#whether that is continuing to make art or moving away from dw | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

floorbe · 4 years ago

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Kazuichi, Byakuya, Shuichi, Nagito, Hajime, Taka, Sonia & Mondo headcanons with a partner who is the Ultimate Dreamer? As in they have a HUGE imagination and creativity. They always ramble about ideas, are easily distracted/zone out a lot and get very emotional when an idea for a story or art piece doesn't go according to plan? I know that's a lot of people so you don't have to do them all, i'm sorry

ofc!! its not too many ppl at all, dw!!!

Kazuichi Souda

-He’s right on your wavelength!

-He’s got a crazy amount of creativity, too, so he’s right there with you and egging on your ideas!!

-He even adds on to them if you want! He’s got a lot of suggestions for everything

-He also asks for suggestions from you when he’s blocked for ideas on what to build/examine next

-At first he’s kind of offended when you keep getting distracted while he’s talking, but once he realizes it doesn’t mean you’re not interested, he’s cool!

-Has no problem repeating what he said, even if he has to do it twenty times in one conversation

-Kazuichi can completely empathize with getting emotional when something doesn’t turn out right

-He gets the same way when it’s his own creations, so he knows exactly how you feel and how to help

-“Hey, Y/N, don’t worry about it, okay?! We can always try again! Plus, I think this turned out pretty damn cool, anyway...”

-He’s always encouraging you and complimenting all of your works, even the ones you don’t think are up to par. And he genuinely means everything he says

-You can count on him to always be there to motivate you to try again or move onto the next project

Byakuya Togami

-He’s honestly really impressed with how creative you are

-You’ll probably never know genuinely how much, because the most he’ll say is a “That’s quite an idea, Y/N”

-He’s going to get frustrated at first if you zone out often, so bear with him as he gets over himself a bit

-Once he does get more used to it, he’ll just sigh and repeat what he said. It isn’t much better than before, but at least he’s not rolling his eyes with a snarky reply anymore

-He kind of... nitpicks your ideas? He doesn’t mean it in a harmful way, he just wants to add on in his own way. He’ll add on his own suggestions for a more practical and successful approach

-He’s actually a pretty good listener, though you’ll mostly get hums and grunts as responses as he doesn’t have much to add onto your thoughts

-If you’re a writer, he’s fully willing to proof read your stuff! He won’t say that, of course, but you can tell by how quickly he gives in when you ask him

-When you get emotional that something didn’t go right, he’ll walk past you and take a look at it himself

-“...This turned out well, Y/N. Our minds expectations are always higher than what we can accomplish; or, you’re your own worst critic, as they say.”

Shuichi Saihara

-He’s amazed with how many ideas you have?? It seems like you never run out, and he’s so interested in hearing every one

-He doesn’t really have much to add on (and he kinda feels like he’s imposing by suggesting stuff) but if you ask he’s more than happy to give his own thoughts!

-Doesn’t mind you zoning out at all! He actually starts picking up on the signs that you are and either 1. catches your attention again or 2. gives you a minute before going on

-When you start getting emotional over something that didn’t turn out quite right, he’s right there beside you to ride it out with you

-“I-I think it’s amazing, Y/N, really!” and he does! But he knows what it’s like to not meet your own expectations, so he tries his best to be there for you

-And when you eventually pick up the motivation to start a new piece/work on your project again, he’s right there supporting you

Nagito Komaeda

-He’s astounded by how many ideas you have, and he wants to know about every single one

-This man is one of the best listeners you’ll ever meet

-He’s dead silent while you talk unless you want him to add stuff in or ask questions, in which he’s got you, too!

-He loves watching you work, and will gladly sit by you for hours just chilling

-Doesn’t mind at all if you zone out, but he may take it way too personally in a self hatred way, so make sure to reassure him it’s not because of him

-He’s so, so supportive of everything you make!

-He really does not understand how you could think that something didn’t turn out well, because “everything you do is amazing, my love!”

-He’s got so many compliments for every project you work on. It’s almost too much, but later on in the relationship he knows when to pull back

-If you’re a painter, he’d love to paint with you!! He has no qualms about getting messy, and he loves spending time with you!

Hajime Hinata

-He loves listening to all of your thoughts and ideas!!

-Secretly kinda jealous of how big your imagination is, but he won’t tell you that

-He doesn’t have much to weigh in tbh, he just likes listening, but he’ll give suggestions if you want!

-Tbh he zones out a lot, too, so he totally understands you! He’ll just gently snap your attention back if you ask him to!

-He’s also right by your side when he sees you start to get emotional over a project

-He tries his best to comfort you, mostly by complimenting the piece in question and reassuring you it looks great (and it does!)

-He’ll stick to just comforting you if you don’t want any compliments, tho. He’s a great hugger!

-If you draw, sometimes you’ll catch him sketching in his own little book after watching you draw. He only lets you catch a glimpse of it before he shuts it, but it looked... suspiciously like you?

Kiyotaka Ishimaru

-This man admires you so, so much. He has so much respect for you

-He’s not really an art person, so if your projects are art based he is so enamored by it! If you’ll let him, he’d love to sit in and watch you while you work!

-Your creativity is so fascinating to him. He loves hearing all of your ideas, and loves discussing them with you!

-He’ll try to add in suggestions, but if you want him to just listen he’s fine with that, too

-At first he thinks you’re zoning out because you’re being rude/disrespectful (and he’s a little hurt on the inside at the thought), but once you clarify that that’s not the case at all he’s 100% okay again

-Offers to proof read your stuff if you’re a writer! He may not be that good at creative writing, but he’s damn good at proof reading and editing writings

-He’ll absolutely ask for tips on some of the stuff that he’s interested in if that’s what you also do! (“Y/N, please teach me how to draw the other eye!”)

-He starts picking up on early signs that you’re starting to get emotional over a project, and he’ll rush to your side early to try and help out

-Whether it be by complimenting the piece (which he thinks is just... amazing, really, he doesn’t get how you don’t see that??) or just rubbing your back as you lament over it, he’s right there

Sonia Nevermind

-She’s so excited!!! She loves listening to other people talk about what they’re passionate about!

-She could spend hours just sitting with you and listening to you talk about your new ideas!

-She’ll get so excited if you ask her to weigh in with her opinion, so excited that she may fill up the suggestion with curse words on accident

-She doesn’t mind you zoning out at all! She knows it’s not intentional and she has no problem just catching your attention again and asking where in her sentence you zoned out so she can continue

-Sonia is very observant about the people she cares about, so she can see that you’re starting to get emotional over a piece before you even notice it

-At an instant she’s bringing you water and snacks, suggesting to take a break with her and relax for a bit

-If that doesn’t work, she’ll wrap you up in her arms to comfort you and remind you that even if this didn’t turn out exactly how you wanted, it still turned out amazing in the end, and that is something to be proud of!

Mondo Oowada

-Damn, he’s impressed. How do you have so many ideas up in your head?? He’s astounded with every one tbh!

-Sometimes he asks you for ideas for what he should build next! (He’ll also let you paint his stuff if you want)

-If you paint or draw, please ask him to join you one day. It will be hilarious and endearing (imagine him drawing a hideous stick figure and labelling it as you)

-He likes sitting you in his lap as you talk about your ideas, and he’ll hum as he listens to you; he’s more of a listener

-Doesn’t mind at all if you zone out! He’ll just hum and repeat himself; no harm done! If you’re apologetic, he’ll scoff and reassure you that he does not “fuckin’ care, babe, it’s not a big deal to say something again”

-He can tell if you’re starting to get frustrated by a piece not going according to plan, and he tries to coax you into taking a break before you get too frustrated

-If you still get emotional over it, he’s beside you rubbing your back soothingly and reassuring you that you can try again another time

-Brings you away from the piece to get your mind off of it, whether that be by motorcycle ride, movie, etc., he’s pulling out all the stops

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shintorikhazumi · 4 years ago

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“Diana.”

A/N: To be honest, I had wanted this to be a Diana-centric fic, from Diana’s perspective. I struggled to find a concept, and had a little help from a friend who sent me a random generator. (Thanks, Kate :>) And when I thought I’d just choose from a randomly generated idea, I came across this video on youtube which was actually a compilation of a tiktok series of the story of two neighbors. Of course, I changed bits of it, and obv the end so if you think you know what the source vid is, dw. I won’t hurt y’all like that ;-; And I’ll just link it at the bottom so no plot spoilers for those who don’t know what it is. Eyyyy.

This fic has a few song recs for y’all to listen to if you haven’t heard them already, lol. ;)

I had been looking for something... “emotional” for Diana’s bday fic. And I think... this works. At least for me, it does. It’s not from Diana’s perspective, but... I think this works. So without further ado, Happy birthday Diana and...

oh, thank you to @tracedinairlwa for some help with the music :> that y’all will see later in the fic :’>. Without further ado,

Enjoy?

~Shintori Khazumi

It all started with a sunset and a few familiar notes from a piano.

No, it isn’t Akko’s piano. Her piano has been sitting in a corner of her room, collecting dust- untouched for months. And that is just the thing. Unless her piano has somehow become cursed and has decided to ghostly play on its own, then there had to be some other source.

The source of that gentle sound, Akko eventually pinpoints, is her apartment wall- or more accurately, what lies beyond that separator.

As she sits on her couch, admiring the expressive tones, her mind has decided that it wants to capture this special moment, and keep it stored lest she never experiences it again.

Making a quick dash for her bedroom, she opens her bedside drawer and fishes for her old camera from her university days in film club, back when she was an actual student of the Arts and all that creative jazz. She has tried to maintain it, but being under lockdown allows her few chances of seeing the outside world, and the few corners of her home don’t exactly spark ‘inspiration’ for any project.

Dusting the device off gently, she takes it back to the living room, placing it on her coffee table facing herself. She clicks the record button, thinking of making an introduction; but she quickly abandons that idea as she realizes it may take away from the sounds she wants to ring more apparent on tape.

Maybe she can just edit a few captions later on her laptop. Yes. That sounds good.

So she sits.

And the notes kept playing.

[Video Diary(?) Diary? Is this a Diary? Day... Day 1. I hope it’s only Day 1. I hope there’s a day 2. And a three... and a five.

So anyway, Akko here. And uh... I got a new neighbor, I think. He/she plays the piano. I do too (kinda. Haven’t done that in a while, hehe).

I don’t know why I recorded this... this must seem like I’m being a creep, but... They just... played Chariot’s Melancholy from my favorite show and... it felt sadder than usual. The sound felt sorrowful. I don’t know...

I’m... moved.]

//-//-//-//-//

She does not know what compels her today, to slip that message under her neighbors door; but before she can even think about her actions, they’d already been done.

A simple, “can you please play ‘Ease My Mind’ by Ben Platt, maybe?” haphazardly scrawled on a piece of notebook paper is delivered with the anxious feelings of an interaction-craving Akko, starved of a social life since all this pandemic misfortune began.

She is sure she no longer knows how to string a proper introduction together after nearly a year of being by her lonesome.

This is about to change however. Starting today.

Maybe.

She counts down the hours ‘til sunset.

[Day 2! Yey! So uh... I kind of... went on the attack- no! I didn’t attack anyone! I just... You know how I have a new neighbor that plays the piano? I sent that neighbor a note.

And you might think that’s all fine and cute, but... I’ve never even met my neighbor... but...

I love his/her music. So much.

And I told them. On the note, of course. Duh, Akko.

I asked them to play ease my mind and... they did.

As you can hear in the video... I guess it was a yes. :>

...They eased my mind...

-Akko]

//-//-//-//-//

She wants to try something today.

She has been thinking about it the past few days after continually being blessed with such beautiful music. Music that had attracted her like moth to a flame. The piano’s daily sunset singing compels her to come reunite with her own.

She had wiped it clean earlier in the morning and now sits awkwardly on the bench, punching down a random note here and there.

What a nostalgic tone.

The C major scale then the G. She plays it. A few arpeggios to warm up. F sharp major doesn’t sound too good, with her fingers tangling up as she traverses the scale. What was the fingering supposed to be like again? Right. Start with the fourth and second finger on the left and right hand respectively.

That sounds much better.

She hums a few tunes, choosing from a playlist arranged in her mind. She settles on something gentle and sweet. A Yiruma song. Just to get the feeling back in her hands.

A river flows as notes along the plain that is her silent room, adorning the quiet flourishes and curves, bringing color to her atmosphere.

She misses this. This tingle in her heart as music fills up her entire soul, not allowing her to think of anything else but this exact moment.

Yes.

This... This is nice.

And Akko plays until the sunset comes.

She can’t wait for it to come.

[Day 6. I... I haven’t played the piano in a while, and I’m a little rusty. But brave ol’ Akko here thought it’d be great to ask for a duet from the virtuoso across the drywall, haha. I left a note...

And I though we had something going. I was excited... I said that they could play once I stopped my part, but... did they forget? Or I guess they didn’t hear me.

It’s okay... I can try again tomorrow.

I hope. Tomorrow...

-This has been Akko.]

//-//-//-//-//

She excitedly videos this weekend ‘meet-up’.

Akko still doesn’t know who lives across the wall, but she sure knows his or her favorite songs by now, hearing it daily at the same sunset hours.

She admires the music, as usual, but this time it’s different. This time, they had sent her a note. An apology for missing out last time.

They request a duet with her, to make up for it. Of course, Akko accepts. And now she starts it off, praying and hoping her sound is heard through the barrier that keeps their music apart.

She ends her part of the duet, waiting in the most agonizing few seconds of silence. She briefly worries that her neighbor had forgotten their proposition; or maybe they couldn’t hear her once more.

It’s fine, she thinks... It’s okay. She scratches her cheek, wondering if she should hold on until next time again-

There it is. That beautiful sound, so personal to the one living across the wall. A sound of emotion that could only belong to whoever it was living there.

Akko had never heard anyone else play the way her neighbor did.

She laughs, she feels herself tear up a little. It hurts so sweet in her chest. It’s a fizzy, bubbling excitement. It’s a stretched-out joy across her cheeks.

A success!

A beautiful one, indeed.

[Day 8: Akko here. My wish came true. I... got to play with my neighbor! Yay!

... Maybe I should go meet them now...]

//-//-//-//-//

They do it again.

Akko excitedly bounces in her warmed piano seat, listening to her neighbor go first this time around. She listens intently. Once the wall music stops, she starts. This was their agreement, their deal.

The river’s flow stills a moment, and that’s Akko’s cue to pick up the current’s pace once more.

She plays with shy gusto, caressing the keys in a way that shows how she’s fallen in love again. With the piano? With music? Yes. With- ...

Love, huh. It’s such perfect timing too.

Today is Valentine’s day.

Akko doesn’t know whether or not her neighbor has anyone special in her life like that, but if they share the same situation, all alone in their apartments, locked in by the pandemic, she just wants them to know she receives the message their music is trying to get across to one another.

Her heart feels it. It translates it.

It cherishes it.

[Day 13.

Dear Neighbor,

I just... wanted to share the words we’ve exchanged, not through any verbal means, but through the sounds that reverberate against the very foundations of our connected homes. Thank you for this message.

I know that music is... our way of simply saying

“I don’t know who you are ... But I’m here. You’re not Alone.” This is for you too.

-Sincerely, Akko.]

//-//-//-//-//

It is a challenge.

For Akko or for her neighbor, she doesn’t know. What she does know is that tomorrow is going to be the big day! She’s finally going to see the face behind the songs that have embraced her tenderly throughout the lonely struggle she hadn’t realized had weighed down on her so heavily.

The interactions they’ve had, the conversations, they brighten up her everyday, and Akko is somewhat afraid she’s gotten attached; addicted- if you will- to this unique bond she’s formed with another she has never actually met.

Her mind strays from her current piece, body autopiloting a song called, “Mind Conductor” that both of them just so happen to like, apparently. Another fact that makes Akko feel all giddy as they seem to share a taste in other media outside of music.

She feels herself vibrate with nerves and excitement.

It’s tomorrow. Tomorrow is the day.

[We’re Finally Meeting.

Tomorrow.]

//-//-//-//-//

Akko tells a story.

She’s met her neighbor, not knowing what to expect. Despite having a lack of said expectations, she could confidently say it was better than anything she could have anticipated.

She rolls up the sleeves of her flannel shirt, readying herself to write the melodious response to the already playing tune in the background of her video.

Though she tries to listen intently, waiting for her turn, she is distracted. She knows she is.

After meeting someone as wonderful as her neighbor.

Blonde hair and blue eyes invade her recall, flashes of a soft smile and calm voice playing over and over in her head.

Her neighbor is the most gorgeous woman she’s ever met. Breath-taking. Akko says this with utmost objectivity as her lungs struggle to function after first meeting the lady.

Hailing from Scotland, the twenty-five-year-old had introduced herself to Akko. They exchanged a few pleasantries, some questions and information.

Akko had asked how she’d never known she had such a talented neighbor, to which the response was an admission from the woman that she had just moved in and was only staying in the adjacent apartment temporarily while awaiting for a relative to come for her after selling their old house back in their hometown.

Her mother... rests. Having had a certain heart disease for a while, her immune system had proven very susceptible to the pandemic reaper that had claimed her life for its tallied count. She never knew her father, it seemed.

Akko’s heart breaks as she remembers these things.

“All I have left is the piano.”

That’s what she’d said to her earlier.

Akko’s fingers glide across the keys, playing her role in this drama for two.

“I play at sunset because my mother came home at that time from work... she was always stressed.

...I wanted to be of help to her. I was happy she loved it. As I grew up, it became a habit.”

Akko fumbles with a few keys, making a slight mistake. She hopes her neighbor can forgive her for being so distracted at the moment, and right after they’d finally met too.

“Thank you, Miss-”

“Akko is fine.”

“Thank you, Akko. You’re playing has, in truth, kept me motivated and less lonely.”

Akko remembers having promised before their parting to their respective units that she would keep playing with her until she moves out.

Akko blushes upon remembering the stunning smile she was offered afterwards.

Her neighbor had been camera shy and so Akko didn’t get the opportunity for a picture. She hopes for the best in the future. She’ll try again if ever the lovely lady was ready.

They have time, anyway.

They do.

[Day 20, folks! Akko here, writing another video caption entry, Diary, thing... haha. The song playing right now in the video is gorgeous right? It’s... her favorite song. It’s called, ‘In case you don’t live forever’. She said it keeps her loser to her mother. It keeps her in her heart.

She plays so beautifully...

She’s just as beautiful. She’s amazing.

She’s... a special soul.

I feel goosebumps.

I’m glad. For her. Her music doesn’t sound as sorrowful as when I first heard it. It’s still every bit as emotional, though. I could cry. Really, I could...

...I’m so happy she’s healing.

It’s a process, but... I’ll be here. I’ll be here for her.

I’ll be here for you,

“Diana.”]

//-//-//-//-//

There are times when Akko thinks she’d like to get to know her neighbor more, a little more chatting, a few more minutes talking.

However, it always seems as though there’s this unspoken rule. This... ‘don’t-get-too-close’, ‘don’t-ask-more-than-you-should’. It’s like a boundary that keeps Akko from learning more, discovering more.

Neither of them purposely meet-up outside their closed doors either, this lockdown and what-not all up in their face.

They see each other around the building sometimes, wave a hand, shake a plastic bag of groceries, but building protocols don’t really allow loitering in the halls, and Akko feels she’d be crossing a line in inviting the girl over, and she doesn’t see herself getting invited instead either.

Despite this longing, she isn’t all too dissatisfied with the current standing of their relationship. Peculiar as it may be, she rather likes this.

A relationship built on a communication based on raw emotion delivered through their music.

If Akko ponders it deeply, it’s quite an intimate relationship, what they have. Thoughts and feelings in their purest form- unspoken, but not hidden.

She might not know too much about Diana. She may not know much of her past, or even her present, or general objective facts about the woman.

But what Akko does feel she knows is Diana’s heart.

And Akko knows its utterly beautiful.

//-//-//-//-//

Moonlight Sonata has never felt so sad to her; its sounds reflecting something they both felt, Akko believed.

Akko feels her heart clench and ache in her chest, her face a little hot and her palms sweating.

Only a week left before the clock strikes twelve and the magic is broken.

Diana is finally moving out.

It is... their final duet.

How unfortunate.

Akko sighs, thinking about the pain she’ll feel later as she edits this portion of the video. Compared to the happy tones and build ups of all the others, this... is something she doesn’t know if she can do.

Maybe she can ask Amanda for a favor this time around?

She’s actually shown some of her closest friends her video logs, and they all had sent kind messages to Akko’s new friend, who in turn, felt worlds and worlds happier.

Akko feels happy as well.

Diana’s joy is contagious. It shows through her expressive music that gives away the feelings her face doesn’t show.

Speaking of Diana’s face... she still hasn’t agreed on showing her face on camera. Akko supposes it’s still too early. Maybe before she leaves? Oh Akko hopes so. She wants to have something to look at physically to remember Diana by. Not that she’d ever forget.

Still, a little memory help never hurt anyone.

Diana’s turn comes in smoothly through the wall, Akko unable to keep her smile from forming.

She’s going to miss this. The playing; the sometimes awkward, but unconventionally amazing duets; the letters shoved underneath door; and the very rare hallway meet-up where Akko can only smile at Diana as they exchange a literal word or two.

Akko reminisces.

The past... two months now, have been amazing. Incredible. Life-changing. Akko wonders what the future has in store for them both after they part.

Maybe they could meet again. Someday. Somehow. Somewhere.

Akko knows she’ll keep playing still. At the same time, on a weekend, as the sunsets. For Diana. She’s promised she’ll keep making the video logs. She’ll send them over to her so that they can still keep this music alive in some way.

//-//-//-//-//

[Day 62.

Hi, Diana. It’s me, Akko.

I... wrote you a song...? Or well, I started to... I’m not quite done yet, hihi. Got a little too ambitious and all... thought I could add some other instruments besides our- the piano... aha..haha...

When you first told me your story, I started picturing it out. A life dyed with all the colors of the spectrum. From the vivids to the grays, it was such a lovely imagery in my minds eye. A painting I could not get out of my head.

And so this song is... yeah. That.

A story.

A story about this wonderful twenty-five-year-old woman who so happened to move next door to this uninspired artist. She’d lost her mother to a stupid virus, and she’d never known her father. Her house got sold, and she had only one distant relative she knew of left.

She spends her days along in a box of white walls and empty silence. That is, until the sun decides to rest for the day, and it sends its golden rays of energy to the girl and to her piano that she thought to be her sole companion in this tragedy.

She plays her favorite songs, filling the emptiness with her own emotions; making the intangible manifest itself and cause a dumb girl next door to one day slip a scratch of paper underneath her door, asking for a song.

A note with a request... and with a message that she’d heard her feelings- her loneliness; and that she’d never let her be alone anymore.

And that’s how they became friends, huh, Diana?

Two pianos, Two people, and a wall that keeps them apart.

They didn’t know who was playing on the other side. But did it matter?

In this dreary, blackened time of the world,

‘You can be the light of somebody else’ darkness, so keep shining.’.

Dear Diana,

In case my playing isn’t as emotionally expressive as yours, I hope you at least know this now. Through this video.

That you were, and are... my light.

-Akko.

P.S. I hope I finish the song and give it to you before you leave.]

//-//-//-//-//

She feels herself hyperventilating, her vision bleary. She can barely stand. She feels like vomiting, and dying, and screaming all at once.

Her anxieties run rampant all over the room.

If this keeps up, she may as well hurt herself beyond help.

She trudges over to the one thing that could ground her at the moment.

The piano.

Her hands are shaky as they do multiple attempts to turn on the keyboard, hitting the wrong buttons and turning the volume knob up too loud that when Akko accidentally leans against the keyboard, hand pressing down on many keys, the sound almost blows up her eardrums.

She curses, smashing a hand against those same keys, the cluster of notes echoing through her apartment walls.

“aaaaAAAAGGHHHHHHHH!!!!”

She allows the scream to tear out of her throat; emotions, wild horses finally released into the open.

“AGH! AGGHHHH!!! RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH”

She falls face first onto the keys, now ignoring the loudness of their noise, momentarily thinking it would be better to allow her ears to bleed out so she’d never hear a thing again.

She wants something, anything, to drown out the pain she feels right now.

...

She sobs against the keys, head lifting as she apologizes to her piano, wiping off the tears that are quickly replaced by fresh ones.

Akko gives up and plays a note. Then two.

Then she’s playing ‘you’ll be in my heart’ and she’s crying more.

She lets herself cry as she plays.

Today, she was supposed to see Diana off. She had left a final note the day before yesterday, asking if she could do so. Help Diana carry her things, maybe swap numbers, and just... maybe keep this connection going for years to come.

Last night, she’d said good night at Diana’s door.

The girl gave her the sweetest smile, an almost unnoticeable blush on her features.

Oh, but Akko noticed anyway.

Of course, she would. With how shamelessly she stared at Diana at that moment.

Diana laughed, stepping closer and patted Akko on the cheek- kissed her there- before turning about to shut the door, along with the lights Akko saw go off from underneath it.

She was excited for the morning.

But when morning came... Diana was gone.

Akko had been thrown into confusion and a frantic state that she’d bolted all around, searching for signs or a left behind message.

Nothing.

She had then run down to ask the land lady, and that’s where she’d found out.

The heart disease Diana’s mother had was hereditary.

Diana had had an attack, and with an emergency alerting device, she’d been able to contact her only family, and had been taken to the hospital.

That was good.

That gave Akko relief and joy.

...so why is she despairing now?

...She didn’t know.

No, not the reason for her despair. She knows that.

The reason she was in this state is because she didn’t know.

She didn’t know what had happened.

She didn’t know Diana had suddenly disappeared in the middle of the night.

She didn’t know where she was, or where whoever took her.

She didn’t know that Diana had that heart disease too.

She didn’t know because she never got to ask.

She never got to learn more, know more.

... Did she not know Diana then?

Her mind taunts her, her heart hurts her.

She doesn’t know a lot about Diana. Not as much as she thinks.

That’s what they tell her.

For all the emotions they’d exchanged through music, that was the extent of it. Had Akko been too presumptuous in thinking she’d known Diana so deeply because of what they’d shared?

When in reality she may as well be a random stranger playing her show tunes and disturbing her neighbors.

Akko almost believes it.

But no... no. She can’t do that. She can’t assume those things. Not about their connection. Not about Diana.

Because Diana had told her once upon a song that she- that Akko had been her light. Her comfort. Akko believes in Diana. So she believes these feelings as well.

Yet these feelings of her own were so conflicting, so daunting. They battle in her mind, questioning and justifying every little thing. All things relating to Diana. Diana and... Diana.

Akko coughs out a few more sobs, throat incredibly dry.

She stops playing for a moment, dragging herself to the kitchen for a glass of water.

Then she goes back to the piano.

She... doesn’t feel like playing again.

What should she play anyway?

What song does she want to play? What song... Song... Song... Diana... What was Diana’s favorite song?

Diana? Song? A song for Diana? A song about-

Akko falls off her piano bench as she scrambles for her coffee table, sighing in relief as the papers for her composition are still there.

With shaky hands, she takes the sheets and a pencil and brings them over to the piano.

And she writes a few notes, then a few bars.

Diana.

Who is Diana.

What does Akko not know about her. Her other struggles? Her sickness? Her trials and her fears? Her past?

That melody... sounded too sad for a parting gift. Akko doesn’t want Diana to feel more sorrow when she moves out...

Then....

What does Akko know? About Diana?

“Diana is...”

Expressive, emotional.

Diana is intelligent, an intellectual.

Diana is sincere and sweet.

Diana is talented and tasteful in music.

Diana is... her neighbor, her... new friend,

....Akko’s... what?

What was she to Akko?

“You are my light.”

-Akko ends up writing as a title.

But that’s a little too embarrassing to give to someone who was just your neighbor and a new friend... right?

And maybe it didn’t exactly represent the whole thing Akko had written.

So she erases it, biting her pencil as she tries to come up with a new name, a new caption for this creation.

What could it be. That describes Diana in her entirety; her life, her struggles, her joys.

Who is she? Who is Akko’s neighbor?

Akko scratches her head in frustration, wracking her brains even more.

With a sigh, she replies to herself aloud, the simplest, somewhat plain, and stupidly obvious answer.

“Well, she’s Diana.”

And it clicks.

That she is.

She is Diana.

And Akko throws on a jacket, a mask, and some shoes and thinks no more.

//-//-//-//-//

[Dear Diana,

I know very little about you

But you’ve changed my life.

Really you have.

You gave me back my passion, and a little bit more of that even. Maybe aroused a new passion within me.

I’d say, “You’ll be in my heart”, but that sounds too much of a farewell, to be honest.

And I’d rather not say goodbye just yet.

Not like this.

Music... Is a powerful thing. Despite the rampaging emotions I’d felt as I found out what had happened to you today, I- I kept playing. It grounded me. It helped me.

Diana, you once told me I was your light.

And you know I’ve told you already. That you’ve been MINE.

Diana. This video might look incredibly shaky and chaotic.

But please forgive me for that, and know that it is because I’m running with all my might to find out where you are. I got a hint for the hospital you might have been taken too.

It kinda seems like I’m a stalker now, huh?

I’m sorry. I just... I-

I can’t say goodbye to you....

Not just yet...

I still... have a song for you.

So... wait for me?”]

//-//-//-//-//

Eyes blink, bright white melting into color. They scan the room, looking for hints to identify her location.

Her body aches, her chest hurts. Her throat is parched. Her head is throbbing.

What is that annoying beeping sound-

Ah. Of course.

The hospital.

Again.

She hates it. She hates the smell of antiseptic and sterile sheets. She hates the taste of badly prepared hospital meals, and too-dry food.

The water has this strange quality to it when you’re in the hospital.

She knows this well.

She hates that she does.

She sighs, sinking into her pillows. At least those are comfortable.

Ugh.

What bad timing, really. For an attack.

She was supposed to move out today. She was supposed to meet with her aunt- who actually has probably met up with her by now, seeing as Diana is in a hospital and her usual alert device seems to be charging within reach beside her. Also she sees Daryl’s purse on the seat.

Maybe the woman had gone out temporarily for something important.

That was fine.

It just meant Diana was left alone again. If only for a short while.

...Alone, huh.

These past two months, she hadn’t been that.

All because of one girl, one Atsuko Kagari that she’d met by chance through a piano and through a wall. The sound quite literally carrying over through a wall.

Diana can’t believe she used to be so skeptical of thin-walled living spaces, wondering how people kept their privacy.

Now, however, she feels blessed that that was the case.

Else she’d never have met... her light.

That’s right.

When everything, her vision, her hopes, her heart had steadily been dying out, through her dim came a glow. That glow was the connection she’d found through her neighbor across a wall.

It had surprised her the first time she realized someone was playing alongside her one sunset session, months ago. She would have thought it creepy had the person’s music been any less captivating.

There were just so many colors in the music, there was just so much warmth. It sounded a little rough, a few hinges rusty at first; but it came along after a few pseudo duets, and then Diana had found these duets to be a staple in her life.

Then she met Akko for the first time, and more warmth and color came into her life.

Diana found herself enjoying the musical conversations they had, intrigued by thoughts that they were actually able to communicate in that way and understand one another to that extent, no words attached.

And she enjoyed these nonverbal bonding moments.

But when they actually wrote to one another, or when they’d have their short greetings when they’d meet up in the hall, Diana found herself wanting to draw even closer, to get to know Akko even more.

And when Akko asked if she could do the same, Diana had found it so easy to open up.

She’d loved to know even more about the girl.

But how would she do it now?

They didn’t have the chance to exchange numbers, and Diana was probably moving as soon as she left the hospital. Her things were already being shipped to her new home, after all. There wasn’t much reason to return to her apartment, really.

“Idiot. Stupid, Diana. Not asking her sooner. What are you supposed to do no-”

Two knocks on her door.

It doesn’t open right away. It doesn’t seem to open at all.

Diana deduces it’s not a doctor or nurse then. And it might not be Daryl either because the woman would have already called the attending nurse to open the door already.

So then, who could it be?

Diana tries not to let her mind wander and get her hopes up, because there is no way- just no way- it’s who she hopes it will be.

The door opens, and her breath is unexpectedly bated- and she releases it, seeing it’s just the janitor.

Trying not to let disappointment leak into her tone, she greets him a good mor-

“I’m glad... I was right.... hah... hah... You’re here... Diana.”

And Diana really shouldn’t just assume things such as being wrong, and that maybe her neighbor was a creep two months back.

Because now her neighbor, all frazzled, sweaty, and out of breath, is right there in front of her, a bunch of papers crumpled in one hand as the other is held over her heart, trying to calm herself.

“You... hah... didn’t let m-me... Sa-ha-y goodbye... so... you’re not allowed... to leave me waiting in silence and never respond...” Akko huffs. “There’s no more wall preventing you from using words now.”

Her breathing finally slows, and she manages to look up.

“I still have a song for you, after all.”

Diana doesn’t realize, nor does she feel the tears flowing down her face.

Akko doesn’t either.

“L-Let me know what you think... It’s my first song and all...” She becomes this shy blushing school girl as she approaches Diana’s bedside, awkwardly handing over the worn pieces of paper, all wrinkled up from whatever adventure Akko had been on prior to arriving here. “... then maybe we could play a duet again or something...”

She mumbles it so quietly Diana almost didn’t catch it.

She smiles.

She doesn’t think about the reality that was supposed to occur today had she not been taken to the hospital.

Virtual duets aren’t really her thing. She much prefers hearing sound in person, in real-time. She prefers the ability to adapt and adjust to play alongside someone; to feel expression and emotion first hand; to experience a duet in full.

So it’s a simple reply that she has ready, along with a smile on her face as she takes Akko’s hand in hers.

“I’d love that.”

//-//-//-//-//

Diana has told her many times that it’s thanks to her that she was able to recover as quickly as she did, and be out of the hospital in only a week.

Akko sheepishly denies that every time.

They’re both just glad things seem to settle to be alright now.

Diana leans her head against Akko’s shoulder as they share a pair of earphones, listening to the composition play on the latter’s laptop.

“I love it.”

“I know. You’ve told me that the past 4 months, everyday.”

“And I will continue to.”

Akko tries her best to hide the smile that had grown on her face, but it’s impossible. It comes out in laughs and a few soft tears, and she rubs her head against Diana’s.

“You have all the time to, it seems.”

“Yes, and I won’t waste it.” Diana quips, turning her head up to look at Akko with the tenderest of smiles. “Care to play?”

Akko simply smiles, before wrapping Diana up in a hug so deep, and warm, and tender. Without a word, she stands them both up, walking them over to two keyboards now positioned side-by-side.

They take seat. With eyes meeting, and a small nod, they begin.

They don’t need words to figure out the rhythm they’ll fall into, or what they should do, or who plays what part for today.

Akko’s colors seep out, her warmth embedded in her music. Diana’s expressive emotions tell Akko all she needs to know, and they play in harmony.

Together, they tell a story.

A story that began with a sunset and a few familiar notes from a piano.

A story about its music and what lay beyond a wall.

A story once called, “Diana”.

Now,

“Diana and Akko”.

A/N: .... Hrmmm... I didn’t like how i ended it, tbh,,, hahaha. I just... lost my thought process now. I’m tired and lost.

Anyway.

Based off this story

The follow-up to this won’t be now, or anytime too soon. Or tbh, I could just end it like this. But there’s this ache in my heart that wants to know what happens next as well. Or more things such as how Diana ended up staying. But well,

...who knows.

Bye for now.

~Shintori Khazumi

#diakko #dianakko #lwa #Little Witch Academia #diana bday fic #sorry it's sloppy #fanfic #diana cavendish #kagari atsuko

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doomedandstoned · 4 years ago

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A Talk With BREATH, Portland’s New Meditative Doom Metal Duo

~By Billy Goate~

Illustrations by Tyler Wintermute

We're used to doom metal being, well, rather dark and sinister, but can it be meditative too? OM, the famous Al Cisneros side project, proved that yes, it can. Other acts, such as the celebrated UK band Bong, the New Brunswick trio Zaum followed (with Italy's Ufomammut, Finland's Dark Buddha Rising, and Ukraine's Bomg being just a step away with their generous, if often louder, landscapes).

Then I encountered doom metal yoga in Portland, and all bets were off.

Last month, Doomed & Stoned introduced you to another band you can add to your short list, whether listening in your Savasana stance ("corpse pose"), getting your groove on at work, or doing a little wake 'n bake to start the day.

This is BREATH from the City of Roses and on February 5th, all mysteries will be revealed as the meditative doom duo brings us their debut LP, 'Primeval Transmissions' (2021) on Desert Records.

Their music "is informed by adventures leaving the comforts of what was known behind. Going into unknown woods sometimes figuratively and some literal. With heavy melodically driven grooves their Meditation Doom will take you to secluded caves, and totemic vision quests'' (band bio).

Over the weekend, I traded words with Steven O'Kelly (bass guitar, vox) and Ian Caton (drums, percussion) recently to get to know this new name in the Pacific Northwest heavy underground. Doomed & Stoned also takes this opportunity to share a new visualizer with you for Breath's latest single, "Observer."

Breath - Observer

What themes and concepts does Breath explore musically and lyrically?

Peering into rituals meant to transcend the physical world. Initiations into the varied mystery schools like Orphism or Druidry I find very powerful. The Shamanistic role being so selfless putting themselves through extreme trials, shedding their previous self to protect their people by communication with spirit.

These things have lots of weight with sacrifice, and knowledge seeking from traditions nearly lost to time. Our sound aims to reflect that weight through the way we use the bass guitar and drums. I think a theme of meditation informs a lot of the riffs with spaciousness and transformation.

Who are your musical influences?

Foundationally, Black Sabbath is a center pillar. My first record being a Sabbath compilation by Earmark. I appreciate the balance they find between settled songs like "Orchid" leading into its counterpart "Lord of this World." Grails’ Burning Off Impurities is such a vehicle that I would get lost in through the whole record. Melting boundaries of East and West with Zak Riles’ classical guitar and the crushing drum work by Emil Amos.

That brings me to Om, which is an important band to me that struck a chord all the way through from the music to aesthetic. Every show I’ve been to is like I’ve snuck into a temple ceremony, and leave feeling light on my feet and blissfully ringing eardrums. "On the Mountain at Dawn" is the heaviest song to me, with this immediacy and undeniable flow like the strong current of a river.

Photographs by Marissa Caldarelli

What sort of gear do you guys perform and record with?

Ian: DW Performance series Drum kit with Maple shells. Remo heads and Aquarian Kick Drum head. Zildjian K cymbals.

Steven: 4003 Rickenbacker bass guitar. Electric Amp Innovations Power Unit 180. Ampeg 8x10 speaker cabinet. Geezer Butler Cry Baby bass wah. MXR bass compressor. Ernie Ball VP Jr. Electro Harmonix Freeze. Deluxe Bass Big Muff. Also, Shure SM 58 and VE-20 Boss Vocal Performer.

You've mentioned gaining inspiration from solitary walks in the woods. What does the Oregon outdoors mean to you and how does it stir your creative processes?

When I first tried meditation, I was given this palm sized booklet by Buddhadasa Bhikkhu on breathwork as the entrance to a practice. Feeling and visualizing blue water filling and then leaving the well of your lungs. The band like our actual breath is a lifeblood for me. Making music and lyrics I can easily and gladly lose myself in. That practice I believe is responsible for shaping our sound.

Sometimes I feel a sort of unspoken conversation with the trees that surround, lots of times getting most lyrical ideas during these hikes. Boundaries are fluid in this space, and by its very nature puts my mind out of whatever box it might’ve been in before. Wilderness here has lots of personalities through wind, rain, and sun. For me, watching trees come alive moving in the wind or the quiet calm after a rain breeds deep reflection. Nature is a mirror.

What's the biggest epiphany or the strangest thing that you've experienced while being surrounded by Mother Nature?

On a summer day at Mt. Tabor in East Portland sitting in a secluded grassy opening circled by trees, I had the most psychedelic out of body experience without the aid of eating anything. High through trance, I came to the plants and tree’s awareness of me and I them. Like they knew my name.

Many of your tracks tell a story. Are these original tales or based upon the band's own mythos?

Whether I identify with an archetype or am retelling an experience I had, All the lyrics have roots in my real life even if themes might be far flung from our time.

Primeval Transmissions by Breath

Give us a walk through your new record, track by track, if you will.

Track 1 Starting with "Evocation," it’s a mixture of Shamanistic ritual and the effects meditation can have in clearing hurdles of adversity. I had been reading a book on Druid Lore and their equivalents around the world. Then I discovered Werner Herzog’s Cave of Forgotten Dreams and was completely spellbound. Seeing cave paintings perfectly intact, it’s entrance hidden by a rock slide before Roman times in France. This painted a visual counterpart to my reading and was consumed with the world it represented. Hallucinogenic trance, their soul migrating to the spirit world through the rising smoke of the fire lighting cave art meant to dance with flickering flame. Taking on an animal guide and returning anew.

Track 2 "Dwarka" at its roots is a story about confrontation with otherworldly phenomena. There’s two personalities to it. At first the ominous impending arrival and, the character coming to grips with what he’s witnessed. The nature of the main riff reflects the enormity of space, and what might be out there. I feel like the energy of the song mirrors how the witness felt, getting heavier as the night becomes more harrowing.

Track 3 "Observer" bridges my love of Eastern music like Ravi Shankar and Baris Manco with metal accents. It’s the journey your mind can take through meditation, simply focusing on your breath and how it can lead to intensity. Mainly one riff building and transforming over the course of Observer. The lyrics are a recording of Sri Swami Satchidananda leading Hatha Yoga, an important teacher for me.

Track 4 "Battle for Harmonic Balance" is centered around the ancient mystery schools of the left and right Eye of Horus. Invoking themes of renewal like the Akhet, a Sun rising between two mountains. Heaviness from the beginning reflecting the weight of importance Egypt holds to me, being a cornerstone of our past. The riff deconstructs towards the end, aligning the song like the Sphinx during the Equinox. Facing East to summon the Sun once more. "Halls of Amenti" is the realm of the Gods, where the Sun goes at night. An ethereal ceremony exchanging distortion and drums for the hypnotic beat of a Shaker and deep Bass guitar.

Track 5 The reprise to "Evocation" is a continuation of the Shaman’s trek across the razor’s edge. With this offering without lyrics we convey the obstacles, lulls, and successful return starting with the similar ritual beginning as its first chapter. This is followed by a call and response conversation between drums and bass guitar. Floating in the ether until finding his way alongside the totemic animal guide culminating at the end, returning to body like the tide returns out to Sea.

Follow The Band

Get Their Music

#D&S Interviews #Breath #Portland #Oregon #doom #meditative #metal #doom metal #meditative doom #interview #Desert Records #Doomed and Stoned

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rask-the-rogue · 6 years ago

Text

When the Day is Done

[Notes: Sorry about the length! There’s been a lot going on with Rask, both leading up to and after the burning of Darnassus. Quick reminder that Rask worked for Sylvanas for a while during the early part of Legion; he has an Undead disguise that allowed him to do so.

The first bit here is from an actual role-play in game, though I didn’t log the chat and don’t know the people on tumblr so I can’t tag them and greatly simplified the conversation. The troll featured belongs to a great rper who I also can’t tumblr tag; if you know Gronn the Tauren deathknight, this is his alt! Further credit: Mavrassle is over at @exileforthecause and Rask’s sister Celune can be found at @sconesandsorcery. The art is mine, and I’m glad I finally found a reason to draw Rask’s kids :) Thanks as always for reading my stuff <3]

He wasn’t able to get the face of the nine-year-old gnome out of his mind. She had been so small, and yet so fiercely dressed with her practice weapons on her back. “I’m going to march with my Order in the war,” she’d said, and Rask had felt his insides go cold.

The woman he’d been chatting with idly at the Slaughtered Lamb had returned his shocked exclamation with a narrow look. “She has to be able to defend herself, don’t you think?”

“She’s nine,” was all he could sputter for a moment before an icy rage seized him. “There’s a diff’rence between self-defense an’ marchin’ ta war!”

“She can make her own choices; shouldn’t we all?” The woman had huffed as she drew the child gnome back, ushering her out of the door.

“She’s a kid!” he retorted, ignoring the fact that the entirety of the bar was now watching this exchange. “She can choose what veggies she don’t like, an’ what color clothes ta wear that day-- NOT whether or not she can die in battle!”

The woman’s lips pinched together, and she shrugged. Rask scoffed, tossing his glass roughly back onto the bar. “I reckon I oughta get goin’,” he spat. “I got three kids at home I gotta get back to.”

He’d walked home, hoping it would clear his head, but the conjured image of the child on a battlefield-- tiny hands clenched around non-blunted weapons, the certainty of her face that she ought to be there giving way to the dawning reality of death-- haunted him the whole journey back.

The gold paint of the rising sun on his door winked at him despite the twilight hour, the honeyd rays of the actual sun having long ago surrendered to the jut of the mountains that encircled Stormwind, now only able to touch the docks and sea far, far from Old Town.

Felpaw, the Demon Hunter Mavrassele’s gift to him and his children, nearly pinned him against the door as it shut behind him, loud rumbling purrs interspersed with snuffling sniffs of his nose as he puzzled out the myriad of smells on Rask’s trousers. Rask chortled as he endured the bunting rubs of the saber’s head, scratching his ears briefly before the thunder of padding feet brought his hands up to stymie the flood of children that rushed toward him down the hall. “Pa!”

He grunted as he lifted Irvin-- the boy had just turned six, but Rask was already betting money that the kid would become a warrior, considering he was a bulwark of a child. “Oi,” He exclaimed, bracing himself for the even younger elven child that leapt up onto his back a moment later, scrambling up it like a monkey. “Ain’t you all supposed ta be in bed?”

“I tried, Pa,” Idalee’s voice cut in; at eleven, she was too old to demand a lift into his arms, so he leaned over to give her a stubbled kiss instead, watching a pleased smile cut through the self-important annoyance on her face. “They kept watching out the window for you.”

“Tsk,” Rask mock-chided, looking from Idalee to her blood brother, Irvin, and then to the little Ash on his back, whose blood lay on both sides of the war: Sin’dorei and Kal’dorei alike, judging by his luminous eyes and pale purple skin. “Well, I’m here now, so no more excuses. Ta bed, with tha lot of you.”

☽ ☼ ☾

He hadn’t had the heart to pull himself away to his own bed, especially not since little Ash clung and whined when he half-heartedly tried to move. They’d all ended up in a pile of limbs on Ash’s bed, Idalee tucked against his back while Irvin had finally splayed himself across his legs and fallen fast asleep there, like the odd duck he was.

Rask listened to the breathing of their small bodies as he stared into the semi-darkness, thinking of the gnome child once again, thinking of how talk in the taverns of Stormwind and Orgrimmar alike had turned to terse discussions of the opposing faction and its bid for Azerite. It felt like mere days since Anduin and Sylvanas had declared the threat of the Legion was vanquished; and yet now it seemed all of Azeroth was holding its breath, waiting for the next hammer to fall-- waiting for the first warning gong or bell, so they could throw themselves into the bloody flames of precious war once again.

War-- He had broken his ties with Sylvanas at the Worgen tower in the Broken Isles, and had dared to allow himself to hope that soon-- soon-- the war would be done and the factions would speak together of peace.

Fear ate away at that hope. The gnome-child’s face loomed up in the dark. Was he doing enough to prepare his children for war? Would they have to protect themselves-- could they?

He pushed the questions away, squeezing his eyes shut and pleading for sleep. It was still speculation, bar-talk. He would allow himself to worry when it came to pass.

☽ ☼ ☾

Word spread like the fires of Darnassus itself through the city. Their door was knocked on so many times-- Did you hear? -- Have you heard? -- Did you know anyone there?-- that Rask had finally shuttered the windows and told the children they wouldn’t be answering it the rest of the day. They whiled away the hours playing board games, and he pretended to ignore his children’s glances toward the window at every knock or shout in the street, just as they pretended to ignore the tightness around his eyes and mouth.

☽ ☼ ☾

"De World Tree. Dey burned it," the troll whispered. Rask had heard his coughing and had left his kids within the circle of light from Idalee’s lantern to go investigate. They had waited until near dusk to set out for the tower in Elywnn that housed his adopted sister and her family, and had gotten about halfway there when the strange hacking noises had drawn their attention. Rask had been surprised to find a druid in cat form, soot clinging to his fur and the smell of woodsmoke clogging the air around him; he was less surprised to hear the troll say he was leaving the Horde. "Saw de smoke from Dalaran. Decided I'd help de right side."

Rask dropped his arms that he’d lifted to show the troll he was indeed a ‘Raznos’, or friend, as he’d called out through the gloom as way of introduction. He let his shoulders slump; his children couldn’t see him, for the moment. "I heard as much,” he admitted, “But by tha time I heard, it was already done-- done enough that if I went ta help, I'd jus' be in tha way.” He heard the uncertainty in his own voice; had there truly been nothing he could have done? He pushed the nagging thought away, as he had countless times in the last twelve hours. “Stars an' suns," He cursed in Thalassian before switching back to Orcish, hearing his voice ache. "Why? Why?" The tears that sprang to the back of his eyes surprise him, but he didn’t let them fall. Not yet-- not here. "D'you know? Has she gone mad?"

"She always been mad, boyo," the troll hissed, finally revealing his natural form in a flash of druidic magic. He wore his dark hair in dreadlocks, and an eyepatch covered his right eye. The rings on his tusks chimed faintly as his frame shook with more ragged coughs. "No one knows,” he continued once the coughing fit settled into a rasp. “No one sane, anyhow. But she ain't my Warchief no more.” His voice grew hard, and Rask felt the words burn like a brand in his chest. Not mine, either. “I knew about Darkshore-- still no reason why-- but I didn't… I didn't know she'd burn Teldrassil." Rask heard the shame in his voice, saw it glinting in his eyes when they locked with his own. "...I'm sorry."

The words cut him to the quick. He’s heard them too many times, said them far more. He shook his head, taking a step forward toward the troll and lifted his hand, holding it palm up. "You ain't got nothin' ta apologize fer. My kids an’ I are headed fer sanctuary-- my sister’s tower, which she shares with her Sin’dorei husband an’ kids. If yer lookin’ fer a safe haven, fer tha time bein’, we can give it ta you.”

☽ ☼ ☾

His home was strange in the still stiffness of the early morning light, with no human breaths or heartbeats but his own to fill it. His children, and the troll Ra’him, were safe with Celune and Jath for now; he’d told them he needed to tie up a few loose ends. Celune had given him a knowing look and a squeeze on the arm, and told him to be back in time for dinner.

Felpaw whines at him as he stood in the doorway to his home, staring down the hallway that ended with a stairwell on the left, and the kitchen on the right. Providing another route to the kitchen was the sitting room, strewn with children’s toys and couches dusted with fur despite the strict orders not to let Felpaw up on them. He picks his way carefully around them, unwilling to even nudge the toys aside like he usually did, as if preserving bones in situ.

He wonders if any toys had survived the fire, imagines the charred remains of dolls or warped metal horses strewn about a playroom in Darnassus.

One of the sturdy chairs around his dining table lends him a needed crutch as he fights the urge to collapse right then and there. He leans heavily against it, casting a despairing gaze about the room while he struggles to moderate his quickening breaths. The sink and its magic that would cheerfully draw water up from the well below with no hand-pumping was of Sin’dorei make, while the kettle hung above the currently ashy hearth had been purchased directly from an Dwarven blacksmith, who had guaranteed his design would boil water faster and keep it hot longer. (He was right.) The ceramic bowls his children ate soup from were patterned with the bright colors of the Tauren, made by their large and careful hands; the glass cups they drank from, spun thanks to tiny Gnomish ones.

His thumb catches on the scrollwork on the back of the chair, smoothing itself over the curves as one would rub a circle of prayer beads. He had requested from the woodcarvers that a rising sun motif be carved there, budding out of the swirling vines and leaves that spread over the rest of the backrest. Silvermoon meets Darnassus, co-existing there in the sturdy frame of his chairs.

A sob chokes him. His body sags until he’s keeling, and he presses his forehead so hard against the chair that it would surely etch dents into his skin. He finally gives himself over to grief there in the empty silence of his home, and weeps for all that’s been lost.

☽ ☼ ☾

youtube

Do you ask why I'm sighing, my son? You shall inherit what mankind has done In a world filled with sorrow and woe If you ask me why this is so, I really don't know.

[To be continued]

#story #my art #world of warcraft #bfa #wra rp #DAM WELL IT'S BEEN A WHILE HUH #rask's just been taking care of his adorable lil kids #until you know #everyone has to go off their rockers and screw everything up #ghh rask has been SO HOPEFUL #as have i #that actual peace may be an option #sighs heavily #thank you if you read the whole thing! you're awesome #ugh i forgot my current theme doesn't show italics so forgive the bolded things grr

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toogoodmusic · 4 years ago

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THE TOO GOOD TEN with Drew William

The Canadian Football Player and up and coming singer-songwriter Drew William follows up the early 2021 debut EP Room with the latest Message In A Bottle EP.

While playing music in coffee shops and restaurants for the past few years the athlete took advantage of the canceled football season last year to really dive into his musical passion. Now with six songs released, William has proven his ability to pull at your heartstrings with raw and honest songs that while personal to him can be healing and relatable to anyone who listens. A genuine level of intimacy blossoms in every song that gives way for his music to be both enjoyable alone or with close friends and family.

The latest EP release continues that level of intimacy that his fans have come to expect.The two song project features a brand new original release, “California Coastline” that gives ode to William’s home state while also paying respect to a song close to the singer’s heart with a cover of Post Malone’s “A Thousand Bad Times.” Find out more about Drew William and the latest EP by checking out his Too Good Ten below:

1. Starting from the beginning, when did music start for you? How did you realize you wanted to make a career out of it?

DREW WILLIAM: The beginning is in a one bedroom apartment on Morley Ave. Some discreet little red building in a town most of the world has never heard of; Winnipeg, MB. I picked up the acoustic guitar three years ago in that apartment and have played it every single day since. I came into music naturally. Playing for friends, playing open mics, playing restaurants, pubs, and now going for it in the real music world. Have my first full-set show at Burt Cummings Theatre on April 20th. I feel this is my first big stepping stone.

DREW WILLIAM LIVE STREAM ON RED TIE LIVE’S FACEBOOK ON APRIL 20TH @ 8:00pm EST / 5:00pm PST. CLICK HERE TO WATCH.

2. You were born in California, went to college in Minnesota and now live in Canada. How have those three experiences make their influence into your music? Any of the (3) stick out as being most influential?

DW: I like the surfer rock style a lot, that nostalgic almost drunk atmosphere that it places you inside. And when I moved to the Midwest it was a lot more folk and ballads. I guess I kind of have two sides to myself: this very twenty-six year old feeling his way through life and this old soul that feels like it’s already made the mistakes and is trying to come out and wisen me up. It’s an interesting mix of the two.

3. Congrats on the release of the debut EP, Room. What was the biggest learning from putting together and releasing a debut EP?

DW: To trust in my gut, and to not be so critical on myself. I knew that mixing and producing my own music was a risk, because It was a lonely venture into a world I was just learning about. I knew that I might not have the skills of a veteran who has been doing it for years. But at the same time, I wanted to enter music absolutely as myself. From the get go I wanted to share myself; no matter how rusty or beginner that sounded. I look at all this as a growth of music and a growth of self. I’m having to learn to let go of a lot of insecurities and fears, and for that I have to thank my own music.

4. And now fans have an additional taste of your music with the release of the Message In A Bottle EP. What’s the EP title mean to you?

DW: “Message in a Bottle” came to me from a line in the lyrics: It says, “On that California Coastline / We’re fire and rain at the same time / I found a bottle on the sea / With a message on the inside / Is a tale about a lost love / From a boy who held these memories.” It’s this goodbye to a past version of myself, to the old loves and it’s this intimate goodbye because it’s more than just memory it’s a part of soul, too, that no longer serves.

So the throwing of the bottle is this closure; a letter written and sealed by the same person. An opening up and a goodbye. This seems to be what growth feels like now. Maybe that will change in appearance, or feel differently, I’ll find out. But for now, this feels like a goodbye to an old self, with a mindset of growing up whilst not losing that child inside that makes all of this fun and freeing.

5. You’re not only a musician but also a wide receiver for the Canadian Football League team Winnipeg Blue Bombers. How do you balance being both an artist and an athlete? What’s the biggest challenge of pursing both careers?

DW: This past season was cancelled so it became a focus point to work on my music. This year as we anticipate a season, I have to tread carefully because it’s something I have never done, two things simultaneously. I used to believe these two worlds had to be separate, music and football. But it has proven to be quite the contrary. It has opened the doors for my music to be heard, and I will continue to see them as supporting roles in my life.

6. As an athlete is it tough for you to show a more vulnerable side through your music?

DW: It is. I’ll be straight up honest. There is a lot of insecurity on a football team. Egos, hyper masculinity, these things exist everywhere. But there are guys who are so much more than this sport. I hope to be an example to kids who are afraid to show their emotions, show them that you can be so many different things in life and still maintain your truest essence. I just live passionately, whether that’s on the field or on stage, I’m putting it all on the line.

7. Do you have any funny/fun/weird fan interaction stories you can share?

DW: I was supposed to play this little curb-side concert, this family won it in a little raffle I held and when I showed up it was just one couple. The wife was wasted and the husband was 30 years older than her. Their son came in and out of the room where I half heartedly played for them (he was schizophrenic but was the most normal person in the house). And then there daughter came up from the basement wearing all leather like she was about to hit the corner. She was probably thirty-five, filming me on her phone.. I was very weirded out. The wife had made bacon pirogi's for me. I told her I was a vegetarian. She didn’t understand why someone would do that…. And she kissed me on the cheek when I left. I was very disturbed ha-ha.

8. If you could headline a music festival – which one would be the dream festival? And who would be your choice for the other (2) acts that would headline the other two nights of the festival?

DW: I really think me, The Lumineers and Ziggy Alberts could all put on a nice little folk fest. I wanna play the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in CO. Just an unbelievable venue. Not sure if there is a festival there though! I’ll go to anywhere that will take me at this point!

9. If you could only listen to (5) artists for the rest of your life who would they be?

DW: So basically my life anyway? Ha, I kid I kid. Truthfully: Mt. Joy, The National, Angus & Julia Stone, Cat Stevens & Zella Day

10. What’s the rest of 2021 look like for Drew William?

DW: A whole lot of learning, relationship building, collaboration, and diving deep inside and bringing out The best and truest art. I can feel my life changing before me, it’s frightening but exhilarating. Ready for this ride!

We’re ready for that ride as well! Shout-out to Drew William for hanging for this Too Good Ten. Keep updated with Drew by following along with the links below and be sure to tune TOMORROW, April 20th @ 8:00pm EST / 5:00pm PST right HERE.

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The Too Good Ten interview series is dedicated to giving you a quick glimpse at some of the freshest voices in music. Ten Questions. One Artist. Too Good. Let’s go.

While The Too Good Ten is dedicated to just highlighting ten questions from an artist, Too Good Music was lucky enough to score an additional two questions from Drew...check them out below:

BONUS QUESTION #1: Congrats on the new releases of “California Coastline” and the cover of Post Malone’s “A Thousand Bad Times.” What surprised you/or what might people not know about the process of covering and releasing your own version of another artist’s song?

DW: The part I was focused on was really making it my own version. Something people know but don’t know, so it feels like an entirely different ride. I wanted also to pay my respects to the song. It meant a lot to me. I’m sure it helped a lot of people. It’s also a message I needed to hear, especially now. We all need this reminder. We’re all feeling something right now, no need to hide that. This is a very hard time. But we are resilient people and it’s been a gift to witness and a gift to make music that continues to carry this message of resiliency and strength.

BONUS QUESTION #2: Your Quarantine Campfire series on IG live – where you perform, do Q&A’s and bring along friend’s and guests – is awesome. How’d you come up with that concept and would be a dream guest on the series?

DW: This was an extension of the in-person curb-side-concerts I was doing throughout the summer. Creating an intimate and safe place to share music, highlight some local artists and just have fun with the community. Man… My dream guest. Probably Zella Day cuz I got a lot respect for her music and I once saw her sing “Man on the Moon” on YouTube, all acoustic, and I was blown away. It would hit perfectly on my quarantine campfire.

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stfumoffathaters · 8 years ago

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That io9 article

As you may or may not be aware, io9 used a story about Russell T Davies knowing who the next Doctor is a jumping off point to run an attack article on Steven Moffat’s history of comments about a female Doctor. As you might expect from the previous snippet I posted, it is rather an unfair representation, so let’s unpack it a bit:

It looks like the new Doctor has been cast. After accepting an award at the British LGBT Awards, former Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies told Guys Like U that the next season already has its next Doctor. Davies was responding to a question about whether the new lead should be a woman, a question posed to current showrunner Steven Moffat multiple times over the years. And he’s been very consistent.

Moffat’s been answering this question since at least 2013. Exactly one day after it was announced that Peter Capaldi would take over as the new Doctor, Moffat explained his decision to DigitalSpy, saying that it “didn’t feel right” to cast a woman at the time since he didn’t think enough fans would want one. He even went so far as to say female fans were the ones most adamantly against it.

It’s absolutely narratively possible [that the Doctor could be a woman]... And when it’s the right decision, maybe we’ll do it. It didn’t feel right to me, right now. I didn’t feel enough people wanted it... Oddly enough most people who said they were dead against it – and I know I’ll get into trouble for saying this – were women. [They were] saying, “No, no, don’t make him a woman!”

To start with, it seems slightly unfair to start an attack on Moffat over this by using Russell T Davies; a man who previously gave this bizarre quote on the subject in 2008:

“I am often tempted to say yes to that to placate everyone but, while I think kids will not have a problem with [a female Doctor], I think fathers will have a problem with it because they will then imagine they will have to describe sex changes to their children. I think fathers can describe sex changes to their children and I think they should and it’s part of the world, but I think it would simply introduce genitalia into family viewing. You’re not talking about actresses or style, you’re talking about genitalia, and a lot of parents would get embarrassed.”

I still don’t even know what the fuck this means, unless the Doctor is suddenly going to become a nudist after regeneration. Yes, Russell has learned over the years but it’s definitely still the worst thing either of them has said on the subject.

Moving on, the argument that Moffat’s statements on this are consistent (ie. consistently anti a female Doctor), there’s this from their own website. As for the answer Moffat gives, there is nothing there that wasn’t true at the time according to polls. He wasn’t saying most women were ‘vehemently’ opposed to it, he was saying that most of those that were were women. As far as I can remember from polls that were conducted around the time, more men were against overall but of those that were vehemently against more were women. There’s an argument that people not being ready for a female Doctor (which I wasn’t at the time) is no reason to not actually do it, but when there would have been huge BBC pressure to keep everything stable, I’m not surprised that he didn’t and went with Missy instead.

Moffat would later shy away from the “women don’t want a female Doctor” defense and double down on suggesting it could happen one day, but not that day.

Speaking at the Hay Festival in May 2014, he said he’d consider casting a woman in the role, but only when the time was right, adding that it shouldn’t be a forced “political decision.”

A person will pop into the showrunner’s head and they’ll think. “Oh, my God, what if it was that person?” And when that person is a woman, that’s the day it will happen... It will not happen that somebody sits down and say we must turn the Doctor into a woman. That is not how you cast the Doctor.

Beyond the fact that “political decision” is a loaded term that justifies continuing the status quo, Moffat is kind of a hypocrite.

For example, during the same Q&A session, Moffat revealed that Capaldi was the only person he brought in to audition for the Doctor. The “person that popped into his head”:

Peter Capaldi just kept popping into my head. I got him round to my house to audition. And he didn’t know he was the only person auditioning.

This mirrors his selection of Matt Smith, who had previously auditioned for Sherlock (another role Moffat defended as quintessentially male back in March). This means only those in Moffat’s immediate line of sight stood a chance, and no one else was given an opportunity to show what they could bring to the role.

The political decision thing is a fair point, but the full context of the quote is interesting:

“A person will pop into the showrunner’s head and they’ll think. ‘Oh, my God, what if it was that person?’ And when that person is a woman, that’s the day it will happen.

Casting is the dark arts of television. It is everything. That decision is central and absolute to everything you do. It’s the difference between a television programme and a sensation.

So you don’t mess around with that; you don’t cast for any other reason than for passion and for aesthetics. It’s not a political decision, it’s an aesthetic decision and will always be.”

I’m not sure whether Moffat realises that and considers deliberately casting a white man just as political as casting a woman or a POC; as some of his comments about casting Bill Potts would indicate; or simply doesn’t understand that it’s not politically neutral, which is problematic.

The charge of hypocrisy on the other hand is a reach. The worst that can be said of the Capaldi decision is after an immensely stressful anniversary year Moffat wanted to work someone who he got on well with; who liked his work, a known fan of the show; and a brilliant actor who was perfect for the part. Had it been pretty much anyone other than Peter it would have been approaching unacceptable. In regards to Matt Smith, it’s simply bullshit. To start with he auditioned for Watson, not Sherlock, and was told he would be more of a Sherlock. Secondly, we know through Neil Gaiman the role was offered to a black actor (it’s not specifically said to have been 11, but the circumstances for 9 and 10 don’t fit) before it was offered to Smith. Thirdly, and finally, this from Andy Pryor:

“And then with Matt [Smith], Steven Moffat [the writer] really didn't want a younger Doctor, but I just insisted on auditioning Matt because he's an old man in a young man's body."

So, the idea Moffat always wanted Matt (when outside of the Sherlock audition he had likely never seen him, if he was involved in that audition at all) is complete nonsense.

He says a woman “could” be the Doctor, if she’s the first person to pop into his head. But after over 50 years of white men, it’s absolutely always going to be a white man that pops in there first — especially if the person who is the showrunner is himself a white man who surrounds himself with roles that are traditionally played by white men.

Yes, it’s difficult to argue this isn’t an element sometimes, but I don’t think it necessarily applies to the casting of either Capaldi or Smith, Capaldi because of the aforementioned reasons and Smith because he had to go through an audition process and the guy who initially popped into Moffat’s head was black, inferring from Gaiman’s statement.

However, it’s not just about women not getting the opportunity to try out for the role, though that’s a big factor. Moffat never really thought about having a woman be the Doctor because he thinks they’re better suited as the Doctor’s companions, saying as much during a BAFTA talk in 2015.

There’s an aspect to it where you could say that if you made the Doctor female you’d lose a fairly unique rare role model, I’m not sure if I’m completely persuaded by that argument purely because I don’t think the Doctor is the role model of Doctor Who. He isn’t. Because you can’t really base yourself on the Doctor. He’s off the spectrum, barking mad, from space and has lots of mysterious abilities that we do not. How do you base yourself on that? The role model is actually the other character, his best friend, the person who deals with this out of control, overgrown schoolboy racing around the universe being rather too imperious and too interfering for his own good.

This isn’t the only time that Moffat has said he doesn’t see the Doctor as a role model, but his track record doesn’t support the companion being the true hero (and not just because he’s called the Doctor the “hero figure”).

While companions are given more character development, coming into the Doctor’s life to learn something about themselves and teach the Doctor something in the meantime, Moffat’s defense is pretty insulting. It assumes that only men can be emotionally stunted, hyper-intelligent weirdos who roam the galaxy causing and solving mischief.

We’ve had male companions in the past, albeit typically alongside female ones. And in his argument, Moffat never says the companion has to be female here, but he is saying that the Doctor is male, so the only female lead in the show could be the companion. And as he describes companions, they’re put in the uncomfortable position of being the Doctor’s emotional core. This reinforces the stereotype that it’s a woman’s role to bring emotional balance to a man, but men can’t or shouldn’t do the same for a woman.

I’ve already covered the first bit of this, where I’ve said he’s arguing that the Doctor isn’t really a role model, which is why the argument that making the character a woman would not be specifically a loss of a unique male role model (which is an argument I’ve seen put forward by a female writer of DW tie-in books in Doctor Who Magazine). A hero figure and a role model aren’t necessarily the same thing, especially given the multiple deconstructions of what the Doctor actually is during Moffat’s tenure.

Also, ‘it assumes that only men can be emotionally stunted, hyper-intelligent weirdos who roam the galaxy causing and solving mischief’? Errrr, River Song and Missy, anyone? Definitely Clara’s style too, it’s only her humanity that stops her being the Doctor, not her gender (and there’s sort of a fix for the former).

‘but he is saying that the Doctor is male, so the only female lead in the show could be the companion’. He’s very specifically not saying that, but if you misunderstand if not deliberately misread what he says you are going to continue making an arse of yourself. The rest is rather undermined by Rory and Danny being much more the emotional balances in their relationships with Amy and Clara than vice versa.

It gets even more muddled when you consider Moffat’s actual track record. A 2014 study showed that Moffat’s female companions had, on average, fewer speaking lines than Davies’, and Amy failed the Bechdel Test far more times than her predecessors. Clara did improve the scales, and Bill has been pretty solid so far, but the numbers still tend to fall below what existed before.

Ughhhhhhhh. Long time readers and followers of this discourse will be aware of the so-called study the author references here, which was discredited (well, by us, at least) because of falsified data and bias, and no rigour whatsoever. This is the point where this becomes a loaded article, attempting to prove an assessment already decided (much like that study!)

Moffat himself was asked about the accusations of sexism later in 2015, replying that he understood the concerns, in theory, but also didn’t think they applied to his show specifically. He also added that his wife is a “powerful woman,” which is always a helpful defense.

It’s a big and complicated issue and I never quite know how to respond to it. The general point being made by these people is correct. We need better female role models and representation on screen. We need all of that. Maybe this is my dim-wittery but I do not understand why Doctor Who of all shows is singled out as a misogynist show. And I’m really not like that. I’m sure I’m to the left of a lot of my detractors, but I don’t want to argue with them because I think generally they’re right. We do need to do better.

The interview was not just about sexism, but took in a range of topics and oh, look; the ‘powerful woman’ quote was not a defence but in response to one of a series of questions about his themes; this particular one being ‘you’ve often introduced a strong woman with an enigma at her core’, to which Moffat responds: ‘It’s hardly something only I’ve done. And I’m married to a very powerful woman.‘ Presumably meaning that his character creation is in part inspired by his wife.

As for the quote...he’s not saying he doesn’t deserve criticism, but when questions need to be asked about shows such as Game of Thrones, The 100, maybe even Once Upon A Time (in my opinion, please do not ask what I mean by this) it is very unfair to single him out in particular.

Moffat’s years-long pattern has been to evade the question with a “maybe at some point,” or defending his decision to cast male Doctors for... insert his latest reason here. I honestly don’t believe Moffat ever seriously considered a woman for the job during his tenure as Doctor Who’s showrunner, and probably still wouldn’t be if he were sticking around next season.

He’s continually said he’d think about it, pointing to his choice to turn The Master into a woman, but his hiring practices have continually put himself in situations where a male Doctor was a given. And his reluctance to alter his (male) Doctor and (female) companion dynamic is apparent.

This is all a belief, and it’s therefore difficult to disprove, but I have already disproved or significantly undermined the bits based on facts. It’s not known whether or not women auditioned for Eleven, either.

There’s also his attitude that selecting a woman would be a forced political choice, instead of something that could serve and grow the narrative. It’s even echoed in his advice to new showrunner Chris Chibnall, published in March of this year, saying his next Doctor should be a “friend” instead of someone who serves an “agenda.”

Just choose the best person for the job and any other agenda, however worthy, should be ignored. It has to be the best person for the Doctor that Chris is writing for... Chris is going to be working with the actor for quite a few years and it is a pressure cooker. It can be tough, so you need to choose your friend wisely. So long as it works for the good of the show, that’s fine.

I mean, I have genuine issues with the political choice idea, but there’s an argument here that he genuinely just might not want to get people’s hopes up or protect Chris Chibnall from backlash of dashed hopes as his friend, or both (especially if he didn’t yet know the casting, where he could be under orders from above to be diplomatic if asked)?

Additionally, he could well be saying that if you decide you’re going to make this change, you do that as part of the narrative and then cast for it, rather than casting first and then writing around it. Which would make sense, because it’s how he cast Missy and Bill. The friend thing is ‘choose someone you can actually stand to work with’, nothing more.

Moffat’s most recent answer to this question came just a few days ago in an interview with BBC Radio 4 (via We Got This Covered), Moffat went into how he chose Smith and Capaldi as his Doctors, saying it wasn’t a matter of purposefully choosing white men for the job, it just so happened that the perfect actors for the job were both white men. What are the odds, right?

“I didn’t not cast a woman… I cast a man. I didn’t [cast a woman] because I wanted to cast Matt Smith and I wanted to cast Peter Capaldi. I didn’t think it was a terrible idea, I just thought, ‘I want to cast those people’ – that was it.”

Of course, we know that he didn’t see anyone else and he didn’t want to let any one else’s thoughts intrude onto his mystical process of waiting for someone to pop into his head. This is why Moffat’s reasons are so elliptical and confusing: he didn’t affirmatively rule out women, he just never gave anyone but his preferred choices any thought whatsoever. So when asked to defend it, he can’t, really.

Hmm, okay. We’ve been over that Moffat’s probable first choice to play Eleven was a black man but even if it wasn’t, Matt didn’t just pop into Moffat’s head as anything other than the results of the audition process. He proved himself more suited for what Moffat wanted as a result of that. There may have been subconscious bias involved in that decision but that statement just isn’t true.

Despite Moffat’s insistence to continue playing the same tune, there are hopes the new showrunner will change things up, giving audiences a female Doctor or having the iconic character regenerate as a person of color. The actor’s been picked, so it’s too late to petition, but it’s never too late to hope. Casting a more diverse Doctor would revitalize the show, encouraging a new audience while challenging current fans. So, what does Chibnall himself have to say about it?

Nothing is ruled out, but I don’t want the casting to be a gimmick and that’s all I can say.

Shit.

For once, I completely agree, though I note the statement was made before Moffat’s advice was given. And tbh Chibnall has no real excuses left, and puts the show at risk of stagnating if he doesn’t change.

#Doctor Who #Steven Moffat #Pro Moffat #Russell T Davies #Chris Chibnall #female doctor #female doctor debate #female representation #misogyny #rebuttals

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kari-izumi · 6 years ago

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To be entirely fair to VLD fandom in general, I'm already starting to see a whole bunch of them moving on to new things rather than to piss on and be salty about what didn't happen. Even antis have seemed to cool their jets somewhat as the big name blogs rebrand their usernames to be She-Ra* themed.

But Bleach fandom? Dear God. For a frame of reference for how long they've been shitting about this, VLD premiered 2 months before that manga ended. You can still see IRs banging on about "Origos" in tags.

Of course it doesn't help that IR fandom has had a full decade to build up their entitlement crap, going all the way back to the LJ Bleachness comm and the mod who became our fandom's equivalent to Cassandra Clare. They were harrassing Kubo Tite on Twitter back before VLD fandom turned it into an art form, to the point that he deactivated ages before the series ended. He got so sick of that entitlement that he apparently expressly forbid Warner Bros from putting anything remotely shippy about the two of them in the live action movie (like what Studio Perriot been doing)

Even for the public L's VLD has had, nothing Sheith fandom has done comes close to the entitlement howling that continues to this day from IRs. 🤣

That being said, I agree that the best thing to do at this point is to create what you want to read. By all means vent about trends you don't care for away from fandom (DW even has a comm for fanfic rants called, very cleverly, Fanfic Rants (and bonus: you can make the posts viewable to the comm only!) along with the one on PF), but yelling at people to quit the cheating fics and Incel Fedora-Wearing Keith is at best a waste of time. There's still a lot of us who want in character angst that even if Shiro or Keith choose other people, their bond is still there.

*I'm still waiting for the other shoe to drop there, what with the storyboard team that was publically courting these fucknuts and the discourse over whether Catradora is problematic for incest and/or abuse reasons.Because I'm sure the Klantis have learned absolutely nothing and the VLD clusterfuck ending has probably only justified their bad behavior even more.

ATTENTION RWBY FANS

DONT DROP THE SHOW IF YOUR SHIPS DONT BECOME CANON!!!!

Honestly, people always saying that they’ll drop a show for many reasons. But the one I loathe the most is “BECAUSE MY SHIP ISNT CANON!!” Honestly, if you drop a show cause of that, you were never a real fan in the first place.

#long post is long #fandom discourse #sheith #ichiruki #ir entitlement killed the ship for me #i have like...four classic fics ill read but for new fandom...naw #i dont want the same thing happening with sheith cuz i love it too much

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squishysvt · 8 years ago

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Kindergarten Teacher!Seventeen

Request: seventeen as kindergarten teacher?

Apologies for taking so long! My exams wrapped up today so I’m finally free :^) Enjoy this cute memey bullet pointed request! -Admin Madi

Seungcheol:

Would feel as though he is the real father of all the children AKA loves them all dearly and would literally do anything for them

Teaches the kids important life lessons & to be very respectful so they grow up nicely! But also teaches them to have fun & enjoy everything they do!!

Tells them really bad dad jokes that make them really giggly and hyper but also makes them question their own dads bc “why can’t you be as funny as Mr.Choi?”

Is really keen on making sure they all eat enough and are dressed warm in winter bc his children must not get sick!!

The type of teacher to pat their heads as they leave the classroom and tell everyone about all the cute moments that happened that day

Jeonghan:

Tries really hard to be liked by all the kids and whines to his friends when they don’t show him enough affection

Is really nonchalant when they ask him mundane questions,, “Is it true that Santa isn’t real?” “Mhm.” lmfao he wouldn’t sugar coat anything bc he doesn’t want them to be hurt when they find things out later on in life

He’d also be that one teacher you can depend on like can’t get that juice box open? Mr.Yoon will open it for you dw he’s reliable my man

Has a super close bond with his students,,when they can tell he’s quieter than normal or having a bad day they’ll make him drawings that he hangs on his fridge and keeps till he’s 80

Loves to compliment the kids on e v e r y t h i n g like you colored inside the lines? They’re showered with praise and genuine admiration

Joshua:

Incorporates all of the kids favorite things into his lessons ex) gives them gummy bears when they answer a question right,,makes math problems about cartoon characters and covers the walls in colorful posters

Is the #1 kindergarten teacher when it comes to crying/upset children,, Literally so comforting y’all he’ll crouch down and wipe their tears away and cheer them up with some lame motivational speech that the kids think is legendary

Is super clumsy like he literally hits his legs off the desks and trips on the tiny chairs, but is somehow incredibly gentle with his actions and words

Is super supportive of everything the children do and what ideas they come up with,,You want to be an astronaut? He’ll offer to help build a rocketship for you

Is that one teacher that is oblivious to almost everything that is going on yet continues to be everyone's favorite bc he lets them do whatever they want

Jun:

Ok I feel like kindergarten teacher Jun would take his job hella seriously like this guy literally walks in on the first day with a suit and glasses, hair gelled up and crayons ready to be dispersed

But his cool image lowkey intimidates the kids and so they ask him to stop with the theatrics and he ends up wearing black jeans and striped shirts the whole year bc relatable

He’s one of the advocators for the quiet kids and probably favors that one little shy kid who never speaks but is the sweetest thing on earth

Everyday is show n tell like if you want to show the class a rock you found outside 10 minutes ago be my guest

Is overly dramatic 100% of the time, his pencil broke *cue the deep sigh*, he spilt spaghetti on his slacks? *has 911 on speed dial* and lets the kids out early for recess

Hoshi:

Brings so much high energy and fun to the class that the kids literally never want to leave and won’t pry themselves off when their parents come for them

Wants to accommodate everyone's learning needs and spends most of his nights thinking of little things he can implement to ensure they’re working to their full potential

Pulls a chair up next to the children at those hella low tables during snack break and whips out his own lunchbox that he packed himself (it’s loaded with gummies)

Promises that they’ll watch a movie or have playtime if they do well on their work but doesn’t care if they fail bc he wants to see the care bears just as badly as them

Creates a class cheer or some catchphrase that they all shout when grouped together like the squad they truly are

Wonwoo:

Okay so being a kindergarten teacher was never in his agenda but he has this soft spot for kids and seeing that look of happiness that spreads across their faces when they understand/learn something!! It’s precious ok

Is super duper awkward at first bc yo, how do you handle kids? He was so stiff and monotone that the kids literally thought their teacher was a robot and spread a rumor which got to the parents and Mr.Jeon got a very concerned phone call from a handful of mothers.

Is a really organized teacher and loves sitting down with each child individually and helping them with their reading!! It’s so cute he keeps a little notebook to the side to document their progress and personally chooses which books each child would like :)

The children still think that he’s super mysterious and are genuinely curious about what he does outside of school. The fact that they even care that much for him makes his heart melt and he always tells them little facts about himself if they’re being good that day.

He basically goes from this really quiet reserved guy to the world's dorkiest teacher who gushes to his class about his favorite cereal flavors and helps them operate the microwave on the daily

Woozi:

An amazing teacher. Literally goes ham with teaching the class how to add/subtract and raises an army of tiny geniuses. He’s always so lowkey proud that whenever anyone praises him or his class he gets all red and flustered bc yes, he did that.

He’s one of those teachers that wants you to succeed in life and do well but honestly, his class is so cute and he loves giving them breaks where they just all sit in a circle and talk about toys and tv shows and eat cookies.

He’s a sort of closed off guy, but he never hesitates to get to know the kids better and what they like. He’s so genuinely interested that he spends most nights trying to keep up with the hip shows and terms the kids are using

Will never fail to bring in homemade cupcakes on everyone's birthday with their favorite color of icing and a card signed by the whole class for them! They all gather around with little party hats and have a wholesome time!!

Will never admit to it but cries when his class moves on to the next grade and he’s left with all those cute ass memories,, how is he ever going to get over them?? Send him a new batch pronto

DK:

Literally fits in with the kids like can he be classified as a teacher? Instead of taking breaks to drink coffee and adult he plays with toy cars and dolls with the kids on the floor at break time.

He never stops smiling, it’s actually so contagious his smile cures everything. The kids are so positive and content when he’s around that there’s hardly ever a problem with behaviour in his classroom

One of those teachers to have those periods where he gets each child to say a compliment about each other and it’s so cute!! The things they come up with are so pure that he wants to just adopt them all tbh

Probably strays from teaching half the time and gets them to do a lot of arts and crafts projects to give to their parents :”) but he adds in little life lessons along the way and why you need to be nice to everyone lmao no bitterness in this class allowed

Always struggles to open the milk cartons properly but doesn’t want to appear incapable so he pre-opens all of them to make life easier on everyone. Also always drops food on the floor, literally mark it down; every wednesday he will without a doubt sacrifice his slice of pepperoni to the flood gods

Mingyu:

I know there’s this running joke that Mingyu is nasty but honestly he’d be that teacher who makes you use hand sanitizer 24/7. The kids hate it bc it smells horrible and tastes awful but Mr.Kim isn’t taking any of that crap from the kids but opts to buy a scented sanitizer to compromise.

The kids come up to him constantly and tell him useless information but just love seeing how he’ll react to the news. Mingyu is so expressive and endearing that a kid could literally say they sharpened a pencil and he’d be like :OO

Listen, all of the mothers have a lowkey crush on Mingyu and everyone knows it- except Mingyu. The children drop hints all the time and he just laughs and shakes his head and hits them with the “Aha, cute kid.”

He’d help zip and button up all of the children’s coats before they go outside and tie all their shoelaces and watch them very carefully to make sure that they don’t get hurt!

Also always has band-aids on hand, whether they’re stuffed in his pockets or in his bag, he always has them in case of emergencies! He has a great variety too, hit him up if you ever want a Hello Kitty band-aid :)

Minghao:

The kindergarten teacher with great balance. He’s playful and bright with the kids, but knows how to properly discipline them when needed. He’s that one teacher who looks like a sweetheart but will not hesitate to snap and go off on you

Tries really hard to make everything really easy to understand but ends up confusing himself and talks in circles. Doesn’t know whether to correct his mistakes or just roll with it bc they’re impressionable children and won’t know the difference.

The type to put class photos all over the walls and door. He’s like a proud dad and wants to display his family for all to see. He really cares for the kiddies & everyone needs to know that he has the best kindergarten class on the block or else he’ll be really bitter.

Fumbles a lot with organizing lessons and getting things together, but mostly pulls thru by sheer luck and the help of the kids healing smiles and multiple coffee breaks.

Is really soft spoken and kind when it comes to the kids and jokes with them all the time. He’s the teacher with inside jokes over mistakes he’s made or things he’s said that has made the class laugh in the past.

Seungkwan:

Literally the #1 promoter, supporter, fan, you name it; Boo Seungkwan is it. Is literally head over heels for his kiddos and wants to shout out just how fond he is of them. Dressed up as a cheerleader on Halloween and did a cheer for the class which they adored.

Brings in different snacks every day for the kids to try and says it’s bc he wants to “expand their food horizons” but it’s really an excuse to extend snack period. No one is complaining.

Makes up those cute little catchy songs and rhymes to get things to stick in their heads. He subconsciously finds himself singing during his lessons but never corrects this habit, as it makes everyone listen more intently and happier.

Incredibly defensive when it comes to his children. Brings out every roast in the book if someone ridicules his way of teaching or scores his students got on a test. Insulting one of his kids is like murdering his parents, and Seungkwan is having none of that.

Literally bursts into tears when he sees them walk across the stage with their tiny little kindergarten diplomas and paper hats. Is so incredibly proud of their accomplishments that he ends up giving a 20 minute speech on how endearing the class was when eating their cookies with milk.

Vernon:

Still doesn’t know how he got the job or why he applied. He never wanted to be a teacher and yet here he was, responsible for 20+ kids and their future. Great decision on whoever’s part.

The kind of teacher who says “Umm” and “Uhh” constantly. Buys books online with pre-made lessons that he poorly executes. Shrugs most of the time and nods at everything he reads, as if literally anything suggested at this point would be better than whatever shit is in those pre-school agendas.

Is trying his best to not seem like he’s half assing his job. Makes Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the class and even cuts off the crust for the little monsters. Nearly ends up killing the kid with a severe peanut allergy. Learned that asking about allergies beforehand is a life saver.

Shows up to work in jeans and a t-shirt for a good 4 months before he was mistaken for the older sibling of one of the kids. His professionalism levels sky rocketed after that. Doesn’t come to school if he isn’t in slacks and a button up.

Believes that maybe acting like an older brother to the kids would be a more effective way of teaching them. Holds kindergarten council meetings once a week to lay down the law on where everyone is at on the terms of nap time. Crucial info circulates.

Dino:

Hardcore kindergarten teacher who lets his kids take 5 minute stretch breaks in between sessions. He interacts and joins in on the fun most days as they do wild activities like finger painting without smocks and cheating in hopscotch.

Chases the kids around during play time and pretends to be a dinosaur or monster to scare them,,Although he can be very mannerly when invited to a tea party.

Is the fun teacher who lets you have a prize from the treasure chest for answering a simple question right. Practically lives at the Dollar Store since he gives so many small goodies out in the run of a day.

Probably has a secret handshake with every single child in his class. Thinks that he’s hip with the kids for once, but is still a kid himself. Stays up super later correcting spelling tests he forgot at the bottom of his bag and loves using pen.

Shortened Math class in order to have time to dance everyday & has a playlist created for everyday of the week. He becomes the Ellen Degeneres of his classroom as he dances through the children and desks everyday at the same time.

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