When I was in elementary and middle school, I understood the people of the world as belonging to two categories. Those who have the capability to be physically beautiful and those who do not.
I considered myself a member of the latter group, and it was with this idea I brushed aside any possibility for insecurity based on my appearance. When I was younger I never spared a second thought to the clothes I wore or the way I did my hair because I assumed any effort in either department was a lost cause. I simply lacked the potential that half of the population had, I decided, and there was no point worrying about it.
And then, in seventh grade, I decided on a whim to cut off about five inches of my hair. It was a split second decision, but one I have never regretted. For the first time I looked into the mirror and liked what I saw. Around the same time my older cousin gifted a lot of her outgrown clothes to me, and I found myself actually enjoying the process of mixing and matching wardrobe pieces.
Still, something nagged at my mind. The fact that I was beginning to find joy in my appearance bothered me. I still held fast to the idea that beauty wasn’t possible for me, so taking interest in it felt shallow and vapid and ultimately pointless. Who was I even trying to impress? It was with these newly shorn locks, mismatched clothes, and confusing thoughts that I entered high school.
My Freshman year of high school was a major disaster in a lot of ways, but in hindsight, a lot of what occurred in that year was vitally important to the person I am today. Along with the many trying emotional experiences, it was this year that I began to solve my beauty conundrum as well. The solution came from a friend, Marie Hamilton, who to this day rightfully claims responsibility for teaching me the wonders of makeup but just as rightfully deserves responsibility for teaching me how to take pride in my appearance.
Marie was the sort of person I would categorize as being in the former group of people, but it was only after befriending her that I discovered that this came from her love of the process of fashion and style, not some sort of genetic predisposition. Her genuine love of doing her hair in crazy styles or digging through Goodwill for unique fashion or attaching tape to her face to get the perfect winged eyeliner inspired me to try some of these things for myself. (Yes, even the tape thing. No, I don’t recommend it.)
I found that I loved it too. Suddenly, weekends were for trying out fun new outfits and eyeshadow palettes became treasured possessions. And through the time I spent trying to achieve personal beauty, I started learning how to love myself. I already loved the things I did and the people I did it with, but I also began to love me too. Even without makeup and pretty clothes, it was through experimentation with my own appearance that I realized that the way I understood the world was wrong. If I was capable of liking the way I looked, then everyone had the capacity for beauty.
This isn’t to say that fashion and makeup is the only route to beauty. I’ve found it to be only one possible method. What it really comes down to is knowing yourself. Learning what makes you feel confident and happy is what beauty is, even if that thing is a certain hairstyle or a comfortable hoodie or a full face of makeup. Everyone deserves to love themselves in all avenues. Yes, they should love the things they do, but they should also love the way they look. I think there’s a major difference between this and vanity, which comes, I guess, in intention.
The issue comes when society both demands physical perfection and shames those who try their best to achieve it. There’s no way to win in that situation, so honestly I think the best thing to do is to do what you like. If you put on your makeup every morning because you want to do it, then there’s no problem at all.
And yes, I know that lots of people put makeup on not to appease society but rather to appease themselves. I’ve met a lot of people who consider themselves ugly and hate going out without hours of prep time before. But I don’t think that’s always the case, and it’s no reason to demonize makeup and beauty as a whole. I mean, just because you like the way you look in mascara doesn’t mean you hate the way you look without it. I wish we could destroy most societal standards for beauty, but I feel like too often this is equated with doing away with makeup entirely.
It’s a hard balance to strike, I guess. For now, I’ll just live by my own truth. I don’t put on makeup because I think I’m ugly. I put on makeup because I like the way I look.
This weekend marks somewhat of a culmination of over a year of hype for me.
Yes, a little over a year ago, I was sitting in my AP U.S. History class, discussing the Federalist/Anti-Federalist debate, when my teacher put on a NPR documentary about a peculiar little musical soon to hit Broadway, “Hamilton.”
At the time, I regarded the segment with mild interest. Even though I wouldn’t consider myself a history or musical buff, I have a passing interest in both topics, and even though I’m very much not a fan of rap, the melding of these three ideas was so out there I couldn’t help but pay attention. The video sparked an interesting conversation regarding the differences and similarities in ideology of the Federalists and Anti-Federalists, and also, unknowingly, a curiosity in the back of my mind.
Several weeks later, while browsing Twitter, I noticed a great deal of hype surrounding a familiar name. It seemed that NPR had uploaded the entire soundtrack of “Hamilton” to its website as an early look. I was assured by many sources that, since almost the whole musical is in song, I could hear the entire story just from listening to the soundtrack. Remembering the video clip from class and how it intrigued me, I pulled the NPR page up on my phone and set myself to listen to all of it.
It did not click immediately for me, in all honesty. On my first listen I was confused about whose voice was whose and didn’t understand a lot of the story. (For example, I thought Angelica and Eliza were the same person, making “Satisfied” an incredibly confusing first experience for me. Didn’t she just get married to him? Why is she complaining about giving him away now?)
Yet, when I reached the end I found myself oddly moved by this modern take on the life of Alexander Hamilton, and some of the songs appealed to me enough on the first listen to persuade me to listen through a few more times. Suddenly, I found myself texting a few friends in something like confusion, lamenting why this “Silly rap musical about Alexander Hamilton” had so neatly taken over my thoughts and time.
Goaded on by the first group of enthusiastic fans of the musical, I tried to convert a few of my friends. It was easy enough for me, honestly, since I know a lot of people who love musicals. For one friend, I played the soundtrack for her on the bus to one of our marching band competitions, and it soon became a tradition for the two of us to share earbuds and loudly sing along to the entire soundtrack. For another friend, it was just a matter of constantly talking about it and pointing out how much it would appeal to him as a fan of both history and musicals. For a few others, it was rambling to them over text about the musical and constantly talking about it – it wasn’t hard, because it was a singular obsession of mine for an extended period of time.
Suddenly, it seemed all of my friends had come over to the cause of “Hamilton.” We would spend hours at parties quoting the lyrics, discussing the story, and starting impromptu sing-alongs. We would assign certain characters to each person so that the parts were split evenly for songs featuring a large cast. We even had a short-lived but surprisingly serious plan to do a “Hamilton” group cosplay.
And of course, I told the teacher who showed us all the clip in class about the entire soundtrack being available on NPR, and I was the reason she became a huge fan of the musical too. That was me, even if she would later give the credit to a certain someone.
And then, just as our personal hype was dying down a bit, it seemed the rest of the population of the world caught on. Every social media site was filled with excitement about it, and I got to feel the smug satisfaction of being one of the first to call myself a fan. The Tonys rolled around, and I organized a fancy dress party with a few close friends. We snacked on fancy hors d’oeuvres and watched as “Hamilton” took home nearly every Tony it was nominated for. It seemed fitting that a musical that had taken over our lives was recognized on such a national platform.
And this weekend, I finally got to go see it.
Me and two close friends took a weekend trip to Chicago, getting a hotel, shopping, and checking off one of the things on my bucket list. And for this momentous occasion, I couldn’t help but take a moment to talk about how important this musical has been not only in my life but in the lives of clearly so many others.
I haven’t really talked much about politics on this blog – partly because it stresses me out pretty heavily and partly because I don’t feel like I’m enough of an expert to say anything particularly new or productive on it. But I don’t think it’s out of my comfort zone to say that it’s hard nowadays to consider myself proud of my country. There’s too much conflict and petty drama and injustice to feel anything but cynicism about America. Plus, I’ve had years of U.S. History classes to convince me that there’s nothing in our past to be proud of. With every small step forward we have taken as a country, it seems there are twice as many avalanches backwards. And to make matters even worse, most of the “movers and shakers” of the past are hard to connect with now.
Yet, each time I listen to “Hamilton,” I feel something that almost seems like patriotism. For a little while, the “American Dream” is in reach. In the fast-paced, frenetic beats of the music, between each beautiful performance from the talented actors, I can understand exactly what country our founders were picturing. And maybe that country looks different to me than it did to them – maybe there’s a bit more diversity, a bit more innovation, a bit more globalization – but the feeling is the same. A feeling of hope, that there’s something for us all to work towards. A feeling that I am capable of helping the progress toward that shining image.
It’s that feeling that has had such a profound effect on my life. It’s that feeling that drove me to share this musical’s message with all of my friends. It’s that feeling that made me so excited to finally see it performed in the flesh.
I don’t think I’m wrong to think that it’s that feeling that has propelled “Hamilton” to success. In this time of conflict and division, of fear and sensationalism, that feeling is so important to so many people. We need that kind of hope and drive if we are to move out of our current sad state of affairs. For that reason, I expect to see this musical go down in history as something that united and inspired a nation. I am proud to be a part of that history.
(…Even if the show totally made me cry in public.)
If you’re wondering why I haven’t yet talked about Fire Emblem Heroes yet, it’s twofold. One, I didn’t really have anything I felt was meaningful to say, and two I honestly hadn’t played much of it. It wasn’t a testament to the quality of the game, per se, just a testament to how busy I’ve been… and also how disappointed I was in my summons. For awhile I had to get through the game with one five star Merric, one four star Donnel, and a three star Lissa and Henry and it was… disheartening to say the least. I have some experience with luck-based pull style games (coughcoughLoveLivecoughcough) and I’ve never been the luckiest with them.
And then, lo and behold, last Sunday, my luck changed completely.
Yes, the beautiful goddess Camilla has finally blessed me with her presence. And because I know a lot of people playing the game don’t know much about her and why she’s such a wonderful character, I’m here to provide a loving thesis on the princess of my heart, Camilla, so that when you are lucky enough to draw her, you know just how appreciative to be.
The Story so Far
Camilla comes from Fire Emblem Fates. It’s a really great game that I highly recommend, but I know not everyone has played it, so I’ll give you a quick rundown of the plot so that you can understand where Camilla fits into it all.
Fates tells the story of two warring kingdoms, Hoshido and Nohr. You play as a young prince(ss) of Nohr, who, for their entire life, has been kept in a tower far away from the Nohrian capital and the main castle. However, war is brewing once more between the two kingdoms, and they want to help. Unfortunately, on the front lines of your character’s first battle, they are captured by Hoshidan forces. In the beautiful, prosperous capital of Hoshido, they learn that they’re actually not Nohrian royalty by blood… instead, they were captured from their true family, the royal family in Hoshido by Nohr’s King Garon many years ago. The player is faced with a choice, and two game routes – stay with their birth family and defend Hoshido or return to the family that raised them in Nohr. (There’s also a third route where you can choose neither and attempt to reconcile the two forces… but that route is only available if you’ve played through one of the first two routes.)
Camilla is a princess of Nohr, your character’s older sister. Depending on which route you choose, she becomes either an ally or an enemy, but exactly how she plays both roles is what fascinates me.
The Kingdom
If you want to understand Camilla’s character, it’s important to understand where she comes from. Nohr is a super fascinating location in the game. It’s definitely painted as “the bad one” of the two options with its dark, gothic imagery and violent, warlike tendencies. Plus, its ruler, King Garon, is definitely Not a Nice Guy™. Yet, throughout the game, it’s heavily implied that Nohr’s warlike tendencies come from a place of necessity. Nohr is not a very fertile land and has very few resources compared to their neighbors in Hoshido. This can be inferred in several places in both routes, but this is also seen in the collectibles available in each route. In both games, the player can collect crops to exchange for items, and the crops available say a lot about each kingdom. On Nohr’s route, the player can collect meat, wheat, cabbage, milk, and berries, while Hoshido sports soybeans, fish, daikon radishes, peaches, and rice. As you might be able to tell, Nohr’s only two “crops” are cabbage and wheat. Wheat is of course used for bread, but that’s not the most luxurious of foods. And then there’s cabbage. Which is, you know, cabbage. The other available “crops” are simply animal and foraging products.
Compare this to Hoshido, which grows the staple rice and beans as well as a fruit and vegetable for the side and fish. While yes, Hoshido is a paradigm of peace and harmony, it’s also pretty clear how they can be. When your kingdom has a history of being able to provide for all of its people, it’s easy to preach pacifism. Yet, while Nohr isn’t excused for its actions, it’s at least implied that there’s a reason for them.
So, when am I going to talk about Camilla?
I Finally Talk About Camilla
So, Camilla, right. That’s who this whole post is about. Camilla.
As I said, Camilla is the player character’s older sister from Nohr. Of the four Nohrian royals, she’s the second eldest, and acts as a motherly figure to her three younger siblings (the player character, Leo, and Elise). She cares deeply for her family but shows no mercy to her enemies. But… I’m pretty sure you could guess that last part. I mean, she rides a giant undead dragon, wears hardcore black armor, and swings a big ol’ axe around – I’m fairly certain just about anyone could see she’s a bit of a bruiser.
But, of course, the elephant in the room regarding Camilla is not her personality. Right, yes, her looks. Her appearance is… a little exaggerated, I understand. Fire Emblem has always had a little difficulty giving its female characters realistic battle outfits, especially recently, but Camilla’s appearance is perhaps one of the most out-there designs to date. It caused quite a stir when Fates was first being teased. And yeah, I have some issues with the way she’s depicted at times, but when it comes down to it, there’s a pretty interesting reason why Camilla looks (and acts) the way she does.
See, Camilla, as well as three out of four of the royal Nohrian siblings, are not actually full-blooded heirs to the Nohrian throne. It’s not like anyone cares succession-wise, because they’re all still children of King Garon, but Camilla, Leo, and Elise are all illicit children of Garon’s various concubines. While none of these concubines are ever seen, they’re discussed in detail by Leo and Elise in a few of their supports. Basically, after the eldest Nohrian royal and only child of the late Queen Ekaterina, Xander, was born, there was a power struggle known as the Concubine Wars, where several of Garon’s lovers hoped to take the queen’s place. Leo specifically discusses how his mother tried to use him to gain power.
Judging by the fact that none of these women actually appear in-game, and the word choice in “Concubine Wars“, I’m assuming it didn’t end well for Leo and Elise’s mothers, and while Camilla never really talks about her own mother, I’d be willing to bet a hearty sum of cash that her mother probably was caught up in this conflict as well. In fact, I think of the three Nohrian royals who came from the wars, Camilla seems the most affected, even if she never even talks about it.
For one, Camilla’s motherly instincts immediately calls attention to hers and her siblings lack of a mother figure. And while yes, Camilla does really care for her siblings, there’s something… just a bit sinister about her method of motherhood. I mean… one of her lines when you invite her over in-game is literally “Tell me who I need to kill to make you happy, sweetie!” Camilla seems to very often confuse love and violence… and it brings me to some interesting conclusions not only about her but also about the world around her.
See, if we make the assumption that, like Leo and Elise, Camilla’s mother was a concubine hoping to take advantage of the power vacuum by Garon’s side, and if we add on the idea that Camilla’s mother was hoping to use her as a weapon to achieve this purpose, it sure does make sense why Camilla would so often confuse love and violence. I mean, if your own mother tried to use you for her own selfish means, and then presumably died in what must have been some sort of violent conflict, it would probably mess up your perception of what motherly love really is.
But Camilla’s problems with love and violence extend far beyond just an explanation of her personality. Her role in the story too hinges on this, excuse the pun, conflict, especially in the Birthright route. If the player character chooses to side with Hoshido, Camilla’s first appearance is… jarring, to say the least. She is at first loving and warm, seemingly happy to see her runaway sibling, but she very quickly becomes hostile.
Plus, this particular clip brings up another important point about Camilla’s character – her sexuality. Yes, Camilla is a very sexual character, but it’s something I once again relate to her background. Consider the fact that her mother tried to use her sexuality to gain power and Camilla’s own behavior becomes clear.
Her incredibly volatile attitude is one of the most fascinating parts of her character, to me. It’s pretty clear that she’s not the most mentally healthy character. Really, none of the Nohrian royal siblings are – probably due to the less-than-stellar parenting they received from their father. However, Camilla in particular seems to struggle the most with the player character’s betrayal. Throughout the route, she is shown falling into bouts of depression. Elise mentions her refusing to leave her room. Even at the end of the route, when the sudden death of Xander gives Camilla the chance to take the throne, she gives up the throne to Leo, apparently due to her lack of confidence in her own ability to rule.
Honestly, it all seems connected to her upbringing. It’s pretty clear that Camilla’s main motivation is her family, so experiencing the betrayal of one of her beloved siblings sends her into a tailspin that is simultaneously interesting and tragic to behold. While all of the Nohrian royals suffer if the player decides to side with Hoshido, it seems Camilla is the one who is dealt the worst hand, losing three siblings and losing an entire war.
Plus, her character parallels Nohr itself surprisingly well. Remember what I said about Nohr having to resort to violence out of necessity, because they don’t have any other choice? Well, Camilla seems pretty similar, doesn’t she? Yes, she’s very violent and merciless, but what she does is not without reason. The turmoil and dysfunction in her family life has led her to clutch onto her loved ones with an iron grip (literally) and defend it with blood if necessary. Like the kingdom she hails from, Camilla has had to fight to survive all her life, so it makes sense why she acts the way she does. (Plus, just look at her design. She’s the only one of the Nohrian royals with purple hair – and it sure does connect her pretty easily with the purple-and-black color scheme of Nohr proper…)
Obviously, she’s a character with a surprising amount of emotional depth and complexity, and it really makes me love her. Despite her relative silence on her own background, the conclusions one can draw on it based on the ways she looks and acts make her a fun character to analyze. That’s why I love Camilla… yes, boob window, brutality, and all.
Okay, technically it’s in two days, but it’s always been one of my favorite holidays, so I’m starting the celebration early.
Valentine’s Day gets a bad rep, which sucks because it’s actually one of my favorite holidays. Yes, I know, if you’re single Valentine’s Day is just another reminder of how lonely you are, but look at it this way. In just a few days, there’s gonna be pounds of very cheap, delicious chocolate in beautiful heart-shaped boxes lining the shelves of every grocery store in the United States.
Plus, Valentine’s Day has that great red and pink fluffy pastel aesthetic that I love. And! Who said you had to have a significant other to spoil someone you love on Love Day. Man, just take a bag of chocolates to school/work/whatever and pass them out. That’s what I do.
And of course, we have the topic of this post. Ballads. Love songs are basically everywhere. I dare you to find a single relevant artist that doesn’t have at least one in their repertoire. Actually… don’t take me up on that. I’m sure there’s some hipster punk band out there that hasn’t yet felt love in their cold, dead hearts.
My original idea for this post was to talk about ten to twelve of my favorite love songs with maybe a few extra suggestions from friends and family. And then I realized that basically everyone has like a whole playlist of love songs they enjoy, and suddenly I had a playlist of over 130 love songs!
I want to take a moment to thank all of the people who suggested songs. It was a blast compiling them, and while I haven’t yet gotten a chance to listen to them all, I’ve dug into a few of them and they’re all super great. There’s all sorts of genres and decades of songs on this list, and I’m sure everyone can find something to enjoy! If you want to check out the playlist, click right here. I will also be including a full song list and every contributor’s name at the bottom of this post!
I thought I might also provide some thoughts on a few of the songs I personally added to the list.
Simple Song – The Shins
I almost forgot about this one until the very last minute, which is something that I honestly cannot believe. How could I forget about this one? As perhaps suggested by the title, is nothing too complex, but it’s earnest and has this really powerful quality to it I really enjoy. There are some really gorgeous lyrics in here too – it seems to tell a story about a love based in friendship, trust, and mutual respect, and if that’s not #relationshipgoals I don’t know what is.
Helpless – Hamilton
This one was another last minute realization. (I won’t take all the blame for this, though. I cannot believe nobody suggested this one either. What’s the deal? I thought, like, all of my friends were obsessed with Hamilton!) Either way, this song is really sweet. You don’t even need to be familiar with the plot of this musical to understand the bubblegum pop feelings of love at first sight this song chronicles. Of course, you would have to be familiar with the musical to understand just what Eliza Hamilton is getting herself into in this relationship… but I digress. I love Lin Manuel Miranda’s rap in this but the real star is of course Phillippa Soo, whose beautiful voice brings makes this adorable ballad perfect.
I Need My Girl – The National
I’m going to come back to this idea for a few of the songs in this little personal list here, but I love when love songs use little specific details that suggest it’s for a real person. I’d bet actual money that the situations described in this song were based in reality – and that’s one of the best parts of the song. That, and the quiet, contemplative tone set by the simplistic instrumentation and echoey sound effects. This one is just beautiful.
The Gambler – fun.
fun. is an older favorite of mine, but I always come back to the song. It’s cheery and catchy and sweet as all get-out. It tells the tale of two lovers’ entire lives together – their meeting, falling in love, and eventually raising a family and enjoying domestic bliss together. It’s like the auditory equivalent of Valentine’s Day chocolate… sweet and addictive.
I Want You To – Weezer
This is another love song that gets very specific with some of the details of the lyrics. Plus, it’s a fun, upbeat, tongue-in-cheek sort of song that still manages to keep some really sweet and sentimental ideas. I’m not the biggest fan of Weezer, but this song is a real gem.
Arms – Christina Perri
This has always been a song that has resonated with me, especially recently. It’s an earnest and lovely song about learning to trust and love. It’s nothing grand, but I love the sentiment of this song. It feels really real, talking about the confusing feelings of fear and joy that comes with a first love. (Also, a bit relatable, gonna be honest.) Adorable.
Death of a Bachelor – Panic! at the Disco
Gosh I love this song! Have I talked about how much I love this song? Oh man do I love this song. With a classic swagger that can only be delivered by the one and only Brendon Urie, this song is a sentimental look at getting married and casting aside your old single life. And those horns… yes those horns…
In Another Life – Vienna Teng
I recently showed this song to my dad, who told me he thought it sounded very “broadway.” This was kind of a wild realization to me, but it totally explains why I dig this song so much. Vienna Teng is kind of a master at telling some incredibly-written stories through song, and this one specifically tells the tale of two lovers as they are repeatedly reborn throughout history and brought together. Despite the sometimes morbid subject matter of the lyrics, the song ends on a surprisingly sweet note, giving these two ill-fated lovers a happy ending in the present. Plus, some excellent clarinet playing.
Aquaman – Walk the Moon
My boys! Walk the Moon is my favorite band and they’ve had no shortage of love songs – some a bit more crude or awkward than others… but I had to pick this one because I love the sentiment. The idea of letting go of your fears and being able to love someone without restraint is really so well articulated. Plus, because it’s Walk the Moon, it has that fun 80s sound that just cheers you right up.
When the Day Met the Night – Panic! at the Disco
More horns! Also, Brendon Urie is back. Can you blame me? His voice is basically like listening to romance… yeah, I know that was lame. This song can best be described as a Beatles-esque parade of nature imagery. This is a really unapologetically joyful song, one that always brings a smile to my face. Plus, it seems to preach compromise in relationships, which is always a good thing.
The Only Exception – Paramore
Paramore isn’t exactly known for their stripped-down ballads, but I can’t help but love this one. Haley Williams sings about finding that one person who gives you the strength to move on past heartbreak, and does it in such a powerful, emotional way. Plus, the song builds to this really heartwarming climax toward the end, really playing with the build of the instrumentation to carry a listener through the song. Just gorgeous.
Thunder Clatter – Wild Cub
I saved this one for last because it’s kind of my favorite love song of them all. This one was written by the lead singer for his actual wife, which means it’s definitely a real love story, making it already a million times cuter in my book. Plus, the drums and rhythmic sound of the whole song keeps it light and joyful. Also, I must admit, I’m a sucker for the bridge… how could hearing a man sing “you’re the love of my life” to his wife not tug at your heartstrings?
But of course, there’s a lot more love songs than that (Like more than 120 more, basically). If you feel like these twelve songs aren’t enough, check out all the other songs that were submitted to me! They’re definitely worth your time!
I finished “Gakkou Gurashi!” or “School Live!” about a week ago and, let me tell you, I was not expecting to ever be able to type that sentence truthfully. To be honest, this show looks nothing like something I’d enjoy (I say, very hypocritically, as I realize that it resembles “Love Live”, an anime I adore, even down to its name… but whatever.) This show is… definitely surprising to say the least.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. Since this is my first review, I thought I’d speak a minute on how reviews are going to work on this blog. Since I think reviews are great ways to recommend good stuff to people, I want to make sure to give readers an easy way to avoid spoilers. For that reason, each of my reviews will be two parts. The first part will be a general recommendation with no spoilers, and the second will be a more in-depth review of what I thought, spoilers included.
For this anime, that means the spoiler-free part is going to be very vague, just because about 90% of what I can say about it is a spoiler. So, uh… sorry in advance?
General Overview [Spoiler Free]
“Gakkou Gurashi!” is an anime about Megurigaoka Private High School’s School Life club, and its members Yuki Takeya, Yuuri Wakasa, Kurumi Ebisuzawa, and Miki Naoki as they go about their daily routine and club activities. Along with their teacher and advisor Megumi Sakura and high-spirited dog Taroumaru, the girls of the School Life club live at their beloved school and take part in all of its activities. And… that’s really all I can tell you. Anything more, and the completely fascinating first episode of this anime is spoiled, and I would hate to do that.
What I can tell you is that this anime is certainly worth you time. It has its flaws – namely a cliche main cast, some really hyper-stereotypical character interactions, and cheap fanservice – but I was honestly able to overlook this just on the strength of its storyline alone. If you’re thinking you might want to check this show out, though, DO NOT, I repeat, DO. NOT. google search it. Do not look up anything about it. Just go to whatever anime streaming website you prefer, put on your blinders and click the first episode without reading anything else.
Even if you’re not too interested by the synopsis alone, I highly recommend you at least check out the first episode. Wait until you’ve seen the entire first episode to judge this one – I promise you won’t regret it. Honestly, the experience of going in blind to this anime’s first episode was enough for me to justify watching the rest of it, even if it never quite ventured into any genres I particularly enjoy.
… And really, that’s all I can say without giving too much away. This anime really does wait to show its hand, so give it a chance, at least. I recommend it.
More in-depth, spoilery review under the read more!
Today’s post is borne of a trying personal experience for me. See, I’m a person who relies on music. If I accidentally leave my earbuds at home when coming to school, I feel like I’m missing an arm. Or a leg. Or a beating heart. For this very reason, my phone is always loaded with 300+ songs and almost always has a pair of earbuds wrapped around it. You know, for safety.
Still, accidents happen, and a few months ago my phone’s SD card corrupted unexpectedly. I managed to recover most of the files, but when I tried to put a new SD card in, that one corrupted too, and the next one too… and soon enough I figured it was my phone that was the problem. In the time period between realizing the problem and fixing it, I was without my handy dandy collection of music, so I ended up having to rely on YouTube and other non-SD card reliant sources for my daily fix of tunes.
I started out just listening to my regular music, but then, unexpectedly, a related video link led me down a path I swore I’d never walk again. I relived a time period in my life I tried to forget – my Vocaloid phase.
For those completely uninitiated, Vocaloid is a voice-synthesizing software created by Yamaha. It allows users to create their own songs by putting in lyrics and notes, the former of which are sung by a synthesized voice. These voices are generally given appearances and names, although their personalities and details of their stories are usually dictated (or not) by the people who use them, meaning that they can play many different contrasting roles in many different stories presented by many different songs.
The most iconic and easily-recognized Vocaloid is the Japanese Vocaloid Hatsune Miku, who has become such a recognizable face in Japan that she’s also appeared in many other places all over the world. For your convenience, she’s pictured to the left, although to be honest I wouldn’t be surprised if you recognize her, because she’s appeared in a few Toyota commercials here in the West recently.
Anyway, I was really into Vocaloid in middle school. It actually led into my embarrassing weeaboo phase… actually, if I’m being honest, it was my embarrassing weeaboo phase. As I got older, I lost interest in these songs, but my phone breaking led me back into the world I left. And actually, I found a lot of great stuff. The songs I used to love were still just as good, and now there was a host of new songs to enchant me.
The cool thing about Vocaloid is its versatility. The fact that the “singer” is not real means that the producers who use them have a lot of leeway, and a lot of power. A lot of the Vocaloid characters’ most recognizable traits and quirks came from the fans who use them to create music. In fact, officially licensed Vocaloid products reference and use songs made by fans. There are huge hologram Vocaloid concerts that perform these songs. It’s absolutely wild, and something I really would like to see make a more worldwide impact in the years to come. (I’m not ashamed to admit I would definitely go see a Vocaloid concert.)
I recently completed Yoosung’s route on Mystic Messenger. Now, Otome Games like MM aren’t something I find myself spending much time on often (just out of personal preference) and while I found myself enjoying Yoosung’s route and the rather unique form of gameplay MM provides, I also faced one of the biggest issues I have with games like this one that I want to address.
In my experience, in these sort of games where the characters are what you’re meant to be motivated by never seem to make them all that great narratively. While most of them are really pretty and appealing, I usually come away from them feeling rather unimpressed. I think part of the reason that is is because creators of these characters focus too hard on making them likeable in a real-world sense, and forget that they’re still characters in a fictional world.
What I mean is that a lot of characters in Otome games would be impossible to dislike if they existed in real life. They’re physically beautiful, they have easily understood personalities that make absolutely nothing they say or do surprising to someone who is familiar with character tropes, and what flaws or tragic pasts they have only serve to heighten their appeal rather than give them any sort of downfalls to pursuing their stories or paths. They’re appealing to the eye, of course, and have personality traits that would endear you to them, but also won’t surprise you with any unwanted emotional baggage. If I were to meet any Otome character in real life as a real person, I would have no trouble at all liking them, or even falling in love with them.
In any other story besides the wish-fulfillment-oriented story of an Otome game, these characters would never work. In order for a character in a real, fully fleshed out story to work, they have to have actual flaws. They have to have obstacles to overcome. While they should probably be somewhat likeable, they also have to be human (or at least close to human). Characters in Otome games are not usually like this, because they exist to be perfect, to fulfill a fantasy of the person playing them. (This is the main reason I’m not a big fan of these types of games, mostly because I like flawed characters and also am not too motivated by self-insert romances, although I know a lot of people who are, and that’s okay.)
However, a lot of recent Otome games have attempted to go against this formula, and present a more complex story with more flawed characters. There are actually a pretty good amount of these, and I usually quite enjoy them, but most of them aren’t really huge mainstream successes. In fact, MM is the first really popular Otome-style game I’ve seen to exemplify this new movement, and I’m happy to see it gain success.
While I only played one route, I’m pretty confident that I’m not interested in any of the others due to the huge amount of effort that would require and what I’ve heard from the friend who got me into this game in the first place has said to me about what the other routes entail. But I overall really liked the characters as they appeared in Yoosung’s route. I thought they were all believable and well-thought out and I could honestly see all of them being appealing characters for someone to pursue… except… well…
707.
707, or Seven, or Luciel, or whatever his name is, is probably the most popular character of all the options, and on the surface it’s not hard to see why. He has a striking design, done up all in reds and oranges and yellows. The game itself seems to push his appeal pretty hard – his good ending is known as the “true ending” that reveals the most complete image of the story in its entirety, and there’s a popular and decently supported theory circling the fandom that he is self-aware of his role in an Otome game, and “waits” for the time the player gets around to playing his route. In addition, his route is harder to get to and usually requires the player to have completed at least one route before attempting his. AND on top of that, he gets the most attention from official merchandise and art of the game.
You might have noticed I have said nothing about his personality, and that’s because, well, as far as I can tell, he doesn’t really have one? I know, I know, I’m maybe not at the best position to judge because I haven’t played his route, but god, what is his personality? I mean what is it? Who is he?
As far as my initial impression, he seems like the hacker/tech savvy guy of the group. He possesses pretty impressive technical ability, almost to the point where it’s unrealistic, but that’s something I can excuse if it’s the only crazy thing about him. But… it’s not. He’s also some sort of world traveler. One conversation involves him just dropping that he once was stranded on an island with a civilization who worshipped him as a god because he… gave them a Nintendo DS? I think? It was really just such a random detail that it left me confused. On top of that, he has some deeper stuff going on with the main antagonist of the game being his brother, and the darker past there, and he’s also caught up in the religious cult of the surprise antagonist character Rika and… honestly, it’s confusing.
He possesses so many different faces and aspects of his character that it left me just dumbfounded. Maybe he’d fit in better with a different narrative, but compared to the other characters of MM, it’s downright odd how unfocused he is.
Let me use Yoosung for an example. Yoosung is the youngest character, and as such his innocence and naivety is important to his role in the story. Because he is young, he has the unique struggle of balancing schoolwork with his responsibilities as an RFA member. In addition, going right along with his juvenile nature, he’s obsessed with video games, which is simultaneously one of the flaws he has to overcome in his route. Finally, he is the cousin of Rika, and her death left a permanent scar on his psyche, one that was never able to fully heal due to the older members of the RFA refusing to talk about it outright, because, among other things, they wanted to protect him as the youngest member of the RFA.
Yoosung is a pretty multifaceted character, and he develops throughout the story in a way that was really interesting and engaging for me. Along the way, he learns to focus on school, to lessen his unhealthy obsession with video games, and ultimately, he learns how to move on from Rika’s death and find happiness. He has definite flaws that he overcomes with the help of the player, and that makes him a pretty successful character.
At the same time, however, he is a very simple character to understand. Basically all of his personality traits and conflicts stem from his youth. He’s in school, he plays video games, and he hasn’t quite gotten over the death of a beloved figure he looked up to. He is innocent and naïve. All of these traits fit in with his overall character of being young, and because of this, he makes sense as a whole.
Seven, on the other hand, draws personality traits, experiences, and obstacles from a bunch of wildly different ideas. His hacking ability should mean that he’s a smart guy, but he also uses a lot of “lol so random” humor that makes him seem more juvenile and dumb. This also conflicts with the worldly, mature ideas his many exotic experiences across the world paints him with.
Now, yes, it’s okay for characters to have contradicting traits sometimes. Often, this can be really interesting. But for Seven, it just makes no sense in the context of the other characters. NONE of the other characters in this game are quite as contradictory and all over the place as he is, and that, on top of the other traits I’ve mentioned about him, makes him stand out really strangely from the other characters in a way I didn’t really appreciate.
I think part of the reason this bothers me so much is that I feel like he’s closer to the classic Otome character I was describing before, where what flaws he possesses doesn’t really serve to make him deep, but rather just makes him more likeable. He has a tragic, complex backstory of which he is the victim, but at the same time, that doesn’t seem to make it more difficult for him in any real way. He just feels… cheap. I feel like his path is being pushed at me as the correct path for the story to go, without giving me any reason to care about his story. I mean, he doesn’t seem that affected by his past, so why should I be?
And yes, I know he’s hiding his true pain behind a mask, and he’s more affected in his actual route. But it’s harder to get to that route, so why should I bother? He didn’t give me any meaningful reason to pursue him in the basic routes. He’s a weird and unfocused character that doesn’t deserve being put on such a higher pedestal than the other characters. Why is he so much better than the other characters, who make sense and have natural flaws?
In fact, why play Otome games with characters like Seven at all unless I want to play with the fantasy of dating a perfect human?
I guess what I’m saying is that all the other characters of MM are the sort of characters I’d like to see in Otome games going forward, but it bothers me that Seven, who shares more similarities with more classic Otome characters, is the most popular one. It bothers me that aesthetic appeal is being put above character depth when the other characters clearly show that you can have both!
But, eh, whatever. If you like him, I don’t blame you. The game certainly seems to want you to.
Hey guys, did you see that Fire Emblem Nintendo Direct today? WILD, right? Four new upcoming titles – whodathunk? (Not me, I was just expecting two.)
Chances are, if you’re reading this, you’re out of the Fire Emblem loop, but that’s okay. Until very recently, so was I. Before I get into this GENUINE reaction for all the crazy news we got today, I’m gonna give you newbies a quick rundown on what Fire Emblem is.
Part 1: What is Fire Emblem?
Good question. Fire Emblem is a tactical role-playing game franchise published by Nintendo and developed by Intelligent Systems. It currently boasts 14 main series games plus a handful of spinoffs, which is a crazy number for a game franchise that is only just now finding footing in places that aren’t Japan. The first game was released in 1990 and the most recent one, Fates, was released last year. (And it was great.)
Currently, the series is in a bit of a boom right now, which is surprising considering just a few years ago it was basically almost confirmed dead. Quite a few factors have contributed to its sudden popularity, but tl;dr you could probably trace it back to the Smash Bros games, which made the characters playable, thus sparking the interest of overseas Nintendo fans who demanded localized versions of the games.
The games themselves involve running around in a medieval fantasy-esque world of swords and dragons, following a storyline and usually winning a war while recruiting pretty anime waifus and husbandos and directing their movements and actions throughout several battles. In addition, the older games had a permadeath feature – that is, if your characters die on the battlefield, they’re gone forever and don’t respawn. In the newest two titles, this is an optional game mode.
If you pair these characters off often on the battlefield, they get stat bonuses. If they fight together enough, you can unlock conversations between them. In the older games, the endgame of these conversations varied from pair to pair, but in the most recent games you can get characters married and recruit their kids. (This is explained and makes sense in-game sometimes… sometimes it’s not. It’s okay, though, the kids are one of my favorite parts of the game.) You can also have your player character get married and have kids.
No, that’s not weird.
It’s a really great series, and if you’re so inclined, I highly recommend it. If you’re looking for a good game to start out with, I suggest Awakening for the 3DS… it introduces the mechanics really well and isn’t too terribly difficult. Plus, a solid story line. The newest game, Fates, is really good too, I just don’t know if it’s the best pick for a newcomer, since its two branching story lines gives you the option of either “punishingly difficult with a great story” or “way too easy with a dumb story”.
Part 2: Cool, Now What’s New?
WHAT’S NEW, YOU ASK.
Well, a lot.
In today’s Nintendo Direct, Yuri Lowentha-I mean, uh, Nintendo, announced four upcoming Fire Emblem titles. FOUR! For a series that was dying a mere six years ago, that’s kind of impressive.
I’m gonna go in order of their announcement, and provide my reactions.
First on the ticket – Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia, a remake of Fire Emblem: Gaiden, the second ever main series game.
Real talk – I’m not too familiar with any of the Fire Emblem titles before Awakening… but honestly, even though I’ve never played the game Echoes is a remake of, I cannot deny that this looks stunning. The character designs have a modern Fire Emblem quality while also retaining a very classic look. I’m a big fan.
Because I’ve never played the original, I don’t know exactly how this game differs from the others, but from the trailer and from what I’ve heard, it has a free-roaming dungeon element that sounds super cool. Plus, from the game footage it looks like it’s going to retain the same top-down tactics mode that I love so much, just with some fun twists that I’m looking forward to playing around with. All in all, I’ll definitely pick this game up. I’ve been sort of meaning to familiarize myself with the older games anyway…
Secondly, and most mysteriously, we have the currently unnamed Fire Emblem game for the Switch. We know nothing about it except that it’s probably coming sometime in 2018, but I was honestly so shocked to get a confirmed main series game so soon after Fates that I don’t even need any more info. Plus! I’m already very excited for the Switch, and this just furthers my resolve to get one once it comes out. Cheers to future blog posts about this game to come, once we get more info.
Thirdly, we have Fire Emblem Warriors.
And you know what? I was a little disappointed. Yeah, okay, it was nice to see Chrom again, (Hi Chrom. I’m sorry you didn’t get to be in Smash. Congrats on the new game though!) but I was sort of hoping we’d get confirmation of other characters that would be playable, but nooope! Just Chrom. It’s cool. This series owns me, so I’ll probably end up getting it, just, please, please put Owain in it. Oh my GOSH he’d be so GOOD for this kind of hack n’ slash game oh PLEASE.
I mean, just look at him. He’s ready.
And finally, the thing I’m most short-term pumped about, Fire Emblem Heroes.
Guys, are you seeing this? With your own two eyes? Look at this. I am dying to get my hands on this.
They announced they were going to do a Fire Emblem mobile game a while back, and I kind of shrugged and said “Oh well at least they’re paying attention to this franchise,” but I was NOT prepared to get this.
New art for all the characters? New VOICE ACTING for all the characters? A HUGE roster of characters, both old and new? These STUNNING new character designs, plus the fact you have to basically Love Live-style scout to get them? I’m gonna get wrecked by this game, guys. And it’s coming out SO SOON! February 2nd… I’M SO EXCITED.
And it’s coming out for both Android phones and iPhones, and if Pokemon Go is any indication, this means LOTS of new fans are going to be able to experience this game series for the first time via this free app! That’s majorly exciting. I am so excited. I’m dragging all of my friends into Fire Emblem hell with me, they better get ready.
The way they adapted the classic gameplay for mobile looks attractive and makes sense. I love the cute little chibi sprites for the map view. I love the full body art during the criticals. UGH. I was not expecting to be so floored, and yet here I am, on the floor. Dying.
PLUS, they’re holding this huge event to vote for which two characters are going to get special appearances in the game and… here’s where I begin my campaign.
If you’re so inclined, click here to vote among basically every character in the Fire Emblem series. They’re organized by game. If you really love me, you’ll click “Choose by Game Title”, click the left arrow to scroll to “Fates”, and then choose “Silas”… this is what he looks like:
Now I’m not here to tell you what to do, but Silas here is my most favorite character. I’ve been low key planning to do a post all about why he’s great. In fact, considering all the crazy news we’ve gotten, I think that blog post might come sooner rather than later. Sparing you the details, he is highly underappreciated and I would cry many tears if he won.
So if you want to… maybe vote for him? I will give you many thanks. Many internet and/or real life hugs, if you want. Or vote for whoever. I’m not here to make your life decisions for you.
(…But please?)
Part 3: Oh My GOD You’ve Written Over 1000 Words Already Are You DONE???
Yes! Actually. Thank you for reading. I usually only post on Sundays, but this was too much for me to keep locked inside. I’m sure this won’t be the last I’ll say on… any of these games, honestly. Keep your eyes peeled for more to come!
If you’re at all close to me I’m sure I’ve already chewed your ear off about “My Brother, My Brother, and Me” at least once.
If I have, I do not apologize.
See, one of the things I wanted to do with this blog is make recommendations and steer people towards great things they might not necessarily know about. And I want to start by talking just a bit about my new absolute favorite thing in the whole wide world.
“My Brother, My Brother, and Me” (henceforth abbreviated as MBMBAM), is a weekly podcast created by and starring brothers Justin, Travis, and Griffin McElroy. It is technically an advice show, and each week the brothers answer questions both from listeners and from random Yahoo Answers users, but to describe it only as that is to do it a great injustice. It is also one of the funniest things I’ve ever listened to. I now usually do my workouts at the Monon Center to the dulcet tones of these brothers, and I’ve had to desperately stifle my laughter as to not appear completely unhinged to my fellow exercisers so many times that I think my abs are more defined because of it.
As I often do when I get totally obsessed with something, I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what it is about this podcast that charms me so much, and I think I’ve figured it out.
First of all, their goofy, inside-joke laden style of humor is very familiar to me. I’ve gotten a few of my friends into McElroy content. Two of the brothers have a hilarious gaming series on YouTube known as Monster Factory, which I have repeatedly subjected my friends to at various parties and social fuctions, and the jokes in this series as well as in the podcast have integrated themselves seamlessly into my friends and my inside jokes.
It’s obvious why – they’re the same sort of jokes we would cook up. “Slendy playing the bongo drums” is pretty much indistinguishable as a joke from “Backpack for his applesauce” to an outsider, but one of them is an inside joke between several of my friends and one is an inside joke created in a YouTube series by Justin and Griffin. I’m sure some readers of this blog know the difference (Hi guys!) but to those who don’t, it’s essentially the same indistinguishable word salad that still, without fail, makes us laugh.
For that reason, it’s obvious why this style of humor would appeal to me, because it reminds me of my friends. The way we take a concept and verbally beat it until it’s somehow become a new concept entirely, one that is simultaneously hilarious to us and nonsense to outsiders, is something that happens on MBMBAM all the time. It’s familiar. It never fails to make me smile.
Second of all, the McElroy brothers are just… genuinely good people. I’m a pretty picky person when it comes to comedy, and I very often dislike comedic movies just because I don’t really trust the people who make them not to make impolite and insensitive jokes. Whenever I try and watch your run-of-the-mill blockbuster comedy, I spend so much time stressing about what awful offensive thing could be rounding the next corner that I can’t really enjoy myself.
But McElroy brothers are just honestly such nice guys. For reals. They make stupid toilet jokes and sex jokes sometimes (a lot of the time), sure. But at the end of the day, they’re very open and accepting of everyone, and it’s so refreshing. Their jokes have never made me cringe or feel uncomfortable.
I remember an exact moment in an episode where they were responding to a listener asking for advice on how to deal with a coworker who calls them “asexual” because they couldn’t get a date. I was fully and honestly prepared to grin and bear the usual reaction I hear whenever asexuality comes up, that sort of “oh you’re one of those special snowflakes, huh?”
But the brothers. Honest to god. Called the coworker out for it. Said that people actually describe themselves as asexual for a reason, and that it wasn’t an insult or a term to just throw around. And then they made the situation genuinely funny, made it into a lighthearted joke at the expense of this rude coworker and not the asexuality.
Yes, I know. I’m a dirty politically correct millennial. I get it. But it’s really nice to just be able to laugh and have a good time and not have to look past the mean, low-blow humor that seems so common nowadays. Plus, they’re never preachy about it. They too make mistakes, but they apologize for them. They’re aware of the very potent power they hold over their audience, and they use it only for good.
Okay, maybe I’ve done kind of a bad job at recommending this podcast to anyone except a very specific type of person. But hey, that’s what this blog is for, right?
However, if I have somehow managed to sell you on MBMBAM, give it a listen for yourself here. It updates with a new episode every Monday. I highly suggest you just listen to the most recent episodes, because they’ve been doing this for like six years now and the quality has MAJORLY jumped since the beginning.
You can also follow Justin, Travis, and Griffin on Twitter too! Or if you wanna check out Monster Factory, which is just as good, head over here.
Anyway, I’m your extra-est blogger, Gillian Paxton, and this has been my recommendation for MBMBAM. Thanks for reading, and kiss your dad square on the lips.
(…Yes, that was a reference to the podcast. I swear.)
(This is one of my favorite goofs on this podcast. Parental advisory warning: there’s some swearing. But it’s hilarious, I promise.)
Why, hello there. Welcome to my blog. This sort of introductory thing probably would have been better to be the first post, but as is a constant in my life, I put the music first. If you’re here reading this, thanks. I appreciate it, despite everything I’m about to say.
But first, introductions. My name is Gillian Paxton. As I’m writing this, I’m eighteen years old. Currently, I’m a senior at Carmel High School, but I’ll be attending Indiana University’s Media School next fall, probably studying journalism, although if what I’ve learned from most of the adults in my life is true, that’s subject to change. This world we live in is a sphere of chaos and uncertainty, anyway.
However, what isn’t uncertain is the fact that I’ve always been a fan of words. Not spoken-aloud words, definitely not. Spoken words involves, like, looking at people, and while there are some people in this world I enjoy looking at, they’re still all exhausting to me. No, I’ve always been a fan of written words, words on papers and books and cereal boxes and webpages, and now, these words here on my very own blog.
My decision to start a blog has been a long time coming. My mother has been urging me to write one for years, but I think that’s because she thinks writing a blog is the secret to becoming a millionaire. I guess I wouldn’t know, but hey, maybe this could work out? Maybe in a few years I’ll be reading this post on a yacht, drinking an expensive but non-alcoholic beverage and laughing about how young and poor and naive I was.
I resisted writing a blog for years for a lot of reasons. Logically, starting a blog made no sense for me. My opinions are vast and complex, but they’re also rather niche and don’t tend to stick to one topic. If I wrote a blog, what would even be about? I care about so many things. Music. Dogs. Media. Video games. Anime. Music. People. Words. Music. Books. Music. Music.
And sure, I have things to say, but who cares? I mean, I have lovely friends and family who will probably post encouraging things on my blog posts, but I guarantee they won’t be sticking around once I whip out my in-depth analysis of side characters in the Fire Emblem series, or start ranking my favorite Vocaloid songs, or wax philosophical on the lack of female characters in sports anime (all very real ideas for posts, I’m warning you now). Why should I put work into something, realistically, no one will read?
Also, what would I even call this blog?
However, as I’m sure you’ve gathered by the page you’re looking at right now, I eventually overcame these concerns. How?
It mostly comes down to our school newspaper. See, my sophomore year I took the prerequisite class for joining the staff of my high school’s newspaper, the Hilite. It was a class I assumed I’d enjoy, but I was unprepared for how much I’d enjoy it, and be challenged by it. My junior year, I joined staff, and quickly found a love for writing for the opinion section of the paper, Perspectives. And now, after several columns, a lot of copy-editing, and a hearty amount of schmoozing with the past editor, I am now one of the two editors of Perspectives. I’ve learned a lot from the experience, but here’s the most important thing:
The art of good opinion writing relies heavily on a lack of care for your audience.
I know that sounds terrible, especially since you, reading this, are my audience. I do care about you. And yes, opinion writing involves wanting to help your audience see things in a new light.
But also I don’t care about what you think.
It takes a certain lack of care for your audience to put your own opinion out there. To say, “Hey, you might think differently, but you’re wrong and here’s why.”
See, writing for a school paper quickly teaches you that there’s value in what you write even if no one pays attention. And yes, people will ignore what you write. People have busy lives, and they won’t always pay attention to what one person has to say. But it doesn’t matter. It’s important to say those things anyway, because you never know when someone will be out there, listening. And even if they’re not, one person is there listening, and that person is you. Er, me. I’m writing this. Uh, yeah.
So honestly, this blog is going to be disjointed. It’s not going to stick to one topic. It’s going to get pretty niche. And most likely, not a whole lot of people will read it. And that’s okay. This blog is ultimately for me. If you’re here this far, thanks, but this isn’t for you.
Don’t take it too personally.
But all that being said, I also want this blog to be for you. For all of you. And by “all of you”, I mostly mean my friends. I have the incredible pleasure of befriending a host of deeply fascinating people who are passionate about a lot of things. Some of those things I’m also passionate about, some of those things I’m not, but regardless, I love hearing about those things.
I have friends who love history, who love crafts, who love science and god forbid, math. I have friends who really like thinking about how terrible politics can be. I have friends who play video games with lots of fanservice and don’t even mind it. I have friends who deeply analyze the lighting of scenes in blockbuster movies. I have friends who have more than a casual love for Broadway.
I feel like too many of these passions go unnoticed, so what I want this blog to be is a place to celebrate the weird, beautiful, niche things I and my friends love. I want this to be a place where I can scream my small, unimportant opinions into the vast void of the internet, and I hope to bring others along for the ride to scream their small, unimportant opinions too. And maybe people will hear us, or maybe they won’t. Either way, I think it’ll be fun.
For that reason, I plan on getting some guest writers and personal friends on board to write things every so often! I think it’ll be a nice change of pace from just lil ol’ me all the time.
Expect weekly posts (most likely every Sunday), and thank you so much for reading, as always.
(Oh, and I almost forgot! The title. It was ripped shamelessly off of the title of a jazz chart Jazz 2 played last year for our annual pie and jazz event, Jazz a la Mode. I thought it was clever. Please don’t sue me.)
Absoludicrous 