#IT RUNS SO SMOOTHHHH

[goldennika]

Initial Thoughts on TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s The Star Chapter: Sanctuary

I’ve been busy and didn’t have the mindspace to take in a new EP but now I can!

After my initial listen, I have to say that I am really into the falsetto that they use in most of their tracks! I like how we have six tracks and sonically these tracks seem more cohesive compared to their other albums. I don’t speak Korean, unfortunately, so having the tracks have a more similar sound with each other strengthens the overall “concept,” at least sonically.

I guess that makes sense that they didn’t go too “diverse” with the sound for this album as they were very centered around love whereas their earlier albums were exploring an almost tortured soul type of persona in comparison haha (i exaggerate but just compare, say Freefall’s persona, to Sanctuary, even just sonically and it’s a lot different)

I’ve yet to look up lyric translations so I can’t comment on those just yet and can’t really pick out a favorite.

I think another factor that affects my ability to pick a fave is the fact that these song durations ARE SO SHORT

Yay for having six tracks but not a single one of them reached the three minute mark?? These tracks were pretty okay and i think my rather lukewarm reception of this album has to do with the song lengths…

Just as I was getting into the groove, it ends. Just. Like. That.

How they managed a bridge in a song less than three minutes long is impressive but it still feels incomplete since the track durations are so short.

I know their companies are pushing for shorter tracks for higher streaming numbers but it’s hurting the listening experience. At least for me, that is

Tl; dr: I vibe with the falsettos and guitars but these tracks are too short for their own good and it negatively affected my listening experience and overall impression of the album. the last three tracks left a bigger impression to me than the first half so overall i say the album is okay..

My stream of consciousness thoughts for each song upon first listen below the cut!

Heaven

Ooh those opening notes reminds me another song but i can’t place it rn

oh Taehyun’s entryyyyy

this is a smooth sounding track

I’m digging it

Hueningkai and Soobin’s first notes in the second verse let’s gooooo

Ok that was way too short!! ugh pls bring back songs that are at least 3 and a half minutes pls i beg 😭

it’s a nice song but not sure if it’s unique enough to stick to you, iykwim?

Over the Moon

oh it’s giving 90s R&B-ish?

oh that falsetto in the pre-chorus??

NOT THEM SOUNDING LIKE THEY’RE SAYING “FUCK YOU”???? 😭😭😭

SOOBIN FALSETTO LET’S GOOOOO

i am LIVING for the high notes/falsetto in this track

Beomgyu’s lines in the chorus have a lovely grounding energy to them

IT’S OVER ?????

I WAS JUST GETTING INTO IT AND IT’S OVER???

Danger

big fan of the falsetto in this album so far

oh that “what you doing to me” 😩

i’m getting a retro vibe throughout this EP

i guess they’re big on the nostalgia and throwbacks for this EP

Taehyun’s adlibs!??

IT’S OVER?????

Resist (Not Gonna Run Away)

The high notes!!! Starting strongggg

Digging this one

Ooh the instrumental break is nice

Very nice beat throughout

Lowkey i feel like this would do well for a GP audience?

WHY THE FUCK ARE THSEE SONGS SO SHORT

Forty One Winks

ohhhhhhh that instrumental

another smooth track so far

*bops head*

this is a vibeeee

it sounds so smoothhhh

oh i’m really liking this one

Higher Than Heaven

very 90s teen anthem instrumental with the guitar there

again i am loving the falsettos

ohhhhh the guitar here 😩

love the spoken style of singing for the prechorus

WE HAVE A BRIDGE. REPEAT WE HAVE A BRIDGE

TAEHYUN EXTENDED NOTE LET’S GOOOO

the distorted guitar works well

but again it is OVER ALREADY??

[ilikedetectives]

How's Forspoken running on your pc?

It runs SMOOTHHHH like butter, so far not a single lag/jitter and I was playing on 4K Ultra High everything + ReShade during my 3-hour gaming session, maintaining around 40-60fps (DLSS off). Now tbf my gaming rig is EVGA RTX 3090 FTW3, i7 9700K, 64GB DDR4 RAM, and the game is installed on a Samsung 870 EVO SSD. Besides my old CPU (recommended for Ultra settings is i7 12700K, mine is 3 generations behind), everything meets the Ultra settings. What I'm surprised is even though I max everything on graphics, the game only uses ~5.5GB of VRAM which is surprisingly low (RE Village can eat easy 13GB). I'll go explore the map more and see how the game runs with 50+ enemies and more magic combats + fast parkour (was going to do that but then I run into a calico cat guest so I got distracted). I tried the demo on PS5 and it runs just as smooth, though the textures aren't as good as PC (which makes sense). The world seems a bit empty, there's some good spots in between but mostly it's quite bare like FFXV. I haven't seen something Altissia-equivalent to make up for the empty spaces yet.

Maybe I'm used to dealing with Ubisoft's signature optimization so I'm more lenient, but Forspoken runs WELL. For context, my PC with a RTX 2080 Super (also 64GB RAM) that exceeds AC Valhalla's recommended specs for Ultra (x) and guess what? I can't get the horse go too fast or the game would crash or game crashes instantly when I get to Ravensthorpe; for an entire 6 months I couldn't play the main campaign because the game simply croaks upon entering England. Same deal with Far Cry 6, the clothing and tattoos textures are still soup, despite HD textures mod pack (there's a reason my photos of Dani I have to make the outfits out-of-focus asdasdassa). FC6 textures are ok on Xbox Series X and PS5 though so it's obvious that PC optimization got shafted. One last thing I want to add is Forspoken has a demo, so people can try it out and see if it's for them. imho it's way better than hyping a game, provide no demo, and then the game turns out to be an optimization disaster upon launch, which then you have to wait a couple weeks or months for a fix *shrug*

[longcat707]

Omg love your HCs!! They are all so cute!!!! >V< can u please do RFA +V and Saeran x MC first time holding hands? Like what would their reactions be?? Again LOVE your HCs!!! Omg bye!!~~

(THANK YOU ANON! I GOT YOU!)~~~~~~~~Zen: • Honestly, it wasn’t very long in your relationship you started holding hands. • Basically it was your first date. • The both of you were just walking in the park together. Laughing, and getting to know each other. • And my god you looked so perfect. He actually wanted to just kiss you. I mean, the sun was shining on your flawless skin, the wind blew stands of (H/C) hair in your face..it was breath taking. • BUT HE KNEW THAT MIGHT GET WEIRD ON A FIRST DATE S O!!!! • He slowly inched his hand down beside yours, and began interlacing your small, delicate fingers in his larger ones. • hEBLUSHEDSOHARD, BUT MADE EYE CONTACT AND YOU JUST- WOAHMAN HEY WUDDUP AHA. • After that, he never really likes going out in public without your hand in his. ~~~~~~~~~707: • This cheeky little sh- • After he finally realized his true feelings for you, and stopping pushing everything and everyone away (anti-social much? Me too.) • He asked you to go to a cat shelter with him. • After all, Vanderwood didn’t say his partner couldn’t have a cat and just so happen to..bring it over. A lot. • Does this count as your first date? Well, technically. You’ve hung out a lot, but never really anywhere but the parties and RFA members houses. • “(Y/N)!!! This cat is just so cute! You should have it! I’ll even pay!” • “Seven- I- I can’t take care of a cat?!”• He B E G S. • And for the first time, he gently grabs a hold of your hand, holding it tightly in his. • He places a kiss on your cheek, and gives you the cutest little pouty face. • At this point, you’re a blushing, awkward mess. • “Uh-m uh..some soft hands you got there..”• He smirks for a moment, before thinking of the dumbest thing he can say in that moment. • “thanks, I use a lot of lotion. If you catch my dri-”• “O K A Y SO LETS GET THE CAT AND SKADADDLE OKBYE NOW, FUNTIMES WOO.” • But you never did seem to let go of his hand, the rest of the day, at least. ~~~~Jumin: • You would think it would take a while for him to get all..lovey dovey with you. • But it was kind of a happy medium.• So basically, it was the 4th-5th ‘date’• Really doesn’t want to rush things. He’s a firm believer that love takes time. • But when it happens, it’s actually kind of sweet. • You’re lying on his couch, waiting for him to come back in with the breakfast he 'couldn’t wait to make for you’ • He walks in the living room to check on you, smiling over at your resting figure. • He can’t help but want to keep walking towards you. • And soon, he can’t even control himself? • “Jumin? What are you-” • He picks you up, and sets you down in his lap, all whilst placing you hand in his. • And he doesn’t even really say much. Other than he “felt like it” when questioned on what he was doing. • This was cute, comfortable and all, but.. • “whats that burning smell??” • “..Shi-”~~~~~Jaehee: • okay this is so obvious but. • coFFEE DATEEE!!!• Or at least, on your way to. • It’s a really cold morning, the two of you have been dating for a couple weeks now. So, you decided to bundle up, and grab some coffee. • Now, she didn’t have gloves. You would think she would, but ohhoho, Nope she is not prepared. • Thankfully, you have a trick up your sleeve. A smoothhhh move, this way it won’t be awkward to make the move. You go, (Y/N).• You take off the glove on one of your hands, and hand it to her. • At this point, she’s looking between you and glove, a bit confused. • You then place your uncovered, warm hand in her freezing one. • “What are you waiting for, silly? Put on the other glove~” • You smooth mother- • She’s a blushing mess, really. But she adores you. ~~~~~~Yoosung: • Sweetbbyboy • he’s so innocent. He’s never even held hands. • One day, you’re playing games with him at his place, and well…beating him. • “How are you so good at this?!” Yoosung frustratedly says. • “I guess I’m just a pro.” • He gives you an 'o really’ look, with the intent of picking up his game. • But he needed motivation. • “if I win this next round, you have to hold hands with me the rest of the day. Minus when one of us needs to go to the restroom.” • He still lost tho, lol. • But, you couldn’t help but want your own prize. • “how about we do it anyways?” • HES SUCH A MESS.• YOUR HAND IS SO!!! CUTE! AND SOFT! AND JUST!!!!! HE WANTS TO HOLD IT FOREVER!!!! • Yes, you’re that couple. • The one that is always painfully close and always holding the others hands. • But he loves every minute of it. And so do you. ~~~~~ V: • It was not long at allll before you help hands. • Before he got eye surgery, he needed your “help” to get around. So, he wanted you to hold his hand and guide him around so he could get the things he needed to get. • But he could actually see well enough. • He just wanted to hold your hand. • You had butterflies, he had butterflies, you two were honestly just lovey messes on the inside. • But you loved it. • (bonus) • When he got the eye surgery, you had no idea. And he made you hold his hand again…however, something was off. It seemed he was bringing you along more than you were to him.. • “V- can you..” • You were then cut off by none other than Jumin, who just so happened to be driving by. • “V! How’d that surgery go?” • gASP! ~~~~~~ Saeran: • Okay so he was not getting physical ATTT ALLLL!!! • And this kind of frustrated you. • Yes, sweetie I know you’re bad with human interaction buT WE HAVE BEEN DATING ALMOST 2 MONTHS PLS LOVE ME. • So, RFA helped you come up with a plan. A jealously plan. • Yep, you were gonna try and get Saeran to get all jealous and protective over you. Maybe even get him to get a little closer. • It started small, You’d have Yoosung start flirting a little with you in the group chat.• Plan fails, and Saeran just leaves the chats with no word. • You knew you had to step up the game. • One day, you and Saeran go out for a walk around town, just casually talking with each other. • When you 'coincidentally’ run into Zen just up ahead. • “(Y/N)! Hey! You look cute today!” • You weren’t expecting him to say that of all things, so you couldn’t help the tiny blush that appeared on your face. • “Awh, tha-” • This is when you felt your hand get tightly enveloped by another. • Saeran was jealous. • And unafraid to show it. • “Looks like I’m interrupting a little date~ see you on he messenger, later! Have fun you two!” • When Zen leaves, Saeran still doesn’t let your hand go. • “You know..this is actually kind of..nice..” He awkward says. • cuE HEART E X P L O S I O N • ERROR (Y/N) • YOU DID IT. • From here on, he starts becoming more and more physically affectionate~ thank you, Zen!