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gelarshiesprofruitboarder · 2 months

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haedcanoms ..... fro anyome yuo can thimkdj of 🙏🙏🙏🙏💥💯💯

this is gonna be. a big block of text. uve enabled me and now im gonna talk for forever. uh. :3333 (also a shit ton of my hcs are just me projecring shjt so.)

okayyyy uh. dave went to private school for like. 4 years. he didnt follow any rules and wouldve definitly gotten expelled ljke 2 weeks in but bro strider is. so fucking rich so he just payed to keep him kn. he still had to wear those stupid ass uniforms tho and now he absolutely hates wearing polo shirts. fuckinf despises them.

sollux??? massive h*r fan he makes a shit ton of uber obscure references that like no one gets but him and he makes liek anyone hes ever had a positive interaction with watch it. aradia also likes it bc he made it like impossible not to if youre close enough to him. he kinda got terezi in2 it and she really likes trogdor.ike REALLY likes trogdor.

speaking of aradia and sollux aradias like a massive goth music fan and they listen to that stuff together like all the time. he listens to more,,, mainstream ig stuff regularly but then aradia makes him listen to her entire collection whenever theyre together

Jane can speak french,,, shes not french or anything in thr SLIGHTEST but she learned it bc like. idk desserts are french sometimes. and she just randomly starts speaking french to be annoying n fuck with ppl. roxys learned a little bit from her so sometimes she does too but. rarely.

terezi sollux and feferi friendship 🙏🙏 thsyre so. important to me. i dont remember how much they imteract all together in canom ik jts at least once but... theyre literally a version of the primary colors please thsyrs so friedn group that youd think would hate eachother but they surprisingly dont

jane crochets also alongside baking. she makes people shit like. all the time and probably spends way too much on yarn. she does it while watching all those dumb sitcoms??? whatever theyte called (like parks and rec and arrwsted development and the good place. that stuff). she also sometimes hamgs out with rose and they crochet/knit together

dirk and roxy make like the most shitpost stupid meme references (more often roxy) and like no one else gets them or rreally finds them funny bc theyre all from like. 2009. or ehatever while roxy n dirk are from. the future (i forgot when and no im not lokking jt up) roxy especially has like. dumb tumblr humor and will say the weirdest shit and no one will get it except dirk

feferi sends sollux videos like "t)(is reely reminds me of you ♥️" and then its a 5 minute jerma laighing at car crashes compilation or some shit.

dave makes that type of music that either sounds like actual shit or really good depending on the person. like uber expirimental fucked up random sfx dumbest lyrics ever etc etc (idk how to describe it but like. if uve listened to like.... queef jerkey thats what im imagining)

if were imagining that quest for the missing spoon exists in homestuck (since the comics do, plus theres other stuff like movies and plushes) dirk definityly had the pepsi blue chilis centerfold cutout on his wall. i also think him and maybe roxy??? quote that shit like not even on purpose CONSTANTLY since it was such a big franchise. also i think itd be funny if people talked ab it like how they talk ab harry potter and shit like "oh my god im SUCH a geromy."

aradia plays cello. like this absolutely fucking massive one too thats like deep reddish wood and its heavy as hell and it shouldnt be feesibly possible for her to carry it around but she can skmehos??? and shes really fucking good too. she likes 2 play for fer friends n partners

feferi adores tmbg esp their earlier stuff but she likes it all. shes got a playlist of every single one of their songs she could get ahold of and badically only listesns to that one playlist. she also knows a shit ton about the band itself and knows fun facts about like every song and will NOT hesitate to infodump whenever something slightly related comes up in conversation.

sollux LOVES classic tetris hes extremely fucking good at it and knows how to do all the weird shit w/ the controller like hypertapping and rolling and honestly probably made up something new. he basically only plays past killscreen (he found an nes somehow and hacked jt to let him start anywhere) and is the type of guy to be like "Oh yeah thii2 2hiit2 ea2y here II'll giive you a begiinner level two." and then. start you at level 29.

i have more i think but i cant remember any besides like "__ is a fan of "__ !!!!!" bc i just live projecting my interests onto characters. again sorry for so many words um. 💔

#you can tell who i spend thd most time thinking about bc i actually have headcanons for them. oops #sorry if theres like an incomprehensible amount of typos i dropped my phone on the curb and half my screen is cracked so i physically cant #tell if like. a quarter of my screen has any typos. um #i say as if i care much ab typos. anyways #homestuck #headcanons #dave strider #sollux captor #aradia megido #terezi pyrope #jane crocker #roxy lalonde #feferi peixes #rose lalonde #dirk strider

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masonshine · 9 months

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Hi Kao!!! I see the Infamous brainrot has you too haha :) Can you tell us more about Salomé? She looks so very cool 🥰 Hope you're doing well!!!

Hello PD! I'm doing good, thank you 💕 Hope you're doing great as well!!

LOL yeah, there's no escaping the Infamous obsession. I played it sometime late April and i haven't been able to think of anything else since lol It's already shaping up to be one of my favourite IFs.

Ahh thank you so much, you're too kind 🥰 Kinda struggled to decide how i wanted Salomé to be and what i wanted for her but i'm satisfied so far with what i came up with. Tho some things are still subject to change and others are in progress.

So sorry in advance because this got long and also for my messy rambling!

Salomé Jackson is her real name, which she also uses as her stage name. I know i want a middle name for her but i still haven't found the perfect one. Her mother is latina with middle eastern roots and her father white american (french and irish origins).

Salomé is the frontwoman of Fatal Flaw. She is an avid reader and was always interested in Greek Mythology so that's the reason she (and Seven) chose that as a name. Plus it just sounded cool lol

Fatal Flaw's an alternative rock band, think The Neighborhood, Willow Smith, Arctic Monkeys, Beabadoobee, L'Arc-en-ciel (a japanese rock band) type of songs. I have not come up with their album or most popular song names yet, although i have some lyrics written down.

Even tho she's really into it because she loves music and singing, she also enjoys being loved and recognized (she's... love starved thanks to her parents, so the celebrity life kinda gives her the love she longs for) and she's working hard to make a name for her band.

Seven is her ex and she's absolutely not over him. The fight and the breakup impacted her BADLY. That was like such a turnpoint in her life. Seven really was her everything; she loved him so much and thought he was her forever, so him not being around anymore completely turned her life upside down. It also increased her abandonment issues which were already there thanks to her parents again, and as such she's become more wary of hurting ppl she loves and actually started trying harder to please everyone, specifically her band members which she considers family.

That's one of the reasons she's been trying her hardest not to make the band about herself, and actually let the others get their shine too. Also one of the reasons she chose to share the bus with Soft Violence, for Rowan's sake (the other reason being her somehow still wanting to be in Seven's vicinity even tho that would do nothing but hurt her). I don't wanna call her a ppl pleaser per se but...

Salomé also has a crush on her role model Griffin Reign. It's just an innocent (for now) crush one might get on their fav celebrity. Absolutely no worries of it becoming smth more, not at all. It would be wrong... and well, she just could never like him that way (lies).

Salomé smokes, drinks and does drugs. I wouldn't say she's addicted to any of the three but her using depends on her mood. It did increase after her breakup with Seven (tho she only got into drugs after it) but she's been trying to pace herself lately with her participation in BOTB. She needs to be responsible about it and doesn't wanna screw things up for her band.

So this is basically it? Maybe i forgot smth important? Anyway if you wanna know anything, don't hesitate to ask 😊

#thank you again for asking #been itching to talk about salomé #but i find it hard to talk about my ocs unprompted #infamous if #oc: salomé jackson #infamous oc #ask

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sanstropfremir · 2 years

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Have you seen SF9’s new comeback from today yet? As a kingdom watcher, my two takeaways were:

- They’re never going to let the male Venus reference die like it should

- I am waiting with bated breath for the live stages because Taeyang is going to destroy us all and it will be excellent

i waited until there where some live stages before answering this because i wanted to see what the deal was with the chair choreo and all i can say is we got chairbaited SO hard i am SO disappointed!!!

ok i'm not actually disappointed by the whole comeback, but the lack of extensive chair choreo is my biggest complaint, so might as well start off with that. my other complaint is that i don't like how zuho constantly fucks up the rhythm of the song i've never liked it and i agree they gotta take that line to a farm upstate posthaste. hanya's going to try and snipe me for that opinion but i'm standing by it.

in general i really like this comeback; sf9 has been really out for blood since the end of kingdom and it has been so satisfying to watch. i'm really happy to see them take my advice (i know they didn't actually because there's no way anyone important is reading my blog) and not let their disappointing kingdom finish bring them down, because the revenge of teardrop and trauma have been one of my fave underdog stories this year. personally i like teardrop more because i like the song better and the mv is one the best of 2021, there are still a lot of good things about trauma and i'm having a blast watching the stages.

firstly, there's a lot of really quality pieces in the styling, and the method is less 'same but different matching boy band' and more 'statement pieces that all fit together' which is very reminiscent of their stealer stage styling. i don't think this observation will ultimately hold true depending on how many music show performances they do, but pulling purely from the mv and the three (four?) stages we've seen so far, there's been some really good singular garments. jaeyoon's cardigan, hwiyoung's cowhide jacket, taeyang's zippered trench and studded pants, inseong's leather jacket from the inkigayo stage yesterday, youngbin's sneaky crop top; these are all really good statement pieces and i personally prefer this type of styling than a more traditional uniform boy band look, which is what teardrop dipped a little bit more into. sf9 is probably one of the hardest groups to style because 1) these are some big n tall boys, and 2) they've settled into a particular niche that doesn't allow a huge amount of flexibility in terms of cuts; they're kinda stuck to 'traditionally masculine' garments. it would be nice to see them branch back out into something more experimental like rpm, but i don't know how many comebacks they have left as a full group before the enlistment wave hits.

another thing i found interesting in the mv is the amount of animal imagery. there's several instances of peacocks (beind the bar and in the restaurant area, the mirror in zuho's scene), plus all the animal print (cowhide, black leopard, zebra, snake, plus the feathers, the fur coat, the birdcages, and inseong's jacket in the hallway has a very similar pattern to chinchilla fur). the hides of all these animals are associated with the production of furniture and clothing, and since many of them are not native to sk (or the west), they are also associated with captivity, as captive is the only way that some of us have seen these creatures. it's a nice nod feelings of captivity within the lyrics.

another fun bit from the set design that i want to point out is the hydrangeas:

blue hydrangeas are generally associated with apology in the east, but interestingly hydrangeas in general in victorian floriography mean vanity, boastfulness, heartlessness, and dispassion, as well as the phrase 'you are cold'. i doubt the latter meanings were intentional, but they do fit the theme. also, hydrangeas require the soil to be very acidic in order for the colour to change to blue, and their leaves have low levels of cyanide.

as for the choreo, i'm bitter about them not using the chairs the whole time because when they do use the chairs it's so good. those opening images with the chairs overturned on the floor and then being lifted up? phenomenal. and then bringing them back only to pantomime fucking them? incredible choices. i love that they barely use the chairs as actual chairs. i want more. i'm more ambivalent on the non-chair choreo, obviously it's sexy and i'm very here for all the centre jaeyoon moments, but there are also a few choices that i don't love. at points it's a little bit too literal, and it feels a bit like the choreographic transitions don't match the line distribution as well as it could. it's not that big of an issue in the grand scheme of things, really the biggest flaw is that they put rowoon right next to taeyang for the chorus, and that makes it supremely obvious who is the better dancer. i rarely notice rowoon unless he's got lines in other sf9 stages because they (rightfully) tend to keep him out of the front for dance, but i don't know why they did this to him this time. one of the first stages i watched he was late on one of the moves and now it's all i notice.

final verdict: good song, good comeback, good way for sf9 to round out the year that started off not so great for them.

#kpop questions #sf9 #sf9 w #all i gotta say is that if you wanna call yourself the male version of venus your tiddies gotta be out. sorry its non negotiable #if i dont see you standing on a giant seashell then what is the POINT #also LOVE the chair/furniture set they use for most of the performance mv. dont have anything smart to say about it i just think its neat #text #answers #actually im not sure who the hardest hardest group to style would be just from body type alone #obvs its actualy very easy to style all of these boys bc theyre all in perfect shape and have the skinny fashion advantage #but groups with the widest body diversity will require more thought than just slapping on whatever's trendy #sf9 yes #oneus definitely. they've already gotta contend with the height difference with hwanwoong but theyve also got #three other distinct body shapes: ravn leedo + keonhee #vixx also yes. especially because they were so skinny and leggy for so long #e'last also because there's like 9 of them and choi in is literally child sized #tbz is probably just a pain because there's just too many of them #oh EXO FOR SURE. especially at debut. heights all over the map on those boys #hmmm there's less than i thought. but also i shouldnt be surprised because there really isnt any body diversity in kpop lmao #this is me wishing that kpop stylists knew how to work with silhouettes #i know its futile but i can dream #kibum was the only person who delivered on the silhouette front im gonna have to ride high off bad love for a while

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clockworkouroboros · 4 years

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I’m in a The Amazing Devil Discord server and have been going wild with crazy insane theories about just about everything, drawing connections that probably don’t actually exist, and generally losing my mind over both Love Run and The Horror and the Wild. That being said, I do have a theory about THatW that, if it’s not true, at least merits me a tinfoil hat, I think. Just be warned, this post will be long, and yes, I will include receipts.

So here’s this theory and Joey, if you read this, just know that I’m impressed either at how much thought was put into this, or the sheer number of coincidences that make this work if it wasn’t planned. It’s turned me into a conspiracy theorist for the past four days or so? And it’s severely affected the amount of sleep I’ve been getting.

My basic theory here is that Joey and Madeleine aren’t singing as themselves throughout this album, they’re playing characters, and those characters are old gods. Joey is the Wild, Madeleine is Time. (Alternatively, she’s Horror, fitting with the album title, but as she’s never explicitly referred to as such, I’m not insisting on that point.)

Now, where am I getting this silly idea from? None other than the title track, of course, in which Joey sings, “witness me, old man, I am the Wild, and Madeleine sings, “And I am Time itself.” And yes, they are both capitalized like that in the lyrics.

So they explicitly refer to themselves as such. But Emily, you might be saying (or not, depending on how much you care), that’s one song! This is hardly an album’s worth of proof! Sure, they might be gods in this song, but what about the other eight? To which I say, hoo boy, I’m just getting started.

Before I continue, I’d like to add something about how their characters are depicted throughout the album: Joey is more cheerful, Madeleine is not. (see: Wild Blue Yonder, Marbles, Battle Cries.) Joey is whimsical, Madeleine is practical. (See Battle Cries especially, but you can also see this in Wild Blue Yonder.) Madeleine is referred to multiple times as being stronger than Joey, and appears to assume a more protective role over Joey’s childlike. This fits in with my theory, by the way, in a roundabout sort of way that involves some squinting. Joey is the Wild, which is...well, wild. Think of little kids: cheerful, whimsical, in need of protection. Madeleine is Time. She knows what has been, what is, and what will be. Of course she’s going to be more mature, practical, and pessimistic.

And why is this important? Well, it’s kind of how I’m tying together a lot of the rest of the album. (Not all of it; Farewell Wanderlust is a notable outlier in many ways, and some of my connections are tenuous at best, but we’re going to ignore that and pretend it’s all rock-solid. Rockrose-solid. I’m sorry, I’m very tired.) I’m ignoring The Rockrose and the Thistle a little bit in this post, not because I dislike it (it’s gorgeous), but because it’s stubbornly eluding my attempts to tie it into anything other than Elsa’s Song, which isn’t even part of this album.

The vast majority of what you need to know about these two characters is in The Horror and the Wild (the song), so I’m gonna copy/paste some lyrics, and go through them. (Actually, the copy/pasting is nonexistent, these lyrics are imprinted on my brain at this point. That being said, if there are errors, lmk and I will edit the post and fix them!)

So we’ve got Madeleine starting, singing about Joey, with “You were raised by wolves and voices, every night I hear them howling deep beneath your bed, they said it all comes down to you.” Aside from the fact that I have no clue why “it all” comes down to Joey, or anything with that last bit, maybe a few more late nights with a tinfoil hat will do the trick. That being said, the first line of the song references childhood specifically in relation to Joey. Notice also how wolves are referenced in Wild Blue Yonder (“we don’t know what’s out there/could be wolves”) and That Unwanted Animal (“‘What’s the time, Mr. Wolf,’ but you, you’re blind, you bleat, you bear your claws”). The whole “howling” thing and “deep beneath your bed” both pop up in That Unwanted Animal, too: “and on the wind it howls,” for one. And for the other, there’s “you [presumably Joey] make the bed up silent on the floor so no one hears us,” later followed later in the song by “and the door below us splinters, and the creature creeps inside.”

Following this, Joey sings about Madeleine: “you’re the daughter of silent watching stones, you watch the stars hurl all their fundaments, in wonderment at you and yours, forever asking more.” First of all, I’m gonna say that this is Joey’s point of view; later on, Madeleine will refute the daughter thing (“I’m not a drunkard, a daughter, a preacher”.) Anyway, “silent watching stones” could reference Wild Blue Yonder: “every stone you threw, I stood on to better see the view.” The view being the stars hurling all their fundaments?

(Incidentally, I knew vaguely what “fundament” meant, but I looked it up to make sure I had it right, and learned that, among its other meanings, “fundament” can mean “butt.” But I don’t think that’s what Joey had in mind with this. I just think y’all should appreciate it.)

Anyway, we’ve also got in Battle Cries, “With you I could summon the gods and the stars, make them dance out the plays that we wrote from the heart, and we’d laugh at the ghosts of our fears,” with Madeleine singing, “Come on, love, please don’t start, sing your notes play your part,” and then the part that gets me every time: M: “we were gods,” J: “we were kids.” Which is a whole other can of worms involving their personalities, which I’ve already briefly outlined. My point is the whole “gods and the stars” bit.

I could (and have, on Discord) done a full, in-depth analysis of this track, and I don’t want to go all over it again, but “I promise you, they’ll sing of every Time you passed your fingers through my hair and called me child, witness me, old man, I am the Wild” has both Time and Wild as proper nouns in the lyrics, plus reinforces Time’s view of the Wild as a child. No clue who the old man is, though.

In verse two, Madeleine sings, “you [Joey] are the son of every dressing-up box, and I am Time itself, I slow and let you play, I steal the hours, and turn the night into day.” Again, this reinforces Joey’s childlike aspects (which will later be hinted at in That Unwanted Animal, with the “god-child,” who’s clearly Joey), but also shows, as in the refrain, the fact that Time has a sense of protectiveness over the Wild, at least sometimes.

That being said, although I’ve obviously referenced other songs, I still have mostly focused on the title track. So. I’m going to go through some of the other songs real quick.

The songs on the album (again, excepting Rockrose, because my attempts to tie it in have been frustrating and not gone anywhere, Mr. Batey please explain) can be grouped into categories: songs outright referencing gods (THatW, Farewell Wanderlust, That Unwanted Animal, Battle Cries), songs about their relationship, (arguably all of them, although Welly Boots is a bit confusing), and songs that refuse to allow me to classify them (Rockrose).

I would argue that this entire album is about the relationship of two old gods, but I’m not quite sure what the chronology is of the album, because it seems like it can’t be straightforward. (Farewell Wanderlust, although its placement makes sense in the setup of the album, doesn’t make sense in the chronology of this theory.) Another important note in some way is that every song on the album, with the exception of Farewell Wanderlust, is about being there for someone, or steadfastness in some capacity, while Farewell Wanderlust is about abandonment. It’s an outlier in a lot of ways. (Though not as many ways as frickin Rockrose.)

I have been talking about this at great length (and almost incessantly) on Discord, so unless you want this post to get even longer, I’m going to run by some lyrics real quick to try and show a little bit my thought process.

- “He watches her get dressed as though she’s hurtling through time” (Fair)

- “And she is stronger than he has ever been, he knows” (Fair) versus “Without you, I’m stronger, I’m no longer filled with wonder. How wrong you were” (Wild Blue Yonder, Welly Boots)

- J: “Place your hand in mine” M: “Hold the hand of the god-child, they said, as he falls from the sky” (That Unwanted Animal)

- “I’m the saint of the paint that was left in the pot, I’m your angel ellipsis, your devil of dots” (Farewell Wanderlust)

- “the fluttering of all your wings” (The Horror and the Wild) versus “when you think about him, my wings start to flap” (Farewell Wanderlust)

- “come, devil, come, she sang, call out my name. Let’s take this outside, ‘cos we’re one and the same. Our gods have abandoned us, left us, instead, take up arms, take my hand, let us waltz for the dead” (Farewell Wanderlust)

There are even more lyrics, and I’m going to be completely honest with you, I’ve gone totally insane with all of this, but this post is way too long already, so just let me know if you want any clarification or something.

Tldr: The Amazing Devil’s album The Horror and the Wild is about two old gods, one being Time, and the other being the Wild, or the god-child. The album is primarily about their relationship and steadfastness they show each other, even in tumultuous circumstances.

Now go excuse me while I attempt to take off this tinfoil hat that appears to be stuck on my head.

#music #the amazing devil #joey batey #madeleine hyland #the horror and the wild #long post #i’m...so sorry #i needed some sort of record #because enough conversation has passed on discord that those posts are now lost to time #anyway here y’all go #man joey if you read this pls don’t judge me too hard

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skania · 4 years

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Hollow: an ode to Cloud’s regrets about Aerith

I’ve always felt Hollow is about Cloud’s regrets after Aerith’s fate. But after finishing the Original Final Fantasy 7 game, I realized the lyrics outright quote and reference things Cloud says about Aerith in Disks 2 & 3.

So if I was convinced before, now I just can’t see the song being about anyone nor anything else.

I’ve been posting my thoughts about it on Twitter the last few days, but I figured it was worth putting everything together in one single post to illustrate just why I feel this way. I’ll divide the post in a few parts:

What we know about the song

Where we hear the song in Remake

The name of the song

The song lyrics and its ties to the OG (and to AC)

The imagery of the song

Could the song be about multiple people? nope

I’ll illustrate each point with images from the OG and occasionally Advent Children, so beware of spoilers for both! In contrast, there are only a few spoilers from Remake, including one cut-scene from the ending and a scene from Chapter 14.

What we know about the song

The song’s lyrics were written by Nojima and the music by Uematsu. In the Behind the Scenes, Uematsu explains that the song is sung from Cloud’s perspective and gives the vocalist clear instructions to make the vocals fit Cloud’s character.

This was further confirmed on a recent interview, where Uematsu said: “[...] the song is supposed to be about Cloud's inner feelings” (source).

Similarly, Nojima confirmed that one of the two keywords he received to write the lyrics was “told from Cloud’s point of view.”

Even more interesting, however, is the following:

I interpreted [Hollow] as "a ballad for a man who lost something important to him." — Nojima

In other words, Nojima wrote these lyrics thinking about Cloud having lost “something important” to him. In Japanese, the wording is 大切なもの, which means both “something important” or “someone important” depending on the context (comment from the translator).

Both have already been used from Cloud’s point of view, in regards to Aerith.

In the OG, it’s used when Cait Sith predicts that Cloud will lose Aerith. “What you pursue will be yours. But you will lose something dear." In Japanese, “something dear” is written with the exact same wording used by Nojima: 大切なもの

The same wording is also used in Cloud’s cameo in Final Fantasy Tactics, where he’s featured alongside Aerith.

As for “someone important”, Aerith has been described as Cloud’s 大切な人 "important/precious someone” more times than I can count. Like here, for example:

... [Sephirot] took away my important/precious someone.

So just from the wording alone, we can establish a link to Aerith. However, this is far from being the only way Hollow is connected to Aerith.

Where we hear the song in Remake

The very first time we hear the instrumental version of song in Remake is in Chapter 8, called “The Flower of Reunion” in Japanese and “Budding Bodyguard” in English. In other words, the first time it plays is on a Chapter entirely dedicated to Cloud and Aerith.

But even more telling is the very first moment we hear the song. It’s when Aerith briefly separates from Cloud in the Sector 5 Slums. It literally starts playing the instant Aerith leaves the party.

Then, it continues to play throughout the chapter as Cloud & Aerith reunite and do different quests together.

Fittingly, the second time we hear the instrumental version of Hollow is in Chapter 13, as Cloud & the party step into the places that Aerith first showed to Cloud — except that this time, Aerith isn’t with them because she’s been kidnapped by Shinra.

Meaning, Hollow’s instrumental version only plays in Sector 5. Aerith’s Sector.

The last time we hear the song is, of course, in the credits of the game. Where the full version of Hollow plays in full. But I think it’s interesting to think of the moment when the song starts to play.

First, we focus on Cloud & Aerith, standing on a barren place as rain starts to fall down on the party (this will be important later). It’s only after this very shot that the camera pans to the sky and Hollow starts playing.

So three out of three times we hear Hollow, the song can be connected to Aerith.

Which makes perfect sense IMO, because everything about the song itself is connected to Aerith.

Including its title.

The name of the song

While the song is sung in English, the original lyrics were written in Japanese. The original name of the song was actually 「空っぽの雲」 “Empty Cloud”, which then became「からっぽの空」aka “Empty Sky” or “Hollow Sky”. And in fact, the Instrumental version of the song that plays in Sector 5 — again, Aerith’s sector — keeps the Japanese name.

Of course, both “empty” and “hollow” carry the same meaning:

“Having a hole or empty space inside”.

You know what was meant to evoke this exact same feeling in the players? Aerith’s death.

The feelings aroused by Aerith’s death are “a great emptiness” and “If I had know this was coming, I’d have done things differently”.

These are the exact same feelings Cloud sings about in Hollow.

And what’s more, his pain after losing Aerith was recently referenced in the Final Fantasy 30th Anniversary Exhibition with the following quote:

Which takes me to:

The song lyrics & its ties to the OG and to AC

Since the song was originally written in Japanese, I will be using @gurekura’s literal translation as well as the official translation of the lyrics. You can see their original post on Twitter HERE.

I think that when you read the lyrics, it becomes very obvious that it’s written from the perspective of the original Cloud. The Cloud we see in the Original FF7 as well as in Advent Children, among others. So, of course, it’s no surprise that these lyrics perfectly match various scenes.

What’s telling though, is that just as we’ve seen until now, the lyrics are a perfect match for scenes focusing on Cloud and Aerith.

No matter whether you take these lines literally or figuratively, “healing” easily evokes images of Aerith. Who not only is a healer — we even see this in AC, where Aerith heals Cloud of Geostigma — but also reaches out to Cloud as he’s broken by pain and guilt in AC and helps him recover.

But while this is all fine and dandy, I can understand why people may think of different scenes while hearing these lyrics.

However, their link to Aerith becomes even more blatant as we go. In fact, from here on out, the lyrics basically quote Cloud’s words, feelings & thoughts in the OG as he faces Aerith’s death.

Was it all a dream? Will I ever know?

Foolish and blind to everything Had I realized, had I noticed it sooner, Would you be here in my embrace?

Word. For. Word. These are literally Cloud’s feelings, pain and regrets after losing Aerith.

Then we have the chorus, where the references to Aerith are also clear because she’s always been known for her bright personality, and for keeping a smile on her face even in the hardest of times.

Remember how Kitase said that “If I had know this was coming, I’d have done things differently” was one of the feelings he wanted to inspire with Aerith’s death?

That is exactly what Cloud is singing about in this chorus. But this will become more obvious when we get to the end of the song.

This is honestly unequivocally about Aerith, who hid her pain and the weight of her mission behind smiles and comforting words to not pain Cloud and the others.

Hidden within your smile There were secrets

But I was empty I just demanded

This fits perfectly with how blinded Cloud was by his own pain after he lost her, and how this kept him from realizing the truth of her sacrifice.

Then there’s the second chorus, where Cloud once again sings about all the things he would do differently if only he were given a second chance.

And what he wants to do most of all, is to be able to notice Aerith’s pain and the truth hidden behind it.

What’s more, while players may have missed it given the graphics of the OG, Remake itself shows that this is indeed how Aerith is. She is always hiding her pain and heavy truths behind a smile. The perfect example comes in Aerith’s Resolution Scene in Chapter 14, where Aerith tries to reassure Cloud that she doesn’t mind staying in the Shinra Tower.

She does her best to keep a bright smile and a happy front. But if you look closely enough, you can see the sadness in her eyes, a clear reflection of her true feelings.

Lastly, we have Cloud facing the truth. That despite all his regrets, despite how hard he may wish to have a second chance, Aerith is gone. And the song takes us full-circle.

You’re no long here, so I’m empty. Again, this fits perfectly with the feeling Kitase wanted to evoke with Aerith’s death.

And Cloud feeling this way is also backed-up not only by his behavior in AC, but also by insight from Tifa, as shared in Dismantled:

Plus, of course: “She was gone in the blink of an eye. But the pain never went away.”

So really, given everything I’ve mentioned above, I just can’t see this song being about anyone but Aerith. Because the lyrics clearly evoke thoughts and emotions Cloud himself said about her in the original game.

And if you keep Aerith in mind, then...

The imagery of the song

In the Behind the Scenes, Uematsu also talks about the imagery that inspired the music. This is what he says about it:

Nojima also confirmed that [Cloud] “standing in the rain” was the second keyword he received to write the lyrics.

The moment I heard this, I thought of one particular scene from Advent Children:

This scene fits the imagery on multiple levels. Cloud is alone, standing on a barren and empty place, as rain pours over him. He lets the rain wash over him, eyes closed.

In this scene, that rain is Aerith’s Great Gospel. It starts falling the moment Kadaj hears Aerith’s voice, heals everyone it touches from Geostigma and Tifa outright speaks to Aerith as she watches a droplet of the rain.

Of course, there’s no way to know exactly what image Uematsu was talking about. But I find this particular scene quite fitting, given all the ties the song has to Aerith.

Not to mention that in the Final Fantasy 30th Exhibition, Aerith says the following about Cloud’s pain after her death: 「もう、泣かないで. 雨になっちゃうよ」 “Don’t cry. You’ll make it rain”. (source)

So, there we have an explicit link between rain — and Cloud’s anguish after he loses Aerith.

To wrap this up, I’ve seen people suggest that the song is about multiple people. I respect that everyone has the right to have a different view-point, but personally, I can’t help but to disagree with this particular one.

Could the song be about multiple people?

There is no evidence of this in the song. At no point does the song switch its focus. At the contrary, the references and themes remain the same all throughout-it — as does its subject.

Your shining smile = Once more, shine brightly = Once more, laugh again = Hidden within your smile, there were secrets = Had I noticed sooner, would you still be in my embrace? = Show me your smile one more, this time = I'll notice the truth hidden inside your tears

The subject and the imagery remain constant, so it’s safe to assume the song is about one person and one person only.

And given all the things mentioned above... I hope you can now see why I can’t think of anyone else but Aerith.

If you made it this far, thanks for reading!

#aerith gainsborough #cloud strife #clerith #fandom: ff7 #fandom: remake #spoilers #I love this song to death and I adore all the references it makes to the OG #so I couldn't help myself #that said I'm not going to enter any LTD debates about this so if anyone who reads this disagrees and thinks the song is about someone else #you're more than welcome to write your own analysis about it

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mackenzie-lukasiaks · 3 years

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Rewatching season 2 and I reached the episode where Maddie forgets her solo. I guess I never noticed before but when she’s upset in the dressing room, Melissa is telling her dance isn’t that important and it’s not her whole life, and Maddie’s like “yes it is” and then Melissa says it is her whole life but it shouldn’t be. And it just struck me I guess because in all 5/6 seasons the Ziegler’s are there, I feel like Melissa never took a moment to address things like that. She put a crazy amount of pressure on her kids, intentionally and unintentionally, and it combined with the pressure from Abby. Maddie is like, what, 9 or 10 in season 2? And she has a legitimate panic attack because she messed up. That’s clearly not healthy, and I know we all know that. But it was strange to see Melissa acknowledge it too. I just wish she kept that energy all the time tbh.

But also, in the same episode... there’s a whole moment I also didn’t remember lol where Abby is helping Maddie get ready and Chloe is practicing in the background. Abby goes out of her way to criticize Chloe’s Red Queen costume (did she not order it, or did production handle costumes?) and talk about how it’s “too much”, and then she tells Maddie not to look at her at all. And it’s such a weird, bizarre scene. I feel like initially she genuinely was like 😬 at the costume, but then she turned the situation into... what, exactly? Another weird rift between Chloe and Maddie? Maddie had a sweet, simple costume and she looked cute in it. Why should Chloe’s costume matter to her at all? Abby deliberately psyched her out by trying to be all “omg Chloe’s costume wow Maddie don’t look!!!” like, no wonder she messed up later. It was just so weird.

that whole episode is......a lot. it seems like it was a very stressful week for maddie, and even though we know that she also got offered a jazz (?) scholarship to that joffrey program, I can’t help but think that chloe getting the ballet specific one was a blow to her because that was the main story of that episode. also it’s interesting that at the beginning of that week, when maddie realizes she forgot her dance bag, melissa freaks out and makes it into a whole thing, while christi correctly points out that melissa is only making maddie’s anxiety worse and she could’ve just run down to the drug store and picked up some shoes.

rest under the cut for my rambling lol

with melissa, it’s like she was annoyed anytime her kids acted like kids. she also didn’t do enough to reassure them that winning wasn’t everything--because she didn’t actually believe that herself. like there are a few blips where melissa says the right thing. this episode is obviously an example, and I think that in the very first episode when maddie feels sick that melissa says something about how they shouldn’t be working them that hard. but most of the time, melissa was right there with abby pushing the whole “dance is everything, winning is everything, 2nd is the first to lose,” plus when maddie did face difficulties, melissa and abby were always there with excuses rather than saying, “you win some, you lose some, I’m still proud of you.” like maddie didn’t just place 3rd behind chloe with “lights camera action” because “don’t catch me” was a prettier, more elegant dance--no, maddie placed 3rd because she looked too professional. maddie didn’t just lose to kenzie in “maddie vs. mackenzie” because her solo was sloppily costumed and poorly choreographed--no, she lost because the judges didn’t understand tap and were suckered in by how cute kenzie looked. even after maddie forgets her solo, when melissaa comes backstage, she immediately says, “it’s not fair, they just threw you out there. those assholes.” she never gave maddie the skills to deal with mistakes.

meanwhile with abby.....idk who exactly handled the costumes. I think abby has made statements that the producers made a lot of those decisions for her, but regardless, since chloe was doing a dance based on a character, she needed to have a more elaborate costume, whereas maddie’s was simpler because she was doing a simple lyrical dance. I just think abby was annoyed because she saw that chloe had a good costume and knew she would play the character well, so it would give maddie’s solo a run for her money. and I think she just enjoys having these weird power trips where she isolates maddie from her friends because it means maddie has to depend more on abby. and maybe in other weeks it wouldn’t have mattered as much to maddie, but because that week had been very stressful already, it just ramped up the anxiety even more for maddie.

#anonymous #answered #dance moms #fuck abby lee miller tbh

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idontneedtobeforgiven · 3 years

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Porn star!kara au, ALL THE QUESTIONS :p 😘

You dick 😂😘

1: What inspired you to write the fic this way?

I have no idea anymore… I think I was talking to you about how sex would be so easy for Kara because of her strength and then was like “she would be a good fetish porn star” and it went from there. Also sort of a love letter to sex work for me.

2: What scene did you first put down?

I write in order so the first scene was the first I wrote!

3: What’s your favorite line of narration?

I could put a lot of really good solid lines here, but I don’t think any of them will fill me with as much glee as this one: Besides, Kara can’t imagine letting anyone else wear her family’s sigeal. Even if it is just in a porn and even if Kal goes crazy over this.

4: What’s your favorite line of dialogue?

“Man, my hair was great in this. Lucy, remind me to get these lowlights again.”

Because nothing says watching porn like focusing on what your hair looked like!

5: What part was hardest to write?

Oh gosh. Definitely the part that isn’t posted aka Lena and Kara on a breakfast date. And I think it’s because I didn’t super intend for this to be a romantic story.

6: What makes this fic special or different from all your other fics?

I can funnel in all of my in depth knowledge on vibrators and lubes and certain parts of the sex work industry and it all fits in with the story!!!

7: Where did the title come from?

From Bob Segar’s song Brand New Morning. I’m not sure I was actually listening to the song or if I just found lyrics that fit the AU vibe of this! Plus you know, sun.

8: Did any real people or events inspire any part of it?

There’s a line about Kara’s hands being soft after fisting M’gann. That is 100% inspired by my wife.

9: Were there any alternate versions of this fic?

Nope!

10: Why did you choose this pairing for this particular story?

Kara is a very pretty person and I wanted her to have sex with all the other pretty people in the arrowverse!

11: What do you like best about this fic?

I like that it has hopefully challenged some preconceived notions about the porn industry and monogamy in general

12: What do you like least about this fic?

That I didn’t force myself to finish it!

13: What music did you listen to, if any, to get in the mood for writing this story? Or if you didn’t listen to anything, what do you think readers should listen to to accompany us while reading?

I could not tell you at all what I was listening to except that I know I must have been. I think you guys should give me a list of what you think the soundtrack should be!

14: Is there anything you wanted readers to learn from reading this fic?

That lube is important and very different depending on the type. Also that porn is very much set up and edited. That’s why I wanted Kara yawning when there was a close up of her vulva when she was getting eaten out!

15: What did you learn from writing this fic?

That I love writing about sex (but I already knew that!)

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manjuhitorie · 3 years

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Shinoda’s Instagram Q&A December 2020 - Translated (Some)

Question “It's been a while since you last did one of these!”

Shinoda “Long time no doing, let's do this”

Q “I loved your new song” SND “THX”

Q ”Do you have any preferred eye medicine? My eyes have been aching as of late” SND “Nope When mine hurt I go to the eye doctor.”

Q ”I want to finish my thesis and plop like a log already.” SND “You can plop like a log once you finish, probably

Q “Nice work with the live stream!! Are your muscle pains feeling any better?” SND “Fortunately They're all better now.”

Q “The live stream was super amazing. You were ignored so much during the MCs, I felt bad. SND “Normally the others do in fact talk to me quite a bit, normally at least. Strange.”

Q “SHINODADIDYOUGAINWEIGHT?” SND “Some people tell me I look like I lost weight, some people tell me I look like I gained weight. I don't have a scale in my house so I don't actually know but, I think I'm way better than I was earlier this year. “

Q “Why did you scream that "KOOOOOOON" thing during the live stream earlier?” SND “That was a homage to GG Allin”

Q “Are you in contact with Yamada Ryuuichi? (The vocalist and guitarist of Buzz Mothers)” SND “In spring of this year he had hit me up with a "You doing okay?" and I replied with "I'm so-so."

Q “My significant other if telling me they'll commit suicide if we break up. I'm scared, I can't take this anymore. Am I going to become a murderer..😢” SND “A break up merely means to choose not to walk the same path as another anymore. If that's what you desire then there's no need to agonize over their threats so much. Also you won't be a murderer.”

Q “Your new song was so good! The singing looks so hard though, are you a masochist?” SND “I had written the song with the intent to lessen my workload but it still somehow ended up being crazy fucking difficult. Why does this happen?”

Q “What's in the background of this Instagram story?” SND “This is the jersey I had worn during last year's tour.”

Q “I just learned of you today, I just came to be fan today.” SND “'nice to meet you'”

Q “It's been a while! My senpai with a big dick can't seem to find a job*! That's all I have to say!” SND ”Even though his dick is so big, huhh I guess things can't always go well*”

Q “What are you doing to pass the time these days?” SND “I've been watching Arupi Channel or Kamomental's skits or New York (The comedy duo)’s skits.”

Q “The reading of 伽藍如何前零番地 seems to differ depending on site or person, may I ask the correct reading?” SND “'Garandou Mae Zero Banchi' ....I'm sure?”

Q “It's been a while, I'm happy to see you~! Who are you rooting for in these year's M-1 tournie?” SND “Tokyo Hoteisonn, New York, ???, Oswald, West Land..... I just can't wait to see everyone.”

Q “It's been 1 year since I graduated, I can't find work anymore and I'm in the gutter everyday. Can I bother you for some words of encouragement? 👼” SND “Back when I first joined Hitorie, my guitar playing was still shit. Often I would go home absolutely pooped. It took me a long time to learn how to play with confidence. Turns out it's kinda important to constantly be figuring out where you're lacking, and never slack off in this front.”

Q “There's huge ass swelling on my wisdom tooth and I'm getting mouth inflammation all at the same time, I really feel the rush of the end of the year. It hurts” SND “About your wisdom tooth, just go to the dentist. About your inflammation, there's this type of gelatin you can coat your mouth with, that stuff's great.”

Q “Did you purposefully ask what time it was during the concert to reference song lyrics?” SND “I was merely interested in the time.”

Q “Would you prefer being with someone whom you love but is tough to be around, or with someone whom you don't love but is fun to be around?” SND “There's more fish in the sea, I don't think it's impossible to find someone you love whom is also fun to be around.”

Q “I also recognized the place you streamed the concert from too! I was getting excited at my desk.” SND “That threw me for a loop, it hit me as soon as I saw it.”

Q “I started reading Ninja to Gokudou. SND “It's fantastic ain't it.”

Q “Do you know Doraemon? If you do then please I would like to know which of his secret weapons you would most like to have.” SND “Memory Bread.”

Q “During SLEEPWALK I was worried that you might trip on your cables, but how is it on your side?” SND “I try to be careful, to a degree at least...”

Q “Do you recommend any Yakuza movies?” SND “The Ninja Dragon“

Q “I got shivers watching your Namid[A]me performance the other day.” SND “I still had stamina at that point in the show.”

Q “You always seem to sweat even when you wear short sleeves, and you were wearing long sleeves during the concert the other day. Were you not hot? SND “Naw, not especially”

Q 'Nana nama mugi, nana nama kome, nana nama tamago' in JP romaji, (lit. Seven raw wheats, seven raw rices, seven raw eggs), is hard to say” SND “Well it's purposefully made to be”

Q “My first love was the author of Inumayuge de Iko, Inazuka Yuuko-sensei. Do you feel me?” SND “You have good taste.”

Q “I got a boyfriend AND broke up with him in the span it took for you to return Shinoda-san!” SND ”Cheers.”

Q “Any artists you're into recently?” SND “BIBI”

Q “You seem to be sticking with the bob haircut?” SND “You're right...”

Q “Do you have the problem with Vans shoes wherein you slip if they get wet?” SND ”I personally haven't slipped much... Not much anyway”

Q “This Sunday I have my first non-virtual concert in 11 months, gimme some supporttt.” SND “Even you, huh. Even you’re gonna stand up in front of a live audience before I do.”

Q “What’s up with the curved edge album cover?” SND “Apparently it’s a bonsai tree”

Q “I can't stand injections, any tips on how to get over my fears?“ SND “Think about how it’s down with the least painful of all the painful things in life, it doesn’t hurt like a crap all that much, and you do it for your health. All in all it’s a plus, it doesn’t fill your heart with pain or anything.”

Q “Do you know any ways for me to get over my ex-boyfriend...” SND “There’s people who push to get a new partner as soon as possible then make a fool of themselves, just to try and get over their ex. Just take care not to do that.”

Q “You’re way too good at guitar?! How are you so good?! I really respect you SND “Icchi of Kaisoku Tokyo is better.”

Q “I can’t get enough of your new song so I set it as my alarm! It plays 7 times every morning!“ SND “Don’t people end up hating the songs they set as their alarm? Is this okay?”

Q “I loved your new song and stream. No doubt your voice sounded like wowaka’s.” SND “Now’s a good chance for me to say this. I don’t know if I sound like him or anything like that but..... Y’know how people can simulate a singer’s style? I didn’t intend to do anything like that either. So then why do people say this to me? I wondered and realized..

When recording backup vocals, it’s standard to follow the main vocalist’s style. So I needed to analyze Leader’s singing to a degree. I had to do that for numbers of songs for numbers of years, so subconsciously Leader’s style must’ve etched itself into my singing style as well. So it’s not that I’m simulating him, it’s that as a result I’ve just managed to simulate him.”

Q “I’m not sure if I should propose to my boyfriend or not. What would make him say yes..” SND “On your left arm write the words “Go register now” “100% registering for a marriage certificate” “Marriage marriage let’s get married”, then casually roll up your sleeves in front of your boyfriend. This is the key to victory.”

Q “Complicated girls all seem to have black bob hair, are there any normal girls with black bob hair out there?” SND “If there was a normal girl with black bob hair, that in itself would be complicated!!!!”

Q “I was so worried about you after you bonked your head with the mic last concert, did you get in trouble with the higher ups for that?” SND “The band ‘SuiseiNoboAz’ smashed their head into their guitars like 100 times, the band ‘my way my love’ smashed into their drums like 100 million times... So that much was child’s play. I didn’t get in trouble.”

#Hitorie

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aion-rsa · 3 years

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From Bridgerton to Hamilton: A History of Color-Conscious Casting in Period Drama

https://ift.tt/2IQI6Ak

Note: This Bridgerton article contains no book or series plot spoilers.

Bridgerton is a unique mix of Shonda Rhimes’ dedication to Black representation on American television and the British period drama tradition. White critics may dismiss this trend as unnecessary “pandering” to Black and POC viewers, but the number of productions designed around reforming all white-casting has increased over the past 10 years—and has only added to the success of the genre. The number one reason driving demand for diverse period dramas is from Black and POC fans of the genre. The impact of seeing an actor that looks like you can’t be measured in ratings or clicks online. Despite facing years of content and fandom overtly or covertly claiming that the universal themes in period dramas are not “for us”; the tide is starting to turn as fans use social media and the power of ratings to ask for more representation.

A quick overview of recent Regency England-set productions leaves much to be desired. Although the 2018 Amazon Prime/ITV miniseries and the 2005 movie adaptations of Vanity Fair left in West Indian and Jewish heiress Miss Schwarz, she is one of many supporting characters. PBS/ITV’s Sanditon, on the one hand, improved representation by prominently featuring Georgiana Lambe. However, her story was a huge disappointment to Black and POC fans who expected her plotline to end happily or at least have her conflicts resolved.

There have been three paths traditionally towards increasing diversity in period dramas: 1) blind casting (also called racebending), where Black and POC actors play traditionally white characters adding original Black characters to existing fictional works, and 2) Own Voices, where Black and POC writers share their own stories. These two are not mutually exclusive, but, in the world of British period drama, the former is more frequently used, as the bedrock of the genre is adapting existing novels and plays by white authors.

The theoretical framework for inclusive casting begins in the world of staging period drama at the theater. In Shakespeare’s day, men played women’s roles as women were not allowed to appear on stage. The genre evolved in later centuries to allow women to appear on stage, but the tradition of having actors who didn’t match the original descriptions remained. This is even true of his history plays where real women royalty were characters. Ira Aldridge in the 1840s was the first Black actor in Britain to play traditionally white roles on stage. Later on, in the 19th century, several stage adaptations of Jane Austen’s works had all-women casts.

Fast forward to 2015, when Lin-Manuel Miranda in Hamilton redefined what it meant to cast inclusively in modern period dramas by using actors descended from slavery and colonialism to play the Founding Fathers. Every aspect of the musical was designed to reframe the existing narrative of early American history. The costume design also reflected the identities of the actor by featuring braids, locs, and textured hairstyles over 18th century white hairstyles. Rap lyrics conveyed to the audience the names, dates, and other descriptions of the Revolutionary War. The old adage that someone must “look the part” to play a biographical role was thrown out the window.

Hamilton proved that many of the old excuses used to sideline diverse period dramas no longer held to be true. Millions of white people listened to the cast album, brought tickets, or streamed the movie on Disney+. UK theater patrons flocked to the West End cast of Hamilton, as well, before the pandemic. Memes, parodies, and more on social media proved that white audiences can conceptualize historical figures as fictional characters while also knowing the real figures looked and acted quite differently. Fans of the show pushed Ron Chernow’s biography back onto the bestseller lists as they wanted to read what really happened.

The first clear impact the show had on the genre of British period drama comes from a mystery. Daisy Coulam, Grantchester’s head screenwriter, cited reading an interview with Miranda as the inspiration behind the exit plotline for James Norton’s character Sidney Chambers. UK crime dramas For those unfamiliar with the series, Grantchester is a mystery procedural based on a series of books about a 1950s crime-solving Anglican vicar by James Runcie. Norton’s exit plotline in Season 4 generated an original to the show character named Violet who was the daughter of a visiting African-American preacher. Violet was an original character who forced the audience to consider that the US civil rights movement indeed reached their treasured vision of the lily-white British countryside. Coulam already laid the groundwork for Violet in earlier seasons by abandoning large sections of the original novel timeline and but keeping the case of the week focused on addressing 1950’s social issues. Fans heavily criticized Coulam’s writing for style and pacing, but her imagination clearly indicates that Hamilton’s proven formula for disrupting established historical aesthetics can just as easily be applied to fictional depictions of the UK’s past as blind casting a biography-based series or depicting real figures of Black British history.

Other period dramas released in recent years share traces of Hamilton’s impact but in a more thematic and less direct different way. Some shows turned real Black British figures into fictional characters. Lina (Stephanie Levi-John) and Oviedo (Aaron Cobham) on The Spanish Princess are composites of Catherine of Aragon’s servants and several famous Black Tudors. Catherine “Kitty” Despard (Kerri McClean) in Poldark Season 5 was a forgotten Black British figure added in to expand the world outlined in the novels. Victoria featured Ira Aldridge (Ashley Zhangazha) mentioned earlier, plus spotlighted the Queen’s adopted daughter Sarah-Forbes Bonetta and Cuffay (C.J. Beckford) as the leader of the proto-socialist Chartists. Lucille Anderson (Leonie Elliott) on Call the Midwife was not mentioned in the original memoirs, but she was added to represent the Caribbean nurses from the Windrush Generation of UK immigrants.

Racebent casting also increased. Dev Patel’s role as the title character in the movie The Personal History of David Copperfield proved that Dickens adaptations could indeed include POC casts without changing the fundamental plot and message. PBS/BBC’s Les Miserables miniseries also extended the Broadway tradition of casting Black actors in traditionally white coded classic literature characters. Hulu’s The Great featured Sacha Dhawan and several Black actors as Russian nobility, politicians, and courtiers.

All of these series, however, carefully attempted to stay grounded in recreating the original source material or invested in faithfully replicating the era they were set in. Bridgerton radically expands upon Hamilton’s formula by divorcing inclusive casting from any desire to accurately recreate historical events, eras, or figures. Romance, fantasy, and social/familial drama are universal themes that don’t depend on having a white-dominant vision of society. Quinn’s original novel series sparingly referred to historical events during the Regency Era. Her focus was on creating a world where the most important events were balls and weddings. More Dukes and other holders of inherited titles exist in her vision of the Ton (the most elite members of Regency society) than in reality. Historians would likely dispute her characterization of the elite social season as well. Characters’ internal dialogue is in modern English peppered with regional accents and slang. They rarely lampshade or criticize the way of society beyond their romantic desires and family obligations. Readers see the physical intimacy on the page Austen never mentioned. This literary environment is ripe for inclusive casting on screen.

The most critical flip in characterization is Simon, Duke of Hastings (Regé-Jean Page). His character is the romantic hero of the first book in the series The Duke and I and is the character that set fan expectations high for future novels. Simon having visibly African features and yet being an object of desire is incredibly subversive in a genre where white beauty standards dominate hetero and homosexual fiction.

Lady Danbury (Adjoa Andoh), Simon’s godmother, is an elder stateswoman and a twist on the battle-ax aunt trope popular in period dramas. She isn’t as caustic and insulting as some other famous widows and spinsters but she commands authority and a mansion filled with people to perform all the hard labor. Lady Danbury is even implied to be slightly higher in status than her white counterparts with children of marrying age Lady Violet Bridgerton (Ruth Gemmell) and Lady Portia Featherington (Polly Walker).

Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuve) being played by a biracial woman is actually a subtle Easter Egg to existing history debates. Many have debated if her portraits were airbrushed to disguise African features. A few years ago, a documentary established her African ancestry is via the Portuguese royals. All of her scenes involve petting her Pomeranian, demanding to know the latest gossip, and manipulating the gentry into doing her bidding.

The miniseries doesn’t end the racial diversity with those at the highest social rank or even at the lower orders of domestic servants. Marina Thompson (Ruby Barker) is a cousin of the Featheringtons and represents the “poor relation” character popular in stories based on the British gentry. A Black modiste (dressmaker) trained in French fashion makes all of the dresses the characters wear. Will Mondrich (Martins Imhangbe) is a boxer, likely a reference to former slave turned bare-knuckle boxer Bill Richmond. Alongside the characters with plot lines viewers follow, there is a conscious effort to hire Black and POC extras to fill in crowd scenes at balls, park scenes, and other public events. The viewer sees people who look like themselves in every class level of society and can feel like they too can become part of their world.

How Bridgerton Can Avoid Outlander’s Mistakes

By Amanda-Rae Prescott

Books

Bridgerton: Cast Announced for Shonda Rhimes Netflix Series

By Alec Bojalad

Attire is a critical part of upholding the fantasy and cultural diversity Bridgerton and also in communicating to the audience the series isn’t your aunt’s neutral tone Austen adaptation. Marina and Lady Danbury would never be caught dead in a plain white muslin frock. All of the popular Regency hairstyles for women have been modified and reworked for natural textured hair, braids, and locs. Some of the Black male extras even have modern African hairstyles left in tact. The only Black characters who wear the traditional white wigs are older men or servants in full formal uniform. Queen Charlotte’s Black courtiers and servants wear a mixture of extravagant 1770s and 1780s attire and Regency court wear to create a physical separation between them and the rest of the ensemble cast. These style decisions are right out of the playbook of Still Star-Crossed, Shondaland’s first foray into period drama. Although that series took place in 1300’s Italy, the priority was on blending fantasy and Black fashion aesthetics over catering to white costume enthusiasts and reenactors.

In the world of Bridgerton, slavery and colonialism are directly or indirectly referenced exceedingly sparingly. One reference is to Lord Dunmore’s army of emancipated and runaway slaves during the Revolutionary War proclamation. (Hercules Mulligan’s Black troops referenced in “Stay Alive” is the Patriot equivalent of Dunmore’s forces). These sparing hints make it clear to the viewers that class, family, and personal family drama is the root cause of joy and pain in this series.

Since Bridgerton is completely ignoring the physical descriptions of the characters in many cases, the set design carries the bulk of the attention to historical detail. The series hired Dr. Hannah Greig as a historical advisor to ensure these details were as close to 1813 as possible. Greig has previously acted as a consultant to the Sanditon, Poldark, and The Duchess cast and crew is likely where the Easter Eggs in character references come from. Lavish mansions and castles and the more humble spaces ground the fantastical plot details in historical reality. Several previous period dramas have recreated the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens, but these scenes in the miniseries are elevated to the next level thanks to Netflix’s budget.

Noughts + Crosses: Why You Should Watch This Afrofuturist Alternate History Romance

By Amanda-Rae Prescott

World on Fire Returns People of Color to the Dunkirk Narrative

By Amanda-Rae Prescott

The success of Bridgerton applying color-conscious casting to a fantasy/romance series has implications far beyond potential future seasons. Studios especially those in the UK have been hesitant to utilize recent historical romance books for screen adaptations. Modern historical fiction by Black and POC authors (called Own Voices fiction) which is crucial in the fight for increased representation. Novelists such as Beverly Jenkins, Courtney Milan, and Alyssa Cole have written romances set in the Regency and other eras of American and British History that can easily be transformed into movies and miniseries. Some of these novels recreate existing history while others lean into escapist fantasy. The ultimate goal in period drama representation is for Black and POC creatives to tell their own stories covering all the ranges of emotion, not just historical trauma.

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Critics can keep attacking period dramas for being “too woke” (a term that was stolen from anti-racism activists) for remembering that white people aren’t the only inhabitants of the British Isles and America, but series like Bridgerton are here to stay. Black and POC viewers and readers of period drama and romance fiction always existed, and viewership will only grow if more inclusive period romance projects are greenlit in the future.

The post From Bridgerton to Hamilton: A History of Color-Conscious Casting in Period Drama appeared first on Den of Geek.

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#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

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schnowydays · 4 years

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The “Herne and the Red Kite” Analysis Nobody Asked For

WARNING: This is probably a very long and unnecessary post.

Wah, so at first I was quite nervous on posting this at all because this is just so embarrassingly long and it is really overly thought out. Plus no one even asked for it and there does not seem to be a need for this since the song is kind of straightforward. But, I still put work into this so I’m going to post it anyways cuz it would feel like a waste if I didn’t. Plus, I’m immensely busy with school right now, so why not just let this fester while I’m away? So,,, here we go:::

Okay, so this was spun out by this post and I just became so interested in what the heck this song was about. I’ve always loved listening to it but I had no idea what the heck was going on - who is Herne? A red kite?? Does this relate to Hadley and Rosalie???

Plus, I love reading analysis on stuff so, here I am, attempting to make my own.

Anyways, to give a quick overview, I am going to be analyzing both the words and the instruments used in the song, going strictly by the studio recording. Everything here will be MY OPINION ALONE so it could be possible that I am horribly wrong on certain things. This research was INCREDIBLY LIGHT so there are probably a lot of details that I missed. Plus, I don’t really have strong music or literature knowledge, nothing beyond what you’re taught in high school. I’ll try to clear up the blocks of text with pictures or videos of things I think are helpful.

I’m basically going to be the English Teacher who finds meaning in everything meme. You know, the:

So, without further ado...

Background

The Song Itself

As we all know, “Herne and the Red Kite” was written by Hadley Fraser and was released on his EP Just Let Go. Although it was released in 2014, I’m not entirely sure when this song was written, so it could have been really any time before then. Just to get it out there, based on what others have already said (from that post, yes), this song is most likely to be about Hadley and Rosalie Craig. Here is the song itself if you’ve (somehow) never heard it before. You can also listen along and read at the same time :D

youtube

Characters in the Song

Herne

Based on only a Google search, “Herne the Hunter”, an English folklore ghost, is really the only thing that shows up. He is mentioned by Shakespeare in The Merry Wives of Windsor in which he is described as “the ghost of a former Windsor Forest keeper who haunts a particular oak tree at midnight in the winter time” (Wikipedia). He is associated with the Windsor Forest and the Great Park in Berkshire. He basically does a lot of not cool stuff, like making cows produce blood instead of milk and making trees die. Another version states that he was made so that parents can scare their children into being more obedient. Herne is also the surname of a bunch of people. Because Herne is such an interesting name to use for a song like this (why didn’t he pick literally anything else??), then there is probably some intention behind the use of this name and probably the connotations that come with it.

Red Kite

So, apparently, the Red Kite isn’t actually a kite but is actually a kind of English bird. Fun fact, during Shakespeare’s time, it was considered to be an insult to be called a kite because this bird, back then, was regarded as quite a lowly bird since it was literally associated with trash. It was related this way because it eats dead things haha... However, it was hunted intensely until it became basically extinct except for a few in Wales. Over time, as the population began to thrive again, the Red Kite became a celebrated symbol of Wales (probably) (source).

According to a lot of different sites, apparently Red Kites also have some meaning to them. I think the most consistent and most important one is how they are a connection between the living and the underworld. This mystical connection binds well with Herne being a folklore ghost who, of course being a ghost, is probably dead. So, already, they are a pretty good match.

A good thing to note as well, birds, in general, are usually used to symbolize freedom. Also, as far as I can tell, there are really no previous stories or songs or works or whatever about Herne and Red Kites together.

Hadley and Rosalie’s Relationship

I got this information from here (brought up by @peonybooks in a chat, thank you!!)

So, depending on where you look, in 2008 or 2009, Hadley and Rosalie met on the set of A Christmas Carol production in Birmingham, although at the time, they were both dating other people. A piece of the set had fallen on Rosalie during that time and basically destroyed her arm. However, she was determined to swiftly come back to the stage because she was afraid that if she hadn’t, she’ll never be able to come back at all. That, and “because [she] had fallen in love with [Hadley]” (my feelings waaa).

Once the production was over, Hadley shipped it back to LA while Rosalie stayed in London. Hadley returned a year later and called up Rosalie for a drink. It was then discovered that they had actually liked each other this entire time!! They just never told each other. They lived together in Crystal Palace after that and married in 2014. This makes it around the time that this EP was released.

Hadley and Rosalie as Herne and the Red Kite

Something interesting I noticed was the relation of their names to these characters. H is for Hadley and Herne. R is for Rosalie and the Red Kite.

Of course, this little fun fact breaks a bit if Hadley is using his real first name, Robert, haha. The “Red” in “Red Kite” can also be a relation to how Rosalie has red hair (thanks @alittlepawblog hehe).

Also, something worth noting is how Rosalie sings all the lines that are in Herne’s perspective, and Hadley sings all the lines about the Red Kite’s perspective. That trade-off is quite neat, actually. They are both narrators together in this story, but they are swapping who talks about who. It makes the whole song feel like they are speaking for each other together.

Lyrics and Instruments

I think for this part, I am going to break it up by when each person sings. So basically, whenever there is a new singer or if they start singing together, that will be a new section. Italics are lyrics, regular print is the analysis.

Instrumental

The story is introduced by an accordion. To be honest, it sounds quite static, or maybe even stoic. There is not a lot of feeling in it, maybe to demonstrate how Herne and the Red Kite’s lives were like before meeting each other.

The sprinkles of hi-hats spring the beginning of the song, which consists of a guitar melody, bass and a violin. The violin has a recurring melody that is highlighted every time there is an instrumental break. It could perhaps represent Herne as both Herne (and subsequently Hadley) is mentioned throughout the song consistently, while the Red kite is only mentioned after the introduction.

Rosalie

Herne lived alone, lived alone in a wood Staring at swallows, wishing he could Join their migration from flower to flower Finally deciding to rest on some bower

Herne is introduced right off the bat, making him kind of the main character. That, and the fact that he has the most lines in the song directly about him. Makes sense if Herne is supposed to stand in for Hadley, since Hadley wrote this song. The fact that he lives in the woods also fits nicely with how he is supposed to be a ghost associated with the Windsor Forest and the Great Park.

The lyrics state he is lonely and stares at swallows, wishing he could join them and fly far away visiting beautiful things (“flower to flower”). Swallows are typically symbols for very very good things, like happiness, protection, connection, conflict resolution, etc. The words “finally deciding to rest” kind of makes it like he has been on this long trek for happiness for a while. He’s been doing this search for so long that he just has to rest, finally. And, in case you didn’t know like me, a bower is “a pleasant shady place under trees or climbing plants in a garden or wood” (thanks Google).

So, just to recap Herne is a lonely ghost who doesn’t want to be this way. He wants to be happy, have a connection with something, but being isolated in the wood just doesn’t let him do that. This may indicate how lonely or just duller things seemed to be for Hadley before he met Rosalie. He didn’t feel a true connection or see true beauty, something he desperately wanted to experience, until her.

BOTH

With another With another

Albeit being very short, these can potentially have meaning behind them. “With another” - another what? They also start singing together here for the first time. Perhaps the “another” is each other, Hadley and Rosalie, or a foreshadow that Herne will be joined by another person or being soon, a sort of set up for the Red Kite, who is introduced in the next line.

Hadley

Herne lifts his head and the Red Kite goes drifting by Suddenly in love with something that caught her eye

Hadley now sings but from the perspective of the Red Kite. Notice before that Rosalie sang the last verse, but all about Herne. They kind of mirror each other in this way.

youtube

With the video above, you can see how, while they drift, the Red Kites move their head a lot. Maybe this is a normal bird movement and I’m just too dumb to know, but they seem to be actively searching below them. I think this derives from how they are scavenger birds. However, instead of spotting food, she spots Herne and is “suddenly in love”. This could parallel into real life, where Rosalie might have seen Hadley in passing on the production and experienced love at first sight. These lines indicate that Herne (Hadley) has clearly seen the Red Kite (Rosalie) as well, probably having the same love at first sight moment, something that can be inferred once the song progresses into the next Rosalie verse.

In this verse, the accordion returns as well, possibly indicating some remnants of the past sadness still lingering. There is uncertainty. However, a new instrument is also introduced simultaneously: the mandolin. To me, it kind of sounds very happy and bright and hopeful, especially in the plucky way it was used. This new instrument, as well as the potentially cheesy representation (rip me), can indicate that something new and exciting is going to begin.

BOTH

Something that's shining so bright in the sunlight Let's hope we never...

If we’re sticking with the definition of bowers being shady, then should it not be very unlikely that the Red Kite or Herne have spotted each other at all? Perhaps through this line, they are saying how unlikely their relationship was to have occurred, but when it ultimately did, it was glorious. In the following line, they say “Let’s hope we never lose that thing that shines in the sunlight ever again”. Maybe it was just so unbelievably good, so amazing, that they were afraid that they would lose it because it just feels so unimaginable. Besides, this flips well into reality since they never told each other they liked each other and kept it secret for a whole year!! PLUS, they were dating others when they first met!! Very unlikely relationship indeed.

...then again, this could just be them saying the other is really great haha.

The accordion is fazed out as if the longer Herne and the Red Kite gaze at each other, the past sadness and loneliness are slowly melting away. The violin returns, swelling into the next line.

BOTH - HADLEY MELODY, ROSALIE HARMONY

...lose that thing that shines in the sunlight ever again

Them singing together makes it like they are in total agreement with each other. It’s like Hadley is making this statement in the melody, and Rosalie supports wholeheartedly with her harmony. From Hadley to Rosalie, and Rosalie to Hadley, they feel like the other outcompetes the sun (the sun!).

Instrumental

The violin melody from the beginning returns, as does the guitar melody. However, after the violin does its melody once, the trumpet now copies it! If the violin represents Herne because of how both he and the violin are introduced at around the same time, then the trumpet could represent the Red Kite, bringing new a much more vibrant, bold and triumphant vibe to Herne’s life. Plus, the fact that the trumpet copies the violin’s melody probably means there is a connection between the two. This would make it somewhat like an instrumental duet or could also possibly foreshadow that something very good is about to happen.

Rosalie

Only one Herne and not enough wood Climbed up the bower and atop it he stood Called down the Red Kite from high up above Come land down here and be my love

Herne feels so attracted to the Red kite that he feels a physical pull to her, so much so that he climbs up on top of the bower. With not enough wood, he’s too far away from the Red Kite, and with only one Herne, it feels like nothing is there to support him in what he is trying to do. So he calls down the Red Kite to be with him instead, kind of like how Hadley called Rosalie for a drink all those years ago. It was him that reached out at the end that called her to him. “Be my love”, they will soon declare to each other during/after that fateful meeting.

This also begins the hunter-bird relationship, if we are going to take this a little more literally. Hunter and bird relationships are very mutualistic. They help each other, with the birds guiding the hunters to their targets and the hunters paying them back in some way, usually through food or other means.

BOTH

Forever Forever

Singing together, they both want to be together forever (haha, pretty obvious?)

Hadley

Red Kite flies down (he's waited his life for this) Whispers to Herne something, whispers, and then a kiss

As the Red Kite flies down towards Herne (as Rosalie gets closer to Hadley, or comes to meet him), Herne (Hadley) thinks that “he’s waited his life for this”. This goes back to the beginning where we know that Herne really wanted to go beyond the wood to see new beautiful things. Now someone beautiful has come to him instead, making his once isolating and lonely world so much more dazzling and loving.

They also whisper, which is a pretty intimate choice of word. And they kiss! Literally spelling out a loving relationship. The happiness, love, protection, connection that Herne (Hadley) yearned for, for such a long time, is finally here.

The mandolin also returns, the hope has its pay off! It continues to play throughout the rest of the song until after a few “Herne and the Red Kite” repeats at the very end of the song.

BOTH

Something that's shining so bright in the sunlight Let's hope we never...

BOTH - HADLEY MELODY, ROSALIE HARMONY

...lose that thing that shines in the sunlight ever again

Once again, they repeat these words, as if to reaffirm this message that they are the best thing to have happened to each other. This is also at the end of the song, you can interpret as the end of this segment of the story, but the start of something beautiful. As time goes on, this magnificent idea they hold of each other never changes, despite anything that happens.

Instrumental

This instrumental segment sounds like a slightly altered version of the instrumental breaks we’ve heard before. It is a lot more energetic, with the first threeish notes being kept from the original, but now tacked on with something extra. Overall, it just sounds so much happier than the instrumental breaks we’ve been getting before.

BOTH

Herne and the Red Kite (repeat)...

This line is repeated 12 times (yes, I counted). The overall feel just sounds so triumphant and happy, like we’re celebrating. The joyous melody has the mandolin fade out, and if you really listen, the trumpet and violin seem to be having a very animated conversation with one another, calling and responding to each other and at times responding really quickly. The same guitar melody that we hear during the instrumental breaks is back as well.

Instrumental

All the instruments fade away, with the violin’s recurring melody closing the celebration off until there is only the guitar left. With only the violin standing out at the very end, it's nice that the original solo melody is now surrounded by all these other exciting things, making it kind of say that Herne is still Herne, but now he is surrounded by so many wonders now that the Red Kite is here. With the guitar having its ending solo, It makes it sounds like this is a tale gone by, and now we talk about it as if it were a folktale or a legend. It kind of feels like we’re just talking about this story around a campfire instead. Herne and the Red Kite grew old and grew old together, closing off the song like a musical “happily ever after”.

Extra Stuff

Interesting Notes

The way it is written sort of sounds like a children’s poem, describing a simple but cute story

The song, overall, personally has a folklore vibe to it haha

There are a few pairs that can be picked out

Herne and the Red kite

Hadley and Rosalie

Male and Female voice (duet)

Violin and Trumpet

Accordion and Mandolin (Accordion is replaced by the Mandolin)

Any time the two sing together, it kind of just reinforces the narrator aspect of things, how they seem to be telling us the story of how they met and ultimately fell in love from a long time ago

Unanswered Questions

Why use Herne of all figures? Herne is supposed to be a very scary ghost. If it truly is supposed to represent Hadley, does this mean he identifies with the ghost in some way? Or did he derive some meaning from Herne’s presence in the works he shows up in?

Conclusion

Waa ok, that’s all I have for now about Herne and the Red Kite. If you made it to the end, thank you so much!! Truly appreciative that you read all the ramblings <3

Here is the super general story: Herne was yearning for something more and was feeling lonely. Then he saw the Red Kite drift by, and for both of them, it was love at first sight. He desperately wanted to be with her, so he called out to her despite the odds or the distance, and as she descended to him, he felt excited that his loneliness was finally going to end. From then on, they shared a happy and joyous relationship until the end of time. The end~

The writing of this post took much longer than the actual light research and speculation part of it. Again, I might be completely wrong because this is just what I think is going on, and I might also just be looking waaaayyy too deep into things. If this is truly a proper, or at least somewhat proper, reflection of Hadley and Rosalie’s relationship, then I feel incredibly soft :’)

If you have any other ideas, or if you agree/disagree with my analysis, please let me know!! I’m really excited to see what others have to say. :D

Until next time, I guess haha

#hadley fraser #rosalie craig #herne and the red kite #personal analysis #personal insight

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mc-doppomine · 3 years

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My Ranking of Buster Bros!!! Songs

As I’ve put with my previous posts about song rankings, this is all done in good fun. What I think slaps may be what you think sucks and vice versa. So take it with a fistful of salt. I will not include the battles as that will be on its own list. I will include BB City, Nausa du Zuiqu and Ez Do Rap for fun.

I honestly feel bad for the Buster Bros because discography wise, I actually like most of the songs. Like if they came on, I probably wouldn’t switch it off. But at the same time, they do not have many that really slap for me. Like songs I’m obsessed with. Which kinda makes me feel bad because since I usually listen over the songs while I write this, I think...yeah these songs are good.

14) New Star - Probably the only of songs that I’d lean more towards not liking. It really made think of a middle schooler, which I guess is the point since this was Saburo’s introductory song. But you know when you find like old recording of you performing in school and you’re just like ‘oh no.’ But yeah got that feeling. Also I was like ‘man, what a little shit’ from his lyrics. Which, again, makes sense. Does not mean I had to love it.

13) School of IKB - Maybe because it just felt like a departure from Jiro’s usual sound that threw me off. It isn’t bad by any means but I guess I wasn’t expecting it. It really is a song that says a lot about Jiro’s growth and I’m super proud of him. I will admit that the chorus confused me and I while writing this figured out that he meant ‘I wanna be a cypher that continues after sunset.’ Because the other lyrics that kept coming in between the other ‘I wanna be a...’

12) Ez Do Rap - It is catchy but probably still one more forgettable, especially since I have to go look it up if I want to listen to it.

11) Run This City - Fallen so far but it did a good job of keeping with the series and making me think that I could get into hypmic. So thank you for your service? Honestly, weirdly I think Buster Bros is one of the crews that actually had their anime versions sound really good for the music?

10) BB City - I don’t know how all these extra songs end up having this energy of like just feel good and fun? I thought the subject was funny more than anything. Especially since they go so into their pettiness, they forgot the real goal here. It reminds me of another song but I cannot think of what it is.

9) Ikebukuro West Game Park - This one actually hits pretty hard. Especially the break down near the end. I just had stronger feelings for the ones above it. I don’t mind the callbacks but I think i have to be in a mood with it though. Still thinking about the beatboxing though.

8) Re:start!!! - I feel so bad that this is where it is but it’s primarily because of just liking fast over slow. But it is such an important song. Like for all that it is. Like this is a song where Jiro is actually the one supporting the entire song when normally it is Ichiro doing so. Like it is proof of him trying to be his own man and yet he is still a loving brother. And ah, I’m just crying over how they remain so strong together (and all these crews need to stop bullying them just because their (sibling) relationships are in shambles).

7) Ore Ga Ichiro - Honestly think this one and number six could be switched around dependent on what kind of ‘I’m coming to kick your ass’ I felt like being that day. I actually remember it’s small feature in the anime. And it had given me hope for the music of the whole thing (it was half right). And honestly it really does tell you about everything about Ichiro with one song. And I honestly feel a little...proud? Like this sounds more like him than his TDD self.

6) This Means War - Eyo my name is Jiro! But no, seriously, this song sounds like the kind of thing I’d listen if I was prepping to go fight someone. And Jiro’s words are so intense and take no prisoners about it. Plus instrumental??? Also intense, I love it.

5) Requiem - Okay so this song was set up for success considering I thought Dies Irae was a banger of classical song to begin with. Add Saburo’s rap to it? Absolute banger. Sounds like a villain origin story to me. Too bad he’s like ‘but Ichi-nii would not like that.’

4) Break the Wall - Look man, they knew what they were doing when they based it off those dance songs. I personally get reminded of Earth, Wind and Fire. But yeah, it’s a good song and such a hopeful song. I am often in the back at work dancing to this song because it just has that vibe.

3) Nausa du Zuiqu - The one song I can never spell right. But pretty high up for an insert song, huh? But yeah, I got nothing. This one, like Wrap & Rap, just gives me so a boost of seretonin. Because my first thought is ‘is this fucking Ievan polkka? Ichiro, you weeb!’ And he dragged Samatoki down with him. Then it was hilarious to find out they’re fucking go at it in a sauna while doing trivia about saunas. Like Samatoki said, ‘why do you know so much about saunas?!’

2) Ohayo Ikebukuro - I’m aware a lot of this is them talking but it’s also so bursting with their personalities and their dynamics. It’s ultra charming to me. Also I thought the breakdown when they’re doing haiku raps (don’t at me, that’s what they are) sounded too great considering they were just doing honestly silly haikus except Jiro. Also I was laughing because I found Ohayo Ikebukuro while writing an outline for an Ichiro/Reader and was like ‘wait, what’ when I found this talked about the kind of girl they liked. And Ichiro’s type...was kinda what I wrote for it. Guess his type is obvious, huh?

1) 3 Second Killer - I know, crazy that we get a Rhyme Anima song top the list. I had actually half forgotten this song. Like I know I thought it was fucking great even with the TV version but I didn’t listen to it because the TV version was so short. So when I found out that the Straight Outta Rhyme Anima extended all the songs, I was like ‘wait what?’ Came to this one, awesome. But it absolutely fits my love of let’s fuck shit up and being a badass vibe. Also my god, this must’ve been such a pain to record because if you look, almost every line is a different brother rapping for like the chorus. It also alternates between which and how many doing the line. And it sounds awesome! Also you hear that guitar in the fucking back? It is going ham.

#song thoughts #buster bros

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sanstropfremir · 3 years

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ok this took way longer than i expected because i got sidetracked looking at paintings and reading poetry and just admiring the mv, but it's finally finished!! let's talk about

higher

✨

i'm going to draw your attention to a few things.

firstly, these verses from rime of the ancient mariner by samuel taylor coleridge, published 1834:

The harbour-bay was clear as glass,

So smoothly it was strewn!

And on the bay the moonlight lay,

And the shadow of the Moon.

The rock shone bright, the kirk no less,

That stands above the rock:

The moonlight steeped in silentness

The steady weathercock.

And the bay was white with silent light,

Till rising from the same,

Full many shapes, that shadows were,

In crimson colours came.

A little distance from the prow

Those crimson shadows were:

I turned my eyes upon the deck—

Oh, Christ! what saw I there!

Each corse lay flat, lifeless and flat,

And, by the holy rood!

A man all light, a seraph-man,

On every corse there stood.

This seraph-band, each waved his hand:

It was a heavenly sight!

They stood as signals to the land,

Each one a lovely light;

This seraph-band, each waved his hand,

No voice did they impart—

No voice; but oh! the silence sank

Like music on my heart.

secondly, this ivan aivazovsky painting, chaos (the creation), c. 1841:

and thirdly, the memorial of percy shelley, who drowned in a boating accident at age 29, in 1822:

there's a common conflation between the romantic and the pastoral in the general cultural consensus because the pastoral a) has been around as an art term longer than romantic, and b) romanticism does use some similar imagery. but there is a key difference: the pastoral is specfically an idealization of 'the simple shepherding life,' often for high class and urban audiences who have no conception of the details of this life includes. one of the more famous examples is christopher marlowe's a passionate shepherd to his love, published in 1599:

Come live with me and be my love,

And we will all the pleasures prove,

That Valleys, groves, hills, and fields,

Woods, or steepy mountain yields.

And we will sit upon the Rocks,

Seeing the Shepherds feed their flocks,

By shallow Rivers to whose falls

Melodious birds sing Madrigals.

And I will make thee beds of Roses

And a thousand fragrant posies,

A cap of flowers, and a kirtle

Embroidered all with leaves of Myrtle;

A gown made of the finest wool

Which from our pretty Lambs we pull;

Fair lined slippers for the cold,

With buckles of the purest gold;

A belt of straw and Ivy buds,

With Coral clasps and Amber studs:

And if these pleasures may thee move,

Come live with me, and be my love.

The Shepherds’ Swains shall dance and sing

For thy delight each May-morning:

If these delights thy mind may move,

Then live with me, and be my love.

whereas romanticism is a more pointedly specific movement that was active from around 1800 to 1850, primarily focused on intense emotion and catharsis as the primary experiential output of an artwork. which most prominently manifested in a deep fascination and glorification of the natural environment and historical nostalgia. the movement sprung from the german sturm und drang (literally storm and drive/stress) period of the late 1760s to early 1780s, which was a direct reaction to rationalism and enlightenment. romanticism had similar impulses; it was also a revival of medievalism and a reaction against the looming urban sprawl and mechanization of the industrial revolution. a typical romantic poem from one of the originators of the english movment william wordsworth, composed upon westminster bridge, september 3, 1802, originally published 1807:

Earth has not any thing to show more fair:

Dull would he be of soul who could pass by

A sight so touching in its majesty:

This City now doth, like a garment, wear

The beauty of the morning; silent, bare,

Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and temples lie

Open unto the fields, and to the sky;

All bright and glittering in the smokeless air.

Never did sun more beautifully steep

In his first splendour, valley, rock, or hill;

Ne'er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep!

The river glideth at his own sweet will:

Dear God! the very houses seem asleep;

And all that mighty heart is lying still!

this romantic fascination with nature was underpinned by the philosophy of the sublime, generally agreed to be first treatised by edmund burke in 1756, the theory was also written about by kant and hegel. in the simplest of terms, the sublime is a quality of greatness beyond calculation, imitation, and human comprehension. the sublime is twofold; the greatness of the ocean is beautiful, but its power is also terrifying, and the experience of the sublime is to feel those two at once. to be in awe and also to be horrified of its ability to sink ships and drown a life in a tempermental change of tide.

let's take a quick detour to talk about

clothing

in the present day we have become much more lax thanks to the aesthetic movement in the late nineteenth century, but back in the early victorian period there are still highly structured rules about when and what clothing one can wear in public. and the clothing itself is also highly structured. anyone with a passing understanding of the victorian era knows about the whole flashing of the ankle thing and corsets galore, and it is true that the general day to day garments cover a lot of area. for men in particular, this manifests in no less than three layers in public at all times: shirt, waistcoat, and suit jacket, with a coat or mantle overtop in colder temperatures. this also includes a variation of a neck tie (depending on what year), hat, gloves, and any other decided upon accessories (this can also include a corset and other padded structural underpinnings). an important tangent to mention here is that this is the uniform of the upper classes, although the rules do apply to the lower classes if they wanted to appear 'sophisticated.' the working man's uniform was also shirt, waistcoat, trousers, but the difference here is in the textiles themselves; the colours tended to be much more drab, with less complicated patterns. obviously due to the price fabric itself, but also due to the labour of laundry. an indicator of class here is the white shirt itself and its pristine implications. (there is a longer conversation here about the invention of neckties and detachable collars and cuffs, but that's for another day). the silhouettes are very important to note here in the higher mv, as they are directly referential to the 'romantic poet' archetype of loose shirt and tight pants that we see in popular culture. but as i've just said, the reality is that men of the era were not dressed like this out in public. this look is essentially underwear; the implications are salacious. so where did this come from? well, we can blame it mostly on lord byron, who by all accounts was the first western 'rockstar.' notoriously called 'mad, bad and dangerous to know' by lady caroline lamb (a married women he publically had an affair with), byron was openly bisexual and deeply hedonistic with a lot of questionable habits, but his poetry was so popular that he was known to have women following him in the street and gathering in large quanities to see him at salons. and this was close to three decades before lizstomania. his close friends and contemporaries included percy and mary shelley, with whom he lived with abroad in italy for some time (this living arrangement resulted in the writing of both frankenstein and john polidori's the vampyre). byron's reputation was so eclipsing that the image of the lush poet lazing in his undergarments has become its own genre of romantic, slightly removed from the movement byron was writing in. it's also worth it to point out that there are no official portraits of byron dressed like this from the time. the visual assumption is somewhat apochryphal. now let's get into some specifics. a.c.e is not unfamiliar to this silhouette; as previously mentioned in this post i wrote about their styling, the boxy loose upper and fitted lower is their general mode for their styling because of its emphasis on legs. cactus was the most extreme example of this, and to prove my point, this specific silhouette is extremely common in classical ballet:

1. vaslav nijinsky, giselle, 1911 2. nehemiah kish, george balanchine's ballo della regina, 2011/12

higher fits very neatly into this same category: we have an emphasis on the legs through tightly fitted garments and also through light reflective textile, as well as a secondary emphasis on arm and shoulder movements with looser fit shirts. plus, the shirts are made from fabrics that have good drape and flow, and mimic the visual effects of water:

there are also several instances of scale patterning and wetlook hair styles, further elabourating on the siren theme. and the jewelry is the same, purposefully cut clear stones for oceanic sparkle or pearls, the gem directly born from water, as highlighting accents to specific parts of the body - namely eyes, hands, and torso:

the body jewelry also serves a double purpose in addition to being sparkly; it gives a semblance of shape to their torsos so their movements aren't totally lost in the shroud of their shirts, and it also invokes some of that salacious element that us as a modern audience doesn't necessarily perceive in the same way when we see a man wearing only a shirt. all of these points are especially prominent in the stage costuming. concerning the veils, these are an aesthetic choice following the theme of depicting water without actually using water. the song has a very breathless quality to it, and the lyrics directly make reference to water and breathlessness, so it only makes sense to have a physical manifestation of struggling to breathe.

now let's talk about

mise-en-scène

unlike most kpop mvs, I would argue that higher is not a spectacle in what we normally see spectacle to be. the overwhelming visual saturation of goblin (and the goblin remix) is more in line with what we expect, but how do you follow that, top it? the answer is that you don't. you aim for something with a completely different feel, which is exact what they did with higher.

the performing arts did not escape romanticism. the very start of the movement, sturm und drang, is actually named from a specific play written by friedrich maximilian klinger that premiered in 1777. the plays of the brief period are characterized by extreme and passionate emotions, and were siblings to one of the most famous genres of theatre, the melodrama. meant to appeal directly to the emotions of the audience using sensationalist plots and stock characters, the melodrama was the predominent form of entertainment in victorian england and gradually developed a specific form of its own. in this period we also start to see the development of 'stagecraft' into the recognizable form that it takes today. footlights, limelight/spotlighting, the separation of house and stage lighting, fly galleries, elevator platform mechanics, and the first (purported) western use of rear projection are all innovations of the late 18th and 19th centuries, as melodramas were known to have very intricate and spectacular stagings. and to go along with these stagecraft mechanics we see the rise in designated stage crews, which were predominantly off-duty sailors looking to make money. the rope systems that made up the fly galleries were very similar to that on ships, and much of the terminology and supersitions crossed over: this is the origin of the term 'rigging' being used for suspending set elements, and also the origin of the 'don't whistle in a theatre' superstition. as sailors communicated with whistle patterns on ships, the same system was adopted for changing scenery, and therefore whistling a random pattern could potentially drop a setpiece on an unsuspecting victim.

so with all this backstory out of the way, what is the very first full location we see? a stage, complete with forced perspective via the painted fabric legs (the side panels) and borders (the wavy upper panels). we even have a flat painted backdrop with a projection screen and hanging overhead lamps. there's also a second interior set, a desk in what looks to be a study of some kind. bit self explanatory on this one, taking the poet notion on the nose.

the locations have a bit of an obtuse arc, but it's there when you look for it. it starts interior spaces, where the ideas of sublime attempted to be recreated for the viewer. then it moves to transitory spaces; portions of nature isolated from a whole environment, interjections of human architecture into natural spaces:

(the white hut structure in the greenhouse is reminiscent of a skene (literally hut/tent), which is the structure at the back of the stage in ancient greek theatre used for the actors to change their masks and costumes. it was originally temporary, but slowly transformed into permanent stage architecture)

and then finally outdoors, into the sublime itself:

jwm turner, crossing the bridge, 1815

lastly,

lighting

there's a very clear lighting pattern here, primarily in light and dark. the base colour story is fairly simple complementary pairs; there's a lot of purple/red and green, and blue and yellow/amber, with everything relatively on the same tonal level. there are deliberate interjections of heavily saturated red for specific effect. there are also, most notably, a 'dark' version of all the sets. obviously as a reference to the eclipse that we see in the mv and in the concept photo series, but also as a reference to that darker undercurrent of the sublime, the upsetting, the uncanny, and the terrifying:

And the bay was white with silent light/Till rising from the same/Full many shapes, that shadows were/In crimson colours came.

#a.c.e #ace w #kpop analysis #group analysis #me - a staunch defender of kpop as valid spectacle: actually this one is a melodrama its meant to hit different #this essay is otherwise known as the quickest and dirtiest history of romanticism ever #i really should have pointed out that when i say romantic i mean romantic with a capital r #that probably would clear up some confusion but i have an aesthetic to maintain do not @ me #this is potentially the most pretentious thing i have ever written i am so sorry if this makes no sense #some of these connections are so tenuous who let me have opinions on the internet #did i write this as an excuse to look at the percy shelley memorial because i am obsessed with it as a piece of art? maybe #anyways read tom stoppard's arcadia if you want to know more about that #you should read all this with the caveat that the sublime and romanticism need to be deconstructed through a postcolonialist lens #because these theories are super colonialist about 'unclaimed untameable natural spaces'#when in reality most natural spaces are specifically architected by indigenous peoples in order to preserve and coexist with the ecosystem #this is may be more obviously applicable to american subliminal painting than european but it still applies #since the british were notoriously good at fucking up every kind of expedition ever #because of their lack of respect for literally anything and everything #and their inability to listen to anyone other than another white british person #see: history of the northwest passage #im a bad theorist and not caught up so i didnt get that deep into it because counter to the wordcount #i am not trying to write another dissertation #this is not as well researched as it could be but also im not reading burke and kant again #also yes byron the shelleys and polidori did just bang out the foundations for all of science fiction and romantic vampire mythology #in like three days because the all got bored during a storm and want to try and 'outscare' each other #also by 1840 like every prominent romantic poet was dead either from their own stupidity or tuberculosis #with the exception of wordsworth that motherfucker started the movement and then outlived it #text

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