finally correctly recognises a remix’s popularity and credits accordingly. Nice. Secondly… sigh. So I gave a lukewarm review to Bryson Tiller’s “Whatever She Wants” on its debut week but pretty much immediately, I’m talking the day after, it clicked with me and I’ve been slightly obsessed with it. It actually has me excited for how rappers, singers, rap-singers and sing-rappers are going to implement non-Atlanta trap elements into R&B and vice versa as we get more diversive rap landscape with hyphy, Detroit trap, drill, Jersey club, dembow, Afrobeats and more competing for further influence in mainstream rap. Tiller and the beat both chug at a constant level and only stop to murmur tensely before piling right back into action. The beat sounds like if Rick Ross was on a treadmill and instead of really trying to sing, Mr. Tiller just tries to keep up, even if it leads to him doing brief harmonic riffs and pausing for sound effects. The original “act ii: date @ 8” by 4batz, which lands on its chorus by accident, has a similar appeal in its vintage shimmering keys and more organic-sounding bass, though I hadn’t heard it before the Drake remix. 4batz goes for an adolescent delivery that makes its determined, one-minute-and-done young love feel even more weightless and fluttery. I wish it didn’t go for the cop-out not-really-all-that-chopped and only-technically-screwed outro of course, but otherwise, it’s pretty decent and oh, the big-name remix essentially plays the song unchanged and then has Drake rap over that exhausted, slowed-down version. The youthful, Hell, maybe even childlike, lovestruck song empowered by its brevity is extended to a lethargic nearly four minute track, the majority of which consists of what sounds like a reject from not even For All the Dogs, more like Certified Lover Boy. There’s an oddly homoerotic passage in the middle, then he interpolates the original just to rhyme it with “I’m a stand-up guy like Dave Chappelle”. Sure. If this helps a newer and more interesting R&B artist to launch a career, it’ll be a net positive, but this version is a butchering of the original’s spirit in my opinion.

#13 - “bye” - Ariana Grande

Produced by Ariana Grande, Max Martin and ILYA

Okay, let’s get this out of the way: I liked two tracks off of Ari’s #1 album eternal sunshine: “the boy is mine” and “I wish I hated you”. Like always, her intro was pretty sweet too. I have vaguely more long-form first impressions on RateYourMusic, but I’m mostly just turned off by the nothingness the album presents: a trendy, vaguely pleasant pop-R&B album for sure, but not one that takes many risks - which Ariana can do - or makes use of its more cinematic production to help the songs get any stickier. Sometimes she sticks the landing, but mostly I did not care for it and couldn’t get myself immersed. Yet I’ve been listening to abstract cloud rap, underground plunderphonics of both the folkish ambiance nature and layered nu-disco instrumentation, and primarily, nu metal, so take all of that with a grain of salt. Like I said about 4bats, sometimes I’m not sure why I still write this show. With that said, there’s a lot less I have to say about these Ariana songs than I think I’d have wanted to. This one, strikingly, has had Ariana speak on it being too emotional and her not wanting to erase ALL of the humanity from it. Huh. That’s definitely reflected in the rote disco groove and oddly fuzzy bass which does add some texture but doesn’t make the lead vocal melody in the chorus any less… obvious. In fact, that’s really my main problem with this record: it’s obvious. The pre-chorus sounds genuinely brilliant, this is a gorgeous vocal performance from Ari and that swell is fantastic, but it ends up going for a kiss-off that’s undetailed and non-specific outside of name-dropping her friend Courtney… who the fuck is Courtney? The whole album’s vulnerable but never in a way that fully immersed me, it feels a bit closed-off not in an aggressive way but in a “the bridge over the moat has yet to be lowered kind of way”. Drake’s whole passage about his three different Jasons in “Away from Home” accurately displays my emotional connection with eternal sunshine but the difference here is that Drake very much knows that you don’t know who these people or events are and plays into that to construct his narratives. These Ariana Grande songs just feel oddly distant, and for a triumphant dance-pop song, I want to be IN the moment, not a peasant looking up at a celebration in the tower. Just saying.

#3 - “we can’t be friends (wait for your love)” - Ariana Grande

Produced by Ariana Grande, Max Martin and ILYA

More than half of our debuts this week are in lowercase, I guess this really is a muted week. Speaking of muted, this was oddly a bit of a sleeper hit within the week, having its music video and SNL performance give a lukewarm first day room to breathe and a bit of a boost for the whole album but especially this… and it’s a blocky synthpop pastiche, and I MEAN blocky. One of my least favourite tracks on the album and really one of Ari’s worst ever in my opinion, this goes for the one thing I don’t think she could ever sell: a discussion of Ariana’s relationship with the media, doubling as a relationship story. You can see similar interpretations of thank u, next but even if I don’t like that record, I will give it props for its depths and honestly, its stakes and the tragedy that surrounds that album and its predecessor. This track though... what informed this? What informed the backlash-to-the-backlash towards critics in the chorus? What informed the tumultuous nature of Ariana’s pop culture ups and downs this time? What informed the grotesquely unwarranted orchestral outro? Oh, right, nothing to care about. I used to be a Kanye fan, artful self-indulgence is not something I’m opposed to - Hell, go for it and more - but when the writing is purposefully secretive and vague, the lead vocal melodies are so staccato that Ari has to push character out of them through just her inherent personality, which itself is a fragile beast and most importantly, it sounds a cloudy fuzz of parodic ass with conveyor-belt synths standing sore in the mix… I’m left questioning why I should allow myself to give it my time. Given that ending line of the second verse, it also makes me wonder if Ms. Grande even wants me to. Hard pass on this - “the boy is mine” was right there as a single, this feels like an easy cop-out for an album that had a shaky first week.

Conclusion

Yes, Ari gets Worst of the Week for “we can’t be friends (wait for your love)”, as much as I wish she didn’t, with a Dishonourable Mention to… Drake. Drake gets the Dishonourable Mention for ruining a promising song in “act ii: date @ 8” by 4batz. As for the best, it should be an obvious lock for Nathan Dawe with “We Ain’t Here for Long”, as Artemas taking an Honourable Mention for “if u think i’m pretty”, I could see some better songs coming from this guy if we give him more than one chance at a hit. I don’t envision much of intrigue in the coming week, but regardless, thank you for reading, rest in peace to Eric Carmen, and I’ll see you next week!

#pop music #song review #uk singles chart #ariana grande #eternal sunshine #4batz #drake #nathan dawe #clavish #fredo #artemas #sam harper

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andrewleousa · 2 years

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Accelerate Decision Making Process With Professionally Verified Data

As data fuels, almost all business processes, decisions, and actions, organizations across industries and domains generate, collect, and process huge quantities of it to learn about their customers. However, the raw data collected isn’t helpful for companies as it does not provide any insights, mainly because of errors and irrelevant entries—relying on inaccurate information can negatively impact your marketing efforts. So, this is where data validation services come to the rescue.

You end up shooting emails to invalid addresses or reaching out to people who are least interested in your business when the customer data or database is invalid. Hence, all the resources used in terms of time, money, and efforts-go in vain, which no business can afford to lose. A valid and verified database is a solution to avoid all this. It also helps you gain better insights into your prospective markets and customers.

Understanding the Data Validation Process

The process of checking the data for errors and inconsistencies after it is migrated from different sources is known as data validation. Finding discrepancies in the data can either be done manually or automated, leaving behind a clean data set to serve various other purposes.

In recent years, the importance of validated data has increased as businesses rely heavily on facts and figures to make fail-proof strategies. So, ensuring the accuracy of this data is a foundation of better data management, optimized marketing campaigns, and boosted sales efforts.

Benefits of Properly Verified Data

Organizations irrespective of their size or scope are bound to verify and validate their data regularly to ensure that management and employees are presented with reliable information whenever they need it. No matter whether the business is big or small, B2B or B2C, old or new, data validation is a necessity for all. Failing to have data quality checks in place may lead to missed opportunities and lost revenue.

Better Sales Results

To be assured that your marketing and sales strategies perform their best, accurate and reliable data about your customers is vital. The marketing team depends largely on reliable data to create their sales lead lists. If this data is invalid or unverified, the sales pipeline can be negatively impacted as you end up cold calling or sending emails to outdated phone numbers and email addresses.

Informed Decision Making

Professional data verification services companies strictly maintain the data quality, helping businesses to get more accurate analytics that accelerates the overall decision-making process. Besides, access to up-to-date data helps in building a better understanding of your target audience and formulating effective strategies that propel business growth.

Boosts ROI on Marketing

Quick access to verified and validated data produces better results as well as much greater ROI on marketing and sales campaigns. When you deliver personalized and consistent messages to an appropriate contact list, it positively impacts your sales and marketing results and generates far higher response rates for campaigns; thus, improving your ROI.

Optimize Operational Expenditures

Databases with erroneous entries or records can negate your marketing strategies like email marketing. On the other hand, an updated data list helps you contact the right people who have a genuine interest in your product/service offerings. Regular data verification practice helps you in removing incorrect details from your database that might affect your mailing accuracy. This not only saves money but minimizes the waste of your marketing efforts.

Save Enormous Time and Increase Productivity

Your sales team spends many hours logging calls and sending messages to your customers’ list. However, a lot of time gets wasted on calling or sending emails to expired contacts and people who simply aren’t interested in your offerings. With the help of professional phone verification services, you can maintain a quality data set that also saves valuable time and boosts productivity.

Maintain Brand Integrity and Reputation

What if you send messages and emails to people that have no relevance to your product or service offering? Apart from this, sending too many emails on outdated email ids can bring down your reputation as a spammer, damaging the image of your brand. However, this can be avoided if you maintain accurate data. It helps in ensuring that your messages reach only the target audience as well as also maintain your brand integrity.

Outsourcing as the Way Forward

In the data validation process, all your data is checked against various databases to eliminate various anomalies, making it an intricate and time-consuming activity overall. If not using an automated tool or software, businesses also need to proofread the data manually—that not only costs heavily but also impacts productivity. And, it is vital for companies to have easy access to accurate and authentic databases to ensure business growth and build reliable data solutions.

Therefore, outsourcing data verification tasks to a reliable service provider is a smart way to get fast and cost-effective results. This way, you can enhance your business’s performance with enriched data while saving money, time, and effort. Other lists of benefits include:

Instant Access to Expertise

When you collaborate with outsourcing companies, you get instant access to a large pool of data verification professionals who have good years of experience in serving different industries. They work exclusively for you as an extension of your in-house team and can easily handle any volume of data without impacting its integrity within the deadlines.

Highest Standards of Quality

Experienced service providers deliver the highest standards of quality as they have strict data quality practices in place. The dedicated team of QA professionals ensures that data validation projects go through stringent quality checks before final submission.

Technological Competence

Almost all outsourcing companies provide automated as well as manual data validation services. After assessing your pain points properly, they leverage the right-fit tools to meet your requirements and deliver accurate results. In addition, service providers also have a pool of experts who can deftly help you with manual data validation, if there’s a need to proofread the data manually.

Cost-Effective Solutions

Outsourcing is relatively cheaper than getting an in-house data validation and verification team. Businesses can get rid of resource hiring hassles and onboarding delays as well as the related costs, and; only need not bear the cost of services availed. This way, they can reduce their operational cost significantly.

Conclusion

There’s no dearth of professional data validation companies in the online space. So, finding the most reliable one is yet another task. To help, you can assess a service provider based on experience, customer service, turnaround time, data security, tech acumen, and pricing strategy—one that best fits your need is the ideal choice.

Read here inspired blog : https://www.datasciencesociety.net/accelerate-decision-making-process-with-professionally-verified-data/

#data validation services #data verification company

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projectcubicle1 · 2 years

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8 Tips to Find a Job after an Online Course

Online courses have become increasingly popular in recent years, with millions of people enrolling to learn new skills and advance their careers. However, once the course is complete, many students are left wondering how to turn their newfound knowledge into a job. As the cost for online courses might get high–for instance, DataCamp pricing is around $300 but there are much more expensive companies–you want to be sure you’ll quickly start making money after the completing. This article uncovers eight actionable tips to help you find a job after completing an online course.

Networking is a powerful tool

Networking is a critical skill to reach your goals, and this also is one of the most effective ways to find a job. The team from Self-Starters, a project focused on online courses, recommends reaching out to recent graduates of your online course and asking if they find a job after completion. Ask them how they managed to get a desired position or why they haven’t found a job. Moreover, ask them about their background before the course as well as how persistent they were in their search. These are important factors that have a huge impact on the result. Meanwhile, attend offline or virtual events and webinars related to your career field to connect with potential employers and recruiters. Don't be afraid to speak first to new people and ask for advice or information about these companies. For example, if you took an online course in web development, reach out to local tech companies, ask whether they have open positions, and apply for an interview (even if you don’t feel you are a good fit).

Dozens of interviews will make you ready

To get a new job, you usually need to go through a lot of job interviews before you get hired, especially when you are at the entry-level stage of your carer. So don’t lose any opportunities to practice. You need dozens of interviews to understand how to communicate your skills to get the job you want. Reach out to recruiters of both small and big companies and show your interest–your motivation and persistence might help to get to the interview there. Moreover, don't be afraid to ask for mock interviews with somebody who already works in your design field.

Free help might bring you a paid job

Offering your services for free can be a great way to gain hands-on experience in your field and make connections with potential employers. Many non-profits and small businesses are always in need of people like you, and this can be a great way to gain valuable experience and make a positive impact in your community. For example, if you took an online course in marketing, consider getting experience in a non-profit and helping them with their marketing efforts. You can also reach out to your favorite Youtubers and offer them help at no cost. An effective approach here is to come up with a ready strategy and show them your expertise and motivation. Even if they don’t hire you, you will extend your portfolio.

Dive into job searching

There are many job search websites that can help you find job opportunities in your field. Some popular ones include LinkedIn, Indeed, and Glassdoor. Make sure to customize your CV and cover letter for each job application, and take the time to tailor your application to the specific requirements listed in the job posting. For example, if you took an online course in data analysis, search for job opportunities on LinkedIn and Indeed, and make sure to highlight your skills in data visualization and predictive modeling in your resume and cover letter.

Freelancing is an alternative

Another way to make money in your desired field is freelancing. It is an alternative to full-time employment that helps you gain experience and build your portfolio. You can start by offering your services on websites like Upwork or Fiverr. This will show what is expected from you, gain real-world experience, build your network, and potentially lead to a full-time job opportunity down the road. For example, if you took an online course in graphic design, consider offering your services on Upwork as a freelance graphic designer to build your portfolio and gain experience.

Strong online presence

With so many businesses and job seekers using the internet, having a strong online presence is critical to your job search success. Make sure your LinkedIn profile is up-to-date and reflects your skills and experience. Consider creating a professional website or portfolio to showcase your work and online course projects. For example, if you took an online course in digital marketing, you can create a website that highlights your skills in social media management, content creation, and data analysis.

Be open to opportunities

Be open to new opportunities and don't limit yourself to only one specific job or industry. Sometimes the best job opportunities come from unexpected places, so it's important to be open to new possibilities. Consider taking on a part-time or freelance job outside of your desired field to gain new skills and make connections. You never know where it may lead. For example, if you took an online course in web development, don't limit yourself to only seeking full-time web developer positions. Instead, consider taking on freelance projects in related fields such as UX design.

Keep learning and improving your skills

Finally, keep learning as the job market is constantly changing, and new technologies and approaches are being changed all the time. Consider enrolling in additional online courses or attending workshops and seminars to stay current and improve your skills. This will make you a more valuable candidate to potential employers and increase your chances of finding a job. For example, if you took an online course in project management, consider enrolling in additional courses in agile project management or attending virtual workshops to stay current and improve your skills.

Final thoughts

Finding a job after completing an online course can be challenging, but it's not impossible. By building a strong online presence, networking, using job search websites, freelancing, and continuing to learn and improve, you can increase your chances of success and find a job in your desired field. Good luck with your job search! Read the full article

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stenka-razin · 3 years

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According to Baltimore’s wiki page, Changwon, South Korea is one of our sister cities.

But Changwon’s wiki doesn't list Baltimore. Insultingly, they do list fucking Annapolis.

#odessa #luxor #kawasaki #gbarnga #these are real friends #there are more but a list loses impact after so many entries #so look whos fake now

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iruludavare · 4 years

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{Mega Evolution}

{ ooc. To make it easier to navigate/read only what you’re interested in, I’ve separated this post up into section}

Pokedex Entries

What actually happens

Role of the Keystone

Role of a bond

What the Gen7 pokedex entries show

1. Pokedex Entries

The first official pokedex entries for mega evolved pokemon are the ones seen in Alola’s pokedex, having been published just prior to the events of Sun and Moon. However, they only reflect one side of mega evolution-- when a bond between the pokemon and trainer is completely missing.

With the phenomenon gaining track in Kalos, and more details concerning Professor Sycamore’s research leaking out into the public, thanks to the events with Team Flare, more researchers in the field of pokemon evolution saw potential in the area for publishable papers. It did not take long for unaffiliated teams to bribe those working for the professor or send in people for the sole purpose of gathering information. From there, and hearing that Augustine was very close to having enough data to put together a paper and publish it, being the first in its field, these groups decided to bite the bullet and attempt to beat him to the idea. Only, it was not done with proper knowledge of the subject, as they did not have all of the pieces from the information that was handed over.

Tests were performed on an incomplete list of pokemon they received from Professor Sycamore’s unpublished data to be capable of mega evolution-- Alakazam, Gengar, Kangaskhan, Pinsir, Scizor, Lucario, Aerodactyl, Gyarados, Ampharos, Tyranitar, Houndoom, Heracross, Manectric, Mawile, Banette, Absol, Garchomp, Slowbro, Sableye, Lopunny, Metagross, Salamence, Glalie and Sharpedo. However, due to not knowing that the process required a strong bond between the individual holding the keystone, and the pokemon undergoing the change, what occurred was a very harmful and painful series of transformations.

2. What actually happens

What was not known to the scientists was that mega evolution happens to be a very unstable process that, for a short period of time, is capable of altering specific pokemon’s appearances and capabilities. However, not all pokemon of a specific species are capable of mega evolution. It is largely restricted to the descendants of pokemon who were affected by the blast from the Ultimate Weapon 3000 years ago, with the energy from Xerneas and Yveltal powering the machine resulting in the sudden development of a reasonably large insert in the genome of some of those that survived the blast, depending on their proximity to the site where it landed. This encodes for the production of light-sensitive proteins, but a majority of it, encoding for extreme upregulation of a variety of other genes, remains dormant until the activation of those proteins. If one were to look for these mutations in humans that survived the blast, these sequences would also be present in them. It is not what renders them immortal-- that is specifically tied to Xerneas’ power when on its own--, but instead what causes the phenomenon of their form reacting with mega stones, and the other way around, by emitting light, much like when a viable pokemon undergoes mega evolution, as seen in-game.

The reaction between an affected individual and a specific mega stone, according to the professor’s research, is a result of a process similar to optogenetics. The mutation found in those directly exposed to the Ultimate Weapon, or that have inherited it from something that was, is activated when the proteins it encodes for are exposed to light of a certain wavelength that is not visible to the human eye. These are emitted from mega stones at a constant rate, due to being irradiated by the Ultimate Weapon, albeit they differ slightly from one another. Depending on the species of the individual, the proteins from this mutation will sense different specific wavelengths-- unless they are human, where they instead are activated by a range of wavelengths encompassing all that the different kinds emitted, albeit at an intensity too weak to result in any physical changes. Once exposure to a compatible wavelength occurs, the emission of light increases exponentially over a very short amount of time, and the pokemon will begin to rapidly undergo physical changes, as it triggers a cascade reaction, effecting a variety of other genes and resulting in an overproduction of their proteins. This results in a form change, but in all cases, an emission of light-- the excess energy-- dependent on the proximity to the mega stone.

3. Role of the Key Stone

The key stone, much like mega stones, came to be after being irradiated from the power in the Ultimate Weapon, however function differently. Unlike mega stones that constantly emit one specific wavelength of light, they are capable of either mimicking ones of nearby mega stones, or can interfere with it depending on miniscule changes in temperature. As such, they can be used to trigger mega evolution, or stop it, simply through touch alone and accessories that can retain and amplify heat. Training in order to legally wield mega evolution revolves around an individual learning how to properly manipulate the abilities of a key stone, as improper use can place the pokemon in danger.

When controlled properly, mega evolution is painless and beneficial to the pokemon.

4. Role of a Bond

The bond, while having no direct impact on what occurs to trigger mega evolution, is far less understood than the other aspects of it, due to its difficulty to properly analyse. It has been speculated that while it may have some effect beyond comprehension-- as it, in the absence of the specific gene tied to mega evolution, leads to the bond phenomenon--, the bond, itself, for mega evolution might more be tied to the pokemon in question having faith in the trainer wielding the key stone. Increased levels of stress or pain worsen the effects of mega evolution, and so, a weak bond may give rise to a situation where the reaction that can normally be controlled well with the key stone is heightened and unable to be controlled.

5. What the Gen7 pokdex entries show

With all of this in mind, the pokedex entries for mega evolution shows what happens when there is no or a lacking bond between the pokemon and trainer present-- when there is no way to control or inhibit the way that the pokemon reacts to being exposed to a compatible wavelength. As the reaction that is triggered has no natural trigger to stop the overproduction of so many proteins, and only increases over time, removing the one element that can control it (aside from removing the mega stone from their general area), results in the pokemon’s condition worsening. Depending on what changes about their appearance, functions, mindset, or power, the effects of this will differ. Be it descending into blind rage (Gyarados, Lucario), melting from the inside out (Scizor), losing all the strength in its muscles (Alakazam) or parts of their bodies breaking (Glalie, Tyranitar)-- at some point, they are harmful to the pokemon, and extremely unpleasant to experience.

#❀⊱⦃ ⏤ {headcanon.} ⦄⊰❀#❀⊱⦃ ⏤ {Okay to reblog!} ⦄⊰❀#{before any of you @ me saying this isn't possible or anything... my field is literally molecular genetics and this isn't meant to--#--be realistic. Just taking real-world ideas and merging them with what was originally planned for mega evolution to develop canon}#{i am 100% aware that something like this couldn't realistically happen. And that's. The point. It's fiction}

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sugarcomatosed · 4 years

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On Miyuki Inaba and Macross:

I’ve heard nothing but love for wave 2-10 of destruction; but I’ve realized that the scene loses some of its magic for western audience because they don’t know it’s a shout out.

So today I want to break down for you today the biggest reference in 13 Sentinels you most likely missed out on; Miyuki Inaba, Lynn Minmay and The Super Dimensional Fortess Macross.

Join me under the cut for massive spoilers for Sentinels of course, and a nearly 40 year old anime you’ve never seen.

I think everyone knows Sentinels is chock full of sci-fi shout outs. From War of the Worlds, to Terminator, The Matrix, heck even GroundHog’s day, the list goes on and on. Most western audiences will be able to spot the bulk, so why haven’t you heard of Macross?

Simply put, copyright battles. In 1985, Hamorny Gold stitched together three unrelated animes to create Robotech. One of the anime series involved was Macross and Harmony Gold has kept a tight leash on the copyright preventing the series from ever getting a real proper English release ever since.

...so what is Macross?

Well, in super blunt Wikipedia stolen summaries:

Macross (マクロス, Makurosu, English: /məˈkrɒs/) is a Japanese science fiction mecha anime media franchise/media mix, created by Studio Nue (most prominently mechanical designer Shōji Kawamori) and Artland in 1982. The franchise features a fictional history of Earth and the human race after the year 1999, as well as the history of humanoid civilization in the Milky Way. It consists of four TV series, four movies, six OVAs, one light novel, and five manga series, all sponsored by Big West Advertising, in addition to 40 video games set in the Macross universe, 2 crossover games, and a wide variety of physical merchandise.

If you asked me to boil the series down to it’s three staples I’d pick the following three elements. Big robot fights, love triangles and music, usually all interplaying together to make some of the most exciting fight scenes in anime.

The series is going strong in Japan ever since its 1982 release, with the most recent series Macross Delta’s newest film “Absolute Live!!!!!!” getting its first teaser trailer days before I sat down to write this post. It’s insanely big in Japan and you’ve probably seen a half dozen Macross references if you’ve watched a sci-fi anime before. Most likely the signature missile blast.

Sentinels pulls specifically from the 1984 film: the Super Dimensional Fortress Macross: Do You Remember Love? The story is largely a shortened version of the first tv series which aired in 82 and is considered in canon a film retelling of the events.

The film focuses on a colony ship adrift through space suddenly being attacked by an alien race called the Zentardi, it’s both a war film and a very quiet drama all tangled up in the three central characters of Hikaru Ichijo, the young pilot, Misa Hayase, one of the bridge officers and then Miss Macross herself; Lynn Minmay. An idol singer aborad the ship who has during its journey become a huge celebrity after starting as a simple waitress at her family’s restaurant.

Minmay is considered something of the face of the series and while other characters may never come up again in its extended universe, the story of Lynn Minmay is akin to legend in later entries in the seires.

When mankind was faced with these invaders, there was one simple thing that managed to send the enemy into disarray, the music of Lynn Minmay shocked the Zentardi who had no concept of culture and music. They end up capturing her and the other two leads during the course of the film and while the others manage to escape; Minmay is trapped behind with the Zentardi.

They eventually ask her to look and exam a relic they’ve kept on board their ship, and Minmay discovers it’s of all things, a song.

So, if isn’t obvious enough by this description alone, Miyuki is modeled after Minmay. It’s not a 1 to 1, but the curls in her hair and the style of her outfit make it even more obvious.

They have a lot of the same general vibes too, Minmay over the course of the film becomes a tragic melancholic figure and a symbol of the war effort against her will. Her sweet dreamy smile and glittering energy become subdued as she faces set back over setback. She remains strong up until a point behind her facade of confidence until she discovers Hikaru now has feelings for Misa. Culminating in the finale of the film where a despair filled Minmay refuses to sing because it all seems pointless.

Miyuki foils this of course with her journey from the plucky Tomi Kisaragi of a prior loop to a ghost in the machine; a somber beautiful figure but a changed person. She only has this role she’s taken on in the end. All she can do to impact the out come of this fight is sing and hope Shu hears her.

In the finale, Minmay is given a wake up call and asked by Hikaru to sing her song and try to save the lives of everyone left aboard the macross. Roused from her despair, Minmay agrees and the final battle is set to the tunes of the song the Zentardi had shown her, now with lyrics Misa had translated. At long last reaching them and halting the conflict.

This is of course, what 2-10 is a direct reference too. Miyuki sings Seaside Vacation until she can’t be heard any longer.

Even if you’ve never seen the film, the clip alone is a treat in itself. It’s a lovely piece of animation

But Macross’s influences go deeper than just Miyuki and the original Macross. In Macross Plus, the primary idol is the artificial intelligence Sharon Apple. She is also it’s major villian as her AI becomes destabilized during the course of the film.

With the illegal modifications installed in Sharon takes control of the capital of Earth with her music and nearly destroys the city. Miyuki’s character is all Minmay, but her role in the story is a heroic Sharon Apple.

And outside of Miyuki, Macross references and influences can be spotted in Tomi’s story in which she and Nenji are trapped in 2025 and he begins to fall for her mirrors the arc that occurs between Hikaru and Misa after they escape the clutches of the Zentardi. The pair find themselves trapped on a mysterious planet, which turns out to be Earth rampaged by the Zentardi. Misa and Hikaru’s hostility towards each other fades as they try to come to grips with this truth. They spend a long time alone in the ruins and eventually fall in love before eventually being saved by the Macross. Which, is roughly what occurs in Tomi’s story between her and Nenji.

Shu’s story as well, with the minor focus on his confusion of his feelings towards Tomi and Yuki are also arguably a tongue in cheek reference towards the series many Love triangles, which aren’t always true triangles but always remain a corner stone of the series.

Does Shu actually have feelings towards Tomi? No but she’s showing up everywhere and it’s left him a little out of sorts and plays into the misinformation sentinels feeds you, leading you to think there’s a triangle of some sorts:

Maybe they’re stretches, but considering it was stated in an interview the film was a huge inspiration for the game, I wouldn’t be shocked. I found the interview on twitter back in November but can’t track it down now and I’m v. sad

There’s also the matter of the Protoculture.

The Macross is a massive colony ship, sent out into space with the goal of returning to earth after a long space voyage to insure humanity’s survival, much like the probes the 2188 colony sent out. Misa and Hikaru return to find this was the only thing that’s had prevented humanity from being wiped by the Zentardi.

While on earth, Misa and Hikaru manages to discover a set of ruins of a highly advanced civilization that had created both humanity and the Zentardi. The protoculture.

The logs they manage to Find reveal that their inventions grew too great and they have all but disappeared from the universe, but humanity in the end are aliens as well. The invading Zentardi were just tools used by the Protoculture to wage war on itself and contributed to the death of their people.

The song Minmay sings is a relic of the Protoculture, an ancient highly advanced civilization from thousands of years ago.

Now Hm. Why does that sound familiar? What was it Fluffy said about 2188 and the Deimos code....

They’re obviously not 1-1 references, but Sentinels was such a labor of love that pulled from so many genres it’s nice to see such an iconic series get a well thought out reference.

I hope this was something of a fun read and gives you a better love of Miyuki and 2-10.

I don’t know if I’d recommend getting into Macross if you liked Sentinels, but if you’re interested send me an ask and I could probably give you a helpful breakdown. I love both series so much and consider them my top two sci-fi!

#macross #13 sentinels: aegis rim #miyuki inaba #lynn minmay #sugar speaks #i almost always listen to macross tunes while working on 13sar fics and am really passionate about both series and ready to shill lmao #i wanted more pictures and tumblr said....no #sugar’s 13 sar collection

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totaldramafan-lauri · 3 years

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Eurovision 2021 Opinions, Predictions, and Rankings

DONE.

I really cut it close this time, but I got a couple days to relax until the contest! >.<

God, I missed Eurovision so much that I think I rambled a bit too hard....XD So, if you don’t have the patience to read all of this, I don’t blame you! I mainly just make these for fun, heh....But if you do read this, PLEASE be warned that I have some very unpopular opinions this year. It’s not as bad as some other years, but there’s a few things in here that will probably confuse people. I’m not trying to piss anyone off, I’m just sharing what I think of the songs and that’s all. I can’t even vote, so.....yeah!

Also, uh....be warned for excessive gushing, because I like the VAST majority of songs this year. There are only two that I’m indifferent to, and none that I outright dislike. And even the two songs I’m indifferent to, I managed to say some good things about, so I don’t outright bash any of the songs! I’m not a critic, I’m just a big Eurovision fan being happy talking about Eurovision.

Ummmm, anything else, hmmmm.....well, the rehearsals have been done, but I don’t watch those cuz I like going in blind. I like being surprised. So, I have no idea how any of the songs will be staged, keep that in mind.

Now, I think I said everything! Into the rambling!

(In alphabetical order by country)

Song: Karma Country: Albania Thoughts: We start our list off with a song that...I wish I liked more! This song is pretty good - I like the music (though the instrumental breaks are pretty busy, with a lot of noise at once) and the vocals are excellent, but...it's a pretty standard Albanian entry in that it lacks that extra wow factor for me. In fact, when I say "standard", I mean that when I haven't heard it in a few days and I try to get in into my head, I'll sometimes confuse it with "Ktheju tokës" (their 2019 entry). And I know that isn't fair to it, but the fact that I can't make it stick in my mind really says a lot to how little of an impact it made on me in the long run. "Ktheju tokës" WAS good, and this song is good, but man do Albania really have trouble standing out in this contest (with the one HUGE exception, of course <3) Prediction: I don't think this will qualify for the final, but I wouldn't be surprised if I was proven wrong. Albania have surprised me multiple times in recent years. I kinda don't wanna be surprised this time, since it could be at the cost of a song I like more (and yeah, it probably will be), but I still wouldn't rule it out. This song does have a chance. But for now, I'll say no, it won't qualify.

Song: Technicolour Country: Australia Thoughts: Time to take off your clothes- wait, that's not it? It's "cloaks"? OK then, if you say so...Not only is this a very cool and unique song, but it's also pretty catchy! It's kinda hard to put into words how I feel about this song. When I first heard it, I liked it OK but I also feared that it would grate on me after a bit, but thankfully, it didn't! In fact, this song grew on me, just the opposite of what I thought. I enjoy this song quite a bit now! The singer's voice is really good. She has impressive range. And there's nothing else this year that sounds like this. So, while I don't love it, I definitely like and respect it! It's an impressive entry from Australia, and I'm sad that they have to preform remotely. I hope that doesn't hurt them too much... Prediction: Oh, I wanna say they'll qualify so bad, cuz they deserve to! And even when their entries don't get love from the televote, they still get carried to the final by the juries, so....I think they might! C'mon, it's a good song and it deserves to do well! I don't even love it that much and I can still see the talent and appeal of this song, so yeah, I'm gonna say it'll qualify! The betters are underselling this! Might not do that well in the final, but eh, at least it'll be there.

Song: Amen Country: Austria Thoughts: And here we come to one of the weirder things this year: like 2015, there are two songs with the same name, leading to some confusion. I'll get to Slovenia's "Amen" way later, but for now all I'll say is that that's the one I think about more BY FAR. To the point where poor Austria here gets completely overshadowed by it. XD And that's really unfortunate, because this song is pretty good! It's very emotional, even moreso when you read that it's based on the deaths of the singer's daughter and aunt. It definitely hit me harder after I realized that it wasn't just a breakup song...and actually about death...The lyrics are also very good, especially the repeating of "Tell me, is this what you wanted?" which is a line that kinda hit me even on first listen? It just sounds so...sad, yet angry, especially with how he sings it...Though I will say that the opening lyric simply being "Amen, I guess" could be easily made fun of...but I'm not gonna do it. Not to this song. Even though it's far from one of my favorites, (and in terms of sad family songs doesn't come close to "You Let Me Walk Alone" levels), it's a good song. Prediction: I don't think Austria really have that much of a chance....but that doesn't mean they're doomed. They could touch hearts with this song, or they could be overlooked, could go either way. I personally think, um.....they won't qualify. Just cuz of the competition.

Song: Mata Hari Country: Azerbaijan Thoughts: Should I be annoyed at how blatantly Azerbaijan recycled their 2020 song? XD Well, I'm not! If anything, I find it funny that they included the line "Just like Cleopatra", which I took as full-on self awareness.....And I also don't mind because the song is awesome, so yeah. I can't help it, I'm a sucker for this stuff! I don't care how many times the song's name is yelled, it still sounds soooooo good! The instrumentals are amazing! The one before the end is easily the best part of the song. Y'know, where she just says "Let's go" and then the beat goes crazy? Perfect. This is a very solid borderline favorite for me. My only real gripe is that...uh, it's "goddess", not "godless"...I can clearly hear her pronounce an L and it bugs me. XD Prediction: In true Azerbaijan fashion, I think this'll be an easy qualifier. It's not a front-runner, but it's a very memorable song and there isn't really anything else like it in the first semifinal (maybe Israel if you squint? But that's a stretch) In the final, hmmmm....maybe it'll place in the middle somewhere? I don't think it'll do as good as "Truth" at least. That's my prediction.

Song: The Wrong Place Country: Belgium Thoughts: Not only is this a grower, but it's also the biggest grower of the bunch for me. Every year, there's that one song that I start out mostly indifferent to, that I do NOT expect to like as much as I end up liking it. The "O Jardim", the "Roi". This year, it's this one. It took me a few listens, but now I really like this song. I can't even explain why, it's just....cool! I like the dark, somber atmosphere of this song, and how it doesn't cross over into overly moody. It's just cool. And I like the lyrics, too. They flow really well, and I like how much detail there is. The whole thing just works so well....well, except for the line about the Johnny Cash t-shirt. That's just baffling. And that's the lyric they end the song with...but other than that, it's a great song that tells a story, with the atmosphere to match, and I really like it. Prediction: The only reason I'm not saying this is an easy qualifier is that the first semifinal is gonna be a bloodbath. XD I just went down the list, counting all the fan-favorites that would normally be shoo-ins, and I counted ELEVEN songs. There's GONNA be outrage that day, I just know it. Personally, I think Belgium could still do it, but it'll be really tough. I want them in the final, but my opinion doesn't matter here. Them making it will probably take a lot of effort, honestly, and...it could go either way. If I had to give an answer to what I think will happen, I'd say that they'll barely not qualify. But I'd be more than happy to be proven wrong! (As long as that doesn't mean losing Croatia in the process)

Song: Growing Up Is Getting Old Country: Bulgaria Thoughts: This one's....difficult. Not the MOST difficult song to rank (that's Cyprus), but man, it took me a while to figure out what I felt about it. In the end, I've decided that I...kinda like it. I'm putting it right at the bottom of the "like" category. Now, I know that a lot of people love this song, so just let me explain: I don't normally enjoy this kind of vocal. I didn't care for "Sebi" two years ago cuz it bored me, for example. This song at least builds a little bit, but it's not that exciting. Musically, this song doesn't do much for me, and that's why I'm ranking it so low. BUT....I love the lyrics. This is such a relatable song. Growing up does indeed get very, very, VERY old, and I worry about it all the flipping time. I do wish I could run from those worries. I like the reference to anxiety. I like lines like "Playing Tetris with my feelings, tryin' to keep them all inside". I like the switch to “Getting up is growing old”. It's really clever. Not to mention, her lethargic vocals actually FIT this subject. She's tired. So, I do appreciate this song for, well....speaking to me, even if I don't love it like so many others do. Prediction: Will definitely qualify without much issue. I can also see it doing pretty well in the final, like....Bulgaria have been in the top five twice in recent years, so this could possibly put them back up there? I personally don't think this song should be that high, but hey, this isn't about my feelings, this is my prediction. Uhhhh.....top ten.

Song: Tick-Tock Country: Croatia Thoughts: The first of my top seven favorites! Ohhhhh MAN did this song blindside me! When I first heard it, I remember the chorus letting me down! It was mostly due to not being what I expected from the pre-chorus, I guess I expected the music to burst with emotion or at least be louder.....but after only two or three listens, it grew on me completely, and I found myself trying to learn the lyrics and sing along. This is NOT another "Icebreaker", that’s for sure. I love the whole thing as it is and I wouldn't change a thing about it. This song is so! Darn! CATCHY! That chorus is incredibly infectious! Man, that beat is so flipping good! And when it switches to Croatian for a chorus, mmmmm good stuff! As someone who actually really enjoyed "Crazy", I still say this is Croatia's most solid entry since.....geez, 2010? Hope this one is more, um, successful than that one ended up being... Prediction: Oh no, oh no, oh noooooooo~....I really hope this doesn't end up underrated like Croatia's entries tend to be, but something tells me that I shouldn't be....TOO worried? ....OK, I'm still worried. XD The first semifinal is LOADED with awesome songs, so unless the staging for this is really really cool, it MIGHT struggle to stand out? Keyword being "might", cuz this is still a very good song....Maybe just being a good song will be enough! Of my two favorites in that semifinal, I'm more worried about Slovenia than Croatia, honestly. At least Croatia have an upbeat song. I'll try to be optimistic, and predict that it'll qualify. A lot of people seem to like it, so why not? However, if it doesn't qualify, I won't be too shocked....There's a lot of fan-favorites it's gonna have to compete with to get through. XD If it does make it, then I can't see it doing THAT badly in the final...

Song: El Diablo Country: Cyprus Thoughts: Hoo boy, here we go....So, this is easily the hardest song for me to rank. I'm sure that after I post this, I'll already be second-guessing my placement for it. But for now, here it goes......I love the chorus to this song just so much! It's SUCH a good thing to belt to, and I wish I could. I even love the "OooooooOOOOOOOOHHH~" after it! She has a GOOD singing voice! ...Too bad she barely uses it. Yeeaaaahhh, I'm...not very crazy about the rest of the song. The speak-singing verses, I got used to after a while, but they're still just ehhh. And the pre-chorus where she's just panting in the back with no other music? The bridge, where there's that stupid "I love El Diablo" chant that sounds like a playground taunt? Annoying. It feels like she's trying WAY too hard to be Lady Gaga, complete with throwing in words to another language for no reason other than to sound ~spicy~. As a fan of Lady Gaga, I'm sorry, but you're not doing a very good job! As I've said before, it's hard to come up with a concrete answer for how I feel about this song, because it has stuff I like AND stuff I don't like! And not only that...it's a BIG divide between the two. I don't just like the chorus, I LOVE the chorus. It's a SHORT chorus, but I love it! There are times I enjoy the song despite my complaints with it....but there are other days where I don't have enough patience to deal with stupid panting and "I lOvE eL dIaBlO", so really, I'm super torn here. I know this song's very popular, and I can see the appeal, I just wish I liked it more (especially since I've really liked the last few entries from Cyprus). Prediction: This song's currently in the top ten in the betting odds, so I think it might do a lot better than I expect. I personally don't think it's a top ten song, but it'll at least qualify for the final. And maybe do pretty well. Left side of the scoreboard, maybe? Cyprus are NOT an underrated country anymore, and the song's got a lot of energy, and it's definitely memorable, I'll give it that.

Song: omaga Country: Czech Republic Thoughts: Another song that has me conflicted, but not nearly as much as Cyprus'. My opinion on this one is a lot more simple: love the music, kinda iffy about the lyrics. This feels like it's sung by the kinda person that Destiny from Malta warns the ladies to stay away from. "You say you're still mad about the things that I did, but I don't know what I did". "Why don't you come over and have it? Why don't you let me have it?" I'm not the only one who thinks he's being really pushy, am I? I do think this song's just meant to be playful, but, uh....it doesn't come off that way to me. I mean, I guess I like the rhyming of "apocalypse" with "on my lips", that's pretty clever and I've never heard it before? But...overall, the lyrics honestly kinda creep me out. It reminds me of someone who just will not take no for an answer even when it's obvious that his presence isn't wanted because he thinks that she's just "playing hard to get". And she's not playing hard to get! He outright says that he did something to piss her off! Dude, leave her alone! Even if you're playing dumb saying you "don't know" what you did, that's not a reason to keep pestering her! ....But, *sigh* I can't be too mad at the song. When you get down to it, the most important thing in a song (especially in Eurovision) is the music, not the lyrics, and...this song sounds fantastic. It's really catchy, with a nice fun party vibe. I do enjoy listening to this when I don't think about it too hard. It's probably the most fun I've had listening to a Czech entry, so I still like it for that. This isn't a song worth being mad over. (Except the title. That title is so flipping stupid. Just say "oh my god", it's not hard. But that's a nitpick, pffff) Prediction: I kinda don't want this song to qualify since there are others in the second semifinal that I'd prefer to make it instead. Despite liking it, this is still one of my more least-favorites in that semi. XD But I still say this has a fair shot of qualifying, despite being performed early. But with the competition in the party song department by Serbia, Moldova, and San Marino, and their fairly low amount of fan attention, I'm gonna say no for this one. But I won't hate it if it qualified (as long as it doesn't push out Greece or Finland, which I don't think it will).

Song: Øve Os På Hinanden Country: Denmark Thoughts: Heck YEAH to Denmark sending a song in Danish! It's great to hear uncommon languages in Eurovision from countries that normally send songs in English! And dare I say that that's not my favorite thing about this song? Because this is another of my favorites! This song's been getting a flack for being "dated", and....yeah, maybe it is, but so what? I never claimed to have perfect taste, and I LOVE this kinda thing! 80s music is back, I say! Gosh, this song is so HAPPY! Well, uh, I can't even understand it, but it feels happy. And the instrumentation is so flipping good! The horns, the strings, UGH! I can't not smile while listening to this. If you don't like this song, that's fine, it's not for everyone...but I really appreciate Denmark for trying something different this year, especially since it turned into something that's completely to my tastes. Prediction: Yeah, uh...the odds don't look good for Denmark. Performing last, after so many people have made up their minds? With a song that's already not popular at all? Yeah....if they DO manage to qualify, I'll be VERY happy, but I don't think it's gonna happen...Man, most of my favorites are in danger this year...Eh, I'm used to it. But I'll say that they COULD possibly do it, due to nothing else sounding like them!

Song: The Lucky One Country: Estonia Thoughts: Oh look, another one of my favorites! Wow, what an emotional gut-punch this song is....these lyrics are seriously SO good. "Why'd you have to go and mess it up? Why'd you have to make what was unbreakable / Shakeable, unsaveable" "For a little while, the fates were with us / Wonder why they had to turn against us? / I could make a wish, but there is no use" "Thought I had a cloud over my head / It had to be my fault that it kept raining down, until, now, I figured out / That if I had the nerve to say goodbye, I could look for clearer skies up overhead" I....think that's enough, but holy crap, this song's mix of heartbreak and optimism is just PERFECT. "You broke my heart, but maybe that's a good thing, maybe I'm the lucky one because you're awful and I don't have to put up with it anymore." It's emotional, it's bittersweet, it's powerful...and it SOUNDS powerful too! Those quiet verses bursting into that chorus is great! This song is so flipping good! Why is it so underrated!? ...Oh yeah, cuz people who want emotion are to distracted by Switzerland's entry, I guess...or maybe it's just me, but eh. While I don't love it quite as much as my top three, this is a very solid fourth placer for me. Prediction: This song isn't qualifying, and I've accepted it. It's gotten very little attention (the music video is one of the ones under 1 million views), it was dead last in the betting odds last time I checked, and to top it off, it's being performed second in its semifinal, which won't do it any favors. I really do wish it could surprise me, but I don't think it will. I'm not getting my hopes up.

Song: Dark Side Country: Finland Thoughts: OH HECK YEEEEEEEAAAAAAHHHHH! Finland once again appealing to my tastes! OH MY GOD do I love this song! People have been heaping praise on this song left and right, so I can't say anything that hasn't already been said....but I'll praise it anyway! This song is so flipping intense! It manages to be dark while pumping me up for action, and being the best song at doing that this year. There's not much to say about the lyrics because I BARELY pay attention to them while listening (which is pretty much the only reason this isn't my number one), my brain just turns off all analytical thinking in favor of "HOO HOO HOO HOO EVERY PSYCHO IN THE SCENE HANDS UP AND FOLLOW ME" without caring about the actual words. I just love the music and vibe so much that it pulls me in so well! It goes so hard! That great hook that starts the song off also gives the song something catchy about it, too! Also points for including the line "We don't wanna grow up", that's great too. This is a song that you put on just to pump yourself up and feel awesome. The lyrics are pretty messed up, which makes me not wanna sing them out loud, but that barely counts as a point against it. It fits with the song's tone, and just....man, I remember how blindsided I was when I first heard it. That was my first clue that this would be something special. I'm also really happy that this song is getting attention because boy is that not true for a lot of my other favorites. XD Prediction: Despite Finland being one of the most underrated countries in the contest's history, with consistently poor results despite sending good song after good song...This one got popular, and most of the attention has been positive, to the point of it being just outside the top ten in the betting odds last I checked! So, I'm gonna be cautiously optimistic here and predict that they'll qualify without much issue. They're one out of only two of my favorites (the other being Greece) that I feel like I don't have to worry about. The song does a good job of standing out, which should help it a lot. As for how it'd do in the final...well, I want it to be in the top 10, but after whatever the frick happened with "Monsters" I'm convinced that Finland HAVE to end up underrated in some way...The only thing I can really say is that it'll probably give them their best result in years (since coming 11th that one time in 2014)? But that's all I can really say.

Song: Voilà Country: France Thoughts: If I can sum up my feelings about this one in one sentence it'd be....this is the new "City Lights" for me. Y'know, the Belgian entry in 2017? Got wildly popular, but I never fully understand why? Just found it kinda boring, and was indifferent to it? Yeah, copy and paste that here. In a year occupied by some really fun, happy pop songs, some really powerful ballads, and even a couple hardcore rock songs...a song like this is one of the favorites to win. And I'm sorry, but I don't...get it? Am I stupid? (Well, you'll probably think I'm stupid once we get to my number one but-) Why are people going nuts over this? This is one of the more boring songs of the year if you ask me! But that's being too harsh, cuz I CAN see that there's talent here. The vocals are nice, and I do give it points for growing on me at least a little. At the start, this was my least-favorite, but it's not anymore. I at least appreciate it for building at lot. I almost feel myself come close to liking it toward the end, when it's at its fastest. But that still isn't enough for me to see it as the potential winner that so many people see it as. If you like it, that's great! But even though I see the talent here, I can't jump on the bandwagon. I don't dislike it in the slightest, though. I will say that I'll take another "City Lights" over another "Amar Pelos Dois" any day of the week. At least if this song wins, I can say that it won't taint my view of the whole year. I'll just be like "cool, good for them". Prediction: I'd much rather Malta or Switzerland win over this, but I still can't rule out the possibility, which just how many people love this song and are rallying behind it. I can see the juries drooling over it too. If this does win, I'll see it coming, that's for sure. The possibility over a big five country that's not Italy doing so well feels weird, I'll admit...They're usually so underrated cuz they don't have to go through a semifinal. XD But back to my prediction, ummm....it's gonna do really well, I can't deny that. But since I consider myself Team Malta (or Italy) here, I'm gonna go with my gut and say that it won't win. Top five, though.

Song: You Country: Georgia Thoughts: Meh.....this one's probably my least-favorite, but not by a LOT. In fact, I far from outright dislike it. There are times when I find it kinda relaxing to listen to. Between this and my least-favorite in 2019, I think this one's less boring, which is a good point in this year's favor! It's more like...something's gotta be in last place, and this song's still pretty boring by comparison to everything else. But it's still a simple love song that has some nice lyrics, it's not annoying, and there's nothing wrong with it...well, there's nothing wrong with the SONG, that is... Prediction: Not qualifying. Yeah, this is an easy one. XD Now, um, I haven't SEEN this, but multiple people have claimed that the singer has said some really sketch stuff, which resulted in this already forgettable song....pretty much being a guaranteed flop. Granted, the video doesn't have quite as many dislikes as others (like.....P-Poland's....I'll get to that later), but it's still got a lot. If Georgia do qualify, I can easily see people getting upset. But I don't think it's gonna happen.

Song: I Don't Feel Hate Country: Germany Thoughts: OK, so....this song. This flipping song. By all counts, I should find it annoying. I really should. It's a song that reeks of passive-aggressive, better-than-you energy and I normally hate that! No, stop acting like you're sorry for me, you condescending prick! ...But dang it, I can't be mad at this song. I just can't. It just wouldn't be Eurovision without the resident goofy joke song, and this one fits the bill. Taking this thing seriously would make me look stupid. Not only that, but...I dunno if this is just me being very easily amused, but I just find this song funny? Like, actually funny? It's made me laugh multiple times! The lines that did so being the backing vocals going "SAY WHAT? He did not just say that!" followed by "Yes I did, and I feel sorry! I don't feel hate, that's the whole point of the song!" And even the stupid thing toward the end where it goes "So you can wigglewigglewigglewiggleWIGGLEWIGGLEWIGGLE-" It just puts a big dumb smile on my face, I can't help it! And the attitude of the singer goes down a lot easier when I think of him singing this to actual hateful people who lash out with bigoted comments, so that's helped it for me. If you don't like this song, I completely understand why. It's not for everyone! But it gets a thumbs-up from me (and not a middle finger) Prediction: I...don't know how this song's gonna go over with people? Will it annoy, or will it amuse? Will it be the next "Hatrið mun sigra" or the next "Moustache"? According to the betting odds, and the fact that it's Germany, I'm leaning more towards the latter. I don't see this doing particularly well. I can see the televoters liking it more than the juries at least, but it's still gonna be towards the bottom. I do think they'll do better than last or close to last, though. This song does have a lot of personality, that's for sure!

Song: Last Dance Country: Greece Thoughts: This song is breathtaking.....as in, whenever it comes on, it makes me stim so hard that I'm literally out of breath when it ends! And that's a really....really really good thing! Dear GOD this song is so awesome! Easily a top three choice for me. I already talked about why I love it before, and everything I said then is still true. I'm ever-so-slightly biased because I love songs that make me think of scenarios, and visualize them...especially when it's of, uh....w-well, uh....ideas of the comfort ship variety....And this song makes me think of dancing with my F/O (fictional other), feeling on top of the world, but also terrified of the moment ending, as she has to leave soon, so I hold on to her, not wanting to let go, wanting to savor this feeling until the dream is over....Uh, s-sorry for getting all poetic and stuff, but....I LOVE this song even beyond that bias! Listening to it is more of a rush than the song literally named "Adrenalina". The chorus BLASTS you with so much raw energy, it really DOES make you feel like you're dancing for your life until your lungs give out! You can feel the happiness, and the desperation, just so much...Truly, "Last Dance" is the PERFECT title. The verses aren't quite as strong as the chorus, which is the ONLY reason this song isn't my number one, but that dang chorus is enough for me to fall head-over-heels in love with it anyway. EASILY the best Greek entry for many many years. They've really, truly outdone themselves. Prediction: This has gotta qualify! Even if it doesn't get the awesome staging it deserves, it's still gotta qualify! This is one of the most popular songs in the second semifinal! Well, according to the betting odds anyway.....but c'mon! My energy SHOULD go into worrying about Poland and Estonia, so let me be right about this....let Greece be a shoo-in like I'm sure they are! I dare say that this could even finish on the left side of the board in the final! Unless some other songs REALLY surprise people live, but....for now, that's my prediction and I'm sticking to it!

Song: 10 Years Country: Iceland Thoughts: I wonder how Iceland feel about being the "projected winners of 2020". XD It's kinda like being an "honorary" winner, and....yeah, this country that's never won before, but has come second twice? They could've done it finally! But it didn't happen. It's like....is it a good thing to know that, or not to? Maybe a bittersweet mix of both....but the good thing that came out of it is that their artist got to come back this year with this song. My first word to describe this song is cute. It's a very adorable idea, being thankful for your spouse of ten years, and writing a song about it....Couple goals, honestly. XD That's enough for me to like it, cuz that's just so wholesome! But this is also a fun disco song, and it definitely stands out among everything else this year. So, thumbs up to Iceland yet again! Only other thing of note for me is that when I first heard it, the line "How does he keep getting better" led me to think this song was about a gay couple, and....it's not. He wrote it for his wife. I just find it kinda funny that I misinterpreted it that way, heh....(and it's not the only song that I misinterpreted, wait till we get to Portugal) Prediction: People love this artist and people love this song. It's gonna qualify. Not a winner (unfortunately for them), but it'll still do very well.

Song: Maps Country: Ireland Thoughts: Yet another grower. This is a really fast-paced song that I imagine would make good running music, and the lyrics are pretty good! I really like the line "My soul is a map, my heart is a compass, I am the road" for some reason...dunno why, but it sticks with me. Also, can't go wrong with strong drums! I just like the mood of this song overall, too. Happy, uplifting....freeing! Gives of the feeling of an explorer setting off to parts unknown, which is something that no other song this year does. Makes it unique! Whenever this comes on, I enjoy it a lot, but I sadly can't rank it any higher. It's still definitely one of Ireland's more solid, fun entries in recent years, up there with "22". I still like "22" a bit more since it was catchier, but this song is no slouch and I wish it got more attention. Prediction: *in the tone of Deerie from Helluva Boss* Yeeeeeaaaaaaahhhhh, no...Sorry, Ireland, but I think you're doomed. I really like this song and I want it to do well! Ireland have had such bad luck in the past, too! But they've got no chance in the first semifinal. A miracle would have to happen for this to qualify. It's really unfortunate...

Song: Set Me Free Country: Israel Thoughts: Pretty catchy! I like the rhyming flow of the verses a lot, even if I still can't fully understand the lyrics (which....I dunno whether to blame on her voice or me not liking the song quite enough to wanna sing along to lyrics that go by so quickly). What I could make out is well-written, though - if Estonia's entry is about the heartbreaking parts of breaking up, this song is about the liberating parts. I'm free, now I can dance! "Set me FREEEEE~!" That part is so good. Sadly, this song isn't an absolute favorite of mine...partly cuz the "Imma, imma, aaaaahhh" parts are a bit repetitive and slightly wear on me, but mostly cuz of competition. It's one out of many upbeat, catchy songs this year, and not the best of them. Prediction: Ehhhh, this can go either way. I wanna say it'll qualify, though. Israel have been on a roll in recent years, and this song is good enough to continue that. I wouldn't call it a front-runner by any means, but it'll at least make it to the final and not bomb.

Song: Zitti E Buoni Country: Italy Thoughts: With very few exceptions, rock songs tend to...not do very well in Eurovision. Even when the songs are very good, fans of the contest just don't gravitate towards rock as much as the poppier stuff, and that's fine! Everyone has different tastes in genres, and rock fans and Eurovision fans might not overlap very much. But dang it if I still don't appreciate them showing up and loving it when they do! And especially loving it when they're as good as THIS! This song is SO good! I might prefer the Finnish entry in terms of intensity, but they're not really that comparable. This still goes REALLY hard, manages to be catchy at the same time, and I love every single turn it takes. That part where he sings really really fast, and especially that awesome bridge, ugh, it's all so good! It's not a favorite of mine PURELY due to loving other songs more, but this is one I like more every single time I hear it, and I've been bumping it higher and higher up through my borderline favorites until finally giving it a solid spot. This song's been getting a lot of attention and that makes me very happy, cuz it deserves it! Italy have topped themselves yet again. Prediction: Despite being a big fan-favorite, I don't think this is a winner....mainly due to, well, being a rock song in Eurovision (I HAVE heard the very rare complaint about it, like, saying the chorus is too loud, and....it's a rock song? That's the point???), but also....it's kinda the Italian curse at this point? XD Every single time Italy have a fan-favorite song, they just barely don't win (I still haven't forgotten how much of a shoo-in they seemed to be in 2017 before....well...people lost their minds). They do however, manage top five finishes, and I think it'll be the same thing here. I would love if it won, since I like it more than the three betters' favorites, but I'm not holding my breath. XD

Song: The Moon Is Rising Country: Latvia Thoughts: MAN this song's awesome! OK, so, you might've noticed that there are a few songs this year that have the same message: "I'm a woman and awesome". There's nothing wrong with that kinda thing at all, especially when said songs are all different in their own way! This one right here stands out RIGHT off the bat with a super powerful voice that cuts through everything and commands your complete attention, and DANG does it work! The lady's voice is outstanding, and the beat's not bad either! It's kinda repetitive with the "Padada-papa-rade" parts, but that's barely a problem when the rest of the song kicks so much butt. You got something to say? Say it to her face, coward! When it comes to the "I'm a woman and awesome" songs, I like Azerbaijan's slightly more. It's more fun. But this is a very solid song that I really enjoy, and I'm happy Latvia sent another song I like this much, with one of the best voices of the year. Prediction: Sadly, for as much praise as they've been getting on YouTube, Latvia aren't getting much love from the betters, so I have no idea how they'll do. It's very split. I wanna say that they have a chance, cuz they've got a VERY strong singer and I can also see some interesting staging to go along with it, but that's just speculation. XD Also, it's Latvia. When do they ever catch a break? So....this really could go either way, and of course I'd like them to qualify, but I'm gonna say they barely won't. Not every good song can be in the final, that's the sad truth of having so many slots.

Song: Discoteque Country: Lithuania Thoughts: Dance song for introverts, let's go! This is a fun, silly song with a good beat, and lyrics that encourage having fun by yourself ("Not like that, pervert!" - Sir Pentious, Hazbin Hotel), and....that's about it! There's not that much to talk about here, cuz with this song, what you hear is what you get. And that's fine, not every song needs to be picked apart and analyzed to explain why it's enjoyable. However, despite how much I love synth music, this song doesn't really hook me as much as other songs do. I understand the appeal, I understand why it's a fan-favorite, but to me, it lacks OOMPH. Musically, it just, kinda....stagnates? With the exception of that weird scatting part. And I think my biggest issue is that the lyrics, well, uh....immediately date it to this year, let's just say. I try to get around this by calling it a dance song for introverts, and that's how I usually think of it at this point, but yeah, it's kinda still an elephant in the room. But I still do like this song, I just don't love it. I'm happy that Lithuania are getting the attention they were denied last year, though. Prediction: Despite opening the show, I think this will be an easy qualifier, one of the songs to beat. I can see this being another top ten finish for Lithuania (maybe it'll finally break "We Are The Winner"'s record from 2006? We'll just wait and see).

Song: Je Me Casse Country: Malta Thoughts: Ohhhhhh MAN do I wish I could rank this one higher. If I wanted, I could bump it up to borderline favorite, but...I already have five of those! XD But dang it, Malta, a country that's never won Eurovision, finally pulls out a fan-favorite song (again, that is *cough*theyshould'vewonin2002*cough*), and I AGREE with that! Like the Italian entry, this is a song that gets better every time I listen to it. It's SO much fun! Not to mention the singer, Destiny - MAN, what a voice! One of the best voices of the year, I'd say (though I'm not surprised, since I loved her 2020 song too). Apparently she's a former Junior Eurovision winner? I'd believe that! I can praise her and this song for so long, and it's not even one of my favorites: I love the lyrics a lot! I'm all for positive messages, and this song manages to have fun while also doing that, AND taking jabs at sexists along the way with great lines like "I'm too good to be true, but there's nothing in it for you!" and the cute "Excuse my French~!" I love the fun swing instrumentals! I love the choir during the bridge! This is just a REALLY good song that deserves all the praise, and I'm so so happy for Malta. I'd best describe this song as "'Toy', but less jokey" (well.....lyrically. Musically, they're not that much alike, but....yeah, you get it) and I like it for for that! Prediction: Could this be Malta's year? A lot of people seem to think so! And....honestly, I'm all for it! I think this could be a very worthy winner. Not to mention, that of the current top three with the betters (this, Switzerland, and France), this is easily my favorite, so....I guess that counts as me rooting for it, unless some other song pulls a Conchita and shoots up the board after being heard live. For now, I'd say this is my pick to win (although my heart is still with Italy TTvTT) At the very least, it's a shoo-in for the final, cuz this is a singer who's been in this kinda environment and will probably sound great. I'd say at least top five!

Song: SUGAR Country: Moldova Thoughts: Moldova's back at it again with their silly antics! I absolutely love "Stay", but it's pretty clear that their entries get more buzz when they're being fun and weird. This song is neither the most fun or the weirdest of this year, but I still appreciate it all the same. Apparently this is the lady who sang in "Loca"? I remember that song....I don't think many other people do. Eh, I still like it, with its catchy rhythm, and its....weird rhymes....but this song is a vast improvement! I like the fun, flirty vibe to it. Sadly, however, with how many upbeat songs there are this year, this is one that kinda fades into the background compared to its competition....well, at least to me. It's good, but not great. I remember calling it a weaker version of the Azerbaijani entry in my first impression post, and that was way too harsh, but I still wouldn't rank it high. Prediction: However, I DO think this could qualify fairly easily. In the second semifinal with most of the mid- to low-tier songs with the betters (and really only Iceland, Finland, Bulgaria, and Switzerland being the ones to beat), this is one of the ones I think has a better chance of standing out. However, I've done this with Moldova's entries WAY too often....Loving them, predicting they'll qualify, only for them not to...I don't love this one, but it could be the same story here. For now, I'm gonna predict they'll qualify, though. I have no idea how they'll do once in the final, however...

Song: Birth Of A New Age Country: The Netherlands Thoughts: What a unique song! A language we've never heard before in Eurovision, incorporating the singer's nationality and culture into a song that sounds like nothing else this year. I'm honestly a bit surprised that this song isn't getting more attention! It's not one of my favorites, but I like it quite a bit. And not just for uniqueness points (that isn't enough to make me LIKE a song, just enough for me to RESPECT it), I honestly like how it sounds. The vocals are great, the beat is catchy, and the lyrics are very well-written. What was that about host countries never trying? XD Prediction: I want this song to do well, but I don't think it will....Well, I don't think it'll flop, but it won't be near the top either. Maybe in the 10-20 range. I do think the juries will like it.

Song: Here I Stand Country: North Macedonia Thoughts: So.....I feel like I SHOULD find this song boring, since a lot of people do, but...I like it. I don't LOVE it, but I like it! The lyrics are nice and....kinda hit home for me? At least a bit. The message of "keep pushing on, no matter what happens, don't let them break you" when coming out of a bad experience....It's nice. Kinda hard to fully explain without getting personal, so I won't. Not to mention that it has a good buildup, which is what I love in my ballads. In fact, maybe it's just me, but you know what song this reminds me of? "Home". At least musically. And I liked that song too, I thought it was underrated. Also, this has nothing to do with the actual song, but the video, but....even though I HATE being reminded of last year's cancellation, I like seeing the singer's thought process when writing this song. Even if people will probably think it's a pity party, I appreciate this song a fair bit. I know I'll probably look stupid for saying I think this song is more interesting than "Proud", but eh, that's FAR from my most unpopular opinion this year, just wait.... Prediction: Considering it's this year's "Home", and "Home" was so underrated that I believe it probably wouldn't have been in the final if it wasn't from the host country....Part of me wants to say that this song's doomed. Macedonia are normally one of the unluckiest countries in this contest's history no matter how good their songs are, and having one year where the juries loved them probably won't buck that trend. A lot of people are gonna overlook this song for being a fairly standard ballad, and yeah, it kinda is. So I don't think it's gonna qualify.

Song: Fallen Angel Country: Norway Thoughts: I loved this song from the first time I heard it. It was the first song of the bunch that I memorized the lyrics to. I like singing along to it. But I was certain, like DEAD certain, that it wouldn't go above a guilty pleasure to me. At first glance, this sounds like a really cheesy boy band song from the 90s, which is why I thought people were gonna eat it alive, and I was gonna have to attempt to explain myself for liking it (like I'm gonna do for the Polish entry). I grew up with this kind of music! I like it! And it's catchy! And the lyrics are just SO good! Feeling like you're not good enough for the person you love, and thinking that there's no way they can be happy with you, are feelings I really really relate to...so it's no wonder I jumped on those lyrics and etched them into my brain as quickly as I could. Helping that is that my current crush IS female, so I can easily sing this song while thinking of her...but even with that, I was still very hesitant to rank this song super high. After all, the reasons I had for liking it were purely just bias, right? That doesn't mean it's a good song, and people are still gonna make fun of it! I can see why they'd make fun of it! ....That's what I thought, but then I saw that it was ranked highly in the betting odds. And I no longer felt like I had to regret liking it anymore. And THEN, the music video finally was released, and HOO BOY, was this song so much deeper than I (or nearly ANYONE) thought...This isn't just a love song. It's about TIX's feelings of self-loathing. About being mistreated for a disability. It was his story. I was SO shocked at how wrong I was, and now I....kinda feel bad for projecting myself into it? I still can't help it, but....no, it's not about that anymore. I love this song fully and unironically, and I will never call it cheesy again. If you don't like the sound of it, or take it at face value, that's perfectly fine. But I love it. While this doesn't QUITE break into my top seven favorites, it's a very solid eighth. Prediction: Please qualify please qualify PLEASE!! Since it's in the Bloodbath Semi and fan-favorite songs WILL be cut, I'm really really hoping for this not to be one of those. This deserves to be in the final! I'd even say that this deserves it more than Slovenia and Croatia (songs I actually like more)! B-but...ugh...I can't say for certain that it'll be safe, that's the thing...but, haaaaah, OK, I'll predict it'll qualify. I think I'm overreacting. Norway have a pretty good record. I can see the people who like this song being enough to make it do pretty well, though it's definitely not a winner.

Song: The Ride Country: Poland Thoughts: You ever have a song that you can't focus on anything during? Like, you're focusing on something else with music playing in the background, but then that one song comes on and you just HAVE to take a break so you can listen to it because it's just SO good that it steals all your attention? That's me with this song. "The Ride" is right, it IS a ride, a ride I NEVER wanna get off of. And considering the only other Eurovision songs to effect me in that way have been flipping "Time" and "You Are The Only One" ("Stones" came close to doing that too, but I could at least still play during it cuz it was such good action music), then it should come as no surprise that yes, this is my favorite song of the year. And yes, I KNOW how stupid I probably look saying that. This song has NOT been a popular choice, but to heck with it! I can't help what music I like! This song is just so flipping catchy and fun, it's got a nice beat, and I've loved it from first listen! I'm not sorry! Heck, it's even kinda atmospheric in a way, in that it's a good nightlife song, giving off the feel of an amusement park at night with all the rollercoasters lit up with LEDs as you feel the wind in your face, no cares, no worries....just turn your brain off and sing along. I even like the lyrics, particularly "It doesn't matter if I stumble and fall / I'll make it through, I'll never touch the ground". It's enjoying life, it's the feeling of flying, it's feeling on top of the world, it's escapism. Have I defended this silly song enough? Point is: I. Love. It. This is the first time a Polish entry has EVER topped my list, which by default makes it my favorite entry from them ever, and I'm happy to give them love (they've been my second-favorite twice, but one of those barely counts cuz it was in a weak year and also a song that sounded bad live, so....yeah, my former favorite Polish entry was their 1998 entry, which....didn't do well, but uh, that's then not now ^^;) Prediction: This is what I've been dreading....for a song that makes me wanna leave all my stress behind, it sure does stress me out thinking of how much HATE it's getting, oh boy oh boy! Though, from what I've picked up, MOST of the hate has come from fellow Polish people who are upset that it wasn't who they wanted as their entry? So...that's not accurate to how everyone else thinks? Well, that's what I've seen, at least....This song's still not doing very well in the betting odds, and also, being an electronic song, the possibility if it sounding worse live than in the studio is....definitely a possibility.....S-so....yeah....Sadly, as much as I love it, I can't trick myself into thinking it has a chance....It's probably not gonna qualify....If it does surprise me (which HAS happened before with favorites I thought were doomed!) I'll probably flip out!! Unlike Estonia's entry however, I don't think it's AS doomed, might stand out more, and a small part of me wants to hope...The fact that the semifinal it's in, the second, is the one with the less fan-favorites, does increase its odds ever so slightly...b-but uh, I don't wanna get too hopeful! I don't want my heart broken again like with "Look Away" two years ago (which I LEGIT thought had a chance XD)

Song: Love Is On My Side Country: Portugal Thoughts: Kay, so first, before talking about my thoughts, lemme share the hilarious misunderstanding I had about this song for the first few times I heard it: I normally don't watch the videos, I only listen to the playlist in the background as I play video games or do other stuff. Even the first time I heard the songs, I didn't watch the videos, I just had the music playing in one tab and was focusing on typing on Tumblr. And....I thought this song was sung by a woman. True story. I thought it was a woman with a very unique voice, and I was gonna praise the song for that. But nope! Took me WAY too long - about over a WEEK, the time I decided to start reading comments - for me to learn the singer's a man. OOPS. XD But at least it kinda makes sense for me to think that way? With lyrics like "I never thought I'd be queen", he's clearly telling the story of a woman. In fact, I learned that it's the true story of a woman he met (I forget the details though). So yeah, I thought that was kinda funny, but how do I actually feel about the song? Well, it's a grower! I was worried that it'd stagnate for me and I'd end up indifferent, but the unique voice combined with a subject that I normally like (staying optimistic in bad situations) won me over. I don't love it, but it's nice and has good lyrics. You really feel bad for the woman (seriously, leaving home at sixteen?) so it's effective. I wanna believe love is on my side too... Prediction: This one's tough, cuz a lot of people do love this song, and it does a good job of standing out by being the slowest song in its semifinal, I don't really think a lot of people will gravitate toward it? And that it just barely won't qualify? But it could really go either way. I'm gonna predict it won't qualify and that it'll be the "robbed" one people will be upset about in the second semi. But maybe I'm just saying that cuz that semi will already be painful for my favorites, too...and I'd prefer Poland, Denmark, or Estonia's slim SLIM chances to come through over this.

Song: Amnesia Country: Romania Thoughts: This song is just a whole mood. I could just end my thoughts with that one sentence, cuz that really just about sums it up. XD Self-love is something I've always struggled with, and I've been trying really really hard to get better at it this year. Without getting too personal, there was something that happened a few months back that made me realize just how badly my hatred for myself was effecting people around me, and that I needed to lighten the crap up before it comes off the wrong way and....I-I bring others down with me....But after all that, it was HARD. It really did feel like I.....lost myself trying to have it all. But I'm slowly learning to better myself, and this song spoke to me because of that. "If you feel what I feel, don't bring yourself down, you're not alone, not alone now". It's simple, but it works. Admittedly, I respect this song more than I like it, but I do like it. There are just a lot of songs I'd prefer to listen to. And the POV switching from first to second-person confuses me a bit (she says that YOU'RE not alone, and then that SHE lost herself, and then goes back to YOU'RE not alone? Who's the one with the amnesia?) but that's just a nitpick, and I've heard much worse English in Eurovision than that. This is still a good song with a very good message that I needed to hear. Prediction: Even in the bloodbath that will be the first semifinal, I do think this song's mostly safe? Mostly...Romania haven't had the best of luck the past 2-3 years, but their record is still mostly hits, and this song's still the favorite of people. But some favorites are gonna get snubbed, and honestly, I wouldn't mind if it's this one. There are songs I like more. But for my actual prediction, um....I think it'll qualify.

Song: Russian Woman Country: .....Russia Thoughts: This one's a grower. I can't deny its catchiness. Sometimes it's gets in my head completely randomly, particularly that slow part with the...is that a choir? Um, background singers. That part (I don't wanna butcher Russian lyrics, sorry! >.<) But, even with that, I don't fully love this song. I know it's gotten a lot of attention, but to me, it just....doesn't hit very much? I thought about it, and I came up with this: this is a song by a Russian woman, for Russian women, and ONLY Russian women. It's about how strong they are, and how they should rise up against their country's sexism and- it's all very specific to Russia? So, I can't really enjoy it as much as the people its aimed at, and that's fine, because, well, it's NOT aimed at me and I shouldn't pretend it is! I'm not even in the target audience for this whole dang contest! XD So, my opinion DOES NOT reflect what I think of the quality of the song. The song's good. It's very catchy. There's nothing wrong with it. I just can't relate to it, which make it my personal least-favorite of the "I'm a woman and awesome" songs of this year. (What happened to Little Big tho?...) Prediction: Yeah, they're gonna easily qualify, even in such a stacked semifinal they're safe. They've been shooting up the betting odds recently, so I feel like they could do very well, maybe even finish in the top ten. Russia's like Sweden in that if their entry is popular, its guaranteed a spot toward the top. XD

Song: Adrenalina Country: San Marino Thoughts: Holy CRAP is this one heck of a grower! When I first heard it, I was more confused by the sudden appearance of Flo Rida of all people to really think about if I like the song. And for a while, I didn't even think I liked the rap all that much? I do like plenty of mid-song raps, but this one I felt didn't really fit the song all that well. Like it was just pasted in there from another song entirely. But, a few listens later, and I started rapidly liking this song more and more. Fitting for its name, there's just nothing but energy here. It's a great song to put on to just....pump me up! The whole thing's just dripping with a sense of pure fun. The instrumentals are great, it just sounds so good! In terms of growers, this is a close second to the Belgian song. Also, while I'm not a huge fan of Flo Rida normally, comparing past Sanmarinese entries I will say that his rap is a LOT better than the rapping in "Who We Are" was, that's for sure! Prediction: This song doing so well in the betting odds is.....honestly amazing. XD This is the most hype San Marino's EVER gotten, which I think could qualify them for the final? But also, maybe not...with San Marino, you never know. They are helped by Flo Rida's name recognition but there's NO way he's as big in Europe as he is in America (and even in America, I haven't met that many people who are actually fans of Flo Rida), so...is it enough? I think it very well could be! It's a very good song, and Senhit's been in Eurovision before so hopefully she knows what she's doing on stage. Also, this is a song that better have cool staging with it! But for my prediction....screw it, I'm gonna predict they're gonna qualify. I even say this as I have favorites in the second semifinal that they're definitely gonna push out, but ah well...

Song: LOCO LOCO Country: Serbia Thoughts: Yet another super fun, upbeat song! And while I don't love this song as much as others (Poland's, Denmark's, and Azerbaijan's entries, even San Marino's at this point), this is still one of my more favorite of that type, and I....honestly couldn't tell you why! It has a lot of energy, but it sounds different enough to stand out. And it's catchy while not being in English! I kinda wish I could learn Serbian so I could sing along to this...XD It also grabs my attention from the very start. I dunno why, but I love that "Hur- Hur- Hur- Hurricane!" followed by the beat starting, I find it to be a cool and infectious way to pump me up for the song. Overall, one of the songs that I don't think about a lot, but when it comes on, I enjoy every second...Oh and also it has one of the most exciting key changes of this year so there's that too. Good job to Serbia! Prediction: I think this one's a fair bet to qualify! However, it's not guaranteed. They're not attracting THAT much attention in the betting odds (which surprises me a bit), but the second semifinal seems to be where MOST of the lower-ranked songs are (sadly, says the person with three favorites in it), and among those, I think Serbia will most likely make it. The song stands out a lot. So I'm gonna predict they'll qualify! But if they don't, ah well, it could be to make way for a song I like more (hopefully...I wouldn't wanna say goodbye to this song to make way for the Czech or Austrian songs), so I wouldn't mind THAT much I hope. As for the final, they're definitely not a front-runner, so I could see them ultimately stuck around the middle. Unfortunate since I like this song a lot.

Song: Amen Country: Slovenia Thoughts: Where to start with this one....This is one of my favorites, and it's in the same way as "Stay" in 2019 and "Mall" in 2018 where I have a hard time really articulating why. It's a song that makes me FEEL, and it's hard to convey that in words, so yeah! This song just....hits me so hard in the gut whenever I hear it, so I love it! It's effective at its job! Even the big thing that I thought would hold it back for me - being a religious song - didn't hurt it at all in the end. The lyrics are ambiguous enough that it doesn't JUST come off as preachy and religious and that's all. It can also be taken as a song of rising above tragedy...The most religious thing it does is mention the heavens casting you out, and that can be taken in multiple ways. But if it is meant to be religious, that's fine, I've already made the decision to love it. I'm agnostic, so I don't outright hate religious music if it's not trying to shove messages in my face. The moment I fell in love with this song was one day when I was feeling really down, was listening to the playlist to unwind, and then this song came on right after Romania's entry (which I already talked about relating to a lot). When I heard the chorus, I literally teared up. THIS is the song that made me cry this year. Not Austria's or Spain's (the songs literally about dead family members), but this one. Is that...something to be ashamed about? XD I just....really love the lyrics...."The storm's relentless, but everybody knows, everybody knows we're born to the fight"...It really just sounds so uplifting, and yes, spiritual. And even beyond that, I just like how the song sounds! I love ballads that build, and this one BUILDS, with such a soaring chorus. The vocals are outstanding, too! That's one powerful voice! I also really love how, after you think it's over, it comes back for one final chorus, that's probably one of the best parts of the song. This song makes GREAT use of the recorded backing vocals, making the choir sound absolutely massive, a lot more than it'd be live. It really makes it sound so big and grand....Uh, I've rambled about this song enough, haven't I? Uhhh, point is: This is my favorite ballad of the year and I'm not sorry. I think it's underrated as heck. Prediction: And because it's underrated as heck, and in such a packed bloodbath of a semifinal crammed full of fan-favorites battling to the death, I....don't think....it'll qualify.....I'd obviously LOVE it too, but the competition's so flipping strong, and....I-it's still just a ballad, so it's not to everyone's tastes...I-I've come to terms with that fact, and if Croatia make it, I'll try not to be too bummed when this doesn't.

Song: Voy A Quedarme Country: Spain Thoughts: At first, I was pretty indifferent to this song, but it slowly grew on me, and now I like it. It builds just enough to keep me interested. It's still low tier compared to everything else, but I can appreciate it all the same. It sounds so emotional that I went into comments to see if there was some kind of story attached to it, and, uh....let's just say that there is, and....it's depressing. But it did make me respect the song even more. There's not a lot to say here, but that doesn't mean it's bad. It's just....overshadowed, I guess. Not a standout song, but it's genuine, and I like it just fine for what it is. Prediction: Oof...Spain once again find themselves overlooked, and even though the song's fine, I can see why. I can't see this doing very well...If flipping "La Venda" ended up an underrated flop, a song like this isn't gonna get Spain outta their rut. I really do wanna see them do well! But this isn't the year for that.

Song: Voices Country: Sweden Thoughts: Dang it....they did it again. XD Part of me wanted to be bummed that we didn't get The Mamas again, cuz they would've been my favorite last year, but....Sweden know what they're doing, and what they brought us was still really, really good. Like.....REALLY good. Are the lyrics on the generic side? Ummmm.....maybe? I have said that this is a relatively "safe" entry, but that doesn't mean it's not really good. More like...there's been a lot of songs with similar lyrics in Eurovision. But that doesn't take away from the music at all, which is awesome. The chorus is nice and big, the vocals are good, and the little bagpipe bits are such a neat touch. There isn't any big standout elements to me, and it's nowhere near "Too Late For Love" level, but it's just a very solid song. And.....dare I say, better than that other popular song that mentioned a million voices. Prediction: Do I even need to say anything here? XD It's a popular song from Sweden. It's gonna qualify and place in the top ten! Done!

Song: Tout l'Univers Country: Switzerland Thoughts: Switzerland are riding the high from "She Got Me" and have once again sent a big fan-favorite song! Except this time, it's one of the predicted winners! What do I think of this? Well....it's a good song. I love powerful ballads, and this one adds drums, which I also love! But at the same time....I'm not nearly as crazy about it as other people are. Don't get me wrong, I LIKE it, but...I feel like we already got this kinda song with "Arcade"? I mean, there are differences, but its got a very similar sound with a similarly big chorus. But then again, I do think that just calling it "'Arcade' but in French" would be WAYYYY too harsh. It's not a copycat, it's very much its own thing. It just seems to be a coincidence. Also, even compared to this year's songs, I enjoy Slovenia's more? If I want a powerful song, I'd take that over this. MAYBE if I understood the lyrics, I'd like it better, but even so, this song doesn't WOW me, even if it's good. I'm happy for Switzerland, but....dang it, I can't say the O word here, cuz I hear the appeal and don't wanna come off as mean to a song I DO like aaaaaaa- Prediction: Even though it's not a personal favorite, I'm not gonna deny that this song could possibly win. I feel like the juries would adore it on top of all the attention its already getting. So, yeah, it's definitely making it to the final and doing very well. As for winning, I....honestly don't think so, but only cuz of how strong the competition is. So, I'll just say that right now, it's looking like this song will give Switzerland their best result in a long long time, doing better than "She Got Me" and (tragically) "Cool Vibes". It's obvious that in terms of how I'd rank the big favorites, I'd personally prefer Malta winning, but I would prefer this to France, so it's in the middle. But even putting my opinions aside, I really can't see it pulling off the win, at most coming really close.

Song: SHUM Country: Ukraine Thoughts: Like with Malta and San Marino's songs, this is a song that, while not a favorite, gets better and better the more I hear it. I should really think about it more often, cuz this song is REALLY cool! My first instinct was to compare it to "Fire Of Love" from two years ago (a song that wasn't popular even though this song is?) but after some time, I realized that that isn't a fair comparison. Literally the only similarity is the vocal style. Everything else is different. But man is this song fun! I could look up what the lyrics mean, but I don't really feel like the lyrics matter here as much as the music does. This song is clearly about the beat. I love synth music, and I also like bouncy stuff that I can rock along to, and this song is as bouncy as can be! The lyrics do repeat, but weirdly I don't find that repetitive at all. And once I got used to it, I started to love the speed up. It's a really exciting end to the song. Talk about going out on a....high note! Haha! S-sorry.... Prediction: Yeaaaahhhh, there's no doubt that this song's gonna do very well indeed! People love it, and for good reason! It's a sure qualifier for the final, and could very well finish in the top ten.

Song: Embers Country: United Kingdom Thoughts: And finishing off this list is yet another upbeat happy song! God, I love how many of these there are this year....This one is far from the best of its kind, but it's still a lot of fun. The vocals stand out, the lyrics are nice and uplifting, and it's definitely the UK's bounciest entry in quite a few years. It feels like finally getting that uptight friend of yours to loosen up and party, y'know? XD I don't have much to say about this song, but I do like it. Prediction: What happened to "Bigger Than Us" was unfair, both its placement in the lineup and its treatment by the televoters, and it's pretty much cemented my idea that even if the UK send one of the best songs of the year, they will NOT catch a break, and that just sucks! (well, the exception being 2011, where it was the JURIES that screwed them over instead! Still did good for their standards tho) And also, like I said, this isn't the only song like this this year, so it's bound to get overlooked in favor of more popular (and even better) party songs. I don't think it'll be LAST, but it won't do particularly well. Definitely more toward the bottom than the top.

Aaaaaaaand there we go! That's all of them! Geez, despite having less entries then the past few years, this still was a LOT of rambling....so if you skipped ahead, I totally understand why. XD But if you did read all that, I'm happy you did! But I'm also sorry, pfffff. But now, the important part, my rankings!

Favorites:

1. Poland 2. Finland 3. Greece 4. Estonia 5. Denmark 6. Slovenia 7. Croatia

Borderline Favorites:

8. Norway 9. Italy 10. Azerbaijan 11. Latvia 12. Sweden

Like:

13. Belgium 14. Malta 15. San Marino 16. Serbia 17. Ukraine 18. Iceland 19. Ireland 20. UK 21. Cyprus (today at least) 22. Australia 23. Netherlands 24. Moldova 25. Romania 26. Germany 27. North Macedonia 28. Portugal 29. Israel 30. Lithuania 31. Russia 32. Switzerland 33. Czech Republic 34. Albania 35. Austria 36. Bulgaria 37. Spain

Indifferent:

38. France 39. Georgia

#eurovision #opinions

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aspenflower17 · 4 years

Text

Finding You (Part Six of ??)

Heya! I finished part six (yay!) and it is ready to be read 😁 It’s weird to me I’m on part six already seeing as how that seems like a lot, but also not enough. If you’re new here, the link to Part One is below. I also have links at the bottom of each chapter to go to the next one. You can also find my new Master List on my blog as a pinned post. As always, if you would like to be added to the tags list, just ask in a comment down below, or you can send me a message, and likes, comments and reblogs are always welcome!

Also, for anyone wondering, IKEA was fun (as always), but the store actually reached max capacity.. 1,400 people... During a pandemic... The line was so long, it reached the back of the self-serve furniture area (the place where you can pick up all the heavy/big items), and was starting to wrap around. Note, our IKEA has the switchback thing that amusement parks have for rides... So the line was easily hour wait. Suffice to say, we didn’t end up buying anything.

Part One

The Peeps!: @simpingforsatan @naimena @hachimochi @wrathandgreed @magi-minminxiii @rensphilia

Word Count: 2030

Triggers/warnings: claustrophobia?... Maybe...?

I had my show in the Devildom. It was successful. He didn’t show up though.

Mc sighed, putting her journal down. As much as she hated to admit it, she was too upset to make much more of an entry for the day. It had been her first show in the Devildom, and it had been a huge success. She should be happy. No other show had ever been as successful. She wanted to be happy. She wasn’t though.

Mc got up to open her suitcase. She had made a secret compartment to carry the letter S had written to her. It had given her a lot of strength over the years and she almost considered it a good luck charm at this point. She reread the letter, laying down on the bed, though she knew it by heart at this point.

She knew she was probably projecting too much on S. Besides the letter, she had only spoken with him maybe half an hour. Why was she so caught up on him? She didn’t even know his real name. Yes, he had greatly impacted her life and his letter and words of comfort had been a constant companion, but what did she actually know about him?

A sharp rap at her door interrupted her search, “Mc? Can I come in?”

“Yeah.”

Luke entered her room, carrying a tray of tea.

“I figured you could use some tea after the day you’ve had.”

“Oh, thank you,” Mc smiled softly as Luke brought over a chair.

“Still upset?” Luke asked, pouring a cup for Mc.

“Hmmm?”

“Ever since the show you’ve seemed unhappy. Kind of depressed, like when you were a child.”

“Ah, well, I was a bit upset that my artist talk was interrupted so abruptly.”

“That turned out alright though, didn’t it?”

“Yeah. It’s just not the same,” Mc shrugged, taking the proffered tea.

“So, that’s seriously what’s bothering you?” Luke asked, his eyebrow arched, then, “You’ll have plenty more shows down here if Diavolo had anything to say about it.”

“You think so?”

Luke smiled and shook his head at Mc, “Of course, silly. Barbatos told me all about it when I was getting the tea.”

“Well, I’m glad. I like it here, even though most of my time so far has been spent in that gallery space.”

“Well, I don’t know how much Michael likes it down here. I kept telling him he needs to ask Diavolo about Lucifer, but he says it’d be improper.”

Mc snorted, “Well, we wouldn’t want to be improper now would we?”

“He’ll be so surprised when he finds out what Diavolo’s planning for next week.”

“Hmmm?”

“I can’t tell you about it yet. It’s not set in stone, so I don’t want to get your hopes up.”

“Luuuuke! Where are you?” Michael’s voice came drifting from down the stairs, “I can’t figure out how to turn on the light in here!”

Luke rubbed his temple, “I’ve explained it like three times… Hold on! I’ll be down in a second!” Luke kissed Mc on the cheek, “Get some sleep and cheer up Sis.”

“Thanks Luke,” Mc smiled up at him, “I do have the best big brother don’t I?”

Luke grinned happily, “Good night Mc.”

After he left, Mc’s smile faltered and then fell. Her thoughts returning to before he had come in, “I should probably find something to do to break me out of this. Sulking in my room isn’t going to get me anywhere. I do have a whole castle to explore, though I don’t know how much of it I’m allowed to explore… Surely they couldn’t get too mad about me checking out the library…” and with that, she put her letter back in it’s secret place and left her room.

The castle was quiet, the padding of her feet the only sound. I guess even demons sleep. Her knowledge of demons seemed woefully inadequate as opposed to the knowledge she had about anything else that interested her. There just hadn’t been much information to find in the Celestial Realm unless it was how to defeat a demon, or to break the influence they had over a human. Of course she’d also heard the stories about the Great Celestial War. Six angels, led by the Morningstar himself, had gone on a rampage, and had been cast out. Being a scholar, Mc had never found a reason why they had rebelled, though she had read a lot of theories, most of them mere speculation that cast angels in the purest light possible. These, of course, she hadn’t listened to too intent;y. She knew angels had a lot of secrets already, being privy to many of them; they weren’t entirely innocent in many respects. She suspected this was true of this instance as well.

The library proved to be hard to find in one night, but by the time Mc felt sleep start to pull her back to her room, she had the layout of the castle halls almost memorized. She had actually found it easy to do, easier than almost every other place she’d been in. Of course, she didn’t know everything about the castle. If this castle didn’t prove to have a lot of secret doors and passageways, she would be sorely disappointed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

The fog was so thick Mc felt like she could chew it. The ground beneath her feet was soft, but it didn’t feel like anything she knew. There was no sound, not even her breathing. Just a murky white everywhere. Mc couldn’t remember how she got here or what she was doing here, but she was searching. No time to think. No time to remember. She needed to find it. She had lost it. It hadn’t been on purpose, but it had happened. She would find it though. Surely she could find it. It was the most important thing. Cherished. Loved. So important.

The world was growing colder. Her hands were stinging and her feet were clumsy. She could still feel though. So cold. Too cold to move, yet she did. Nothing should be working right now. She should’ve collapsed long ago. How long ago? How long had she been here? Did it matter?

She hadn’t found the thing yet. What was it? If she found it, she’d be warm. It would keep her warm and safe. No more searching. She would never lose it again. She just needed to find it.

A dim light started to pulse slowly. Was that it? Was that what she had lost? No. Maybe it could help her find it. The light got brighter as she continued forward. What was it? Light was good though, right? Light was a marker. Light could help the lost. It illuminated. It could help her find it.

The light was now right in front of her. It was so bright! Almost blindingly so. The area around her started to heat up, her feet and hands throbbing with relief. Was this it? What she had been searching for? Something within her screamed to turn around, but the heat was so welcome, even if it hurt. Hurt worse than anything she knew. She would be safe here. If she had to keep searching, so be it. She just needed to rest a bit. She reached out to the light, her hand backlit against the light. She grabbed at the light, and was then falling.

Mc gasped, sitting up straight in bed. Where was the light? Where was she? After a couple moments, Mc remembered where she was. On a bed. In a guest room. In Lord Diavolo’s castle. In the Devildom.

Mc reached for the glass on the bedside table with shaking hands. Spilling a little on her blankets, she tried to shake off the claustrophobic feeling that lingered. She hadn’t had a dream about her first memory in a while. After she had become an angel she had learned about what happened to human souls after they passed. Some found their way straight to the Celestial Realm, blinking and waking up to the eternal light. Some were wanderers though. While many wandered just a little while, some wandered endlessly through the fog she had experienced. Though the angels didn’t know exactly what caused this, many of those who wandered a long time before finding their way to the Celestial Realm were sad in some way, as she was.

She had gone home that day and asked Simeon about it, and he had told her she had wandered the longest of any soul in the Celestial Realm. She had been very cold and it had taken a while for her to wake up. She had been a little horrified, and Simeon assured her it was nothing to be concerned or ashamed about. It was simply a fact and no one held it against her, least of all Luke or him. She had wanted to believe him so bad, but everyone treated her lasting loneliness as a bad thing, so she had been forced to hide it. Pretend she didn’t feel lonely. Pretend she was fine.

She fumbled for something to distract herself and found her DDD. She worked for a second and finally turned it on, the light actually hurting her eyes. They adjusted quickly though and she groaned as she saw it was nowhere near time to get up. The thought of falling asleep again was not an option so she decided to start scrolling though Devilgram. Apparently the app was rather old as far as in-vogue apps went, but Lord Diavolo had said he would never use a different social media app, so it persisted as the number one app. She still wasn’t really used to the layout, Luke having helped her set up her artist’s talk.

She went to the post and found a lot of comments and likes. She started reading them, smiling as people praised the ingenuity of her work, frowning slightly at those who were impressed “an angel could have such an eye for art”, and rolling her eyes at the comments that criticized her species, clearly just upset she was an angel.

As she continued reading however, she ran across a couple comments asking if anyone had more information about the demons who had caused quite the uproar during the artists talk. Confused, because everyone had been very respectful at the center, Mc opened the replies, and found a whole thread of people who were upset they had been pushed and otherwise knocked out of the way of one demon who had been running through the maze following another demon who had been flying. Many speculated they were the reason the artists' talk had been cut short, and some theorized they were running to the center to harm her. A couple people tried to cut through the noise, stating the demons in question were Mammon and Satan, both Avatars of Sin. Most of the comments about this said Mammon acting this way seemed normal, but they couldn’t understand why Satan would do something like that. It seemed so out of character, a lot of the replies to these comments said they were either liars or sorely mistaken thinking it was Satan.

Mc’s heart jolted a little bit, seeing Mammon’s name. She recognized it as one of the angels who had fallen, and the name Satan had been mentioned in some history accounts as having taken form from Lucifer’s anger, though the information on him had been scarce and some thought he was just a myth. After all, how could someone be born from an emotion?

So, he’s real after all. Not that I thought he wasn’t, or at least, I figured there was at least some truth to the stories. Oh, someone has a picture of them. Wait… Is that?

At that moment, the app shut down.

“No, no, no, no,” Mc said, clicking the app again. It couldn’t have been… Could it? Her screen changed, but nothing loaded. An error message then popped up on screen, saying the app could not load, and to try again later.

Mc sat stunned for a second before springing into action.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Part Seven

#obey me!#OBEY ME #obey me! swd #obey me satan #obey me mc #obey me michael #obey me diavolo #obey me luke

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writinginthedarkwood · 5 years

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Koma Inu! Kirishima x Reader: The Other Half

The Lion Dog Guardian of the shrine is a cheerful and strong protector of the shrine, but what is he doing all alone out here? Are you what the shrine has been missing all this time?

A tribute to my dear friend @kiriwhores-sama-main who is seriously a JOY to talk too and a talented author.

Full list of my other Yokai works included in my Master List.

Has nsfw content.

“Something isn’t right.” Your grandfather was a quiet man. He preferred to sit propped up near the window so he can watch the day go by. He hasn’t been able to walk for a few years now, but that never bothered you. It was never a chore to care for him, in fact, you love that you can repay him for raising you alone. “Did I not add enough to the soup?” You asked sweetly before gently blowing on the hot liquid. You held the spoon up to him, but he didn’t look away from the window. “Something’s very, very wrong.” He squinted looking past your garden and towards the rest of town. He leaned just a bit closer and wiped some of the condensation off of the glass before sitting back in his chair. “The birds have gone off. There’s something wicked in the air.”

“Don’t be silly, everything is fine.”

He refused to eat his lunch, not the rice, vegetables or delicious soup. “Would you like to take a nap instead Grandfather?” He shook his head no and continued staring out the window.

You couldn’t wait around all day, not with all of the chores that need done. You clean up after the mess of lunch and head outside. You smiled and carried an empty wooden bucket toward town to fetch water. Grandfather had thought about having someone dig a well on our property, but I told him I didn’t mind the walk. The pathway through the forest is an easy one to stroll through.

Usually the sound of chirping song birds joined you, or the sound of crickets as they hopped along the mossy stones.

It was silent.

“Maybe I should check back up on grandfather...” You looked over my shoulder to decide if you should turn back. “Well we do need water for dinner...”

Before you could move, the ground shook.

The rocks jumped towards the air and rolled with the tremor. You fell to your knees as the ground around you cracked open, moving like it was made of water and not solid Earth. The trees around you lost their branches, slamming into the brush below.

A thicker tree cracked down the middle and fell towards you. You shut your eyes and covered your head. You know the impact or the tree will kill you, but the hit never comes.

The shaking stops and you look out from behind your hands.

He was beautiful, the afternoon sun shone behind him, glowing off of his skin. His hair was impossibly red, it stuck out of his head and them rand down is back like a shaggy lions mane. He smiled down at you and tossed the tree away from the two of you. “You- you caught the tree- you... saved me.” You tried to stand to your feet but you couldn’t. The man laughed and crouched down. “Can I help you up?” He asked sweetly. You nodded your head, trying not let your mouth hang open in shock. He wrapped his hands around your waist and lifted you to your feet with no effort. You were shaky, but stood on your own. “I don’t know how I can thank you enough.” He started to respond to you before the realization struck you. Is grandfather okay?

You quickly turned and ran away, shouting over your shoulder that you were sorry to the man who rescued you. Your feet carried you over debris, jumping over fallen branches and holes in the pathway.

Your garden was spared, a few plants uprooted, but no extreme damage.

But your home, completely crumbled to the ground. The roof had fallen in, the stone walls held towards the bottom, giving some structure to the building, but it was all completely destroyed.

You screamed and tore at the stones, but with every rock you pulled free, the debris would shift and fall even farther in place.

You didn’t know, but your pain was felt by all the forest creatures for miles. They wept with you, the sweet daughter of the valley who had already suffered so many times.

You didn’t mourn alone.

A few months later.

“Good morning Y/N, off to the shrine?” You nodded with a half smile and carried your parcel of lillies. “Off to visit Grandfather.”

The mothers of town have always been kind to you, but they’ve pulled just a bit away. You hear the whispers, especially from the older crowd and the little children.

“She must be bad luck...” “Everyone she loves dies...” “She can’t marry MY son, I don’t have a death wish!”

They smile and wave, but you can see the worry in their eyes. They’d probably be happier if you left.

You continued walking anyway, smiling as you go and humming the same tunes your Grandfather would buzz to himself.

You did this a lot, almost every day if you could help it. The other villagers have neglected the shrine over time, but you worked diligently to keep it clean.

The gate stood beautiful and red in the afternoon sunshine, it’s arches stretching far into the sky. You always found yourself politely nodding to the guardian of the shrine, a beautiful Lion Dog statue that is worn like it has seen better years. It roared to the sky with a gaping mouth. You stopped and gazed at him a little longer today. It hasn’t rained in a few days, the statue looks sort of dirty. You smiled to yourself and decided to clean him up a bit. “Stay right there friend, I’ll get you cleaned up.”

You set the package of lillies propped up against the steps and grabbed the wooden bucket and cloth you had hiding just inside the entry way. You always wash the walls of the inner shrine, and sweep the pathways among the graveyard.

You scrubbed away what looked like years of grime, the stone statue darkening in color from the water. Bird droppings fell away, and the stone underneath looked smooth and better than ever.

It was strange that the Komainu was alone. Parallel to this one is an empty place holder, a shadow remaining where another statue must have sat. After finishing your work you stared at the empty place for a moment and suddenly felt sad, the shadow instilling some type of longing in you, like something really was missing. You pulled a flower from the lillies you brought and placed one on the spot before walking the rest of the way into the shrine.

You swept the pathways and abandoned stone memorials. Your fingers cramped as you scrubbed away dust and dirt from the walls of the sancturary, where the other villagers have long stopped worshiping. Grandfather insisted on being buried here, he was the last of his generation, a pillar in the spiritual community.

You tried not to think too long whenever the thought of him passing alone crept into your head.

You stopped washing the walls for a moment as the sadness crawled up your spine.

The water dripped down the wall and pooled on the floor.

You sang to yourself to bring the mood up, smiling while you sang about nature.

As you started to lose yourself in the music, really ringing out the beautiful notes you felt a tingle of the back of your neck.

Someone was watching you.

You looked stopped singing suddenly and looked around, feeling silly. Why would anybody walk all the way out here other than you? Someone could have followed you from the village, but that’s unlikely, why follow bad luck?

You sighed and carried the bucket outside where you dumped the water and refilled it for next time. The sun is setting, washing the statue kept you out here much longer than you meant too. You rushed to try and hurry back before dark.

You stopped one more time at the beautiful wall of names, seeing your grandfathers on the bottom of the list. You removed the old, starting to wilt flowers and left the new lillies lying there.

Something strange halted your light footsteps, leaving you without any breath in your lungs.

The freshly cleaned statue was gone. You rushed over to it, waving your hands in the air over the pedestal to see if it would collide with stone.

Your hand felt nothing, the lion guardian was gone.

Backing away from the oddity of all your back collided with the other empty pedestal. You jumped like someone touched you, feeling incredibly skittish.

The lillie you left as a gift for the lion dog was different now, it was made out of solid gold. “How is this possible?” You whispered to yourself before reaching out a shaking hand.

The moment you touched the golden flower, the world around you warped and changed.

The tree’s surrounding the shrine grew taller, reaching impossibly tall heights. The sky was a beautiful pinkish hue, it was terribly bright compared to the pastel pallet of the sunset before. The shrine was even bigger, the paint no longer chipping. The stone was sturdy and smooth, practically glowing with cleanliness. Even the air felt different, the mugginess of the summer was gone. It felt crisp and sweet, like flowers were blooming nearby.

“H-hello?” You stepped onto the stairs, they’re far grander now. You held onto the railing to sturdy yourself.

You thought you heard footsteps, but saw nobody around. You called out again, your voice echoing around you, making you feel even more alone.

You heard a strange noise nearby, the sound of something heavy falling to the ground. The further you walked along, the more audible another sound became. Someone was... grunting? Even yelling a bit. You rounded a corner to a deeper part of the shrine yard.

“Ohhh I didn’t see you there!” A voice called before you barely came into view.

You gasped, the man who saved you during the earth quake was throwing rocks around the yard.

He stretched his arms over the back of his head, pulling his sweaty ab muscles in a lightly obvious attempt to impress you. “I was just, throwing in an extra work out before sundown!” He sat down on a mossy rock and threw a towel over his shoulders. “But uh! Welcome! I guess I should start by thanking you!” He smiled and motioned for you to walk closer. You took a few steps into the grass, the blades tickled your ankles. “I should be the one thanking you...” You smiled toward the ground. “I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you.”

The terrible loss of your grandfather clouded that memory for so long. It almost felt like a dream, like that moment was so far away from now.

“Hey that was nothing! That tree was like a paper weight to me. It really is YOU that deserves all the praise.”

A light blush freckled your cheeks. “But I haven’t done anything...”

He stood up quickly, his long red hair flowing behind him. He flashed a bright mouth of sharp teeth at you. “Haven’t done anything? Look at this place! It looks amazing because of you!” He threw his arms out and motioned to the beauty around you two.

It really was gorgeous. Huge flowering plants lined the walkways between the graves. Memorials were shining and polished perfectly.

“A human hasn’t loved and cared for this place like this in, well. Centuries! Your warm heart has really made it a more fun place to live.” His energy was infectious. He reached a hand out for you to take with a sweet gaze. “Can I show you around?”

You felt no fear in your heart, you reached out and touched his warm hand, feeling nothing but positive energy radiate from him.

The two of you strolled around the shrine, the memorials seeming to go on forever. Some were grand tall statues, others were long trailing walls with hundreds of names on them. He talked while the two of you strolled together, and you noticed that he almost seemed, nervous?

“And- uh- yeah! That was the graveyard, a little sad I guess but up here is the inner shrine where I-I live!” He chuckled a bit and touched his hair. “If you’d like to see... that?” He kind of drew out his sentence, looking at you with a cute scrunched up face.

Seeing the inner shrine? You beamed. It’s not often people are allowed to see the inner shrine where the most sacred items are stored. “Wow really? You would let me inside?” You asked with wide eyes. “Of course I would!” He looked at you with a face that said he couldn’t believe you would even ask.

The closer you walked to the shrine, the more different it looked. It was huge, like a palace. “Wow!” Your chest filled with excitement, it was unlike anything you’ve ever seen before. “I can’t believe what I’m seeing...” You said under your breath. “I guess it is a little impressive now. It looked terrible not too long ago, but since you’ve come around the place has really cleaned up.”

Your bare feet padded against the marble pathway, the stone felt smooth and a little warm. Your skirt brushed gently across the ground, you almost felt the need to pull it up, the dirty cloth feeling out of place in such a grand setting.

“I really did all this?” You asked looking around at the blooming cherry trees. “You sure did!” He smiled and gave your hand a pat. “It’s been, well. Really nice with you being here so often.” He looked at you with a sweet, smaller smile. “Are you the Koma Inu of this shrine?”

“Yup! You figured it out.” He stretched his free arm out and flexed. “Yeah I keep this place nice and safe on my own. Bragging wouldn’t be very manly of me, but I’ve been watching over this place for as long as I remember. Nobody can mess with the dead when I’m around!”

“You’ve been here all alone?” You didn’t mean to pry, you thought your question was innocent enough. His face dropped, his smile fading for just a moment. You stopped walking, just outside a very large golden door. “I’m sorry did I say something to upset you?”

His smile bounced back to his face. “No! No never, not at all Y/N.” He put a hand on your face for a just a second, cupping your cheek. “I can’t imagine you saying anything to hurt me.”

Your face blushed bright red as he stared deep into your eyes.

He dropped his hand and snapped his fingers, the huge golden doors creaking open. When stepping into the great hall, lanterns lit on their own, A fountain with intricate lion carvings in white stone erupted with flowing water. “Not so bad right? What do you think?”

You covered your mouth, feeling very small. Your eyes watered, “I- I’m not worthy enough to be here..” You stammered out, your voice almost failing you.

He spun around quickly and gently took your shoulders in his hands. “Y/N don’t you ever say that!” He said in a gentle tone. He wiped a stray tear off of your cheek.

“I- I am the unlucky girl of the valley. I have no family, no place to live.” You didn’t often get to speak to other people anymore, especially about your emotions. “I’ll dirty this beautiful place.” Your lip quivered and the lion dog’s face was horrified. He scooped you into his arms, firmly holding you against his chest. “Hey now, you don’t have to worry about any of that anymore.” He whispered against the top of your head. “What do you mean?” You looked up at him, puzzled.

“Are you hungry? He asked with a grin.

You were almost always hungry, but you were used to skipping meals.

The two of you sat together by a lovely stone fire pit. He cooked a large piece of meat while you chopped a few large vegetables. He told you stories about his heroic feats, how demons have tried to slink their way into the shrine to disturb the people resting here and eat the gold. You watched him tell his stories with bright animation, completely entranced. He spoke a lot with his hands, reenacting some of his best fighting stances.

The two of you ate together until you were tired, laughing so hard between bites you almost swallowed wrong. You couldn’t see, but outside the sun had long gone. The night sky blanketing the shrine in a cozy haze, the clouds laying low to the ground in a misty fog.

After hours of talking, you hadn’t noticed how close he was sitting to you. Before long, you had laid your head on his shoulder, the warmth of the fire much kinder to you than the wooden floor at the hospital you slept on.

Kirishima caught your slipping head as your sleeping body fell towards his lap. He cradled you in his arms for a minute before picking you up.

Your eyes fluttered open to the soft pale light of morning hitting your face. You were lying on a soft bed of silk. A thick furry blanket covered your bare skin.

You sat up suddenly and pinched your arms, gasping and gripping different parts of your body. “What?” You looked around, wondering how you could wake up inside another dream.

“Eijiro?” You called out, your voice barely able to shout.

The room you’re in is beautiful and expensive looking, but cozy at the same time. The porcelain hand painted vase was filled with wildflowers. The window was large and open just a crack.

Your heart beat quickly, waiting for something to happen.

The door slid open kind of harshly, followed by a booming greeting. “Good morning sunshine!” He had his arms on his hips, still no shirt in sight.

You had the blanket covering your chest, you’re only wearing your slip, your normal clothes were tossed to the side across the room. He sat down across from you on the bed. “How did you sleep?” He asked with a stretch. He yawned a big, sleepy yawn.

“I haven’t slept that well in a long time.” You felt very well rested, the usual soreness of your body was gone. Instead of a terrible hunger pain, you felt warm, safe and a little bit thirsty.

“That’s great! I’m so happy you’re comfortable-”

“However...” You continued. Kirishima shut his mouth quickly like he knew what you were going to say. “Did you take my clothes... off of me?” You asked feeling horribly embarrassed and exposed.

He nervously laughed and scratched his head. “Your clothes were really dirty, I didn’t want to get the bed gross. You must have been exhausted, every time I tried to shake your skirt off you just cuddled closer!”

Your entire body flushed and you hid your face behind the blanket. It’s not like you to trust men so easily, you left yourself in a vulnerable position.

Yet somehow you felt nothing but comfortable with him.

“Did you sleep in here with me?” Before you could even complete your sentence the guardian swung and arm over you, knocking you onto your back and snuggling into your neck. “I like to sleep in short bursts, won’t you come back to sleep with me for a bit before breakfast?”

“I- I can’t stay in bed I need to get to town.” His breath was warm on your neck. “What’s in town that you need? I’m sure I have everything for breakfast already.” His voice was tired, his arm pulled you closer to him. Just his presence was lulling, your eyes suddenly feeling heavy again. “But if I don’t sweep all of the patients rooms before noon I won’t be allowed to eat.”

He stiffened a bit, his breath catching in his chest. He leaned up on his elbow and looked down at your worried face. He gently traced a finger down your cheek. “Forget the hospital. Forget the town.” He said softly. “You could stay here with me, never feeling hungry. Never having to sweep for spare rice.”

You opened your mouth to speak. He closed the space between you, pressing his lips gently on yours.

It felt like a piece of you was completed. Like everything that was wrong, was right again.

A strong warmth covered your body, a light glowing around you. You sat up with a gulp of air. Your hair grew thicker and ran all the way down your back. Your thin, starved body was filled with strength, muscles toning and adding padding to you. You felt a surge of power, causing you to cry out for a moment, your voice was replaced with a loud roar.

Kirishima put a hand on your back, keeping you steady as the power flowed out of you, leaving you winded. “I knew it!” He pulled you into a hug, showering you with kisses. “What just happened?”

“My love, my darling. My other half!” He cupped your face and kissed you again. “Kirishima!” You said with a bit of a giggle.

“The two of us make each other whole. Two halves to the same cycle.”

“Your other half?” You couldn’t help but look at him with awe. His loving, handsome face so hypnotising. “Your luck isn’t ‘bad’. You just don’t belong with the humans.” He looked as if he might cry, but no tears gathered in the corner of his eyes. “Death follows you like a shadow, which for a race of people with very short life spans is catastrophic. Yet it’s a necessary part of balance.”

“Why does death follow me?” You thought about all of the pain you’ve felt for so long. All of the people you’ve lost. Was it really your fault?

“Because you complete me, the two guardians. One of life and one of death.” He pulled you into his lap and kissed your jaw gently. “Together we’ll protect the people of the valley, so that their ancestors may rest peacefully and their most sacred treasures will be safe.”

You couldn’t help but stare at him with awe. His face so loving and gentle. Noticing you looking at him so intently something in his eyes changed. His crimson eyes flashed a mischievous look and he dipped your chin so that your lips would meet his. He playfully parted your mouth with his tongue, circling around and widening the space. Inching his way further into your throat until your eyes rolled back into your head. He pressed your hips down onto the blankets, his fingers digging into your skin. His hips grinded against your, slowly moving your body so that your legs parted for him. You gasped when he disconnected your lips with a small trail of spit between you two. He grinned down at your flushed face. “E-eijiro...” You could barely sputter out his name. “Yes my love?” He said between trailing kisses on your neck. “What are you-” He bit down on your neck piercing your flesh. The wound was deep enough that under any circumstance before you would have screeched in pain. You simply moaned in pleasure, it feeling more tingly than painful. The bite mark started to heal almost instantly.

Kirishima growled in your ear, vibrating your head. He pulled away at the small amount of fabric you had on. It tore away from your body with a satisfying rip. He slowly moved his hips, rubbing his length against you. “Do you want to stay by my side, forever?” He pulled down his pants, his member bouncing free and touching your exposed slit. You gasped and he moved the tip to hover over your entrance. “Yes I do...” You grabbed onto his shoulders and he slammed his mouth down onto yours, pressing himself inside of you at the same time. You mewled into his lips as your body adjusted to his size, he moved his hips just a bit to let your moisture slick around him. His hands roamed all around your body, tracing your curves with his fingertips and cupping your soft breasts. He pumped harder into you, feeling satisfied with the way you fit around him. He pulled his mouth off of yours and put his face next to yours, leaning on his elbow to give himself better leverage. He panted in your ear as he slammed into you, groaning soft words of comfort and praise. Your body responded to his harder movements, the perfect pressure spot being pounded into sending you pulses of pleasure. With every stroke it felt like shock waves through your entire body, the heat burning in your chest through your entire core. He dragged his tongue from your collar bone to your ear, looping your ear lobe in his mouth and nibbling on it. “I love you Y/N.” He whispered. You cried out that you loved him too, as your climax built. Your body shook and chills covered your spine in goose bumps. Your guardian gave you a few long strokes before shooting ropes of cum into your throbbing body. He grinned down at you with his sharp teeth, specks of your blood still staining them and his lips. He kissed you one more time before pulling out and flattening his chest against yours in a cozy snuggle. “Ready to go back to sleep now?” He teased. You tried to giggle but his full body weight was crushing you a bit. He laughed and rolled to the side, pulling you onto him. “We’ll be more responsible tomorrow, can we just have a lazy day today?” He yawned and stretched. You felt full of energy, ready to take on the world. “You want to sleep all day? How can I sleep now?” You wanted to get up and run, testing out your stronger body and what it can do. “Hey I take my job pretty seriously, but I just want to enjoy being reunited with you for awhile.”

You smiled, but then realized his wording was strange. “You mean reunited from that day in the woods?” You questioned. He stiffened a bit underneath of you and you leaned up on your arm to look at his face better. “Is everything alright?”

He smiled at you, his eyes soft and beaming with affection. “Yes my light. Everything is perfect.”

If you enjoy my works and would like to offer me support, please consider donating to my Ko-fi account, right here. It is a tremendous way to help me put out requests faster, as I’m a disabled student.

#Kirishima Eijirou #kirishima x reader #mha kirishima #kirishima lemon #bnha eijiro kirishima #yokai kirishima #yokai bnha au #inthewoods yokai #koma inu #bnha fantasy au #bnha fanfiction #bnha monster boy #monster kirishima

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aion-rsa · 4 years

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Resident Evil Timeline in Chronological Order

https://ift.tt/2LT7hUc

The reveal of Resident Evil Village‘s release date and gameplay brings us that much closer to another entry into one of the more complicated (and sometimes confusing) timelines in video game history.

Granted, the Resident Evil timeline doesn’t stray too far from the release order of the games themselves, but subtle shifts in the storyline created by the occasional odd entry mean that it’s easy to lose track of how we got here. That’s why we’re going to try to help chart the Resident Evil timeline as it stands today.

For the purposes of this discussion, please note that we’re only talking about the Resident Evil games and not the live-action or animated movies. Furthermore, we’ve included some spinoffs but are ignoring games that are either largely irrelevant to the timeline (such as Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D) or have been removed from or avoided in the canon (Resident Evil Gaiden). That said, let us know if we missed any important entries in the comments below.

Resident Evil Zero

Release Year: 2002

Timeline Date: July, 1998

While Resident Evil’s naming conventions create plenty of chronological confusion, the appropriately named Resident Evil Zero is where you want to start if you want to play through the major Resident Evil games in order.

Released six years after the first Resident Evil game, Resident Evil Zero tells the story of officer Rebecca Chambers and a criminal named Billy Coen who battle through the aftermath of a train wreck that helped kick off Racoon City’s zombie problems.

While it’s nice that this game tells us a little more about Rebecca, the highlight of this story is undoubtedly how it sets up Albert Wesker, William Birkin, and other key members of the Umbrella Corporation. Zero directly leads into the first Resident Evil game and its revelations about Umbrella would echo throughout the rest of the franchise.

Resident Evil

Release Year: 1996

Timeline Date: July, 1998

The first Resident Evil game is thankfully located fairly close to the beginning of the Resident Evil timeline. Honestly, it’s surprising Capcom hasn’t made more Resident Evil games that occur before this one.

Regardless, you probably know what Resident Evil is all about by this point. As the story of S.T.A.R.S. officers forced to investigate the Spencer Mansion following several attacks/disappearances, Resident Evil brilliantly set-up this series’ grander mythology while telling a compelling standalone story.

If you’re working your way through the Resident Evil series in chronological order, be sure to play the all-time great remake of the original Resident Evil that was first released for GameCube.

Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (First Half)

Release Year: 1999

Timeline Date: September, 1998

Ok, here’s where the timeline is going to get weird.

Resident Evil 3’s opening sequences occur 24 hours before the start of Resident Evil 2. While there are some obvious plotline ties to Resident Evil 2 in those early segments, much of the beginning of this game is really a side story designed to shed some light on what happened to Jill Valentine after Resident Evil.

Its spot on this list is largely a technicality, but for the sake of accuracy, Resident Evil 3 does technically help bridge the first and second games.

Resident Evil 2

Release Year: 1998

Timeline Date: September, 1998

The legendary Resident Evil 2 elevated the Resident Evil franchise and set up many of the narrative pieces that would come into play later on.

This is the game that introduced us to Leon Kennedy, Claire Redfield, Sherry Birkin, Racoon City, and so much more. It’s also the game that told us a little more about Umbrella, their various viruses, and the zombie outbreak, which really helped explain this universe a bit more clearly before Resident Evil Zero filled in more of the missing pieces.

Most importantly, Resident Evil 2’s ending helps set-up the extent of Umbrella’s mistakes/intentions and how they will turn what started near Racoon City into a series of events that would affect multiple parts of the world.

Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (Second Half)

Release Year: 1999

Timeline Date: October, 1998

The second half of Resident Evil 3 takes place two days after the events of Resident Evil 2, which technically necessitates the somewhat strange split on this timeline.

By and large, though, the most important takeaways from the second half of Resident Evil 3 from a chronological standpoint are the destruction of Racoon City and the fate of Jill Valentine who would go on to play an important role in upcoming series events.

The original game also featured some still-frame ending sequences that revealed a little more about what happened to characters such as HUNK, Ada Wong, and Barry Burton, but Resident Evil 3 was designed as something of a side story and it largely serves as a side story to this day.

Resident Evil Survivor

Release Year: 2000

Timeline Date: November, 1998

The largely forgettable light gun shooter Resident Evil Survivor manages to work its way into the Resident Evil timeline by virtue of how it somewhat helps answer questions left by the previous games.

Resident Evil Survivor takes place after the destruction of Racoon City at the end of Resident Evil 3. While it takes place on a small island that hosts an Umbrella facility, the game served as an early indication that Umbrella’s experiments absolutely could not be contained regardless of the extreme measures that were enacted to do so.

More importantly, this game introduced us to Ark Thompson: an associate of Leon Kennedy whose presence verifies that Kennedy has continued to investigate and combat Umbrella following the end of Resident Evil 2.

Resident Evil Code: Veronica

Release Year: 2000

Timeline Date: December, 1998

While Code: Veronica’s strange name and Dreamcast exclusive release have long made it something of an oddity, it does fit into the Resident Evil timeline fairly cleanly.

This is the game that finally reunited Claire Redfield with her brother Chris. For that matter, it’s also the game that finally showed us what Chris Redfield was up to following the events of the first title. It even establishes a professional dynamic between Chris, Claire, and Leon that would come into play later as the trio settled into their future careers.

More importantly, this is the game that brought Albert Wesker back into play and confirmed that he has acquired superhuman abilities. His decision to take Steve Burnside’s corpse at the end of the game would also affect what comes next.

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Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles

Release Year: 2009

Timeline Date: 2002

This somewhat obscure Nintendo Wii game would have been easy to leave off the timeline (it even retells events of the previous games) were it not for one interesting way that it helps tie Veronica to Resident Evil 4.

The game’s early “Operation Javier” scenario takes place four years after Resident Evil 2 and sees Leon Kennedy enter a South American village in search of a powerful drug lord named Javier Hidalgo. Try not to be surprised, but it turns out the village is overrun by zombies.

It also turns out that Hidalgo actually purchased a sample of the virus that Wesker took from Steve Burnside’s corpse and used it to save his dying daughter. It’s a small plot beat, but again, it does help connect Veronica to Resident Evil 4, Leon Kennedy, and the rest of the franchise.

Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles

Release Year: 2007

Timeline Date: February, 2003

While much of what happens in Umbrella Chronicles largely recaps the events of previous games, this title’s final scenario does feature a few new plot points.

Most notably, the game ends with Albert Wesker infiltrating a secret Umbrella facility and stealing classified files. From there, we learn that the evidence in these files is enough to convince the U.S. government to aggressively pursue legal recourse against Umbrella and its executives.

Wesker’s actions in this moment would create a power vacuum that helped influence many events to come.

Resident Evil 4

Release Year: 2005

Timeline Date: 2004

It’s one of the scariest, most important, and greatest games of all-time, but when Resident Evil 4 was promoted, most people just wanted to know how this game fit into the previously established Resident Evil mythology.

Early in the game, we learn that Leon Kennedy has been sent to a village in Spain to rescue the President of the United States’ daughter. More importantly, we learn that the zombie-like residents of this village are infected with a previously unknown virus known as Las Plagas.

Las Plagas is interesting in its own right, but from a chronological standpoint, its biggest immediate impact was the way it helped reintroduce Ada Wong following her debut in Resident Evil 2 and tied Wong to legendary series villain Albert Wesker. That relationship (and their interest in acquiring Las Plagas) would set up much of what comes next.

Resident Evil: Revelations

Release Year: 2012

Timeline Date: 2004/2005

It’s not generally considered part of the “main” Resident Evil series, but Resident Evil: Revelations does a tremendous job of showcasing some of the changes that were only referenced in Resident Evil 5.

The big revelation in this game (I know, I know) is that a new group called the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance (BSAA) has been formed in response to an increase in bioterrorism across the globe. Both Jill Valentine and Chris Redfield have joined the group as agents.

While some of the events featured in Revelations weren’t expanded upon in a meaningful way, seeing the earlier days of BSAA (as well as Chris and Jill’s involvement with the organization) does help to add a little weight to what happens in Resident Evil 5.

Revelations also makes it a little easier to process some of the global intrigue surrounding the creation and distribution of the multiple viruses that will become a much bigger part of the next few games in the series.

Resident Evil 5

Release Year: 2009

Timeline Date: 2006

Perhaps rightfully criticized for trying to do too much with the Resident Evil mythology, Resident Evil 5 does make a little more sense if you play it in chronological order along with some of the supplementary releases.

In short, Resident Evil 5 sees BSAA member Chris Redfield pursue a bioterrorist named Ricardo Irving. A strange series of events results in Chris discovering that Tricell (the company that funds the BSAA) is not only advancing Umbrella’s research but has partnered with Albert Wesker in the hopes of utilizing his expertise on the viruses. Speaking of Wesker, we also learn that he is actually an Umbrella creation who is trying to spread viruses as a means of wiping out humans not “strong enough” to survive.

This game offers a lot to take in, but it essentially wraps up the main part of the Wesker plotline (for now), ties Plagas into the Umbrella mythos a little more cleanly, and furthers the global growth of the chronology’s core concepts.

Resident Evil: Revelations 2

Release Year: 2015

Timeline Date: 2011

The somewhat underrated Revelations series comes through yet again by helping to cleanly connect major Resident Evil titles.

The game’s biggest contribution is the way that it reintroduces Claire into the franchise after she spent quite a few years away from the spotlight. We learn that she’s working with the biohazard prevention agency TerraSave and that she’s even in contact with Barry Burton and his family.

Granted, the standalone storytelling in this game is more substantial than the chronological connections, but it’s nice to have an idea of what Claire has been up to after all these years.

Umbrella Corps

Release Year: 2016

Timeline Date: 2012

It’s nearly impossible to recommend Umbrella Corps on the basis of its gameplay, but as a piece of the Resident Evil canon, Resident Evil answers some important questions.

Some of this game’s plot details are heavily disputed, but Umbrella Corps essentially reveals that Umbrella was reformed/reworked over the years following the events of the original games. They’re now more focused on cleaning up the mess that Umbrella helped create, and they’re even working with organizations like the BSAA in pursuit of that goal.

While this game also heavily implies that Albert Wesker is still alive, certain questions regarding how much of this title is going to carry over into future installments remain something of a mystery. It’s also worth noting that the game’s multiplayer mode takes place after Resident Evil 6, but again, questions remain regarding its long-term impact.

Resident Evil 6

Release Year: 2012

Timeline Date: 2012

We’ve spoken before about Resident Evil 6’s gameplay shortcomings and other bad decisions, but it’s worth noting again that Resident Evil 6’s often convoluted plot has long confused players who didn’t keep up with every timeline development up until this point.

As a globetrotting story that features most of the major Resident Evil characters (except, strangely, Claire) in prominent roles, Resident Evil 6 focuses on the C-Virus and the various attempts to spread and stop it.

There’s, quite a lot that happens, but from a timeline standpoint the most important takeaways are that Chris Redfield stays with the BSAA in charge of a new squad, Jake Muller (son of Albert Wesker) has become an operative, and characters such as Leon Kennedy, Sherry Birkin, and Ada Wong are all alive and operational. How much of that will be used in subsequent Resident Evil games remains to be seen.

Resident Evil 7: Biohazard

Release Year: 2017

Timeline Date: 2014

While serious questions remain regarding Resident Evil 7’s role in the series, all evidence suggests that it does take place after the events of Resident Evil 6 and that even some of its seemingly unrelated events connect to the series’ bigger timeline.

The biggest tie-in to the rest of the franchise, though, has to be the appearance of Chris Redfield at the end of the game. Even though he looks different (which Capcom says is a result of new technology they use to scan actors), Redfield’s presence, the appearance of a Blue Umbrella helicopter, and hidden references to the BSAA all strongly suggest that Resident Evil 7 is at least honoring most of the major events that occurred until this point.

What remains to be seen is whether some other loose threads from previous games are addressed.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

Resident Evil Village

Release Year: 2021

Timeline Date: 2014

Capcom continues to conceal the finer points of Resident Evil Village‘s plot, but we can at least confirm that it takes place after the events of Resident Evil 7.

The continuing adventures of Ethan Winters are exciting enough, but we’d be lying if we told you we weren’t curious to see if other major Resident Evil characters and events will appear in the game. We’re also waiting to see whether or not the creatures we’ve seen in early trailers are still the product of some bioengineered threat or if Capcom is starting to dive deeper into the supernatural.

The post Resident Evil Timeline in Chronological Order appeared first on Den of Geek.

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watching-pictures-move · 4 years

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Movie Review | The Decline of Western Civilization series (Spheeris, 1981-98)

Many years ago, before I sold out to the man, I have to admit I felt a certain attraction to punk music. No, I was never anywhere close to a full on punk (I was, and still am, extremely lame), but I have to admit the anti-establishment streak definitely resonated with me at a certain point of time. (Not that it still doesn’t, but in addition to selling out, I’ve softened with old age.) Like many people I’ve found appealing the political conscience and mix of influences of the Clash, or the boneheaded energy of the Ramones, but I also found my interest straying to hardcore punk. I remember the first time I listened to “Damaged II” by Black Flag and finding it unbelievably abrasive and foreign to my ears, yet it was something I couldn’t get out of my head, and returned to the song and the album it was from a few years later and appreciated it as one of the most forceful expressions of angst ever recorded. I remember first learning of bands like X and Fear, and seeing performance footage on YouTube and being thrilled by the rawness and danger, especially when they had to fight off their fans. This footage was from Penelope Spheeris’ cult classic documentary, The Decline of Western Civlization, which for years was not easily available but I have now finally seen in its entirety.

The movie is structured simply, moving from one band in the L.A. punk scene to another, interviewing them in their natural habitats and punctuating this with footage of their performances. Songs are presented in full so we can get the complete experience. The first band we see is Black Flag, then with frontman Ron Reyes. They are lively on stage but it’s interesting to note how different the energy was prior to the arrival of Henry Rollins, who brought a certain discipline and muscularity to their music. (One of the songs featured here, “Depression”, pops up again in Damaged, and the impact in the latter is noticeably more forceful.) The guys here come across as aimless and destitute, living in a decrepit church where they’ve turned the closets into makeshift bedrooms, seemingly losing money with every gig. But they are also quite affable (you can tell the lyrics of “TV Party” sprang from these minds) and do not have illusions about their situation, especially their difficulty in getting gags thanks to their rowdy fans. These scenes play like a moment frozen in time, right before the band’s most significant period would begin. We move next to the Germs, and these scenes play like a car accident in slow motion, with Darby Crash’s self-destructive tendencies on full display. This was a short time before his death, which occurred between completion of filming and the theatrical release (his image was featured heavily on the promotional materials), once again giving this a lost in time quality.

Next we go to the headquarters of Slash Magazine, the staff of which moonlights as a band called Catholic Discipline. The frontman complains about New Wave, claiming it doesn’t actually exist, yet they come across as downmarket New Wavers who are slumming it in the punk scene. Yet their love of music and their work is obvious and the frontman does possess a certain charisma. Much of what we see of the punk lifestyle is squalid and dismal, yet the music of X manages to poeticize this condition. Their unassuming demeanours during their interview contrast sharply with their vigour in their performances, during which they do their share of batting off overeager fans. We get a burst of political conviction when the Circle Jerks launch into the libertarian anthem “Red Tape”, but this dissipates by the time they start playing “I Just Want a Skank”. We spend some time with the Alice Bag Band and then are treated to a montage of interviews with punk fans. These are shot in monochrome with stark backgrounds and a single bulb providing the lighting, which has the effect of bringing them and their words into sharp relief. We hear similar stories again and again, of aimlessness and aggression, the subjects using the music both as an outlet for their frustrations and inspiration for violence.

Spheeris’ camera has been largely nonjudgmental, yet there’s an undeniable sadness in this sequence. But lest I make it sound that the movie makes punk seem uniformly depressing, the closing sequence provides a potent antidote. The electrifying final minutes of the film feature a performance by Fear (who are not interviewed). The atmosphere here is hostile, with the band riling up the audience with homophobic and misogynistic taunting and having to physically fight them off throughout their set list. It might be tempting to liken their shtick to cheap alt-rightish provocation, but I think that robs their music of the proper context. When almost all their peers and fans adopt an attitude of “everything sucks”, Fear’s ability to find the humour in that mentality is kind of refreshing. It also would ignore the sheer muscularity of the delivery, which almost turns the music into a form of violence. The film is undeniably a fascinating document, but while Spheeris may have had the good fortune of turning on her camera in the right place and right time (even if she had to pay to rent soundstages to film some of the performances), it’s moments like this of pure exhilaration that cement the film’s greatness.

Part II: The Metal Years takes place almost a decade later, with a drastically new context and perspective. This time the focus is on the L.A. metal scene, which was a dominant cultural force unlike hardcore punk ever was. And this time around Spheeris’ POV is less of impartial observation and more satirical condescension. Taken journalistically, the movie is obviously compromised, particularly in an interview of Ozzy Osbourne that’s misleadingly edited to make it look like he has the shakes. I wish the movie hadn’t done this, as Ozzy is a flamboyant enough presence that he’s already funny without needing to frame him into gags, something Spheeris acknowledged in an interview years after the fact. Ozzy and a few other veterans of the scene are not immune to metal culture’s innate ridiculousness (the movie’s biggest laugh for me was Spheeris’ deadpan reaction to Steven Tyler’s extended masturbation metaphor to describe the rock’n’roll lifestyle). It’s worth noting that Spheeris asked her subjects how they wanted to be filmed, leading to such choice setups as Gene Simmons in a lingerie store and Paul Stanley in a bed full of scantily clad models. (Lemmy allegedly took offense to how he was portrayed, claiming Spheeris shot him from afar to make him look stupid, but I don’t think he comes across badly. He’s low key and unassuming in a way that contrasts him from the other participants, at the very least in terms of appearance).

The structure of this entry is tighter, using snippets of different interviews to flesh out different ideas, exploring the decadence and excess of the music and the surrounding culture. We even hear from the anti-metal folks, particularly in one amusing scene where a woman describes the dangerous potential of metal fashion with the solemnity of a cop or anti-gun advocate describing illegal firearms. Performance footage is limited to brief excerpts, usually for comic relief (assless chaps and a limp attempt to set fire to a Soviet flag are highlights), although we do get an extended look at a sleazy stripping context. (The club owners featured seem as much into the metal lifestyle as some of the musicians and fans, in sharp contrast to the genial working class types featured in the first and third entries.) The most notorious segment of the film is the interview with Chris Holmes from W.A.S.P., who lounges in a pool in alcoholic self loathing, which probably went farther in deflating the excitement around the metal scene than any single moment. Yet like the first film, this one refuses to lock into too narrow view of its subject and rebounds with a Megadeth performance that goes a long way in showing that yes, this music can in fact be good. (I should say that I enjoy my share of hair metal, which Megadeth is decidedly not, but the songs earlier in the film don’t do the best job of selling the genre. Although anything would look lame with assless chaps.) This movie is more obviously flawed than the original, but I can’t help but kind of love it. The fact is that the metal musicians and fans, despite being somewhat boneheaded, are also full of good vibes and fun to hang around (more so than the self-serious punk fans in the original), and the movie is quite slick and stylish by documentary standards, which makes the film true to its subject matter in a a way. I mean, you open the movie with Motorhead and I’m half won over already, and I haven’t stopped thinking (and smiling) about it since I’ve seen it.

The good vibes don’t carry over to Part III, which follows a group of homeless gutter punks in L.A. around another decade later. Once again there’s a change in context and perspective, with Spheeris coming across as more compassionate and maternal. The musicians here offer a more sobering, grounded presence. The veterans here, Keith Morris and Rick Wilder, come across as survivors more than anything, particularly the latter with his skeletal, emaciated appearance. The music this time around is almost beside the point, although we do get the sense that it offers the main subjects one of their only sources of relief. Their stories are similar. Broken homes. Forced onto the streets. Substance abuse. The movie feels like extended versions of the Darby Crash scenes and the interviews from the original, but with the grim consequences covered in the final moments, and the film’s sense of despair is alleviated only by the compassion Spheeris brings to the material. I can’t see myself returning to this as readily as it’s more downbeat and less dynamic than the previous movies, but it is undeniably moving, and had a profound effect on Spheeris as well, who decided to become a foster parent after her experience making this movie.

#film #movie review #the decline of western civilization #the decline of western civilization part ii: the metal years #the decline of western civilization part iii #penelope spheeris

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retphienix · 4 years

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I did it :)

So, I cried. That's a given.

Also this might be the most overwhelmingly happy ending in the series so far, you know, if you're used to every entry ending with "KIRYU DIE?????"

Bonus points because this ending DID NOT immediately reveal that he lives! I know my intro here is all unserious and the like but genuinely, that does a lot for making the scene so much more impactful and it worked here even though I know he returns for Y6.

So, I'm gonna do this post like the last big post because there's too many thoughts to expel.

Timestamps as I rewatch so I can share my thoughts. Then a short conclusion because honestly? This game has taken all my words multiple times.

I just want to calmly and happily say my final piece at the end :)

0:39 - Spoiler, this ending SUCKS because it doesn't include a final rhythm battle for Haruka! Now I think I read somewhere that there's a member of that assassin clan she can dance battle as a final challenge but I clearly didn't do that right and missed out and that's beside the point- THERE'S NO RHYTHM GAMEPLAY IN THIS FINALE >:(

9:00 - I EARNED IT, I'M USING IT!

13:00 - Spoiler for later, Shinada doesn't get to say this from what I recall. Instead Baba gets a different wake up call, but that works out :)

17:00 - Not now, but this will come up, I offer to you my johns for what happens in the first boss fight. My eyes were dry as hell so I missed some QTEs which means I didn't get the flashiest stuff to happen. This actually happened at the end of Y4 also but I restarted just to capture good footage- not this time.

17:30 - MOUSE. MOUSE MOUSE, A LITTLE RAT, MOUSE. Love to see it.

19:00 - The audible sigh I let out when they played the same song I've heard like 40 times in my playthrough was palpable. I do dig the song! But there are what? 4 Idol songs? They really needed more or to not saturate their use so much :(

19:40 - I legitimately gasped and went "Oh no... of course it's you!" at Baba's role in this. It added a lot of weight to the way he practically begged Haruka not to show up.

20:50 - So here's the gist. Majima's plan didn't work out, we know that. Majima has a REALLY good line and motivator moment where he says he's following orders now to protect Haruka because she means more to Kiryu than anything (and that's how Majima rolls), Majima then reveals some shit which can be amounted to "I think you've gotten weak and wanted to protect you!!!!" which does ring slightly hollow since we saw Majima at a ridiculously low point earlier. So either his low point was him contemplating Saejima's survival chances, or his low point was sincere (it sure sounded it) and his worry over Saejima being weak was just also happening at the same time. I don't really mind either way to be honest, we beat him up. I fail some QTEs.

33:00 - Baba deciding not to fulfill his orders on his own accord is actually extremely important and good as hell. It shows that all this changed him and gave him the motivation to forge his own path- or rather it began to though he's overwhelmed with doubt. It's extremely good.

33:50 - The fact he intentionally leaves evidence shows how much doubt he has though, he's giving up entirely more than forging his own path, he's just refusing to follow the orders of another but hasn't found the strength to continue on his own. It's really good is all.

38:00 - This was the first cry I had beating the game x.x Shinada is just a phenomenally likeable character, and watching him accept where his life has gone and what it's meant to others is way more touching than I'd assume considering it's a tale of a baseball star.

40:50 - THIS WAS HYPE AS HELL AND LEAD TO MY SECOND CRY. THIS PRISON FAMILY HAS NO RIGHT BEING THIS ENDEARING. Also, more or less, they get to deliver the message Shinada was supposed to lol.

42:50 - THIRD AND BIG AS HELL CRY. SHINADA YOU FOOL, YOU'VE A FOUND FAMILY AFTER-ALL!!! I genuinely adore this moment so much is all. It's such a wonderful payoff for this loveable fool. After all the runnin' away he has a home.

43:36 - I love Shinada so much the silly fuck.

46:00 - I got a laugh out of Akiyama KICKING ASS in the news footage (didn't mention but the first brawl cutscene was rather lacking wasn't it?) and Kiryu just like... punches a guy. It's hilarious to me. Also you best believe- I UNLOCKED IT, I'M USING IT!!!

48:00 - Now this is a, well, it's a bad reveal. Like look, there is a metric ton of good going on in this finale- but the reveal that Aizawa is his son and is evil and is the final boss is just too much zero-build-up-payoff. It's the worst part. It's not like extremely detrimental or anything- like it doesn't take away from the good stuff- but it's just entirely uninteresting and bad. It makes Aizawa's interest in Morinaga bizarre and uninteresting since he got no payoff, he had buildup with Saejima and then in the final scenes he's just like "Yeah, Mori was nice but who gives a fuck I am the one who killed him (I think he said) and I aspire to be strong as fuck because all of YOU IDIOTS have FRIENDS and CHARISMA >:(" and like, who fuckin' cares bud.

52:00 - Now I'll more or less sum up all of Akiyama's payoff here. 1- I unlocked it so I'm gonna use it! 2- He offhandedly says he wants to be a legend in this town, which in Y4 he already was- he was a myth, a city mystery- but of course he means like Kiryu not the loch ness monster. 3- He gets to be a legend by being the only civilian (or person in general) the Omi would bow to. It's kind of not built up at all and is a bit lame, but to be honest Akiyama has a pretty bit part in this entire game. He's kinda just a convenient returning character with motivation to assist Kiryu and a career that allows motivation to get involved through Park. To be blunt, his part in the story is weak. I wish it was stronger. But it's inoffensive and he at least gets something- as minor as it is. Getting to say he's king of the world is something, you know?

56:00 - I will say that the build up of "Oh shit, these are Kanai's men!" and the reveal that "Oh shit! They are WATASE'S men and all the clans who the Tojo were seeking alliances with!" is a good one. Watase is a fine enough character which I bring up only because I was told he was a standout- but he wasn't for me. His scenes are great, his growth with Katsuya is nice, but he's barely in the game and really only exists to be betrayed and then to be like "I'm one of the good yakuza despite being a war-lusting one because being a good yakuza is just complicated enough to allow this overlap" which is interesting for sure, but I don't know. Unless he does stuff in the subsequent games I didn't catch much in this one. Maybe he does- I assume he runs the Omi now!

1:00:00 - I kinda summed it up but yeah. Here's the final boss, Aizawa, a character we were mislead on and who's motivation is empty as fuck. It's, whatever. It's not the good part of the ending. The good part is everything prior and directly after. Like his entire deal is anti-silver-spoon talking points but also he includes being charismatic or capable as silver spoon-isms??? He pretty much just wants to be leader because he's strong. He'd arguably be more interesting if he just said it that way.

1:11:00 - The lyrics to Dream are anything but subtle and I love them and I love Haruka. Sliding this in here- Majima gets no payoff >:( Park's dream is accomplished in seeing her star on the stage, but no Majima moment? No sight of him accepting her loss? Lame.

1:14:00 - I genuinely LOVE that Aizawa focuses in on Kiryu's gunshot wound. He still accepts it as a fair fight because Kiryu presents it as one, but even then he pays mind to it as you'd expect someone wanting to fight at their strongest would- he wants to fight Kiryu at his best and he's accepting this because Kiryu presents as his best even when wounded- it's pretty cool. Fight happens. It's fine stuff, flashy and fun. Still maybe the weakest final boss yet because he has no build up. I'd be the first to admit without looking it up I can't list every final boss thus far, but like, Nishi was built up, Mine was built up, Goda was built up, I just, in this moment, don't recall having a big "WHO THE FUCK, THIS MEANS NOTHING?" fight in yakuza and this is certainly one of those.

1:25:00 - I cried AGAIN. Haruka just hit me with a truck of emotion here is all.

1:41:15 - This is a beautifully shot, emotional, and tragic looking ending. Heck, at 1:43:00 I initially thought he was being awoken in a hospital bed and I was like "Heh, there's the old Kiryu dies fakeout!" but no! They hammer home, they go for broke, they give a TRAGIC AS FUCK bitter ending on top of an ending that's like 99% happy as fuck in terms of offering everyone involved hope for the future. This was a good end :)

So then, some overall thoughts I maybe didn't get out- I mean there's no way this post touches everything but I want to at least try to because I like sharin' the experience and what I got out of it.

The fighting styles were mighty uneven as far as strengths or fun factor. To be blunt,

Kiryu has an overpowered counter attack and heat mode and since heat mode is underwhelming as hell that means he has JUST a counter attack- his strikes don't really hit all that well considering the improvements other characters saw this time around, so he's a bit one note here.

Saejima feel even meatier than before, nothing particularly 'stands out' but the fact that he has super armor as long as he has heat is a pretty big factor in making him feel good to use.

Akiyama got the short end of the straw this time around. His new gimmick is the launch combos and they are... well... less than shit at least from what I could feel during gameplay. They don't hurt much, they burn heat like crazy, and they can MISS, all while being a move that targets just one enemy- has no counter to blocking or armor- and provides no armor in turn.

Despite not losing anything, he kinda got screwed.

(I'm lead to believe Akiyama is invulnerable during his aerial combos which my blurb in my finale post complained felt worthless and cited that as a reason.

If so then I was wrong but I still hold all my other complaints towards it, just not the 'it has no armor or invuln' bit assuming that's true.)

Shinada wins out for being unique and being a weapon oriented character that actually does well with weapons. Weapons have always been something I pretty much ignore in Yakuza and the series itself has always desperately tried to make them interesting with things like weapon skills, Kamiya works, and the like. But other than the god weapons like the golden gun weapons just never felt good to manage.

Using them, sure, that's fine, but managing them? Durability and skills and limited movesets and all that? Nah. But Shinada really does a lot to make them less shit! His innate abilities that raise durability a metric ton REALLY make weapons feel better to use with him- and his unique movesets with weapons are pretty damn good (mostly. The pipe/'normal one hander pole size object' moveset is worthless as heck, it regularly misses).

He's fun.

===

Revelations were a miss this time around for me. Since you couldn't have seen them if you tried on my blog let it be known- I ONLY got the quest related revelations for each character- which is to say- ONE rev per character.

Revelations in 5 are weapon based, and not just 'bat or pole or gun' or whatever- they are DISPOSABLE TEMPORARY weapon based.

What you are supposed to do is go to the specific place on the map where that one revelation weapon spawns, hope like hell you find an enemy, and wail on them like crazy. If you use a weapon x amount of times then you'll get a revelation according to the internet. This is beyond ridiculous and means a normal playthrough will get none of these, while a focused one will be bored out of their mind GRINDING to get these.

I did not bother.

===

Now.

Yakuza 5.

This might be my favorite Yakuza overall.

I still think 0 is probably the best overall for most people, it has the best style, it has from what I've experienced the best gameplay, it's story is tear jerking and exciting and fun.

But as a yakuza game overall, I really have to give it to 5 personally. Because 0 tried to work within its bounds- it made itself a great entry point to the series or a great addition to Yakuza 1 / Kiwami as background.

But 5 is building on 4 previous games and it does so fucking phenomenally.

There's something to be said about a later entry in a series gaining extra payoff thanks to multiple entries of build up and character depth and 5 fucking does it.

I just. It explores the motivation of some fan-favorites so well, it expands characters so fucking well, I know I've harped on about it but just Saejima- man! Saejima goes from a run of the mill "Decent" character to a fully fledged and explored entity! And I LOVE him!

And no he's not the only shining spot, like hell he is, but he's such a posterchild for what 5 does right in my eyes- take something that's already good and breath some life into it. Also I adore it's laser focus on a singular theme and all the ways it wanted to explore it.

Like. I think Kiwami and Zero take the cake for the most fun I've had " 'playing' Yakuza so far, but 5 takes the cake for the most fun I've had 'in general' like gameplay and me just thinking about it because there's so much to think on.

More time will tell as I compartmentalize my thoughts and perhaps forget some details as one does, but right this moment- this might be my favorite Yakuza game.

I love it.

Also, woot! I beat Y5 before Monhun Rise came out :D Now I can start that game without putting a story on hold!

...

Except I also told my sister that I'd start Omori after Y5. So I guess alongside monhun I'll be playing through a game with a hefty and wonderfully done story. Which is what I didn't want to do with Y5.

I just can't win, lol.

#RetPlays #Yakuza #Yakuza 5 #Youtube

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thelastchair · 4 years

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Powder Magazine

(Written by Sam Cox - December 28, 2020)

Growing up in Montana, my winter free time was consumed by skiing. Big Sky was the destination when I was barely old enough to walk. Eventually we made the move to Bozeman and Bridger Bowl became my second home. During the early years, my family made the trek to a handful of Warren Miller movies when they were on tour in the fall and Snow Country was the magazine subscription that landed on the coffee table. I was vaguely aware of Jackson Hole, Snowbird and Squaw Valley and my father would occasionally regale me with tales of skiing (read Après) in Germany when he was in the Army. At some level, I already understood that there was something special about Bridger, but realistically, my sphere of outside influence was quite small. Christmas of 1989 turned my entire world upside down. My aunt and uncle are longtime Salt Lake City residents and Brighton skiers. Typically they would send a package each year with the customary cookies, toffee and a card. However, this year they sent two VHS tapes and a magazine - Ski Time, Blizzard of Aahhh’s and a copy of Powder. Things would never be the same for me. Scot Schmidt became my hero, Greg Stump was taking skiing into uncharted territory and above it all, Powder created an eloquent voice for our sport and was the fabric that held things together. Even at my young age, everything that I’d intuitively sensed before was distilled into a potent desire to devote myself to the simple pursuit of being a skier.

Johan Jonsson, Engelberg, Switzerland - Photo: Mattias Fredriksson/POWDER

Powder was founded in Sun Valley by the Moe brothers in 1972 as an annual portfolio of The Other Ski Experience. After several years of running the magazine, Jake and David Moe sold Powder to the owner of Surfer Magazine. A repurposed aircraft hangar in San Juan Capistrano became the new home of skiing’s most prestigious publication. Over time, there was an ebb and flow to the size of staff and cast of characters, each person leaving their unique mark. For decades Powder weathered corporate acquisitions, office relocations and the constant metamorphosis of the ski industry - never losing its voice, Powder remained the benchmark. It was a source of creativity, inspiration and a defacto annal of history. For many it was also a shining beacon, a glimpse into a world filled with deep turns and iconic destinations - even if this world could only be inhabited inside the constructs of your imagination.

My story and the impact Powder had on the direction I would take is hardly unique. The magazine left an indelible impression on countless skiers. When the news broke this fall that operations were being suspended indefinitely, a heartbroken community took to social media to pay homage to the magazine and how it changed their lives and in some cases, careers. This is my version of a tribute and it’s definitely not perfect. In order to gain some perspective, I reached out to former staff members - a collective I admire and respect. It’s an attempt to articulate the essence of Powder, capture its influence on the skiing landscape and give credit to the people who made it come to life.

Bernie Rosow, Mammoth Mountain, CA - Photo: Christian Pondella/POWDER

HANS LUDWIG - The Jaded Local

“Skiing has always been really tribal and one of the last vestiges of having an oral history. Powder was a unique concept, because they weren’t really concerned with the family market. They were just concerned about being really into skiing. Growing up in Colorado and skiing moguls, my coaches Robert and Roger were featured in the early Greg Stump films. Being in their orbit, I knew a little bit about skiing culture and what was going on out there, but didn’t have the whole picture. The Stump films resonated with me, but Ski/Skiing Magazines didn’t really do it for me. Powder was the door that opened things culturally, it was the only entry point before Blizzard of Aahhh’s.”

“Something that nobody gives Powder credit for, is sponsoring the Greg Stump, TGR and MSP movies and giving them full support right from their inception. It legitimized those companies and helped them become one of the catalysts for change and evolution in skiing. Ultimately this change would have happened, but at a much slower pace without the support of Powder. Getting support from Powder meant they’d weeded out the posers and kooks and what they were backing wasn’t something or someone that was “aspiring” they were a cut above.”

“Powder brought a lot of things into the mainstream, raised awareness and helped to legitimize them: Jean-Marc Boivin, Patrick Vallencant, Pierre Tardivel, telemarking, monoskiing, snowboarding, the JHAF, Chamonix, La Grave, Mikaela Shiffrin, fat skis pre McConkey, skiing in South America….the list goes on.”

“I had some rowdy trips with Powder. Writing “Lost In America,” I went Utah-Montana-Fernie-Banff-Revelstoke via pickup truck, only backcountry skiing and camping in the mud. It was a month plus. I did another month plus in Nevada, which was after back to back Jackson and Silverton. Total time was two plus months. That was fucked up, I was super loose after that whole thing. So many sketchy days with total strangers”

“People forget that Powder was around long before the advent of the fucking pro skier. Starting in 1996, the magazine was in the impact zone of the ski industrial complex. There is limited space for content each season. It was a challenge to balance the pressure coming from the athletes and brands to cover something that was going to make them money vs. staying true to the Moe brothers original intent and profiling an eccentric skier, a unique location or even fucking ski racing.”

Full Circle - Photo: MJ Carroll

KEITH CARLSEN - Editor

“When I was young, Ski/Skiing didn’t do anything for my spirit, but Powder lit me up. It ignited a passion in diehard skiers and gave them a voice and community. It was focused on the counter culture - the type of people who rearrange their lives to ski. This was in direct opposition to other magazines that were targeting rich people, trying to explain technique, sell condos or highlight the amenities at a ski area.”

“Skiing has always been my outlet and mechanism to get away from things in life. My two talents are writing and photography, so I enrolled at Western State with the direct goal of landing an internship at Powder. Even at 19, I had complete focus on the direction I wanted to take. If it didn’t work out, my backup plan was to be a ski bum. 48 hours after graduating, I was headed to southern California to live in my van and start my position at Powder. When the decision was made to close the magazine, it was really personal for me. Powder had provided me direction in life for the last 30 years and I needed some time to process it. In a way, it was almost like going to a funeral for a good friend - even though it’s gone, the magazine lives on in all of us and can never be taken away.”

“It was, and will always remain, one of my life’s greatest honors to serve as the editor-in-chief for Powder Magazine. It was literally a dream that came true. I’m so grateful for everyone who came before me and everyone who served after me. That opportunity opened literally hundreds of doors for me and continues to do so today. I owe the magazine a massive debt of gratitude. Every single editor was a warrior and fought for the title with their lives. They were doing double duty - not only from competition with other publications, but the internal struggle of budget cuts, staff reductions and trying to do more with less. Powder never belonged in the hands of a corporation. The magazine spoke to an impassioned community and never made sense to an accountant or on a ledger.”

Trevor Petersen, Mt. Serratus, BC - Photo: Scott Markewitz/POWDER

SIERRA SHAFER - Editor In Chief

“Powder celebrated everything that is good and pure in skiing. It highlighted the old school, the new and the irreverent. The magazine also called bullshit when they saw it. It was a checkpoint, a cultural barometer and an honest reflection on where skiing has been and where it’s going.”

“My involvement with Powder came completely out of left field. I was never an intern or established in the ski industry. My background was strictly in journalism, I was a skier living in Southern California and editing a newspaper. I knew that I wanted to get the fuck out of LA and Powder was that opportunity. It was a huge shift going from my job and life being completely separate to work becoming my life. Literally overnight, Powder became everything - friends, connections and part of my identity. It derailed my trajectory in the best possible way.”

Brad Holmes, Donner Pass, CA - Photo: Dave Norehad/POWDER

MATT HANSEN - Executive Editor

“Keith Carlsen was a man of ideas, he had tremendous vision and influence. He came up with the ideas for Powder Week and the Powder Awards in 2001. In some respects those two events saved the magazine.”

“Powder was the soul of skiing and kept the vibe, it changed people’s lives and inspired them to move to a ski town. As a writer I always wanted to think it was the stories that did that, but in truth it was the photography. Images of skiing truly became an art form, 100% thanks to Powder Magazine and Dave Reddick. Dave cultivated and mentored photographers, he was always searching for the unpredictable image from around the world and pressed the photographers to look at things from a different angle.”

“It sounds cliche, but writing a feature about Chamonix was the highlight for me. Sitting on the plane, things were absolutely unreal. I linked up with Nate Wallace and the whole experience from start to finish was out of my comfort zone. Ducking ropes to ski overhead pow on the Pas De Chèvre, walking out of the ice tunnel on a deserted Aiguille du Midi right as the clouds parted, late nights in town that were too fuzzy to recall. The energy of the place taught me a lot. I didn’t have a smartphone and there was no Instagram - I had time to write, observe, take notes and be present with who I was and with the experience. As a writer it didn’t get any better.”

“The true gift of working for Powder, was the once in a lifetime adventures that I wish I could have shared with my family, I was so lucky to have had those opportunities. It almost brought tears to me eyes.”

Peter Romaine, Jackson Hole, WY - Photo: Wade McKoy/POWDER

DAVE REDDICK - Director of Photography

“Just ski down there and take a photo of something, for cryin’ out loud!” “I’ve found that channeling McConkey has been keeping it in perspective. Powder’s been shuttered. That sucks. What doesn’t suck is the good times and the people that have shared the ride thus far and I’m just thankful to be one of them. There’s been some really kind sentiments from friends and colleagues, but this must be said - Every editor (especially the editors), every art director (I’ve driven them nuts), every publisher and sales associate, every photographer, writer, and intern, and all the others behind the scenes who’ve ever contributed their talents get equal share of acknowledgment for carrying the torch that is Powder Mag. There’s hundreds of us! No decision has ever been made in a vacuum. Always a collective. At our best, we’ve been a reflection of skiers everywhere and of one of the greatest experiences in the world. It’s that community, and that feeling, that is Powder. I’m not sure what’s next and I’m not afraid of change but” “There’s something really cool about being scared. I don’t know what!”

Scot Schmidt, Alaska - Photo: Chris Noble/POWDER

DEREK TAYLOR - Editor

“Powder was the first magazine dedicated to the experience and not trying to teach people how to ski. It was enthusiast media focused on the soul and culture. It’s also important to highlight the impact Powder had outside of skiing - today you have the Surfer’s Journal effect where every sport wants that type of publication. However, prior to their inception, everybody wanted a version of Powder.”

“Neil Stebbins and Steve Casimiro deserve a lot of credit for the magazine retaining its voice and staying true to the core group of skiers it represented.”

“Keith Carlsen is responsible for the idea behind Super Park. This was a time when skiing had just gone through a stale phase. There was a newfound energy in park skiing and younger generations, this event helped to rebrand Powder and solidify its goal of being all inclusive. Racing, powder, park, touring - it’s all just skiing.”

Joe Sagona, Mt. Baldy, CA - Photo: Dave Reddick/POWDER

JOHNNY STIFTER - Editor In Chief

“What did Powder mean to me... Well, everything. As a reader and staffer, it inspired me and made me laugh. I learned about local cultures that felt far away and learned about far away cultures that didn’t feel foreign, if that makes sense.”

“But I cherished those late nights the most, making magazines with the small staff. Despite the deadline stress, I always felt so grateful to be working for this sacred institution and writing and editing for true skiers. We all just had so much damn fun. And it didn’t hurt meeting such passionate locals at hallowed places, like Aspen and Austria, that I once dreamed of visiting and skiing. The Powder culture is so inclusive and so fun, I never felt more alive.”

Doug Coombs, All Hail The King - Photo: Ace Kvale/POWDER

HEATHER HANSMAN - Online Editor

“Powder is a lifestyle and an interconnected circle of people. It’s about getting a job offer at Alta, opening your home to random strangers, locking your keys in your car and getting rescued by a friend you made on a trip years ago. Through the selfish activity of skiing, you can create a community of people you cherish and can depend on through highs and lows.”

Ashley Otte, Mike Wiegele Heli, BC - Photo: Dave Reddick/POWDER

The contributions of so many talented individuals made the magazine possible. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to everyone who shared their experience at Powder with me. Also, I want to thank Porter Fox and David Page for crafting inspiring feature stories that I enjoyed immensely over the years.

After the reality set in that the final issue had arrived, a void was created for generations of skiers. I’ve been focused on being thankful for what we had, rather than sad it’s gone. It’s a challenging time for print media and I wholeheartedly advocate supporting the remaining titles in anyway you can. In a culture driven by a voracious appetite for mass media consumption and instant gratification - I cherish the ritual of waiting for a magazine to arrive, appreciating the effort that went into creating the content and being able to have that physical substance in my hand. Thanks for everything Powder, you are missed, but your spirit lives on.

Captain Powder - Photo: Gary Bigham/POWDER

#skiing #powder #last chair #powder magazine #the other ski experience #the skiers magazine

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roseproductivity · 4 years

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The Case Against To-do Lists ????!!!!??!!!

In his article “The Case Against To-do Lists (and What to Use Instead)” Nir Eyal, author of books on productivity and attention in the digital media age, advocates against to-do lists. I am a prodigious user of to-do lists. I can barely walk from one room to another without maintaining at least a mental to-do list of what I will do when I get to that room. I have too many things going on in my head at once, competing for attention, and I only survive by lining those things up in nice tiny mental or paper rows. In my opinion, the “case against to-do lists” has one item on it: I waver between preferring to write it as “to-do”, “todo”, “To-do”, and “To-Do”.

Obviously I read this article defensively, metaphorically clutching my to-do lists against my chests, white=knuckled, as I read. Eyal quickly reassured me, however, that he was not going to rip away my comfort lists. He distinguishes between keeping lists to reduce mental load and keeping lists to successfully complete tasks. Using lists to relieve cognitive load is a central tenet of Getting Things Done (GTD). You write the thing you are thinking about on a piece of paper or put it in your calendar so that you brain closes the loop on it and can move along to thinking about more important things. Writing the item down has a value even if you never do it. Eyal is not arguing that lists aren’t successful in the mental load department, but that they are not the most effective way for getting us to actually do the things that MUST be done.

He also suggests that keeping these lists of uncompleted tasks has a negative impact on our self perception. I guess it could, but I personally recognize that not everything on a list needs to be done. Some entries are more like ideas of things that could theoretically be done. I have lists, for instance, of ideas for comics to draw, but I don’t see the ratio between my ideas and my execution as a reflection of my self-worth. Instead, the length of my lists are a reflection of my creativity in coming up with things to do. Where Eyal and I align is that the challenge then becomes deciding what things on that list I do really want to do. Once I pick which comic idea I want to draw, I should file away the others and work on the one at hand, and not let all the potential ideas in the universe crowd out what I am doing. Especially if the endeavor I am engaging in is a long term one, it is easy to wonder if I made the right choice in where to invest my energy. At that point, the list of possible ideas is a reminder of all the possible avenues I did not pursue, and are a distraction from the one I am on. But the list only becomes a distraction after the decision is made. Eyal writes, “we cannot call something a distraction unless we know what it is distracting us from.“

If lists are useful until you are in the process of executing an item on the list, one solution to the distraction of lists is to keep lists but create an archiving process. Once you have the list prioritized, move the list mentally or physically out of sight. You have the safety of knowing the list is there; you did not “lose” or “forget” anything important. Yet, it is not a distraction.

Eyal’s suggestion is to abandon the list altogether for “schedule building”. Schedule building means blocking off time on your calendar for what you want to be doing at that time and focusing on nothing else. A block might be for playing with your children, and during that time, you are not thinking about your “to-dos” at all. This is the same concept as Cal Newport’s time blocking. I agree with scheduling time in advance as a theory but it has never worked out for me in practice. For one, it does not accommodate small needs, things that take up less than fifteen minutes. It also does not accommodate other people very well. If I have my whole day scheduled out and my partner comes and spends fifteen minutes talking to me during my thirty minute reading block, it can feel like the entire day is now out of sync. I do not want to consider my loved ones as distractions. Some might say the answer is to tell other people to “respect your time”, but most of my relationships are more important to me than “my time”. (Also, if you have children, you know that they cannot make the decision to “respect your time”. They need things when they need them!) Lastly, schedule building does not accommodate highly variable moods and energy levels. For all those reasons, I cannot make the switch from to-dos to schedule building, even though Eyal makes a convincing case.

#to-do list #Nir Eyal #hooked #indistractable #productivity #gtd

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letterboxd · 4 years

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Survival Mode.

In ten recent coming-of-age films, Ella Kemp finds the genre thriving—and looking very different than the 1980s might have predicted. Film directors and Letterboxd members weigh in on the specific satisfactions of the genre, especially in a pandemic.

There have been jokes, some more serious than others, about the art that will come out of this time. How many novels about a fast-spreading disease are you betting on? Will Covid-19 be better suited to documentary or fiction? But the art I’m most looking forward to, and revisiting now, is the art made about teenagers going through it.

Physical school attendance, so central to the John Hughes movies of the 1980s, is up in the air for so many. Sports practice, theater clubs, mall hang-outs; the familiar neighborhood beats of a teenager’s life are more confined than ever. All of us have had to tweak our reality to make the best of invasive changes forced upon us during the pandemic. In a sense, it feels like we are all coming of age.

Teenagehood, though, is a particularly tricky time of transition, and we don’t yet know the half of how the pandemic is going to impact today’s young adults—and, by association, tomorrow’s coming-of-age films. But in the last two years alone there have been enough brave new entries in the genre, about young people so enlivening, that there’s both plenty for young film lovers to lose themselves in, and plenty for us slightly older folks to watch and learn from.

So I sought out ten recent coming-of-age films (and several of the directors responsible) to see what these stories teach us about teenagers, and how we might empathize with them. The list—Jezebel, Beats, Zombi Child, Blinded by the Light, Selah and the Spades, The Half of It, Dating Amber, Babyteeth, House of Hummingbird and We Are Little Zombies—is by no means exhaustive. But it allows us to look at several things.

Firstly, that the genre is thriving, considering these titles barely scratch the surface. Secondly, these ten films look a whole lot different than their 1980s counterparts. Six are directed by women. Four tell queer stories or, at least, feature queer characters in a prominent subplot. Seven tell stories about Black people, Asian people, Pakistani people. Only three are from the US.

And: they’re really good. They understand teenagers as angry, energetic, passionate, confused, desperate and deeply intelligent beings, echoing the nuances that we know to be true in real life, but that can often get watered down on the screen.

Blinded by the Light (co-written and directed by Gurinder Chadha) We Are Little Zombies (written and directed by Makoto Nagahisa) Beats (co-written and directed by Brian Welsh)

The protagonists in these first three films use music to feel their way through panic, brought on by both internal and external circumstances. Screaming another’s lyrics, furiously composing their own anthems, dancing along and sweating out their fear to the beat, the ongoing beat, and nothing more. It’s salvation, it’s release—when you’re left with your own thoughts, the only way to fight through them is to drown them out.

Music acts as a source of enlightenment in Blinded by the Light, directed by Gurinder Chadha (who made 2002’s coming-of-age sports banger Bend it Like Beckham). In Thatcher’s Britain, Pakistani-English Muslim high schooler Javed discovers the music of Bruce Springsteen, and his world bursts wide open. The wisdom and fire of the Boss helps Javed to make sense of his own frustrations; that the film is based on a real journalist’s autobiography makes it all the more potent.

Meanwhile, in Beats, a real-life law enacted in Scotland in the 1990s temporarily banned raves: specifically, the gathering of people around music “wholly or predominantly characterized by the emission of a succession of repetitive beats”. As the UK struggles to contain a youthful, exuberant new counter-culture, the central characters face what it means to enter adulthood. The answer to both: a forbidden rave.

“I have to say, there’s probably no such thing as teenagers without complicated emotions,” We Are Little Zombies writer-director Makoto Nagahisa tells me. The Japanese filmmaker—who loves the genre, known as ‘Seishun eiga’ in Japan—wrestles with the frustration and hopelessness of the world by giving his film’s four orphaned teens the tools, and the permission, to find solace in something other than their everyday life. Following the deaths of their parents, the quartet create their own catchy, cathartic, truth-bomb music; it’s an instant hit with kids across Japan, but the adults miss the point, of course—that the cacophony of superstardom is filling the silence of their mourning.

Nagahisa-san’s film is named after a fictional 8-bit Nintendo Game Boy game that the main character is addicted to. “I used to get through my day relatively painlessly by pretending I was a video game character whenever bad shit happened to me,” he explains. Teenagers “are constantly feeling crushed by reality right now… I want them to know that this is a valid way to escape reality. That reality is just a ‘game’. I want them to know they don’t need to face tragedies, they can just survive. That’s the most important thing!” Who else needed to hear that right now?

Jezebel (written and directed by Numa Perrier) Zombi Child (written and directed by Bertrand Bonello) Selah and the Spades (written and directed by Tayarisha Poe) House of Hummingbird (written and directed by Kim Bo-ra)

Our next four films turn to technology, mythology, hierarchy and education to animate their protagonists’ lives with a greater purpose. In Jezebel, nineteen-year-old Tiffany finds her way through mourning with a new job, earning money as a cam girl and subsequently developing a bond with one of her clients. There’s a magnetic aura, one that harnesses grief and turns it into something more corrosive as this teen puts all her energy into it. Similarly there’s mysticism in the air in Zombi Child, in which Haitian voodoo gives a bored, heartbroken teenage girl a new purpose as she searches for a way to connect with the one she lost—and with herself.

Selah and the Spades and House of Hummingbird understand the third-party saviour as more of a structure, that of a school or an inspiring teacher. Selah finds herself by doing business selling recreational drugs to her classmates in a faction-led boarding school. Nothing mends a sense of aimlessness like power. This same framework lets Hummingbird’s Eun-hee, a schoolgirl in mid-90s South Korea whose abusive family invest their academic focus in her useless brother, search for love and find connection in her school books—and from the person who’s asking her to read them.

The films on this list are not perfect; some might be criticized for specifically following a formula, the tropes of the coming-of-age film, a little too well. Jezebel lets its protagonist rise and fall with familiarity, while Selah suffers the consequences of her extreme actions, and even Eun-hee reckons with a few recognizable pitfalls. But still, the fact that these films exist is “innately radical”, says Irish writer-director David Freyne, whose queer Irish comedy Dating Amber is covered below. The filmmaker describes the coming-of-age genre as mainstream, but in the best possible sense: “It’s a broadly appealing film,” he says.

This is why, to see these stories reframed with minority voices, with queer voices, is so quietly revolutionary. “The more you see them, the more broadly we see them being enjoyed—the more producers and financiers will realize these stories don’t have to be niche just because they happen to frame a minority voice. Everyone can enjoy it.”

Film journalist and Letterboxd member Iana Murray, a coming-of-age genre fan, echoes Freyne’s thoughts. “Representation is absolutely not the be-all end-all, but I’d love to see more coming-of-age films that reflect my experiences growing up as a woman of color,” she says, before introducing what I’d like to call the Rashomon Effect. “I see it as like one of those films that tell the same events from different perspectives, something like Rashomon or Right Now, Wrong Then,” she explains. “A story becomes even more vibrant when told through a different set of eyes, and that’s what happens when you allow women, people of color, and LGBT people to create coming-of-age narratives.”

Dating Amber (written and directed by David Freyne) The Half of It (written and directed by Alice Wu) Babyteeth (directed by Shannon Murphy, written by Rita Kalnejais)

Which brings us on nicely to our last three: wildly different titles, each with young protagonists at war with themselves, trying to make sense of their bodies and minds as best they can. In this context, companionship is everything. Finding a platonic soulmate in Dating Amber, a sexual awakening in The Half of It, a first love to make a short life worth living in Babyteeth. Each film is directed with a verve and passion that you know must be personal.

The story of a frustrated boy in the closet in Dating Amber aches with care from Freyne behind the camera, while Alice Wu directs Ellie Chu, the main character in The Half Of It, with patience and the kind of encouragement that quiet girls who live a life between two cultures are rarely given. And with Babyteeth, Shannon Murphy returns Australian cinema firmly to the center of the movie map, with a quintessentially Australian optimism and sense of humor, which Ben Mendelsohn called “delightfully bent”.

These perspectives are specific to each teen, but the intensity transcends genres and borders. It manifests musically, verbally, visually, aesthetically. These teens connect with their favorite music and means of entertainment, but also simply to their favorite clothes and accessories—blue bikinis and green wigs, red neck-scarves and floaty white dresses. These details give the characters ways to reinvent themselves while standing still, which certainly feels apt for a life lived, for now, at home.

‘Pretty in Pink’ (1986), written by John Hughes and directed by Howard Deutch.

Many argue that the coming-of-age genre peaked with John Hughes, who defined the framework in iconic 1980s films that have his stamp all over them, whether he wrote (Pretty in Pink, Some Kind of Wonderful) or also directed them (The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Sixteen Candles). Hughes’ world view was of a specifically suburban, white, American corner of the world, which he filled with misfits and ultra-hip soundtracks. “John Hughes was to the genre what The Beatles are to rock and roll,” confirms Letterboxd member Brad, maintainer of the essential coming-of-age movie list Teenage Wasteland.

After Hughes, the genre tumbled, Dazed and Confused, into the 1990s—notable voices include John Singleton with his seminal Boyz n the Hood, and Gus Van Sant’s My Own Private Idaho and Good Will Hunting. This was also the decade of Clueless, which informed the bright, female-forward fare of the 2000s, like Mean Girls, The Princess Diaries and the aforementioned Bend it Like Beckham. The last decade has seen new American storytellers step into Hughes’ shoes, including Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird and Little Women), Olivia Wilde and the writers of Booksmart, and the autobiographical voices of Jonah Hill (mid90s) and Shia LaBeouf (Honey Boy, directed by Alma Har’el).

It’s interesting to note—whether it’s the 1860s or the 1980s—that many coming-of-agers from the past decade take place in an earlier period setting. Social media has demanded the upheaval of entire lives, but it seems some filmmakers aren’t yet ready to grapple with its place on screen.

The audience, on the other hand, is far more adaptable. The way we’re watching coming-of-age films has shifted, and it’s more appropriate for the genre than we could have imagined. On the last day of shooting Dating Amber, Freyne recalls one of the young actors asking, “So, is this going to be on Netflix or something?” This is when cinemas were still open.

“That’s often how younger people are devouring content now,” Freyne reasons. His film, in the end, was snapped up by Amazon (a US release date is yet to be announced). “It’s creating a communal experience with the intersection of social media: live streams, fan art, daily messages… It’s made us feel incredibly connected, moreso than I think we would have got with a cinematic release.”

Streaming platforms also cater to one key habit of a younger film lover: the rewatch. The iconic teen films of the 80s embedded their reputations thanks to the eternal allure of the Friday night video store ritual, and constant television replays. These days, it’s only with a film finding a home on Netflix, on Amazon or on Hulu, that a younger person (or, in times of global crisis, any person) can both financially and logistically afford to devote themselves to watching, again and again, these people onscreen that they’ve immediately and irrevocably found a connection with.

It’s always felt hard to be satisfied with just one viewing of a perfect coming-of-age film—observe how many times Iana Murray has logged Call Me By Your Name. What is it about the slippery, universal allure of the genre? It’s possibly as simple as the feeling of being seen in the fog of intergenerational confusion. Says Nagahisa-san: “Grown-ups think of teenagers like zombies. Teenagers think of grown-ups like zombies. We’re never able to understand what others are feeling inside.”

“The reaction is always emotive rather than intellectual,” adds Freyne. “There’s something quite visceral and instinctive about coming-of-age films; it’s an emotional experience rather than an analytical one.” That emotional experience is tied up in the fact that we often experience coming-of-age movies just as we ourselves are coming of age, establishing an unbreakable connection between a film and a specific period in our lives. MovieMaestro Brad explains it best: “There is a bit of nostalgia in a lot of these films that take me back to my younger days, when life was simple.”

But that’s not to say only those coming of age can appreciate a coming-of-age film. On her favorite coming-of-age film, Mike Mills’ 20th Century Women, Murray explains, “It doesn’t see coming-of-age as exclusive to teenagers, because that process of growth is really about transition and change.” (In a similar vein, Kris Rey’s new comedy I Used to Go Here, in select theaters and on demand August 7, meets Kate Conklin, played by Gillian Jacobs, in a sort of quarter-life-crisis, needing to grow down a bit in order to grow up.)

Natalia Dyer in ‘Yes, God, Yes’ (2019), directed by Karen Maine.

There is endless praise, conflict and wonder to be found in the ten films mentioned above—and all the ones we haven’t even gone near (Karen Maine’s orgasmic religious comedy Yes, God, Yes, now available on demand in the US, deserves an honorary mention, as does Get Duked!, Ninian Doff’s upcoming stoner romp in the Scottish Highlands). The thing about this genre is it’s raw, it’s alive, and it’s always in transition. Just when you might think it’s gone out of fashion, it emerges in a new and fascinating form. And yet, there are still so many filmmakers who haven’t tackled the genre. I asked my interviewees who they’d like to see take on a story of teens in transition.

“I’d love to see Tarantino’s take on a coming-of-age tale,” says master of the genre himself, MovieMaestro/Brad. Murray gives her vote to Lulu Wang, saying, “I love the specificity she brought to The Farewell, I think it would transfer well to a genre that needs to escape clichés.” Freyne, meanwhile, wants to see if Ari Aster might have another story about young people in him. Maybe something a bit less lethal next time.

Ultimately, “you write from empathy, not from experience,” says Freyne. I think the same goes for watching, too. It won’t be tomorrow, and it might not be this year, but eventually, the world will emerge from Covid-19. What will we have learned from the films that we watched while we were waiting? From the sadness, the angst, the determination, the rage and the passion?

Nagahisa-san already knows, and his advice is everything we need right now: “You don’t need others’ approval of who you are, as long as you understand and approve of yourself. Do whatever pops up in your mind. Live your life without fear or despair. Just survive.”