#youtube music isn't any better but like. fuck you

[captain-ravioli7321]

i'm calling it now, weevildoing is gonna be my #1 on youtube music wrapped this year. It was my #1 for this year (faineant and splitter girl), but now that the ENTIRE tptm has dropped?!?!? no way in hell it's gonna be anything BUT weevildoing

[angrykittybarbarian]

Things that bother me about Dragon Age: The Veilguard part 3 (final thoughts)

I have finally finished the playthrough. I endured because I wanted to give this game a fair chance. I wanted to see it from start to finish in the hopes it would deliver something, anything capable of redeeming it. But it just didn't. Or more precisely, not in a way sufficient to make its flaws easy to overlook. These are my closing impressions on the game. I have already done two posts about this in which I documented my observations and comments as I progressed. I will link the posts here: Part 1, Part 2.

Let's finish this ride for now.

!Spoilers below the cut!

The music

I don't know what the direction of the music was meant to take. When it was announced Hans Zimmer would compose the OST I had high hopes. Hans Zimmer is a houshold name in Hollywood and skilled at what he does. I listened to a number of movie OSTs of his making and they were all excellent. So what happened here?

The music sounds generic most of the time without a clear theme or a unique piece that got me searching for it on youtube.

The main theme has sort of a recognizable composition but isn't anything outstanding. Emmrich's theme sounds like a halloween piece written for Wednesdsy Adams and the rest of the OST seems to mimic Trevor Morris' work for DA:I, namely the Lost Temple and In Hushed Whispers themes, but without the emotional impact the original pieces created.

It's as someone has already pointed out and I agree: Bioware has bought the name Hans Zimmer but not his quality. It sounds like he didn't even seriously create something but half heartedly whipped something out of his sleeve and called it a day.

The facial animations

The main problem with these is they often don't fit the emotions the VAs are communicating.

The VAs actually did a fantastic job. The scene that touched me the most was the one Rook confronts Solas in after they escape the regret prison in the fade. That was the first time Rook felt involved, raw and real.

But what broke the atmosphere in an otherwise flawless scene was how unmoving their facial expression was. There was the VA shouting their lung out and the animation couldn't even give half a fuck about it.

I don't even see an excuse for this lack of facial animation. It was possible to do since DA:O, hell, even since the first Mass Effect back in '07. Why is it not possible in the year of our Lord 2024, when technology is presumably better?

The handholding of the player

The plot is tightly paced. This is not necessarily a bad thing as I didn't really like the Open World approach of DA:I since it stretched the main plot too thinly and the maps created weren't filled with interesting side content but boring and pointless fetch quests.

But Veilguard went into the opposide extreme as it leaves only little room for the player when and how to do things. The quests are activated and must be completed in a specific order. They have also only one outcome without room to make different decisions.

Rook can never be truly ruthless. They can never disagree and butt heads with their companions.

And I hate how on the side of the screen the game exactly tells you what you have done and how it affects your companions' behaviour. It doesn't bake it into the interaction organically. Instead it has yet again, explained to me what I did and why it has this very specific effect without any of the characters discussing it. But the beauty of consequential decisions lies in the very unpredictability of its outcome. That's what creates the emotional impact. It doesn't work if I am being warned and explained to like a small child.

It's this lack of trust the game puts into the intelligence of its players that is so experience breaking, insulting even. It doesn't trust its players to figure stuff out themselves. It assumes we are too stupid to get any of the things it tries to tell us.

The ting is though, dear Bioware writers, if you think you have to overexplain your story because you think your audience won't get it then that's a telltale sign of the story being actually badly written.

Another area where this becomes appearant are the "puzzles". I used the quotation marks because there isn't really anything to solve. The solutions are obvious and at times your companions go out of their way to tell you.

The romances

Romances have always been a nice bonus on top of the otherweise amazing game content. They added some enjoyable extra fluff purely for enjoyment and some cases even deepened the main storyline.

In Veilguard they don't do that. In almost all of them the flirting is so meaningless that your cutscene with them just proceeds as if nothing happened.

There is no shift or change to their tone towards Rook. You don't build up the relationship with them. There is no last goodbye kiss before the last mission or passionate affirmations of love and trust. It just leaves you cold.

The only romance that seems to have that old depth is Emmrich's. The rest however, they don't add anything significant. There virtually is no difference to the game without the romances.

Companion relationships

Let's begin here with the simple fact that all deeper interactions Rook has with the companions are strictly scripted which ties back into the handholding part of this criticism. Rook cannot initiate a conversation and ask them some general questions about their histories and opinions on certain matters.

Rook only gets to interact with them when they happen to want something from them. Otherwise they cannot be bothered to acknowledge Rook with more than a one sided oneliner.

And then there are the relationships between the companions themselves. They either get along swimmingly or the game feels the need to stage some immature conflict between them without any deeper purpose.

Like Harding not understanding why Emmrich brings so many books on the road despite it literally not being any of her damn business bevause it doesn't personally affect her in any way.

Or Taash not understanding his profession as a Mournwatcher as they call him names so Rook has to point out Taash in turn likes dragons which is an interest he doesn't share only to culminate the discussion with a "We need to respect our differences" sort of statement.

These are not conflicts, these are squabbles of children and like children Roik talks to them which is brought ad absurdum with Emmrich because he is literally old enough to be Rook's father.

Why bother at all with writing conflict if it is only to be something as inconsequential as this?

Varric's death

This one is a .... choice.

I won't go into why the decision to let him die or not is good or bad because I feel like this is highly subjective.

However the impact of the reveal of this fact is only partly executed well.

Why?

Because it only hits hard when the player has known and cared about Varric at least since DA:I if not DA 2. The execution of this plotpoint thus relies too heavily on nostalgia instead of building the tension up within its own setting.

When thinking about Bioware also wanting to be newcomer friendly with this game I am left to wonder then why they didn't introduce Varric properly and didn't give the players time to build up the relationship? Why would a new player care about Varric? They don't know him.

Bioware cannot in good conscience claim they designed the game to be new player friendly while simultaniously heavily relying on knowledge from previous games, dlcs, comics, novels and other spin-off media. They cannot claim this and have anything but DATV do the heavy lifting when it comes to executing their plot.

The final mission

For my final point I also want to lose some positive feedback about this game.

The ending was actually well written.

In relation to Solas it comes full circle. You can actually feel what's at stake and the decisions Rook makes actually matter.

The final questline roughly follows a Mass Effect 2 approach where it is classified as nothing short of a suicide mission.

Companion quests essentially function as loyalty missions and Rook gets to assign various posts in battle. Just like in Mass Effect 2 assigning a companion a post completely outside of their expertise may get them killed.

The dialogue is actually written well at this point in the game. There isn't really much to complain about.

But even this part is not entirely without faults.

For one I don't like the non negotiable sacrifice that has either to be made by Harding or Davrin. Rook doesn't even get a chance to save any of them. But again these non negotiable companion deaths where you only make the choice who's it's going to be isn't anything new (i.e. Hawke and whatever Warden you happen to get, Kaidan/Ashley in ME 1). So maybe a bit if a bummer but nothing experience breaking.

A stronger point however is that Rook will always keep the Veil intact in the end.

I suppose this outcome already is part of the game title itself but was it necessary to take it so literally?

With everything the elves have lost and the discrimination they faced it should absolutely have been an option to agree with Solas and tear the Veil down.

But since we don't talk about racism and slavery I guess Rook doesn't reflect on these points either. So I guess keeping the Veil intact is in line with the game's general sanitization of the world.

So in conclusion?

The game is far from great, not gonna lie. It feels like the devs actually wanted a new IP but were too afraid of the risks that come with such an endeavor and thought gutting an existing franchise that already did the heavy lifting of building a fanbase and using it as a package would save their ideas from flopping. Surely no one will notice it is actually something else if we market it as Dragon Age, right?

But we are not that stupid. This behaviour is insulting to put it plain and simple and I am heartbroken, angry and said that this was done to Dragon Age. I wanted to love this game. I was optimistic before the release. Everything looked fine, nothing in particular to worry about.

But I cannot continue to defend this without breaking my basic brain function.

The most frustrating part is that with the ending the devs showed they can write a story and meaningful dialogues. It left me wondering why it couldn't be done like this for the rest of the game and living with the reality that I will never get what this game could have been.

All in all this is not a good Dragon Age game. It is a massive disappointment and does not live up to the promises made by the devs.

I am sorry for everyone who preordered.

I am sorry for everyone who paid the full release price.

Nominating it for Game of the Year is not justified no mattee how you look at it.

If you are genuinely enjoying the game, I hope you continue to do so and all power to you.

For the rest: let's stop excusing Bioware's disrespect towards the fans and enabling them by paying them too much money for it.

Don't buy at release. Don't buy spin off media. Wait for sales. These people only understand the problem when you give them a good run for their money.

[huggybearluvr]

Next Thing You Know || Q.H

Series Masterlist

Synopsis: After meeting Quinn at a bar in your 20's you can't believe how fast the time flies.

The song links:

Apple Music || Spotify || Youtube

y/nmathews

liked by yourbestfriend, quinnhughes, and others... y/nmathews met this guy at a bar and next thing you know he's my boyfriend....

view all comments...

yourbestfriend I'll kill him. He better treat you right.

y/nmathews oh he is girl

austonmathews do i know him. does he play hockey. and how old is he.

y/nmathews idk. maybe. lols

quinnhughes seems like a stud

jackhughes that back looks familiar....

y/nmathews no it doesn't!

lukehughes YES IT DOES @quinnhughes

quinnhughes shut up.

jackhughes @austonmathews do we approve of this?

austonmathews i'm just glad it isn't you with your grubby hands.

jackhughes excuse me?

quinnhughes

liked by y/nmathews, lukehughes, and others

quinnhughes never thought I could love like this.

view all comments...

jackhughes thought you said you were staying single for awhile

lukehughes he did infact say that.

quinnhughes don't be mad that you guys cant pull like I can

y/nmathews I love you <3

quinnhughes I love you more baby

ellenhughes such sweethearts

austonmathews this is...

jackhughes nasty?

lukehughes absoutely fucking crazy?

y/nmathews can you guys leave us alone please?

austonmathews sorry.

jackhughes im not

lukehughes me either

quinnhughes .

yourbestfriend OKAY THIS IS CUTE

quinnhughes

liked by y/nmathews, jackhughes, and others

quinnhughes next thing you know she moved in! ... and brought her weird ass dog with her...

view all comments

austonmathews the first picture...

y/nmathews is so cute!

austonmathews no.

y/nmathews WEIRD ASS DOG?! excuse me sir Zues is a little baby

quinnhughes he could squash us both.

y/nmathews hes. a. little. baby.

quinnhughes he ways 140 pounds...

y/nmathews shhhhh he's my baby.

mitchmarner @austonmathews YOU LET HER TAKE THE DOG?!

austonmathews its her dog?

mitchmarner NO NO NO It was yours as much as it was hers.

y/nmathews he didn't take care of that dog, it was all me.

mitchmarner zues squared tho :(...

y/nmathews ill bring him with me when I visit.

y/nmathews

liked by austonmathews, mitchmarner, and others...

y/nmathews Mrs. y/n hughes has a ring to it.

view all comments...

quinnhughes I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you baby

y/nhughes I love you more than anything else in this world

austonmathews when he asked for my blessing, I didn't think he would propose so quickly.

quinnhughes oops?

austonmathews if she's happy, I'm happy.

y/nmathews im more than happy :)

jackhughes god she's gonna be moms favorite now

ellenhughes she already is :)

lukehughes MOM NO I AM

quinnhughes in your dreams Luke it was me before y/n

yourbestfrind AWWWW BABY

y/nmathews my maid of honor <3

quinnhughes

liked by y/nhughes, ellenhughes, and others...

quinnhughes the best weekend of my life. To my beautiful wife, I love you more than any words could ever say. You are the sunshine of my life and I have no idea where I would be without you. Thank you for choosing me to spend the rest of your life with.

view all comments....

y/nhughes wouldn't wanna be doing life wiht anyone else. I love you quinn.

quinnhughes I love you too baby

jackhughes congrats to both of you! I love you both.

y/nhughes awww rowdy, we love you

ellenhughes Congratulations! welcome to the family officially y/n!

y/nhughes thank you!!

austonmathews You got a good one Quinn. Congrats to both of you!

lukehughes huggy is all grown up :(

quinnhughes i've been grown.

y/nhughes

liked by jackhughes, yourbestfriend, and others...

y/nhughes the honesymoon has been nothing short but amazing.

view all comments...

austonmathews Zues misses his parents come back soon

y/nhughes or do you just miss me?

austonmathews ...

jackhughes QUINNS A SIMP

y/nhughes I can't deny that

quinnhughes for her yes I am a simp.

quinnhughes mrs. quinn hughes looking great!

y/nhughes mr. quinn hughes looking even better

lukehughes vomit.

y/nhughes

liked by quinnhughes, jackhughes, and others...

y/nhughes surprise! baby hughes on the way!

view all comments...

austonmathews I'M GONNA BE AN UNCLE?!

jackhughes WE ARE GONNA BE UNCLES?!

lukehughes WEE ARE GONNA BE UNCLES?!

mitchmarner WEEE ARE GONNA BE UNCLES?!

y/nhughes yes you are ALL gonna be uncles.

austonmathews so like whose the god father...?

jackhughes me

lukehughes uhmmmm no me.

quinnhughes both of you stop.

ellenhughes congrats! the baby is gonna be a little angel!

quinnhughes I am so excited baby!

y/nhughes me too! Can't wait for little nugget.

quinnhughes

liked by y/nhughes, jackhughes, and others...

quinnhughes surprise twin boys! Y/n and I are so excited to introduce Sawyer Warren Hughes and Seth Auston Hughes.

view all commments...

y/nhughes I am so excited to be doing life with you and them! I can't picture a better family! I love your three more than anything in this entire world.

quinnhughes and we love you all the way to the moon and back baby.

austonmathews you named one of them after me?

mitchmarner he is quite literally crying rn.

y/nhughes awww Aus, come over and meet your god children :)

austonmathews are you being serious? I am the god father???

quinnhughes we couldn't think of any one more perfect for the role

lukehughes I am so honored.

y/nhughes we love you lukey.

[some-triangles]

SOUNDS OF 2024

My ferret wife and I were driving down 82nd listening to KINK FM 102. If you are not familiar this is a radio station that specializes in a particular vocal type - it's a voice that transcends genre, ranging from alt rock to white blues to what I can only describe as the Mumford zone - but the key point is that you will not understand a word the singer is singing. Think Hootie, or Eddie Vedder. Crunched through car speakers it's a sort of audio spackle that tickles the brain with the occasional half-recognizable phrase.

Every six or seven songs, though, they play a classic from the 80s or 90s. On this day we got lucky and it was Major Tom by Peter Schilling. You don't think you know this song, but you do. It's the one where the chorus goes like

Prior to this moment I'd occasionally gotten the "earth below us" bit stuck in my head without having any idea where it came from. Making the connection activated something in my brain and, consequently, in the youtube algorithm, and for the rest of the year all I cared about was Neue Deutsche Welle.

I fell in love with the singer from Trio - no longer with us, sadly. This is a band that you will know from their international hit Da Da Da Ich Liebe Du Nicht Du Liebes Mich Nicht Aha Aha Aha. If you're my age you'll remember this tune from Pepsi commercials, but like Chumbawamba, Trio were a weird art punk band with a fluke chart topper rather than your standard one-hit wonder.

Stephan Remmler was so fucking handsome, you guys. And his tragic Weimar cabaret clown of a drummer. And his mysterious, weirdly femme guitarist.

So I went on a dive. As a whole there is more cod reggae (kraut reggae?) in the NDW catalog than I'm comfortable with but other than that it's a true flowering of DIY weirdness. Start with 99 Luftballons and just keep going... the wall should never have fallen, you guys. RIP to the gulag archipelago but global culture never recovered from glasnost.

Anyway that's what I was listening to this year, except also Kendrick vs Drake happened and suddenly hip hop is good again. You don't need me to tell you about this - there are ten million youtube essays you can watch. I'd just like to encourage everyone to keep an eye on Tyler the Creator moving up as a dark horse candidate for commercial AND artistic success of next year. And that's the really miraculous thing about Kendrick - I can't remember the last time an album I really liked had five songs in the top 10 at once. Because it's never fucking happened before!

Music nerds bouncing off GNX are cheating themselves out of a rare opportunity to like something popular. (Maybe that's why they're bouncing, actually.) But it's undeniable stuff.

Painfully beautiful, and this isn't even what he's supposed to be best at. Pop music is fun and interesting and deep again. You can't relax for a second - even now that Drake has been chased out of rap into the right wing influencer sphere and courtroom trolling, Things are still happening. Christmas day, Tyler smokes Kendrick on his own beat:

And where's Vince Staples? Surely he's got a statement album coming. I haven't even gotten a chance to listen to scHoolboy Q's Blue Lips enough times for the ink to sink in. I've always been a west coast guy where rap is concerned, mainstream or indie, and I've been eating so good...

It's been a great year for me and music, basically. A lot of this has been due to picking up crumbs from Ferret Wife's Kendrick obsession and various other treats she's brought me. From a creative standpoint I've made nothing ambitious but steadily cranking out jingles and silly parodies has made me a better player and singer than I've ever been, and surely there's a sensitive guitar man album in me waiting to come out.

In the meantime please enjoy my contribution to this year's Exit 605 Christmas Album.

[dross-the-fish]

Why do you dislike Musical!PoTO?

I've heard that there are better versions than the ones I've seen (a couple of clips of boots on youtube, the 25th royal albert hall performance and the 2004 movie) so take my ranting with a grain of salt. I've said it before and if you've followed me you probably know by now that I don't care much for Andrew Lloyd Webber, I feel like he's very hit or miss and for every Jesus Christ Superstar he writes there's a Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (pure shit, irredeemable, possibly the worst musical I've ever had to sit through) Something about Webber's music rubs me the wrong way, it seems like it's trying to be tongue-in-cheek but it just comes off as smug. Characters tend to feel extremely one-note. I HATE madam Giry in the musical. They kind of gave her the Daroga's role and it DOES NOT WORK. She says something early on in the film about how she thinks of Christine as a daughter but she doesn't do a fucking thing to protect her from Erik for the bulk of the musical? Like, you know what's going on, you know who her teacher is but your complicit in helping him deceive her? Why are you protecting him? It's not that you don't think he's dangerous, you clearly know he's capable of murder. I also hate how they handle Carlotta, she's not really a major character in the book and her singing is lacking not because she's bad but because she doesn't have any passion for her performances and she's wonderfully ruthless and calculating about ousting her competition. The depiction of a spoiled past her prime, primadonna who also can't sing and is too old for the roles she cast in is just another example of ALW being needlessly mean spirited. In the book she was actively manipulative about trying to kill Christine's career. There was something really villainous about the way she would use her popularity and her friends in high places to bribe the managers with flattery and gifts. She made newspapers stop giving Christine publicity to prevent her from getting her name out, then she filled the opera house with her own fans and supporters to outnumber anyone who was there for Christine. This woman has been in the game for a long time and she knows how to play it, probably because she's worked for years to build up her career and isn't ready to hand it over to some nobody from nowhere who happened to pop up on the one night Carlotta couldn't perform. You could write Carlotta with so much nuance and give her layers, make her an INTERESTING antagonist and ALW just doesn't. He goes for the low hanging fruit. The laziest trope he could have picked. Spoiled, vain and no actual talent. Given how much creative control over the movie he had I'm going to count that as his official adaptation of the musical and it takes everything I already don't like about the musical and makes it WORSE. Also I said before ALW writes music like someone who enjoys rock but doesn't actually understand it? "We needed somebody who has a bit of rock and roll sensibility in him. He's got to be a bit rough, a bit dangerous; not a conventional singer. Christine is attracted to the Phantom because he's the right side of danger." -Andrew Lloyd Webber on the character of Erik for the 2004 film. Honestly, no? No he doesn't, he has no rock and roll sensibility. Not in your musical, not in the book, not in the movie. What are you talking about Andy? That ridiculous guitar riff during the song The Phantom of the Opera? Because that meshed about as well with your hokey showtune style as eating cole slaw with your Chinese takeout. You CAN do it but you really shouldn't. "The film looks and sounds fabulous and I think it's an extraordinarily fine document of the stage show. While it doesn't deviate much from the stage material, the film has given it an even deeper emotional centre. It's not based on the theatre visually or direction-wise, but it's still got exactly the same essence. And that's all I could have ever hoped for." – Andrew Lloyd Webber

Andy you're full of crap. Go home. That said there are moments and songs I really like. Wishing you Were Somehow Here Again is heartbreaking and I like to think that she's talking about Erik and the broken pedestal of their relationship as much as she is her father. I don't know if that was intentional but I like the angle of Christine feeling heartbroken at the loss of a friend and father. But well, ALW ships Erik and Christine so of course that angle is never really considered. We get one moment where Christine is upset and says she gave Erik her mind blindly and one where she admits to being frightened of him before the performance of Don Juan, but I feel like as much as Christine is verbally resistant to him and clearly terrified of him the musical doesn't really validate her and takes every opportunity to build up the sexual tension between her and the phantom. The supporting characters don't really help either, Madam Giry is complicit in Erik's manipulations, Raoul seems largely dismissive and more focused on hunting down Erik when he finally believes her than protecting Christine (AllI Ask of You is a nice song but Raoul's actions and attitude before and after make it feel a bit hollow). In some weird ways I get why people watch the musical and think Erik is the better choice despite...the stalking, kidnapping and murder. No one is really committed to protecting this girl, not even the people who claim to love her. I can easily see how she'd still feel a need to cling to her angel of music even after the mask comes off given how completely ALONE she seems while surrounded by people who allegedly care about her. I also don't like how Raoul is depicted. Maybe it's the actors but I feel like he and Christine don't have chemistry and half the time he seems annoyed with her. Especially Hadley Frasier feels like he's ten minutes from being completely done, he has no patience. I don't buy that this is a man who ran into the sea to fetch her scarf or would run into a dangerous underground lair to rescue her but I do buy that he's going to become a drunken asshole in 10 years so I guess what they did with him in LND is predictable even if it is completely stupid. If you made it to the bottom of this rant congratulations, I hope that explains why I am not among the musical's phans and why I don't like how much it eclipses the book or other versions. I do think it's good but overrated and the flaws are more than I can over look. And yet I still seek it out from time to time, I still like the parts of it that I like and that I think do work. It's like a toxic ex I can't fully break up with, which I suppose is kind of fitting given the subject matter.

[yuri-is-online]

Hi hope you have a nice day.

I’d like to request prompt 9 with azul , ace and epel

Please feel free to ignore this

9. You weren't technically invited to this event but it's a Masquerade! It's not like anyone will notice or care if you sneak in, so you do just that and find a really depressed friend of yours lamenting they won't get to dance with their crush.

My dear friend there is no need to be so shy, I asked for requests. You have no need to ask me to ignore you! Hold your head high, you are more than welcome here ⊂(・ヮ・⊂)

As a note I got a separate request for this prompt from Azul's pov which I still intend to write and post in addition to this, but if said requester wishes for an additional character they are more than welcome to send a message, there is no time limit on that.

notes: they/them used for Yuu, I could not for the fucking life of me find any of the music I wanted to use for Azul. No piano cover for the first song and then no instrumental version of "Part of Your World" from Dreamlight Valley; why that isn't on youtube when it is my literal favorite arrangement of the song I couldn't tell you smh. I did manage to find something close to it though... The rest of the event requests can be found on my masterlist.

Azul

Magic shmagic, you have got to be some sort of wizard with just how well you managed to weasel your way into this stupid party. No one had been checking invitations, probably assuming that no one without magic would bother taking time to make an elaborate ensemble just to get their hands on some prime snacks. Clearly they underestimated the great responsibility bestowed upon the owner of a set of tupperware. You would have added "and a cat monster" but you are not stupid enough to think you own Grim.

Or humiliated enough to suggest that he owns you, but the less chances you take at making him sneeze and wake up to a suspiciously empty dorm the better. You didn't need him storming the castle crying about how he woke up all alone and was scared wasn't invited. Not that you hadn't considered that plan together before Crewel had made it extra clear just what the consequences would be for that. The food tables are positioned close to a balcony you had spotted earlier, empty save for a piano that you swear has to be desperately out of tune.

Or at least that had been what you thought on your way in. That clearly isn't true from the song that's snapped your attention away from your mission towards it. You know the song that's being played, or at least you think you do. It causes some strange cognitive dissonance in you, you try to tell yourself that it simply can't be real, even as the words bubble up in your throat trying to make up for the missing instruments. The person playing it somehow makes the dissonance worse.

Azul, because it has to be him, no one else has eyes quite as lovely even if they seem strangely sad behind his mask, clearly is not expecting to be observed. He is far too relaxed, too caught up in some strange thought playing a jazz song so hauntingly out of place against the classical background of the Masquerade. If you were yourself tonight, you would think about reaching out to close the gap, but to do that would be to give yourself away, put you firmly in the tight grasp of his debt that you will likely be powerless to repay.

And yet, he looks to see you anyway, the edges of his lips flickering into business as he surprisingly does not stop playing. Instead he moves the piece into one he thinks "you" will recognize before finishing with a flourish.

It is all you can do to clap politely so as not to drop all pretense. "I am sorry for interrupting you." You try, but you know as well as he that disguised or not, Azul will not let you off this easily.

"Oh it's no trouble really." He stands up from the bench with a flourish. "I was just helping myself, really what were the hosts thinking leaving such a lovely piano out here all alone? It's practically begging to be played."

"Of course." You hope, not with much optimism, Azul doesn't notice you looking for an exit. The last thing you want is a reason to be more awkward around your handsome classmate than you already are. "You chose such a unique song for it too, I couldn't help but be distracted." He falters, fingers dropping back to the keys gently running over them in a strange show of emotion.

"it is isn't it." He states it, more to himself than you as you beat away the unhelpful desire to describe his playing as "out of this world," not wanting to deal with any judgment later. The look Azul has on his face can almost be described as... fond as he continues to speak more to himself than you. "A... friend of mine taught it to me. I have been practicing it for them. For tonight." You almost ask who he is referring to, afraid he might mention some other poor lost soul from another world because you certainly do not remember teaching him any music let alone that song. You have a vague memory of playing something at Floyd's request, but that had been ages ago, and Azul had certainly not been there.

At least not in your line of sight.

"I should let you get back to them then." You say lamely, hopefully Azul will pass that off as disinterest in his personal affairs and let you go. This is starting to get bad for your heart.

"They're not here sadly. No thanks to me, if only they had thought to ask for my help..." He returns to the piano, so genuinely disappointed you are almost angry at yourself for not thinking to ask this poor man who certainly only would have asked for your last dance and not your soul or first born. "It's got to be an important song to them if they remembered how to play it... right?"

Or maybe he would, just in a more romantic way. He certainly seems more focused on the phantom of you than anything else and that has to be some sort of accomplishment. It is all you can do to swallow your guilty conscious enough to leave with your disguise in tact.

Ace

"Yuu! Oi why are you running I knew you would-" Ace's hand stops just in front of you, his smile and optimism completely gone with his brain cells apparently as he retreats. "Ha, sorry." His places his hand behind his head casually, voice dropping to that similar serious tone as it had earlier in the night when he had asked for you to tell him he looked good. "Thought you were somebody else."

"Sorry." You really mean it, as much as you just want to shake off the disguise and let him know he was right that would be way too dangerous. Everyone knows you were not invited, and everyone knows his behavior around you. No matter how much your heart sings that he saw through you, it would get him into so much trouble if he was suspected of helping you in this little adventure.

"Nah it's not your fault, I'm just annoyed." Ace has apparently decided that you are his new old friend for the evening anyway, bracing himself against the pillar with a huff as you give into temptation to stay with him just a bit longer. "Seriously it is going to be such a pain later! Deuce is all like 'we should enjoy ourselves the prefect will be mad if we let them ruin it for us.' Please like I would want my friends to be celebrating when I'm not there."

"You're not your friend though." You try to not laugh as you say it because of course that's what Ace would say. You can easily picture him sulking if it had just been Deuce and you who were off to a Masquerade all while acting like he is truly not bothered as soon as you pay him any attention. "It's not like it's your fault they're not here."

"Ha, sure feels like it." He is back to being oddly serious, you can't decide if you just think the attitude doesn't suit him or are angry he is spilling his guts to a masked stranger and not the real you. He has to know you would listen, but then maybe that's the problem. "You have to have that one friend who never sticks up for themselves right? Everybody does. Just don't make the mistake of- well they're stupid difficult to look after but someone's gotta do it right? No shame if you end up liking them."

"Oh yeah of course." Ace is going to never speak to you again if he figures out this is you. Or if he knows you were thinking about him when he started complaining about having a "friend" that's hard to look after. "No shame at all, really it's annoying how much cuter it makes them."

"You get it." He nods then remembers he is supposed to be the laid back guy in your friend group and returning to his "normal" attitude. "I mean who doesn't understand that? Seriously how tropey can things get sometime, like who still falls for their best friend anymore? How stupid does life think I am- look," he claps you on the back before steeling himself to head off back to where you assume Deuce and the other members of the Heartslabyul crew are, "you see any out of place, magicless prefects you bring them right to me yeah? They owe me a dance for all the headaches they've caused me this past year. And you had best bet I intend to collect." And just like that he's gone. Off to his friends, probably to poke Riddle some to ignore just how vulnerable he decided to be tonight.

And leaving you silently screaming into the night.

Epel

"SHHHHH!" Epel's a deceptively strong guy, it's something he would probably be bragging about right now if he knew you were thinking it. Well maybe not just right now, he has his hand roughly over your mouth as his eyes dart from side to side begging that it's just Vil that's on his tail and not Rook.

Something you are equally begging god for because there is no way that freak of nature is going to not recognize you immediately. Not that you are 100% certain he would turn you in, but there is something extremely uncomfortable about being known to begin with let alone when you are supposed to be disguised. Finally, the specter of the Queen passes by your little nook and Epel lets you go with a sigh.

"M'sorry." Epel is looking up at you like a kicked puppy, you can't tell if it's intentional or he really is just that remorseful. The two of you float towards the tempting fresh air of the balcony, Epel pouting up at the sky as if he is a princess about to break into song about how boring his life is and how if he could just run away into the great yonder he would. "I just really don't want to deal with my Housewarden right now. He keeps say'n I should make the most of the night or else I'll shame Pomefiore, but I just don't care." Well that's not exactly news but still, maybe you can help him snap out of it so he doesn't get into a heap of trouble he'll be complaining about later.

"Aren't you having fun with your friends?" It's a simple first option, safe enough for you to say even though you are supposed to be a stranger. Epel lets out a somewhat predictable sigh, though the sheer force of longing hidden in the eyes you swear are almost shining is not something you expected.

"Well yeah, but a Masquerade like this is super fancy right? There's all these costumes, music fit for slow dancing, perfect thing ta' do with someone special." Epel relaxes, completely comfortable with what he's saying to a supposed stranger in supposed anonymity as if he isn't sending you spiraling with that little admission. "I was really countin' on Yuu bein here." He closes his eyes, almost as if he is imagining what he would be doing if you had been invited and weren't... sneaking around hearing him admit something he definitely did not intend to do like this.

"D-don't you want to dance?" You say it more to distract yourself than Epel, honestly you would love nothing more than to hear him talk about all the fancy things he wants to do with this allegedly special person, but you need an out before he figures things out. Before Vil figures out that Epel's really shirking things and sends Rook. Before-

"Aw yer mighty charmin' but I got my eye on someone already." before Epel makes it super clear just what it is he feels and leaves you no room for denial. You almost feel sorry for the hypothetical stranger you are, Epel looks so... happy when he talks about you. You're almost jealous of yourself. "Say, you got an eye for fancy things? It's gotta suck bein left out of the party so I wanna bring my friend somethin' special but I ain't gotta clue what to do."

"Yourself." You say softly, feather twitching just out of the corner of your eye signalling your que to leave. "If you want to bring your friend something special you should just bring yourself."

[lastoneout]

Hey uh @ people with ME/CFS I got a question...

Everything I've read and heard about kinda seems to go hard on the idea that over-exerting yourself tends to lead to exhaustion that just never gets better at all no matter how long you rest after, and like I always assumed I didn't have it, because yeah overexerting myself tends to make me way more exhausted than is does other people and the exhaustion lasts like, a week or more sometimes, but it does eventually get better.

Like last weekend I went shopping for my birthday and also to an art gallery, and then I did a few small errands, and I conserved my energy as best I could, resting often, using mobility aids, ect, but I had to spend Mon-Fri in bed doing basically nothing aside from watching youtube, listening to music, and playing tetris because that was all I had the physical and mental energy to do. And granted that was dragged out a little because I had to go to the ER on Wednesday due to a migraine that got triggered by all this(bcs overexerting myself almost always triggers a migraine) and on Tuesday I sat in the car while we took my cat to the vet for a quick nail trim, but aside from that I just rested and even though I am feeling a bit better today I'm still just SO fucking tired and I know I'm going to have to take it easy for a few days more just to be sure I'm okay.

Which like, idk doesn't sound normal, that's for fucking sure, but I do know that with enough rest eventually I will return to my normal, which isn't everyone else's normal but is still normal enough that I can make myself easy meals and sit at my desk and talk to people and make phone calls and run errands without it killing me too badly.

But like idk my doctors seem convinced that I don't have any kind of autoimmune condition(although they haven't actually ran any tests they just keep insisting I'm not showing the signs of one and to keep up with physical therapy even when I tell them that just going clothes shopping for a few hours puts me on bedrest for the next 2-3 days) but idk again this does NOT seem normal. I legit feel SICK sometimes when I push myself too hard, like I think I'm coming down with a cold or something but it never actually turns into one, I just have that "eugh" sick feeling for a day or two and then it goes away once I've rested enough(also for clarification I never get any real cold/illness symptoms like a temperature and I mask literally everywhere and this ONLY happens after exertion so I don't think I'm actually getting sick). I also don't usually feel rested when I sleep but I always chalked that up to the insomnia more than anything?? But it does happen even when I have a good night's sleep with no tossing and turning or nightmares...

Anyway if anyone who does have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome could maybe explain to me what it's like for them I would appreciate it because idk what else could possibly be going on with me but I am so fucking tired of my doctors acting like there is nothing wrong. It might not be ME/CFS, and I have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia so maybe this is all just that? So I also wouldn't mind if someone who has fibro can tell me if this is all just fibro stuff. But idk I just want to know for sure, you know? (If it helps in addition to the fibro I also have arthritis, hEDS, orthostatic Intollerance, and occipital neuralgia.)

[allegras-sunflower]

RIP Ana Clara Benevides. ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🤎🖤🤍💖

I have read alot of people posts how disappointed they were with the situation.

Like that one Reddit post on swiftlyneutral. I can't post the link. But the title says:

What are your thoughts on what happened at the Eras tour in Brazil? Do you even know about it?

The post is very recent.

And couldn't Taylor Swift do something before the show? Didn't she know the heat? That fans weren't allowed to bring water in it? What would she have risked if she cancelled the show? A fine? She can pay for it. Disappointed fans? Better than dead fans.

I remember watching a youtube video of Michael Jackson when he got his Hollywoodstar and he made an appearance. There was a huge crowd and people were pushing eachother, some got hurt. He left after a short time. One fan voiced his disappointment that he only shown up for like few seconds or minutes and left. But looking back it was good that he left that none of them got seriously injured. He also got parademics at his shows because people were passing out.

Or Madonna who had a concert just recently in front of like 1.6million people. I don't hear anybody dying. ? And for such a large amount of people at one spot. There sure had to be safety measurement taken before the show.

When a fan of Rihanna died. Not at her show. Rihanna paid for the funeral.

Does Taylor Swift really care about her fans? Or does she care more about how her fans view her? And as an artist isn't it her responsibility that her fans are save at her show? Of course she can't stop any inconvience. But extreme heat is literally something she could have known days before!

This whole thing felt like Taylor didn't really care about Ana. She can't be the music industry the biggest superstar in the whole world but be a helpless little girl who is used by her concert promoters and can't even decrease ticket prices.

And Taylor made this parasocial relationship with her fans. So she atleast should have cared more. Or showed that she cared. It seems like she only sees her fans as numbers.

There was another show, in Buenos Aires, right before the show were Ana Clara died, that TS had to cancel too because of a storm. Now, due to the subtropical climate, storms in Buenos Aires can be quite strong and dangerous. The fans, most of them underage girls, stood in line under the electrical storm up until the time the venue doors were supposed to open. Then and only then, TS announced (mind you, half an hour after the city government did) that the show would be rescheduled. So what happened in Río after was not an isolated incident, TS had a bit of a pattern endangering her fans.

Now, I talked extensively about Ana Clara's death in this blog, and I don't wanna repeat myself and become annoying for it. But for those of you who don't know, my family on my dad's side is Brazilian, my own grandmother has been badly hit by the floods going on in the south, my little sister went to the show after Ana Clara's death. That's why TS's mistreatment of Brazilian fans and fans of color in general hurts SO FUCKING MUCH. Because it's fucking personal. I did not only felt heartbroken because of what happened to Ana Clara, it was absolutely devastating. I know it was just a footnote on the international news, but not here. Here we read the declaration of the young nurse that kept on the CPR maneuvers for over an hour because they refused to let Ana Clara die. We read the statement of Ana Clara's family denying TS or her team had reached out to them when the news were starting to say TS was in talks with them. We KNOW TS's team didn't pay for ANYTHING and didn't reach out to them until over a week later. We saw it all go down on real time, my little sister was certain TS would make a moment of silence for Ana Clara only to be let down when she rushed the show so not even the people attending could do one.

So, let this be your confirmation. Taylor Swift does NOT care about her fans. At least not about her fans of color.

Please, never stop talking about Ana Clara Benevides Machado. Never stop sharing her picture. And never forget that, if you're a POC, TS doesn't care about you. Not even if you're a VIP ticket holder, like Ana Clara was.

[deadtiredghost]

So I watched the entirety of Mashle as a drinking game and these are my non-coherent, drunkard rambling thoughts on the anime. (Sploilers obvs).

Mash - is it better than HP; not objectively, but do I enjoy watching it far more, yes 1000x yes.

"Our world has no shortage of problems" - UNDERSTATEMENT OF THE CENTURY

Mash is so smart when it comes to fighting and so dumb when it comes to literally anything else. I love this boy. Mash is so cute when he lies. I want to adopt him so bad. The paternal feelings haven't been so strong in a whileeee. (Not about anyone other than the turtles)

He just really loves creampuffs. He has an unconscious reflex to people taking his creampuffs.

"I see you as nothing but an unusually clever rabbit" - ironic because most people might see Mash as the opposite of clever.

For a comedy anime Mashle is so dark. Like the world is so fucked and euthenasia is the norm. But here I am making a drinking game out of the comedy anime and casually ignoring all the child abuse and trauma all the characters go through - someone should write an analysis on that.

Mash forgives people way too easily - 'since u have feelings I guess ur not a shit person even if u crippled and thus sent to be euthanized a whole host of students.'

I love that Ron Weasley-s wand has barbed wire around it - it's so unnecessary.

Unironically I love Love, or whatever her name is. Reminds me of Teruhashi but less developed and I hope he does get more developedz.ź

"I think Mask Guy wants to eat cream puffs too" • A line you would only see from this show • *talking about a guy who is actively dying from being impaled*

Every single villain: and they failed to consider that... Mash was just built different.

Abel: my mother taught me morals. I forgot them for 10 years but now they're all coming rushing back to me after Mash suplexed me and gave me brain damage.

Rayne's reaction to the green haired shit is overboard to us and the main characters, there is no use in continuing to kick someone while they're down, but from his point of view he has probs had to deal with similar people over and over for his entire life and gotten bored of them double crossing him or something. Sidenote: i have never met a "Rayne" (that spelling or otherwise) that isn't genderqueer in some regard.

In universe they mention machine guns and bunting from baseball whÿyyyyyy .

Was this world Formerly the real world?

It happened in Tokyo Revengers too, but what's with characters being like "if u don't have anything to live for, live for me in servitude"? Like... u don't owe them ur life and death my dude. There are other things to live for than a maniacle megalomaniac

I love Mask Guy! And where the fuc is Lance? How long has Lance just been absent? Who the fuc is this random that appeared out of no where to tattle that Mash has no magic? Why is this show so fucking random?

Finally we r on season 2 and I get the fun opening - it has been in my brain since Jan when I first watched the op on youtube (Basement gang danced to it)

(Does anyone else pace to music? Or is it just me doing maladaptive daydreaming shit?) Blim blam blam blim blam blam blim blam blam boom.

Season 2 opens to: GASLIGHTING

Just the casual threat of euthanasia hanging over Mash's shoulders at all time.

Is 'blight-blood'a slur? That deffo counts as a slur. Worse than 'no-mage' at least.

Mash gave Mask Guy a handkerchief that healed him being impaled in the chest - and that was a pretty serious impalement. So why couldn't any of the school nurses help Ron Weasley?

Best line in the whole series: "forgive him, Abyss calls girls 'females' that's how little experience he has with them." 😂😭😂😭😂😭

It would have been fun if the blonde dude in season 2 was the dad of draco malfoy in season 1 - he isn't but it would have been fun if we got a return of the draco malfoy character humbled.

Tho he is incredibly powerful but no one respects him and I don't understand that.

*Mash does anything* - looks like magic to me!

Japanese dub: You're a (in english) NICE GUY Eng Subtites: you're hot stuff

Everything everyone does in this show is so unnecessary - what is it even for? (Sand guy I'm looking at u)

Okay but tell me that in an alternate universe the Divine Visionaries aren't just a harem anime with an aromantic Mash in the middle.

What Rayne says: I agree with the headmaster's opinion What Rayne means: my brother is weak and this no-mag accepted my bunnies

I find it interesting that Dumbledore has one line. U know he got more somewhere.

Can you have extra lines elsewhere? Like not ur face? On ur arse? Tramp stamp line?

WHERE is the government? Is it jus the Jesus ppl that are doing all this? Is the government the schoo?

Mash coming in like a caterilla will never mot be funny to me. My friend: "I feel like I've been witness to a crime."

I love the soundtrack. "It's so heavy that no one can lift it!" - I wonder where this is gonna go. Who fucking made it then?

OLIVER WOOD IS BACK! I forgot he existed.

Unpopular opinion: I like Margarette. I get that their design plays on tropes, but at the same time, people do be like that. Not like how Margrette acts but looks. Man really go told something opposing her worldview and then played the piano. But also she has the best lipstick. I would have preferred it if Margarette wasn't portrayed as creepy by thr characters around him, but I'm just happy to have a he/she/they character in a show I like. (Same Margarette same)

I don't think she is any more goofy than any other villain character in this show so far. I also don't think that the character is meant to be harmful. I can see why people might dislike her, especially considering past anime and the failed rep that ends up judt offensive, but to only see good trans rep as characters who "pass" and look gender conforming is harmful in itself. You can clearly see that Margarette is gender-non-conforming in his design, they are such an icon. Jawline doesn't determine the gender of the character! And I don't believe that Margarette is an "Okama" in any way of the word.

We support women's rights and their wrongs in this household.

"I'm not putting tartar sauce on my shrip... I'm putting shrimp on my tartar sauce." • My baby bro showed me this like 3 yrs ago in the manga and I didn't rlly know what he was on about until I started watching this awesome show.

I love the use of the soundtrack tho. I love Margarette but why is she like this? (I scream out when he starts playing the piano) why are the eyes rolled back 😭😭😭

Are they playing tabletop role play games!!! D60? Anyone? Skip 320 turns????? Wtf? Dnd would be a very different game is those where them rules. There is no way that fucking dice is a D100.

I love all the characters they are so goofy.

I feel so bad for finn rn in the tournament like - someone keep him safe!

Mash flatlined at the prospect of doing academic work - for half a second there he was fucking dead

Why is he breakdancing? I need therapy after this. I don't understand.HOW DID IT WORK!!!!

Is the odd guy actually chill? WHAT THE FUC? I thought Orca didn't matter. But the orca guy is hot at least - it's the hair for me. WHY R ALL THE HOT ONES EVIL! I like Rayne best tho.

Man got held back a year get fucked. I feel bad for the guy who helped Mash - I was so sus of him

Same Mash, I'm having a hard time retaining attention on the rules too 😭 All the sympathy left my body at the smashed crystals.

In the op Dumbledor is in a sheet. No top just a sheet covering his nips. Is anyone else seeing this?

I've been routing for fin the entire time tho - he has rayne's genes! FUCK YEA FINN - ugh. I wanted Finn to do something. Sorry I'm going back to Tokyo Revengers, but Takemichi being beaten and beaten and continously getting up and not relenting for his friends is so powerful, in comparison to Finn where it feels more like a damsel. I love Finn and I want him to get more powerful so we can get something badass out of him, but this episode was not it rlly. Not yet anyways.

Creepy wand alert! And I usually like anatomical hearts.

How did Mash just do that? That the fuc? U can't sculpt that with ur hands. I was almost expecting a Yor.

He's doing a Gaara - why the redhead doing a Gaara? Margareit being fucking horrifying rn. I know he is the bad guy, but that doesn't mean that they're the bad guy.

Not everyone underestimating my boi Rayne - they have proved themselves!

Sand fuck I'd called Madl? Mans name is fucking: Oter Madl?

We haven't had an opportunity to play the drinking game much season 2.

Mash: ah ur the guy who bullied me the other day Guy: want to play a little game? Alright jigsaw

THEYRE RIPPING OFF MY GOAT ITACHI!

"It's obvious ur attempting to guard something" wtf is wrong w mash - seriously. I love him but my god.

How does he do that? That's not something strength does??!! - built different.

Quadriceps magic - why even bother at this point. Everyone knows.

Mash's face: I didn't sign up for this shit

Margareit looks so cute with hair - idk how she did it but they look so cute with it. Her eyelashes tho!

Is Mash's ear his weakness? Same. When someone gets to close I feel a shiver and freeze up. It's the autism.

Margaret's power is actually pretty cool tho

GET UR FUCKING HANDS OFF OF MY SON! Dumbledore plz save him.

It's giving slightly more than creepy.

I was under suspicion that dumbledor was a natural triple liner... but oh my gosh. This is orochimaru shit.

The autism is strong with this one.

Mash's father is so wholesome!

This group is desestible

I will never forget that Mash named his individual muscles - its funny but also he was entirely alone his entire childhood so its kind of sad if I think about it

Ginger afro kid doing a Brock

I love that the school is called Easton - it's so generic English prep school.

Mash's gym clothes are just one with his body.

All the Jesus metaphors are in abundance with this show tho 😭

They're so fucking dramatic. All of them.

Sand guy is such a fucking loser tho.

Sidenote: who names their kid Cell War?

Woop woop necromancy! I would care more about any of this if they gave more screentime and build up to the villain characters, but ya I called it a long time ago and I'm not mad - it's a gag anime with casual euthanasia mentions, what more could u want?

Idk how to feel about 2-bit-merlin (who is literallt called Adam Jobs but is nothing like Steve Johs thank fuc) being silly goofy in the flashback but I love the design of the guy with the sharp teeth - I love me some sharp toothed character.

"It had the best specs" fr fr

Imagine being a bystander watching anime fights but not being able to hear the inner thoughts... they're just floating there

I didn't know they went Super Saiyan in Harry Potter!

In one shot it looked like Dumbledor had a hearing aid?

Wow I forgot that literally the entire school had just been frozen in time while the 7 jesus-chosen mages and the 3 first years that have no buisness being here are just fighting for their lives.

FATHER? WHO THE FUCK IS FATHER? WHY DID THIS TURN INTO FULL METAL ALCHEMIST ALL OF A SUDDEN? religion vs science (physical athleticism) is a theme? I guess??? Pushig it????

Is grindelwald "father" am I misreading this?

Wtf is going on. Mash deserves a nap but like... seriously? Mash is me, he thought it was a dream 😭

No one should wait for the monolouging to end. Just punch them. Mash has the right idea.

My place of learning. Oh no. - the autism is strong with this one.

ARE YOU FUCKIG KIDDING MEE WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENINB? This is a weird and unusual torture and Mash has never looked more like a psychopath.

Okay. That makes more sense. I was about to loose my shit. I love this show but what the fuc.

It's a good thing they taught us early on that if u K.O. someone all their magic attacks dissappear! /sarcasm.

I love that someone else has been traumatised by the creampuffs.

I'm so annoyed I sobered up before this episode. I needed to be drunker for that.

The ginger fuc turned up again! I love hos hid afro moves in the wind but I love moreso the blonde fuck's broom being so extra.

If it's to do with low magical power then why are the very powerful purple students effected?

Grindelwald is Dio now! Oh. Wait no. Grindelwald has Sundail (from epithet erased) Grindelwald looks so young compared to dumbledor as well so u know he's chasing immortality and doing some time shit to have effect skin and long fucking lashes. Such a twink. He is not daddy, he looks like sephiroth- the og hater. (Now I see it I can't unsee it)

Dmbedor is so cool in this, why can't actual dumbedor be the cool??? (Jk I hate jk and we all know why)

Oay Steve Jobs is growing on me. Adam Jobs is just me now w the animal facts; but I'm not a teacher and never would be.

Fucking called it. Why do they always do this? Like I know half ur face might die and decay after this fight but there is so much to live for - like being the only one stopping Mash from being euthanized rn.

Oh my god its biblically accurate gundam

Screw Netero with his Buddha, gimmie Dumbledor and his Uranus.

I wish this fight ficed everything going forward and all the future issues but its not gonna.

"No manner of attack can affect me who can control time" - what does that even mean? And you know that Mash is gonna pop up with no magic or smming later.

I love how just like the source material, dumbledor has his favourite gryffindors.

Whenever Oliver Wood pops up I get a jumpscare but also why was Dumbledor spying on children during their non-achool time? I know this is just random flashbacks but him saying "I was watching" and then giving us this implies he was spying and that's hilarious to me.

Conclusion: dumbledor and grindelwald fucked when they were teens. But not the romantic shit just the toxic two queer kids in a small town type shit.

Okay that was dramatic and all but I need the screen to just zoom out and show Mash kicking his legs to stay in the air.

Okay, okay, recap, now zoom out please. YESSSSSSSS. (Did dumbledor just say Mash was so awesome)

Dumbledor has short eyelashes but I like that one eye of eyelashes are burnt off with the injury from before.

Why is twink grindelwald doing that to his face?

Okay. Go Mash. Beat that twink up! His face cant be ruined any worse than what's currently goig on.

A perfect human. U ain't even human anymore bro.

Is grindelwald doing an orochimaru? Body stealing? Is that where this is going?

"I didn't think he could move that much" - HE IS LITERALLY CONTINOUSLY KICKIG AT AIR TO KEEP HIMSELF AFLOAT - what r u on about????

"We'll finish this another time" - no get back here bitch! Stab him while his back is turned!!!

What is with wizard megalomaniacs and wanting to get rid of education? I mean heck I'm not complaining, he education system leaves a lot to be desired irl let alone in this fucked up world.

Flop.

"We won't make it in time" - I wonder who will (I don't wonder. I have never had to. But I still feel the hype whenever Mash enters)

He's just built different.

I mean I wouldn't call it "playing" but sure. Also the students are so fucking ungrateful to even even be questioning Mash's acceptance. He has literally just saves ur lives, why do you even have to ponder this?

Blood don't splash like that.

Gaaraa moves afain! - I love to see Sand Tomb being reused in great anime.

They enjoy some down time dont get me wrong, but I'm getting some whiplash at the tone change all of a sudden.

One failed exam and your immediately expelled??? That's so harsh. I sympathise hard w Mash rn, the education system sucks and exams are even worse 😭

Mash isn't rebellious in the slightest! "It seems like you can put effort in when you need too" stfu, this is ableist, he isn't lazy!!!

Omg it's Oliver Wood again. I forgor he existed.

Lackmagic? Blightblood? That's worse than Muggle - which come from the word "Mug" which is a gullibal person (derogatory)

One pretty girl cab instantly quiet a horde apparently. Wow. Well it is anime.

"Catching someone who can't use magic is child's play" - famous last words from a cocky dipshit

Why is his chin like that tho? Why are his lips like a cat's?

I just want to grab Mash and explain how much better a person he is than the vast majority of the ppl in this world. It's kinda like Iruma-kun where the MC is in a world where he is so kind that everyone is just confused as to why.

[grumpybreakfastfriend]

On the DeppDelusion subreddit, people have been going OFF on Drake being an abuser and berating the people who stand up for him. When asked for proof, they provided a commentary youtube video. I'm not trying to discredit anyone but... is that really what you're basing your hatred upon?

Ultimately, no commentary video is going to change anyone's mind one way or the other. If people want to post to vent or directly support Drake and other survivors, that's great, but engaging with people who have made up their minds isn't a good use of time.

At the end of the day, people will support or not support Drake based off of what they prioritize more. Personally, I see a CSA survivor who has admitted to hurting people, but is trying to get his life back and has bravely come forward with his story when he didn't have to. People say "support survivors", but aren't willing to talk about how much PTSD fucks with folks in bad ways, especially men.

They want to talk about the cycle of abuse? Great. So do I. You are not going to find someone who went through what Drake did and never got therapy who doesn't come out of it with maladaptive coping mechanisms. He probably did abuse his exes and god knows what else. It's frustrating that we will never know for sure what actually happened in these cases.

And seeing that I've somehow ended up on the "side" of people who also supported Depp has definitely made me question what the hell I am doing. (Don't come at me if you support Depp. I'm not engaging with that any more than what I'm saying here.) This is the first time I've felt so strongly in support of a man who has clearly hurt women. I tend to be very black and white when it comes to who to support, as clearly, his detractors are. I can relate to where they're coming from with not wanting to give him any grace for the sake of people he has hurt.

But what am I supposed to do? I find his music healing. I'm glad he's coming out with more. I find him talking about his trauma and subsequent experiences relatable and helpful and brave. Christ, this has even provoked me to try and get therapy for my own issues, which is something I've been putting off my entire life.

People say that they're just trying to support Drake's victims and how they deserve to be fought for since they're not famous and will never get their own documentary. I agree that they do deserve support. But what does "fighting for his victims" even mean? I want Drake to heal. I want him to put in the work and do better. I don't want him to be harassed until he hurts himself. And I really don't think it's helping anyone to be slamming a CSA victim, who has just come out with his story, with all of his past wrongs. Or even worse, downplaying his abuse or saying he is exactly like his abuser. Who does that help?

And yeah, he's pretty messy in this process. This is different than the usual PR campaign we see celebrities do to try and make people forget about their scandals. This is actually what trauma and trying to be accountable looks like.

I have to believe that people can come back from this kind of trauma. I have to believe that they can heal. I have to believe that they can change.

[pureanonofficial]

hey op where did you get that photo of a blonde freddie in aviators and black and white for your chess valentine’s day cards. i cannot for the life of me figure out what production it’s from. thank you so much have a lovely day.

So I'm going to go into far more detail than you asked for, because this relates to one of my favorite Freddie actors of all time!!!

The photo originates from the San Jose Civic Light Opera/American Musical Theatre of San Jose production in 1992. I pulled it the facebook page SJCLO AMTSJ Alumni. The theater group is sadly no longer around, having declared bankruptcy in the early 2000s, but it's still well-loved due to having passionate former members, particularly one who uploads the theater's proshots on youtube. Including a proshot of this Chess! The shows are generally very good--a shining light in regional theater! You know you'll get a competent show with them.

Below are a couple of links and the photo in question!

The Freddie pictured is Kim Strauss, and he is my very favorite Freddie of all time.

Now, there is a proshot of him in the aforementioned production!

I would not recommend watching him first in the aforementioned production, as it is Kinda Bad. The set design is really wonderful, one of the best in Chesses, and Strauss is very good, but the script makes more baffling choices than usual, and the rest of the cast isn't that great. However! What you should watch him in! Is LONG BEACH CHESS!

This! Is one of the best Chesses of all time! It's one of the most coherent, well-directed, and well-cast versions. If you're not familiar with the Broadway version of Chess, this is an excellent place to start with that plot! And this bootleg is subtitled! Even better! The Florence in this production is Jodi Benson (of The Little Mermaid and Broadway fame) and she is maybe my favorite Florence ever. She's so passionate and intense in the role. She's just my platonic ideal of the character! So hurting, so fierce, so alive and human--I can't describe her Florence any better than the casting description for Broadway Chess does--"She is clever, theatrical, touching, vivacious, volatile." That's her Florence!

To gush a little more about Kim Strauss -- he really is my favorite Freddie. And he did the role at least four times in different productions throughout the 90s, so clearly 90s Chess productions agree with me. XD His Freddie is such a deeply awful person and yet horribly pathetic and sad at the same time. His Freddie is deeply possessive of Florence, controlling both physically and mentally, and yet utterly driven to convince himself he does not need her. Yet he reaches for her hand before the first chess game in a quiet asking for reassurance. Yet he kisses her before Pity the Child in a desperate bet of maybe this will work. Yet he stares at her throughout all of Endgame, winning almost in an act of spite against her, yet it is still abundantly clear that it's all hollow because he does not have her. And he has this really interesting, needy tenor that works so well for the character, as well as the MOST Chicago accent that I cannot imagine Freddie without now. And he's got such a great physicality to him. His Freddie is always antsy, always fidgeting, almost always hunched over or running his hands over his face or something. He's never still. I just love his take on Freddie so so so much. He's a really fucking bad man, like he does not let you get away from the fact that Freddie is a terrible person, and yet he's still interesting to watch!

Also his Pity the Child is my favorite performance of the song ever, and I have linked the bootleg below at that point, because if nothing else, you need to see that!

I'm sorry for all this excessive detail anon, but if you are interested, GO WATCH LONG BEACH CHESS.

[statementlou]

Thinking again about how the other day that anon wrote me wondering why Louis was so popular with older adult women and I had a couple ideas but was basically like idk IS he or is it just the same amount as any other pop star but then the other day BBC posted that video of 1D members doing 1D songs* solo without Louis in it and the post was like go comment on all these platforms and I was like what the heck it's not like I use my facebook for much else- but that meant I ended up looking a few times at the other comments (being mad about Louis' exclusion) and like I KNOW it's FB so ofc it's skewed by who uses that... but like damn, there ARE a lot of middle aged and older ladies for Louis! Like A LOT!! So again I am thinking about it and I would love to know what other people think might be the reason... my ideas plus footnote under cut-

~He’s so fucking SMART and the older you get the more appealing and necessary that is to appreciate someone. ~His music has always been in large part 90s style stuff which may draw in folks who already loved that kind of music because they’re old enough to remember it. ~We’re queer and were drawn into this fandom by crying our eyes out over how beautiful baby Harry and Louis were together and wanted to give them the world and protect them (is this age dependent? see below for why maybe I guess but idk) But my top theory is that ~it's based on the combination of him being this beautiful goodhearted boy all the shitty things we saw happening to him for so long and wanting so much to be able to DO SOMETHING, to make things better for him and give him everything. Not saying this is age based but maybe this works more strongly on older folks than on people who feel like they are in the same boat? Anyway would love to hear if other people think 1) there are more older louies than other celeb fandoms/ the other members of 1Ds solo fandoms and 2) if so what do you think it is about Louis? or 3) no, all these things apply to me but I'm only (whatever young age) so that can't be it

*I have since figured out why they did that and it isn't because Louis is blacklisted or whatever it's because they just pulled their footage that they own of 3 of them playing BBC Big Weekend which Louis hasn't done, and footage of Zayn from his public insta, which isn't something they could do for Louis- to include him they would have had to like get footage from his management or something they can't just use whatever off youtube and it was just a silly SM post they weren't gonna do all that

[kimyoonmiauthor]

Theoretical difference between ending in a conclusion and result as a contrast between conflict and discovery/self-realization

Kinda went over this.

Conflict asks one for heightened ANXIETY as the core emotion. Again, this is not what Brecht particularly argued for. He actually argued AGAINST this idea since he was an anti-capitalist (and apparently people didn't read his treaties).

Some basic psychology here when you have heightened anxiety, you need something firmer as a resolution. Anxiety as an emotion goes reaaaaallly high. (For those who've had panic attacks, you know what I mean. You need a lot of time and space to come down from that anxiety attack) You need your teddy bear, some calming music and an assurance that everything will be OK. It's not uplifting. It makes you feel like utter shit. (Says the person who has anxiety attacks and CPTSD).

So when you make the height of the climax the WORST THING THAT COULD EVER HAPPEN TO THE HERO what they hate most, you need a firmer resolution in order to make the audience feel better about themselves. OMG, he's about to die because he has a cat allergy.

And overall, the audience will hate you for doing this to them, (except in horror, where that is exactly the point).

Again, WTH are you doing this in Romance when the core of Romance should be those fuzzy feelings? It isn't interesting. It's soul destroying. Just 'cause some professor who didn't do the reading on story structure told you it was interesting because you want people to be hooked on fear and anxiety because you think the only way to engage the brain is the basal ganglia and pituitary gland, literally the smallest part of the brain? (Going into Neuro science here). I'm still going to argue you can engage the audience in romance without the break up, because audiences tell me over and over in the comments how they HATE the break up formula in romance. Are you paying attention, Romance writers? You're interrupting the feels of the audience and they hate you for it. They rather see the couple overcome the odds together, and act like adults rather than children who have zero emotional growth or even worse, reverse it. To see their flaws accepted in the other character—that, theoretically will create emotional height, and is the emotional height for one of the most cited Rom coms of all time, When Harry Met Sally. Two really flawed individuals who end up falling in love. They didn't need the break up to get there.

So, particularly in the comments of all of the reality TV shows from the current era, looking back at the particularly early 2000's, people HATE, absolutely HATE the shows where the producers encouraged the people on the shows to fight. They will go into a long, why can't you fucking get along, I'm only watching a cooking show here and you're interrupting my feels, and this totally ruins it, type of comment. And then 300+ likes on that comment. 'cause they absolutely did not come to cooking show, which SHOULD be a process story structure to watch 2 people be catty to each other. That's not what you advertised at all. They came for the fuzzy feels of people trying on wedding dresses and the family coming together to celebrate this person and coo and awe, because who the fuck goes to a wedding hoping for a melodrama?

So theoretically anything with a heightened sense of anxiety needs a firmer conclusion. And any time in any of the Youtube clips, there is a heightened sense of anxiety, people beg other people to do research and ask for a firmer conclusion.

(Because no one reads Youtube comments as authors, though you kinda should to sort this kind of narrative out)

BUT if you uplift the audience as part of the climax, say Deadpool 3, theoretically you do not need a longer resolution. You only need a result. And a result is totally different.

It's more like A+B+C+D+etc=this thing.

Which makes sense, if you're focused on the discovery and self realization aspect. It's still building on each other, to a final big discovery, or realization, but that realization can be heartening, uplifting, give you all of the warm and fuzzy feels. Thus do you really need a long ass conclusion? No. You only need a short one. The rest might be a saccharine icing on what is already a very sweet cake.

Which is why I beg you, if you watch particularly South Asian, East Asian and Southeast Asian media, to keep in mind, you're tracking discovery and self-realization, not the conflict and then the ending will be just fine for you.

BTW, Aboriginal and N&C&S American Indigenous storytelling are exempt from both since it's something else entirely, where the ending and the beginning feel like they are the same, but not in a string. There is no end, there is no beginning, there is no middle. lol I'd like to think Aristotle would have been anti both of these story traditions. He'd have raged for days since it's exactly opposite of his formula.

[astriexxe]

Here is my very long post about what I think of Les Misérables (2012) after watching it again recently

Tldr: the music which should be great somehow just isn't, the camera angles are fucking weird, Russel Crowe isn't as bad as I expected, Hugh Jackman was worse than I remembered

When I watched Les Misérables (2012) the first time it was the first experience I'd had of Les mis other than the odd YouTube video of one day more (or occasionally do you hear the people sing). I didn't know what it was about I didn't know many of the songs.

I found it fairly boring, the music was ok, the middle section with the revolution was the highlight. My favourite character was Javert followed by Enjolras (but that's biased because I'm a moulin rouge and n2n fan and it was Aaron tveit).

When I watched it back I entirely expected to hate Russell Crowe as Javert but have more respect for the music and the rest of the film as I have since watched the staged concerts and been to see it live and it's fucking great I love it.

I was wrong the music still sucked and I still found it kind of boring despite absolutely loving the stage production.

The orchestra is too quiet I think which means the music loses a lot of it's grandeur and the bad singing is more obvious.

Russel Crowe has a weird tone when singing (this we already knew) and when compared to other Javert's he sucks but when compared to Hugh Jackman it's a relief whenever it's his part because holy fuck Hugh Jackman was bad. Russel Crowe honestly wasn't that bad, I quite like his Javert from an acting perspective and the singing was alright, I know when I first watched the film stars was my favourite song (just imagine how amazed I was when I heard Philip Quast's version). I wish Javert's suicide was better in the film.

Hugh Jackman was far worse than I remembered him being perhaps I have more to compare him to now, bring him home was awful that's not how that should be sung and he had me bored for like the entire bit at the start where it's basically just him (end of prologue/ VJ's soliloquy).

One day more was a bit messy but not as bad as I was expecting.

The scenery was pretty epic like they had some great cinematic shots (ship at the start, the Seine, the cliff during VJ's soliloquy) like a big musical like Les Mis deserves some cool shots like that.

The camera angles were fucking weird. I find how shows use different camera angles quite interesting but I can't figure Les Mis out, it doesn't enhance the story or characters or anything it's just distracting and adds to how boring it is. I thought the camera angles during VJ's soliloquy looked like he was vlogging. Some dramatic shots could have helped that scene a lot I think. The camera angles got a little more exciting but the weird close ups were a theme and I personally think they were poorly used and distracting.

The Thenardiers were pretty good the first time I watched it but like having seen the show since it just doesn't work they're nowhere near as funny.

When my friend watched Les Mis and said she didn't like how all the dialogue was sung and I was like ok maybe she just doesn't like sung through musicals fair enough. No the film is just weird. They like added bits of sung dialogue but they seem to have forgotten to give these bits any tune.

VJ got a new song which was a bit of a shock because honestly I don't remember it from the first time round, I think the concept of the song is pretty cool but poorly written (it was sort of boring and didn't feel like it fit with the musical).

Les Amis were once again a highlight, the pace picks up, the singing gets better, all in all it's a good chunk of the film.

Fantine was better than I remembered and Anne Hathaway went for acting over singing in I Dreamed a Dream which worked but only because it was a film.

Eddie Redmayne was good as was Sam Barks I enjoyed their bits.

Aaron Tveit was also good you can tell which of the actors are theatre actors because they can act and sing at the same time (/hj). And of course respect to George Blagden.

The child actors (I don't know their names) were also great!

Yeah I think that's it if anyone read this to the end congrats on making it

[iluvmegantheestallion]

My unpopular opinions and rants

● public interviews on YouTube are lame as fuck, they go around asking dumb ass questions that will trigger people and they'll go around adding those stupid edits that make no sense and then people will always answer the dumb questions with a stupid answer. It got repetitive, old and corny real fast.

● ASAP rocky is only relevant because he's with rihanna. She's keeping his name alive. He's only relevant because he benefits from pretty privilege, and rihanna still with him, and they have kids.

● Hannah baker from 13 reasons why is a trash character, and I never liked her. She's a liar, a fraud. She was a bully in her old school, she was out here thotting and bopping fucking with 5 or 6 dudes the whole love triangle playing victim. Hannah Baker was just merely a narcissist who didn't want to take any conuntability for her own actions.

● the reason why your kids don't know their purpose. or what they want to be, or don't wanna talk to you because you treat them like an investment. I don't have kids and don't plan to, but some parents out there need to stop treating their kids like an investment. Please stop hoping your kids go to college so you can brag about them, Please stop hoping your kids get an amazing job that you wanted them to get so you can brag about them because if you treat them like an investment, they're going to grow up in the real world not knowing who they are or what they want to with their lives and end up being depressed because they spent their whole entire life trying to please you.

● Being a perfectionist is not a good thing. Stop saying like it is a good thing. It's merely just self sabotage disguise as a perfectionist. You believe in yourself because you're scared that you put your work out there. A lot of people are going to trash it, dismiss it, and you don't want people to have an opportunity to give you a negative opinion.

● Kim Kardashian did more for black people than Obama ever did. Obama just did nothing but be black and did a whole bunch of shit for all the communities, but he didn't do shit for black folks.

● Normani is missing something. The only reason why normani isn't really blowing up is because she took too long to introduce herself. We still know her as the pretty black girl who can dance and sing. There's really not a lot to her I think she's pretty boring.

● don't hang around with bums that complain all the time about how their life ain't shit and how they are annoyed and depressed how they can't stand this. Don't hang around with those types of people. Because those be the same people that be jealous of you and will grow to resent you if you keep hanging around them.

● On my block, season 4 was the worst season. It was a waste of time, it was complete garbage, and I was so annoyed how they rushed through it and everybody was dating each other, fucking each other, everyone was going there separate ways, it made no sense and they killed off so many characters.

● most people have kids for selfish kids but won't admit it. Let's be honest Many people will sit up here and say,'I want kid till I'm 25 or 30' because a lot of y'all just want people to take care of you, so you don't end up being alone. Many people plan to have children by 30, 31, or 35 because they want someone to be there, they want an aesthetic of having a child, and they don't want to feel left out because all there friends of people there close to have children.

● The early 2000s Era had better music than the 90s Era. We had Ashanti, Aalyiah, Jennifer lopez, gwen Stefani, Eve, Destiny's child, Timbaland.

● J Cole is overhyped he's an amazing rapper and singer, but I just see him as a regular rapper.

● jhene aiko doesn't get enough credit for her work. Yes, she's praised for her voice and talent, but let's be honest, she isn't praised and rewarded like she really should be that she built and created for herself her songs are unique and she's very creative, she's really slept on and very underrated.

● There's a difference between being a good person and being nice. At the end of the day, just because you're nice doesn't mean you're a good person. Don't sit up here and say,' I'm a good person. At the end of the day, people never reciprocate." it like bitch stfu. Maybe you're just a people pleaser. Being a nice person is very different from being a good person because a good person is kind knows how to treat everyone with respect and a nice person will tell everyone what they want to hear to keep the peace and put on their best face to make sure everyone likes them solely because everyone likes a nice person, but not everyone respects a nice everyone.

● never ever trust somebody who counts favors. If somebody trying to bring all the nice they did for you, never trust those people. People who count favors are not good people there willing to hit you up one day to remind you of those favors to get what they want from you.

● before you go out of your way to listen to your parents about what you should do with your career, please give yourself a second look at your parents and see if there happy of there own career you don't want to take advice from a miserable bitch. If your parents aren't happy with there careers why the fuck would you lisen to them on what you should do with you life and how you can make money.

● Coi leray benefits from pretty privilege if she was ugly she wouldn't be where she is today.

[goose-exclamation-point]

random opinion post about celeste difficulty namings

i have come to a realization that this is MY blog so i can write about whatever i want. insert an evil and mischievous grin

In Modding communities, finding a working system to classify the difficulty of mods is something pretty important, and the celeste community sticks to a handful of names for substantial difficulty stepping stones, being Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, Expert, and Grandmaster. These five were established by the 2020 Spring Collab, and since then have become the norm. However, as the community ages (holy fuck, its been three years since spring collab??) players naturally get better and mappers naturally feel comfortable making harder stuff. I am now going to discuss why I do not like the names for 99% of the harder stuff :)

obligatory note is that these are all opinions and all in good fun im not gonna explode if someone calls a celeste map astral or anything its just something which lightly ticked me off so hey thats why i write about it

One point which I'll often come back to is the usage cases of the first five difficulties. Beginner, Expert, and Grandmaster are all titles, you can call yourself a Beginner at Celeste mods, in the same way a pro chess player could call themselves a chess Grandmaster. These are subtle, but in my eyes help establish and ground the difficulty names, in my eyes if you told someone "I'm a celeste expert!" versus "I'm a celeste grandmaster!" they could probably understand grandmaster as being better, due to it's usage in other mediums. As for Intermediate and Advanced, these are words just defining skill levels. The important part though is that these have a precedent of being used and having meaning, look up advanced or intermediate on YouTube, and you'll find a lot of educational videos on things like "Advanced English Learning Practice" or "25 phrases every Intermediate English speaker must know", so on. Now for the specific GM+1 Names I don't like: Celestial, Astral, and/or Stellar: These ones I see a lot, and they feel like very weird cases. All of these are... Not skill titles! But instead words used to describe space????? When I hear "Astral Celeste Maps", the first thing that would come to mind (especially if this was my first time hearing the term) was maps relating to or themed after space, but nope! they're instead used for really really hard celeste maps. These are somewhat titles (calling yourself an astral just makes me think of a sci-fi movie), but their titles aren't for skill levels in any way, Looking up "Celestial Difficulty" on YouTube won't net you any other communities or the like which use these as difficulty markers. Maybe one community here or there use them but I doubt they are nearly as prominent as "Grandmaster" for example. Virtuoso: This one's better, although I'm still not a fan. Virtuoso is defined as someone who excels in the technique of an art, in particular a form being in the sciences or arts, also typically used in musical cases. This is a good start, and writing this has made me like the term slightly more knowing its definition, but it still falls under an arbitrary line in my eyes. What defines Virtuoso as being harder then Grandmaster? From Beginner up to Expert, I feel like the definitions of the words naturally place them in that order of difficulty. Grandmaster can be seen as arbitrary yes, but it's already been established so in my opinion there isn't all too much you can do. If you wanna hold a campaign to remove all usage of the term 'grandmaster' from celeste modding so there are more natural stepping stones from beyond that then be my guest. To get to the point, theres nothing in the definition of Virtuoso which places it as harder then Grandmaster. once again my opinion but comparing a status from international competition in a game (Grandmaster) to a word defining skill in an art (Virtuoso) feel arbitrary in my eyes. virtuoso is also goofy in my eyes so i just dont like it because of that ultimately though writing this has made me realize im fine with virtuoso but oh well. also if you knew what the word virtuoso meant without having to look it up i do not believe you are real sorry </3

yeah thats it thats the post i just kinda wanted to 'rant' about Celestial Astral and Virtuoso theyre goofy lets just stick to "Super Grandmaster" thnx, id be interested in reading someone's thoughts on the term virtuoso but otherwise goodbye have a nice night