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httpsclarye · 1 year

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#RECORD STORE+!

Alice in Borderland characters meeting you for the first time in a record store and both of you share the same taste (headcanons)

# — ARISU!

⇢ You noticed him choosing up a record from one of your favorite bands.

⇢ Probably isnt a famous band that everyone knows

⇢ When you called his attention, he became extremely nervous and couldn't form a coherent sentence.

⇢ He was overjoyed to see someone who appreciates the music he likes.

⇢ You told him how you discovered about the band.

⇢ He'd say it was Karube who introduced him, and then be mixed up since you have no idea who he is.

⇢ Likely would overshare that he plays his games while listening to the band music.

⇢ He would listen to you with a shy smile on his face

⇢ After a few minutes, you would split up to better explore the store.

⇢ Would cross paths on the way to the cash register and smile at each other.

⇢ He would ask the seller to give you a note that was handwritten by him.

⇢ “Hi, my name is Arisu, and I really enjoyed talking to you. Please give me a call at (xx) xxxx-xxxx (sorry I didn't know how to ask for your number)”

# — USAGI!

⇢ You caught her looking at one of your favorite albums, and she noticed.

⇢ She became concerned because she assumed you were familiar with her from her father's newspapers.

⇢ She relaxed and walked over to you as you smiled and pointed to the vinyl in her hand.

⇢ "This is her best album in my opinion! What’s yours?”

⇢ She confessed that she didn't have many friends with whom to discuss her musical tastes.

⇢ You two would walk throughout the store while conversing over the music.

⇢ When she realizes she may be talking too much, she blushes, but you can get her to talk again by asking what other artists she enjoys.

⇢ You’l probably lie and say you don't know who those artists are just to see her smile as she talks.

⇢ As you wait in line to pay, she lets you pass in front of her.

⇢ Together, you exit the store and follow one another down the sidewalk.

# — CHISHIYA!

⇢ He is so silent and unnoticeable that it is likely you were unaware of his presence.

⇢ He would have likely caught your attention while you were holding a record and searching for a particular album.

⇢ “You should probably buy the deluxe version of this record, I suggest.“

⇢ It'd get annoying because you'd know precisely why you're purchasing it, but you'd recognize that he doesn't.

⇢ You would answer in a passive aggressive tone that you are a collector, and he would be intrigued since you are one of the first people he has met who likes the unknown band.

⇢ You likely believe he didn't hear you and just doesn't have anything to do with you.

⇢ But he reacts by telling you his thoughts on the differences between the two editions of the albums and how satisfied he is that someone else gets to share having a good tastes.

⇢ Your conversation would be short and simple, and you would soon part ways.

⇢ You'd go to the register later and find out that he'd paid for your products (after all, he is a doctor and has a lot of money)

⇢ Plus, two weeks later, you'd cross paths on a busy street and look at each other.

# — ANN!

⇢ As soon as you enter the store, you'd be aware of this woman's presence.

⇢ You want to avoid showing up at the same session as her since she is so reserved and confident, but it's impossible because the vinyl you want is already there.

⇢ You would pick it up to look at another record by a musician you like only then to quickly realize that the item you were looking for was not there.

⇢ "You should take this one, just so you know, the cover on this one is damaged and scratched."

⇢ You would grab the item out of her hands and then explain that you already owned it and were seeking for another record by the performer to add to your collection.

⇢ She'd probably just say she collects as well, and you'd try to ask what her favorite songs are.

⇢ She would be closed off with precise and brief responses, never looking into your eyes and always focused on something else.

⇢ But when you happen to stumble over words, she would listen to you carefully and smile.

⇢ You would part ways without swapping names or any other information.

⇢ However, you'd meet again the very next week at the same store, and she'd hand you the vinyl you're seeking for.

# — KUINA!

⇢ Her familiarity with the location of the albums and others products comes from her regular visits to the business.

⇢ As a result, she helps you in searching for vinyl when you are having trouble finding a particular piece.

⇢ She became excited when she realized that it was the record of her favorite singer and she began talking to you.

⇢ She most likely talks a lot, and all you do is smile and nod in agreement.

⇢ However, if you spoke, she would listen attentively.

⇢ With your arms crossed, the two of you would circle the shop as she pointed out what was located where and which employees she personally prefer.

⇢ Because she asked, you likely would list the singer's top albums.

⇢ If you had a differing view, she would be horrified, but she would also laugh with you about it.

⇢ Surely, this girl will flirt to you.

⇢ She would most likely kindly ask your phone number in order to talk about the singer and your thoughts.

⇢ When you pick up the purchase and pay, she would request a special discount for you.

⇢ Message: Hello there, its Kuina from the store, are u free for a coffee tomorrow?

# — NIRAGI!

⇢ He likely became aware of your presence as you approached a vinyl display of the singer he enjoys that was displayed on the wall.

⇢ As soon as you picked up the album, he would laugh sarcastically.

⇢ "I don't think you're bright enough to understand a singer like him"

⇢ His rude statements to someone he has never met in person and his tone of voice would undoubtedly annoy you.

⇢ He would approach you only to pick up another Vinyl record and declare that it was greater, but you could never hear any of it.

⇢ You would become angry and start yelling at him about which Disc was the best and how you had the same interest in music.

⇢ Most likely, you two would be the center of attention for all of the other customers in the shop.

⇢ Within a few minutes, there would already be a lot of noise, and employees would be debating whether it was best to disrupt or ignore.

⇢ He would pause his speech to look at you coldly before smiling sarcastically and walking away.

⇢ And you would become even furious.

⇢ Weeks later, you would most likely meet up at another business.

⇢ "Look if it's not the one who has no taste for anything"

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spicywhenspeaking · 4 months

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If I'm There: Chapter Twenty-One

when you realize the significance of the monkey (∩˃о˂∩)♡

read from part one here!

summary: Noah and Natalie met in high school and developed a relationship through their love of music and art. Falling in love, innocent and young, they think nothing can keep them apart. However, sometimes in the pursuit of your dreams the things we love the most get left behind.

this is a complete work of fiction, some characters while based on real people are totally made up. :)

word count: 3.6k , edited by me ....soooo if you see something spelt wrong no you didn't.

taglist : @lma1986 @cookiesupplier @notingridslurkaccount @blackveilomens @thisbicc @laurpartyprogram @concretenoah @thebadchic @jessitpwk @madomens @samanthasgone @myownthoughts12

I picked up Erin from Ashely’s house at around 10 am the following morning. I don’t think anything will ever compare to her seeing me and running with excitement into my arms for a big hug. I just hope she still feels that way later today when I tell her about Noah.

“I missed you Mom!” she calls out and I pick her up and swing us around in a circle. “Oh my sweet girl, I missed you so much!” I tell her and kiss all over her cheeks and the top of her head. We finish gathering her things and thank Ashely and her mom again before we eventually get into the car and head off to begin our girls’ day. “So nails first or food? How are you feeling?” I ask as I turn on the radio and begin backing out of the driveway.

“FOOD! Please! We only had cereal for breakfast and you know I need more than that.” I laugh because I know exactly that. My girl can eat! “Okay, so first food and then nails!” I say, then reach over to turn up the radio when I hear “Dancing Queen” by ABBA come on. We sing our hearts out on the drive to our favorite breakfast spot near our house. We sit in our regular corner booth by the back window. I order a coffee and a full stack of pancakes with eggs and bacon. Erin orders an orange juice and the same amount of food and I know she’ll finish it all. She recaps me on the last two days and all the fun she had with her friend, “but I missed you and Hales a lot. I’m happy to be back home now.” she says stuffing a huge piece of pancake into her mouth. “I’m happy you’re home too little bug, but why don't you take smaller bites? I don’t need you choking thirty minutes after getting you back.” She smiles with her mouth full of food, “okay” her muffled voice comes out and I can’t help but laugh.

With breakfast finished the two of us head to the nail salon and I decide we should really pamper ourselves and we get the deluxe mani/pedi package. The salon I like plays old MTV music videos on big TVs all around the room. The sound of Paramore while my feet soak in the soothing heat and the massage chair digs into my back puts me into a state of complete relaxation and I find my mind wandering. Stuck on a moment from the night before, Noah and I sitting together on the couch and our almost kiss. If things were different, if we lived in an alternate universe and it wasn’t ten years later I would have closed the distance and would have let myself be sucked into his gravity. He has everything he wants now, his music, his band, it’s what he left to find ten years ago.

I look over at Eric who’s set the chair to the back-patting setting that has her voice bouncing “Ah, ah, ah, m-o-o-m, d-o-o-o I s-o-u-n-d w-e-i-r-d.” the smile that breaks across my face is full of love as I take in the beautiful girl in front of me. “You sound perfect baby,” I say and ruffle her hair softly. The rest of our appointment goes by in a relaxing daze. We laugh while Erin tells me about her last two days. We finish up and I mentally prepare myself for the conversation we are about to have. I am going to tell her about Noah. I just hope she doesn’t hate me afterward.

We get back to the house and she rushes into her room to unload her dirty clothes and reunite with the stuffed animals she had to leave behind. “Fluffy! I never want to be separated again!” I hear her exclaim from outside of her room. Before talking to her I head into my room and open my closet door, I’m looking for a certain shoe box. “Where the hell is it?” I ask myself, “Ah ha!” It’s nestled deep into the corner hiding under the Carhart hoodie I borrowed from Haylie who stole it from who knows. I take a deep breath and lift the lid of the box. On top are several photos of me and Noah, some of the two of us, and Nicholas as well. Wadded up in a tight ball is the Bring Me The Horizon shift Noah gave me all those years ago. There’s also a CD, some random ticket stubs, drawings, and more pictures at the bottom. I decide to just take the whole box and head towards Erin’s room.

Knocking on the door I hear a soft, “Come in!” I walk into her room and see that she’s decided today is the day she’s going to reorganize her bookshelf.

“Hey sweety, can I talk to you about something?” I ask and try to hide the nervousness in my voice. “Umm yeah, is everything okay? You sound weird.” So I didn’t do a great job at hiding it. “Yes, everything is okay. There’s just something that I need to talk to you about. Something important.”

Two lines appear between her eyebrows and her face contorts in confusion. “Is this an I can keep working and listening important or do I need to sit next to you on the bed?” she asks and I pat a spot next to me on the bed to wordlessly answer her question. “Oof, okay,” she whispers out and climbs next to me on her bed.

“You remember how I told you that I got pregnant when I was still in high school but my boyfriend and I had already broken up?” she continues looking at me with confusion all over her face but nods slightly, “Yeah, I remember. You said you two never saw each other again.” I take her hand and smile, trying to fight the tears in my eyes.

I open the box and hand her a picture of Noah and I. “His name is Noah. This is your father.” She takes the photo and looks back and forth between me and and younger version in the photo. “You look so different,” she says and I huff a laugh. “Yeah, that’s what growing up will do to you.”

“Where is he?” she asks quietly looking up at me. “Well, he’s actually in town for a few days if you would like to meet him.”

“Where has he been?” she asks and that takes me off guard. I struggle with what to say, not wanting to keep anything from her but also not wanting to upset her. “He’s been in Los Angeles. That’s where he works.”

“What does he do?”

“He’s in a band, playing music, and sings all around the world.”

“Hm,” she says and I’m not sure what she’s thinking.

“So he didn’t want me?” and there it is. The knife in my heart makes it hard to keep the food down from earlier but I push through, remaining strong.

“Oh no sweety, that’s not true at all. He didn’t know for so long. It’s very complicated adult stuff. Things that took me a long time to understand myself” I try to explain to her.

“Will you tell me when I’m older the complicated stuff?”

“Of course baby, I’ll tell you anything you’d like to know about him.”

“Is he nice?” Erin asks in a quiet shy voice, “Do you think he would like me?”

I wrap her up in my arms and squeeze her tightly, “he is very nice and he will like you very much I promise.” I run my hand down her head, soothing her soft brown hair.”Does that mean you’d like to meet him?”

The air is still in the room as Erin takes time to think. Her small face scrunched in concentration. “I think I would like to meet him, yes. But are things going to change? My friend Brody’s parents don’t live together and he goes to his dad’s house every other weekend. Do I have to do that now?” I pull her closer until my head is resting on top of hers. “Nothing will change without you making that decision. Right now, we take things one step at a time.” she nods her head and wraps her arms as tight as she can around me.

“Would you be interested in meeting him tomorrow? He will be leaving again soon with his band so we won’t see him again for a few weeks. I can tell him we can wait if you’d be more comfortable.” I’m also definitely scheduling an earlier therapy appointment for her this week. Her head remains buried in my side while she takes everything in. I am giving her all the time she needs to process, so if she wants to wait until he’s more available I don’t blame her.

“I think I would like to meet him. But what if you just invited him over here? So I can show him my stuff and maybe he will like me even more?”

I move back so I can take her small face into my hands. “I can do that but I need to to listen to me now, there is no one on this planet that could possibly not like you Erin Howlston and I know for a fact that he will love you so much because you are you and you are perfect,” I emphasize my point my giving her cheeks a little squeeze. “But you have to think that because you’re my mom.” she quips through pursed lips. “And he’s your father, so by your logic, he must also think that,” I argue back and I see her eyes turned down slightly in the corner.

“But he made you sad right? That’s why you broke up when you were in high school. I don’t want him to make you sad again.” My heart swells. While I drop an atomic bomb of information about her life she’s worried about my feelings. I must be doing something right with this whole parenting thing.

“Sweetie, that was a long time ago. My heart is all better now and I’m not sad anymore. I am so so so unbelievably happy with our life. With you and Aunt Haliey, Uncle Kyle and Aunt Mags, and little Natasha. I think Noah is a very good person and he wants to be in your life because he cares about you. Even without having met you.” She gives me a small smile and hugs me again.” okay, I want to meet him. You said tomorrow right?” she looks up at me with her deep brown eyes that have always been just like his. “Tomorrow it is. I will give him a call later today, but what do you want to do now? Play? We could watch a movie? Or draw together?”

Quickly detangling from my arms she races to pick up her paper and stretching pencils, “Drawing please! I need help with the cat I’m drawing.”

We spend the next few hours drawing together on her bedroom floor laughing and listening to music. For Christmas last year she asked for a Google Mini so she could ask it to play music whenever she wanted. Now we are listening to “The Very Best Of Otis Redding”. When she was a baby I listened to it all the time. I used to sing “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long” while rocking her to sleep. Sometimes I walk by her room and she is listening to it while reading or playing with her toys and it reminds me of holding her when she was so little and how she would hold my finger so tightly.

I feel the tug of guilt in my gut about Noah having missed those moments but force it down, there’s nothing that can be done about the past but we can create new memories with the three of us together. Even if Noah and I aren’t together we can be the two parents that Erin needs. Maybe we can even be friends.

Later, once Erin wanted time alone to play with her toys I went into my room to call Noah. I haven’t been able to talk to Haylie about any of this yet, she woke up late with a hangover and had to run out of the house for the day to meet with her editor to talk about her next book release.

I close my door most of the way, only keeping a small sliver open in case Erin calls out for me. I sit on the edge of my bed and hit the green call button on my new Noah contact page, It rings a few times before I hear the sound of him picking up on the other end.

Hey! Natty, how are you doing? How’s it going?

Hi Noah, things are good. How are you?

There’s rustling in the background of his call, “oohh is that Natalie??” I hear who I think is Folio.

Yes, shush…not you Nat! You don’t have to shush. Sorry, Folio is being an idiot.

I’m good, just working on some new remixes for our deluxe album.

I just finished talking with Erin and she suggested I invite you over tomorrow to meet. Is that okay?

Tomorrow sounds great! What time is good for you two?

How does 12:30 work? I can order us sandwiches from the sub shop in town, Erin’s favorite.

Perfect, 12:30 is perfect. Thank you so much, Natty. I won’t let you down again. I promise.

I try not to blush like a preteen at the way his voice goes almost breathless as he makes his promise to me.

Um. so I’ll see you tomorrow then, bye!

I try to rush off the phone as fast as possible before I let myself word-vomit anything stupid.

Bye Natty, I’ll see you tomorrow, looking forward to seeing you and meeting Erin.

A few minutes I hear Haylie unlock the door and head into the house and she calls out like she did the night before. “Honeys!! I’m home!” she calls from the front room. “Hey Hales!” Erin and I both call out.

Before I have the chance to call down to her to come up so I can relay everything that’s happened since we separated after the concert, she is racing up the stairs taking two at a time. She swings my door open, stepping into my room with a huge face-splitting smile on her face. “Sooo?? How did it go?” she asks moving closer into my room and creating the same small gap in the door before sitting down next to me on the bed. “Well, before I drunkenly barged in. sorry about that. That Folio knows how to throw them back, he’s pretty hot don’t you think?”

She has this twinkle in her eye when she says it and I laugh and roll my eyes at her. “It went well, he was a little upset at first which I wasn’t surprised by. He cried I cried, it was very emotional. He wants to meet her and then stay in Austin during their break in between tour dates.” As I recant my mind whirls and everything hits me more than I expected. “He said that he wanted this life with me, wanted the family and the happiness and the love that he should have fought harder for me, should have never let me go.” I try to keep my voice steady but I can feel my throat getting thick with emotion. Haylie wraps her arm around me and remains quiet while I continue telling her all about what happened. “And then when I was showing him pictures in her baby book there was this moment..” I slowly trail off and she pops forward and her eyes widen in surprise.

“What kind of moment?” she asks in a voice that goes all jelly-like and I manage to look slightly shameful before I tell her. That I so easily folded in his presence is borderline embarrassing, just shows how powerful his hold is still over my heart. But right now I can’t think with my heart, now is the time to think with my brain. While also considering Erin’s heart.

“We might have almost kissed,” I tell her while I bury my face in my hands. “OH MY GOD! NATALIE !” she shrieks and I quickly throw my hands over her mouth. “Shush! Haliey oh my god, Erin will hear you!” and just like that I hear her little voice calling from down the hall, “everything okay in there?” she asks. “Yes!” “Everthing is fine!” we answer in unison and I think she retreats back into her room.

“You almost kissed him! How? What did he say? Did he lean in? How did he act after the almost kiss,” she shoots out the questions in a rapid-fire succession and I rub the sides of my temples before answering her. “Um. I guess he was kind of leaning in, he was doing that thing you know. When a guy looks between your eyes and your lips. I felt so weak. Oh my god, I almost kissed him, and then the book fell and I remembered what we were doing and why he was there and I felt so stupid.”

“You are NOT stupid! There were a lot of emotions flowing, you hadn’t had a moment alone with him in years and it’s not like when you broke up you two weren’t completely and totally in love with each other. It’s not like those feelings just go away.” she says while rubbing up and down along my back.

“I just can’t do that with him, It’s not a good idea for the two of us to do anything that could jepordize Erin’s happiness.” I nod to myself, wiping one of my hands down my face and then raking them through my hair. Haliey and I flop backwards onto the pillows while I finish catching her up on everything that happened, including my conversation with Erin and then my phone call with Noah right before she got home.

“You want me to clear out tomorrow so y’all have some privacy?” she asks and I balk at the thought. “No way! I would never ask you to leave your own house. Plus, you’re such an important person in Erin’s life, I’m sure she would also want you here.”

The three of us spend the rest of our evening lounging in the living room watching TV in our pajamas. We make homemade pizzas and cookies for dinner together in the kitchen while singing along to Disney’s greatest hits. We end the night all cuddled together on the couch watching Erin’s favorite movie “The Secret Life of Arrietty” and when she falls asleep I carry her up the stairs into her room and deposit her into her bed. I gently kiss her forehead and turn on her glowing nightlight before closing the door and heading back to help Haylie finish cleaning the kitchen.

The next day is quickly upon us and I nervously watch the clock ticking away as we get closer and closer to 12:30. I picked up the subs a few minutes ago so hopefully Noah isn’t late. No one likes a soggy sub.

Just seconds before the second-hand crosses over the 12 on the clock there is a knock on the door that causes me to jump straight out of my seat. Haylie laughs at me as she rubs my shoulders walking past and into her room. She told Erin that if she needed her at any time to just barge in and get her. I walk towards the door and Erin suddenly looks very nervous and gets up to hide behind my back. “Are you okay baby?” I ask her quietly before answering the door. She nods her head against my back and whispers, “Yes, I’m fine.” she gripping the back of my jeans but I think if she didn’t want to do this anymore she would say something, she’s just nervous. Hell, I’m nervous.

I open the door and Noah is standing there with a bouquet of wildflowers in one hand and a stuffed monkey in the other. “Hi,” he says in a soft and nervous voice. I return his greeting with a warm smile. “Come on in” I open the door wider so he can come in and Erin scoots along with me not quite ready to reveal herself. “How are you doing?” he asks and hands the flowers over to me, “these are for you.” He gestures to the monkey, “And this is for Erin.” she peaks her head out from behind me and looks up towards Noah and the monkey. “That’s for me?” she asks quietly. Noah crouches down to be at her eye level and hands out the toy to her. “Yes, this is for you. Do you like monkeys?” He asks and I see a small smile appear on her face. “I do like monkeys. I saw some at the zoo a few days ago with my friend Ashely.” She holds out her hand to accept the offering. “Hi Erin.” he says with a warm smile, “I’m Noah, it’s very nice to meet you?” She slowly eases out from behind me and is now standing beside me and at eye level with Noah, still crouched. “It’s nice to meet you too. Even though you made my mom sad.”

Oh, Jesus, this is going to be an interesting afternoon.

Next chapter

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sortanonymous · 6 months

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Sorta Odd Kirby Ideas #1-2: "The Miracles Run Out" and "Warped Miracles" AU Ideas

So jdphobe (@giantchasm) recently made a great Kirby one-shot on AO3 called i dug my heels in for the winter and i waited for the snow, which is basically the ending of Heroes in Another Dimension, except that Francisca dies as a result of the Jamba Heart's power on her (or something); and it shows the tragedy of the situation through the grim reactions of everyone there, especially Hyness and the remaining two Mage-Sisters (Flamberge in particular being completely broken). It may very well be the most gut-wrenching Kirby fic I've ever read, and it (alongside the fact that jdphobe also brought up a similar concept where Carol dies in Forgotten Land, although they don't seem to have any plans to write it yet) got me thinking about some more Kirby AU's where the miracles Kirby pulls off to save people are flipped on their head. Before I describe them though, I'd recommend reading that fic first as it's really good, although if it sounds too depressing to you (which it is indeed a very depressing read), then perhaps my brief summary will suffice. I should also mention that a lot of this is from my comment under that fic (which I ended off by joking that I was getting revenge on them for introducing one depressing Kirby AU by giving them two depressing Kirby AU's). (Edit: @giantchasm told me that apparently the way Carol dies is that Leon kills her while under Forgo's control. So... there's that!)

AU #1: The Miracles Run Out

Here Kirby is miraculously able to save Sectonia in Triple Deluxe and Max in Planet Robobot, now back in their right minds. The method Kirby saves them through or their immediate aftermaths aren't relevant. Point is that Kirby has not only saved the day twice more, but was able to help those they had to fight to return to their senses and get their happy endings with their loved ones. Sectonia got return home uncorrupted with her best friend and Max, in his right mind again, was finally able to reunite with his daughter. Kirby's naturally feeling really good about themself and thinking that whoever needs their help to reach the light, they'll just save everyone.

And then HiAD happens, which I'll just pick up from here with jdphobe's AU. Right as Hyness and the Mages are seemingly freed from the Jamba Heart's grasp, it turns out that Francisca, the youngest and most beloved Mage-Sister doesn't survive. As the scene unfolds in the original fic, Taranza and Susie react in ways referring to their own canonical tragedies. In fact Magolor is the one who checks Francisca to confirm her death, and he's shaken by how the way in which she died was very similar to how he nearly died under the Master Crown. One intriguing idea to consider is that in the AU where Secty and Max live, perhaps we see their reactions of how close they were to losing their lives to such similar situations (and for that matter, how close Taranza and Susie were to seeing their loved ones die like that). No doubt that Kirby's confidence in their ability to save others takes a hit due to this tragedy (one particularly brutal bit in that fic has them desperately and tearfully trying to revive Fransisca with Friend Hearts, but they don't work and Dedede and Meta have to drag them away). But it only gets worse come Forgotten Land. Considering what little jdphobe has said about the Carol side of their AU, I'll just cut to the obvious details and say that Leon is under Forgo's control and kills Carol (as she's trying to reassemble her husband's soul) right before his soul is restored. It's easy to imagine that with Carol all but explicitly confirmed to be his wife, her death ends up absolutely devastating Leon, especially with how it was his own hand that killed her, even if it wasn't really him. And also the 3DS characters here would again be shaken by how badly they could have turned out. Also likely devastated though is Kirby, who by now likely has their confidence completely shattered after two straight tragedies that they couldn't prevent. That said, at least it's cherrier than the other AU.

AU #2: Warped Miracles

The Switch games happen the same, but the catch here is that in the 3DS games, Sectonia and Max do survive (again, the method doesn't matter)... but NOT Taranza or Susie. Maybe Taranza is killed when Sectonia blasts him off the balcony. Maybe Susie is fatally wounded when Star Dream zaps her and only has enough in her to summon the Robobot Armor and maybe (depending on when Max gets saved) tell Kirby to tell her father, should they see him again, that she loved her and only wanted to save him from Star Dream's influence. In that instance, not only does Kirby end up with a streak of four tragic deaths that they couldn't prevent (you can only imagine how that would weigh on them), but we see how Sectonia and Max would react to their loved ones' deaths instead of the other way around, and they'd likely be absolutely brutal.

Just to indulge in the "how's" for a bit in how they'd be saved, if Max got somehow had his memories restored and he was OK and everything during the Star Dream battle, but Susie was already gone, at that point I can only imagine Max just running to the computer's core and trying to blow it up both out of anger and out of feeling like there was nothing left to live for. I mean, he sacrificed years of his life, his mind, his morality, his memories, and almost his very soul to bring back his daughter, and not only was he too far gone to know that she had returned, but once he was back in his right mind, his beloved daughter had died saving him and his soul from what he had become. But as for him surviving, becoming friends with Kirby, and trying to move on from his child's death, I could see him empathizing with Hyness in the jdphobe fic, and how both of them got corrupted and had their daughter die in the ensuing mess.

Meanwhile for Sectonia, whenever Kirby does purify her, I imagine that she'd immediately start searching for Taranza in hopes that he survived, as she still knows that she blasted him. (In fact, you could very well have her true self start to regain control the moment she zaps him as she realizes how bad she's gotten.) But then she finds his corpse, and I could imagine that either Kirby would have to hold her back from jumping into the abyss or that she'd be clinging onto his body in hysterics incapable of believing that "she" killed her best friend who had never given up on her, even if it wasn't really her in control. Maybe Kirby, who hadn't yet seen a tragedy like this and also may or may not even know about the corruption, tries to comfort her by telling her that Taranza had likely long wanted her to be free from the Mirror's corruption, but Sectonia would still be devastated by how her beloved Taranza had died by technically her own hand, even if she wasn't in control of herself. Heck, considering both her grief and guilt from both Taranza's death and all the chaos she caused, I doubt Sectonia would want to keep ruling Floralia even if she were allowed to. From there, she likely sympathizes with Max and Hyness and the two Mages over their losses. But I especially see her becoming close grieving buddies with Leon and them bonding over being royals who not only narrowly survived getting corrupted, but killed their lovers while they were out of control.

Just felt like these ideas were too fascinating to leave to rot in those comments.

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gaymer-hag-stan · 4 months

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A Tekken 8 Review That Nobody Asked for From a Longtime Fan Who Has Been Playing for Ages But Is Not a Pro - That Title Is Too Long

Having spent a little over 24 hours playing the game on my PS5, I feel like it's an appropriate amount of time to share my first thoughts on it. I will try to keep spoilers to a minimum so just skip the "Story" section and you should be fine.

General Thoughts

A pretty healthy roster, overall happy with who we got. I do wish Anna and Christie were here, and I also miss Lucky Chloe. With Eddy already announced and Azucena taking over the "cooky dance-y character" I unfortunately don't see Christie or Chloe returning, but Anna better fucking do!

They all look great, even the ugly ones, they look satisfyingly ugly, if that makes any sense. The girls still suffer from the Madame Tussaud's wax figure syndrome that plagued the entirety of Tekken 7's roster, but, maybe I'm gaslighting myself, I do feel like they look a bit less plasticky than some of the initial teasers? Most of the redesigns are great, the hair (Lili's hair has never looked better), water and dirt physics all finally WORK and I love how all the clothing animates with the wind effect, the Fallen Destiny stage is a great one to illustrate all of the above. We can see Yoshimitsu's fingers after three decades! I'd love to know the thought process behind this redesign lmao

I love that they finally, after so many years of other fighting games having it but being inexplicably absent from Tekken, they finally added Player vs CPU matches! FINALLY! Finally I can pick my character and my opponent of choice, pick their costumes and set a stage for them to battle. I'm so happy for this even though it might not make any sense to anyone.

Combo Challenges! We finally have combo challenge in Tekken! Another common fighting game feature inexplicably missing up until now.

Gameplay feels a lot of fun. I wasn't sure about the heat mechanic but it's actually a lot more fun than I initially thought! I tried out all of the cast and am slowly completing both their story episodes and an Arcade run for good measure. I am obviously still maining Nina. They have decided to simplify a lot of her combo throws and I am having fun terrorizing people online with them by breaking their bones! I'm also using Arcade Quest to learn how to play as Lili and Azucena, some basic moves and combos and whatnot. I wanna also do Zafina, Jun, Jin, Hwoarang and Xiaoyu as well eventually. I think these eight will be my main squad for the time being. As a side note, King and Steve feel extremely fun to play, I haven't picked either in ages, but with King I was really close!

The netcode is, surprisingly functional??? We did recently switch to an optic fiber connection type, but I'm still on WiFi and I am having zero problems!

Jukebox is thankfully back again! I literally spent an hour or more before playing the game at all to decide which song goes where lol

Something that scares me regarding upcoming DLC, is that I do not see a season pass being sold anywhere except the Deluxe Edition bundle that costs 40€... I'm sorry but I don't give a fuck about owning 32 identical gold costumes or Tetsujin or whoever the fuck as my Arcade Quest avatar... I only want Eddy and the other three (one of them better be Anna!) thank you very much!

Story

"The Dark Awakens"

Believe it or not I haven't even finished the main story yet as I'm trying to pace myself through all the modes and enjoy them, savouring every moment. At the moment of typing this I am almost halfway through and I must say, even though I am still firmly in the "Drop the cinematic NRS style story modes" camp, and I would much rather have had either arcade mode with proper, canon endings back, or a revival and repurposing of the Tekken Force mode, in an SF6 World Tour mode type of way, out of all of Bandai Namco's attempts at a cinematic story mode, from SCV to Tekken 8, this has been the most satisfying attempt so far. I love that they are fully embracing the overdramatic nature of Tekken along with its campy side and it's present from the very beginning, with Jin throwing his bike at Kazuya's helicopter! "A Fate Decided by Fists" were we actually get to choose which fighters advance through the first round was the biggest highlight so far! I did not expect to fight Azazel again in 2024! I miss his Tekken 6 design though, he no longer glows according to his remaining health or has his limbs crumble away into scarabs according to which parts of him you're hitting. Also, I do understand why they felt the need to overemphasize how "Jin was a good guy all along and he's not like Kazuya" to redeem him and attempt to portray him as a more traditional hero, but I think they went way too far. Literally every single cast member, characters who've never met him before especially, makes a point of how good a person Jin is. Also, I do understand that there were a lot of people complaining that most of the cast were ignored in Tekken 7's story mode and I appreciate that they tried to include more of them this time, but it's so half assed and superficial. Like, Lili, Asuka, Hwoarang, Leo (who finds their missing father, a forgotten plot point from Tekken 6 of screen without a single explanation) Xiaoyu, PANDA offer absolutely nothing to the story so far other than to just be there and tell Jin what a good guy he is. And I say all that as someone who is firmly on Jin's side and despises Kazuya.

Character Episodes

Thank god they have more than one single fight this time! I would have liked it if they found a way to make each of them be canon. Like, I think every single one of the Arcade mode endings of SF6 is canon, if I'm not mistaken, and most of them seem to take place before the events of the main story, as a way to give us a clearer understanding of why each fighter fights. I think Guilty Gear does exactly that too. Nevertheless, I do appreciate that each fighter has fights specifically tailored to them, with specific opponents. It's not clear to me yet if they're completely non-canon or not, as in Nina's she seems to have been hired by Lee to sabotage G Corporation and Kazuya, I pray to God this is true and she's not actually, willingly working for that asshole, like, I'm still in complete denial that they threw her entire character development from Tekken 4 to Tekken 7 to the trash can just to go "NInA WiLl WoRK FoR WhOmEvEr"... She's also suspiciously missing from the actual story like, she simply just appeared in ONE scene so far and then left without doing literally anything. She also seems to only have special interactions with Steve and Lee so far when others get a lot more. Her handling story wise in this installment is insulting, considering she's the most popular female fighter in the series and one of the most popular in the genre...

Offline Modes

Arcade Quest

It's cute... It's certainly a cool way to mask your tutorial and the avatars are kinda cool, but they're nowhere near as good as what Capcom did with SF6 and World Tour. I must say I prefer Tag 2's Tekken Lab over this.

Super Ghost Battle

Ghost battle, after five attempts is finally fun! Tekken 7's was by far the worst attempt as the game would automatically pick opponents for you, matching you with much harder ones if you were winning too much and much lower ones if you were losing too much so that you wouldn't climb the ranks as fast and it would artificially increase playtime. Now that Tekken has actual single player modes other that the story there's no need for that, and they made it work. You simply choose from a list, and the ones that contain unlockable (useless) customisation options for specific characters are actually marked so that you can attempt to get the item you want.

Arcade Battle

I love that they still included a traditional eight battle long Arcade mode, even though they could have just had the character episodes and call it a day. My slight nitpick, again, is that they're still doing this thing that they've been doing since Tekken 5 or 6 where the first few battles are characters in their default costumes and then a horde of Namco's customized monstrosities attack your eyes... This is a huge pet peeve of mine, I understand it in the context of Ghost Battle, and Arcade Quest, but I do not want to see goofy customs in other, "serious" modes. On top of that, the ghosts you get seem to be from the Super Ghost Battle's catalogue of freaks, and are therefore higher difficulty than most, which in turn makes them actively harder than the mode's final boss which I think is kinda hilarious!

Tekken Ball

I will admit, I only played a single match and never touched it again. It is actually challenging, I'll give it that, but I don't see the appeal. I'd much rather have Tekken Bowl again back instead tbh. Also I wish that stage was playable in normal modes too.

Customization

Avatar customization is kinda whatever, but it works well enough for Arcade Quest and I don't really visit the Tekken Fight Lounge.

Character Customization however is where I have an issue. While I've seen lots of cool customs of various characters from other games and IPs, including Shimbori himself dressing up Super Battle ghosts as DOA characters!, I don't really care for the customization options? My only real use for Character Customization in Tekken so far was to recreate past / alternate outfits. Like, in Tekken 6 I would buy the schoolgirl outfit parts for all the teen girlies, in Tekken 7 I recreated Nina's 2P outfit from Tekken 4 using her Blood Vengeance catsuit as a base, stuff like that. In Tekken 8 all I'm getting is a huge catalogue of Zara's apparel... And all the unlockable outfits are either their default look with less clothes on, or weird cosplays of other characters. Why? Tekken Character Customization peaked in Tekken 6, where every single one of the 40 (41 if you count Panda, who I think had some different options from Kuma) characters had his own personal selection of outfits and items, matching their personality and look. I don't want to play as Nina dressed up as Ada Wong or in a business casual for a 9-5 desk job. They made everything way too generic and bland and, on top of that, we don't even have trademark pieces like Nina's purple catsuit, her ponytail, Hwoarang's taekwondo garb, Xiaoyu's Tekken 6 battle costume. The Tekken 5 veterans should have had their Tekken 5/6/TTT2 costumes and hairstyles on top of their Tekken 7 ones.

Overall, I am very very happy with this game! It seemingly does almost everything right and I am glad to see it improving on, literally, every single thing over Tekken 7.

Score: 9 / 10

#Tekken #Tekken 8 #Video Games #Gaming #Bandai Namco #Fighting Games #Nina #Lili #Azucena #Zafina #Jun #Jin #Hwoarang #Xiaoyu #Nina Williams #Azucena Milagros Ortiz Castillo #Jun Kazama #Jin Kazama #Ling Xiaoyu

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androxys · 1 year

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I saw this prompt from @aliteralchicken a while ago and then got distracted from it but eventually circled back. Here are some of my very specific comic recs! Detailed listing and the blank template below.

This was fun! I definitely encourage anyone who sees this to do one of these themselves.

This Character/Mantle/Team has a lot of solos, but this is the best one: Batgirl (2009) featuring Stephanie Brown. Look, I almost made this Cass’ 2000 solo, but the ending to Cass’ series was just... shaky. And that isn’t Cass’ fault any more than Stephanie is to blame for the way that this series was rushed to completion for Flashpoint and the New 52. But I think the writing here is a little more solid over the whole thing (thanks to being the same writer the whole way through) and I’m just a sucker for Steph. And Babs, having such a strong support role!

I would read anything with these characters in it so here’s one of them: I’ve read every Tim Drake appearance in New Earth continuity. I’m working on the Superboy solo, now that I’ve finished Death and Return of Superman. I’ve read the first ~10-12 of Impulse’s run, and am looking into finding Cassie’s early Wonder Woman stories. I followed these four in to Geoff Jones’ Teen Titans run. I read Young Justice (2019). But Young Justice (1998) just takes the cake for the best stories and dynamics for this group.

You insult this comic you insult me personally: Death, the Deluxe Edition, by Neil Gaiman. Moment of appreciation for Neil. The Sandman in general was really eye-opening for me, in a philosophic sense, regarding how I understood what the ~meaning of life~ was or should be. Namely, that the meaning is what we make of it, and we might as well make it kind. Death and her stories here really embody that the most for me.

Would recommend to someone who has never picked up a comic and to a long time fan: Gotham Central by Rucka and Bruebaker is a cop comic. I know. But importantly, they know too. This is a really tightly written series with moving plots, complex characters, and compelling thoughts. Renee Montoya in this comic... I could write essays. But because it’s ground level, it lets anyone who just likes mystery or procedurals walk right in and get started, rather than having to be up to date on all the Bat-lore. If you do know, however, there are so many good details.

This adaptation had one job: Hush. Nothing else to say.

I have beef with this writer but this is the exception: I wouldn’t say I have beef with Tom King, I just think that having read some of his Batman work, and then reading Mister Miracle, he just needs to play with characters that aren’t Batman. This feeling was reinforced reading Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, which I almost put up there instead. Mister Miracle won out because it was what converted me back to King.

Doesn’t have to be great, just has to be nostalgic: It’s well documented on this blog how much I love the JLA: Tower of Babel story. I also want to go on record and say how much I love the JLA title. Did you know that stories from the 90′s were perfect and never bad ever?

Characters or Genre that I don’t usually read but I enjoyed: I don’t care about Green Lantern. I’m sorry. Hal Jordan is just some guy. But Green Lantern/Green Arrow is a classic for a reason. This one is also really compelling to me when I think about the larger cultural context this comic was being published into.

And as promised, blank template:

#dc comics #comicblogging #stephanie brown #the sandman #death of the endless #batman hush #fourth world #tower of babel #chit chat

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aturnipsingularity · 6 months

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Turnip, what's YOUR album of the year if you had to pick one? Pitch it to me, infect me with ur music taste

Okay, so I can't pick just one, so I'll throw a handful of my faves that I discovered this year into the ring. The most recent would be Eternal Blue by Spiritbox. Underrated alt/prog metal band, and I haven't heard a whole lot of others talking about them. I really like the way the first couple of tracks blend together, and the lead vocalist has an amazing voice. She has this really melodic singing that meshes well with her death growl. I also really like that there's a good mix of slower songs with the harder music. There's a lot of good variety, and the pacing is really nice.

Favorite song: Silk In The Strings

I also finally listened to The Death of Peace of Mind by Bad Omens this year. I had heard a couple of their singles before, but I hadn't checked out the full work until recently. I was really glad I did, because it's amazing. Lots of bangers in there, 10/10 would recommend. I really enjoy metal/post-hardcore in general, but the synths and electronics give the music a really nice boost to the energy (see one of my fave albums of all time -- Trauma by I Prevail). It makes it really punchy, and I love that!

Favorite song: ARTIFICIAL SUICIDE or bad decisions

I also want to recommend Take Me Back to Eden by Sleep Token, because I was very hyped for it to come out this year. However, I was let down a little bit and do have a few reservations about the album in general. I think it's great. The vibe of it is really ethereal, and I appreciate the fluidity of the songs in terms of tone and sound. But, it suffers from a lack of variety in tempo. A lot of the songs are slower, and the sequencing itself doesn't lend any room for picking up the energy it loses after the first 5 songs. I also hate the songs Are You Really Okay? and DYWTYLM. They don't feel like they belong. At all. They feel like filler/billboard top 100 and less of this otherworldy, almost ghostly sound they're trying to go for. It also took me a few listens to come around to Ascensionism and The Apparition, but I do really appreciate those songs, and I really quite like them now. It's a really good album that took a few misteps. The Summoning is so good, though. There's a reason it's their most popular song. If you're going to listen to it, I would recommend listening in the following order, because it's the best one I've found for right now. Although it's also not perfect by far, and you can hear the tonal shift after the first three songs, I think it feels a bit more balanced. I can't say I'm quite satisfied with it, but it's still a lot better imo

Drop Are You Really Okay? and DYWTYLM. Don't put them in the playlist.

1. Chokehold

2. Vore

3. The Summoning

4. Aqua Regia

5. Ascensionism

6. The Apparition

7. Granite

8. Rain

9. Euclid

10. Take Me Back to Eden

Favorite song: Euclid or Chokehold

And a small honorable mention to these albums that I finally got to listen to, but don't have enough thoughts on (yet) to rant about:

So Much (For) Stardust by Fall Out Boy

Rain City Drive by Rain City Drive

The Click (Deluxe Edition) by AJR (don't judge me I really like them)

Opal (original soundtrack) by Jack Stauber

Frontiers by Journey

Empire by Queensrÿche

4 by Foreigner

I really should have listened to the older albums sooner, but I just never got around to it -- even though I know multiple songs from each one.

I'll eventually talk about all of the other entries on this list, as well as my all-time favorites (not listed) and the other couple of recents I have yet to finish. Mostly just because I like talking about music lmao but today is not that day. Also you have to tell me about your music taste now!

#singulariturnip #turnip talks #<- new reply tag #asks #anurarana

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songsforthepierce · 1 year

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Album Showcase: The Poison - Bullet for My Valentine

Way back in Middle School, probably around 2007/2008, I would watch a bunch of AMVs which included this Invader Zim one. Where it was similar to Anime Hell and if you don’t know what Anime Hell is...uh...well what it was is they would put part of a song or audio from different media over a clip of some anime scene. One could say it is very YTP which yeah it kind of is. So yeah, the Invader Zim AMV was similar to such. I cannot find the AMV now but this was where I was first introduced to bands such as Chevelle, Dope, and Bullet for my Valentine. The songs they used from Bullet for My Valentine was from the album, The Poison.

Oh, I should add some trigger warnings. Content warning for discussions of suicide, light discussions on mental illness, some mention of misogyny, discussion of violence against women, mention of self harm, and some talks about death.

I do like the more simple yet bold cover for the album. The two notable things about it to me is the fact that a part of me believes this image is meant to reference one of the songs on the album. The other is I just noticed the woman’s hand sprawled out is very close to the gun on the right for the bands logo, making it seem like she shot herself. I just think that is a neat detail. Oh, I almost forgot to mention this but the deluxe edition of the album changes out the red color palette to green. Not sure why but it looks nice.

Bullet for My Valentine is a Welsh heavy metal band which on their early works you can really hear the Welsh accent compared to their later albums. The Poison was their first major album they released after making the two EPs, Hand of Blood and Bullet for My Valentine. Though during my research I found out that the band used to be called Jeff Killed John. When they were under that name they made one EP. Huh, I never really knew that and maybe I should give it a shot some time. That and maybe make a post about it, maybe. Anyway, I am familiar with some of the songs on this album but the rest of the songs I don’t have teenage nostalgia for. Mainly because I never really went out of my way to check out more of the album at the time. Looking back I am not really sure why. I best guess was I was too focused on other bands. So it will be interesting to give the rest of the album more of a chance and see how I feel about it.

Track 1: Intro

The first song is a pure instrumental piece. It is oddly a nice start setting up an atmospheric tone. The use of cellos is a nice touch. I don’t know why, but whenever I listened to to track I could imagine a scene of someone standing in the rain. I guess it just gives me that vibe. This being not just the first song but being on the album in the first place was not what I was expecting to be honest. I just realized the song features Apocalyptica which thinking about it should have been kind of obvious since they known for doing instrumental pieces sounding similar to this. Surprised I didn’t immediately pick it up but it had been awhile since I listened some of their songs. Overall, this is a nice start to the album.

Track 2: Her Voice Resides

As the first track is finishing it hard cuts to screaming for Her Voice Resides. I tend to really like it when songs lead up to the next track like this. It adds a really nice flow of transition. Though I know this type of transition can be harsh to a tonal whiplash depending on who you ask. But I think it works fine here. I do like the rhythm and guitar work on this track. It helps punctuate what is being said in the song. Though having said that and after listening to this track a few times I wondered what it was about. From reading the lyrics it is about a guy who feel deeply in love with a girl but said girl dumped him rather quickly. Despite her being done with him, he cannot let go of her. He continues to hear her voice and it torments him. He feels his only solution is suicide. Which basing on the bridge near the end of the song talking about heaven and where is his angel he succeeded. WELL, that is a lot to take in. The concept is genuinely fascinating from a horror stand point but the lyrics are...well kind of underwhelming. Maybe it is because the lyrics feels like something I would see a teen in the early 2000s write which makes this song feel...immature. Like I said, I like the instrumentation and the concept has potential. But even with that all said it is a solid okay song.

Track 3: 4 Words (To Choke Upon)

This is one of the four tracks that took off from this album and listening to it I am a little confused by why. Like on the one hand the instrumentals really pretty good on the track. But on the other hand the lyrics are not that strong. I get this is about betrayal regarding friends stabbing you in the back but in the end you triumph because you are the successful one. I know I have heard other songs with similar subject matter and this one does I guess an okay job. Though I do recommend watching the music video to see the type of fashion fans of theirs were wearing at the time. A very neat time capsule and a good ref if you want to draw clothes from that era. Actually, as I let this song sit for awhile it kind of grew on me. It isn’t my favorite but it is less of a meh for me and now a bit okay.

Track 4: Tears Don’t Fall

This is one of their big songs that came from the album and I was actually surprised. Mainly because I never heard it at all until my gf played it in her car four years ago. I am genuinely shocked a teenage me never ONCE heard this be it from Hot Topic or from my friends who liked metal. This won award for best single from Kerrang! This charted #24 and #32 The Mainstream Hot Rock Charts and on was Top Modern Rock Charts respectively. I just somehow avoided it. Anyway, the song is about the narrator of the song feeling guilt about cheating on his girlfriend. I know I am suppose to like feel sorry for the guy or something but I just don’t. All I feel is “Well that sucks for you my guy.” I KIND of feel bad I don’t feel that strongly about the song because similar to the previous tracks the instrumentals are pretty well done but also the fact this song was pretty big. Not just that but was important for the band. In an interview with Download Festival in 2018 when asked, “ When you’re putting a set list together is there one song you have to play for festivals?” and Matthew Buck (lead singer) said,

“Having five albums already out it’s quite easy to pick a bunch that you know people want to hear. We’ve had a lot of experience touring each album for at least two years on a cycle. If there’s one it’s ‘Tears Don’t Fall’, which has become a Bullet anthem over the years. When it first came out it became very clear that it was a bit of a moment for the band’s career, even at that early stage and bit of a moment for the hard rock metal genre. It’s a song like no other and the things that song has done for our band is incredible. It’s a song that’s really connected and has last the test of time. That song will never drop because of the importance of it. We know the significance and importance of it, it’s a song that means a lot to us as well as the fans who were there in the early days and since.”

I don’t know if it is the subject matter or because I am not a teenager, but this song just doesn’t do much for me. Which makes that quote above make me feel like I am being a dick. Though I will say that even though I don’t really have much of an attachment to the song I can step back and understand why this one got big.

Track 5: Suffocating Under Words of Sorrow (What Can I Do)

This was another big song of theirs and this was one of the few songs I actually bought from the album. I actually kind of like this song. From what I can gather from the lyrics it seems to be about a couple with in an odd relationship where while the guy does love her he knows she is doing some shady stuff. Well, killing people from the line about the bodies on the floor. On the one hand he wants to make her see what she did is wrong but he also wants to make her feel loved? Conflicting priorities but hey it is an interesting song concept. Funnily, this song was on the soundtrack for Saw III which yeah that fits. Though the music video for it is...uh something. Why is the first part of the first verse removed? What does this song have to do with ballerinas? Why are the band in a cave? I don’t really get the direction of the video for the song but it looks neat. Stylus Magazine said this song along with the other track, The Poison, was the band on their A game. I have to partially disagree because I don’t feel like this song was A game material. It is more B material than anything.

Track 6: Hit The Floor

Okay another pretty decent track. A simple song about following someone and killing them. Typical heavy metal stuff. Though what stands out to me is some of the lines questioning why they beg for more and the surprise this is how they die. The ending lines “ Take this for me, I don't want to hurt you” stand out to me as well. It is one of the more simple songs and one of the downsides of it is that it just makes me think this is an inferior version of Avenge Sevenfold’s Scream which has a similar subject. But I can see myself listening to this track as like good background noise.

Track 7: All These Things I Hate (Revolve Around Me)

This was the song I first heard by them that was used in the Invader Zim amv. I would listen to this track a LOT as a depressed teen. I own this song and even now I will go back to it when I feel like shit. The subject of a person dealing with a shitty person who doesn’t respect them nor what they say. A situation where this relationship they would rather not be in and wonder why they are sticking around. All of it they hate yet in all of it is in their life. This was something I really resonated with a lot as someone who had been a variety of unhealthy friendships on top of dealing with being unmedicated. This to me is one of the best songs on the album. This is their A game to me. Two years ago I found a video of the band playing this song live in Brixton 2016 and hearing the crowd singing along with the song at the time made a bit emotional. Oh, while I was getting the videos for this I found out there was an official music video for the song. I never knew it had one at all. Anyway, the main character of the video is a woman which hey cool to see the perspective is meant to be from her in this. The story is about her waking up and seeing her boyfriend leave. She then sees he left his necklace behind. She goes outside to give it to him but he is already pulling out of the driveway. But when he turns back a car hits his killing him. As she screams she wakes up and thinks it is a bad dream. However, the cycle repeats akin to Groundhog day. As this is happening it cuts back and forth to the band singing. Zooming out showing they are playing in a cemetery and a coffin is on display. Basing on the ending where the girl sees out the window and the white truck passes by the ending I am guessing is maybe this will just keep happening. Damn what the fuck.

Track 8: Room 409

This is the song I tend to think of when I look at the album cover mainly because of what the song is about. Though with that said the subject is about a guy walking into his home and finding his partner cheating on him with another man. Which greatly pisses him off and hurts him deeply. Wishing he never saw this and that he just cannot forget what she has done to him. Yep, it is one of those songs. I guess this is the opposite end of Tears Don’t Fall where instead of a guy cheating on his partner and feeling guilt we are getting a guy being cheated on by his partner and being fucking pissed. These songs aren’t uncommon in both inside and outside of metal. Songs where that is the subject matter don’t really appeal to me since there is a good chance they veer into misogynistic territory. You know the whole “How dare this ungrateful bitch cheat on me so I am going to kill her” deal. Now does the narrator of this song try to kill the girl in this song? Maybe? I don’t know. I will say that on many of the tracks before and this one here, the instrumentals is one of the strongest parts of the album. Which that helps for a song like this who’s lyrics I feel are the weakest.

Track 9: The Poison

This became a favorite track of mine as I was in the process of reviewing this album. The rhythm is energetic and the drums really stand out on this track. I know this is about a guy murdering someone and making it clear that “she” will never know. Is this the person’s friend? girlfriend? wife? Who cares. Okay well I don’t care. This is a genuinely fun metal song to listen to while writing or drawing. Yeah, it is simple about the whole murdering someone part compared to other metal songs but I think The Poison works better at it compared to the earlier track Hit the Floor.

Track 10: 10 Years Today

This track took me a bit my surprise. I have heard the song before but didn’t really think much about the lyrics. But as I have to for this review the subject matter is not what I really expected. Now this is my interpretation of the song and I could be wrong on what it is talking about. The track seems to be about the narrator gets a call from his friend but said call is about the friend deciding to either commit suicide and/or leave home and never return. The narrator tried calming the friend down but it didn’t work and has not heard from this person in 10 years. They still wonder why the person did this in the first place and they feel guilty for not being able to stop them. I believe the part of the chorus that goes,

“ I'll bleed if you want me to! I'll serenade before I do I'll bleed if you want me to!”

is from the friend who gave the call. That they are willing to hurt themselves if the narrator wants them to. Which does add more to the narrator’s guilt. I do like the storytelling in this and it was a genuine pleasant surprise of this being a pretty decent to good song.

Track 11: Cries in Vain

An odd track on this album. It is about the narrator begging God to listen to him but is reminded that it is all pointless. I am just more confused by this track being on here more than anything. Every other song doesn’t really bring in religion or spirituality so having it this late in the album is very jarring. The song itself is okay, not the weakest track but this is not a song I would really revisit.

Track 12: Spit You Out

The lead up to the lyrics is a nice build up and I like the sound of it but when we get to the lyrics the rhythm takes a hit where it just sounds clunky for me. The lyrics make it clear is about the narrator breaking up with someone and how within the relationship they grew to hate everything the once enjoyed. They are taking back their life and they are not going back. I do notice that many of the songs are about broken relationships. Which like that subject isn’t a bad one to write about but on this album a lot of it made me go, “You know, if I was a teen when I heard most of these tracks would my angsty self relate to these in some way” Which I do not have an answer for. Also, the part where they name drop the band and you can hear a crowd like we are suddenly in a live performance feels very out of place but in a funny way.

Track 13: The End

This is the longest track on the album and I was hoping the length would mean the song would be worth listening to. Well, it is yet again another sad loss of love song. At this point I am done with it. I am tired of how many sad “I miss this girl” songs on this album. I know the length of the track does not help at all because the song is really slow and it drags on. Even when I waited a day to let the song sink in thinking that maybe it will grow on me but it just didn’t. I can’t even really remember much about it besides being tired. That and I actually wished this was a purely instrumental track. Mostly because then it would match the Intro. This is my absolute least favorite song on the album.

Bonus Track 1: Hand of Blood

Now this track I first found on the EP of the same name but this song was added to The Poison on the Limited digipack edition. I am putting it under bonus track mainly because it wasn’t part of the original release. This song could be seen in two ways in my opinion, either this is about a breakup and the narrator feels like it is his fault that she left him so he is spiraling out of control OR he snapped killing someone and she caught him so now he is trying to do damage control but failing at it. The song is oddly catchy and lingered in my mind as I was at work. It is another okay song that I would use for metal song background noise.

Bonus Track 2: Seven Days

This is another bizarre track mainly because it feels...really specific. I feel awkward listening to it. In a “I am listening to someone vent and vaguepost about someone and I don’t know what to do”. Complaining about someone wanting so much yet are too lazy to even work for it. It just comes off like the band had to deal with someone like this so they made a whole song about it. Which I guess if this is how they want to deal with it then so be it.

Bonus Track 3: My Fist, Your Mouth, Her Scars

You know, I was wrong that Room 409 is connected to the album art. It is this song that is connected to. The whole build up to the lyrics genuinely had me hooked. I was pumped and then all my excitement just got drained out when the per-chorus came. Oh my fucking god, the song became so uncomfortable so fucking fast holy shit. Like I know I was a bit uncomfortable with Wake Up by Three Days Grace but at least that song was like “Here is a fucked up relationship and it sucks ass”. This on the other hand is just “Hey so the narrator wants to fuck this girl so bad he snaps and kills her and calms down a bit but later feels disgusted thinking of being inside her”. Just plops this on my lap like I know how to take this. The whole mental image of a man lusting after a woman so much that he is willing to hurt her and ends up killing her being presented like this just leaves a super bitter taste in my mouth. Especially when this sort of stuff does happen in real life and how traumatic it is. I know there is much MUCH worse songs that deal with subjects like this in a manner that is tactless. But I think the fact I just wasn’t expecting this just got me. Which sucks because the instrumentals on this track is really good and fun. The song would be much better if all the lyrics were removed. You know how I said that The End was my least favorite track on this album? I change my mind, THIS is my least favorite track on the album. It is just edgy and not a fun type of edgy. I never want to listen to this track again.

Bonus Track 4: Welcome Home (Sanitarium)

This is a cover of Metallica’s Welcome Home (Sanitarium). I know transitioning from a horrible song to something like this is jarring but I would rather end this on a not terrible note. Now I haven’t listened to much Metallica and it has been years since I last listened to that band. But I do know that Bullet for My Valentine are fans of Metallica (I am assuming of their stuff that is considered good before they fell off in quality). They made this song for Kerrang!’s 2006 tribute album, Remastered - Metallica’s Master of Puppets Revisited, for the 20th anniversary of the original album. The drummer Moose has said,

“It was amazing, when we were asked we didn’t need any time to think about it, we said yes immediately. We were lucky enough to choose the song we wanted to play, we chose “Sanitarium” and Metallica loved it. They listened to the whole album, so that’s fucking great. Lars Ulrich came and knocked on our dress room door before we went to play to say hello and I shit myself.”

Well, that’s nice. Anyway, so when it comes to cover songs I’ll be talking about the cover, the original, how the two compare, and which one I prefer (if I have a preference). I had to listen to the track again because my brain was still sitting in the bad aftertaste of the previous track. The song is about a person being mentally abused in a mental asylum which at least the song is treating the subject matter with some tack. That and bringing up how institutions like that abuse their patients they are suppose to help. The Bullet for My Valentine cover does sound really nice. They reserve the screaming for near the end to really push the emotions in the song. I can tell there was a lot of love and care put into this cover. How does it compare to the original? The original also sounds pretty nice. One of the better Metallica songs. Both of them are on equal levels to me. I don’t have a preference.

This was certainly something of an album. I came into this with an open mind and excitement. Especially since a lot of Bullet for My Valentine fans have a huge fondness for the first two albums by the band. But once I went through it all I feel underwhelmed and a bit disappointed. When it came to the instrument work I was not disappointed. In fact, that was the most solid and best part of this. Not all first albums have a solid sound down throughout. But when it came to lyrics it was all over the place. Look, I am not expecting all songs to be deep or whatever. I like simple songs and deep songs. Songs are allowed to be simple and not have any deeper meaning. However, the simple songs here were a lot of times either just there, boring, or just were not fun. If a song is simple I want to be fun in someway. When researching I found a review by Punknews.org that found the album to be a “drab” and I somewhat agree to an extent. Not completely because there are some strong songs on here but a lot of them were more misses for me than hits. My favorite tracks on this album were All These Things I Hate (Revolve Around Me), The Poison, Suffocating Under Words of Sorrow (What Can I Do), Four Words (to Choke Upon), Intro, Hand of Blood, and 10 Years Today. Now do I recommend this album? Weirdly enough, I do. Now while I had mixed feelings on this album I know there will be others who’ll have a better time with it than I did.

I will eventually cover their second album but for now I’ll be working on different album reviews.

#Bullet for my valentine #The Poison #album review #music reviews #album showcase #pierce talks #long post

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everygame · 7 months

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The Making of Karateka (Nintendo Switch)

Developed/Published by: Digital Eclipse Released: 29/08/2023 Completed: 04/10/2023 Completion: 100% of the museum, beat Karateka (Apple II) beat Karateka remake. Trophies / Achievements: n/a

If you’ve been following my writing for a while, you’ll know I’ve been playing a ton of old games, and yet I never ever thought to make a point to play Karateka until this release (you can read my thoughts on it here.) Although it has pedigree–its creator Jordan Mechner would go on to make, I think most famously, Prince of Persia–it’s also an Apple II game from 1984, and I think a strange choice to launch a deluxe re-release line, Digital Eclipse’s new “Gold Series'' (outside of there just being a lot of historical material available to pull from.)

Using that material, The Making of Karateka is described by the company as an “interactive documentary” and while it is that, it’s also sort of a digital museum exhibit… and sort of like a Criterion edition of a classic movie if the blu-ray was designed in such a way that it directed you to watch Charlotte et son Jules and read Jean Luc Godard’s treatment before you actually got to watch Breathless.

So it’s kind of an odd sell, really, and the contradictory thing I have to say about it is that I think The Making of Karateka is absolutely brilliant, but I also don’t think it makes a ton of sense as a product (although I do think you should run about and buy it immediately so they make more.) The question that lingers, you see, is what actually makes someone who isn’t retro game-pilled like me pick this up? It’s “The Making Of” to express that there’s something more here than just a re-release of Karateka, but hang on, if you don’t care about Karateka, why do you care about the making of it?

I don’t think it’s something that Digital Eclipse manages to answer, exactly, although what they have produced is beautiful anyway. Clearly using the same front-end as Atari 50 (which could have done with being made a bit more fitting for Karateka? I mean the music sounds exactly the same? ["Though it's not the exact same piece of music"--Pedant Ed.] they’ve created a tour through Jordan Mechner’s life as he started developing video games, from the aborted project Deathbounce, through the release of Karateka and its sequels, and then with some postscript concerning a possible sequel that hints towards what eventually became Prince of Persia.

It is heavily curated (I sort of wanted to read more of Jordan Mechner's diaries than I got to...) and definitely some irrelevancies (sorry, I hate famous talking heads telling me why they like something. It’s not as insightful as you imagine!) and some bits feel a bit… ad-hoc. It also (and I noticed this about Atari 50, too) keeps quite a narrow focus and doesn’t widen context to deepen your understanding. Everything about Spartan X and the path from Prince of Persia to Tomb Raider and beyond that I wrote of in my Karateka write-up is my own, er, research [“*cough* Wikipedia *cough*”--Ed.] and I think that’s a line that’s missing and (honestly) needed to make players understand Karateka’s place in history.

That said, what’s there is still fascinating. It’s simply a matter of curatorial choice. It’s obviously challenging to try and make an Apple II game chime with audiences in 2023, and the choice here was made to not just release Karateka with a “museum” glued on and I’d agree it’s more likely than not in that situation new players don’t go into the game with the right mindset. But I’m not sure that going for the “museum” first angle is correct either. While, yes, you can absolutely click through to a menu and just play Karateka straight away, the experience is absolutely not framed like that, and if you play through the “interactive documentary” in order, you spend a long time playing prototypes of Deathbounce, a game that Jordan Mechner never actually manages to make any good!

It’s a strange priority, and I think it comes from locking the interactive documentary into a strictly chronological format. No one is asking for my advice, but I think there’s a middle-ground here, and I think it’s the Turner Classic Movies system. You know how you used to turn on TCM and then like, Robert Osborne would be there, and he’d explain how this random Humphrey Bogart movie was actually very interesting, and then suddenly you’re watching Sahara and really enjoying it?

I think that’s what I’m imagining. You load this up, you get a nice intro, an explainer, and then you’re playing Karateka. Then once you stop playing it (you don’t have to finish it or anything) it goes straight into the documentary, armed with knowledge of Karateka. Deathbounce makes more sense once you’ve played Karateka. You can actually see the evolution because you know how far he was able to go!

So, yes, my main complaint with The Making of Karateka is simply one of pacing and structure and awkward priorities, the last of which is most exemplified by another example: the inclusion of modern remakes of both Deathbounce and Karateka. Structured as it is, I have to question whether they were worth the time and expense?

(An immediate aside as I discuss this. Retro re-releases are getting wildly disparate in pricing now. Arcade Archives are putting out excellent stand-alone titles for $8, but you also have ININ putting out a bare-bones version of Cannon Dancer for an absurd $30, so it’s actually a bit hard to declare the correct value of a re-release, and how much extra value remakes or improvements offer in terms of how much you can charge versus how much it costs to produce…)

The Deathbounce remake doesn’t feel simply unnecessary, it feels counter-intuitive to the thrust of the documentary. It doesn’t succeed in making Deathbounds good, and the lesson I read from this section is that Mechner spends far too long trying to make a simple arcade game into something more rather than just releasing his first version quickly (which is probably the most fun version!) and just ends up with something that’s kind of a bloated mess, and seemingly far from his goals. The “what if” here is “what if a mess, but it’s 2023.”

The Karateka remake, however, is fantastic… it’s just that it is basically at the end of the entire museum and it wasn’t until I got there that I even knew it existed! Developer Mike Mika has done exactly what he set out to do, which is to make a hyper-smooth version of Karateka that feels like it was developed for an ideal VGA PC in the early 90s, and it includes a brilliant director’s commentary system (there’s an entire director’s commentary for the Apple II Karateka too, but it’s not particularly highlighted, which is a bit of a shame–although you just watch a playthrough for that one).

It makes the game really accessible (perhaps too easy to play, even) but by the time I got to it it felt completely redundant! Sure it’s slow, but Apple II Karateka is perfectly playable, and the director’s commentary in the remake even just recounts a bunch of stuff you’ve already learned. So the whole thing feels like it’s working at cross purposes to the rest of the release–like they could have simply released a remake, but something changed their minds about doing that, and it ended up here as essentially bonus content.

If it really comes down to it, though, this is all just my classic “well, this isn’t exactly how I want it” complaints, and I sincerely hope the “Gold Series” can be sustainable enough to continue–perhaps this is as much a proof of concept as anything. I’m just not sure they actually need to put in this much effort, as counter-intuitive as that sounds.

Will I ever play it again? From an educational standpoint, I sort of wish there was just a folder with all the materials in it to refer to rather than having to walk the halls of the digital museum each time, but there’s stuff here that I’ll return to, absolutely.

Final Thought: Actually, a (much needed!) re-release of MULE, for example, could benefit from an expansive museum and including a remake (which should be front and center if they do, the original is a much harder sell than even Karateka) but for many games–and I think in the end Karateka felt like this for me–a Turner Classic Movies-style release would be enough. Either way, I’m still going to show up every time.

Support Every Game I’ve Finished on ko-fi! You can pick up a digital copy of exp. 2600, a zine featuring all-exclusive writing at my shop, or join as a supporter at just $1 a month and get articles like this a week early.

#gaming #video games #games #txt #text #review #nintendo #nintendo switch #digital eclipse #jordan mechner #karateka #the making of karateka #1985 #2023

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ghostielj · 1 year

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Nintendo Direct Thoughts! Part 4 The Best Part

Where do I even start with this? I am going to try my best to sound coherent in this post but just as a warning there may be a lot of screaming like this AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

This isn't in any particular order but it kinda is lol. Save the best for last.

Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe

Okay so I am a horrible Kirby fan, but in my defense I am more of a casual player compared to others. I love me some Kirby, mmmmm. My favorite form is I guess the Link form with his Link hat and master sword just destroying enemies. And man talk about his sucking abilities and blowing too. Can I say that on here?? Eh it is tumblr after all lol. I think I am going to pick this up for sure, maybe not right away because you know I am broke and all but eventually I will. I still need to download the demo...I'll do that right now actually. It's downloading...alright good to go! My understanding is that this is a remake of the Wii game. It's not a remaster because there are additional things added. Overall the graphics look great and Kirby is always a good time so I don't think people will be disappointed.

Metroid Prime Remastered

I really wish I was more into the Metroid series. Alien monsters and space, what more could you want. I still haven’t made my way through Metroid Dread I am ashamed to say. It has been sitting on my shelf just staring at me, judging. Maybe some day, maybe some day. But this looks amazing and it’s been long awaited so I’m happy it’s finally come out and looking forward to seeing what lies ahead for this IP.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

I mean what’s there to say? It’s fucking Zelda!!! My mouth hung open the entire time and it felt like I was in a trance and when the teaser trailer ended I just wanted more. Now Breath of the Wild was incredible. I still remember playing for the first time. I was a little late to game, I bought my first switch two years after it had already come out and the first game I purchased with it was Breath of the Wild. I was so nervous to boot up the game because I had already seen plenty of game play and saw how so many of the enemies could be a little difficult to beat along with learning a whole other control system. Loved every minute of it and I’m sure this will be no different. This game is going to be on a whole other level and I can’t wait. Only a few more months to wait. Now I’ve heard a lot about people not too happy with the price. It’s going to be a $70 game. I am a little surprised it’s that much, but also not surprised at the same time. Like I said earlier “it’s fucking Zelda,” and you and I both know people are going to pay whatever Daddy Nintendo wants. I have yet to pre order it and I know I should soon. But overall this is my most anticipated game of the year, but obviously behind Pokémon. That is if a new game comes out holiday 2023. Maybe a let’s go johto perhaps?

Fantasy Life: The Girl Who Steals Time

I own a new 3DS (Pokémon Edition) and I love that thing to death. The 3DS catalog was fantastic, so many hidden gems. FANTASY LIFE was one of them. So much so I bought that game twice. The first time I bought it was a physical copy from Gamestop. Now I can’t remember if I bought it brand new or used, nonetheless I was able to find it after failing to find it anywhere else. I stumbled upon a random YouTube review video and knew I had to get it. Now how would I describe it? It’s an rpg but so much more than that. This is why I know the gaming company Level-5. It’s this tiny open world fantasy game filled with dragons and knights and magic. You can customize your own character and you chose what life you want to live. Anything from being a chef to being a paladin. You fight monsters and dragons and it’s just fantastic! There is so much to do and the best part is that you can master all 12 of the life paths available to you. So maybe you want to take a break from being a magician well how about trying your hands at being an angler. You can be known as a legend in each path and there is a dlc where you can basically become a god. Now the second time I bought it was me being foolish. I didn’t care for it the first time I played. And I ended up selling it back to GameStop. A few months later I saw another review about it and thought “I’m stupid, I need to really give this a chance.” And from that moment I couldn’t put it down and I completed every life and every task possible. I loved this game so much and when they announced that a fantasy life 2 was coming I was ecstatic. But it was too good to be true. It was going to be a mobile game and only being released in Japan. So almost 10 years later, they’re finally releasing a new game. Now I’m still trying to come to terms with this game being it’s own thing. From the direct trailer it looks a lot different from the original and maybe not being the open world game I was hoping for. I am still going to give it a chance and hopefully it’ll live up to his predecessor. *fingers crossed*

Game Boy and Game Boy Advance NS Online

I cried, I literally cried on my way to work and screamed in the car. So much was leading up to this and I’m so happy it’s finally true. Now I won’t go into each game announced for the launch, but I do want to talk about the games I’m excited for.

So first some honorable mentions

Super Mario Land 2- 6 Golden Coins

So I love its predecessor. Played it over 100 times. This game maybe once or twice, but looking forward to really sinking my teeth into it.

The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening

I have played this maybe once but never got too far. I love the remake and if you haven’t already checked it out, you should.

Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare

Never heard of it, but looks interesting. Will have to check it out eventually.

Wario Land 3

This game pissed me off so much as a kid, so enough said.

Kirby’s Dream Land

We love a queen who loves food.

Tetris

The game that started it all for me. I am a Nintendo handheld fan boy through and through. I own the og Game boy, the game boy that my dad gifted me when I was like 6 or 7. And with that game boy came Tetris. I could entertain myself for hours, trying to get that top score. And the music, oh the music. Nothing like it now. I’m looking forward to wasting time away playing this like I’m 6 all over again.

Pokémon Trading Card Game

Yes! Only played it twice and failed hard so I want to give it another go. Too bad we have to wait some time.

The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap

I lost my absolute shit when they announced it. This is by far my favorite Zelda game of all time. I don’t know, there’s just something about it. The art style, the vibrant colors, the story and just the overall creativity is AMAZING! I got emotional when I booted it up for the first time and I don't know I may just cry again as I go further along in my journey. I’ve never had the opportunity to own this game in physical form so this will have to do for now. The cartridge alone is going for like $100. But I will get it…grrrr.

So there we go, my thoughts on the last Nintendo Direct. Took 4 separate posts lol. Maybe next time I’ll just comment on the things I liked. Oh well. This was a nice little challenge for me because I’ve never really done anything like this. It feels good. Whether people read this or not, still enjoyable. Feel free to share your thoughts by messaging me.

#nintendo #nintendo direct #nintendo switch #my thoughts

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nutsonline · 2 years

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Rygar arcade for sale on craigslist

In my opinion, the Christensen artwork on this playfield should shine like the backglass does.Ībove all, I'm a very happy camper. And some idiot attached the Little Demon with too long screws.Īlthough very risky, I'm planning on taking the mylar off and clearcoating it. Has mylar, but has some wear in places without it. Luckily, I have a spare one that looks a lot better. Sadly, the backglass is flaking on the underside. Plus it's got all the goodness of an early 80's Bally, like multiball and speech. This ís Dave Christensen's last piece of art at Bally, though. Probably because it's the successor of one of the all-time classics. I always thought that this is a very underrated (or undiscovered maybe?) title. Long story short: I wasn't planning on getting another pin, as my small appartment is already pretty stuffed. (Now who on earth would cancel picking up a free pin?!) But, Bob told me that the machine wasn't free anymore: he did want to have some money for it. So I hung up, thinking 'argh! if only I had seen that ad a few minutes earlier!' A few minutes later though, I get a call from Bob, telling me the first caller has in fact cancelled. The seller (Bob) promised to call me back in case the first caller should cancel. but 2 days ago I picked up this baby! It was posted on Marktplaats (the Dutch Craigslist, sort of) for free pickup and I was the second caller. My guess is that the game broke in 1982 (some kind of licensing sticker with 1982 date on the backglass) and the game was just moved between warehouses since. It is also interesting that the plastics are not yellowed at all. Interior of the game and underside of the playfield is immaculate.The pics do not do game the justice as it was quite dark in his garage. All plastic are intact and so are all the targets/drop targets. The playfield is dirty, but once I clean it will be about 9.8/10 condition. He said that Star God and Space Shuttle were the best earners and very reliable. I have showed him the Zaccaria pinball app on my phone and he remembered operating Space Shuttle, Earth Wind Fire, Fire Mountain and Star God. He told me that he had various Zaccaria machines. He was an operator back in the days and he had operated lots of pins. Today as I picked up the game he told me than I can have all the Lost world stuff for $50 and I gladly accepted the offer. He parted it out about a year ago, but kept all the boards, backglass and fully populated playfield in really good condition. He had Lost World backglass sitting on the shelf and I asked him about the machine. I paid him immediatelly and told him that I ll pick the game next day. When I got there I could not believe the condition of the playfield. In my mind I was expecting a total wreck, but because he lives close to me I went there to check it out. I have called and the seller wanted $120 for it. I saw an add for non working Zaccaria Hot wheels yesterday.

Whoa Nellie! Big Juicy Melons WhizBang Pinball, 2012.

The Who's Tommy Pinball Wizard Data East, 1994.

The Walking Dead (Premium/LE) Stern, 2014.

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines Stern, 2003.

Tales of the Arabian Nights Williams, 1996.

Star Trek: The Next Generation Williams, 1993.

Six Million Dollar Man, The Bally, 1978.

No Fear: Dangerous Sports Williams, 1995.

Machine: Bride of Pinbot, The Williams, 1991.

Lexy Lightspeed - Escape From Earth Multimorphic, 2017.

Freddy: A Nightmare On Elm Street Gottlieb, 1994.

Elvira and the Party Monsters Bally, 1989.

Eight Ball Deluxe Limited Edition Bally, 1982.

Creature from the Black Lagoon Bally, 1992.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind Gottlieb, 1978.

Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy Bally, 1977.

Fantastic and The Brown Dirt Cowboy Bally, 1976

Attack From Mars (Remake - LE) Chicago Gaming Co., 2017.

#Rygar arcade for sale on craigslist

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greatcheshire · 2 years

Note

I saw your video on Berserk and I really want to start reading it, but I don't want to pirate it. I've tried googling about this but I'm honestly just really confused by the results, do you have any good recommendations for where to read it?

There are ways to read the official translations online for free but if you don’t want to do that and want to support the official release (which I fully recommend) I’d say either pick up the digital version of the manga (should be on Comixology or any eReader app) or check out the hardcover deluxe edition books, which are just fantastic and give you three volumes in one nice big binding.

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mysterystarz · 3 years

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hi! first and foremost, i love your layout! 💕 (i swear, whenever i see blog layouts that i think are cute, i’m like “damn, mine could never compare to theirs” LMAO 😂) anyways, so i read your nekoma manager headcanons and i love them! i was wondering if it’s alright if i can have some nekoma x manager!reader in which the reader is either a second or third year (i’ll let you pick) and is a foreigner (no need to specify their nationality). let’s say that in the country the reader is from, they don’t have honorifics for upperclassman like they do in japan, so whenever the reader’s underclassmen calls them “senpai”, they get a bit flustered (they don’t even know why they’re flustered, it just happens) idk, i think it’d be cute 🥰 i think it’d also be cute if the underclassmen decide to mess with the reader to see who can fluster them first by calling them “(f/n)-senpai” in every single sentence whenever they’re talking to them and eventually yaku’s like “knock it off!” 😂 tysm! 💖

the manager game (nekoma deluxe edition) <3

g!n manager!reader + the shenanigans of nekoma! ☆ a/n ☆ AWWW thank you!!! this request was super fun to write and being from a country that doesn’t have a concept of upperclassmen, i can proudly say that i’d be flustered if someone called me “nova”-senpai too <3 hopefully, i did your request some justice hahaha

when you moved from your home country [insert country] to japan, you were not prepared for the cultural differences

before you moved, you had practiced some Japanese so you could interact with the people around you, but the idea of people using honorifics on you was something you never imagined

cue you walking into nekoma high for your third year!

you already were familiar with the volleyball club and even managed for them

tough love style because serves can’t be flubbed and they cannot sacrifice the poor underclassmen

one day you were walking through the halls when you accidentally bumped into lev

he was all apologetic and started wildly gesturing before he said “sorry (f/n)-senpai! I never meant to bump into you!”

your composure

GONE

(hotel?) trivago (sorryyyy!!)

you were so flustered that you just nodded and ran the hell out of there (you go!!!)

lev reported this to the VBC at their usual practice and kuroo decided that the underclassmen should mess with their little foreign manager and call them (f/n)-senpai...for everything

and thus started....THE MANAGER GAME™

monday morning, all the first years were at the gate, ready to greet you (like they always did since they are sweethearts), except they were going to switch out the honorific

instead of the (-san) that they usually used they were going to use (-senpai)

so you were the unsuspecting victim and walked up to meet them and...

“good morning (f/n)-senpai!!”

you were all red and were gesturing to try to ask them what the hell they were doing when fukunaga walked up to the gates

and you thought “phew, at least fukunaga will probably be in his senses”

but instead, he waved at the first years and said “what are you waiting for (f/n)-senpai? class is going to start soon”

and he freaking WALKED AWAY WHAT

the first years and fukunaga laughed at your shyness as you waddled off to class

you thought practice was going to be better

OH HELL NO, IT WAS NOT BETTER

anytime the ball went out of bounds, or they needed a specific set of stats, kuroo would always send a first or second year

“hey, (f/n)-senpai, how do I have a stronger receive?”

“(f/n)-senpai, what do you think the correct angle is for a good spike?”

YOU. WERE. SO. FLUSTERED.

SO FLUSTERED THAT YOU STARTED SPEAKING IN [insert language of your country]

the VBC was laughing their head off

but you couldn’t help them or give them tips because of the seniority and respect you were being given

you were always fine with a (-san) or (-chan/-kun)

it was the final straw when kenma said “hey (f/n)-senpai, can you get kuroo to stop giving weird speeches?”

YOU EXPLODED (hinata style pftttt)

yaku had been observing (and kicking lev) for most of practice but he knew he needed to intervene or else they were going to virtually kill their manager

so in the typical yaku fashion

“YOU GUYS NEED TO CUT IT OUT! NOW!”

BONUS:

once you calmed down you put on your most evil smirk....and sentenced the underclassmen to an eternity of calling you (-senpai) >> the underclassmen were TERRIFIED because now if they called you anything but (-senpai) they’d have to do flying falls

AHH you really loved those boys <3

click here to join my taglist (if you're interested!)

#nova scribbles <3 #nekoma #fukunaga #senpai #kuroo #kenma #lev #anime #hq #haikyuu x reader #hq x reader #foreign reader #foreignmanager #manager hq #nekoma manager #haikyuu heacanons

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kyotakumrau · 3 years

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GIGS No519 Interview 京 [Voice]

GIGS 2021 JUN released on April 27th (interview itself was done on April 6th)

The last solo interview is with Kyo. In the previous interviews, all band members from the music instrument squad all mentioned ‘simple’ in reference to Oboro. Yet how did he perceive the song and what feelings were put into the lyrics? Let’s discuss it thoroughly.

The most important thing is that I want to be able to let out honestly what I want express, what I see, what I felt or thought that one moment.

text: Yukinobu Hasegawa photos: Reishi Eguma translation: kyotaku (pls let me know if you see any mistakes!)

You can get GIGS 6月号 on Amazon Japan or HMV or CDJapan or TOWER RECORDS or other shops!

――It shows in the footage enclosed in the deluxe and first press editions of ‘Oboro’ that the songwriting for the new album started quite some time ago.

京 I was probably working on various things without thinking about a single, so I don’t really remember when was it. I’m working on songs aaaaaaaall the time (laughing). I don’t really grasp when each song was done or which one will become a single, so honestly speaking I don’t really know.

――You’re also doing sukekiyo. I have many chances to speak with sukekiyo members and they were surprised that ‘Kyo will be sending new songs ideas or melody anytime’ (laughing). Is your pace of coming up with ideas as high with DIR EN GREY?

京 On the contrary, I’m not saying much in case of DIR EN GREY. Just about ‘I’m looking forward to it’. I’m not writing songs, so upon listening to the demo of the song sent by other members I just give them my opinion like ‘how about we change it a bit like this?’ or ‘this way is good’.

――At the time you started writing songs did you already have an idea what you wanted for the next album?

京 I didn’t. Not at all, I felt I could read this and that about the album from the direction we were going from the atmosphere of the songs the members brought in earlier. In our case we often don’t have talks like ‘let’s make an album like this’. So, on the contrary I usually don’t say much about things like album image, I think we can make more irregular thing if I keep a flat position.

――So even you are looking forward to what kind of response you will have when listening to the song’s demo?

京 I am.

――Because of the spread of COVID-19 it’s hard to move around now, so how do you get input for the music, art and so on?

京 Nah, I don’t really do anything. If you ask about input... the most I do is watching various news.

――Do you feel that the things happening around you and around the world are something that drive you when you’re expressing yourself?

京 I’m sure they do. What I think when I see and feel various things, how I communicate that, it’s about that.

――The single ‘Ochita koto no aru sora’ you released last year had a digital release only thus there were no lyrics included, but fans listened to the song many times to try to understand the lyrics. As a result, I think they realized that it’s a song with a dreadful/intense message. Because lyrics include a such date as ‘㋇㏥・August the 6th’ among other things, there was a reaction also from fans around the world.

京 Frankly, I don’t check fans reactions. I don’t know what people will think after listening, but I don’t want to talk about the atomic bomb. In the end, the fighting continues, the same things keep happening again and again...like that. I think there are many issues, but there’s no right answer to them, it’s all just collisions of what we ourselves think is right and just. That’s why you can’t say that something is bad as a rule. It’s just one way of thinking, there are many ways we can look at things. For example, currently during the pandemic holding a concert is the right thing to do or not, won’t the answer and the way of thinking be different for every person? Now more than ever we got a situation when it’s very difficult to say ‘this is the way’. It’s the way I feel now seeing various things.

――Because of COVID-19 there’s a lot of hate crime against Asians in the US. It’s a crime, but the people who commit it may see it as an act of justice.

京 That’s true. There are also many other issues like the gender discrimination, in all of them Japan is seen as lagging behind. It can’t be simply denied because the situation now and in the past is different, depending on the country or culture the way people feel or think is also different. It’s a difficult issue, isn’t it?

――I think you write many lyrics that make us think about that. There’s not only grieving in ‘Ochita koto no aru sora’, there’s a positive message at the end. That really resonated with me. Do you feel like the way you express and communicate things has changed?

京 No, I don’t think anything changed.

――I’d like to talk about ‘Oboro’ now, it seems like it was a pick out of few songs. What was your impression when you listened to the original song?

京 It was like all demos felt more like the album songs than a single. It’s normal as we originally didn’t start working on them thinking about creating a single, most of the songs were intended for the album and we decided to finish one as a single. Recently we had many up-tempo singles, so I thought it would be a good idea to release a ballad, not as epic as previous ones, but a ballad that could be included on the album.

――What kind of response did you have when you listened to the original song for the first time? Talking about the lyrics, I thought that because of the pandemic it became difficult to move around, and the thoughts have turned inwards. You told me [at t an interview] some years ago that you had some traumatic events, I thought [lyrics] relate to them.

京 In terms of the worldwiev and lyrics, recently there were no lyrics directed at one person, a lot of them had a message from a very broad perspective, that’s why first thing I wanted to do was to have a narrower worldview. So when I listened to the original song and the scene emerged [in my mind], the past songs videos are very broad. This isn’t a continuation but it was a start for me to want to put something like that together. It’s not about my own trauma, it’s a narrow worldview inside a big worldview. And without using grotesque expressions, I wanted to depict various feelings like love or hatred, and wrote lyrics with that in mind.

――The past songs you mentioned were also songs that had music videos made for them at the time. I was actually watching the video and having a flashback. The pain and agony of a woman, and I dare say her feelings about her aborted baby. That’s what gives a shape [to the new song]. At the moment is your expression or the direction of what you want to bring up in your lyrics changing?

京 I don’t mean it like we all should try being positive (thinking about the future) together, but as one should think about various things, I always want to write about what we think is the right path or what is just. But as I said before, what is right varies per person. It’s something I want to write about on the next album in the future.

――In other words, like stabbing/piercing each person’s feelings?

京 Well, yes. I think I’ve been thinking like that since the last album The Insulated World, but this time I’d like to go further into that direction... I mean it’s not like I have something precise I want to convey or I want to bring up this and that. The most important thing is that I want to be able to let out honestly what I want express, what I see, what I feel or think that very moment.

――As your age and work experience accumulate, I think people’s ideas and thinking will also change. What can you think of [that has changed] in the last few years?

京 Nothing (laughing). It’s not something you know about yourself. On the contrary I want to stay without changing. To change because the world is becoming a certain way is really not like me, I was always my own type of person, so I want to continue as I am. This is something I’m saying all the time, but I hate fixed ideas, I want to be always free to express myself. But there’s not much freedom in the world nowadays. Besides the problem with COVID-19, many countries have civil wars. That’s where we learn the importance of freedom again, and I also wondered if having a lot of freedom is not justice. When you start thinking like that it messes with your head, but I want to be free just in the world of expression. I feel like this is a one right no one can take away from me.

I think the most negative thing, for fans, for the band and for me, is not being able to show our real selves at the concerts.

――Are you taking that stance now as well when you’re writing for an album?

京 Nah, I haven’t written anything yet. We’re in the early stage of pre-production, so it’s not the point where I write lyrics yet. The songs are still in the middle of being changed, so it’s like I want to see more of them. Also, most songs don’t have a melody decided for them. And what I feel and think, what I want to express, things inside of me are changing every day. I want to be able to pack as current me as possible into [the lyrics], and to put into lyrics as recent images from the songs as possible, so I haven’t decided on them yet.

――Did you write the lyrics for ‘Oboro’ just before song-writing time as well?

京 Yeah. After the length/scale of the song is mostly decided in pre-production next is a step when I’m inserting temporary lyrics and then start recording.

――You have a [recording] vocal booth at home, so did you record ‘Oboro’ deciding the vocal direction by yourself?

京 If it was different, I probably wouldn’t be singing. I don’t want to go to a studio outside (laughing).

――Do you sing creating an environment for the song’s world like getting your room all dark when recording?

京 Nah, I’m a person who doesn’t do things like that, I can do it anywhere as long as I have a vocal booth. Just, I sing when I want to sing. When using a studio from what time and until what time is decided, engineers have their schedules, so even if I’m not happy with something and want to rerecord it, it takes time to get ‘let’s listen to it’ or ‘I’m gonna organize data’. And sometimes that timing doesn’t match my own rhythm. And, there are times when I want to sing soon after waking up or want to sing when I’m anguished not being able to sleep. I value this kind of speed so I can’t record outside my house anymore.

――In ‘Oboro’, even the trembling of your throat when your voice comes out got recorded, which helps the listener to get into the song even more. What were you looking for in terms of singing?

京 It’s a bit old-fashioned, isn’t it? In the past I was singing with my emotions so my mannerism/habits would really come out hard. After that I tried to get rid of them as much as possible, and as much as possible tried singing putting emphasis on the pitch and timing. For example, when the timing of each sound in first A melody and second A melody didn’t match perfectly, I would be unhappy, but now I just sing naturally so the timing can be a bit off. I deliberately sing with the feelings that were matching the flow of the song, so I don’t record with the intention of singing perfectly.

――You absolutely prioritise the emotions?

京 That’s right. But in case of ‘Oboro’, the lyrics don’t have a worldview where the emotions get stirred up to just burst out. They are hidden inside, I thought it would be interesting to sing in a restrained way without exploding. With that point, I recorded the song with the emphasis on the flow of the song. And I think I will keep that point the same when recording the album.

――There was a time when you were thinking like drawing a blueprint with many different voice tones and the arrangement of the choruses, it was interesting for you to play tricks with them, right?

京 There was a time when I pulled that out as a part of me, but now I want to pull other parts out. Increasing the things I can pull out, if I think the approach you just described is good, I just have to drag it all out. When I listen to the album as a whole, if I think there’s not enough appeal, I’d try a more gimmicky approach. In the end I won’t be satisfied with myself. I want to keep searching for more and more new ways, not only sing the way I’ve sung before.

――You had this kind of attitude from the start. As a coupling song for the single you have a customary self-remake song. This time it’s ‘TDFF’, to listen to the original song from the past again... ah, you don’t do it. I’m shaking my head for jumping into your answer (laughing).

京 I just briefly look at the old lyrics and decide I want to keep this part, I don’t need this part and so on. To some extend in myself I’ll just extract some part and from there extend the image and add things to it.

――Is it like breathing new life into a song?

京 Nah, it’s just the 2021 version. If we redid it now it’d look like this. We wanted to keep as many good parts as possible, but there were also parts where we felt ‘here it’d have been better to go with this’, so they got changed in the current version.

――By changing the song to a newest version can you see your attitude towards the singing or your thoughts?

京 I’m always putting in the things I’m feeling at that time, so I think to an extend I can see it. But it was originally a simple song, so it was easy.

――It was also recorded in your vocal booth at your home, right? I think I’d actually like to have a peek at you singing to see what’s it like (laughing).

京 Ah, it’s a really simple booth about the size of the phone booth. There’s a small thing working as a desk and I put my computer there, singing while sitting down and using a hand-held mic. I don’t want to use a recording standard stand mic. I want to sing as much as possible the same way I sing at concerts. But there’s no space for me to stand up so I sing sitting down (laughing). But in my case, it doesn’t matter if I’m singing standing or sitting down or sleeping (laughing).

――It doesn’t really affect your concentration.

京 I usually can finish recording one song in less than 2 hours, so I think anyone can concentrate for about 2 hours (laughing).

――The 3rd song on the single is a live track. How do you feel about performing without the audience?

京 Honestly speaking the songs that require a response [from the fans] were a bit tiring, but there was no change with the songs focusing on the worldview or the songs that just explode. Doing it naturally is about doing it naturally. I haven’t listened to that live track yet, but yeah.

――But yeah (laughing). Did you choose the song that got the most votes?

京 Nah, I’m okay with any live track. Like ‘please choose whichever you want’, I leave it to the other members or the people in the company. Concert is a raw thing (=unedited, live), I had many live tracks in the past where my voice was all messed up or where I was singing cleanly. That’s why now I don’t have anything that would make me go ‘wait, this is a bit...’. I think the me from that time is packed there so anything is fine.

――You’re soon going to have a first in a while concert with the audience on May the 6th. I think you might answer ‘not at all’, but how are you approaching it?

京 Today I was at the concert film screening event in Osaka, and we talked there about the concert. And I said there that because it’s still a month away I don’t think about it (laughing). Listen, if you were told you will be having this and that for dinner in a month, you would listen with only half an ear being ‘yeah got it’ (=you’d forget it next moment) (laughing). I start thinking about it about a week before the concert. I’m not the type of person to go ‘I’ll do my best!’, I’ll just let out my honest feelings at the time.

――During the time when you didn’t have the type of space or time that is a performance with the audience, were there any moments when you started wondering ‘what are concerts?’ and so on?

京 No, there weren’t. There were moments when I felt like I’d like to do a show, but I didn’t really think about things like ‘why are we doing concerts?’ or ‘what are concerts for me?’. It’s not like all my music activities stopped, so I didn’t have a moment to think that deeply about it. If anything, rather than us I think it’s the fans who were thinking about it.

――Because for many people concerts are something they live for. Kyo, you’re looking healthy.

京 There were times when it was very hard for me mentally, I don’t know what was the reason. Now... I’m trying not to think too much about unnecessary things. I’m trying to only think about what’s in front of me or about things I’m able to do now, I’m trying not to push myself too much. I’m trying to accept myself as I naturally am. But even then, there are still things that keep piling up, making me worry endlessly. I wish I would be able to let them erupt at concerts. I think the most negative thing, for fans, for the band and for me, is not being able to show our real selves at the concerts.

#dir en grey #kyo #京 #GIGS #interview #translation

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dragonsanddustjackets · 2 years

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Book Review - Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu

how do i even start. i'd heard about this novel, of course, before i picked it up (actually i had been searching for this book in stores for months before i managed to stumble across it by chance). my friend, who'd already read it, told me i had to read this book, describing it as "dracula but older and lesbian" and i was sold instantly.

carmilla holds all the gothic charm that any horror novel written 150 years ago does (exactly 150 i just realized, so happy anniversary!) and more. i expected to fall in love with the concept, i mean who wouldn't love a good sapphic vampire story, but i unexpectedly fell in love with the language, how the story was told. i probably should have expected to given the time period it was written in, but the prose-particularly in the dialogue between carmilla and our narrator laura-is written so beautifully that i felt myself being entranced by the vampiress just as laura is. her ardent declarations are just pure poetry, the tension and passion in the interactions between the two are palpable. i also very much enjoyed the conflicting reaction that laura shows in response to carmilla's passion, and really felt her confusion to all of those very strong displays she is presented with.

most, if not all, of this novel's content consists of dialogue and description but i didn't find myself bored by it at all. i was even a little chilled at times by the frightened descriptions from laura. due to the widespread popularity of vampire stories in every media form today, it is next to impossible to go into this novel unknowing of the answer to the mystery that it originally presented, but i don't believe that the end-all be-all to enjoy this book is to be surprised that sweet, beautiful carmilla is this horrifying monster. there is such a creeping horror in reading on as laura grows weaker, unknowing that her closest partner is the one bringing about her end.

carmilla is a wonderful gothic romance, the classic that made modern vampire mania in the mainstream possible (and one of the first books of its kind introducing lesbian matters!!!), and overall just a beautifully written story. i recommend to all who want a nice short read that's chilling, sapphic, and magnetic.

#do i have to mark this as spoilers?#i mean you know right #you have to know going into this book that its about vampires so i think im safe #theyre lesbians harold #they kissed #gay and european pick a struggle #book review #bookblr #book blog #books #reading #literature #classic #carmilla #sheridan le fanu #this is just my humble opinion disclaimer #i am very far from an actual professional reviewer #i just read a lot #sapphic

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dialovers-translations · 3 years

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DIABOLIK LOVERS MORE, MORE BLOOD Vol. 12: Mukami Ruki [Another Story]

Original title: アナザーストーリー

Source: Diabolik Lovers More, More Blood Vol. 12 Mukami Ruki [Deluxe Edition]

Audio: Here

Seiyuu: Takahiro Sakurai

Translator’s note: I feel very much conflicted about this CD still. While I do kind of like how they took a different approach with the Another Story track and the way it ends, I still think Ruki went way too far in the main CD. It was interesting to see everything from his perspective too, although this means there’s a bunch of inner monologues in this and it’s Ruki so they’re quite long. I try to break up the paragraphs by describing what happens based on background sounds and such but this one just has a bunch of rambling lol.

→ LIKE MY TRANSLATIONS? SUPPORT ME ON KO-FI!

“Lately, she has been formidable. Even though she was always the type of girl to make the most foolish mistakes, to the point where one would wonder if she did it on purpose. She has not been getting scolded by me either. That does not bother me. Or at least, it shouldn’t bother me. So why do I feel so...restless?”

*Ding・dongー Ding・dong*

Ruki walks up to you in the inner courtyard.

( So that’s where she’s been...Look at her just casually watering the plants... No wonder she did not show up in the library. I assume she has completely forgotten about our meeting. )

“So this is where you’ve been.”

You flinch.

( Huh? What’s wrong? Why would she be so surprised just because I called out for her? Also...Under normal circumstances, I’d assume she would panic and spray water all over me with that hose she just so conveniently happens to be holding. Yet, she made the wise decision and turned off the water. )

“Oh well. I shall praise you for ceasing your actions as soon as you saw your Master approach. However, there should be something you have forgotten.”

You bring up the promise.

“Oh? So you do remember. Then you should have just hurried to the library.”

( Now this is new. I didn’t think a scatterbrain such as herself would have remembered our plan to meet up. No, if she remembered, she should have come to me straight away. Did she only just now remember? Even so, her behavior is off. Or am I simply overthinking things? )

*TIMESKIP*

( Once it starts boiling, the dressing will be complete. Which leaves just plating the salad. )

You enter the kitchen.

“...Hm? You’re already here? You almost resemble a dog or a cat rather than livestock, lured in by the scent like that. Let me tell you just in case, it is not feeding time just yet. Wait until I’m done preparing it.“

You nod and leave.

( Oh? She left without offering to help? I’m glad to see her so obedient, but then what did she come for in the first place? Usually she would insist on helping even if it’s more of a bother and either cut her finger or break one of the plates. Those are the kind of things she does. )

He turns off the stove.

“What is this feeling as if something is...off? Something about the way she’s been acting trips me up. Come to think of it, I haven’t seen her make a blunder even once as of late. That isn’t something which should bother me, but I just can’t seem to get rid of this unsettling feeling in my chest. What has gotten into her...?”

*TIMESKIP*

Ruki enters the room

“We finally made it back. That was quite the disaster. ...Honestly, why do I have to wear the clothes she picked out for me? Well, I suppose she did not make a bad choice for once. I’ll add it to my collection of casual wear. That being said...Nothing happened today either.”

He takes a seat on the bed.

“How many days has it been since she stopped making mistakes? She won’t even show dangerous behavior. What kind of miracle is this? No, I do not mind that. I shouldn’t mind it. It basically means a huge pressure has been lifted off my shoulders. Then why do I feel so conflicted? Her suspicious behavior piques my interest, but even beyond that...”

( I felt as if something was lacking. Oh, I get it now. It all makes sense now. I have not gotten to taste her blood as of late, so I must feel unsatisfied. I am not the type of guy who easily becomes thirsty for blood, nor would I indulge in her without a good reason. However, with less opportunities to punish her, our time together automatically decreased as well. To be upset because of that, I must seem like a spoiled child throwing a tantrum because his mother does not pay enough attention to him. It is obvious since when I have become so obsessed with her

...Since the moment I decided to betray the whole word and chose her, I must have already been enraptured by her. Harshly sucking her blood while restraining her movements was something which fulfilled my desire for dominance. It most definitely made me feel good. However, somewhere deep inside, I felt relieved when she accepted me without fighting back against it. At some point, I even began to cherish those moments where I would pierce my fangs through her skin. I must be quite the easy man as well. I always thought I was in charge, but I may have actually been the one wrapped around her little finger instead. (1) I cannot show myself to that man like this. No, I assume he is already well aware. )

Ruki suddeny raises his head.

“Hm...? That man? Speaking of which, that hourglass I gave her...I considered the possibility but could it be...? Even if she were to make some sort of mistake, if she rewinds time, she could do the same scenario over again. If she makes it so only she remembers, it would be easy to keep it hidden from me. I wanted to believe I was simply overthinking things, but now that I think about it with a clear mind, it really is suspicious...I’m sure that even someone as slow as herself would eventually get things right after two of three tries. If she has been using that hourglass to cover up her own mess-ups, then I have no other choice but to punish her for such a foolish act.”

( It became clear to me that I would have to set up a trap to find out the truth. ーー And if her actions were to be exposed, I would make sure to compensate for the lack of disciplining these past few days. I can already imagine her crying out. I probably should not feel proud for having such thoughts. However, this is not a bad situation. It may be somewhat shameless, but it seems like I am enjoying it quite a bit. To get to use her own blunders as an excuse to suck her blood, or knowing that no matter what I do, she will not get away from me. )

“I suppose I shall enjoy our time together for the first time in a while...Which may just turn out to be a hellish period for her.”

*TIMESKIP*

*Ding・dongー Ding・dong*

Ruki pulls back after sucking your blood.

“...Hah. Your blood tastes even sweeter than usual. By sucking it repeatedly, the flavor ripens, becoming richer, almost like wine. Or in other words, like a stew you kept on the stove for too long. If it simmers any longer, it might just burn. I suppose we could put it to the test. After all, no matter what happens to you, all we have to do is turn back time.”

You keep quiet.

“You can hear me, right? Why not give some sort of reaction? I would not mind seeing you miserably struggle in vain.”

You still fail to give a response.

“Guess she really did lose consciousness. Judging by the looks of it, I doubt she will wake up even if I were to rewind time. I guess you could consider us even now. Perhaps I went a little too easy on her, but I shall forgive her now.”

He takes a step back.

“Such an innocent sleeping face. Almost as if the obscene expressions you showed me earlier were nothing but a lie. Your sheer white complexion and screams were not bad. As well as how you would cling onto my clothes, remaining by my side despite your obvious fear.”

*Thud*

“...Ah!”

*Cling*

“The hourglass...”

Ruki picks up the Hourglass.

“That man might have been testing me after all...Me? Or rather, us? ...Now that I think about it twice, the ability to manipulate time is something which should only ever be given to God. We could have possibly overthrown all logic in this world if we so wished. Yet, we used it to cover up for trivial mistakes. Then this is basically just some child’s toy. However...I am sure that was for the best.”

He turns his head to look at you.

“You might be more of a genius than I thought. However, how many times did you rewind? The magic has almost run dry. The few times I rewinded are basically irrelevant. I wonder just how many times you repeated your own ridiculous mistakes? Oh well, I shall drag that out of her later. I doubt she will easily confess though. ーー No, I suppose there is no point in asking her. I can simply confirm it with my very own eyes.”

*Cling*

“With this amount, we can still turn back time just once. That’s plenty.”

*Thud*

*Tick tock - Tick tock - Tick tock - Tick tock*

ーーー

“Hm…”

You approach Ruki.

“Oh? It’s you. No, it’s nothing serious. I was simply lost in thought.”

You take notice of the hourglass in his hand.

“You seem curious. Are you that interested in this thing? Blood red sand…Its decorations are beautiful as well. It would make for the perfect interior piece.”

You ask if there is a catch.

“No, it’s jsut a regular old hourglass. There is nothing special about it.”

*Thud*

“More importantly, you mentioned you wanted to look for resources for your assignment, right? Meet me at the library during tomorrow’s break time. I shall help you.”

You seem surprised.

“Yes. As your Master, it is my duty to look after you. However, do not be late, okay?”

You nod.

( Well then...I wonder what the next few days will have in store for me? How many mistakes will you make, and how many times will you get punished by me? ...I am looking forward to it. )

ーー THE END ーー

Translation notes

(1) Literally he says that he always intended to be the one ‘holding the reins’, but instead he was actually tied up/restrained this whole time.

#diabolik lovers #dialovers #ruki mukami #diabolik lovers more more blood #diabolik lovers translation #diabolik lovers drama cd #drama cd

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