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2019.05.27 07:50 jack0641 Elden Ring
This is the subreddit for the Elden Ring gaming community. Elden Ring is an action RPG which takes place in the Lands Between, sometime after the Shattering of the titular Elden Ring. Players must explore and fight their way through the vast open-world to unite all the shards, restore the Elden Ring, and become Elden Lord. Elden Ring was directed by Hidetaka Miyazaki and made in collaboration with George R. R. Martin. It was developed by FromSoft and published by Bandai Namco.
2022.02.27 19:29 Berrek PatchesEmporium
Patches Emporium - Elden Ring Trading. A place for you, my dear tarnished, to help your fellows as they seek to become the elden lord. Make & grant requests for items, gear, runes, etc.
2023.06.03 22:56 smolcrackheadenergy Between 1&2 đ Album Review
And yes, this is 9 months late đ I'm not sorry â when I find an album review online it's always around a paragraph per song or even shorter. It makes sense from a journalistic perspective, but I want to do this album justice, hence taking 7 months to write out all my thoughts.
This shit is comprehensive and definitely overanalyzed, especially in Talk that Talk and Trouble. Each song review will compose of my commentary going over the song, noting the details I noticed through months of listening, then a conclusion. Also, mild swearing warning, I like implementing a touch of "French" when I'm very emotional about something. Anyway, onto the review!
TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT
TELL ME WHAT YOU NEED
One of the most perfect TWICE songs.
I think this is one of TWICEâs best-sounding title tracks. Warm modulated synths, a thrumming bass line, distant bells, shimmering synths â the purpose of this song is to be fun and my god is it excellent at it, like⌠Sana and Chaeyoung are saying knock-knock-knock and beep-beep-beep as if theyâre some kind of car. So much fun.
Further along in the verse, Dahyunâs voice sounds so full and smooth with that layered harmony. Tzuyu coming with the Yes or Yes, Push & Pull, and 1 to 10 references â these are 5 years of song references. And Jeongyeon closes the pre-chorus accompanied by a rising synth to drop into chorus one. Jeongyeon slays pre-choruses.
The drums accelerate, the synths start blasting, and Jihyo opens to that party of a chorus with her godly vocals,
During Sana's Talk that Talk~ lines thereâs this gentle ascending synth bell that rings with the descending melody and it sounds absolutely gorgeous. And the choreography during that part of the chorus is so so so so fun: the talking hands bit, spelling L-O-V-E, concluding with the deullyeojweo ooh! Oh my Jihyo the deullyeojweo oohâŚ
Have I mentioned this song is fun?
Speeding through verse 2; Chaeyoungâs part with the cat ears popping in the music video is adorable; Momo her stretching her arms out looks so damn cool; and Dahyun with her replay part sounds so lovely â although I think it sonically sounds a touch random, it makes sense thematically.
And now for this pre-chorus. Mina and Jihyo leading into it sound great BUT JEONGYEON⌠Now, she is my ult bias, and this pre-chorus sounds almost identical to the first one, but the way she holds that final note, enunciating and holding that now~ for one more beat before the chorus drops sounds so perfect â the song teeters on a cliff edge. Jeongyeon slays pre-choruses.
Dropping into the second chorus and man, Jihyo powered through that first chorus, but the way Nayeon delivers it just hits different. She has this indescribable âpopâ voice (I promise this wasn't on purpose) that stands out and shouts this is THE chorus. I think this is especially apparent in how both lead their choruses where Jihyo starts at 120% power while Nayeon waits until [Tell me] WHAT YOU WANT to full-send it. She also highlights âmalhaebwaâ in a similar way later in the chorus.
Another deullyeojweo ooh! Nayeon travels to Narnia, and Mina the engineer strikes again in this heavenly, underwater-esque bridge,
The word âloveâ is said for the first time in the song. Thereâs a funky keyboard instrument behind Chaeyoungâs part. Jihyo, Chaeyoung, and Nayeon take the initiative in their lyrics, professing their love before closing the bridge.
And now for the pièce-de-rĂŠsistance: this final double chorus is exceptional â 40 seconds of crack-laced euphoria; Jihyo switches up the chorus and the choreo, Dahyun chimes in with her fluttery âTalk that Talkâ, Momo comes out of nowhere with âoh yeah it sounds so good!â â youâre damn right it does, and this is where the song SOARS.
Nayeon outright shouts âTell me what you needâ and then Jeongyeon sings the above lines in such an ethereal, warm way where the first line ascends while the second line descends, causing a lull in the song before the finale with Nayeon, finishing off the song with the final deullyeojweo ooh! What a party. What a song.
THE GOOD
Lyrics and theme-wise, if this were to have been TWICEâs last comeback, theyâve once again built upon the theme they've been doing since debut: a Bildungsroman, a coming-of-age story.
This songâs chorus is honest yet simple; it asks the listener, in this case, the other half of the relationship, to be more upfront and open with their love (never be scared of love), that before the relationship can continue and flourish there has to be a foundation and commitment of love between each other.
TWICE debuted with a song about making your crush go ooh ahh. Years later, they started pondering âWhat is love?â and imagining their crush responding with âyesâ when asking them out â and now concluding with the phrase âTalk that talk, [talk that] L-O-V-Eâ, being upfront with the relationship, wishing their partner to also be happy, to commit to them, to feel the love that they want to impart on them. From gawking like ooh-ahh to talking out your shared love like adults â to having a true relationship between (one and) two.
And can I just say before finishing off Talk that Talk's review that this is such a fun and repeatable song with many little intricacies hidden in the nonetâs vocals and the production. This is the third draft Iâm writing about Talk that Talk and its original word count pretty much quadrupled.
Harkening back to TWICEâs roots by combining mature thinking with youthful character, an incredible ending to look forward to, and just simply being a club-banger thatâs easy to listen to, TTT is an easy 10/10.
WATCH ME GO WATCH ME GO
RULE THE WORLD
If there was one B-side to promote in a live clip, this was a solid choice.
Helmed by LDN Noise going headlong into the Western boy-group rock-band aesthetic, Queen of Hearts is a boom-boom-clap song through and through. The drums are very prominent throughout the song, only giving room to riffs of electric guitar in the chorus to drive and continue the momentum of the music.
And speaking of the chorus, vocal line each got a chorus to flex and they did not fuck around,
Cymbals crashing, drums booming, and 3MIX belting all just so sound so good.
These long, held-out notes performed by Jihyo and Nayeon are simply exquisite. Along with the shredding guitar, the drum set coming in full, and the interludes by Dahyun, Momo, and Chaeyoung, this is the part of the song that always, always, gives me goosebumps â it sounds so visceral, so energetic, so fun, so triumphant. Boom-boom-clap songs can be hit or miss with people, but there's no denying the payoff from the first part of the chorus to the second part is worth the wait.
The theme of the song so far has been kind of spread around the song. The chorus alludes to it with the line "And itâs all because of you." But Mina shows more sides of it in the second verse, especially with the phrase,
It sounds really lovely â in a very cheesy and affectionate kind of way, as it rightfully should â the song is about the girls and their fans. But the bridge is where the song indeed shows its colours
This is a song CONCEIVED TO BE PERFORMED FOR THE FANS. Itâs meant to be loud. Itâs meant to be unapologetic. Itâs meant to be sappy. And itâs all the more wonderful for it.
This is the TWICEiest shit ever.
Like Talk that Talk, Queen of Hearts also has a killer closer. The production already started to grow from the bridge, but now the guitarist finally went Super Saiyan and instead of supporting the drums, they both take the centrepiece in tandem.
Then finally, the closing moments of the song even manage to squeeze in some more sappiness.
I still canât believe that this banger is a FAN SONG out of all things. Truly, the TWICEiest shit ever.
THE GOOD
I love these types of rock songs with how grunge and head-bang-able they are, there is just a certain nostalgic and cheesy quality to them that feels so cozy. I donât love putting them on repeat, because in this case, I do believe there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. Perhaps more shredding, maybe a guitar solo to rock out to, or an accompaniment(!) of ad-libs from 3MIX to support Jihyoâs final chorus? A ONCE can dream of a truly bombastic rock song from TWICE. But then again that distracts from the core of what this song is: a fan song disguised as a rock song.
Queen of Hearts has so much sweetness in its lyrics and message that it's overflowing. The drums, guitar, and vocals can be as loud and intricate as they can, but the theme of this song is what makes it special from TWICEâs other rock songs â itâs a 9/10 for me.
I WANNA WANNA WANNA
TAKE YOU TO THE BASICS
Quite possibly the jammiest (pun intended) song of the album.
A song written by the Strawberry Princess herself â an event similar in frequency to other artists' releases with her last song being 2020âs silky Handle It â Basics first starts with an understated and dreamy delivery. After the first stanza, however, a bouncy Miami bass line emerges, revealing the true nature of the song: this is a classic summer bop! Especially in the first rap,
Syllables are pronounced in a relaxed nature, bars often starting with an "ah" sound, flirty lines in English â this rap features a production full of pop with R&B flourishes and, in my opinion, this is Chaeyoungâs bag. Also, the line "rainbow bubblegum" is so adorable and so Chaeyoung.
That chorus is pure pop with a Miami bass backing; you better be bopping your head to the melody, if not booty poppin' to the bassline. Chaeyoung loves rhyming in the first half of the chorus to enhance its catchiness and it's damn incredible: the âwannaâ, âweonhaeâ, and âppeonhaeâ all create these imperfect rhymes that continue momentum without feeling repetitive.
After the very Boy With Luv-sounding âah yeah ah yeah, ah yeah ah yeahâ comes an 8-bar split half and half between Chaeyoung and Momo. Coming from the chorus, the production completely cuts out for the first 2 bars. This adds tension; the song yearns to have that bass beat thumping again and all we have in the audio space in those 2 bars is Chaeyoung spittin' and she delivered.
Translating to:
The rap feels slick, effortless, and confident. Her diction remains sharp when enunciating each syllable but she doesnât let the flow of her rap waver or build as her 4 bars go by, itâs just smooth consistency throughout. Even the lyrics possess an aura of laid-back collectedness that is just so her. The things Chaeyoung can do when given her pen.
THE GOOD
This song is summer bliss distilled into 2:56. Itâs dreamy, the raps are satisfying, and the ending is charming. I will say that although the second half of the song adds the stunning âspaceshipâ post-choruses and a floaty bridge with an incredible drumbeat drop into the final chorus, the raps of the song make it feel a bit front-loaded. And in an album stacked with awesome finishers, it feels more apparent.
With that said, itâs an 8/10 bop for me. This song is so easy to put on and it feels exactly what Chaeyoung would make if given the reins to produce a pop song all on her own. The lyrics are nonchalant but full of conviction, the wordplay is intricate, and the production playful but not too bombastic â it's just a nice vibe. Songs like Basics are the standard for good, simple, repeatable pop music and Iâm happy that Chaeyoung got to test her pen in this genre.
BABY WEâRE IN
TROUBLE TROUBLE
Background vocals: Jihyo
Lead composer credit: Jihyo
Vocal director credit: Jihyo (an assumption given her contributions in First Time)
One of the most enjoyable songs Iâve heard in a while.
There is an underlying tension within the first 4 bars of the song, Jihyo and Nayeon confidently open it to a nondescript array of synths and then the stanza ends, Momo announces âLetâs goâ, the beat drops and it hits you: this is a club song.
Dahyun's relaxed delivery contrasted with Jeongyeon's staccato flow, the wobbly synth beat with sprinkle of house piano, Sana dramatically slowing down the song only for Tzuyu to build it back up until the chorus drops,
This chorus is perfect. Torontoâs residential market needs this song injected into its veins because god damn this song has SO much house in it. And then, ANOTHER KILLING PART: this rap fucking slaps.
During the first 2 bars, Chaeyoung is keeping it calm because that trip of a chorus just ended and the song needs a breather, but I don't think anyone expected her to SNAP this hard afterwards:
Below is the structure of her this portion of the rap, Iâm not that well versed in this technical aspect of music theory but I digress, this is all in the span of around 5 seconds where itâs:
Now, 25/5 = 5 syllables per second isnât groundbreaking, but goddamn it these 2 bars sound so nice â if there is one part in this album that I always repeat, itâs this. The addition of that first quadruplet for âcannot miss thisâ in the midst of the triplets sticks out and accelerates the flow of the rap while the following doublets and quadruplets destabilize and slow the rap down as the verse closes. And can I just point out:
THE MAIN VOCALIST WROTE, DIRECTED, AND COMPOSED THIS SONG âź
Chaeyoung of course delivered the fuck out of her verse but THIS is what you get when you have a member not only write the words theyâre saying but also the melody and flow with which they sing it, when that member knows the others so well that when they write a song they know how to make the group exceed. This is what you get when the artists you stan love doing artist shit.
And. AND. That's not all â with how much I mentioned I love a good outro to close a song, this outro slaps as well:
Like, come on, Nayeonâs imitating a police siren for crying out loud. And this is all after her ad-libs in the final post-chorus; after the pianist going full tilt and playing that piano as if it was their last chance to ever play; after that final T W I C E chant by all the members come these blissful 20 seconds at the very end. What a song.
THE GOOD
Need I say more, easy 9/10. The only reason I place Talk that Talk above Trouble is because of what that song represents but besides that, this is one of the best âinternationalâ sounds theyâve put out. Actually, I havenât listened to Eyes wide open in a while but this song is up there with one of the most sonically pleasing pieces of work theyâve done.
Clubbing TWICE has always been a thing since TT was birthed in 2016, and has been a staple of their discography since 2019âs Fancy You and Feel Special mini albums, but Trouble unapologetically dives into and fits the house genre so well youâd think that this is TWICEâs bread and butter sound.
Trouble is Jihyoâs magnum opus. What a song.
BRAVE BRAVE BRAVE
FOR YOU
I first thought this was just a good song, then I read the lyrics.
Gentle guitar plucks, shimmering synths, a distant keyboard in the right ear, in the left a glockenspiel, the melodic oohs from the members â this song is PRETTY.
Mina and Chaeyoung open the song with how they feel lonely and that it's hard to breathe and now suddenly the song feels bittersweet â I was not expecting the song to be this emotional. Brave describes a situation where the singer is in a darker place in life and it isn't until another person gives them hope by calling them 'brave' that they find the drive to keep going.
Once the chorus hits, the melodies pick up, more guitars get added â thereâs even an electric guitar hidden in the mix somewhere, and the song drops the emotional front to reveal a mid-tempo pop song to dance to while crying in the club. The song as a whole still carries this melancholy feeling, but now with the added support of this chorus acting as a light amongst the gloom.
Continuing on in the second verse there's this gorgeous, well-placed break in the song that just lets it settle after that chorus. Only a seasoned producer would risk this much empty space in a song and Slow Rabbit went to fill those shoes.
Back to the chorus, I'll take this moment to once again commend Slow Rabbit with the mixing of the song, because 4MIX undoubtedly sounds good in the chorus, and the interludes from Dahyun, Chaeyoung, and Mina also sound really good, but the clear highlight of the choruses are these lines:
Momo, Sana, and Tzuyu form this beautiful, surprisingly catchy, second half of the chorus accompanied by a guitar drop. It should not turn out this well with how conflicting the "na"s are with the guitar melody but it creates this gentle bopping ebb and flow that feels so lush and mellow.
Diving into the bridge reveals that the listener of the song is revealed not only capable of supporting the singer through direct words but also through their thoughts and dreams. As can be discerned, this can be a song interpreted to be about ONCEs, about how they push TWICE to be their best selves despite the breathless hardships they face. It's a very sweet and touching song.
THE GOOD
Iâm actually spoiled with the TWICE membersâ easy-to-understand songwriting that when a song like this pops up where it's not written by a member and the thematic bits are mostly in Korean, I tend to put it aside in favour of the other songs on the album. And, especially for a song focusing on a theme like this where the English phrases donât do the Korean lyrics enough justice, it does place a bit of a barrier on the listening experience, dropping it down to a 7/10 from an 8/10.
With that anecdote out of the way, this song is just such a vibe, man. I know that sounds super hippy to say but Brave is so mellow and smooth that I canât help but sway a little when that chorus hits. And then I remember what the lyrics say and I tear up a bit on the inside. This song is so pure, raw, and full of heart â we need more songs like these where they just reminisce about life while putting up an upbeat front. Don't mind me just crying while dancing the night away.
With that said, this isn't the first time this theme has been sung by TWICE either, they've long trodden this path of supportive, confiding, up-lifting songs with Young & Wild, Rainbow, Queen, Go Hard, Depend on You, even this album's Queen of Hearts, and, of course, Feel Special. Brave just adds another on top of an already stacked lineup, unique with its mellow somberness.
Also now feels like a good time to get into my rating system:
I SEE THE LIES
ON THE TIP OF YOUR TONGUE
Who the fuck pissed off Dubu this time??
Itâs getting quite rare to see TWICE pull off brand new sounds because, with now 190 original songs under their belt, theyâve done so many genres and sub-genres varying from hyper pop, to bossa nova, to whatever 2020âs Go Hard is. So itâs surprising to see theyâve still got tricks up their sleeves and Gone is one of them.
The song starts with strings swinging back and forth and vocal chops dancing from ear to ear, teasing whatâs yet to come. Jihyo enters the song with a whisper and the song sets its pace. A stagnant drum pad moves the song along and typical song progression would have Mina continue the build but â it doesnât. The song simmers, adding a hint of high hat to the pot. And then, Sana and Tzuyu come on and surely the buildup must boil over right?
Silence, untilâŚ
The strings emerge again on full blast, the simmer rolls to a boil, and the anger of the song is revealed,
The singer is so scorned and burned from this relationship that they reminisce about all the effort theyâve put in since the beginning, but their âpartnerâ is so unconcerned that theyâve just about had enough of the relationship altogether.
This has been Dahyunâs thing since 2020âs Bring It Back, 2021âs Cruel, 2022âs Thatâs all Iâm saying, and even 2023's Don't Blame It On Me â emotionally charged breakup songs that make you feel as if sheâs gone through a dozen bad relationships. Dispatch, do your job better, or don't.
Another highlight of the song is the post-chorus going into the bridge. This segment reiterates the structure from the first post-chorus â a barrage of drums supported by the rhythmic strumming of a bass guitar along with a consistent synth filling out the soundscape. But this time, itâs Dahyun and Chaeyoung on the rap:
Continuing the disrespected theme of the song, Dahyun notes that sheâs finally had enough with Chaeyoung adding that thereâs no point salvaging what was once there for all of it is long gone. Momo and Dahyun round it off by telling the listener that thereâs no point trying to reason with them or playing naive, they fucked up and thereâs no coming back.
Can I just say, it's a bit of a shame that Chaeyoungâs rapping popped off in this album while Dahyun only has this one verse that she shares with Chaeyoung, but it just sounds so good how Dahyun eases in after the chorus with her light rapping tone transitioning into her singing. She even holds the âgoneâ in a little crescendo for some added pizzazz.
And, thereâs no way Iâm not going to talk about Momoâs vocals in this bridge. Damned if she only got 1 line to use it in, her lower register is incredible. She sounds so smooth singing in this tone. All of TWICE do in particular and there is nary a weak vocal performance in this album.
To close the song off, a wash of synths gets to have their shine in the spotlight, showered with Nayeonâs belting, signifying the dramatic and drawn-out conclusion of this partnership.
THE GOOD
Going back to that point about the first post-chorus as a whole; songs that have the production continue unchanged into the post-chorus/2nd verse are very hit or miss for me â see TWICE's Don't Call Me Again for an overbearing example. The post-chorus going into the bridge contrasts Dahyunâs light tone nicely with the hard-hitting production, continuing the energy until it slowly fades into silence at the end of the bridge.
Back to the song as a whole, as much as TWICE has been experimenting with their sound for the past 4 years now, Iâm happy theyâre still finding new ways to explore what theyâre capable of. And for that alone, even though Iâm not a big fan of songs like these where they rely on sounding âbigâ, Dahyunâs lyricism and the thrill I receive every time I indulge myself in this song when I listen to it for the first time in a while elevates it to an 8/10. Keep on breaking hearts, Dubu.
INVINCIBLE
SUPERHEROES
Press play to reminisce, pull up lyrics to cry.
This song is so beautiful. Iâm totally not writing this song review, crying on the bus reminiscing about my childhood, while just having turned 21. I donât know if these are happy or sad tears but this song is so beautiful either way.
Warm synths, muted piano, a gentle high hat, the younger members starting off the song â this has to be up there for one of the softest TWICE songs ever. And as it should, itâs one of the TWICEiest songs ever. And then Nayeon comes in,
The chords start swelling, the high hat keeps pace, and the harmonies come in,
Jihyo takes up the second half of the chorus as it drops, trading the strings for an almost R&B synth production â if choir R&B takes off, this song started it. The song relishes in this cacophony of warm sounds until returning to its sparse and peaceful verses.
This time, the hints of piano are louder, little twinkling synths begin to shimmer, the drum buildup comes and Jeongyeon drives the song straight into the chorus. No time for the strings to build like in Nayeonâs â this song loves its chorus so much.
And I'll just take this time to appreciate the amount of Jeongyeon vocals in this album. Her voice is so clean, stable, and projected â but also more tender and soft compared to the more pronounced tones of Nayeon and Jihyo.
The bridge comes in, repeating the phrase:
Giving the song time to rest, before building back up to the last chorus â this time led by Jihyo, completing the 3MIX trifecta. And interestingly enough, Chaeyoung follows up in the second half of the chorus, rather than another member of the vocal line. She really did pop off in this album.
As the last chorus begins to close, the percussion at its strongest, the harmonies on blast, the background vocals cranked up to their Sunday best, is the song going to end? Of course not! This is an album full of banger endings as if the songs donât want to end, and When We Were Kids being the album closer very much indulges in that feeling.
After a brief refrain, accented by Nayeonâs high note with a touch of vibrato, the song almost dives back into a fourth chorus. Nayeon and Jeongyeon harmonize â a rare and heavenly moment. And the song repeats the bridge, reiterating that they want to meet their younger selves, this time with the lush chorus production before closing with silence, a few piano notes, and Tzuyu singing the last line of the song:
Reflection, acceptance, hope. What a song.
THE GOOD
I wrote the first part of this review in November 2022. Then university, life, and other things got in the way of my headspace for me to feel confident about wrapping all of this up. In a way, I felt like I just didnât want this review to end because of the joy that writing gives me â I didnât want the happiness to end. And then it hit me, after watching a YouTuber rank animated movies and them placing Spirited Away at the top and explaining 'why' reminded me of just how important growing up is, and by extension this song.
This theme is important for both the rookie TWICE members in 2015 and the teenagers who would follow their journey and grow up with them, facing lifeâs obstacles along the way. Hardships that used to only involve family, crushes, and social media, evolve into work, commitments and all the struggles that adult life brings. Being a kid and enjoying the simple things in life is one of the most sought-after moments we want to relive because we took growing up for granted. The only thing we can do now is look back on ourselves with fondness and rose-tinted lenses.
TWICEâs original marketing was to resonate with people through their senses and their hearts. That was during their debut, and I think it still holds up today. In my opinion, touching people through their emotions is what TWICE does best and makes them one of K-popâs all-time greats. It was never about having the best numbers â it was always about being the best idols. And to think that this journey of maturation and growth would occur from 2015 all the way to this song, being a fitting nod to TWICEâs 7th anniversary, I donât think anyone at the company nor the group would ever imagine that they would get this far. Itâs these nine women or none â 9/10.
This song honestly deserves a 10/10 with how much I noticed other people reminiscing their childhoods after I heard this song, it is such a widely-relatable message, but I am determined to limit myself to one 10/10 song per album and if I were to pick between TTT and WWWK, I'd give it to the one's that's more repeatable â Talk that Talk just has this electric energy about it.
I love this album. It got me through some important parts of my life, both good and bad, and it's just a wonderful listen throughout. Reliving this album again before finally completing the review has been an exciting journey. Brave hit me harder this time, after being overshadowed by the other gems of this album, and WWWK finally got me to tear up and not just be emotionally satisfied.
I feel like there's something for everyone on this album. From the exhilarating thrills of TTT to the anthemic euphoria of QoH, the clubbing dichotomy of Trouble and Brave to the blissful glee of Basics, and the sweet reminiscence of WWWK to the thundering anger that is Gone. Like Eyes wide open, I liken Between 1&2 to a pop music taste platter â there's such an eclectic mix of pop, music in this album that there's bound to be a song that someone will love, like, and dislike.
Is this album perfect? I don't think so, but it's close â it was certainly my 2022 AOTY. Was this review biased? Absolutely. I've been a fan since 2019 and with the themes in this album, I also feel like it was biased towards me as a ONCE. And how would I rank the album in TWICE's catalogue? It's honestly at the top, at least with EPs â I also felt that way towards Feel Special but then this album was birthed so I'm excited for TWICE's future.
Ready To Be was also a stunning album and Eyes wide open frankly also deserved the spotlight that Formula of Love received so I might hit those next but no promises; this album took long enough to bake.
As for the performances, I've only seen Twitter clips (no fancams to not spoil myself) and I am SO EXCITED to finally see them in July. QoH was as glorious as expected, Brave was a delightful surprise, and WWWK, while not being the concert closer everyone expected it to be, paired up nicely with Crazy Stupid Love. And of course the bombastic addition of the dance break to TTT. But, this is not a concert review, and this is where this album review ends.
Feel free to comment with any thoughts regarding the album, other TWICE albums, and any suggestions for my writing in general. Congrats again on making it this far!
God, I love this album.
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Intro
To preface this review, I just need to say that this is going to be a very, long read. Going through it myself just for the fun of it takes around 30 minutes â it's almost 7k words of text, including lyrical references. So for the best experience, listen to the album beforehand to understand what the hell I was thinking when I wrote this review, play the album while reading, and set a good amount of time aside.And yes, this is 9 months late đ I'm not sorry â when I find an album review online it's always around a paragraph per song or even shorter. It makes sense from a journalistic perspective, but I want to do this album justice, hence taking 7 months to write out all my thoughts.
This shit is comprehensive and definitely overanalyzed, especially in Talk that Talk and Trouble. Each song review will compose of my commentary going over the song, noting the details I noticed through months of listening, then a conclusion. Also, mild swearing warning, I like implementing a touch of "French" when I'm very emotional about something. Anyway, onto the review!
Between 1&2 đ
Album Review
TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT
TELL ME WHAT YOU NEED
Talk that Talk đ
Lead producer: collapsedone
One of the most perfect TWICE songs.
I think this is one of TWICEâs best-sounding title tracks. Warm modulated synths, a thrumming bass line, distant bells, shimmering synths â the purpose of this song is to be fun and my god is it excellent at it, like⌠Sana and Chaeyoung are saying knock-knock-knock and beep-beep-beep as if theyâre some kind of car. So much fun.
Further along in the verse, Dahyunâs voice sounds so full and smooth with that layered harmony. Tzuyu coming with the Yes or Yes, Push & Pull, and 1 to 10 references â these are 5 years of song references. And Jeongyeon closes the pre-chorus accompanied by a rising synth to drop into chorus one. Jeongyeon slays pre-choruses.
The drums accelerate, the synths start blasting, and Jihyo opens to that party of a chorus with her godly vocals,
Tell me what you want
Tell me what you need
A to Z da malhaebwa
But shijageun ireoke have
Talk that talk ttak han madi
Talk that talk L-O-V-E
deullyeojweo ooh
Now now now now now yeah~
During Sana's Talk that Talk~ lines thereâs this gentle ascending synth bell that rings with the descending melody and it sounds absolutely gorgeous. And the choreography during that part of the chorus is so so so so fun: the talking hands bit, spelling L-O-V-E, concluding with the deullyeojweo ooh! Oh my Jihyo the deullyeojweo oohâŚ
Have I mentioned this song is fun?
Speeding through verse 2; Chaeyoungâs part with the cat ears popping in the music video is adorable; Momo her stretching her arms out looks so damn cool; and Dahyun with her replay part sounds so lovely â although I think it sonically sounds a touch random, it makes sense thematically.
And now for this pre-chorus. Mina and Jihyo leading into it sound great BUT JEONGYEON⌠Now, she is my ult bias, and this pre-chorus sounds almost identical to the first one, but the way she holds that final note, enunciating and holding that now~ for one more beat before the chorus drops sounds so perfect â the song teeters on a cliff edge. Jeongyeon slays pre-choruses.
Dropping into the second chorus and man, Jihyo powered through that first chorus, but the way Nayeon delivers it just hits different. She has this indescribable âpopâ voice (I promise this wasn't on purpose) that stands out and shouts this is THE chorus. I think this is especially apparent in how both lead their choruses where Jihyo starts at 120% power while Nayeon waits until [Tell me] WHAT YOU WANT to full-send it. She also highlights âmalhaebwaâ in a similar way later in the chorus.
Another deullyeojweo ooh! Nayeon travels to Narnia, and Mina the engineer strikes again in this heavenly, underwater-esque bridge,
The simple words âI love youâ
Thatâs all I wanna hear
Without hesitation, Iâll go up to you
Iâll make it simple
And just tell you I love you
The word âloveâ is said for the first time in the song. Thereâs a funky keyboard instrument behind Chaeyoungâs part. Jihyo, Chaeyoung, and Nayeon take the initiative in their lyrics, professing their love before closing the bridge.
And now for the pièce-de-rĂŠsistance: this final double chorus is exceptional â 40 seconds of crack-laced euphoria; Jihyo switches up the chorus and the choreo, Dahyun chimes in with her fluttery âTalk that Talkâ, Momo comes out of nowhere with âoh yeah it sounds so good!â â youâre damn right it does, and this is where the song SOARS.
han beon deo~ haejweo
geurae banggeum geu mal~
Nayeon outright shouts âTell me what you needâ and then Jeongyeon sings the above lines in such an ethereal, warm way where the first line ascends while the second line descends, causing a lull in the song before the finale with Nayeon, finishing off the song with the final deullyeojweo ooh! What a party. What a song.
THE GOOD
- The synths of all time
- The chimes during Talk-that-talk~
- Jeongyeonâs pre-chorus going into Nayeonâs chorus
- The entirety of that magical, final chorus and outro
- The opening hook (Tell me what you want) and accompanying choreography could be âcatchierâ
- Singing (and dancing) my heart out when this song played at a K-pop club
Lyrics and theme-wise, if this were to have been TWICEâs last comeback, theyâve once again built upon the theme they've been doing since debut: a Bildungsroman, a coming-of-age story.
This songâs chorus is honest yet simple; it asks the listener, in this case, the other half of the relationship, to be more upfront and open with their love (never be scared of love), that before the relationship can continue and flourish there has to be a foundation and commitment of love between each other.
TWICE debuted with a song about making your crush go ooh ahh. Years later, they started pondering âWhat is love?â and imagining their crush responding with âyesâ when asking them out â and now concluding with the phrase âTalk that talk, [talk that] L-O-V-Eâ, being upfront with the relationship, wishing their partner to also be happy, to commit to them, to feel the love that they want to impart on them. From gawking like ooh-ahh to talking out your shared love like adults â to having a true relationship between (one and) two.
And can I just say before finishing off Talk that Talk's review that this is such a fun and repeatable song with many little intricacies hidden in the nonetâs vocals and the production. This is the third draft Iâm writing about Talk that Talk and its original word count pretty much quadrupled.
Harkening back to TWICEâs roots by combining mature thinking with youthful character, an incredible ending to look forward to, and just simply being a club-banger thatâs easy to listen to, TTT is an easy 10/10.
WATCH ME GO WATCH ME GO
RULE THE WORLD
Queen of Hearts đ
Lead producer: LDN Noise of SM
If there was one B-side to promote in a live clip, this was a solid choice.
Helmed by LDN Noise going headlong into the Western boy-group rock-band aesthetic, Queen of Hearts is a boom-boom-clap song through and through. The drums are very prominent throughout the song, only giving room to riffs of electric guitar in the chorus to drive and continue the momentum of the music.
And speaking of the chorus, vocal line each got a chorus to flex and they did not fuck around,
You ainât ready for it
Watch me go~ watch me go~
Rule the world
Know you never doubted baby
Iâmma go run the whole universe~
Cymbals crashing, drums booming, and 3MIX belting all just so sound so good.
Baby I was born to rule~~
Yeah Iâm the queen, Iâm the queen
And itâs all because of you~~
That Iâm the Queen of Hearts
These long, held-out notes performed by Jihyo and Nayeon are simply exquisite. Along with the shredding guitar, the drum set coming in full, and the interludes by Dahyun, Momo, and Chaeyoung, this is the part of the song that always, always, gives me goosebumps â it sounds so visceral, so energetic, so fun, so triumphant. Boom-boom-clap songs can be hit or miss with people, but there's no denying the payoff from the first part of the chorus to the second part is worth the wait.
The theme of the song so far has been kind of spread around the song. The chorus alludes to it with the line "And itâs all because of you." But Mina shows more sides of it in the second verse, especially with the phrase,
And now that Iâm surrounded by all my girls
We be shining bright like diamonds and pearls
It sounds really lovely â in a very cheesy and affectionate kind of way, as it rightfully should â the song is about the girls and their fans. But the bridge is where the song indeed shows its colours
Screaming out my name
See it in the stage lights
Feel so lucky just to have ya
Cause I know deep down I was meant for something bigger! Greater!
I know youâre seeing what I see
Yeah Iâll be everything you need
I know Iâm gonna walk the walk
And talk the talk to be~ [the Queen of Hearts]
This is a song CONCEIVED TO BE PERFORMED FOR THE FANS. Itâs meant to be loud. Itâs meant to be unapologetic. Itâs meant to be sappy. And itâs all the more wonderful for it.
This is the TWICEiest shit ever.
Like Talk that Talk, Queen of Hearts also has a killer closer. The production already started to grow from the bridge, but now the guitarist finally went Super Saiyan and instead of supporting the drums, they both take the centrepiece in tandem.
Then finally, the closing moments of the song even manage to squeeze in some more sappiness.
So thank you for the memories
Youâre all the ones who made me~
So thank you for the memories
That Iâm the Queen of Hearts
I still canât believe that this banger is a FAN SONG out of all things. Truly, the TWICEiest shit ever.
THE GOOD
- Adorable fucking lyrics
- Unrelenting, roaring chorus
- English and vocal flex
- Addicting guitar riffs
- Chaeyoung rapping in English in their Korean songs somehow slaps harder than her English rapping in their English songs, nonetheless, in QoH, it fits with the sound of the song
- Walking home from a K-pop festival with this song playing, felt like a Queen of Hearts
I love these types of rock songs with how grunge and head-bang-able they are, there is just a certain nostalgic and cheesy quality to them that feels so cozy. I donât love putting them on repeat, because in this case, I do believe there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. Perhaps more shredding, maybe a guitar solo to rock out to, or an accompaniment(!) of ad-libs from 3MIX to support Jihyoâs final chorus? A ONCE can dream of a truly bombastic rock song from TWICE. But then again that distracts from the core of what this song is: a fan song disguised as a rock song.
Queen of Hearts has so much sweetness in its lyrics and message that it's overflowing. The drums, guitar, and vocals can be as loud and intricate as they can, but the theme of this song is what makes it special from TWICEâs other rock songs â itâs a 9/10 for me.
I WANNA WANNA WANNA
TAKE YOU TO THE BASICS
Basics đ
Sole lyricist credit: Chaeyoung
Quite possibly the jammiest (pun intended) song of the album.
A song written by the Strawberry Princess herself â an event similar in frequency to other artists' releases with her last song being 2020âs silky Handle It â Basics first starts with an understated and dreamy delivery. After the first stanza, however, a bouncy Miami bass line emerges, revealing the true nature of the song: this is a classic summer bop! Especially in the first rap,
dareun aedeulgwaneun dalla
Ainât begginâ for love
nappeun geon anijana ige naraseo
eodiro twilji molla
Like rainbow bubble gum
geureoni nal kkwak butjabadweo
Syllables are pronounced in a relaxed nature, bars often starting with an "ah" sound, flirty lines in English â this rap features a production full of pop with R&B flourishes and, in my opinion, this is Chaeyoungâs bag. Also, the line "rainbow bubblegum" is so adorable and so Chaeyoung.
I wanna wanna wanna take it to the basics
da weonhae weonhae weonhae? seodureuji ma Baby
ppeonhae ppeonhae malhae mweohae da al tende
Ah yeah ah yeah ah yeah ah yeah
That chorus is pure pop with a Miami bass backing; you better be bopping your head to the melody, if not booty poppin' to the bassline. Chaeyoung loves rhyming in the first half of the chorus to enhance its catchiness and it's damn incredible: the âwannaâ, âweonhaeâ, and âppeonhaeâ all create these imperfect rhymes that continue momentum without feeling repetitive.
After the very Boy With Luv-sounding âah yeah ah yeah, ah yeah ah yeahâ comes an 8-bar split half and half between Chaeyoung and Momo. Coming from the chorus, the production completely cuts out for the first 2 bars. This adds tension; the song yearns to have that bass beat thumping again and all we have in the audio space in those 2 bars is Chaeyoung spittin' and she delivered.
taneun deut tteugeoun samak wie
yeppeuge pieonan jangmi gata
joshimseure naege dagaol ttae
nado moreuge jjilleobeoril tende
Translating to:
Above the hot, burning desert
Itâs like a rose that bloomed beautifully
When you come to me slowly
I will prick you unconsciously
The rap feels slick, effortless, and confident. Her diction remains sharp when enunciating each syllable but she doesnât let the flow of her rap waver or build as her 4 bars go by, itâs just smooth consistency throughout. Even the lyrics possess an aura of laid-back collectedness that is just so her. The things Chaeyoung can do when given her pen.
THE GOOD
- That sweet summer vibe of a chorus
- The âspaceshipâ post-chorus is killer
- Chaeyoung devoured this song
- Sure-footed, confident lyrics
- Perhaps an alteration of that ah yeah ah yeah line
- The way Jihyo did her pre-chorus line is good, but Minaâs is great
- After donating my hair, walking down the rainbow-coloured areas of downtown Toronto with this song playing was very⌠fitting
This song is summer bliss distilled into 2:56. Itâs dreamy, the raps are satisfying, and the ending is charming. I will say that although the second half of the song adds the stunning âspaceshipâ post-choruses and a floaty bridge with an incredible drumbeat drop into the final chorus, the raps of the song make it feel a bit front-loaded. And in an album stacked with awesome finishers, it feels more apparent.
With that said, itâs an 8/10 bop for me. This song is so easy to put on and it feels exactly what Chaeyoung would make if given the reins to produce a pop song all on her own. The lyrics are nonchalant but full of conviction, the wordplay is intricate, and the production playful but not too bombastic â it's just a nice vibe. Songs like Basics are the standard for good, simple, repeatable pop music and Iâm happy that Chaeyoung got to test her pen in this genre.
BABY WEâRE IN
TROUBLE TROUBLE
Trouble đ
Sole lyricist credit: JihyoBackground vocals: Jihyo
Lead composer credit: Jihyo
Vocal director credit: Jihyo (an assumption given her contributions in First Time)
One of the most enjoyable songs Iâve heard in a while.
There is an underlying tension within the first 4 bars of the song, Jihyo and Nayeon confidently open it to a nondescript array of synths and then the stanza ends, Momo announces âLetâs goâ, the beat drops and it hits you: this is a club song.
Dahyun's relaxed delivery contrasted with Jeongyeon's staccato flow, the wobbly synth beat with sprinkle of house piano, Sana dramatically slowing down the song only for Tzuyu to build it back up until the chorus drops,
- Nayeon opens it using a breathy tone, with vocal chops serving as harmonies
- The blooming of the house piano takes centre stage and the song ascends into euphoria
- A random drum roll capped off by a cymbal crash
- Jeongyeonâs pronunciation of the word âtroubleâ almost being a growl
- Chaeyoung slyly admitting âI like this troubleâ
- The entirety of Tzuyuâs tro~oh~oh~ouble yeah~
- Sana using her deep voice for the na~na~na~na
- Jihyo leading the vocals during the synchronized T W I C E chant
This chorus is perfect. Torontoâs residential market needs this song injected into its veins because god damn this song has SO much house in it. And then, ANOTHER KILLING PART: this rap fucking slaps.
gamchweo bwatja geugeon Fake
ppajin hamjeongeun Sweet cake
During the first 2 bars, Chaeyoung is keeping it calm because that trip of a chorus just ended and the song needs a breather, but I don't think anyone expected her to SNAP this hard afterwards:
You cannot resist this
Cannot miss this, such a bliss
Ima put it down down
Oh yeah, better kiss kiss
Below is the structure of her this portion of the rap, Iâm not that well versed in this technical aspect of music theory but I digress, this is all in the span of around 5 seconds where itâs:
Triplet-triplet
Quadruplet-triplet
Quadruplet-doublet
Doublet-quadruplet
Now, 25/5 = 5 syllables per second isnât groundbreaking, but goddamn it these 2 bars sound so nice â if there is one part in this album that I always repeat, itâs this. The addition of that first quadruplet for âcannot miss thisâ in the midst of the triplets sticks out and accelerates the flow of the rap while the following doublets and quadruplets destabilize and slow the rap down as the verse closes. And can I just point out:
THE MAIN VOCALIST WROTE, DIRECTED, AND COMPOSED THIS SONG âź
Chaeyoung of course delivered the fuck out of her verse but THIS is what you get when you have a member not only write the words theyâre saying but also the melody and flow with which they sing it, when that member knows the others so well that when they write a song they know how to make the group exceed. This is what you get when the artists you stan love doing artist shit.
And. AND. That's not all â with how much I mentioned I love a good outro to close a song, this outro slaps as well:
Woo wee woo wee woo
I like this trouble be-be
Woo wee woo wee woo
I like this trouble bay-be
Woo wee woo wee woo
I like this trouble bay-beh
Woo wee woo wee woo
I like this trou-ble
Like, come on, Nayeonâs imitating a police siren for crying out loud. And this is all after her ad-libs in the final post-chorus; after the pianist going full tilt and playing that piano as if it was their last chance to ever play; after that final T W I C E chant by all the members come these blissful 20 seconds at the very end. What a song.
THE GOOD
- The theme of relishing in an uncontrolled love
- Sana and Minaâs melody in the pre-chorus
- Chorus
- Rap
- Outro
- Wees and woos
- Minaâs line of âfalling down, falling down, falling down lowâ in verse 2 feels a bit too abrupt of a change
- While writing Trouble's review I had this song on repeat for my whole subway commute and I must've been so distracting, just head-bopping and being so invested in enjoying a song
Need I say more, easy 9/10. The only reason I place Talk that Talk above Trouble is because of what that song represents but besides that, this is one of the best âinternationalâ sounds theyâve put out. Actually, I havenât listened to Eyes wide open in a while but this song is up there with one of the most sonically pleasing pieces of work theyâve done.
Clubbing TWICE has always been a thing since TT was birthed in 2016, and has been a staple of their discography since 2019âs Fancy You and Feel Special mini albums, but Trouble unapologetically dives into and fits the house genre so well youâd think that this is TWICEâs bread and butter sound.
Trouble is Jihyoâs magnum opus. What a song.
BRAVE BRAVE BRAVE
FOR YOU
Brave đ
Main producer: Slow Rabbit of HYBE
I first thought this was just a good song, then I read the lyrics.
Gentle guitar plucks, shimmering synths, a distant keyboard in the right ear, in the left a glockenspiel, the melodic oohs from the members â this song is PRETTY.
The night that was unusually dark
Above this terrifying world, felt so lonely
The world has grown in the time of wandering
So hard to breathe
Mina and Chaeyoung open the song with how they feel lonely and that it's hard to breathe and now suddenly the song feels bittersweet â I was not expecting the song to be this emotional. Brave describes a situation where the singer is in a darker place in life and it isn't until another person gives them hope by calling them 'brave' that they find the drive to keep going.
Once the chorus hits, the melodies pick up, more guitars get added â thereâs even an electric guitar hidden in the mix somewhere, and the song drops the emotional front to reveal a mid-tempo pop song to dance to while crying in the club. The song as a whole still carries this melancholy feeling, but now with the added support of this chorus acting as a light amongst the gloom.
Continuing on in the second verse there's this gorgeous, well-placed break in the song that just lets it settle after that chorus. Only a seasoned producer would risk this much empty space in a song and Slow Rabbit went to fill those shoes.
Back to the chorus, I'll take this moment to once again commend Slow Rabbit with the mixing of the song, because 4MIX undoubtedly sounds good in the chorus, and the interludes from Dahyun, Chaeyoung, and Mina also sound really good, but the clear highlight of the choruses are these lines:
Oh na na na neon nal naige hae [Momo, then Tzuyu, then Momo]
On and on and on
Brave brave brave for ya [Dahyun, then Chaeyoung, then Mina]
Oh na na na neon nal sum shwige hae [Sana, then Momo, then Sana]
On and on and on oh trust me babe
Momo, Sana, and Tzuyu form this beautiful, surprisingly catchy, second half of the chorus accompanied by a guitar drop. It should not turn out this well with how conflicting the "na"s are with the guitar melody but it creates this gentle bopping ebb and flow that feels so lush and mellow.
Diving into the bridge reveals that the listener of the song is revealed not only capable of supporting the singer through direct words but also through their thoughts and dreams. As can be discerned, this can be a song interpreted to be about ONCEs, about how they push TWICE to be their best selves despite the breathless hardships they face. It's a very sweet and touching song.
THE GOOD
- Special lyrics
- Pleasant sound to vibe out to
- That gentle break after the first chorus
- Jihyoâs high note at the end
- A Nayeon Jeongyeon joint high note âď¸
- Just pretty vocals throughout
- Potentially hard to comprehend without translating the Korean lyrics
- Form of Therapyâs life motto revolves around the word âbraveâ. I donât know where I got that from, but I remembered it right before watching his album reaction
Iâm actually spoiled with the TWICE membersâ easy-to-understand songwriting that when a song like this pops up where it's not written by a member and the thematic bits are mostly in Korean, I tend to put it aside in favour of the other songs on the album. And, especially for a song focusing on a theme like this where the English phrases donât do the Korean lyrics enough justice, it does place a bit of a barrier on the listening experience, dropping it down to a 7/10 from an 8/10.
With that anecdote out of the way, this song is just such a vibe, man. I know that sounds super hippy to say but Brave is so mellow and smooth that I canât help but sway a little when that chorus hits. And then I remember what the lyrics say and I tear up a bit on the inside. This song is so pure, raw, and full of heart â we need more songs like these where they just reminisce about life while putting up an upbeat front. Don't mind me just crying while dancing the night away.
With that said, this isn't the first time this theme has been sung by TWICE either, they've long trodden this path of supportive, confiding, up-lifting songs with Young & Wild, Rainbow, Queen, Go Hard, Depend on You, even this album's Queen of Hearts, and, of course, Feel Special. Brave just adds another on top of an already stacked lineup, unique with its mellow somberness.
Also now feels like a good time to get into my rating system:
- 7/10s are songs are ones that are simply good throughout or great songs with apparent flaws
- 8/10s are great songs with standout characteristics
- 9/10s are borderline perfect songs where I sometimes can't comprehend how great they are
- And 10/10s are the best of an artist's discography, songs that encapsulate their ethos perfectly or expand upon them in a meaningful way
I SEE THE LIES
ON THE TIP OF YOUR TONGUE
Gone đ¨
Sole lyricist credit: Dahyun
Who the fuck pissed off Dubu this time??
Itâs getting quite rare to see TWICE pull off brand new sounds because, with now 190 original songs under their belt, theyâve done so many genres and sub-genres varying from hyper pop, to bossa nova, to whatever 2020âs Go Hard is. So itâs surprising to see theyâve still got tricks up their sleeves and Gone is one of them.
The song starts with strings swinging back and forth and vocal chops dancing from ear to ear, teasing whatâs yet to come. Jihyo enters the song with a whisper and the song sets its pace. A stagnant drum pad moves the song along and typical song progression would have Mina continue the build but â it doesnât. The song simmers, adding a hint of high hat to the pot. And then, Sana and Tzuyu come on and surely the buildup must boil over right?
Silence, untilâŚ
I see the LIES on the top of your tongue
The strings emerge again on full blast, the simmer rolls to a boil, and the anger of the song is revealed,
All the fate I had towards you
Fades like a fog, gone, gone
Your flipping mind of doing this and that
Iâm tired of it, itâs meaningless
In the beginning, it was hard to believe
With that, hatred increases
The singer is so scorned and burned from this relationship that they reminisce about all the effort theyâve put in since the beginning, but their âpartnerâ is so unconcerned that theyâve just about had enough of the relationship altogether.
This has been Dahyunâs thing since 2020âs Bring It Back, 2021âs Cruel, 2022âs Thatâs all Iâm saying, and even 2023's Don't Blame It On Me â emotionally charged breakup songs that make you feel as if sheâs gone through a dozen bad relationships. Dispatch, do your job better, or don't.
Another highlight of the song is the post-chorus going into the bridge. This segment reiterates the structure from the first post-chorus â a barrage of drums supported by the rhythmic strumming of a bass guitar along with a consistent synth filling out the soundscape. But this time, itâs Dahyun and Chaeyoung on the rap:
I canât stand it anymore [Dahyun]
My patience, invisible
I canât find it, itâs all gone
Even if I try to turn back, itâs too late [Chaeyoung]
Thereâs no use anymore
It has left, itâs long gone
You, with flipping mind, you are out [Momo]
I know that you know what Iâm talking about [Dahyun]
Nothing you could say that could turn this around
Iâm gone
Continuing the disrespected theme of the song, Dahyun notes that sheâs finally had enough with Chaeyoung adding that thereâs no point salvaging what was once there for all of it is long gone. Momo and Dahyun round it off by telling the listener that thereâs no point trying to reason with them or playing naive, they fucked up and thereâs no coming back.
Can I just say, it's a bit of a shame that Chaeyoungâs rapping popped off in this album while Dahyun only has this one verse that she shares with Chaeyoung, but it just sounds so good how Dahyun eases in after the chorus with her light rapping tone transitioning into her singing. She even holds the âgoneâ in a little crescendo for some added pizzazz.
And, thereâs no way Iâm not going to talk about Momoâs vocals in this bridge. Damned if she only got 1 line to use it in, her lower register is incredible. She sounds so smooth singing in this tone. All of TWICE do in particular and there is nary a weak vocal performance in this album.
To close the song off, a wash of synths gets to have their shine in the spotlight, showered with Nayeonâs belting, signifying the dramatic and drawn-out conclusion of this partnership.
THE GOOD
- Theyâve still got their surprises
- Thundering chorus
- 2nd rap and bridge combo
- A bitter, crumbling relationship theme
- Iâm not a huge fan of the mixing during the first post-chorus, where Momo's vocals were fighting with the production, which is disappointing because Momo is capable of an insane flow
- The post-chorus in general, specifically the first one, can be a bit tiring on repeat listens
- Actually, I think this song sounds like a mix between GOT7's Not By The Moon, BLACKPINKâs Love To Hate Me, and Dahyunâs Bring It Back. I donât know where I got this thought came from, but it stuck
Going back to that point about the first post-chorus as a whole; songs that have the production continue unchanged into the post-chorus/2nd verse are very hit or miss for me â see TWICE's Don't Call Me Again for an overbearing example. The post-chorus going into the bridge contrasts Dahyunâs light tone nicely with the hard-hitting production, continuing the energy until it slowly fades into silence at the end of the bridge.
Back to the song as a whole, as much as TWICE has been experimenting with their sound for the past 4 years now, Iâm happy theyâre still finding new ways to explore what theyâre capable of. And for that alone, even though Iâm not a big fan of songs like these where they rely on sounding âbigâ, Dahyunâs lyricism and the thrill I receive every time I indulge myself in this song when I listen to it for the first time in a while elevates it to an 8/10. Keep on breaking hearts, Dubu.
INVINCIBLE
SUPERHEROES
When We Were Kids đ§¸
Sole lyricist credit: Dahyun
Press play to reminisce, pull up lyrics to cry.
This song is so beautiful. Iâm totally not writing this song review, crying on the bus reminiscing about my childhood, while just having turned 21. I donât know if these are happy or sad tears but this song is so beautiful either way.
Warm synths, muted piano, a gentle high hat, the younger members starting off the song â this has to be up there for one of the softest TWICE songs ever. And as it should, itâs one of the TWICEiest songs ever. And then Nayeon comes in,
Invincible superheroes, we wanted to be adults
To the higher, clearer world
The chords start swelling, the high hat keeps pace, and the harmonies come in,
Remember when we were kids
When we were kids, we didnât know
If we could go back
I will love it even more
Remember when we were kids
Jihyo takes up the second half of the chorus as it drops, trading the strings for an almost R&B synth production â if choir R&B takes off, this song started it. The song relishes in this cacophony of warm sounds until returning to its sparse and peaceful verses.
This time, the hints of piano are louder, little twinkling synths begin to shimmer, the drum buildup comes and Jeongyeon drives the song straight into the chorus. No time for the strings to build like in Nayeonâs â this song loves its chorus so much.
And I'll just take this time to appreciate the amount of Jeongyeon vocals in this album. Her voice is so clean, stable, and projected â but also more tender and soft compared to the more pronounced tones of Nayeon and Jihyo.
The bridge comes in, repeating the phrase:
I wish that I could meet
Could meet the younger me
Giving the song time to rest, before building back up to the last chorus â this time led by Jihyo, completing the 3MIX trifecta. And interestingly enough, Chaeyoung follows up in the second half of the chorus, rather than another member of the vocal line. She really did pop off in this album.
As the last chorus begins to close, the percussion at its strongest, the harmonies on blast, the background vocals cranked up to their Sunday best, is the song going to end? Of course not! This is an album full of banger endings as if the songs donât want to end, and When We Were Kids being the album closer very much indulges in that feeling.
After a brief refrain, accented by Nayeonâs high note with a touch of vibrato, the song almost dives back into a fourth chorus. Nayeon and Jeongyeon harmonize â a rare and heavenly moment. And the song repeats the bridge, reiterating that they want to meet their younger selves, this time with the lush chorus production before closing with silence, a few piano notes, and Tzuyu singing the last line of the song:
Oh, we were kids
Reflection, acceptance, hope. What a song.
THE GOOD
- Heavenly vocals throughout
- Relatable, heartfelt lyrics
- Euphoric chorus
- Great closer to the album
- Refrain after the last chorus, "Back when we were kids," couldâve been executed better
- For an album titled Between 1&2, I donât think anything hits harder than finishing the song reviews, with this song in particular, during your 21st birthday
I wrote the first part of this review in November 2022. Then university, life, and other things got in the way of my headspace for me to feel confident about wrapping all of this up. In a way, I felt like I just didnât want this review to end because of the joy that writing gives me â I didnât want the happiness to end. And then it hit me, after watching a YouTuber rank animated movies and them placing Spirited Away at the top and explaining 'why' reminded me of just how important growing up is, and by extension this song.
This theme is important for both the rookie TWICE members in 2015 and the teenagers who would follow their journey and grow up with them, facing lifeâs obstacles along the way. Hardships that used to only involve family, crushes, and social media, evolve into work, commitments and all the struggles that adult life brings. Being a kid and enjoying the simple things in life is one of the most sought-after moments we want to relive because we took growing up for granted. The only thing we can do now is look back on ourselves with fondness and rose-tinted lenses.
TWICEâs original marketing was to resonate with people through their senses and their hearts. That was during their debut, and I think it still holds up today. In my opinion, touching people through their emotions is what TWICE does best and makes them one of K-popâs all-time greats. It was never about having the best numbers â it was always about being the best idols. And to think that this journey of maturation and growth would occur from 2015 all the way to this song, being a fitting nod to TWICEâs 7th anniversary, I donât think anyone at the company nor the group would ever imagine that they would get this far. Itâs these nine women or none â 9/10.
This song honestly deserves a 10/10 with how much I noticed other people reminiscing their childhoods after I heard this song, it is such a widely-relatable message, but I am determined to limit myself to one 10/10 song per album and if I were to pick between TTT and WWWK, I'd give it to the one's that's more repeatable â Talk that Talk just has this electric energy about it.
Epilogue
And finally here is the end. If you made it in one sitting then I commend you, because I could not write this mess in one sitting. As alluded to, I started writing this album review sometime in October, after a series of edits the first draft was finished in March, and now here's the final draft in June.I love this album. It got me through some important parts of my life, both good and bad, and it's just a wonderful listen throughout. Reliving this album again before finally completing the review has been an exciting journey. Brave hit me harder this time, after being overshadowed by the other gems of this album, and WWWK finally got me to tear up and not just be emotionally satisfied.
I feel like there's something for everyone on this album. From the exhilarating thrills of TTT to the anthemic euphoria of QoH, the clubbing dichotomy of Trouble and Brave to the blissful glee of Basics, and the sweet reminiscence of WWWK to the thundering anger that is Gone. Like Eyes wide open, I liken Between 1&2 to a pop music taste platter â there's such an eclectic mix of pop, music in this album that there's bound to be a song that someone will love, like, and dislike.
Is this album perfect? I don't think so, but it's close â it was certainly my 2022 AOTY. Was this review biased? Absolutely. I've been a fan since 2019 and with the themes in this album, I also feel like it was biased towards me as a ONCE. And how would I rank the album in TWICE's catalogue? It's honestly at the top, at least with EPs â I also felt that way towards Feel Special but then this album was birthed so I'm excited for TWICE's future.
Ready To Be was also a stunning album and Eyes wide open frankly also deserved the spotlight that Formula of Love received so I might hit those next but no promises; this album took long enough to bake.
As for the performances, I've only seen Twitter clips (no fancams to not spoil myself) and I am SO EXCITED to finally see them in July. QoH was as glorious as expected, Brave was a delightful surprise, and WWWK, while not being the concert closer everyone expected it to be, paired up nicely with Crazy Stupid Love. And of course the bombastic addition of the dance break to TTT. But, this is not a concert review, and this is where this album review ends.
Feel free to comment with any thoughts regarding the album, other TWICE albums, and any suggestions for my writing in general. Congrats again on making it this far!
God, I love this album.
2023.06.03 22:01 Gloomy-Question-4859 Unveiling the Enchanting Secrets of a Charming Town: An Unexpected Journey!
Hey fellow Redditors,
I wanted to share an incredible experience that recently unfolded during a spur-of-the-moment road trip. I decided to explore a lesser-known town nestled in the countryside, without any preconceived notions. Little did I know that this impulsive decision would lead me to astonishing discoveries!
While leisurely strolling through the town's idyllic streets, I chanced upon a small cafĂŠ that seemed straight out of a fairy tale. The alluring scent of freshly brewed coffee and freshly baked treats drew me in, compelling me to step inside. What followed was the beginning of an extraordinary adventure.
Inside the cafĂŠ, I met a friendly barista who not only possessed a deep love for coffee but also an abundance of knowledge about the town. Engaging in an enchanting conversation, they regaled me with captivating tales about the town's history, hidden landmarks, and secret hideaways. Intrigued, I couldn't resist the urge to explore further.
Equipped with a hastily drawn map on a napkin and a newfound sense of wanderlust, I embarked on a quest to uncover these concealed wonders. I stumbled upon breathtaking nature trails, stumbled upon hidden waterfalls, marveled at captivating art installations, and discovered a secluded garden adorned with exotic blossoms. It felt as though I had stumbled upon a magical realm shielded from the outside world.
However, the true astonishment awaited me when I stumbled upon a weathered old bookstore, barely noticeable behind a row of vibrant houses. Inside, the shelves overflowed with forgotten tales and wisdom. As I delved into the passages of time, I came across handwritten notes from past readers, underlined sections, and even pressed flowers delicately marking pages. It served as a testament to the power of literature in connecting generations and preserving the human experience.
Throughout this adventure, I encountered welcoming locals who were genuinely excited to share their stories and welcome me into their lives, even if only momentarily. From passionate artisans to eccentric owners of antique shops, each encounter reminded me of the warmth and generosity found within close-knit communities.
Feeling immensely grateful for discovering this hidden treasure of a town, I learned the beauty of embracing the unknown and venturing off the well-trodden path. It was a gentle reminder that there is so much more waiting to be discovered beyond the familiar tourist hotspots.
Therefore, if you ever feel a longing for a spontaneous escapade, I urge you to veer away from the conventional routes and explore the concealed wonders awaiting your arrival. Who knows what enchanting surprises may lie in store for you!
TL;DR: Embarked on a spontaneous road trip and uncovered a charming town brimming with hidden secrets, including secret waterfalls and a captivating bookstore. Interactions with friendly locals made the adventure unforgettable. Embrace the unfamiliar and explore beyond the usual destinations!
Wishing you delightful discoveries on your own journeys, fellow adventurers!
submitted by Gloomy-Question-4859 to adventuressmalltown [link] [comments]
I wanted to share an incredible experience that recently unfolded during a spur-of-the-moment road trip. I decided to explore a lesser-known town nestled in the countryside, without any preconceived notions. Little did I know that this impulsive decision would lead me to astonishing discoveries!
While leisurely strolling through the town's idyllic streets, I chanced upon a small cafĂŠ that seemed straight out of a fairy tale. The alluring scent of freshly brewed coffee and freshly baked treats drew me in, compelling me to step inside. What followed was the beginning of an extraordinary adventure.
Inside the cafĂŠ, I met a friendly barista who not only possessed a deep love for coffee but also an abundance of knowledge about the town. Engaging in an enchanting conversation, they regaled me with captivating tales about the town's history, hidden landmarks, and secret hideaways. Intrigued, I couldn't resist the urge to explore further.
Equipped with a hastily drawn map on a napkin and a newfound sense of wanderlust, I embarked on a quest to uncover these concealed wonders. I stumbled upon breathtaking nature trails, stumbled upon hidden waterfalls, marveled at captivating art installations, and discovered a secluded garden adorned with exotic blossoms. It felt as though I had stumbled upon a magical realm shielded from the outside world.
However, the true astonishment awaited me when I stumbled upon a weathered old bookstore, barely noticeable behind a row of vibrant houses. Inside, the shelves overflowed with forgotten tales and wisdom. As I delved into the passages of time, I came across handwritten notes from past readers, underlined sections, and even pressed flowers delicately marking pages. It served as a testament to the power of literature in connecting generations and preserving the human experience.
Throughout this adventure, I encountered welcoming locals who were genuinely excited to share their stories and welcome me into their lives, even if only momentarily. From passionate artisans to eccentric owners of antique shops, each encounter reminded me of the warmth and generosity found within close-knit communities.
Feeling immensely grateful for discovering this hidden treasure of a town, I learned the beauty of embracing the unknown and venturing off the well-trodden path. It was a gentle reminder that there is so much more waiting to be discovered beyond the familiar tourist hotspots.
Therefore, if you ever feel a longing for a spontaneous escapade, I urge you to veer away from the conventional routes and explore the concealed wonders awaiting your arrival. Who knows what enchanting surprises may lie in store for you!
TL;DR: Embarked on a spontaneous road trip and uncovered a charming town brimming with hidden secrets, including secret waterfalls and a captivating bookstore. Interactions with friendly locals made the adventure unforgettable. Embrace the unfamiliar and explore beyond the usual destinations!
Wishing you delightful discoveries on your own journeys, fellow adventurers!
2023.06.03 21:49 Indian_FireFly 25 [M4F] Mumbai/Pune - Seeking a Literary Soulmate for Adventures and Coffee Conversations!
About Me:
Hello there! I'm a compassionate and understanding software engineer who believes in the power of connections. When I'm not immersed in coding and problem-solving, you can find me engrossed in the captivating world of books or embarking on exciting adventures on my beloved Royal Enfield. Nature has a special place in my heart, and I enjoy spending tranquil moments by lakes and in parks, simply appreciating the beauty of the world around me.Exploring new places and cafe hopping are some of my favorite pastimes, as they allow me to discover unique flavors and immerse myself in local cultures.
Interests:
As an avid reader, I'm constantly exploring various genres and expanding my knowledge through literature. If you have any book recommendations, I'd love to hear them! When I'm not lost in the pages of a book, I'm cruising on my Royal Enfield, feeling the wind in my hair and the freedom of the open road. There's something magical about the feeling of exploring new landscapes on two wheels. Additionally, I find solace in spending time in serene natural surroundings, unwinding and finding peace in the simplicity of nature.What I'm Looking For:
I'm here with a sincere desire to find a deep and meaningful connection that leads to a serious and committed relationship. I value open communication, empathy, and understanding, as I believe they form the foundation of a strong and lasting partnership.My ideal match is someone who shares my passion for exploration and is equally excited about the prospect of building a future together. If you're someone who appreciates the joy of discovering new destinations, savoring a cozy cup of coffee, and ultimately seeking a long-term commitment, I would be delighted to get to know you.
Ideal Date:
Picture this: a sunny day, a charming lakeside spot, and a picnic blanket spread with delicious treats. We could spend the day immersed in engaging conversations, exchanging book recommendations, and sharing laughter.Later, we could hop on our bikes and take a scenic ride, embracing the freedom of the open road as we explore hidden gems along the way. We could end the day by finding a quaint cafĂŠ, enjoying a warm cup of coffee while planning our next adventure. Together, we can create cherished memories and build a future filled with love, laughter, and shared experiences.
If you resonate with what I've shared, I'd be thrilled to hear from you. Let's embark on a journey of exploration, love, and building a beautiful life together :)
2023.06.03 21:30 Shandreaa Which classes would your MC take?
If JC was fair and didn't "Harried" MC's classes, what classes would your MC choose apart of the core classes?
Core classes: Astronomy, Charms, DADA, Herbology, History of Magic, Potions, Transfiguration, Flying.
Electives: Arithmancy, CoMC, Divination, Muggle Studies, Study of Ancient Runes (third years and up); Advanced Arithmancy Studies, Alchemy and Apparition (sixth and seventh year).
Extra-curricular subjects: Ancient Studies, Ghoul Studies, Magical Theory, Muggle Art, Muggle Music, Music, Xylomancy.
submitted by Shandreaa to HPHogwartsMystery [link] [comments]
Core classes: Astronomy, Charms, DADA, Herbology, History of Magic, Potions, Transfiguration, Flying.
Electives: Arithmancy, CoMC, Divination, Muggle Studies, Study of Ancient Runes (third years and up); Advanced Arithmancy Studies, Alchemy and Apparition (sixth and seventh year).
Extra-curricular subjects: Ancient Studies, Ghoul Studies, Magical Theory, Muggle Art, Muggle Music, Music, Xylomancy.
2023.06.03 21:27 larryking923 How do you demons work?
Demons have been known to watch people for years, some think lifetimes. They stay back, invisible, watching, listening, learning everything about us, our strengths and weaknesses, personalities, thoughts, relationships with others, every little thing about us.
When we are at a vulnerable point in life, they will start with thoughts, emotions and dreams. We canât hear those but we think they are our thoughts and feelings that we could act on believing they are ours. They try to ruin our lives using addictions, behaviors, people, anything that could have an impact on our lives. Thatâs when people are very susceptible to depression and suicide. To give you an idea of how long they will watch people, itâs taken me 50 years to learn theyâve been with me since birth.
If they canât control you with thoughts and emotions, they move on to ghostly things. Knocks and scratches, missing personal items, footsteps, lights turning on and off, electronics, glimpses of apparitions, orbs. Ghosts scare most people and thatâs what itâs really trying to do without letting us know what they are.
If that doesnât scare you then it gets to actual demonic activity which runs the gamut from touching you to using magical powers that each have their own. They donât want the world to know they exist so they will only do what they have to. They donât want us to know what they can do which is really unbelievable stuff that shouldnât be possible in our reality but Iâve seen them do it myself. They are completely fear based and will do anything to cause fear. They feed off of fear like we do food, it gives them energy and they donât need any more energy. They have plenty of their own. Fear is our greatest weakness in this world, demons or life, no need for fear, it will only paralyze us.
Iâve been attacked by more than 30 demons total but Iâve only learned the personalities of 6 so far. They each have their own personality like us and itâs usually associated with one of the 7 deadly sins but not always, some are stark raving lunatics bent on torture and pain, some are seductive and charming. Iâve noticed one thing they all have in common. They all have a hidden agenda and they are extremely good about hiding that. They try to keep our attention on anything but God and Jesus. Thatâs all they care about. They donât care if we go to hell or stay on earth another lifetime, they only want us to not go into the light. Their job is to lead mankind astray and they are very good at it. Keep us focused on worldly things instead of spiritual. Even ourselves, they will try to use bettering ourselves as another distraction.
Once they make themselves known to you, itâs game on from there. Some people think that demons have to follow rules or have legality. lol. Weâre not talking about law abiding citizens here. They do whatever they want to who they want and they donât play fair. They are much smarter than us, can hear our thoughts, knows the future so they can plan ahead and set stuff up that can easily end your life. Traps, I call those.
They break us down over time, itâs not constant. Itâs here and there. They can possess people very quickly but if the person isnât willing they have to break them first. Make them give up and let them in. Physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually in more ways than I have time to write. It would take an encyclopedia to write everything about them.
There are certain signs that exorcists and priests look for when determining demonic activity. If youâve ever heard a demon talk, itâs not really human sounding. They can speak any language but it doesnât sound human. Knowing things they shouldnât know, speaking a language they never learned, superhuman strength, aversion to Holy objects and scripture. There are signs of other things that are demonic that you would have to experience to know. Iâll keep those to myself for now just for verification reasons. Iâm not going to say what all they can do because Iâm looking for certain things that youâll notice for yourself after awhile. Iâm not a priest, just a regular guy who has had to live with multiple demons. Iâm trying to keep it basic but theyâre incredibly complex.
To fight demons you have to know them. My advice is to start a journal and keep track of everything it does and says. Dates, times, descriptions. Itâll start showing itâs personality and powers and itâs usually one of the 7 deadly sins. You can use Christian stuff (tv, Bible, prayers, music, blessings) against them using their personality to tailor those against that personality. I have a couple priests that help me out with blessing my home, me, make me holy water and bless objects (crucifix, cross necklace and St. Benedict pendant). Iâd recommend doing that soon. Those blessings and weapons are great deterrents. If they know youâll fight back and actually hurt them, they become leery of you. My advice would be to ignore all the small stuff, ghost stuff. Itâs only meant to scare you and becomes almost laughable after awhile. Once you know theyâre there, theyâll do something like that regularly to let you know theyâre still there. Ignore that stuff, means nothing. Scratches, bite marks mean nothing. It doesnât mean youâre marked for life or anything like that. Just another mind game. They heal just like any other scratch. Takes a week or two. You really have to watch other people around you if youâre being attacked. They will give others thoughts and emotions to use against you and the people donât realize it.
I think the worst part of demonic oppression is the loneliness. You canât talk to anyone about it because itâs too crazy to believe. Nobody believes in demons, even most priests. Most people think demons are inner demons, psychological stuff. Some of it is, but mental illness doesnât pick you up and throw you 20â across the room. When they first came, I absolutely thought I was losing my mind. They were doing things that defied the laws of physics and it was very hard to comprehend what the hell was going on. The truth is, 50% of all exorcisms done by the Catholic Church have diagnosed mental illness. Theyâre not just looking if youâre crazy in the psychological evaluations, theyâre looking for signs of actual activity. Iâll do the same.
submitted by larryking923 to demonicattacks [link] [comments]
When we are at a vulnerable point in life, they will start with thoughts, emotions and dreams. We canât hear those but we think they are our thoughts and feelings that we could act on believing they are ours. They try to ruin our lives using addictions, behaviors, people, anything that could have an impact on our lives. Thatâs when people are very susceptible to depression and suicide. To give you an idea of how long they will watch people, itâs taken me 50 years to learn theyâve been with me since birth.
If they canât control you with thoughts and emotions, they move on to ghostly things. Knocks and scratches, missing personal items, footsteps, lights turning on and off, electronics, glimpses of apparitions, orbs. Ghosts scare most people and thatâs what itâs really trying to do without letting us know what they are.
If that doesnât scare you then it gets to actual demonic activity which runs the gamut from touching you to using magical powers that each have their own. They donât want the world to know they exist so they will only do what they have to. They donât want us to know what they can do which is really unbelievable stuff that shouldnât be possible in our reality but Iâve seen them do it myself. They are completely fear based and will do anything to cause fear. They feed off of fear like we do food, it gives them energy and they donât need any more energy. They have plenty of their own. Fear is our greatest weakness in this world, demons or life, no need for fear, it will only paralyze us.
Iâve been attacked by more than 30 demons total but Iâve only learned the personalities of 6 so far. They each have their own personality like us and itâs usually associated with one of the 7 deadly sins but not always, some are stark raving lunatics bent on torture and pain, some are seductive and charming. Iâve noticed one thing they all have in common. They all have a hidden agenda and they are extremely good about hiding that. They try to keep our attention on anything but God and Jesus. Thatâs all they care about. They donât care if we go to hell or stay on earth another lifetime, they only want us to not go into the light. Their job is to lead mankind astray and they are very good at it. Keep us focused on worldly things instead of spiritual. Even ourselves, they will try to use bettering ourselves as another distraction.
Once they make themselves known to you, itâs game on from there. Some people think that demons have to follow rules or have legality. lol. Weâre not talking about law abiding citizens here. They do whatever they want to who they want and they donât play fair. They are much smarter than us, can hear our thoughts, knows the future so they can plan ahead and set stuff up that can easily end your life. Traps, I call those.
They break us down over time, itâs not constant. Itâs here and there. They can possess people very quickly but if the person isnât willing they have to break them first. Make them give up and let them in. Physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually in more ways than I have time to write. It would take an encyclopedia to write everything about them.
There are certain signs that exorcists and priests look for when determining demonic activity. If youâve ever heard a demon talk, itâs not really human sounding. They can speak any language but it doesnât sound human. Knowing things they shouldnât know, speaking a language they never learned, superhuman strength, aversion to Holy objects and scripture. There are signs of other things that are demonic that you would have to experience to know. Iâll keep those to myself for now just for verification reasons. Iâm not going to say what all they can do because Iâm looking for certain things that youâll notice for yourself after awhile. Iâm not a priest, just a regular guy who has had to live with multiple demons. Iâm trying to keep it basic but theyâre incredibly complex.
To fight demons you have to know them. My advice is to start a journal and keep track of everything it does and says. Dates, times, descriptions. Itâll start showing itâs personality and powers and itâs usually one of the 7 deadly sins. You can use Christian stuff (tv, Bible, prayers, music, blessings) against them using their personality to tailor those against that personality. I have a couple priests that help me out with blessing my home, me, make me holy water and bless objects (crucifix, cross necklace and St. Benedict pendant). Iâd recommend doing that soon. Those blessings and weapons are great deterrents. If they know youâll fight back and actually hurt them, they become leery of you. My advice would be to ignore all the small stuff, ghost stuff. Itâs only meant to scare you and becomes almost laughable after awhile. Once you know theyâre there, theyâll do something like that regularly to let you know theyâre still there. Ignore that stuff, means nothing. Scratches, bite marks mean nothing. It doesnât mean youâre marked for life or anything like that. Just another mind game. They heal just like any other scratch. Takes a week or two. You really have to watch other people around you if youâre being attacked. They will give others thoughts and emotions to use against you and the people donât realize it.
I think the worst part of demonic oppression is the loneliness. You canât talk to anyone about it because itâs too crazy to believe. Nobody believes in demons, even most priests. Most people think demons are inner demons, psychological stuff. Some of it is, but mental illness doesnât pick you up and throw you 20â across the room. When they first came, I absolutely thought I was losing my mind. They were doing things that defied the laws of physics and it was very hard to comprehend what the hell was going on. The truth is, 50% of all exorcisms done by the Catholic Church have diagnosed mental illness. Theyâre not just looking if youâre crazy in the psychological evaluations, theyâre looking for signs of actual activity. Iâll do the same.
2023.06.03 20:40 ShinyKnight242 Commercials start happening in real life. What happens to the world?
People unknowingly start advertising things out of nowhere, in the exact same fashion as a TV or YouTube sponsor ad.
Someone might be frustrated with their insurance company and talking about it to their friend, when all of a sudden their friend talks in an ultra deep voice about Allstate. The friend has no clue that they're now a commercial character, and once the commercial ends, the friend has no idea what just happened to them.
The same happens to politicians and world leaders. They could be talking about something incredibly serious and impactful only to mention that their sponsor is dollar shave club or magic spoon (while pouring themselves a bowl, filling it with milk, and eating it out of nowhere). This is completely unbeknownst to them, it happens automatically and naturally like how a person's heart beats.
It gets to a point where children suddenly start robbing redhead dwarves for cereal (Lucky Charms), and somehow nabbing it, even if said cereal wasn't even there to begin with or being chased by giant rabbits for cereal (Trix).
submitted by ShinyKnight242 to hypotheticalsituation [link] [comments]
Someone might be frustrated with their insurance company and talking about it to their friend, when all of a sudden their friend talks in an ultra deep voice about Allstate. The friend has no clue that they're now a commercial character, and once the commercial ends, the friend has no idea what just happened to them.
The same happens to politicians and world leaders. They could be talking about something incredibly serious and impactful only to mention that their sponsor is dollar shave club or magic spoon (while pouring themselves a bowl, filling it with milk, and eating it out of nowhere). This is completely unbeknownst to them, it happens automatically and naturally like how a person's heart beats.
It gets to a point where children suddenly start robbing redhead dwarves for cereal (Lucky Charms), and somehow nabbing it, even if said cereal wasn't even there to begin with or being chased by giant rabbits for cereal (Trix).
2023.06.03 20:27 DittoBossIndia Sublimation Rock Photo Frame
2023.06.03 20:12 Walter_the_Fish The Stone of Golorr
The Stone of Golorr is sentient lawful evil magic item with an Intelligence of 18, a Wisdom of 15, and a Charisma of 18. It is an ancient Aboleth with vast knowledge trapped in this unusual form. The Aboleth is domineering, considering itself an ageless immortal God, hungers for knowledge, and is very territorial concerning certain other attuned magic items a host might possess. The Stone of Golorr is very selective of each host, preferring not to remain in the clutches of any one individual for too long. Whenever the stone desires a new owner, it demands to be given to another intelligent creature as quickly as possible. If the Aboleth's demands are not met, it attempts to take control of it's owner.
In order to communicate properly with the possessor of the Stone of Golorr, each host must attune with the Aboleth, similar to attunement with other magic items. Considering the Aboleth's ability to take control of a host, I allow the Stone to whisper to the host and initiate that attunement connection. The host could elect to resist this intrusion, or succumb into a catatonic state for the duration of the attunement. Once attunement is established, the Aboleth can direct the host to fulfill it's agenda.
The ultimate goal of the Aboleth is to return to it's previous existence, which can only happen if Lord Neverember's secret vault is opened. The Aboleth knows the location of the vault, the three keys necessary to open it, and that a gold dragon named Aurinax guards it's treasures. Therefore, the Aboleth seeks a suitable host capable of accomplishing this task and freeing the ancient being back into the world. This is where things get tricky, because hosts that are no longer attuned to the Stone of Golorr have a chance to forget information imparted to them by the Aboleth, and spells can be cast to recover the memories of former hosts. It creates a pardox on how to impart this information to the players, which leads to my three questions for the community...
1) What techniques did you use to adjucate the information relating to what was obtained from the Stone of Golorr, then forgotten by the PC (through a failed WIS saving throw)?
2) As the Stone of Golorr has the ability to charm the host for one to twelve hours a day (through a failed CHA saving throw), how did you incorporate this time to move the Aboleth's agenda forward?
3) Once Lord Neverember's secret vault is opened, both the Aboleth and Aurinax the gold dragon are freed from their obligations. How did you play out that climactic scene?
submitted by Walter_the_Fish to WaterdeepDragonHeist [link] [comments]
In order to communicate properly with the possessor of the Stone of Golorr, each host must attune with the Aboleth, similar to attunement with other magic items. Considering the Aboleth's ability to take control of a host, I allow the Stone to whisper to the host and initiate that attunement connection. The host could elect to resist this intrusion, or succumb into a catatonic state for the duration of the attunement. Once attunement is established, the Aboleth can direct the host to fulfill it's agenda.
The ultimate goal of the Aboleth is to return to it's previous existence, which can only happen if Lord Neverember's secret vault is opened. The Aboleth knows the location of the vault, the three keys necessary to open it, and that a gold dragon named Aurinax guards it's treasures. Therefore, the Aboleth seeks a suitable host capable of accomplishing this task and freeing the ancient being back into the world. This is where things get tricky, because hosts that are no longer attuned to the Stone of Golorr have a chance to forget information imparted to them by the Aboleth, and spells can be cast to recover the memories of former hosts. It creates a pardox on how to impart this information to the players, which leads to my three questions for the community...
1) What techniques did you use to adjucate the information relating to what was obtained from the Stone of Golorr, then forgotten by the PC (through a failed WIS saving throw)?
2) As the Stone of Golorr has the ability to charm the host for one to twelve hours a day (through a failed CHA saving throw), how did you incorporate this time to move the Aboleth's agenda forward?
3) Once Lord Neverember's secret vault is opened, both the Aboleth and Aurinax the gold dragon are freed from their obligations. How did you play out that climactic scene?
2023.06.03 20:10 Small-Addendum702 Will a D2 veteran love D4?
I didnât like Diablo 3 because I felt it was arcade like. I mostly did magic finding in D2 doing the endless grind for really rare items (godly jewels, zon boom sticks, rare charms), crafting amulets, holy grail.
How does D4 compare to the two previous titles? Is there some awesome endless MF grind awaiting with possibilities of extremely rare blues/rares/crafting?
submitted by Small-Addendum702 to diablo4 [link] [comments]
How does D4 compare to the two previous titles? Is there some awesome endless MF grind awaiting with possibilities of extremely rare blues/rares/crafting?
2023.06.03 20:06 bamzing Friday Modern Challenge Results - Jun 2 2023
Source: https://www.mtgo.com/en/mtgo/decklist/modern-challenge-2023-06-0212554963
Source: https://www.mtgo.com/en/mtgo/decklist/modern-challenge-2023-06-0212554963
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submitted by bamzing to ModernMagic [link] [comments]
Winner
- ezebessone on Jund
Decklists
| 68 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Jund | (8-2) ezebessone | |||
| 2. | BR Grief | (7-3) ura_frst | |||
| 3. | Domain [Jegantha] | (6-3) mashmalovsky | @mashmalovsky | ||
| 4. | Temur Rhinos | (6-3) niuwaid001 | |||
| 5. | BG Yawgmoth | (7-1) Betrix2688 | |||
| 6. | Jund Creativity | (6-2) Alan07 | @AlanLB07 | ||
| 7. | BR Grief | (6-2) J0SE | @J0SE_MTG | ||
| 8. | 5c Creativity | (5-3) nnyreed | |||
| 9. | Domain [Jegantha] | (5-2) Oderus Urungus | @nerd_gazm | [Twitch] | |
| 10. | Jeskai Prowess [Jegantha] | (5-2) zecarlonxo | |||
| 11. | UR Murktide | (5-2) jtelgan | |||
| 12. | Living End | (5-2) MeninoNey | @MeninooNey | ||
| 13. | Mono G Tron | (5-2) Tommycakes | |||
| 14. | Mono G Tron [Jegantha] | (5-2) NsaneGoon | |||
| 15. | Amulet Titan | (5-2) gurig | @TaintedOpt | ||
| 16. | Living End | (4-3) ohN | |||
| 17. | Hardened Scales | (4-3) kenjinsakura | |||
| 18. | 4c Omnath | (4-3) Ovinize | |||
| 19. | 5c Creativity | (4-3) Jumba | |||
| 20. | Jund | (4-3) nahuel10 | @Nahuel10Mtg | ||
| 21. | BR Grief | (4-3) Mighty_Ravendark | |||
| 22. | BG Yawgmoth | (4-3) claudioh | @claudiohmtg | [Twitch] | |
| 23. | Affinity | (4-3) Tezzey | @TezzeyMTG | [YouTube] | |
| 24. | Temur Rhinos | (4-3) ClumsyTumsy | |||
| 25. | UR Murktide | (4-3) SoulStrong | @Mtg_SoulStrong | [Twitch] | |
| 26. | 5c Creativity | (4-3) ejk | |||
| 27. | Living End | (4-3) CaboGrosso | |||
| 28. | BR Grief | (4-3) AFX | @afxmtg | ||
| 29. | UR Murktide | (4-3) No_e_that_knows | @Noe_leal_jr | ||
| 30. | Living End | (4-3) MagicTonga | |||
| 31. | UR Murktide | (3-4) lengebretsen | |||
| 32. | Bant Hammer | (3-4) ktmr-39 |
Scraper by bamzing! ALL deck names are automated, please don't get too angry if the scraper mislabeled something. If your name is on there and you have a TwitteTwitch/YouTube link, I'll add it! But please tag me (u/bamzing) so I can see your request.
Top 32 Archetype Breakdown
4 BR Grief 4 Creativity (3 5c, 1 Jund) 4 UR Murktide 4 Living End 2 Jund 2 Domain 2 Temur Rhinos 2 BG Yawgmoth 2 Mono G Tron 1 Jeskai Prowess 1 Amulet Titan 1 Hardened Scales 1 4c Omnath 1 Affinity 1 Bant Hammer
X-2 or better Archetype Breakdown
2 BR Grief 2 Creativity (1 Jund, 1 5c) 2 Domain 2 Mono G Tron 1 UR Murktide 1 Living End 1 Jund 1 Temur Rhinos 1 BG Yawgmoth 1 Jeskai Prowess 1 Amulet Titan
New Cards (MAT)
Nissa, Resurgent Animist Cosmic Rebirth
Tournament Highlights
- Boomer Energy! The winner is ezebessone on Jund! Was Riveteers Charm the answer all along? (Narrator: it wasn't)
- ura_frst is our runner-up and played BR Grief!
- mashmalovsky was on Domain with Jegantha.
- niuwaid001 was on Temur Rhinos.
- Betrix2688 was on BG Yawgmoth. With the mainboard Sheoldred the Apocalypse no less
- Alan07 was on Jund Creativity. I think the testing period of Wrennbreaker is over and it didn't get there. Invasion of Ergamon as a 4-of though, that stuck!
- J0SE was on BR Grief.
- nnyreed rounds out our T8 with 5c Creativity!
- In the rest of the 5-2 bracket, I spy gurig on Amulet Titan playing a whole bunch of maimboard Phyrexian Metamorph!
- And in the 4-3 bracket, we see mostly what we've come to know
- And in the 3-4 bracket, we see some absolute units that had a rough run but still got positive cash for their troubles. W
- Shoutout to Betrix2688 for going undefeated in the Swiss!
- Congrats to ezebessone for taking the tournament down!
Follow me on Twitter!
2023.06.03 19:16 cesario_ Theorycrafting Saitama: killing (almost) any monster in a single punch
Hello 3d6! Iâve been working on this character theorycraft for a while now, and Iâve quite nearly accomplished my goal â only to fall barely short at the final 1%. Iâm sharing it now in a 99-percent-complete state, for everyone to enjoy reading my mad scientist ravings, or to offer their own suggestions on how to wring out just a little bit more damage to finally have a character that can kill any creature in a single punch.
tl;dr: a theorycrafted level 20 Saitama character can deal 634 damage on average in a single punch, instantly killing 99% of all published monsters (27 monsters can survive).
Next, Saitama takes nine levels in warlock. He chooses the Hexblade patron and Pact of the Blade, and gains the Hexbladeâs Curse, the Eldritch Smite invocation, and the Banishing Smite spell from the Hexblade expanded spell list. He will also transform his gloves into his pact weapon, and take the Improved Pact Weapon invocation, allowing him to use his gloves as a spellcasting focus for warlock spells. Unfortunately, because his gloves are already a magic weapon with a +1 to attack and damage rolls from the Enhanced Weapon artificer infusion, they do not gain an additional +1 to attack and damage rolls from Improved Pact Weapon. Hexbladeâs Curse allows Saitama to curse a creature within 30 feet for 1 minute as a bonus action, and add his proficiency bonus to damage rolls against that target. Eldritch Smite deals 1d8 force damage plus another 1d8 for each level of warlock spell slot expended when hitting a creature with oneâs pact weapon. At a maximum 5th level spell slot, this adds 6d8 force damage to his punch. Banishing Smite activates as a bonus action and consumes concentration for 1 minute to add an extra 5d10 force damage on the next hit with a weapon attack. Additionally, if the target then has 50 HP or less, it is banished to its home plane (or until the spell ends). At nine levels in Warlock, Saitama gets two 5th-level spell slots per short rest. This is just enough for one usage of Eldritch Smite and one casting of Banishing Smite. However, he will then have to rest before going out to fight villains again â perhaps a good reason for why he spends so much time relaxing at home playing video games and reading manga. Saitama also gets two ASIs at his fourth and eighth levels of warlock. At these levels, he will take the Martial Adept and Fey Touched feats. The Martial Adept feat gives him a d6 superiority die and two maneuvers, one of which will be Menacing Attack (the other does not matter). Menacing Attack adds the d6 to the damage of the attack and forces the target to make a WIS save or be frightened (and though our goal is to kill the target outright, if it somehow survives, Saitamaâs DC will be a difficult-to-surmount 24: 8 + 6 [proficiency bonus] + 10 [STR mod]). From the Fey Touched feat, Saitama will learn the first-level divination spell Gift of Alacrity, which lasts 8 hours without concentration and adds 1d8 to his initiative rolls.
To kill creatures in a single punch, Saitama will need to train to Assassinate: taking four levels in Assassin Rogue. Assassinate gives Saitama advantage on attacks against creatures that have not yet taken a turn in combat, and automatic critical hits on creatures who are surprised. In order to surprise creatures, Saitama will need to succeed on a Stealth check contested by the targetâs Perception: âAny character or monster that doesn't notice a threat is surprised at the start of the encounter.â Saitama rarely sneaks up on his targets, but usually allows them to monologue for a long time before annihilating them with a single punch. It is his unremarkable appearance that allows him to take his enemies by surprise â and perhaps that appearance is its own form of stealth. Just to make getting surprise mechanically possible, Saitama will take an Expertise in Stealth, to double his proficiency for a +12 to Stealth in addition to his +10 DEX modifier. Due to his red rubber Boots of Elvenkind, he will also get advantage on Stealth checks made to move silently. With a +22 to Stealth, on an average d20 roll of 13.825 (with advantage), a Stealth of 35.825 should allow him to defeat the passive perception of nearly every monster â even the Greatwyrms, which have a passive perception of only 32. Tiamat has a passive perception of 36, and as the monster with the highest passive perception, she is the only monster capable of successfully noticing Saitamaâs threat (unless he gets a little lucky with the Stealth roll). If we really want to ensure that Saitama can go undetected, we could give him the Epic Boon of Undetectability for an additional +10 to Stealth checks and immunity to detection or targeting by divination magic. He will also need to beat his target on an initiative roll to be able to get an automatic critical hit â which is why he will take the Alert feat on his fourth level of rogue, giving him a +5 to initiative rolls in addition to the +10 from his DEX modifier. As the only bonus monsters get to initiative is from their DEX modifier (and the highest DEX modifier that any monster has is +9, for the Elder Tempest or Will-oâ-Wisp), with a total +6 edge from the +5 from Alert and his +10 DEX modifier, as well as +1d8 from Gift of Alacrity, Saitama will beat even the fastest monstersâ initiative rolls 89% of the time (and a later item will increase this to 97%).
When Saitama uses a Serious Punch, itâs like sending the target on a Path to their Grave. Thus, Saitama will take two levels in Grave Cleric. As an action, Path to the Grave allows Saitama to choose âanother creatureâs life force for termination.â The next time he hits the chosen creature within 30 feet with an attack, the creature has vulnerability to all of the attackâs damage, causing the damage to be doubled (as long as the creature is not immune or resistant to any of the damage types).
Lastly, Saitama will take two levels in paladin, gaining Divine Smite and the Dueling fighting style. When hitting with a melee weapon attack, he can expend a spell slot to Divine Smite, dealing additional radiant damage to the target. At three levels of artificer, two levels of cleric, and two levels of paladin, Saitama is a fifth-level multiclassed caster (his three levels from artificer are halved and rounded up to two, cleric gives two levels, and two levels of paladin is halved to one, for a total of five). This gives him two 3rd-level spell slots per long rest â spending a 3rd level slot on a Divine Smite gives an extra 4d8 radiant damage (1d8 off of the maximum of 5d8 from spending a 4th-level spell). It also deals an extra 1d8 to undead or fiend targets. The Dueling fighting style gives +2 to damage rolls when wielding a melee weapon in one hand and no other weapons. The Thunder Gauntlets count as simple melee weapons when not holding anything in them, so Saitama will hold something in his right hand, leaving him wielding only one Thunder Gauntlet on his left hand when he delivers a Serious Punch. (In One-Punch Man canon, Saitama usually punches with his right hand. For a mechanical reason, our theorycrafted DND Saitama has to punch with his left. Maybe this is why DND Saitama is slightly weaker than canon Saitama, and isnât able to kill every monster in a single hit.)
With three levels of artificer, nine levels of warlock, four levels of rogue, two levels of cleric, and two levels of paladin, Saitama is a level 20 character.
Saitama can attune to three magic items. We will choose the Hand of Vecna (legendary), Sword of Kas (legendary), and a Ring of Spell Storing (rare).
To attune to the Hand of Vecna, Saitama had to lop off his left hand at the wrist and replace it with the Hand of Vecna. This withered hand is hidden within his red rubber glove, and (among other properties) allows him to deal an extra 2d8 cold damage when he makes a melee weapon attack with a weapon held in the hand. The Hand of Vecna also includes one minor and one major beneficial property, along with one minor detrimental property. For the major beneficial property, we will choose the property: âWhen you hit with a weapon attack while attuned to the artifact, the target takes an extra 1d6 damage of the weapon's type.â For the minor beneficial property, we will choose immunity to charm and fear effects. The minor detrimental property we will choose is: âYour appearance changes as the DM decidesâ â from his intense training regimen (which included chopping off his left hand and replacing it with the Hand of Vecna), Saitama unfortunately lost all of his hair â still a sore spot for him.
The Sword of Kas grants several abilities, but Saitama only attacks with punches, so it will remain in its scabbard, somewhere on his person. While it is on his person, it adds an additional d10 to Saitamaâs initiative (raising his probability of having a higher initiative than even a monster with +9 DEX to 97%). The Sword of Kas also includes one minor and one major beneficial property, as well as one minor and one major detrimental property. We will choose the same major beneficial property as the Hand of Vecna, for an extra 1d6 damage when hitting with a weapon attack (typically effects of the same type do not stack. However, since these are generic properties of two artifacts with different names, the properties should stack under RAW). The minor beneficial property can be any (some thematic options include immunity to disease or +1 AC), and the minor detrimental property can be: âThe first time you touch a gem or piece of jewelry while attuned to this artifact, the value of the gem or jewelry is reduced by half.â Perhaps this explains why Saitama is poor. The major detrimental property can be taking 8d10 psychic damage when attuning to the Sword of Kas: Saitama mentions that his training was so intense that he thought he might die â perhaps this damage was why it felt so intense. (Note: with eighteen levels in classes with d8 hit dice and two levels of paladin for d10 hit dice, Saitamaâs average hit points is 92, not counting the incredible 200 additional HP from his +10 CON modifier. Even at a maximum roll of 80 psychic damage from attuning to Sword of Kas, he wouldnât actually die.) Interestingly, the Sword of Kas also causes its bearer to gradually become obsessed with destroying anyone corrupted by the Hand of Vecna â this might cause Saitama to become fairly conflicted.
Lastly, the Ring of Spell-Storing. Up to five levels of spells can be stored within, and can be cast while touching the ring. Saitama can spend one of his fifth-level Pact Magic slots to cast Absorb Elements (learned from his levels in artificer) into the ring, before resting to regain his Pact Magic slot. Absorb Elements can be cast as a reaction to elemental damage, grants resistance to the triggering damage, and adds an extra 1d6 of that damage type per spell level when the next time the caster hits with a melee attack on their next turn. Cast at a fifth level, this adds 5d6 elemental damage to Saitamaâs punch. To voluntarily trigger the Absorb Elements, we will have Saitama use his free object interaction to stick a finger into a vial of acid held in his right hand (which also makes the Thunder Gauntlet in his right hand no longer count as a melee weapon since it's holding something, thus enabling him to use the Dueling fighting style with his left). The acid will burn Saitama, allowing him to cast Absorb Elements in reaction, getting resistance to the acid damage and charging up 5d6 acid damage to be released on his next melee attack this turn.
On the day of, he must also cast Gift of Alacrity to maximize his initiative rolls (this lasts 8 hours), and spend an action drinking the Potion of Giant Size (which lasts 24 hours). One hour before the fight, he must drink the Potion of Growth (which lasts a minimum of 1 hour). He must also open the vial of acid and hold it ready in his right hand.
A minute before punching his target, he must spend an action to activate his Radiant Soul Aasimar transformation, and spend an action and a bonus action cursing his target with the Hexbladeâs Curse and Path to the Grave.
Finally, on the turn he punches, he spends his free object interaction to touch the acid in the vial until it causes damage, then casts Absorb Elements as a reaction from his Ring of Spell Storing. He spends his bonus action casting Banishing Smite, and then his action casting the cantrip Booming Blade. (He has cast three spells in one turn, but the only limitation on casting multiple spells per turn is that if he casts a spell as a bonus action, he may only cast a cantrip â like Booming Blade â with his action.)
Assuming that his stealth and initiative checks have allowed Saitama to surprise his target and go first in the initiative order, he has advantage on his attack from Assassinate and gets +17 to the roll: +6 from his proficiency, +10 from his STR modifier, and +1 from the Enhanced Weapon infusion. The monsters with the highest AC are Tiamat and the Tarrasque, with an AC of 25 â with advantage and a +17 to hit, Saitama has an 88% chance of hitting, and any hit is an automatic critical hit from Assassinate. If a guaranteed hit is desired, we could give Saitama an Epic Boon of Combat Prowess, choosing to hit on a melee weapon attack once per short rest. At that point, the attack roll doesnât even matter.
Letâs total this up: 6d8+1d4+3d6 thunder + 2d8 cold + 6d8+5d10 force + 4d8 radiant + 5d6 acid damage
All these dice are doubled on the critical hit from Assassinate: 12d8+2d4+6d6 thunder + 4d8 cold + 12d8+10d10 force + 8d8 radiant + 10d6 acid damage
Now, counting the flat damage: 10 thunder damage from Saitamaâs STR modifier on the Thunder Gauntlets, +1 thunder damage from the Enhanced Weapon infusion, +6 thunder damage from Hexbladeâs Curse, and +2 thunder damage from the Dueling fighting style, for a total of +19 thunder damage. We also add 20 radiant damage from the Radiant Soul transformation.
Another preliminary total: 12d8+2d4+6d6+19 thunder + 4d8 cold + 12d8+10d10 force + 8d8+20 radiant + 10d6 acid damage
All the damage is doubled by the vulnerability inflicted by Path to the Grave: 24d8+4d4+12d6+38 thunder + 8d8 cold + 24d8+20d10 force + 16d8+40 radiant + 20d6 acid damage
This averages to 198 thunder + 36 cold + 218 force + 112 radiant + 70 acid damage, for a total of 634 damage on average in a single punch.
Anything that survives this formidable blow must then have more than 50 hit points remaining, or else it is banished to its home plane without a save by Banishing Smite (thus, Saitama's punch can effectively defeat creatures with up to 684 HP).
After two short rests, Saitama could theoretically do a Serious Punch again on the same day â minus the +40 radiant damage from Radiant Soul (doubled by Path to the Grave), the only ability used that requires a long rest to recharge. After a second Serious Punch, though, heâll run out of third-level spell slots for the Divine Smite.
However, this doesnât quite count as killing the tarrasque in a single punch, since itâs banished but still alive (and returns after one minute if itâs not originally from another plane). Additionally, a several other monsters could definitely survive the punch â chief among them, Tiamat: Outside of being immune to acid and cold damage (reducing the damage by 106 points and dropping the remaining 528 total damage from the punch well below her total HP of 615), Tiamat is also immune to spells of level 6 or lower: thus completely nullifying the effects of both Booming Blade and Banishing Smite. However, as a fiend, Divine Smite does deal an extra d8 radiant damage against her. Still, eliminating Booming Blade and Banishing Smite drops the single punch damage to 382 on average, leaving Tiamat with 233 HP: more than a third of her health. Instead casting Banishing Smite and Booming Blade, Saitama could use his action to punch twice using the Thirsting Blade eldritch invocation, spending both his 5th-level Pact Magic spell slots on Eldritch Smites and both 3rd-level slots on Divine Smites. If Saitama managed to sneak up on Tiamat to surprise her and get the automatic critical hits from Assassinate, he would deal 3d8+1d4+3d6 thunder + 6d8 force + 5d8 radiant damage on each attack, doubled from the critical hit to 6d8+2d4+6d6 thunder + 12d8 force + 10d8 radiant damage, and a total of +19 thunder on both attacks and +20 radiant on the first. The first attack damage would be doubled from Path to the Grave, but the second would not. The first attack would deal 12d8+4d4+12d6+38 thunder + 24d8 force + 20d8+40 radiant damage, and the second 6d8+2d4+6d6+19 thunder + 12d8 force + 10d8 radiant; for a total damage of 553 on average, still 62 points short of Tiamatâs 615 total HP.
Other creatures that would survive:
submitted by cesario_ to 3d6 [link] [comments]
tl;dr: a theorycrafted level 20 Saitama character can deal 634 damage on average in a single punch, instantly killing 99% of all published monsters (27 monsters can survive).
The self-imposed rules
- Must be RAW.
- All printed magic items are allowed, and random properties may be chosen.
- Average rolls will be used for ability checks, attacks, and damage rolls.
- All the damage must be dealt in a single punch attack: damage that happens after the resolution of the attack does not count (poisons, damage on a later turn, etc.)
- Any amount of preparation time for the single punch is allowed.
- No friends â all the preparation must be done by the single character. No buff spells may be cast by other people.
- Bonus points if everything can be explained within One-Punch Manâs canon lore.
Race
Protector Aasimar. Saitama claims to be an ordinary man, but letâs be honest, to have such ludicrous power, he must be more than human. Aasimar are more or less human, but with a touch of the divine, which fits the bill perfectly. Mechanically, weâre choosing this for the Radiant Soul option: as an action once per long rest, they transform for 1 minute and once per turn can deal their level in radiant damage to one target of an attack. At level 20, this will add +20 radiant damage to the punch, by far the highest single-attack damage boost of any racial ability.Stats
Saitama has incredible strength, speed, reflexes, and durability, which he attributes to an intense training regimen. How could he have gotten such formidable training? Well, perhaps he read the instructions in a magic book. The Manuals of Gainful Exercise, Quickness of Action, and Bodily Health are very rare magic items that describe âfitness exercises,â âcoordination and balance exercises,â and âhealth and diet tipsâ with words that are charged with magic. Studying these manuals and practicing their guidelines for 48 hours increases a creatureâs STR, DEX, and CON stats by 2, as well as increasing their maximum for that score â up to a cap of 30. Clearly, to have such godlike strength, dexterity, and constitution, Saitamaâs intense training must have included reading as many Manuals as necessary to raise his STR, DEX, and CON stats each to a godlike 30. This results in Saitama having a +10 to STR attack and damage rolls, a +10 boost to DEX checks like stealth and initiative, and a ridiculous amount of hit points. In order to multiclass, Saitama will also need at least a 13 in INT, WIS, and CHA â which should be achievable.Classes
Saitama starts by taking three levels in Armorer Artificer, which gives him a suit of Arcane Armor that expands to cover his entire body and can be used as a spellcasting focus for artificer spells. The text describes âmetallurgical pursuits,â but nothing RAW forbids one from choosing a suit of yellow leather armor for Arcane Armor. At AC 11 + DEX, this gives Saitama an AC of 21 â which doesnât really matter, since he can kill nearly anything in a single punch before it ever has a chance of attacking him. We choose the Guardian Armor Model for Saitamaâs Arcane Armor, causing the red rubber gloves on his leather armor to be counted as Thunder Gauntlets: they count as simple melee weapons when not holding anything in them, and deal 1d8 thunder damage on a hit. Saitama also has the option to use his INT modifier instead of STR or DEX when attacking with the gauntlets, but letâs be honest, heâs going to stick with his godlike +10 STR modifier here. Saitama will infuse his gloves with the Enhanced Weapon artificer infusion, giving them a +1 to attack and damage rolls, and turning them into a magic item. From Armorer, Saitama also learns the spells Booming Blade and Absorb Elements. To complete Saitamaâs armor, he also gains a white Cloak of Billowing (a common magic item that does not require attunement) and a pair of red rubber Boots of Elvenkind (an uncommon magic item that also does not require attunement, and gives advantage on Stealth checks to move silently).Next, Saitama takes nine levels in warlock. He chooses the Hexblade patron and Pact of the Blade, and gains the Hexbladeâs Curse, the Eldritch Smite invocation, and the Banishing Smite spell from the Hexblade expanded spell list. He will also transform his gloves into his pact weapon, and take the Improved Pact Weapon invocation, allowing him to use his gloves as a spellcasting focus for warlock spells. Unfortunately, because his gloves are already a magic weapon with a +1 to attack and damage rolls from the Enhanced Weapon artificer infusion, they do not gain an additional +1 to attack and damage rolls from Improved Pact Weapon. Hexbladeâs Curse allows Saitama to curse a creature within 30 feet for 1 minute as a bonus action, and add his proficiency bonus to damage rolls against that target. Eldritch Smite deals 1d8 force damage plus another 1d8 for each level of warlock spell slot expended when hitting a creature with oneâs pact weapon. At a maximum 5th level spell slot, this adds 6d8 force damage to his punch. Banishing Smite activates as a bonus action and consumes concentration for 1 minute to add an extra 5d10 force damage on the next hit with a weapon attack. Additionally, if the target then has 50 HP or less, it is banished to its home plane (or until the spell ends). At nine levels in Warlock, Saitama gets two 5th-level spell slots per short rest. This is just enough for one usage of Eldritch Smite and one casting of Banishing Smite. However, he will then have to rest before going out to fight villains again â perhaps a good reason for why he spends so much time relaxing at home playing video games and reading manga. Saitama also gets two ASIs at his fourth and eighth levels of warlock. At these levels, he will take the Martial Adept and Fey Touched feats. The Martial Adept feat gives him a d6 superiority die and two maneuvers, one of which will be Menacing Attack (the other does not matter). Menacing Attack adds the d6 to the damage of the attack and forces the target to make a WIS save or be frightened (and though our goal is to kill the target outright, if it somehow survives, Saitamaâs DC will be a difficult-to-surmount 24: 8 + 6 [proficiency bonus] + 10 [STR mod]). From the Fey Touched feat, Saitama will learn the first-level divination spell Gift of Alacrity, which lasts 8 hours without concentration and adds 1d8 to his initiative rolls.
To kill creatures in a single punch, Saitama will need to train to Assassinate: taking four levels in Assassin Rogue. Assassinate gives Saitama advantage on attacks against creatures that have not yet taken a turn in combat, and automatic critical hits on creatures who are surprised. In order to surprise creatures, Saitama will need to succeed on a Stealth check contested by the targetâs Perception: âAny character or monster that doesn't notice a threat is surprised at the start of the encounter.â Saitama rarely sneaks up on his targets, but usually allows them to monologue for a long time before annihilating them with a single punch. It is his unremarkable appearance that allows him to take his enemies by surprise â and perhaps that appearance is its own form of stealth. Just to make getting surprise mechanically possible, Saitama will take an Expertise in Stealth, to double his proficiency for a +12 to Stealth in addition to his +10 DEX modifier. Due to his red rubber Boots of Elvenkind, he will also get advantage on Stealth checks made to move silently. With a +22 to Stealth, on an average d20 roll of 13.825 (with advantage), a Stealth of 35.825 should allow him to defeat the passive perception of nearly every monster â even the Greatwyrms, which have a passive perception of only 32. Tiamat has a passive perception of 36, and as the monster with the highest passive perception, she is the only monster capable of successfully noticing Saitamaâs threat (unless he gets a little lucky with the Stealth roll). If we really want to ensure that Saitama can go undetected, we could give him the Epic Boon of Undetectability for an additional +10 to Stealth checks and immunity to detection or targeting by divination magic. He will also need to beat his target on an initiative roll to be able to get an automatic critical hit â which is why he will take the Alert feat on his fourth level of rogue, giving him a +5 to initiative rolls in addition to the +10 from his DEX modifier. As the only bonus monsters get to initiative is from their DEX modifier (and the highest DEX modifier that any monster has is +9, for the Elder Tempest or Will-oâ-Wisp), with a total +6 edge from the +5 from Alert and his +10 DEX modifier, as well as +1d8 from Gift of Alacrity, Saitama will beat even the fastest monstersâ initiative rolls 89% of the time (and a later item will increase this to 97%).
When Saitama uses a Serious Punch, itâs like sending the target on a Path to their Grave. Thus, Saitama will take two levels in Grave Cleric. As an action, Path to the Grave allows Saitama to choose âanother creatureâs life force for termination.â The next time he hits the chosen creature within 30 feet with an attack, the creature has vulnerability to all of the attackâs damage, causing the damage to be doubled (as long as the creature is not immune or resistant to any of the damage types).
Lastly, Saitama will take two levels in paladin, gaining Divine Smite and the Dueling fighting style. When hitting with a melee weapon attack, he can expend a spell slot to Divine Smite, dealing additional radiant damage to the target. At three levels of artificer, two levels of cleric, and two levels of paladin, Saitama is a fifth-level multiclassed caster (his three levels from artificer are halved and rounded up to two, cleric gives two levels, and two levels of paladin is halved to one, for a total of five). This gives him two 3rd-level spell slots per long rest â spending a 3rd level slot on a Divine Smite gives an extra 4d8 radiant damage (1d8 off of the maximum of 5d8 from spending a 4th-level spell). It also deals an extra 1d8 to undead or fiend targets. The Dueling fighting style gives +2 to damage rolls when wielding a melee weapon in one hand and no other weapons. The Thunder Gauntlets count as simple melee weapons when not holding anything in them, so Saitama will hold something in his right hand, leaving him wielding only one Thunder Gauntlet on his left hand when he delivers a Serious Punch. (In One-Punch Man canon, Saitama usually punches with his right hand. For a mechanical reason, our theorycrafted DND Saitama has to punch with his left. Maybe this is why DND Saitama is slightly weaker than canon Saitama, and isnât able to kill every monster in a single hit.)
With three levels of artificer, nine levels of warlock, four levels of rogue, two levels of cleric, and two levels of paladin, Saitama is a level 20 character.
Feats
As mentioned above, Saitama will take Martial Adept and Fey Touched at his fourth and eighth warlock level, and Alert at his fourth level of rogue.Additional items
When Saitama strikes someone, it occasionally appears as if he has grown to incredible size (https://tenor.com/view/one-punch-man-gif-23643267). To simulate this, DND Saitama will consume a Potion of Giant Size (legendary) and a Potion of Growth (rare), increasing to Huge for 24 hours and then again to Gargantuan for 1d4 hours. From the Potion of Giant Size, his weapons roll three times as many dice (thus increasing his Thunder Gauntlets to deal 3d8 thunder damage on hit). From the Potion of Growth, Saitama gets advantage on STR checks and saves, and deals 1d4 additional damage on weapon attacks.Saitama can attune to three magic items. We will choose the Hand of Vecna (legendary), Sword of Kas (legendary), and a Ring of Spell Storing (rare).
To attune to the Hand of Vecna, Saitama had to lop off his left hand at the wrist and replace it with the Hand of Vecna. This withered hand is hidden within his red rubber glove, and (among other properties) allows him to deal an extra 2d8 cold damage when he makes a melee weapon attack with a weapon held in the hand. The Hand of Vecna also includes one minor and one major beneficial property, along with one minor detrimental property. For the major beneficial property, we will choose the property: âWhen you hit with a weapon attack while attuned to the artifact, the target takes an extra 1d6 damage of the weapon's type.â For the minor beneficial property, we will choose immunity to charm and fear effects. The minor detrimental property we will choose is: âYour appearance changes as the DM decidesâ â from his intense training regimen (which included chopping off his left hand and replacing it with the Hand of Vecna), Saitama unfortunately lost all of his hair â still a sore spot for him.
The Sword of Kas grants several abilities, but Saitama only attacks with punches, so it will remain in its scabbard, somewhere on his person. While it is on his person, it adds an additional d10 to Saitamaâs initiative (raising his probability of having a higher initiative than even a monster with +9 DEX to 97%). The Sword of Kas also includes one minor and one major beneficial property, as well as one minor and one major detrimental property. We will choose the same major beneficial property as the Hand of Vecna, for an extra 1d6 damage when hitting with a weapon attack (typically effects of the same type do not stack. However, since these are generic properties of two artifacts with different names, the properties should stack under RAW). The minor beneficial property can be any (some thematic options include immunity to disease or +1 AC), and the minor detrimental property can be: âThe first time you touch a gem or piece of jewelry while attuned to this artifact, the value of the gem or jewelry is reduced by half.â Perhaps this explains why Saitama is poor. The major detrimental property can be taking 8d10 psychic damage when attuning to the Sword of Kas: Saitama mentions that his training was so intense that he thought he might die â perhaps this damage was why it felt so intense. (Note: with eighteen levels in classes with d8 hit dice and two levels of paladin for d10 hit dice, Saitamaâs average hit points is 92, not counting the incredible 200 additional HP from his +10 CON modifier. Even at a maximum roll of 80 psychic damage from attuning to Sword of Kas, he wouldnât actually die.) Interestingly, the Sword of Kas also causes its bearer to gradually become obsessed with destroying anyone corrupted by the Hand of Vecna â this might cause Saitama to become fairly conflicted.
Lastly, the Ring of Spell-Storing. Up to five levels of spells can be stored within, and can be cast while touching the ring. Saitama can spend one of his fifth-level Pact Magic slots to cast Absorb Elements (learned from his levels in artificer) into the ring, before resting to regain his Pact Magic slot. Absorb Elements can be cast as a reaction to elemental damage, grants resistance to the triggering damage, and adds an extra 1d6 of that damage type per spell level when the next time the caster hits with a melee attack on their next turn. Cast at a fifth level, this adds 5d6 elemental damage to Saitamaâs punch. To voluntarily trigger the Absorb Elements, we will have Saitama use his free object interaction to stick a finger into a vial of acid held in his right hand (which also makes the Thunder Gauntlet in his right hand no longer count as a melee weapon since it's holding something, thus enabling him to use the Dueling fighting style with his left). The acid will burn Saitama, allowing him to cast Absorb Elements in reaction, getting resistance to the acid damage and charging up 5d6 acid damage to be released on his next melee attack this turn.
Preparation to punch
In order to maximize damage in a single attack, Saitama needs to do some preparation. At some point, he will spend one of his fifth-level Pact Magic slots to cast Absorb Elements into the Ring of Spell Storing, before resting to regain his Pact Magic slot.On the day of, he must also cast Gift of Alacrity to maximize his initiative rolls (this lasts 8 hours), and spend an action drinking the Potion of Giant Size (which lasts 24 hours). One hour before the fight, he must drink the Potion of Growth (which lasts a minimum of 1 hour). He must also open the vial of acid and hold it ready in his right hand.
A minute before punching his target, he must spend an action to activate his Radiant Soul Aasimar transformation, and spend an action and a bonus action cursing his target with the Hexbladeâs Curse and Path to the Grave.
Finally, on the turn he punches, he spends his free object interaction to touch the acid in the vial until it causes damage, then casts Absorb Elements as a reaction from his Ring of Spell Storing. He spends his bonus action casting Banishing Smite, and then his action casting the cantrip Booming Blade. (He has cast three spells in one turn, but the only limitation on casting multiple spells per turn is that if he casts a spell as a bonus action, he may only cast a cantrip â like Booming Blade â with his action.)
The punch
Booming Blade requires a material component: a melee weapon worth at least 1 sp. Normally, using his arcane armor as a spellcasting focus would allow him to ignore material components, but this material component cannot be ignored because it has a cost. The Thunder Gauntlets from a suit of arcane armor have no assigned cost, but the basic leather armor costs 10 gp, so itâs a safe assumption that a magically-enhanced +1 Thunder Gauntlet would cost more than 1 sp. Upon casting the spell, Saitama makes a melee attack against a creature within 5 feet. At level 20, the cantrip adds an extra 3d8 thunder damage to the initial attack, and an additional 4d8 if the target moves on its next turn â but the latter damage will not count for this purpose because our goal is to annihilate the target with the first hit.Assuming that his stealth and initiative checks have allowed Saitama to surprise his target and go first in the initiative order, he has advantage on his attack from Assassinate and gets +17 to the roll: +6 from his proficiency, +10 from his STR modifier, and +1 from the Enhanced Weapon infusion. The monsters with the highest AC are Tiamat and the Tarrasque, with an AC of 25 â with advantage and a +17 to hit, Saitama has an 88% chance of hitting, and any hit is an automatic critical hit from Assassinate. If a guaranteed hit is desired, we could give Saitama an Epic Boon of Combat Prowess, choosing to hit on a melee weapon attack once per short rest. At that point, the attack roll doesnât even matter.
Damage
The 1d8 thunder damage from his Thunder Gauntlets is tripled to 3d8 by the Potion of Giant Size. The Gauntlets deal an extra 1d4 thunder damage from the Potion of Growth, an extra 2d6 thunder damage from the major beneficial properties of the Hand of Vecna and the Sword of Kas, and an extra 1d6 thunder damage from the Menacing Attack maneuver. The attack deals an extra 2d8 cold damage because it was made with a weapon wielded by the Hand of Vecna. We add an additional 6d8 force damage from Eldritch Smite, 5d10 force damage from Banishing Smite, 4d8 radiant damage from Divine Smite, 5d6 acid damage from Absorb Elements, and 3d8 thunder damage from Booming Blade.Letâs total this up: 6d8+1d4+3d6 thunder + 2d8 cold + 6d8+5d10 force + 4d8 radiant + 5d6 acid damage
All these dice are doubled on the critical hit from Assassinate: 12d8+2d4+6d6 thunder + 4d8 cold + 12d8+10d10 force + 8d8 radiant + 10d6 acid damage
Now, counting the flat damage: 10 thunder damage from Saitamaâs STR modifier on the Thunder Gauntlets, +1 thunder damage from the Enhanced Weapon infusion, +6 thunder damage from Hexbladeâs Curse, and +2 thunder damage from the Dueling fighting style, for a total of +19 thunder damage. We also add 20 radiant damage from the Radiant Soul transformation.
Another preliminary total: 12d8+2d4+6d6+19 thunder + 4d8 cold + 12d8+10d10 force + 8d8+20 radiant + 10d6 acid damage
All the damage is doubled by the vulnerability inflicted by Path to the Grave: 24d8+4d4+12d6+38 thunder + 8d8 cold + 24d8+20d10 force + 16d8+40 radiant + 20d6 acid damage
This averages to 198 thunder + 36 cold + 218 force + 112 radiant + 70 acid damage, for a total of 634 damage on average in a single punch.
Anything that survives this formidable blow must then have more than 50 hit points remaining, or else it is banished to its home plane without a save by Banishing Smite (thus, Saitama's punch can effectively defeat creatures with up to 684 HP).
After two short rests, Saitama could theoretically do a Serious Punch again on the same day â minus the +40 radiant damage from Radiant Soul (doubled by Path to the Grave), the only ability used that requires a long rest to recharge. After a second Serious Punch, though, heâll run out of third-level spell slots for the Divine Smite.
The targets (who survives?)
With the most hit points out of any monster in DND 5e, the Tarrasque has 676 HP, damage immunities to fire, poison, and bludgeoning/piercing/slashing damage from nonmagical attacks, three legendary resistances per day, advantage on saves against spells, can nullify or reflect ranged attack spells, and can terrify creatures within 120 feet with its Frightful Presence. None of this protects it from a single punch from our Caped Baldy. On 62% of possible damage rolls, that Tarrasque is getting sent back to its plane of origin, gibbering with fear: with a WIS modifier of +0, it has no chance of succeeding the DC 24 WIS save against Saitamaâs Menacing Attack (of course, Tarrasques are immune to the frightened condition, but letâs ignore that because itâs funny).However, this doesnât quite count as killing the tarrasque in a single punch, since itâs banished but still alive (and returns after one minute if itâs not originally from another plane). Additionally, a several other monsters could definitely survive the punch â chief among them, Tiamat: Outside of being immune to acid and cold damage (reducing the damage by 106 points and dropping the remaining 528 total damage from the punch well below her total HP of 615), Tiamat is also immune to spells of level 6 or lower: thus completely nullifying the effects of both Booming Blade and Banishing Smite. However, as a fiend, Divine Smite does deal an extra d8 radiant damage against her. Still, eliminating Booming Blade and Banishing Smite drops the single punch damage to 382 on average, leaving Tiamat with 233 HP: more than a third of her health. Instead casting Banishing Smite and Booming Blade, Saitama could use his action to punch twice using the Thirsting Blade eldritch invocation, spending both his 5th-level Pact Magic spell slots on Eldritch Smites and both 3rd-level slots on Divine Smites. If Saitama managed to sneak up on Tiamat to surprise her and get the automatic critical hits from Assassinate, he would deal 3d8+1d4+3d6 thunder + 6d8 force + 5d8 radiant damage on each attack, doubled from the critical hit to 6d8+2d4+6d6 thunder + 12d8 force + 10d8 radiant damage, and a total of +19 thunder on both attacks and +20 radiant on the first. The first attack damage would be doubled from Path to the Grave, but the second would not. The first attack would deal 12d8+4d4+12d6+38 thunder + 24d8 force + 20d8+40 radiant damage, and the second 6d8+2d4+6d6+19 thunder + 12d8 force + 10d8 radiant; for a total damage of 553 on average, still 62 points short of Tiamatâs 615 total HP.
Other creatures that would survive:
- Sapphire Greatwyrms and Velomachus Lorehold â with immunities to thunder damage and HP totals of 507 and 487 respectively, they survive the 436 total non-thunder damage from Saitamaâs Serious Punch. With 51 HP remaining on average, Velomachus also has a 53% chance of having enough HP to escape getting banished.
- Amethyst Greatwyrms and Tanazir Quandrix â with immunities to force damage and HP totals of 507 and 444 respectively, they survive the 416 total non-force damage from the Serious Punch. Tanazir is almost definitely getting banished, though.
- The Aspect of Tiamat and Aspect of Bahamut are immune to both fire and cold damage, reducing the Serious Punch to 528 damage â not enough to eliminate their 574 and 585 hit points, respectively. However, both Aspects might still fall victim to the Banishing Smite: 56% of damage rolls will deal enough damage to banish the Aspect of Tiamat, and 37% of rolls for the Aspect of Bahamut. Interestingly, banishing these monsters with the Banishing Smite might be better than reducing them to 0 HP, because dropping them to 0 would trigger their Chromatic Wrath / Platinum Brilliance traits, resetting their HP to 500, recharging their breath weapons and legendary resistances, and unlocking their Mythic Actions.
- Copper Greatwyrms are immune to acid damage, reducing the Serious Punch to 564 damage on average â allowing them to barely survive with 1 hit point left (out of their HP total of 565). They will survive on 52% of damage rolls, and almost certainly get banished if they do. However, on the 48% of damage rolls that succeed in reducing them to 0 HP, they will actually not get banished: instead, their Metallic Awakening will immediately trigger and will reset their HP to 450.
- Silver Greatwyrms have 565 HP and immunity to cold damage, but even without cold damage, the Serious Punch still deals 598 damage on average: enough to reduce them to 0 HP on 91% of damage rolls. Interestingly, this gives Silver Greatwyrms higher odds of surviving than Copper Greatwyrms, because they are far more likely to trigger the Metallic Awakening and reset their HP to 450 to escape banishment â rather than Copper Greatwyrms, which have better-than-even odds of surviving the initial punch but then getting banished for their trouble.
- The other 11 types of Greatwyrm not yet mentioned will also survive thanks the same reason as the Silver Greatwyrm: they can't survive the initial punch, but being reduced to 0 HP will trigger their Metallic/Chromatic/Gem Awakening traits to reset their HP to 400 or more, ironically allowing them to evade being banished. Of the 15 types of Greatwyrm, only Copper Greatwyrms have moderate odds of getting banished in a single strike â the others will either survive the first hit entirely, or get reduced to 0 hit points and trigger their Awakening to avoid getting banished.
- Zariel from Mordenkainenâs Tome of Foes and Archduke Zariel of Avernus from Descent into Avernus each have resistance to radiant damage, resistance or immunity to cold damage (respectively), and 580 hit points. However, they are fiends, causing the Divine Smite to add an additional 9 radiant damage on average (the 1d8 extra Divine Smite damage to fiends is doubled twice from the critical hit and Path to the Grave, but halved from Zarielâs resistance to radiant damage). Accounting for the resistance to radiant damage and the bonus Divine Smite damage to fiends, the punch deals 587 total damage. Then, subtracting 18 damage for cold resistance or 36 damage for cold immunity, Zariel survives with 11 HP and Archduke Zariel with 29 HP â both still very likely getting banished back to Avernus.
- No creature has resistance to thunder and more than 535 hit points to survive the punch, resistance to force damage and more than 525 hit points, or resistance to acid damage and more than 599 hit points. Only 10 creatures other than Zariel have resistances to thunder, cold, force, radiant, or acid damage and more than 400 HP: of those, Sul Khatesh, Rak Tulkhesh, Orcus, and the Demogorgonâs cold resistances reduce the damage by 18, but, as fiends, they take an additional 18 radiant damage from Divine Smite â and with 475, 478, 405, and 406/464 HP respectively (depending on the source book), they get easily annihilated by the Serious Punch. Tromokratis is resistant to both thunder and cold damage, reducing the Serious Punch by 117 damage, but with 409 HP, the Serious Punch still deals over 100 more points of damage than necessary to kill it. The Marut and the Ancient Amethyst Dragon are also only resistant to one of the damage types, which does not reduce the damage enough for them to survive.
- Many creatures have the Regeneration trait that allow them to survive and regain a certain amount of HP at the start of their turn even if they start their turn with 0 HP. However, taking radiant damage disables this trait for fiends, undead, and aberrations, and acid damage disables it for trolls and giants. Cold damage disables it for Tlexolotl and Vegepygmy, thunder damage for the Glasswork Golem, and spell damage for Wereravens. Four monsters have Regeneration traits that still work to bring them back from 0 HP after being hit by Saitama's punch: Loup Garou regenerate if not dealt damage with a silver weapon; the Jabberwock regenerates if not dealt slashing damage; and the Regenerating Black Pudding and Living Doll regenerate if not dealt fire damage (for the Wood Woad, banishment likely counts as no longer being âin contact with the groundâ and therefore its Regeneration trait fails). None of these monsters have more than 300 HP, so the 634 damage from Saitama's Punch may be enough to destroy them by dealing more than double their max HP in a single instance of damage â however, Jeremy Crawford rules that massive damage is not enough to kill a monster with regeneration (https://youtu.be/1frsmP\_AzV0?t=2663).
- Some undead have an Undead Fortitude trait that allows them to drop to 1 HP instead of 0 on a save; however, these traits are disabled by both the fact that the Serious Punch deals radiant damage, is a critical hit (from Assassinate), and that they would have to succeed on a CON save with a DC of 5+the damage taken: DC 657 (when taking account the extra 18 radiant damage Divine Smite deals to undead).
- Vampires, Liches, and other monsters with the Rejuvenation trait may also be utterly destroyed by the punch, but survive by regenerating or gaining a new body later. However, we will still count them as having been killed by the punch, even if they didnât fully die. Even if they return to bother Saitama, he can just destroy them again in a single punch.
- There may be other monsters with features that allow them to escape a single attack â if there are, they don't immediately come to mind.
- Nullifies the punch (1): Tiamat
- Avoids banishment with 51-100 HP (3): Sapphire Greatwyrm, Amethyst Greatwyrm, Aspect of Bahamut
- Gets reduced to 0 but avoids banishment by resetting their HP through the Awakening trait (12): Silver Greatwyrm and 11 other types of Greatwyrm
- 50/50 odds of being banished (3): Velomachus Lorehold, Aspect of Tiamat, Copper Greatwyrm
- Likely banished, but still alive (4): Tarrasque, Tanazir Quandrix, Zariel and Archduke Zariel
- Reduced to 0 HP and banished, but regenerates (4): Loup Garou, Jabberwock, Regenerating Black Pudding, Living Doll
Thank you for reading!
If you've gotten this far, thanks for sticking with me! If you have any ideas on how to squeeze out the last bits of damage to allow Saitama to one-hit kill any of the remaining 27 monsters, please comment to let me know!2023.06.03 18:53 The_Alloquist [A Lord of Death] - Chapter 55 (Efrain)
[âChapter 54] [Cover Art] [My Links] [Index] [Discord] [Subreddit] [Chapter 56â]
The silence that hung over the tent was absolute, with only the slight wind in the bows breaking it up. Naia sat with the faintest of smiles tugging at his lips.
âAnd what, exactly, is that meant to imply?â he said, the smile coming out in full.
âPlainly, then - itâs foolhardy to send your most valuable assets into the fire with an under equipped force,â said Efrain, his patience with this game already up.
âYes, it must,â Naia said, âalas, the mystery of the church is not to be readily questioned, especially if one wants to reach a position of understanding it.â
âIt was an open secret among those in higher societyâ Efrain translated.
âThen why you?â he said, âyou hardly seem like an uninformed man.â
âAllow me to divulge a little secret, Efrain, though it must not go outside this tent,â said Naia, âoriginally, the crusade was to be lead by a lesser nobleâs son, who, I unfortunately must say, is not in the favour of society at the moment.â
âIt was doomed from the start so they elected to kill two birds with one stone.â
âAnd yet, here we are,â said Efrain.
âIndeed. Me and mine saw it for the honour it was. Frankly I was shocked that nobody else did.â
âI see. A lapse of judgement among nobles? Iâd never thought Iâd see the day.â
âFar be it from me to speak ill of the administrators of our great society. Their duties keep them quite busy. As for my superiors, how could they not take notice? The church was asking for armed men, afterall.â
âAnd out of all the people they couldâve sent, they sent the young commander with âunorthodoxâ recruits.â
âWhy, they thought it was a great way to prove myself, as did I.â
âIt must be hard,â said Efrain, âgetting such a difficult job assigned to you.â
âI do what I must, though, I must admit this has had its fair share of headaches. Wonderful surprises too.â
Efrain stopped for a moment, to consider the conclusion that all of this pointed to. It was something so large, so at odds with everything he understood about the church, that it seemed almost impossible. But he had to be sure, absolutely sure that they were on the same page.
He put up his hand onto the table, and felt magic return to him. It was stronger, more definite than before, almost⌠wilder. Pushing that sensation aside, he remembered crowded inns and temples, the clamour of people, all fading into the background. The air around the pair shimmered ever so slightly, and Naia blinked.
âWhat did you just do?â he said, looking around.
âNothing major. Stay in close, or itâll break. Our conversation will be just a little less intelligible for prying ears.â
âAh. Useful,â said the captain, nodding in appreciation.
âHardly,â Efrain said, âanyone with any knowhow could break this with ease. I hope you donât have another secret mage hiding in your retinue whoâd listen in.â
âIâd be surprised,â said Naia.
âVery well,â Efrain said, leaning forward and preparing to drop the axe, âso, why is the church so eager to get rid of its oh-so-special Bequeathed?â
The silence returned once more, slightly distorted through the muffling charm Efrain had cast.
âYouâre certain that this,â Naia said, waving around them, âis intact?â
âQuite. Answer the question, commander,â he said, âperhaps theyâre not as valuable as I was led to believe.â
Naia sat for a few moments, mulling over the blunt truth, then took a deep breath.
âThey are valuable. Incredibly so. They are living, breathing symbols of the faith, but thatâs not all.â
Efrain nodded, waiting for the captain to continue.
âIf half the stories of their battle prowess is true, then they are golden military assets. Though they havenât been used as such for a very long time.â
âAh,â Efrain said, as the pieces began to fall into place, âso thatâs why they sent you.â
âI may or may not have been selected for this reason,â he said, the smile more dry than knowing.
âAnd if anything went wrong, if the precious Bequeathed came back with all these strange ideas about the church, they could blame the unorthodoxy of the commander.â
Something twisted in Naiaâs smile - Efrain had touched on something painful.
âPrecisely,â he said, âalthough I would like to believe that they chose me because they knew Iâd avoid doing things so crudely.â
âSo, they want you to⌠what, drive a wedge between the Bequeathed and the church? Subtly, of course.â
âYou know, I was planning to tell you this all after you agreed to join me,â Naia said flatly.
âHa!â Efrain said, âage and experience, young man.â
âClearly,â Naia said, spreading his arms in defeat, âso, I stand before you, uncloaked. What do you think?â
âI think that there would be at least one member of the church disguised in your retinue, no?â
Naiaâs smile grew cold and thin at the mention.
âThe man wouldnât listen to reason. We counselled him to stick with our company, but he had other, more pious ideas about wandering in the wild forest.â
Efrain nodded - he hadnât really expected anything else.
âAnd what about the paladins, do they suspect anything?â he said, sitting back.
âLillian is of high birth. I donât doubt she hasnât heard something that might make her suspicious. Niche mightâve but heâs⌠well stupid would be a disservice to both of them. Niche is certainly more naive than Lillian. As for Sphernt, sheâs vanished, but, of course, you wouldnât know her.â
âAnother paladin?â Efrain groaned, trying to drive home the exasperation to cover him.
âIndeed, and far less pleasant than the others,â Naia laughed, âI know, a charming prospect. She was bullheaded, refused to listen or wait, so I sent her on ahead. As far as I know sheâs buried under a snowdrift somewhere. We were going to search for her, but Ayaâs finding threw everything into disarray, even her fraternity dropped it.â
Efrain almost let out an audible sigh of relief, but he managed to catch himself at the last moment.
âWell, in any case that makes your ultimate job easier, if you so choose to join me,â Naia said.
âHold up,â said Efrain, âlet me guess. You canât act because questioning the authority of the church would compromise your personal position, as well as make the children suspicious. Given that I am potentially the most unorthodox person you could employ, you would use me to get to the children, and then foist the blame on me if anything went wrong.â
âPhrased it better than I could,â Naia said.
âWell, I can certainly see the appeal,â Efrain said dryly, âbut what makes you think I would agree to that? Say, hypothetically, I went all the way to the silver city with you. You suddenly blame me for corrupting the children, then its my head.â
âA fair point, but consider - I am so close to being outcast that I need you, and if the children spoke out in your defence, they might well eclipse my influence. In addition, who would it reflect badly on if I did so? That would only worsen my position by leaps and bounds.â
âFine,â Efrain said, âso what role did you have for me?â
âOh that? Simple. Youâve been doing it already by most accounts,â Naia said, âteach them magic.â
Efrain stopped to consider it for a moment - no doubt heâd been briefed in full after the church incident. The fact that Naia hadnât executed the mage for that alone spoke volumes to his intentions.
âAnd if, if, I were to take you up on this offer, well, first off, how far would this arrangement go? Secondly, how would I get around the paladins? I imagine theyâll be hostile.â
âThat would be your job. From the sound of it, youâve already got Aya on your side. Arrange meetings, teach her subtly - Iâm sure someone of your âage and experienceâ could figure something out. As for how long, if you have no desire to come to Angorrah, why not until we set sail? That should give you ample time.â
âAnd whatâs in it for me, then?â he said, âSeems that Iâm taking an awful lot of risk for simple promises.â
âWhat, a prospective general as a friend is not enough?â laughed Naia.
âProspective. Iâm not inclined to weigh reward on the whims of other unknown people,â Efrain snorted.
âA reasonable concern, though itâs only a week or two of work for a potential lifetime of benefits.â
âGranted. And what are you to say if I did not find the prospect of using children as pieces appealing?â
Naia arched an eyebrow at this, but the smile remained.
âThis is the world we live in. In a way, if they should happen to throw their lot in with us, as it were, theyâll be getting a better life. The army is not quick to dispose of such valuable tools, unlike the more capricious elements of the church. They would not have to live by scripture and ceremony.â
âBy throwing them at enemies, until theyâre spent?â Efrain said.
The silence in the tent took on another character, something colder and heavier.
âYouâve said your knowledge of Angorrah was out-of-date. Do you know what they did to bring the merchant cities of the coast in line?â
Efrain shook his head.
âItâs quite simple. The palaces of Ennenâalla? Smokey marble with brass accents. Beautiful, beautiful buildings. Angorrah chose them to be their examples - now theyâre little more than ruins and dust. From the other cities, rather than go to war, they offered up noble children as wards. Iâm sure you can imagine; Hundreds, thousands of days, living under suspended sentences? A sword hanging over your head, waiting, begging to fall, based on the slightest provocation you have no control over.â
âThis is supposed to be a positive comparison?â
âThe Bequeathed, whether or not they and their guardians realise it, are living under the exact same sentence. Welcoming them back into the church might delay it for a time. The military is ruthless, I wonât deny, but itâs interested in service. Which is better? That the children are a pawn of the faith, used in political games across the continent, liable to be sent to a bitter end based on whim? Or, they live a tough but honoured life, and, in time, might rise to see the power and freedom to dictate their own destiny through generalship?â
âI can see why they sent you, commander,â Efrain said, âyouâve got quite the tongue.â
âI offer simple truths in pretty prose, thatâs all,â Naia said, âif you want to look out for their wellbeing, then it might be best you align with me anyways. As for other rewards, Iâm a commander, which comes with privileges. If you want gold or valuables, I can probably get them with time. Access to influence, knowledge? Those are easy enough, with the right friends, which Iâve made a point of making. All this potential for a few days of work, Efrain.â
The cloth rustled slightly in the breeze.
âAnd Iâll be free to go, alive, unharmed, not immediately killed for knowing your secret?â Efrain said.
âGuaranteed.â
Efrain examined the manâs face in depth, noting the lines that gave away his age. The dark hair with just a hint of blue mingling with the black, although whether that was dye or somehow natural he could barely guess. It was a dangerous gambit, predicated on the word of a man who by his own confession was willing to murder and scheme to get what he wanted. Still, he couldnât deny the sway of the promise - a general of Angorrah who owed him a personal favour, that would be a very potent tool indeed.
This was again, assuming the man kept any kind of faith, which Efrain had mixed evidence to show for it. Still, if he was only going as far as the port, that would be fairly safe, or so he hoped. Maybe perhaps, if he could gain some trust with the paladins, play them off eachotherâŚ
This was getting too complicated for his taste, and the dangers of a company of soldiers around him didnât sweeten things. Still, there was also the commandment of the River, and he was interested in the children and their talents. If Naia spoke the truth of its word, then there could be very good reasons for him to work with the commander. Then again, itâd also warned Innie of his death should he pursue this course, maybe this offer was that threat recast.
âWell?â said Naia.
There was nothing for it, Efrain surmised, at least until Karkos.
âItâs a deal. Iâll do what I can, until you sail,â Efrain said, holding out his hand and shaking it with Naia in the Karkosian fashion.
âGood. I would lay out the mission and your role, but youâve guessed all you need to know already. This all stays between us and no one else, not even my captains. On pain of death, Efrain.â
âUnderstood, commander,â said Efrain, fully conscious of the irony.
âAs for a method of approach,â Naia said, âthe paladins have taken charge of much of the childrenâs education. However, Iâm sure I could come up with an excuse to educate them on something. Maths, perhaps, or military history. We might be able to arrange them to have time away from the paladins.â
âSo you want me to teach them the arts,â Efrain said, âand so doing, shake the foundations of the church.â
âMore or less,â Naia chuckled, âyou should return and recover your strength. Your companion was quite worried.â
âOh really?â Efrain said, dispelling the charm, and leaving the tent.
He walked back to the circle of waggons heâd found himself in not twenty minutes ago, reflecting on the conversation heâd had. When he made it back to the one heâd slept in, he heard the sounds of voices within the canvas. Peaking in, he found Aya sitting before Innie, chatting away.
âI see you two have become good friends,â he said as he clambered in.
âOh!â she said, âfriends? I donât know. Maybe not friends.â
âStop teasing her and sit down Efrain,â Innie said.
âFine, fine,â Efrain said, lowering himself onto the wooden slats.
âNow, as I was saying dear, â Innie continued, âthe talent of âseeingâ magic is much more about feeling it than actually using your eyes. You could use your ears, or nose, or tongue for that matter. Itâs about the communication, much less about how you receive it.â
âYou mean people can taste magic?â Aya giggled with a note of awe.
âTaste, and hear, and smell. More attuned beasts use their nose, like with everything. Humans tend to use their eyes, hence they tend to âseeâ magic. Well, with some exceptions.â
Innie turned judgemental eyes to Efrain.
âI was a beginner,â Efrain said, âbesides, I quickly grew out of it.â
âWhy?â Aya said, âwhat is he talking about?â
âThis one,â Innie said with relish, âstarted smelling when I first taught him.â
âThatâs true?â Aya said, eyes wide, but with an amused smile creeping onto her face, âwhat does magic smell like?â
âAlright, youâve had your fun,â said Efrain, âit can smell like many things. It depends on the magic, it depends on the wielder. I ran into a fire wyrm once and everything smelled like burnt flesh for days after. Magic stinks for better or worse.â
âThat was about the time you switched over to seeing. I guess you learned your lesson,â Innie said.
âBut thatâs not all magic can convey. Sensory information is but a pittance. More complex things, emotions, moods, entire concepts can be compressed into magic. The language we spoke to the trees in the pourjavaâs hollow? You can express much more with magic, much faster, than with mere language alone.â
âThe language you spoke in the-â
âTematek, a kind of template, a mould which magic creatures developed various dialects from. Most magical creatures with the intellect to speak a language will speak Tematek or some variant of it.â
âSo does that mean weâre speaking it right now?â she said, the whites of her eyes shining in the dim light.
âNo, I speak human tongues as well,â said Innie, âthe process of learning Tematek is a long one. Youâll simply learn how to see this way.â
âCould I learn it?â
Oh, this is too easy, Efrain thought, hearing Naia's voice echo about âopportunitiesâ falling into laps.
âYou certainly could. It would be as hard as learning any other language however. And thereâs the fact your paladin guardians are rather⌠possessive of you.â
âWell, theyâre not here right now, I checked,â she said, and Efrain thought he saw a glimmer of pride at the deception, âtheyâre sleeping. Niche tried to keep watch but sleep caught up.â
âSo, youâre saying you want to go behind the back of the churchâs representatives to practise magic. The penalty for which could be death,â he said flatly, âthatâs an impressive commitment.â
âThatâs all theyâve said for the past few days,â she said without pause, ââmagic is dangerousâ, âmages arenât to be trustedâ, âthe Lost thisâ. Maybe theyâre right.â
âAnd yet here you are.â
She nodded.
âThey took me away from my home, my family. I donât know anyone here, I donât know what theyâre planning for me. If I trusted you, would I be going on more than trusting them?â
Efrain chuckled.
âNo, I suppose not,â he said, âalthough I think I do have one advantage.â
âWhat?â
âYour mother asked me to take care of you, if I could,â Efrain said, âI met her, before I ran into your group.â
To the girlâs credit, she held her expression, though the explosion of shock in her eyes were unmistakable, as well as the quiver in her jaw.
âYou-you did? Is she- is she alright?â
Efrain paused. Maybe it was an old kindness that stirred below lost memories. Maybe it was mere self-interest, to pursue a relationship by putting the girl at ease.
âIâm sure sheâs fine,â he lied, âbut, weâd best get started, before your minders get up.â
[âChapter 54] [Cover Art] [My Links] [Index] [Discord] [Subreddit] [Chapter 56â]
submitted by The_Alloquist to redditserials [link] [comments]
The silence that hung over the tent was absolute, with only the slight wind in the bows breaking it up. Naia sat with the faintest of smiles tugging at his lips.
âAnd what, exactly, is that meant to imply?â he said, the smile coming out in full.
âPlainly, then - itâs foolhardy to send your most valuable assets into the fire with an under equipped force,â said Efrain, his patience with this game already up.
âYes, it must,â Naia said, âalas, the mystery of the church is not to be readily questioned, especially if one wants to reach a position of understanding it.â
âIt was an open secret among those in higher societyâ Efrain translated.
âThen why you?â he said, âyou hardly seem like an uninformed man.â
âAllow me to divulge a little secret, Efrain, though it must not go outside this tent,â said Naia, âoriginally, the crusade was to be lead by a lesser nobleâs son, who, I unfortunately must say, is not in the favour of society at the moment.â
âIt was doomed from the start so they elected to kill two birds with one stone.â
âAnd yet, here we are,â said Efrain.
âIndeed. Me and mine saw it for the honour it was. Frankly I was shocked that nobody else did.â
âI see. A lapse of judgement among nobles? Iâd never thought Iâd see the day.â
âFar be it from me to speak ill of the administrators of our great society. Their duties keep them quite busy. As for my superiors, how could they not take notice? The church was asking for armed men, afterall.â
âAnd out of all the people they couldâve sent, they sent the young commander with âunorthodoxâ recruits.â
âWhy, they thought it was a great way to prove myself, as did I.â
âIt must be hard,â said Efrain, âgetting such a difficult job assigned to you.â
âI do what I must, though, I must admit this has had its fair share of headaches. Wonderful surprises too.â
Efrain stopped for a moment, to consider the conclusion that all of this pointed to. It was something so large, so at odds with everything he understood about the church, that it seemed almost impossible. But he had to be sure, absolutely sure that they were on the same page.
He put up his hand onto the table, and felt magic return to him. It was stronger, more definite than before, almost⌠wilder. Pushing that sensation aside, he remembered crowded inns and temples, the clamour of people, all fading into the background. The air around the pair shimmered ever so slightly, and Naia blinked.
âWhat did you just do?â he said, looking around.
âNothing major. Stay in close, or itâll break. Our conversation will be just a little less intelligible for prying ears.â
âAh. Useful,â said the captain, nodding in appreciation.
âHardly,â Efrain said, âanyone with any knowhow could break this with ease. I hope you donât have another secret mage hiding in your retinue whoâd listen in.â
âIâd be surprised,â said Naia.
âVery well,â Efrain said, leaning forward and preparing to drop the axe, âso, why is the church so eager to get rid of its oh-so-special Bequeathed?â
The silence returned once more, slightly distorted through the muffling charm Efrain had cast.
âYouâre certain that this,â Naia said, waving around them, âis intact?â
âQuite. Answer the question, commander,â he said, âperhaps theyâre not as valuable as I was led to believe.â
Naia sat for a few moments, mulling over the blunt truth, then took a deep breath.
âThey are valuable. Incredibly so. They are living, breathing symbols of the faith, but thatâs not all.â
Efrain nodded, waiting for the captain to continue.
âIf half the stories of their battle prowess is true, then they are golden military assets. Though they havenât been used as such for a very long time.â
âAh,â Efrain said, as the pieces began to fall into place, âso thatâs why they sent you.â
âI may or may not have been selected for this reason,â he said, the smile more dry than knowing.
âAnd if anything went wrong, if the precious Bequeathed came back with all these strange ideas about the church, they could blame the unorthodoxy of the commander.â
Something twisted in Naiaâs smile - Efrain had touched on something painful.
âPrecisely,â he said, âalthough I would like to believe that they chose me because they knew Iâd avoid doing things so crudely.â
âSo, they want you to⌠what, drive a wedge between the Bequeathed and the church? Subtly, of course.â
âYou know, I was planning to tell you this all after you agreed to join me,â Naia said flatly.
âHa!â Efrain said, âage and experience, young man.â
âClearly,â Naia said, spreading his arms in defeat, âso, I stand before you, uncloaked. What do you think?â
âI think that there would be at least one member of the church disguised in your retinue, no?â
Naiaâs smile grew cold and thin at the mention.
âThe man wouldnât listen to reason. We counselled him to stick with our company, but he had other, more pious ideas about wandering in the wild forest.â
Efrain nodded - he hadnât really expected anything else.
âAnd what about the paladins, do they suspect anything?â he said, sitting back.
âLillian is of high birth. I donât doubt she hasnât heard something that might make her suspicious. Niche mightâve but heâs⌠well stupid would be a disservice to both of them. Niche is certainly more naive than Lillian. As for Sphernt, sheâs vanished, but, of course, you wouldnât know her.â
âAnother paladin?â Efrain groaned, trying to drive home the exasperation to cover him.
âIndeed, and far less pleasant than the others,â Naia laughed, âI know, a charming prospect. She was bullheaded, refused to listen or wait, so I sent her on ahead. As far as I know sheâs buried under a snowdrift somewhere. We were going to search for her, but Ayaâs finding threw everything into disarray, even her fraternity dropped it.â
Efrain almost let out an audible sigh of relief, but he managed to catch himself at the last moment.
âWell, in any case that makes your ultimate job easier, if you so choose to join me,â Naia said.
âHold up,â said Efrain, âlet me guess. You canât act because questioning the authority of the church would compromise your personal position, as well as make the children suspicious. Given that I am potentially the most unorthodox person you could employ, you would use me to get to the children, and then foist the blame on me if anything went wrong.â
âPhrased it better than I could,â Naia said.
âWell, I can certainly see the appeal,â Efrain said dryly, âbut what makes you think I would agree to that? Say, hypothetically, I went all the way to the silver city with you. You suddenly blame me for corrupting the children, then its my head.â
âA fair point, but consider - I am so close to being outcast that I need you, and if the children spoke out in your defence, they might well eclipse my influence. In addition, who would it reflect badly on if I did so? That would only worsen my position by leaps and bounds.â
âFine,â Efrain said, âso what role did you have for me?â
âOh that? Simple. Youâve been doing it already by most accounts,â Naia said, âteach them magic.â
Efrain stopped to consider it for a moment - no doubt heâd been briefed in full after the church incident. The fact that Naia hadnât executed the mage for that alone spoke volumes to his intentions.
âAnd if, if, I were to take you up on this offer, well, first off, how far would this arrangement go? Secondly, how would I get around the paladins? I imagine theyâll be hostile.â
âThat would be your job. From the sound of it, youâve already got Aya on your side. Arrange meetings, teach her subtly - Iâm sure someone of your âage and experienceâ could figure something out. As for how long, if you have no desire to come to Angorrah, why not until we set sail? That should give you ample time.â
âAnd whatâs in it for me, then?â he said, âSeems that Iâm taking an awful lot of risk for simple promises.â
âWhat, a prospective general as a friend is not enough?â laughed Naia.
âProspective. Iâm not inclined to weigh reward on the whims of other unknown people,â Efrain snorted.
âA reasonable concern, though itâs only a week or two of work for a potential lifetime of benefits.â
âGranted. And what are you to say if I did not find the prospect of using children as pieces appealing?â
Naia arched an eyebrow at this, but the smile remained.
âThis is the world we live in. In a way, if they should happen to throw their lot in with us, as it were, theyâll be getting a better life. The army is not quick to dispose of such valuable tools, unlike the more capricious elements of the church. They would not have to live by scripture and ceremony.â
âBy throwing them at enemies, until theyâre spent?â Efrain said.
The silence in the tent took on another character, something colder and heavier.
âYouâve said your knowledge of Angorrah was out-of-date. Do you know what they did to bring the merchant cities of the coast in line?â
Efrain shook his head.
âItâs quite simple. The palaces of Ennenâalla? Smokey marble with brass accents. Beautiful, beautiful buildings. Angorrah chose them to be their examples - now theyâre little more than ruins and dust. From the other cities, rather than go to war, they offered up noble children as wards. Iâm sure you can imagine; Hundreds, thousands of days, living under suspended sentences? A sword hanging over your head, waiting, begging to fall, based on the slightest provocation you have no control over.â
âThis is supposed to be a positive comparison?â
âThe Bequeathed, whether or not they and their guardians realise it, are living under the exact same sentence. Welcoming them back into the church might delay it for a time. The military is ruthless, I wonât deny, but itâs interested in service. Which is better? That the children are a pawn of the faith, used in political games across the continent, liable to be sent to a bitter end based on whim? Or, they live a tough but honoured life, and, in time, might rise to see the power and freedom to dictate their own destiny through generalship?â
âI can see why they sent you, commander,â Efrain said, âyouâve got quite the tongue.â
âI offer simple truths in pretty prose, thatâs all,â Naia said, âif you want to look out for their wellbeing, then it might be best you align with me anyways. As for other rewards, Iâm a commander, which comes with privileges. If you want gold or valuables, I can probably get them with time. Access to influence, knowledge? Those are easy enough, with the right friends, which Iâve made a point of making. All this potential for a few days of work, Efrain.â
The cloth rustled slightly in the breeze.
âAnd Iâll be free to go, alive, unharmed, not immediately killed for knowing your secret?â Efrain said.
âGuaranteed.â
Efrain examined the manâs face in depth, noting the lines that gave away his age. The dark hair with just a hint of blue mingling with the black, although whether that was dye or somehow natural he could barely guess. It was a dangerous gambit, predicated on the word of a man who by his own confession was willing to murder and scheme to get what he wanted. Still, he couldnât deny the sway of the promise - a general of Angorrah who owed him a personal favour, that would be a very potent tool indeed.
This was again, assuming the man kept any kind of faith, which Efrain had mixed evidence to show for it. Still, if he was only going as far as the port, that would be fairly safe, or so he hoped. Maybe perhaps, if he could gain some trust with the paladins, play them off eachotherâŚ
This was getting too complicated for his taste, and the dangers of a company of soldiers around him didnât sweeten things. Still, there was also the commandment of the River, and he was interested in the children and their talents. If Naia spoke the truth of its word, then there could be very good reasons for him to work with the commander. Then again, itâd also warned Innie of his death should he pursue this course, maybe this offer was that threat recast.
âWell?â said Naia.
There was nothing for it, Efrain surmised, at least until Karkos.
âItâs a deal. Iâll do what I can, until you sail,â Efrain said, holding out his hand and shaking it with Naia in the Karkosian fashion.
âGood. I would lay out the mission and your role, but youâve guessed all you need to know already. This all stays between us and no one else, not even my captains. On pain of death, Efrain.â
âUnderstood, commander,â said Efrain, fully conscious of the irony.
âAs for a method of approach,â Naia said, âthe paladins have taken charge of much of the childrenâs education. However, Iâm sure I could come up with an excuse to educate them on something. Maths, perhaps, or military history. We might be able to arrange them to have time away from the paladins.â
âSo you want me to teach them the arts,â Efrain said, âand so doing, shake the foundations of the church.â
âMore or less,â Naia chuckled, âyou should return and recover your strength. Your companion was quite worried.â
âOh really?â Efrain said, dispelling the charm, and leaving the tent.
He walked back to the circle of waggons heâd found himself in not twenty minutes ago, reflecting on the conversation heâd had. When he made it back to the one heâd slept in, he heard the sounds of voices within the canvas. Peaking in, he found Aya sitting before Innie, chatting away.
âI see you two have become good friends,â he said as he clambered in.
âOh!â she said, âfriends? I donât know. Maybe not friends.â
âStop teasing her and sit down Efrain,â Innie said.
âFine, fine,â Efrain said, lowering himself onto the wooden slats.
âNow, as I was saying dear, â Innie continued, âthe talent of âseeingâ magic is much more about feeling it than actually using your eyes. You could use your ears, or nose, or tongue for that matter. Itâs about the communication, much less about how you receive it.â
âYou mean people can taste magic?â Aya giggled with a note of awe.
âTaste, and hear, and smell. More attuned beasts use their nose, like with everything. Humans tend to use their eyes, hence they tend to âseeâ magic. Well, with some exceptions.â
Innie turned judgemental eyes to Efrain.
âI was a beginner,â Efrain said, âbesides, I quickly grew out of it.â
âWhy?â Aya said, âwhat is he talking about?â
âThis one,â Innie said with relish, âstarted smelling when I first taught him.â
âThatâs true?â Aya said, eyes wide, but with an amused smile creeping onto her face, âwhat does magic smell like?â
âAlright, youâve had your fun,â said Efrain, âit can smell like many things. It depends on the magic, it depends on the wielder. I ran into a fire wyrm once and everything smelled like burnt flesh for days after. Magic stinks for better or worse.â
âThat was about the time you switched over to seeing. I guess you learned your lesson,â Innie said.
âBut thatâs not all magic can convey. Sensory information is but a pittance. More complex things, emotions, moods, entire concepts can be compressed into magic. The language we spoke to the trees in the pourjavaâs hollow? You can express much more with magic, much faster, than with mere language alone.â
âThe language you spoke in the-â
âTematek, a kind of template, a mould which magic creatures developed various dialects from. Most magical creatures with the intellect to speak a language will speak Tematek or some variant of it.â
âSo does that mean weâre speaking it right now?â she said, the whites of her eyes shining in the dim light.
âNo, I speak human tongues as well,â said Innie, âthe process of learning Tematek is a long one. Youâll simply learn how to see this way.â
âCould I learn it?â
Oh, this is too easy, Efrain thought, hearing Naia's voice echo about âopportunitiesâ falling into laps.
âYou certainly could. It would be as hard as learning any other language however. And thereâs the fact your paladin guardians are rather⌠possessive of you.â
âWell, theyâre not here right now, I checked,â she said, and Efrain thought he saw a glimmer of pride at the deception, âtheyâre sleeping. Niche tried to keep watch but sleep caught up.â
âSo, youâre saying you want to go behind the back of the churchâs representatives to practise magic. The penalty for which could be death,â he said flatly, âthatâs an impressive commitment.â
âThatâs all theyâve said for the past few days,â she said without pause, ââmagic is dangerousâ, âmages arenât to be trustedâ, âthe Lost thisâ. Maybe theyâre right.â
âAnd yet here you are.â
She nodded.
âThey took me away from my home, my family. I donât know anyone here, I donât know what theyâre planning for me. If I trusted you, would I be going on more than trusting them?â
Efrain chuckled.
âNo, I suppose not,â he said, âalthough I think I do have one advantage.â
âWhat?â
âYour mother asked me to take care of you, if I could,â Efrain said, âI met her, before I ran into your group.â
To the girlâs credit, she held her expression, though the explosion of shock in her eyes were unmistakable, as well as the quiver in her jaw.
âYou-you did? Is she- is she alright?â
Efrain paused. Maybe it was an old kindness that stirred below lost memories. Maybe it was mere self-interest, to pursue a relationship by putting the girl at ease.
âIâm sure sheâs fine,â he lied, âbut, weâd best get started, before your minders get up.â
[âChapter 54] [Cover Art] [My Links] [Index] [Discord] [Subreddit] [Chapter 56â]
2023.06.03 18:53 OddBananabob Idea for Anniversary Build
Idea for anniversary build.
Very first thing is become vampire and then get necromage for power, no other perks other than those required for necromage, until necromage acquired.
Ascendant necromancer robes (disenchant?), or Aetherium crown/deadric helmet combo with powers. Full deadric mail.
Ring of masser. Necklace with bow enchant, or Viriya's charm. Bound bow. Conjure dremora lord/dremora thrall.
Whatever follower u want. (I would take jizargo, frea or serena) Breton, high elf or even dark elf (vampire and all).
Lord stone.
Enchants for sneak, archery and magic schools (illusion/restoration and conjuration are good) Agent of mara and, ancient lexicon buffs for 25% more armor, 15 magic resist and, 15% better smithing, permanently.
If you want a different standing stone use atronach perk instead of lord stone, dont combine bc you will no longer be able to conjure bc skyrim is broken.
submitted by OddBananabob to skyrim [link] [comments]
Very first thing is become vampire and then get necromage for power, no other perks other than those required for necromage, until necromage acquired.
Ascendant necromancer robes (disenchant?), or Aetherium crown/deadric helmet combo with powers. Full deadric mail.
Ring of masser. Necklace with bow enchant, or Viriya's charm. Bound bow. Conjure dremora lord/dremora thrall.
Whatever follower u want. (I would take jizargo, frea or serena) Breton, high elf or even dark elf (vampire and all).
Lord stone.
Enchants for sneak, archery and magic schools (illusion/restoration and conjuration are good) Agent of mara and, ancient lexicon buffs for 25% more armor, 15 magic resist and, 15% better smithing, permanently.
If you want a different standing stone use atronach perk instead of lord stone, dont combine bc you will no longer be able to conjure bc skyrim is broken.
2023.06.03 18:45 TheDarkDragon94 Need help on figuring out if balanced/cr
ATTENTION!!! DO NOT READ FORWARD IF YOU ARE PLAYING IN VIVIOLA, CYPERIUS OR MORIA
So I'm working on a homebrew oneshot for my players set in a world of fairytales where they are going to be playing decendants of the heros and villains of those stories. The encounter I had planned before the final boss is fighting against Captain Peter Pan and his crew of pirates. I was working on his stat block but am fairly new to making homebrew and I'm not sure the best way to see if it's balanced or it's approximate challenge rating. If you guys could take a look at it for me that would be amazing
Captain Peter Pan Medium Fey chaotic neutral
Armor class: 20
Hit points: 250
Speed: 30ft, 90ft fly
Str: 18 Dex: 20 Con: 17 Int: 12 Wis: 11 Cha: 15
Skills: Deception +4, Insight+3
Senses: darkvision 60ft (magical)
Languages: Common, Fey
Challenge ???
Actions:
Multi-attack: Captain Pan makes 3 attacks with his knife in melee and throws it once each turn
Knife: melee weapon attack: +8 to hit, reach 5ft, 2d6+5 slashing or piercing damage and 2d6 psychic damage
Knife (thrown): ranged weapon attack: +8 to hit, range, 20/60, 2d6+5 piercing damage
Bonus actions
Misty step (3x per day): Captain Pan can call upon the powers of the fey to teleport himself 30 ft away to an unoccupied space. Each creature that is within 5 feet of his new location must succeed a DC 14 wisdom save or be charmed by him for 1d4 rounds. A creature can remake this save at the end of each of its turns. The effect ends early if they succeed a save or the target takes damage or if an ally uses an action to shake the creature out of it
Cunning action: Captain Pan can Dash, disengage or hide as a bonus action.
Mind Gash (resets on a 5-6): As a bonus action, captain Pan can use his knife in a way unlike any other. On the last creature he hit with his knife must make a DC 17 charisma save on a failed save take 4d8 psychic damage and is frightening of him for 1d6 rounds or half as much and not frightened on success.
Reaction:
Parry: when an attack roll is made against Captain Pan, he can use his reaction to add 1d6 to his AC until the end of his next turn. If the attack misses, he can then make a single attack against the creature using his knife without the psychic damage.
Confusing swap (1x per day): if captain Pan is in a difficult situation and is about to be attacked, he can spend a reaction to swap places with a creature of his choice within 30 ft that isn't the attacking creature. He then swaps places with said creature and they must take the attack instead. The attacker can choose how many attacks they wish to do on the new target (minimum of one) and can stop and continue their turn afterwards as normal.
submitted by TheDarkDragon94 to DnDHomebrew [link] [comments]
So I'm working on a homebrew oneshot for my players set in a world of fairytales where they are going to be playing decendants of the heros and villains of those stories. The encounter I had planned before the final boss is fighting against Captain Peter Pan and his crew of pirates. I was working on his stat block but am fairly new to making homebrew and I'm not sure the best way to see if it's balanced or it's approximate challenge rating. If you guys could take a look at it for me that would be amazing
Captain Peter Pan Medium Fey chaotic neutral
Armor class: 20
Hit points: 250
Speed: 30ft, 90ft fly
Str: 18 Dex: 20 Con: 17 Int: 12 Wis: 11 Cha: 15
Skills: Deception +4, Insight+3
Senses: darkvision 60ft (magical)
Languages: Common, Fey
Challenge ???
Actions:
Multi-attack: Captain Pan makes 3 attacks with his knife in melee and throws it once each turn
Knife: melee weapon attack: +8 to hit, reach 5ft, 2d6+5 slashing or piercing damage and 2d6 psychic damage
Knife (thrown): ranged weapon attack: +8 to hit, range, 20/60, 2d6+5 piercing damage
Bonus actions
Misty step (3x per day): Captain Pan can call upon the powers of the fey to teleport himself 30 ft away to an unoccupied space. Each creature that is within 5 feet of his new location must succeed a DC 14 wisdom save or be charmed by him for 1d4 rounds. A creature can remake this save at the end of each of its turns. The effect ends early if they succeed a save or the target takes damage or if an ally uses an action to shake the creature out of it
Cunning action: Captain Pan can Dash, disengage or hide as a bonus action.
Mind Gash (resets on a 5-6): As a bonus action, captain Pan can use his knife in a way unlike any other. On the last creature he hit with his knife must make a DC 17 charisma save on a failed save take 4d8 psychic damage and is frightening of him for 1d6 rounds or half as much and not frightened on success.
Reaction:
Parry: when an attack roll is made against Captain Pan, he can use his reaction to add 1d6 to his AC until the end of his next turn. If the attack misses, he can then make a single attack against the creature using his knife without the psychic damage.
Confusing swap (1x per day): if captain Pan is in a difficult situation and is about to be attacked, he can spend a reaction to swap places with a creature of his choice within 30 ft that isn't the attacking creature. He then swaps places with said creature and they must take the attack instead. The attacker can choose how many attacks they wish to do on the new target (minimum of one) and can stop and continue their turn afterwards as normal.
2023.06.03 18:34 CM46 From the far realms, another psychic slime shows itself: The Nucleoid
 | submitted by CM46 to UnearthedArcana [link] [comments] |
2023.06.03 18:11 dracodish123 Making homebrew stat blocks every day for a year (Day 1)(Feedback is appreciated)
 | submitted by dracodish123 to DnDHomebrew [link] [comments] |
2023.06.03 17:39 RighteousVengeance Charmed Quiz! Ten points for each right answer!
I tried to post a fun trivia quiz once before. This is going to be my second attempt.
submitted by RighteousVengeance to charmed [link] [comments]
- Phoebe once complimented Leo's glutes. What part of Leo's anatomy did Prue compliment?
- Poor Phoebe! So terrified of earthquakes! She once ran through the house screaming "Run for your life!" during an earthquake. What was she wearing at the time?
- What was the nickname given to Phoebe when she was caught (so rumor had it) necking with some guy under the bleachers?
- According to Susie Johnson, why did her boyfriend break up with her?
- Phoebe's definitely taken her share of abuse. Who once ripped an earring off of her?
- Who had the power of psychokinesis?
- Rebecca Balding played Phoebe's boss Elise. But she played an entirely different character in the first season. Who?
- How did the spell that vanquished Ludlow differ from any other incantation used by the Charmed ones?
- What name did Piper use when the Charmed Ones went undercover, allowing the world and the magical universe to believe they were dead?
- Name the only witch that Piper used her exploding power on.
2023.06.03 17:22 ComplexMight7408 If i rewrote miraculous ladybug
Those would be my changes and i probably will add some more.
submitted by ComplexMight7408 to u/ComplexMight7408 [link] [comments]
- Adrien = NO! Felix = YES! Yeah i know stereotypical edgy boy but i think it could be interesting by fleshing his personality out a little. have him be cold, harsh and manipulative like the one in MLB but have him also a soft spot for Ladybug.
- Marinette should be less stalker but more shy and non-confident about Adrien (Felix in this rewrite). like this girl is a fricking girl not an yandere like Ayano god.
- There ages should be 16-17. i want them to be older and more mature. they should be in Grade 12 or 13. also this would be less child abuse when Gabriel abuses him in Cat Blanc. sure it still is but atleast it isnt a 14 year old child getting hit.
- Designs MARINETTE: ok, why the heck is Marinette looking like a single white mom on facebook that has 7 children and drinks coffee everyday to stay awake. i want her to look more like Light Academia styled! She is shy yeah but still. she looks kind of weird and she is a FASHION DESIGNER. Also Ladybugs outfit is a little to dry and bland so i would give her Pennybugs hair style and give her gold in her outfit like Callimari did in her redesign/rewrite of her. i think that it should also show her chinese heritages and her being confident about it and knowing it is great FELIX: Ok. his base outfit is actually pretty good. BUT i would think that Gabriel would give him more fashionable clothes like a more Dark Academia style. It would actually fit. Also i think that he should be a little more bragging about his outfits. Also the cat noir suit is already pretty nice and it would take Cat Noirs inspiration. Kinda lazy to do the rest but yeah pretty much it
- Adrien. now he still would exist but he would be the older brother of Felix and the perfect son who Gabriel prefers than Felix. this would show some jealousy moments of them both. Felix and Adrien do love each other but they also got a bitter rivalry for Gabriel's love and attention. yeaahhh i want some drama.
- The miraculouses. Now. first of all there would be only 12 miraculouses. The ladybug, the cat, the fox, the bee, the peacook, the moth, the horse, the snake, the rooster, the goat, the ox and the tiger. I would give each miraculous 2 powers. the first one is immediatly there and the second one will be unlocked when the miraculous holder evolves. Here are all the list of powers! LADYBUG = Lucky Charm & Miraculous Ladybug (both automatic there) CAT = Cataclysm & Magical Charm (unlocks end Season 1 & afterwards) FOX = Mirage & Detriment (The foe gets a blurry vision = Each to defeat) BEE = Venom & Alliance (The foe gets stung by a big bee which lets the user control the person until the foe gets hit physically) PEACOOK = Amokatization & Free Soul (The user gets calm which charges power) MOTH = Akumatization & Swarm (the user is able to grow wings to fly duhh) HORSE = Voyage & Spirit (the user gains super speed for some time) SNAKE = Second Chance & Faith (the user can heal physical and mental wounds) ROOSTER = Sublimination & Burstblack (the user will shoot fire that will cause anyone to get if they get in touch with it to get their power lost until water catches) GOAT = Genesis & Optimizer (the foe gets a lot of joy filled into them) OX = Resistance & Vigour (the foe is able to send out a little smokebubble to possess someones object to make them blue coloured and buffed) TIGER = Clout & Abiding (the user is able to dodge every attack someone launches at them, making them rage quit from the battle and willingly get deakumatized)
- Chloe redemption arc. i honestly need to rewrite the episodes first before i do it but yeah she will be fully redeemed end Season 3
- Lila, Rose, Ivan and Kim would be removed. Lila because she just seems odd to me, Rose is a cute stereotype girl, Ivan is buff boy just and Kim is just annoying me in Animan, Derision, Lady Wifi and Dark Cupid. Socqueline would take Lilas place because she has the same hair, eyes and even the nationality. she could pretend to be Marinette.
2023.06.03 17:06 LabAffectionate3527 Gheeds Dropped from breakable/searchable while doing Nihlathak runs.
submitted by LabAffectionate3527 to diablo2 [link] [comments]
2023.06.03 17:03 cherrycolamoon Fictional characters capsule wardrobes
Fully admitting Iâm a big nerd here, but is anyone else using ChatGPT to have it make capsule wardrobes for fictional characters and celebrities to mine the lists for style inspiration (and also just cause itâs a fun way to waste time)?
I find that the lists get a bit better if I ask it think think about capsule wardrobes principles first. For example, hereâs one I did for Sally Owens from the movie Practical Magic.
âWhat are the capsule wardrobe principles of Anushka Rees?â
And then after it responds I ask it to apply those principles to the character and develop a 20 item capsule wardrobe. It helps to tell it specifically what level of detail you want.
âFor each of the items above, tell me how Sally Owens from Practical Magic would respond. Following that and based on those responses, develop a 20 item capsule wardrobe for Sally Owens. For each item mention what it is, the cut, the color, and a store where she might purchase something this styleâ
And then hereâs the response! It even got the crochet top lol. Try it with different characters!
âCertainly! Based on Sally Owens' bohemian and earthy style in Practical Magic, here's how she might respond to each item and a 20-item capsule wardrobe that reflects her character:
submitted by cherrycolamoon to capsulewardrobe [link] [comments]
I find that the lists get a bit better if I ask it think think about capsule wardrobes principles first. For example, hereâs one I did for Sally Owens from the movie Practical Magic.
âWhat are the capsule wardrobe principles of Anushka Rees?â
And then after it responds I ask it to apply those principles to the character and develop a 20 item capsule wardrobe. It helps to tell it specifically what level of detail you want.
âFor each of the items above, tell me how Sally Owens from Practical Magic would respond. Following that and based on those responses, develop a 20 item capsule wardrobe for Sally Owens. For each item mention what it is, the cut, the color, and a store where she might purchase something this styleâ
And then hereâs the response! It even got the crochet top lol. Try it with different characters!
âCertainly! Based on Sally Owens' bohemian and earthy style in Practical Magic, here's how she might respond to each item and a 20-item capsule wardrobe that reflects her character:
- Flowy Maxi Dress - Sally would love the ethereal and free-spirited vibe of a flowy maxi dress. She would prefer a loose, flowing cut in earthy tones like a floral-printed maxi dress. She might find something like this at Free People.
- Patchwork Denim Jacket - Sally would appreciate the unique and artistic nature of a patchwork denim jacket. She would choose a relaxed-fit, cropped cut in a variety of denim washes. She might find a suitable option at Anthropologie.
- Lace-Trimmed Blouse - Sally would adore the romantic and feminine touch of a lace-trimmed blouse. She would go for a loose, bohemian cut in a soft neutral color like ivory or blush. Spell & The Gypsy Collective might have a perfect match for her.
- High-Waisted Flared Jeans - Sally would embrace the vintage-inspired and figure-flattering style of high-waisted flared jeans. She would opt for a wide-leg cut in a medium blue denim wash. Madewell might have a suitable pair for her.
- Embroidered Boho Top - Sally would be drawn to the intricate and artisanal details of an embroidered boho top. She would choose a loose, flowy cut with vibrant embroidery in earthy tones. Free People might have a great selection for her.
- Wrap Midi Skirt - Sally would appreciate the versatility and bohemian elegance of a wrap midi skirt. She would prefer a flowing cut in earth-toned prints or solid colors. Reformation might offer options that align with her style.
- Off-the-Shoulder Romper - Sally would embrace the playful and carefree nature of an off-the-shoulder romper. She would choose a loose, boho-inspired cut with a vibrant floral print. Show Me Your Mumu might have a suitable romper for her.
- Crochet Cardigan - Sally would adore the handmade and cozy feel of a crochet cardigan. She would prefer an oversized, bohemian cut in natural or earthy tones. Urban Outfitters might offer a suitable option for her.
- Floral Print Sundress - Sally would love the feminine and whimsical charm of a floral print sundress. She would choose a loose, flowy cut with a mix of vibrant and muted floral prints. Anthropologie might have a sundress that matches her style.
- Wide-Brim Hat - Sally would appreciate the bohemian and sun-protective nature of a wide-brim hat. She would choose a floppy, straw hat in a natural or neutral color. Lack of Color might have a suitable hat for her.
- Bell-Sleeve Blouse - Sally would embrace the flowing and bohemian style of a bell-sleeve blouse. She would opt for a loose, breezy cut with intricate patterns or prints. Free People might offer a suitable blouse for her.
- Distressed Denim Shorts - Sally would embrace the casual and laid-back feel of distressed denim shorts. She would prefer a relaxed, mid-length cut in a light to medium blue denim wash. Levi's might offer a suitable pair for her.
- Embroidered Maxi Skirt - Sally would be drawn to the colorful and detailed embroidery of a flowing maxi skirt. She would choose a loose, bohemian cut with vibrant embroidery. ASOS might have a suitable option for her.
- Boho Kimono - Sally would appreciate the flowing and boho-inspired nature of a kimono. She would opt for a lightweight, fringed kimono.
- Embellished Sandals - Sally would gravitate towards sandals with unique embellishments or beading. She would choose a comfortable, bohemian-inspired pair in neutral or earthy tones. Free People might have suitable options for her.
- Bohemian Tunic Dress - Sally would embrace the loose and breezy style of a bohemian tunic dress. She would opt for a flowing, relaxed-cut dress with intricate patterns or prints. Anthropologie might offer a suitable tunic dress for her.
- Wide-Leg Jumpsuit - Sally would appreciate the relaxed and effortless feel of a wide-leg jumpsuit. She would choose a loose-fitting, bohemian-inspired jumpsuit in earthy tones or a vibrant print. Free People might have a suitable option for her.
- Crochet Halter Top - Sally would love the bohemian and handmade feel of a crochet halter top. She would choose a halter-neck style with intricate crochet details in earthy or natural tones. Urban Outfitters might have a suitable top for her.
- Printed Wrap Dress - Sally would embrace the feminine and flattering style of a printed wrap dress. She would opt for a flowy, wrap-style dress with a colorful print. Reformation might offer a suitable wrap dress for her.
- Suede Fringe Bag - Sally would adore the bohemian and textured nature of a suede fringe bag. She would choose a medium-sized crossbody bag with fringe details in a rich earthy tone. Free People might have a suitable option for her.
2023.06.03 16:34 funnytoss "Don't Think, Feel" - Thoughts from my first BABYMETAL concert
In many ways, I would describe myself as a fan that "knows everything yet knows nothing". I found out about BABYMETAL through reaction videos on Youtube in early 2020, and although I soon devoured all the concert footage and interviews and stories about them that I could find, I had never been blessed with the opportunity to experience them live until yesterday night in Taipei.
Before the concert, I had "followed" the 2023 Sabaton concerts and earlier Asia shows in real time, constantly checking Discord to see which songs were on the setlist, and if there was anything new or surprising. I would get excited when surprising songs like "Shanti Shanti Shanti" were announced, and hyped to see some new bangers like "Maya".
When you're at the show though, none of that matters. I paradoxically cared about the setlist more as a spectator on the internet, than when I was there in the moment experiencing it. Performed live, every song is a banger, and every song they select is the right one.
Su famously says "Don't Think, Feel" when it comes to BABYMETAL, and she's absolutely right. This idea felt somewhat abstract to me before last night, but afterwards, I truly understood what she was saying. BABYMETAL is often described as a "theatrical" performance. There are various different elements of "theater" that typically come to mind when most people use the word - acting, facial expressions, creating a sense of story and lore, suspension of disbelief, etc.
But there's something else that's a crucial part of theater - it doesn't last. It's there, and then it's gone.
Unlike movies or other forms of visual storytelling, theater performances typically are a "one-time" thing. Sure, a theater troupe might perform the same play multiple times, but each performance is unique. This is in contrast to a movie, which will always be exactly the same. Perhaps you might observe something you overlooked before, or feel differently about it at different times. But the movie itself is static and permanent, whereas every night of "Romeo and Juliet" performed 7 nights in a row is different. The slight differences in inflection, the facial expressions, the emphasis, the little mistakes... the show that you saw today is simply not identical to the show your friend saw yesterday.
This is something that affects both the actors and audience alike, and a big part of what makes theater special - when you know that it's a fleeting experience; that what you see will never be 100% replicated again (recordings are but a limited view), it primes you to focus on "feeling" and "experiencing" the show, savoring each moment for what it is because there's no time to think about it - every moment is passing you by, every second and minute. That moment Moa flashes a ridiculously charming grin, and when your eyes seem to meet, it's as if she's looking right at you and no one else in the world? Cherish that moment, because it was there, and now it isn't.
To be clear, I have nothing against people recording concerts on their phones and taking photos (as long as they're not overly obstructing the view) to share the experience as best they can, and try and preserve memories for themselves and the fanbase. But for my very first show, I decided to (perhaps selfishly) simply soak it all in and bask in the BABYMETAL experience without taking a single fancam video, and that's what helped me enjoy the show to its fullest. (I would note that it seemed there were generally fewer phones out at all times, in contrast to some European or American shows I've seen, and it generally didn't affect the viewing experience at all for me)
In a sense, all the "book-knowledge" I possessed about BABYMETAL and their songs made it easier for me to "Feel" and not "Think". I already knew when I was "supposed" to raise my fists, when to chant, and when to mosh for each song. And that brings me to the first of several points about the concert that really came to mind (I don't plan on doing a full concert recap, as in a sense, the play-by-play isn't actually that different between each performance, but what you personally see and feel is what makes it unique):
1) The audience is an integral part of the show
This is also very much a "BABYMETAL cliche", but it's also absolutely true. I don't know what it is, but it almost feels like we're compelled to be an amazingly hype crowd because we don't want to let them down, almost like we're performing for them. I'd estimate that roughly 1/4 to 1/3 of the crowd may have been from Japan, and they obviously know exactly what the crowd "should" be doing. But the Taiwanese crowd was extremely in sync, constantly cheering and jumping and yelling at the right time, giving the girls further energy, leading to my next point:
2) Perfect combustion
BABYMETAL shows are understandably criticized as being too short. There certainly are ways to pad out the length fairly easily without adding to the physical workload of the members, such as adding Kami solos and some lore videos. But personally, I think the 70 minute pedal-to-the-metal non-stop performance is really exhilarating. Both the members and the audience alike give it everything they've got, spending every last bit of energy to burst past the finish line, and you go home wiped out and satisfied. Knowing that the show would be fairly short, I was able to jump and shout and run around to my heart's content, without feeling like I needed to preserve energy. And I think this is part of what makes the live experience so good; no one's phoning it in.
3) Great mix of old and new
I like the Asia setlist very much, and I think that for a concert participant, it was extremely well-structured. For the older songs from the first album, there was a lot of crowd interaction and chanting, which is always fun. But I don't think it would be the best idea to do this for the entire show - by mixing in newer songs that had fewer sections where we felt "obligated" to do various chants and fist-pumping, the new songs from THE OTHER ONE provided a great opportunity to just stand there in awe and enjoy the music and new complex crisp choreography, before another hype classic begins and you start running around again.
4) Kami Masks
The three members were absolutely mesmerizing. Honestly, I feel that even if the Kamis weren't wearing masks, I would still be looking at Su, Moa, and Momo the entire time; I didn't want to miss a single mischievous smirk from Moa, a habitual tongue blep from Su, and the ball of energy that Momo has become. Obviously others that are more fans of the musicians will feel differently, and perhaps I would as well if I had the chance to go to multiple shows and had the luxury of "wasting" my limited (precious) attention on the Kamis, great as they are. On a related note, I saw Barone walking around the venue a few hours before the show (probably getting some refreshments or something) and it seems like absolutely no one recognized him, which is probably exactly what they prefer before a show.
and lastly...
5) Moa and Momo (and Yui before) are magical
I've always believed that BABYMETAL would have been quite successful even if it had been a more traditional rock/metal band with Su as a solo frontwoman. However, it was the "scream and dance" roles that really elevated BABYMETAL from "great" to "legendary". Moa/Momo/(Yui) really do have a way of making the show feel personal, in a way that can't be captured fully on camera. If I were only allowed to pick one thing when it comes to describing the difference between seeing them in person and on a Blu-ray, it would be the little details of Moa/Momo's crowd interaction. The way I see it, Su makes you want to bow down, but Moa/Momo/(Yui) are what make you want to love them. It's a perfect combination.
Random notes I found interesting/amusing
There were several people wearing frog costumes (I counted 4), I'm sure Su got a kick out of that!
During "Megitsune" it seemed that Su was having some earpiece(?) issues; she seemed to be gesturing several times for adjustment, and dashed off the stage immediately after the song was over, and there was a longer pause than usual before the next song "Iine!" began as they resolved the problem. On a related note, Su sounded amazingly good live, with very few pitch issues compared to what I've heard in fancams. I don't know if that's confirmation bias from being at the show, but I think it's fair to say that phone microphones aren't entirely reliable for capturing what you actually hear at the venue.
Earplugs, oh lord earplugs are needed. I was near the barrier in front of the "Moa" side and it felt like I was getting directly blasted by the sound (and the drums/bass in particular). But I heard from some fans in other parts of the floor that the sound was muffled or quiet at places, so I think where you were standing made quite a big difference. At any rate, protect your hearing, people! If I hadn't been wearing earplugs, I definitely could have permanently damaged my hearing; it's not worth it to go without.
All in all, 10/10, would do again.
submitted by funnytoss to BABYMETAL [link] [comments]
Before the concert, I had "followed" the 2023 Sabaton concerts and earlier Asia shows in real time, constantly checking Discord to see which songs were on the setlist, and if there was anything new or surprising. I would get excited when surprising songs like "Shanti Shanti Shanti" were announced, and hyped to see some new bangers like "Maya".
When you're at the show though, none of that matters. I paradoxically cared about the setlist more as a spectator on the internet, than when I was there in the moment experiencing it. Performed live, every song is a banger, and every song they select is the right one.
Su famously says "Don't Think, Feel" when it comes to BABYMETAL, and she's absolutely right. This idea felt somewhat abstract to me before last night, but afterwards, I truly understood what she was saying. BABYMETAL is often described as a "theatrical" performance. There are various different elements of "theater" that typically come to mind when most people use the word - acting, facial expressions, creating a sense of story and lore, suspension of disbelief, etc.
But there's something else that's a crucial part of theater - it doesn't last. It's there, and then it's gone.
Unlike movies or other forms of visual storytelling, theater performances typically are a "one-time" thing. Sure, a theater troupe might perform the same play multiple times, but each performance is unique. This is in contrast to a movie, which will always be exactly the same. Perhaps you might observe something you overlooked before, or feel differently about it at different times. But the movie itself is static and permanent, whereas every night of "Romeo and Juliet" performed 7 nights in a row is different. The slight differences in inflection, the facial expressions, the emphasis, the little mistakes... the show that you saw today is simply not identical to the show your friend saw yesterday.
This is something that affects both the actors and audience alike, and a big part of what makes theater special - when you know that it's a fleeting experience; that what you see will never be 100% replicated again (recordings are but a limited view), it primes you to focus on "feeling" and "experiencing" the show, savoring each moment for what it is because there's no time to think about it - every moment is passing you by, every second and minute. That moment Moa flashes a ridiculously charming grin, and when your eyes seem to meet, it's as if she's looking right at you and no one else in the world? Cherish that moment, because it was there, and now it isn't.
To be clear, I have nothing against people recording concerts on their phones and taking photos (as long as they're not overly obstructing the view) to share the experience as best they can, and try and preserve memories for themselves and the fanbase. But for my very first show, I decided to (perhaps selfishly) simply soak it all in and bask in the BABYMETAL experience without taking a single fancam video, and that's what helped me enjoy the show to its fullest. (I would note that it seemed there were generally fewer phones out at all times, in contrast to some European or American shows I've seen, and it generally didn't affect the viewing experience at all for me)
In a sense, all the "book-knowledge" I possessed about BABYMETAL and their songs made it easier for me to "Feel" and not "Think". I already knew when I was "supposed" to raise my fists, when to chant, and when to mosh for each song. And that brings me to the first of several points about the concert that really came to mind (I don't plan on doing a full concert recap, as in a sense, the play-by-play isn't actually that different between each performance, but what you personally see and feel is what makes it unique):
1) The audience is an integral part of the show
This is also very much a "BABYMETAL cliche", but it's also absolutely true. I don't know what it is, but it almost feels like we're compelled to be an amazingly hype crowd because we don't want to let them down, almost like we're performing for them. I'd estimate that roughly 1/4 to 1/3 of the crowd may have been from Japan, and they obviously know exactly what the crowd "should" be doing. But the Taiwanese crowd was extremely in sync, constantly cheering and jumping and yelling at the right time, giving the girls further energy, leading to my next point:
2) Perfect combustion
BABYMETAL shows are understandably criticized as being too short. There certainly are ways to pad out the length fairly easily without adding to the physical workload of the members, such as adding Kami solos and some lore videos. But personally, I think the 70 minute pedal-to-the-metal non-stop performance is really exhilarating. Both the members and the audience alike give it everything they've got, spending every last bit of energy to burst past the finish line, and you go home wiped out and satisfied. Knowing that the show would be fairly short, I was able to jump and shout and run around to my heart's content, without feeling like I needed to preserve energy. And I think this is part of what makes the live experience so good; no one's phoning it in.
3) Great mix of old and new
I like the Asia setlist very much, and I think that for a concert participant, it was extremely well-structured. For the older songs from the first album, there was a lot of crowd interaction and chanting, which is always fun. But I don't think it would be the best idea to do this for the entire show - by mixing in newer songs that had fewer sections where we felt "obligated" to do various chants and fist-pumping, the new songs from THE OTHER ONE provided a great opportunity to just stand there in awe and enjoy the music and new complex crisp choreography, before another hype classic begins and you start running around again.
4) Kami Masks
The three members were absolutely mesmerizing. Honestly, I feel that even if the Kamis weren't wearing masks, I would still be looking at Su, Moa, and Momo the entire time; I didn't want to miss a single mischievous smirk from Moa, a habitual tongue blep from Su, and the ball of energy that Momo has become. Obviously others that are more fans of the musicians will feel differently, and perhaps I would as well if I had the chance to go to multiple shows and had the luxury of "wasting" my limited (precious) attention on the Kamis, great as they are. On a related note, I saw Barone walking around the venue a few hours before the show (probably getting some refreshments or something) and it seems like absolutely no one recognized him, which is probably exactly what they prefer before a show.
and lastly...
5) Moa and Momo (and Yui before) are magical
I've always believed that BABYMETAL would have been quite successful even if it had been a more traditional rock/metal band with Su as a solo frontwoman. However, it was the "scream and dance" roles that really elevated BABYMETAL from "great" to "legendary". Moa/Momo/(Yui) really do have a way of making the show feel personal, in a way that can't be captured fully on camera. If I were only allowed to pick one thing when it comes to describing the difference between seeing them in person and on a Blu-ray, it would be the little details of Moa/Momo's crowd interaction. The way I see it, Su makes you want to bow down, but Moa/Momo/(Yui) are what make you want to love them. It's a perfect combination.
Random notes I found interesting/amusing
There were several people wearing frog costumes (I counted 4), I'm sure Su got a kick out of that!
During "Megitsune" it seemed that Su was having some earpiece(?) issues; she seemed to be gesturing several times for adjustment, and dashed off the stage immediately after the song was over, and there was a longer pause than usual before the next song "Iine!" began as they resolved the problem. On a related note, Su sounded amazingly good live, with very few pitch issues compared to what I've heard in fancams. I don't know if that's confirmation bias from being at the show, but I think it's fair to say that phone microphones aren't entirely reliable for capturing what you actually hear at the venue.
Earplugs, oh lord earplugs are needed. I was near the barrier in front of the "Moa" side and it felt like I was getting directly blasted by the sound (and the drums/bass in particular). But I heard from some fans in other parts of the floor that the sound was muffled or quiet at places, so I think where you were standing made quite a big difference. At any rate, protect your hearing, people! If I hadn't been wearing earplugs, I definitely could have permanently damaged my hearing; it's not worth it to go without.
All in all, 10/10, would do again.
2023.06.03 16:33 sad_dad_is_a_mad_lad Hpos10i ($BITCOIN)
Harrypotterobamasonic10inu (ticker BITCOIN) is an anti establishment, post-ironic satire of the entire shitcoin community. A name so ridiculous it makes people doubt whether or not it's a legit project, but they are. Imagine telling your co-workers you're quitting your job because harrypotterobamasonic10inu mooned.
What sets it apart from other meme/shit tokens Is that it's a meme on itself, constantly evolving with endless possibilities.
It's an autistic, artistic memetic powerhouse. Check the website and you'll know what I mean. Same as titlename dotcom. Twitter may also be found in my profile.
The story goes: "Once upon a time in the idyllic land of Mashed-Up Realities, former President Barack Obama, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Harry Potter found themselves inexplicably drawn to one another. It was a love forged not by the constraints of the physical universe, but by the uncanny, whimsical laws of the multiverse.
Despite their disparate backgroundsâone a charismatic statesman from the bustling city of Chicago, another a speedy hedgehog from an alternate dimension of anthropomorphic animals, and the third, a wizard fresh from the halls of Hogwartsâthey found a common language. A language woven from the threads of respect, adventure, and a shared fondness for chili dogs.
Their love bloomed like a triple-headed rose, radiant and completely unhinged. It was a spectacle that transcended all known boundaries of existence, catching the attention of the cosmic entities that preside over the multiverse. The trio's love was so powerful and so unique that it shook the very foundations of reality.
One such cosmic entity, the Quantum Stork, found itself so moved by this unconventional romance that it decided to bless them with a child. This child would be a blend of all their strengths, a creature born of magic, speed, hope, and an uncanny ability to deliver inspirational speeches at the drop of a hat. This child would be known as HarryPotterObamaSonic10Inu, but the world would soon come to know him by a different name.
HarryPotterObamaSonic10Inu, or "Hpos10i" for short, was not your ordinary child. His speed was unparalleled, reaching from one end of the world to the other in the blink of an eye. He could cast powerful spells, making even the most elusive Horcruxes blush. He had a flair for diplomacy, capable of negotiating peace treaties with even the most hostile alien species.
But most importantly, Hpos10i had an uncanny understanding of cryptocurrency.
As he grew, Hpos10i spent his time not just racing through loops or casting Patronus Charms, but also diving into the complex world of blockchain and finance. He became fascinated with Bitcoin, seeing it as a means of empowering individuals and leveling economic disparity.
Hpos10i had a vision. A vision where digital currency would not just be the domain of the tech-savvy or the financially privileged, but accessible and understandable to all. With his unique abilities and his parents' support, Hpos10i launched his own cryptocurrencyâ$BITCOIN.
$BITCOIN quickly gained traction. It was not just another cryptocurrency; it was a movement, a philosophy. The world rallied behind Hpos10i and his vision. $BITCOIN soared to unprecedented heights, its value dwarfing even the most optimistic projections.
Soon, Hpos10i was hailed as the new Messiah of cryptocurrency. But to Sonic, Harry, and Obama, he was just their sonâthe little bundle of joy that the Quantum Stork had delivered to their door, the embodiment of their unhinged love.
And so, in a world where a former president, a speedy hedgehog, and a wizard could fall in love and have a child who would become the Messiah of cryptocurrency, anything seemed possible. It was a world that was completely unhinged, and it was perfect in its own strange way."
submitted by sad_dad_is_a_mad_lad to CryptoMoonShots [link] [comments]
What sets it apart from other meme/shit tokens Is that it's a meme on itself, constantly evolving with endless possibilities.
It's an autistic, artistic memetic powerhouse. Check the website and you'll know what I mean. Same as titlename dotcom. Twitter may also be found in my profile.
The story goes: "Once upon a time in the idyllic land of Mashed-Up Realities, former President Barack Obama, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Harry Potter found themselves inexplicably drawn to one another. It was a love forged not by the constraints of the physical universe, but by the uncanny, whimsical laws of the multiverse.
Despite their disparate backgroundsâone a charismatic statesman from the bustling city of Chicago, another a speedy hedgehog from an alternate dimension of anthropomorphic animals, and the third, a wizard fresh from the halls of Hogwartsâthey found a common language. A language woven from the threads of respect, adventure, and a shared fondness for chili dogs.
Their love bloomed like a triple-headed rose, radiant and completely unhinged. It was a spectacle that transcended all known boundaries of existence, catching the attention of the cosmic entities that preside over the multiverse. The trio's love was so powerful and so unique that it shook the very foundations of reality.
One such cosmic entity, the Quantum Stork, found itself so moved by this unconventional romance that it decided to bless them with a child. This child would be a blend of all their strengths, a creature born of magic, speed, hope, and an uncanny ability to deliver inspirational speeches at the drop of a hat. This child would be known as HarryPotterObamaSonic10Inu, but the world would soon come to know him by a different name.
HarryPotterObamaSonic10Inu, or "Hpos10i" for short, was not your ordinary child. His speed was unparalleled, reaching from one end of the world to the other in the blink of an eye. He could cast powerful spells, making even the most elusive Horcruxes blush. He had a flair for diplomacy, capable of negotiating peace treaties with even the most hostile alien species.
But most importantly, Hpos10i had an uncanny understanding of cryptocurrency.
As he grew, Hpos10i spent his time not just racing through loops or casting Patronus Charms, but also diving into the complex world of blockchain and finance. He became fascinated with Bitcoin, seeing it as a means of empowering individuals and leveling economic disparity.
Hpos10i had a vision. A vision where digital currency would not just be the domain of the tech-savvy or the financially privileged, but accessible and understandable to all. With his unique abilities and his parents' support, Hpos10i launched his own cryptocurrencyâ$BITCOIN.
$BITCOIN quickly gained traction. It was not just another cryptocurrency; it was a movement, a philosophy. The world rallied behind Hpos10i and his vision. $BITCOIN soared to unprecedented heights, its value dwarfing even the most optimistic projections.
Soon, Hpos10i was hailed as the new Messiah of cryptocurrency. But to Sonic, Harry, and Obama, he was just their sonâthe little bundle of joy that the Quantum Stork had delivered to their door, the embodiment of their unhinged love.
And so, in a world where a former president, a speedy hedgehog, and a wizard could fall in love and have a child who would become the Messiah of cryptocurrency, anything seemed possible. It was a world that was completely unhinged, and it was perfect in its own strange way."