Portfolio #1: Introduction - The Bard's Draft

As the Bard takes out their instrument and starts to play,

your mind travels far away.

  [ At God's Mercy /  As the Gods Say ]  

Source: Lovino Vargas on Youtube

(Turn on the subtitles, I prefer ''English - Singable lyrics'')

 It all goes wrong every time I try and do something right 

 And now I can’t help but hate myself for falling behind 

 I wanna run away from eight million of these aching pains 

 Looking far and away for just some way to escape 

 Like they all say, found a rock to just crawl under and hide 

 And never think about the moon or sun that roll in the sky 

 Why was I born, why did I even have to endure? 

 In the end, I’m just not sure 

 But wait, though it might all seem like it’s just waste of time 

 Keep in mind, you’ve got a shot at making something out of 

 Nothing, getting stronger through the darkest times 

 Listen close, ‘cause here is why 

 That’s right, just leave it to the deities 

 Our responsibilities rule a world 

 That loves us just the same as you love me 

 Raise a glass and sing it fast, we command you have a blast 

 Can’t be bad to just sit back occasionally 

 That’s right, from northern to the southern skies 

 Reaching out to left and right 

 We all love this planet just the same as you love me 

 Though the road is traveled less, we can always move ahead 

 Keep in mind we’re only just beginning 

 Is it so bad just to wanna live a fair, simple life? 

 There’s gotta be a bunch others with the same thing in mind 

 Can’t seem to run away from eight million of these aching pains 

In my heart, they remain and torture me everyday 

 “Why was I born in the first place?” I think every time 

 And though it may be like a miracle, I can’t help but sigh 

 It was a fluke, nothing more than that or maybe it’s less 

 In the end, it never made any sense 

 But wait, if they always bully you, then try to understand 

 What you have, and that’s a light glowing inside of you that makes the shadows grow into the darkest night 

 Listen close, I’ll tell you why 

 That’s right, just leave it to the deities 

 Our responsibilities rule a world 

 That loves us just the same as you love me 

 Laughing out, I smile and shout, look to you, we grin about 

 All will be forgiven if you set it free 

 That’s right, so all the boys and girls around 

 Opened up and loving now 

 Both will keep this planet full of life and spinning ‘round 

 Though the road is traveled less, we can always move ahead 

 Keep in mind we’ve only just been starting out 

 You know the things that really mean the most wash away 

 In all the tiny unimportant things that seem “everyday” (so let it go) 

 Come enjoy the moment, be dumb for just a day 

 So take it off and get down, laughing easily 

 That’s right, just leave it to the deities 

 Our responsibilities rule a world 

 That loves us so I’ll learn to love myself 

 “See what the mirror is reflecting back, now you understand at last?” 

 “Brightening our day, your light is everything” 

 That’s right, just leave it to the deities 

 Thank you all for everything 

 Should’ve known, I love this world as much as it loves me 

 Why not make a flower bloom? Grow it big and make it soon 

 Reach into the heavens just to share the view 

 (Translation: JubyPhonics on Youtube) 

Whenever I feel sad, I listen to this song and sing it to feel a bit better. The song has such a happy beat and message which I cannot help but love. There are few songs that can make me cry, and this song is one of them.

[Kami no Manimani or ''As the Gods say''] is a japanese Vocaloid song, my favourite cover is RibxItou Kashitarou's duet.

When I first found this song, I was going through rough times. My best friend had to transfer to another school, we always considered her as our ''leader'' and the one keeping our group together, now it was my duty to keep them together and look out for them. Now, I know that is not how things work, but at the time I feared that without her our group of friends would fall apart. I thought my selfishness and cold demeanor would put an end to our group, I just could not see why they would put up with me. I thought, dumbly, that they were her friends, not mine, they just put up with me because I was her friend.

Sometimes I cannot help but think that way, that they mostly put up with me... but I know I am wrong, because they care and love me as much as I love them.

So I was afraid. I was afraid of losing my friends and I felt stressed that my high school days were coming to an end; because I did not know what I wanted to do.

  [ But wait, if they always bully you, then try to understand  

 What you have..]  

I was bullied a lot by my classmates during that time; it never turned into something physical or violent, and I am grateful for that, but those things were enough to make me try to shut out the world and hide. I missed my best friend, we were practically joined at the hip and now she was not there. I was not at my best, to be honest.

When I heard this song for the first time, it felt like the dark clouds above me disappeared. Like the sun came up and shone on me. What was I thinking? Your friends love you dearly, you are important to them! Do not listen to those whose only joy is to harass others and make them feel bad, their vile words are dripping with jealousy and bitterness.

 [ That’s right, just leave it to the deities

  Our responsibilities rule a world  

   That loves us so I’ll learn to love myself  

  “See what the mirror is reflecting back, now you understand at last?”  

  “Brightening our day, your light is everything’’ ]  

It is this part of the song which never fails to bring me to tears, the bridge, if I am correct. The change of the melody, the lyrics…  The original video depicts a girl (the deity Amaterasu) looking at her own reflection and realizing how important she is.

Though the video may not be the original, I chose it because I love this rendition of the song with one of my favourite series: Hetalia. I would like to recommend it... but it is not for everyone. It does not contain gore or dark themes, which may be the case for the other shows I like, but some do not take stereotypes lightly; specially about nations and their people, which is the concept behind the series. Hetalia has its flaws, but most of the characters are endearing in their own way and the fandom knows how to exploit them to their fullest, a trait I absolutely love.

The video shows a lot of scenes from the original series and some comic strips which have not been animated yet, that is another reason why I love this version. And for the bridge of the song, they chose to show one of my favourite scenes:

This scene is quite bittersweet. The scene we may find in war films, where the soldiers bid farewell to their lovers before going to war, promising to come back to them. But in this case, the soldier never came back. It was such a heartbreaking moment for all the followers of the series.

I love this song with all my heart, and the video just adds something special to it. From all the songs I enjoy listening to, singing to and dancing to, ‘’As the Gods say’’ is definitely my favourite of all.