#and the fact that despite not being a musical it definitely has more original songs than Dance With Devils (and they're all BOPS)

[muchadorks]

Day 22 of Trying to Convince @itmustbek8 to Watch Revolutionary Girl Utena

(without context)

It's both wonderful and strange, and the company that licenses it has it on Youtube for free, so...

Are you convinced yet?

[thehuntfortrencherlostmedia]

The Origins, Ramsay Fiction & The Confusing Mishmash of Everything Before Fix Me - A Marianas Trench Retrospective

Okay, so my post got likes, but I only got one actual response from anyone, agreeing with me on the fact they like things in chronological order. So, I guess it's time to talk about the bands early days, eh?

The truth of the matter is, the band as many know them started in late 2003 and early 2004. Anything before that gets placed in this weird murky middle section with a name change, members leaving, and also a complete and utter mess of when Ramsay Fiction came to an end and where Marianas Trench begins. We have located a demo disk from 2001 with the Marianas name on it, but we also don't have any dates as to when certain things were recorded or uploaded onto MP3.com.

Here's what we do know: Josh Ramsay, a teenager dealing with both an addiction to heroin and an eating disorder, loved music from a young age. His father owned a recording studio, and his mother was a vocal coach. Music was literally in his blood, but even though the two had connections into the industry and everything, he set out to make it into the business on his own. And he knew one thing for certain: He DID NOT want to be a solo act, he wanted to be in a band.

The issue for Josh was getting that band together. At first, it was him and his sister Sara (backup vocals), her then boyfriend and later husband Trevor Spilchen (on bass, even though he was a guitar player), Josh's friend Steve Marshall (on guitar and backup vocals, despite being a BASSIST), and a rotating list of drummers, eventually finding Ian Casselman in a series of classifieds in a newspaper late into the bands life. This lineup didn't last long, as once Sara became pregnant with her and Trevor's first kid, they stepped aside... leading to 2 new members joining: Josh's friend Matt Webb (originally a keyboardist), and Steve's pal Morgan Hempstead (the man who bestowed them the Marianas Trench name). It's tough to say who plays what on a lot of the Ramsay Fiction tracks that make up Cooler Than Me, as I think they come from two different recording sessions, if not more. Same goes for a lot of the self-titled EP work too, as we know at least two tracks from that era, an early recording of Fix Me, and a early recording of Skin & Bones, were both first made public to people in 2004... months after Steve and Morgan left, and Mike Ayley joined the group after getting to know everyone as Ian's roommate.

In fact, for the longest time, a lot of the Ramsay Fiction stuff was lost media, songs that nobody outside of a rare few had ever heard. As of April 1st this year, this is no longer the case, and all the songs have been found and preserved (yes, even PMS... despite it being taken off Youtube, has been saved.)

To talk about these songs is hard. There's definitely a lot of emotion and pain in these tracks, and the overall sound is very 90's, going for more of heavy grunge and alternate rock sound, very reminiscent of Matthew Goode. But you can also hear those other elements creep in from other acts Josh has referenced time and time throughout in small snippets. The biggest thing holding a lot of these songs back is a mix of production (which is still insanely impressive for the time period and the fact it was done by a teen no less), and lyrical ckunkiness, making them semi hard to decipher.

What do I mean by this? Take track 1, the one everyone knows: Primetime. The song's verses speak about how something is this, but the person is the opposite... bu we don't get a clear picture of who the person is.. only that supposedly a hit of heroin will make everything feel better. It's odd that this is the song that's somehow lasted the test of time out of all these tracks. But hey, it did lead to a great callback on End of An Era.

Track 2, Shiny Like Dirt (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bG-OoIsFbow), is truly a song where Josh took a ton of ideas he had for songs, and threw it against the wall to see if it would stick. And... it does stick, but also doesn't? The chorus is super catchy, basically admitting he's a confusing person, and that nothing he does makes sense... and yet, despite it all, he still has fears of the unknown. The "coming up for air" bridge is probably my favourite part, but it's definitely an earworm I return to occasionally. I've also linked it in case you've yet to hear it.

Track 3: Shallow. The song we've known about for the longest time, the one the fandom cherished like a baby... and honestly, it's probably my least favourite? I've tried to decipher the lyrics on this one for ages, but I can't come up with anything concrete. I do think the song has a good tone, and the guitar solo is totally awesome. In fact, there's a lot of great guitar and bass work throughout a lot of these songs. But there's something missing for me on this one.

Track 4: Playing Dead. This seems to be the earliest recorded song of this bunch, going off Josh's voice here. And honestly, I think it's the closest tonally to a current day Marianas Trench song. There's a bit of a swing sound going on in the drums, the harmonies.... and it's an interesting number overall. Also, it's our clearest sampling of Steve's voice, and just how close it is to Matt's vocals xD... it seems to be a simple love song about a girl and how he's open to roleplaying almost anything with her, using "playing dead" as his main metaphor. It's the black sheep of the CD, but a good one.

Track 5: Hideous. Here we go... the first track Josh ever wrote about his bulimia and depression... and how it was eating him from the inside... and how he was asking for help, even though he wasn't fully ready to accept it at the time. The beginning parts are very slow, and methodical.... only for the song to pick up energy in it's second half and become truly one of the standouts on this album.

Track 6: PMS. Okay... so... this one is tough to talk about. We knew for years it was supposedly very comedic in nature and that it was also politically incorrect, but that was it. For those of you who still have not heard it, there's a copy of it in this Discord server in the links and archive section: https://discord.gg/d5M3xVN9

As for the song itself, I personally really love it. It's a song about Josh being petty to a girl and truthfully telling her off. It's definitely of its time period, but in the best way possible. And once again, the guitar work here is SO GOOD. If you can stomach a song that truly is a time capsule and understand that Josh would never write anything as juvenile today, give it a listen.

Track 7: Don't Touch Me. The song that holds a special place in my heart... as I was the one to LOCATE IT after 18 years in the massive pile of MP3.com links that were given to the Internet Archive in 2021. And it's a ballad all about Josh dealing with both the arguments and turmoil he would feel when coming down from getting high. Truthfully, this might be the most emotional song of this batch, and one that definitely sticks its landing.

So, my overall thoughts here are to give these songs a listen, and understand them for what they are: the start of a musical prodigy finding his footing and his sense of style while getting clean and hoping somebody, anybody, would give him a chance. While the tone might not have influenced Josh’s style fully going forward, there are elements from these songs that were taken and repurposed into later Trench tracks.

Luckily, and also sadly... Jonathan Simkin & Chad Kroeger gave him that chance. And thus, we got ourselves a self titled EP... and a full title debut. But that'll be next time.

[baeiseul]

|| ☓ 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗙𝗜𝗟𝗘 𝗕𝗔𝗘 𝗜𝗦𝗘𝗨𝗟

Bae Iseul (Hangul: 배 이슬), born October 1st of 2001, making her the oldest in the group by two weeks. The singer-songwriter was born and raised in Kobe, Japan until she was thirteen years old, later on moving to Korea alone in order to train under JYP Entertainment (2014 — 2015), Cube Entertainment (2015 — 2017), and finally settling at HYBE Label's BigHit Entertainment (2017 — ongoing) and later on moving to their subsidiary, Belift Lab.

Iseul is fully Korean despite growing up in Japan, consequently being fluent in Japanese and Korean, which gives the group a considerable advantage over their foreign activities with her fellow member Ni-ki. This is not to say that her English skills are lacking, as she most definitely is on her way to becoming fluent in the language thanks to the constant help from her English-speaking members.

The performer has a father, Bae Dongwon, who owns and runs a restaurant in Seoul, previously in Kobe before relocating in 2017, called Kobe Kitchen, specialising in Japanese cuisine specific to the city of Kobe and its surroundings. Many of Iseul's acquaintances and friends have been spotted frequenting the restaurant and thanks to them, the restaurant has had a steadily growing number of loyal customers and excited tourists alike who are curious about their favourite celebrities' most visited hotspots!

Along with a well-known father in the culinary world, Iseul has a younger brother, Bae Inho, who has entered the entertainment scene and stolen our hearts with his role as Han Joonwoo in the hit Netflix show The Atypical Family! Only sixteen years old as of 2024, we are curious to see on what his next steps will be as an actor. There have been a few captured moments that have gone viral among fans of Enhypen of Inho being spotted with the members, so it's clear that he is well-loved by Iseul's group members, not to mention the singer herself posting countless pictures of their time spent together during her off days!

Iseul had been known to the public before her debut as Enhypen and her Instagram account (@ dewbaedrop) had a decent following as well, so she hasn't deleted her account post-debut. As of 2024, she boasts an impressive amount of followers on her personal account, which stands at almost 12M. Her impact as a K-Pop group member and as a solo artist herself is quite noteworthy. Good examples would be her accolades as being a global ambassador for Prada with her fellow Enhypen members, as well as being the first global ambassador for Buccellati in the Korean music world. She was offered to take on the highly revered position in early 2023 and has been working with them ever since. Along with Buccellati, Iseul is the Korean ambassador for another luxury jewelry brand, Chopard.

Iseul has consistently shown her skills and undeniable presence as a performer, but a lesser known fact, perhaps, would be the amount of writing credits she has gathered for herself throughout the years! She officially has 27 registered credits on both Enhypen songs and her own solos, however the number should triple when her label gives her the green light to release her other finished songs. As she was originally a rapper, Iseul finds great pride in having written her own music and is always expressing her desire to contribute more to Enhypen's music as well.

Find out more about Iseul in the next article!

[klanceyuri]

sugar and spice, but not so nice

Summary: Riff's definitely not hurting for a Pop Troll, regardless, Barb offers to lend him a hand in getting Floyd's attention

Warnings: swear words censored when spoken by Pop Trolls cause its funny, there is tension and its almost sexual

Authors Note: the fliff brainworms got to me guys, I couldn't stop myself the second I got a keyboard in hand, it just happened. hope ya'll enjoy, and if you do consider dropping a reblog or checkin' the ao3 port

"Really, Riff? That Pop freak is the Troll you're jonesing for?" Barb asked.

Riff just nodded and Barb had the audacity to laugh, "What's so funny about it?"

"Oh nothing, it's just that he's the epitome of sugar, spice, and everything nice," Barb stated boldly, almost abrasively at that. She looks so very, very disappointed in Riff, "C'mon man! There's so many rockers and you choose a Pop troll! We got Death, we got Punk, we got Thrash- and you choose someone who clearly isn't any of the above."

"He's sort of like, Pop Punk," Riff said, "But he could totally pull a death scream if he wanted too."

Barb scoffed, "He's pink, he's so pink it makes me want to vomit."

"Magenta," Riff corrected sharply, "His hair is magenta and white, we could introduce him to hair dye."

"That's illegal in Pop," Barb said, "He'd be staked if you dyed his hair."

"Then he could stay in Rock, until it faded out, just for a little bit," Riff said.

Barb gave a faux gag and the tuft of her tail puffed up, "You're gross."

Riff props the rim of his toque up with the blunt end of his drumstick, "How about Viva? Isn't she also a Pop troll?" He's pushing his luck, he's pushing it harder than he thought he ever would.

"Let's move onto the next subject," Barb swiftly answered with, quick to defend her own sanctity of being a Rock Troll who definitely isn't out for a Pop Troll. A Pop Troll without any Rock tendencies, because she'll admit it, Floyd has some Rock potential despite everything. "Hair dye. You want to dye his hair for a date?"

"To help him blend in more," Riff answered with, tail flipping back and forth, "I'd really like to perform some music with him."

"I'll pull some strings for you, my shockingly smart friend," Barb answered with.

-/-/-/-

Floyd is the one who chose the song, he's the one who chose the list of songs he wanted to perform. And all of them were shockingly raunchy, shockingly explicit, very unbecoming of a Troll whose origin is Pop. It shocks Barb more than it does Riff, she just stares at the list and reads over them while Floyd looks at her like a puppy.

"Lemme just," She pauses, then speaks, "Nine Inch Nails?"

"If you don't mind," Floyd tacked on before she could further question.

Barb laughed a bit, "Please, I love them, woulda been a fan since day one but I wasn't quite born yet. But the songs?"

Floyd can't quite form a verbal answer, just give this sheepish grin. Barb swears his fringe falls a little further over his eyes and she's bold enough to reach out a paw and bat it away. The bleached section is frail, it feels like hay compared to what still retained that magenta hue she mocked. He almost lurches back, his fur just stands on end, and Barb pulls back her hand.

"Personally, I like them. But singing about fucking someone to feel alive doesn't seem your speed, isn't there a weird Pop language barrier?" Barb asked, "Or that one line from a different song, 'I am a good boy and I will swallow it all,' Floyd, that's an amazing song but jeez."

"I thought it'd be funny, cause whenever I try and swear it just," He pauses, trying to find out how to describe it before settling on just swearing, "F*ck, a$$."

Barb laughs until her stomach hurts at the garbled intentions of swearing that Floyd manages to provide. The Pop swear barrier has never been funnier in her entire life, but the fact he can enunciate enough to get the idea of an expletive across is impressive. Trolls like Poppy can barely say 'frick' without a large censor forcing itself in place, but Floyd? He's almost broken it.

"Alright kid-"

"I'm older than you,"

"Same difference; I'll cue up the songs for you and Riff,"

"You aren't joining?"

"Not unless you want me too, might hog the spotlight, sorry if I do," A small giggle snort, "It would be fun to try and go at it with a Pop Troll."

-/-/-/-

Riff stares.

He stares the entire fucking show.

He can't help it really, eyes stuck on a Troll like Floyd as he just drums out the beats and Barb strums out the additional bass lines. It's a comfort really, having someone in the back man the soundboard for the industrious instruments they can't quite do as a trio.

He holds on tight to whatever sense of sanity he can grasp whenever he gets gifted a glance at Floyd's face. He really is head over heels, he really is deep in this pit, for a Pop Troll of all genres. Albeit, a Pop Troll that's belting out songs of the industrial rock genre with an uncanny amount of ease. But still a Pop Troll, still something he'll be disowned over at the dinner table even if Barb goes public with Viva.

He'll just take this if he can't get anything else.

He'll take performing songs with his two favorite Trolls over nothing any day of the week.

-/-/-/-

Post show jitters reside comfortably on Floyd's fur, splayed atop an amp larger than he is with his tail lazily thumping on the material. His chest is heaving and he's curling and uncurling the mic cord around a finger, painted nail scratching at the plastic so rarely.

"Good show," He manages, voice cracking just a bit with how much he stressed it trying to break the Pop swear barrier for one song. He failed to do so, but he still tried until he felt like he was passing out, vision nearly going spotty. It was more fun than he'd ever had performing with his brothers.

Riff takes a heavy breath, "Great show," He's giving this long exhale that's almost a laugh as he speaks.

"Amazing show, I should go work an after party," Barb mused.

"Aw, is your girlfriend rubbing off on you?" Riff teased, rolling onto his stomach where he lay on the cold, hard, concrete ground. It eased his nerves, they were still on fire, the layers of denim and torn fabric probably didn't help much.

"Girlfriend? Tell me more, Riffy," Floyd said before he could stop himself, glancing down at the navy Troll from where he lay.

"Barb has a crush on Viva," Riff drawled as he pulled himself into a criss crossed position, one leg over the other. Floyd nearly laughs.

"Hey man! We agreed not to talk about her," Barb snapped as she stood up from her chair. She stretched her arms over her head and her tail snapped to punctuate her sentence, "Not like you can talk either."

Floyd raises a brow, "Tell me all about it, Barb," he lets his legs sway over the edge of the amp.

Riff sends Barb a pleading look, a begging look, desperation impossibly clear on his partially obscured face.

She just grins, "Well, our friend here has a crush on a Pop Troll. A fella trying to change genres when no one's looking," She winks at Floyd and watches as Riff tries not to respond to the words viscerally, that would give it away and he's highly aware that Barb is trying to play him like the cheap kazoo he is.

"Controversial," Floyd managed to supply, "But fun, inter-genre relations are still kind of, ya know."

"Yeah, kind of," Riff answered with, "Rock Trolls are wide open to the idea in my experience. We legalized polyamory a hundred some odd years ago. We're working on the papers for inter-genre stuff as we speak."

Floyd laughed, "I should just, live here as a Rock Troll. Pop Rock, Pop Punk, Pop Thrash- I could make it work."

"That you could," Barb said, there's this twisted grin on her face, showing off all of her fangs, "But really, I gotta catch that after party, you two can chat."

It's a segue into a conversation really, a shoe in for them to continue speaking as she leaves. She wants this as much as Riff does, maybe if she gets him with Floyd he'll let her fawn over Viva in peace.

Riff just taps his drumstick on the ground, balanced between fingers and tapping back and forth. Floyd just stares at Riff from the amp comfortably, sort of like a cat on a high perch.

"So this mystery Troll, tell me more," Floyd prompts as he slides off of the amp, "If you want too."

And Riff does want too, he wants to tell Floyd everything, but he bites his tongue. He just shrugs, "Nice guy really, probably heading back to Pop sooner than later."

"Pop? Are you crushing on JD?"

Riff shudders, "No offense, but he's too Country coded."

"Did you just call my brother Country coded?" Floyd asked with this devilish smirk, slowly stepping closer to Riff as he goes.

"Am I wrong?" Riff countered with a nervous chuckle.

"Never said you were, but continue about this Troll," Floyd urged, if he just reached out he could trace his hands across Riff's face. Learn every contour, twirl a finger through his hair, that would be nice, that could also be the adrenaline talking.

"Right, right," Riff stalled, what else he could say that isn't virtually outright saying that it's Floyd? Not a whole lot, "Got a great voice, an amazing voice with even greater range. It's scary really, he just hops on stage and gets into it, like he's a different person."

Floyd's tail flicks just a bit, Riff doesn't notice the tell that the Pop Troll is onto him.

"And then he starts to sing, most Rockers have deep voices naturally, but this breath of fresh air, a blend of Pop and Punk? It's amazing," Riff overexplained, just going off, "I'm talking too much, aren't I?" He looks up to find Floyd much, much closer than before. Red instantly rises to the Rocker's face, a stark contrast to his usual hue.

"No," Floyd said quietly, the flow of words pausing just enough to make Riff worry. He comes to a complete halt when the gap is small enough their knees are almost knocked against each other, "Keep going."

"I would," Riff begins, drawing out the syllables as he stares at Floyd through the blur of black hair and fabric alike. He brings a paw to run through his hair and it knocks back the toque just a bit, "But, I don't know what else there is to say without totally blowing the covers," He pauses, "He's really pretty."

"It's me," Floyd declares.

"It is," Riff confirms.

The Pop troll places a gentle kiss to Riff's forehead, one of the few spots where frizzy black hair isn't splayed over his fur. He rears back just a bit, "That's pretty fuckin' sweet," He doesn't even realize the Pop swear barrier dissolved entirely for a brief moment.

"Pretty fuckin' sweet," Riff echoes back before pushing aside a chunk of Floyd's fringe to return the motion. He almost flinches back from it, expecting the contact to sting or ache with how frail that performance left him, but it doesn't. It just feels nice, a warmth sprouting all over his body, it tingles and he loves the sensation.

"You should go tell Barb, we could pressure her into telling Viva," Floyd proposed, "That'd be fun, no?"

Riff is reeling, it took a moment for it to catch up but he is fucking reeling when it finally does. His eyes widen just a bit, there goes the boldness of adrenaline, "That actually happened," He tentatively places his paw on Floyd's, it isn't shoved off, "Oh my god it actually, it happened."

"Yeah man," Floyd said, pressing another chaste kiss to Riff's face, this time his cheek, "It did, and I'll do it again."

Before he freaks out he manages to collect himself enough to breath, "Let's go find Barb, she's been listening to me talk about you for a while now."

"Oh? So this crush isn't a new development?" Floyd teased gently.

"Not at all. But her thing for Viva? That's new," Riff countered with a laugh, it's nervous, just to fill the silence, "But us, we're a thing, those kisses?"

"Those kisses made us a thing," It's a calm reaffirmation, a promise with the squeeze of a paw.

"See, that's new, newer than Barb's crush on Viva," Riff explained, "Which is why we need to find her and tell her."

"You're freaking out,"

"Oh absolutely, you just kissed me, why wouldn't I be freaking out?"

[lover-of-mine]

No idea what a fun name along the lines of Lady Whistledown or Gossip Girl would be so yes you can call me blue anon! Happy to have someplace to share these horrors.

Today has been interesting so far (mustache!) Once again BTs cannot tell the difference between Eddie and Tommy while also simultaneously insisting they could not be more dissimilar. They love projecting all of Tommy’s negative qualities onto Eddie and all of Eddie’s positive qualities onto Tommy. The latest in this is the whole ‘Eddie will side with Gerrard’ bullshit and the plagiarized ‘what if (character) gets out of the pool while Whatta Man is playing and Buck is horny about it’ post.

Honestly the Tommy version of that post made me laugh so hard. It would just be strange of the writers to reuse that song and sequence with Buck and Tommy. The show has only ever reused one song: Carry You by Ruelle in 3x15 Eddie Begins and 5x16 May Day. Both scenes where it played were hopeful moments of a character being saved by their family (Bobby) or fighting to survive because they wanted to get home to their family (Eddie). Plus, both scenes were also a big moment for Eddie (fighting to get out of the well in 3x15 and finding his purpose as a firefighter again in 5x16.) Point is that the show’s music cues are very intentional. Using Whatta Man with Buck and Tommy would not just be an odd choice. Despite the new context the song and the imagery would still be a callback to the first time that song played. The writers would essentially be drawing yet another parallel between Tommy and Eddie. It would never happen because it’s a stupid idea but if it did it would honestly end up supporting the Buddie agenda. BTs did not think that one through.

Yesterday some of them were theorizing that Lou is being purposefully hidden on set. I think this is their way of coping with the fact they have not gotten updates from him in a long while. According to them the PR team knows that Lou being on set will cause an uproar among Buddies on social media. So to keep the peace they are hiding the fact that Lou is already on set and one day there will be a video released where he is accidentally shown in the background.

Still sticking with that theory. Which brings us to today. Apparently when Lou liked Kenny’s video of Peter and Ryan it was his way of signalling that he is on set currently filming and he will be in season 8. He’s just ‘not allowed’ to post anything actually confirming that so this is his way of secretly showing his loyal fans the truth. At what point do we get to officially call BTs a cult?

Oh and of course they are hoping for Lou content but (much like the pool post plagarism) they cannot come up with anything original. Aisha and Oliver posted content with Oliver’s dogs? Lou should post content with Oliver’s dogs. Kenny posted a video of Peter and Ryan? Kenny should post a video of Lou. The lack of creativity is concerning actually. All they do is shove Tommy and Lou in spaces where other characters and actors have been and should be.

Hi love 💙

The whole Eddie will side with Gerrard thing is just bananas. And we've been saying they are literally replacing Eddie's name in shit and pressing post but the whatta man thing was beyond insane. If they did something like that it would be once again making people question the way Buck felt about Eddie back when he was introduced. Honestly, giving Tommy a slowmo cut to Buck looking to dumbfounded would shoutout buddie because it draws yet another direct parallel to Eddie. They definitely did not think that one through.

And the whole theorizing he's on set and being hidden, I'm not saying it's impossible, but again we are in a network procedural, this is not Sony trying to hide the fact that Andrew Garfield is coming back, the expectation is that Tommy will be back, so there would be no surprise there, they just think we will lose our minds because they somehow lose theirs every time they find out this isn't the Tommy show. And I think at this point cult is the only way to describe what's happening. But seriously, can they come up with anything original? Even the actor interactions now need to be repeated? Dear god. We need to expand Maria's meme because this is insane behavior.

[desire-mona]

dps boys (and keating's) favourite songs (aka me projecting because i love music) (also modern au because you cannot limit me to music before 1960 you just cant)

i made a playlist of all these songs in case you wanna give em a listen, you can find it here. if you totally disagree with me or wanna add more then absolutely let me know!

neil: talia - ride the cyclone (the musical)

yes i KNOW it's obvious to choose a song from a musical BUT. ride the cyclone is special, i think he'd really like the lack of an ensemble and enjoy the dark premise despite the comedic nature of a vast majority of the show. also i totally think his favourite performance would be by gus halper bc of the use of the projector. mischa or noel is definitely a dream role of his.

todd: vincent - james blake ('s cover, og by don mclean)

don mcleans lyricism is like catnip to poets and it has gone unacknowledged for far too long. a lyrically gorgeous, vaguely queer sounding song about a tortured artist, covered by someone with an ANGELIC voice. can you name anything more todd? not to mention the piano is so far beyond moving, nothing short of a masterpiece.

charlie: dear prudence - siouxsie and the banshees (again - a cover, og by the beatles)

firm believer that charlie was an avid beatles hater for a WHILE until eleanor rigby grew on him, much to his dismay. is now a casual beatles enjoyer, only due to the fact that their vocals annoy him. so a cover by siouxsie sioux (whom he most definitely has a crush on) is basically a blessing in disguise. loves the instrumentals, loves the vocals, loves all of it. insists that its better than the original and will ultimately die (correct) on that hill.

meeks: love on the line (call now) - her's

as much as i love and adore meeks, i have been loyal to my headcanon that he is an annoying music snob since day one. of course, this culminates in his favourite song being by THE indie pop/rock band that pretentious people love to bring up the death of. he is no exception, any time the band is mentioned he will without fail go "did you know that they died in a car crash?" either way, id be lying if i said this was a bad pick. the upbeat vibe mixed with the actual meaning of the song being about a guy wasting all his money on a sex hotline? it makes the whole song so fun, and thats right up his alley! super danceable too, which plays a huge part.

pitts: bad fruit - jean dawson

will mona ever shut up about jean dawson? signs point to no. anywho, if you've followed along with my pittsie musings then you KNOW that i consider pitts to be the most well versed music guy to ever step on welton academy campus. realistically, im sure his favourite song changes on a day to day basis, but he always comes back to this. jean dawson makes art that ive seen few do similarly, everything he brings to the table i find so incredibly unique and well crafted. definitely pitts' biggest music crush.

cameron: '39 - queen

absolutely, 100%, without a doubt, an extremely guilty pleasure. i take his parents as the type to ban queen in their household (for reasons that im sure youre able to pick up on) but i ALSO take cameron as a sucker for classic rock, match made in hell. of course, since brian may does the vocals on this song instead of freddie, he can listen on the dl and be fine. also, the concept of time travel in music is SO!!! INTERESTING!! would absolutely go on a 10 minute long tangent about the story and meaning of the song, which only mittsie would actually listen to.

knox: lavender buds - MF DOOM

fine, FINE. i'll give knox a proper headcanon, but i wont be happy about it. i think i would listen to MF DOOM a lot more if i was a former bully, but thats not actually based off anything so dont take that as an insult, avid listeners. honestly i dont really have an in depth explanation for this one, just look at the lyrics and youll understand.

(this repeats 3 times)

i also take him to be a big r&b/ blues enjoyer, also based off nothing at all, so the sample probably appeals to some sense of nostalgia.

keating: clair de lune - claude debussy

yes, even modern keating's fav song would be classical, you can rip that from my cold, dead hands. this song was based off the poem by the same title by paul verlaine, which i'll include because it is just so damn beautiful.

Your soul is a select landscape

Where charming masqueraders and bergamaskers go

Playing the lute and dancing and almost

Sad beneath their fantastic disguises.

All sing in a minor key

Of victorious love and the opportune life,

They do not seem to believe in their happiness

And their song mingles with the moonlight,

With the still moonlight, sad and beautiful,

That sets the birds dreaming in the trees

And the fountains sobbing in ecstasy,

The tall slender fountains among marble statues.

Paul Verlaine, 1869 (originally written in french, so this is a rough english translation)

now the song itself does SUCH a good job at capturing the beauty and moving parts of this poem, and it fits perfectly with a plethora of different emotions. i know without a shadow of a doubt that its his kryptonite. is that me projecting because i love this song and i love keating? absolutely, but i still think its true either way.

[idleglowingpixels]

I kinda realised that Mr Komos' song, True Monster Heart follows the same beat as the Monster High Fright song, but the lyrics are like the corrupted version of the original.

Monster High Fright is about accepting

True Monster Heart is about rejecting

Kinda interesting when you think about it

AHHHHHH WHEN I SAW I GOT AN ASK RELATED TO THIS I FREAKED OUT DFGHNBGVFDSF TY FOR GIVING ME SOMETHING TO RAMBLE SOME MORE ABOUT ANON FOR REAL! (Also sorry for the late response, this post has been developing in my drafts for like at least a week now dfgfhng)

I absolutely agree with the conflicting messages between the two songs! I know the song focuses on the story of this universe's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in the main verses, but the main focus of the song is that message of rejection of anything and everything human.

Also, because of the Jekyll/Hyde bits, it could represent the duality of where the story starts and ends in its interpretation of a "true monster heart." Instead of Mr. Hyde's human-ness making his heart "untrue," it was his utter rejection of & research into ridding himself of his Jekyll, as well as his hiding of the truth in the first place that caused him to be found out and exiled.

His heart being "untrue" had nothing to do with the fact he was half-human, because if it were, then Clawdeen and Komos's presence in and of itself within the school would've triggered its self-destruction. That was proven as a false interpretation by the story in the movie, so it's self-explanatory. A true monster heart is one of self-acceptance, despite one's flaws or differences. That's what Mr. Hyde, and Mr. Komos thereafter, had neglected to realize before Clawdeen proved the point.

Though, I've listened to both True Monster Heart and Fright Song a few times back-to-back, to try and get where you're thinking as far as the beat, but I don't hear it unfortunately (unless you meant the tempo of the song, then yes they do follow the same 120 beats per minute!).

The closest thing I can think of as far as melodic parallels between the songs is the chanting sections. The Fright Song chant is much quicker in the way it's sung compared to the chant in True Monster Heart, however. The whole of Fright Song's chant goes in 16 beats/4 measures, whereas True Monster Heart's chant takes twice as long at 32 beats/8 measures (I was a band/choir kid lol). It's mainly due to how the song kinda drags out the point, and it definitely feels like a nod to Fright Song for sure. Fright Song's chant is only there because 4/5 of the main ghouls were fearleaders, so it was sort of characterizing the cast before actually showing their characters in the webisodes.

---

Fun little headcanon/ramble that I forget if I ever mentioned about Fright Song, but with Holt Hyde being released in the 1st Signature wave with the rest of the the main ghouls and all, I think it was because he's intended to be the singer of the rap section before any subsequent content with the character was released (No offense but I don't think Holt DJs because he's a good singer sdfgbfds). This would line up with his current crush in canon with Frankie, as well as his former crush on Draculaura from either the diaries or books, maybe both? I forget. :'D Also I feel like Holt wouldn't hesitate to call Cleo vile immediately after saying she's charming either, he's very direct with his words. (I also interpret Jackson/Holt as bisexual because Deuce is included in the rap I DON'T CARE Y'ALL IT MAKES SENSE!)

Also I always interpreted the howl-like sound at the end of the rap as "Holt ran outta time/battery power for his music and transforms back to Jackson as it transitions to the rest of the song." It kinda works with how the beat kinda drops down with the howl, like a TV being shut off or something idk.

Ghoulia also debuted with Signature Wave 1 but she's only in like a second of the music video in the background, I figure it could've been budgetary reasons for the animation, to save on animating an extra character. Also I imagine flame-y hair wouldn't be very fun to animate in 2D, and Deuce's snakes moving on their own were bad enough I imagine to animate, so it begrudgingly checks out as to why Holt isn't in the animated bits with everyone else.

BUT I JUST WATCHED THE MUSIC VIDEO BECAUSE I WANTED TO FOR THE SAKE OF THIS POST AND THE GUY SINGING THE RAPPING BIT HAS, YOU GUESSED IT, A BRIGHT FRICKIN NEON RED LEATHER JACKET. He doesn't have the dual-toned shirt BUT IT'S WHITE AND THIS IS CLOSE ENOUGH FOR ME Y'ALL! XD

If any straws for these dumbasses can be found I SHALL GRASP THEM fr they're my blorbos :'D

[verdemoun]

REDISCOVERING HOW HOBBIES WORK 100 YEARS LATER GOTTA BE FUN

Arthur and art supplies that have become much more accessible and common!!! SOMEONE DEFINITELY GOT HIM ONE OF THOSE ART KITS FOR KIDS AND HE NEARLY CRIED WHEN THE MARKERS DIDN'T WORK UNTIL BESSIE, BLESS HER HEART, INFORMED HIM HE HAS TO PUT WATER IN THEM. You can't convince me that didn't happen xoxo

Javier and his guitar. The availability of different equipment in modern era. Straps, picks, RAINBOW STRINGS (proud owner of rainbow "training" strings here. i absolutely love them). ELECTRIC GUITARS. Even if he wouldn't like them a lot, he'd still marvel at how far guitars have come. That Hatsune Miku amp/effect unit/whatever that was i don't remember tbh. It ends up either with him or with Isaac.

Knitting!!!! Crocheting!!!! Someone definitely takes that up as a hobby!!!!!! and then cries at the cost of yarn. Curse of the love sweater is a thing they fear.

Gardening not for survival, but for fun. Like yeah we've talked abt plants before but definitely someone noticed those weird ass sets with small pots and different seeds in some dollar store. Someone definitely got it. For themselves or the kids.

That shit has to be healing for the soul you can't tell me otherwise my dear friend you cannot.

i love arthur and modern crafts. yes he bought a kiddy craft kit when he first timewarped because the concept of spending money on hobbies was new. but more than that - he never had the chance to explore mediums. bessie immediately offered to pay for decent watercolors and fancy markers and colored pencils but he insisted on the cheapest option and then was upset (which came across as aggressively frustrated) when they didn't work. bessie explained very softly about the markers being dipped in water and adored how much he still lit up like he was a kid when they started working

arthur even a decade into timewarp gets very flustered over people actually spending money to encourage his hobbies and interests at christmas (which is a gift-giving holiday he can't avoid, unlike his birthday). he gets very emotional over giving given expensive pencils because the idea of people 'wasting' money to encourage his creative pursuits still effects him

both bessie and hosea will frame the few drawings he gives them and hang them in their house. while he prefers drawing from life, he has drawn horseshoe overlook from memory and hosea can be caught staring at it nostalgically

javier tried an electric guitar for all of ten minutes before going no thank you.

he has 4 different guitars because he was a little addicted to the fact acoustic guitars could come in so many different woods and also patterns in modern era. rainbow string, straps, and stickers definitely, because a guitar was actually affordable and no longer a prized possession (on bessie's dime, they're all secondhand)

he has one is acoustic/electric hybrid that he only brings out when isaac is begging for a jam session, because isaac also knows guitar and is obsessed with electric for recording

he does admittedly love playing with music software. is garageband still a thing? sometimes he will plug in his one hybrid guitar and add his own bass and drum to hear an actual full song of one of his more original pieces

susan grimshaw is the first to try crochet and everyone has at least one crocheted animal in their house. karen, charles and kieran are all knitters. karen maintained the habit from canon era and always knits maeve a sweater before winter. kieran learned it because repetitive and a hell of a lot cheaper than his other hobbies, he uses the cheapest yarn and can only make scarves

charles got into it because something creative he can do with his hands like making his own arrows (he admits purchased arrows are more reliable despite still hunting with a bow when he goes camping). charles most strongly believed in the curse of the sweater but arthur wears his charles' knitted sweater very proudly.

kieran is an avid gardener. it was the first 'task' he was given to encourage him to leave his room and once noise-cancelling headphones are introduced most people look for him in the garden first. him and bessie lose entire weekends in the garden, weeding or checking soil phd. she will take time off work when the weather is right for planting saplings

gardening is one of kieran's hyperfixations where he will abandon asl to actively talk to people about gardening no matter what. for this reason jake adler is one of his favorite people, who is more of a survivalist, edibles only, but similarly obsessive gardener

lenny buys bought those kiddy diy indoor herb sets for maeve only to get into it when she neglected the plants and he took over. he appreciates being able to send jake+kieran a group message when a leaf on his basil looks weird and they reply with an essay of what the plant needs

[practically-an-x-man]

for the headcanon ask game- 🚶‍♂️,⏳ and 📔 for Madison, 🌄 and 🎵 for Eris, and 🎉 and 📿 for Vivienne?

Ooooooh thank you so much!!

Thematic Headcanons

Madison:

hc + 🚶‍♂️ for a habit-themed headcanon

She has a habit of stockpiling food, especially when the weather gets colder. Living out in the wilderness for half a decade has made her very conscious of the calories she has and consumes, and the habit still remains even after she's come back to integrated life. Sometimes she'll find herself looking through the pantry and taking notes on its contents (as if she's NOT living in the home of a billionaire with a grocery store ten minutes down the road), or sneaking extra cans of food into her backpack when logically she knows she won't need them.

hc + ⏳ for a time-themed headcanon

Madison is very good at being bored. Sounds like a weird thing to say, maybe. But what I mean is: while others are getting twitchy and restless from having to sit still for a while, she's perfectly content to be left alone with her own thoughts for extended periods of time. She does not mind being left alone with the passage of time (at least in most situations)

hc + 📔 for a reading-themed headcanon

Most of the time, Madison only reads nonfiction books. She's not much of a reader to begin with - she just struggles to focus, she'd rather be out doing something physical - but when she does read, it's more likely to be psychological textbooks, wilderness guides, or other journals related to her principal interests.

____

Eris:

hc + 🌄 for an outdoor-themed headcanon

Eris is actually a fairly mediocre survivalist despite how long they've spent alive. The main reason for this is just how hardy they are and how advanced their healing is; they don't need to be nearly as careful about survival as most people, and aren't at much risk for something like poisonous berries killing them. He still knows much more than the average person would, but I really wouldn't recommend camping with him unless you've got a lot of wilderness knowledge or are a metahuman yourself.

hc + 🎵 for a music-themed headcanon

Eris' sense for conflict is in some ways able to be influenced by music. Much like an upbeat song can serve to lift your mood or a "powerhouse" song can make you feel stronger, a particularly angry or violent song can make Eris more prone to their own violence. It's never strong enough to spark violence from them outright, but paired with another trigger (like the sense of some real violence nearby) can definitely accentuate their reaction.

For this reason, Eris' taste in music is often shockingly mild for what people would guess of them - as much as she lives for violence out on the battlefield, she doesn't particularly enjoy the "on-edge" feeling violent songs can give her when he's just trying to live out some ordinary moment of his life.

____

Vivienne:

hc + 🎉 for a celebration-themed headcanon

Every few months or so, Vivienne tries to convince Wojchek that it's her birthday and that he must buy her some little treat or take her out to dinner when they reach port. He's fully aware that it can't have three "birthdays" a year, but he plays along because it really doesn't ever ask for much.

Oh, and the reason Vivienne claims she has so many birthdays? She plays it off as a joke, like she's trying to swindle her husband out of an extra sweet roll from the bakery (that they both know he'd just buy her if she asked), but the truth is that she doesn't remember when her original birthday was... and would be embarrassed to admit that fact.

hc + 📿 for a faith-themed headcanon

Vivienne's idea of faith effectively boils down to "was raised to fear God, but they never said what God" - up until becoming a siren, she was as Christian as most of her neighbors in 19th-century Western Europe, and certainly believed in a higher power. After becoming a siren and having that direct influence from a god, its perspective shifted hard and become much more devout to Poseidon and Hellenistic tendencies.

I feel like Vivienne no matter the context would have some form of strong religious faith, and how that faith is channeled is just a result of her experiences.

[certifiedmaidenlessblog]

Okay literally nobody asked but since I am procrastinating AND restless:

My final thoughts/ranking of the Eternal mini:

(warning this is a full on yap sesh and I have next to no knowledge of music except for the very basics feel very very free to ignore)

1. Deja vu: I have feelings for this song. So gorgeous, dreamy and ethereal. Smiling so big because this song exists blah blah. Anyway the way I thought this song would be #chillvibes from the album preview snippet but then it turned out to be #nochill kajskajsj even tho there is definitely a lethargic quality to the song. I was so gagged but despite the tables turning on me I loved it immediately. Also the very random (but very well incorporated) tabla in the bridge? Slay. Initially I was mad that this wasn't the tt but with all the melodrama and orchestral arrangement, it has a similar vibe to guilty so I get it. But this song is ten fold of what guilty wanted to be (to me, that is). And I think this song remaining as a b-side to be occasionally performed instead of it being dragged through the promotional cycle and losing all the weight and impact of the song is a good choice too (the song itself is not very promotion cycle friendly either). I can't wait to see what the choreo looks like.

2. Horizon: Very kibumcore as a lot of people have also said, I think so too!! A very unexpected sound for a taemin song but he delivered sooo well. I do wish the song was longer tho. Don't know what being the second title track on this album means as of now but it's worthy of the position I'm sure.

3. Crush: Extremely shineecore! A cute and funky little number! Got me moving! The layers in the instrumentals are neat. I got exactly what was promised on the album preview. Well executed. No other notes. Other than the funky vibe there isn't really any standout element so I might get bored of it quickly tho.

Can't decide between ranks 4 and 5 so I'm calling it a tie.

4/5. Sexy in the air: I definitely should have let my brain soak this in a bit more before complaining about it cause now I literally can't stop listening to it helpppaksnakms cause Damn... This is crazy. What am I gonna do now?? Jaksjksks My first ranking for this song was literally second last (in a derogatory way) and now here we are. Also I held off from watching the mv first because I'm a very visual creature and I get easily swayed that way so I was trying to be #unbiased or whatever. I still think that the second verse is a bit meh, specially because of the English lyrics (i don't even know why I was so pissed off by the "turn me down" that was obviously supposed to be "turn me on", it wasn't even that serious 😭) but I was definitely being too harsh and it's not even as bad as I made it out to be and it doesn't stick out enough to get in the way of me enjoying the rest of the song. The switch up after the beat change is soooo good I've been obsessed with that part (the horny choreo definitely helps :D).

The good things about this song being the title track are: it's produced by dem jointz (the production is interesting and immaculate), the mastering of this song is better than most tracks on this album, it is performance oriented/friendly, both halves of the song are tied together so neatly that honestly the beat change doesn't even seem that unnatural even if it's shocking, tm devoured this track in a way that only he can, tm freak lore continues!!!! but most importantly it's bold!!! and it's a statement!!! (instead of playing it safe like he did with guilty imo lol, musically i mean). My only real grievance with this song is probably the fact that it wasn't allowed to go full freak nasty the way it was originally envisioned to be because we live in a society or whatever. Tm was moaning and groaning and saying fuck in the studio only for it to be muffled and be barely audible on the track. The dem jointz trademark of an addictive repeated word/phrase being distorted because otherwise tm would be put in horny jail fr (horny gay jail even because its so crazy that they had another man moaning on the track like skdkksksjdkd). Some of the lyrics being altered hastily (like "turn me down" ksjsjsks).This song being called sexy in the air instead of sex is in the air kajskaksksks. Sad. Because if anyone can pull off something like this without being cringe, it's tm. But it's okay I get it. Also notably this song has one of the veeery few ethical uses of that infamous bed creak sample (by ethical i mean relevant to the song at hand in a way that maximizes the slay of the song).

4/5. Say Less: Very pretty, short and sweet, could have been longer. A solid closer for this album and definitely stands it's own ground despite being on the track list after Deja vu. Which is lowkey a feat of its own. The instrumentals are infact drowning out his voice a bit but I don't think it bothers me as much as I had feared. Reminds me of Truth a bit.

6. The Unknown Sea: I don't have particularly strong opinions on ballads but I do generally only listen to ballads if I'm already super into the idol. And I do like most of the other ballads from tm. However. He's singing his ass off here but the vocal processing.... specially in the chorus his voice sounds very tinny. When I first heard the song I thought it wasn't that big of a deal but now it is definitely getting in the way of me enjoying this song. Beautiful bridge tho, definitely the highlight of the song for me.

7. G.O.A.T.: This instrumental is so fucking nasty I'm obsessedddd. Unfortunately the instrumental might just be the saving grace of this song. I went into this track thinking I was not even gonna be able to listen to this but thankfully it's not thaaaaaat bad. But we definitely need to get tm off his rapping agenda. Even after listening to this a bunch of times it's not sitting that well with me. (Which is crazy because after first listen I thought his voice was more well suited to GOAT than SITA???) I do understand that this song was meant to be a bit tongue in cheek like yeah the goat bleating sounds are hilarious in a good way but tm is Not giving the hardass aura that he thought he was going for and um. that's enough for me to be like :/ which is such a shame cause even the arrangement of this song is so interesting. But yeah whatever this track needed vocally is not in tm's strengths so. I'll wait for someone to upload the instrumental tho so that I can download it and play it with the rest of the album jksjsksksjsjs

I think it's a good choice to drop an album that's just him coming out swinging after such a drastic career altering decision. There's no more room for regrets or dilly dallying and he's confident. Which is a good thing. Because it definitely makes the statement he wants to make. The album as a whole is interesting, all the tracks differ from each other but that doesn't take away from the cohesiveness of the soundscape of the album. There is a clear logic in the way the tracklisting was done, the transition from one song to the next makes sense (even if I can't explain it properly).

That being said, yes the production and the mixing is a bit lacking (along with the other downsides of a low budget) but I don't think sm has songs like this in their vault anymore so... You win some you lose some idk.

Overall I do see this as a win. Yapping over and out.

[differenteagletragedy]

one of my olba mcs is so taylor swift-coded it’s unreal and it was a total accident despite me a fan, but it’s been in my brain for a while. and it’s even better that that mc was for baxter. and then i got to thinking… like how would he be with a mc who’s Basically taylor swift (assuming miss swift doesn’t exist in the ol universe)? like teen singer icon turned global superstar who plays the guitar and piano, writes and sings almost solely about love and her love life, and even wrote a few songs about them.

personally, i think baxter would Not Have A Good Time (tm), since he left in step 3 and did his best to forget about mc. and now mc’s breakup songs (one which was Definitely written about him) are plastered on the radio and their love songs are being played at weddings and their face is all over the news and social media, he can’t escape them LMAO!

and you know mc would show up to jude and scott’s wedding and sing some of their songs (acoustically) cause if you have a global superstar at your wedding, it’d be a little foolish not to have them sing (also cause they probably wrote a cute lil song for jude and scott and wanted to perform it). and i can just imagine mc making The Most Intense eye contact ever with baxter as they’re singing a small set of their popular songs (love songs and break up songs included) LMAO

but what do you think? it’s been rattling around in my brain for a long time and i like Have to talk to someone about it LMAO!!!

Honestly, I don't think I'm the right person to ask for this, I really don't ever imagine any of my MCs anything like this ... PYSCH. I have actually thought about this a lot because it's very fun, so hop in, OP, we're going for a ride!

-- So the way I picture it is that MC has always been good with music, always written songs and played some instruments and sang. After they graduate high school, they decide they don't want to go to college, they want to pursue a career in music and they're making some steps to get there when Baxter shows up.

-- They let MC play at the country club sometimes because the family has been members there so long, but also MC is just really good too. Cove always comes along to see MC perform, and so do Miranda, Terry and Derek when they can. This is how Baxter first sees MC sing and he is MOVED.

-- Since MC is Taylor coded, they can pop out songs like nobody's business, so by the time Baxter sees them perform they already have a cute little early romance song about him. Depending on how bold MC is, they could play it, or not! But it exists.

-- So sort of as the relationship gets more intense, MC starts getting more opportunities to go professional. I like to imagine that Baxter takes MC to LA to meet with a record label, because even though he's not a city boy he's well traveled, and he would just handle himself well in that kind of situation I think. Also, road trip!

-- And yeah, then Baxter leaves, and he's like "out of sight, out of mind," but not so fast mister man. It may take a couple of years for MC to get the amount of mainstream success that makes them a household name, but they get there and yeah, he is having a Very Bad Time indeed.

-- This is not an original thought, but "Cruel Summer" is about Baxter so.

-- He does his best to avoid it. He won't listen to the radio, he won't look at magazine covers. But eventually MC just gets to be unavoidable, and that's no fun.

-- Like to the point where he's just overhearing people gossip about MC at work, can he not get a moment's peace?

-- No.

-- He does his best, but hearing some songs and some facts about MC's life is just going to happen. Maybe he's watching a movie and one of their songs is on the soundtrack, something like that. It's hard because he still thinks they have the loveliest voice, and it would be so easy to just do a deep dive on all their songs and throw a big pity party, but he tries not to.

-- At one particularly low point he'll give in though. He'll just lay on his couch listening to the latest album with a bottle of whine, so deep in his feelings.

-- He will never ever ever talk about it though. No one knows he knows MC or about his secret pain.

-- They just think he's a hater, which is fine by him.

-- Baxter is a professional though, so if someone wants one of their songs to be their first dance song at their wedding, then that is perfectly fine. He can cry in the parking lot after.

-- After MC's presence gets to be so much, he might sneak a peek at a magazine, just out of curiosity, not because he still has any feelings, definitely not. If it's about someone breaking their heart, he'll be miffed about it but then realize he has no right because he also broke their heart and cue a downward spiral. But if it's about them being happy in a new relationship, he'll be sad that it's not him, so a downward spiral is happening either way.

-- If he really wants to hate himself, he'll google them. He's not brave enough to go for social media though.

-- When he meets back up with them for Jude and Scott's wedding, he'll try to ignore them, but when they force him to talk he'll act like he has no idea that they're a Big Deal.

-- And THEN if MC performs at the wedding, oof. He'll avoid it at all cost because while he's the planner, he also just cannot deal. They'd do a love song during the reception and what a coincidence, that's when Baxter has to do something outside for just a quick moment.

-- Ok, but then they get back together and MC is all in, and the fans are going rabid over Baxter. He's so pretty! He'd a wedding planner, how romantic! Is he just with MC for their money? Let's hope they don't find out that they actually dated for the first time five years ago, because then fans would be on the hunt for clues that old songs are about him. Baxter would be a little scared, but he can handle it!

[crown-of-roses-thsc]

Fun Fact: Crown of Roses (at least in the Toppat Civil Warfare branch, which is the direction I always intended to take the story and thus is the one that more clearly tells the story I want to tell) is inspired quite a bit by a few different musicals, namely Hamilton and Heathers. Now, I am in no way claiming that this edgy little comic holds a candle to either of those stories, but they played a huge part in the inspiration for this comic.

The original story was, as I’ve mentioned prior, conceptualized around a satirical and over-dramatic animatic using the song Satisfied about Ellie lamenting her love for Reginald but staying with Henry as she cared about him and knew it would break his heart. I was fully aware that the idea was stupid as heck and I think made me grow even more attached to it.

But even beyond the original silly idea, many intact ideas still come from both of these musicals (and some additions I’ve still been adding have also been inspired from these musicals).

The rag-tag gang of rebels isn’t a trope exclusive to Hamilton, but it’s definitely where I got the original idea. As well as this, the way I characterize Reginald in this story has always been inspired by Aaron Burr, specifically in “Wait For It”, “Aaron Burr, Sir”, and “The Room Where It Happens”. He’s a little self-centered, and while Ellie (“Hamilton” in this scenario) gets all the glory despite how reckless she is, Reginald tries to be the voice of reason and be more patient- hiding that, as well as to wait for the right time to strike, he’s also quite terrified of everything.)

Sven as a whole was always based off of Samuel Cebeary (“Farmer Refuted” from Hamilton), but I also connect him to Lafayette for some reason (likely because in the animatics I would form in my head, he always ended up cast as Lafayette, prolly due to the funny accents hehe). Lefty has always been Hercules Mulligan, I don’t remember if he was a direct inspiration for Lefty’s character but I would not be surprised if he was.

Under this Point are Major Spoilers!! Proceed At Your Own Risk

Carol originally played a different role in the comic (a more antagonistic one methinks, which I’m trying to bring back a bit) and was heavily based on Heather Chandler (from “Heathers”), with her lackey- Miss Demeanor- being based on Heather Macnamera. I’m still split on what I plan on doing with her? I would like to include her honestly, so I hope I can fit her in.

Crown of Roses Ellie definitely took some inspiration from Veronica Sawyer, then transitioned to JD in Crown of Thorns (this let Sven become her Veronica, in a way).

Randy Radman as a whole was inspired 100% by Beetlejuice the Musical, but the concept of ghosts in the story was inspired by Heathers completely, namely in the song “Yo Girl.”

A certain…scene with Burt was inspired by “Kindergarten Boyfriend”, and though the scene has changed that’s part of where some aspects of his character come from.

[sf3uuf]

ART POSTING!? IT'S MORE LIKELY THAN YOU THINK!I've been pretty shy to show off my art, mainly my ocs, but since my account mostly has revolved around my love for metalocalypse, I shall introduce my first MTL OC: Leslie Lee! (These are old drawings of her, so of course they don't really look the best. It was my first time drawing scenes hairstyles! Also, her fashion style is still the same, but I just did her dirty here 💀)

TONS OF WRITING DOWN BELOW:

Leslie Lee, 23-24 (In season 2 when we are first introduced to her)

Leslie Lee is an aspiring musician just trying to get through in this hard life. Of course, considering her conditions, you would think it wouldn't be that easy. Leslie is a bit different from other girls and musicians, and no, I do not mean that in a pick me way, she's quite literally different, because unlike most people attending a high class college for the musically talented, Leslie is blind! However, she doesn't let her disability stop her from pursuing her passions, which are playing instruments, writing songs, and dressing up!

Of course, this is just one of the many special things about Leslie. There is so much more to this scene girl than meets the eye. (pun intended)

I feel like in the show, Leslie isn't a main character (none of my ocs really are LOL), but she is a reoccurring character that I feel like everyone would love despite not having a lot of screen time. She'd definitely shine more in the 3rd and 4th season and the movies. Just like Knubbler!! (Wait... maybe not like Knubbler... maybe....)

----

FACTS:

•In Leslie's concept (which I've never drawn) she was going to wear all black and blue from her clothes to her hair, she was also going to have her eyes covered by her bangs.

•Her last name Lee comes from the Evanescence singer Amy Lee, who was one of Leslie's inspos.

•In her original design, she was blasian (Korean and Jamaican), but now she's Indian and Jamaican, but she can speak a good chunk of Korean.

•Leslie is bisexual.

•Her voice claims would be: Dokkaebi from R6 Siege, Juliett from Lolipop Chainsaw, Deb from Finding Nemo (aka Vicki Lewis her VA)

•I know I mentioned her being blind, but I can't really describe what she sees. It's not pitch black, though. I'm still researching.

•She also was a part of a band called GLITTERWRIST as the singer, but I kinda scrapped that idea?? Maybe I'll add it back, but idk.

•She LOVESSSS rave parties and parties in general!

•Whenever her friends or loved ones are down, she is always there to make them feel better she will never leave you alone unless they yell at her to leave.

•She's the type of person to eat A LOT but never gain weight.

•Her love language is physical touch and quality time, but mostly physical touch.

•Speaking of quality time, she's very fashionable and LOVES fashion (preferably scene stuff, y'know?) She loves to go shopping with her friends and loved ones.

•Even though she loves scene music and pop, she very much loves classical music, which shocks many!

•Speaking of classical, she is very VERY skilled on the violin. Obviously, Dethklok finds weird since the violin is just so...boring to them. It's a grandpa guitar but fancier.

•She also plays a bit on the piano and keyboard, but she's horrible at guitar no matter how hard she's tried to play!

•She doesn't like needles, which is ironic since she has piercings on her nose and snake bites under/on the side of her lips.

•She also has a nice singing voice, but you wouldn't know that since whenever she does make music, it's filled with that Ke$ha type music. But don't say she can't sing. She's definitely good at it.

•She is roommates with my other oc, Skyler Lovelock. (who we will also learn about in a later post)

•I wanted to mention this in a later post, but there is a running gag with her that whenever she's with Toki, she never dies or even gets hurt, but instead has near death experiences that are usually dealt with by someone nearby them (that isnt dethklok ofc), I can't explain this well sorry, but if you've watched scary movie 2, just remember the road scene with Brenda where she mentions bad luck and the couple behind her gets hit by a bus. That's kinda what happens.

Those are all of the facts that I can think of right now. If you have any questions about my oc(s), feel free to ask!

[seekers-who-are-lovers]

The Yatagarasu OST is here. I am holding it in my hands. Though I’ve listened to it countless times (even created my own Yatagarasu-inspired playlist while waiting for the OST; if you are interested, you can find it here) before I got my physical copy today, it is so fulfilling to listen to the CD in big speakers.

Anyway, this is so amusing, Yukiya’s image(s) smacked between the princesses’ just goes to show he’s also a contender. I love it.

There’s also a message from Chisato Abe:

For the first time it was decided to be animated, “What do you expect from anime?" I was asked, and as a particularly strong request, I said, "I want you to do your best with the music." In the past, I had an experience in the animation of my favourite work, and I couldn't enjoy it at all because the sound didn't match my image even though the picture was beautiful. I was worried that I would be sad if the same thing happened to the original author's anime, but this ended up being unfounded.

This is because I witnessed that sound directors, voice actors, and other sound-related professionals are doing their work perfectly as professionals at the after-play site I visited. And during the tour, it was none other than Eishi Segawa who was sitting next to me. He answered amateur questions very kindly, and the fact that this anime is a full film scoring, that Mr. Segawa himself is present at the afterplay every time, and that he makes music while having a thorough meeting with the people at the scene. I was taught and so on. At that time, I was sure that this would definitely be a good thing.

The results are as you heard.

Mr. Segawa, I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for giving me wonderful music. Thank you very much!

The words from the Director Yoshiaki Kyougoku:

I can't forget the time when I received a demo song from Mr. Segawa that evoked the world of Yamauchi.

Music that is heavy and strict, yet colourful. The long history of the mountain and the drama of the eight people living there seemed to appear in front of me, and I was sure that this would be a great play.

In addition, the film scoring that is composed according to the video is a feature of this work.

It is a method that is quite difficult to achieve in a TV series without time, but Mr. Segawa showed up at the production site surprisingly vigourously and made all the songs while communicating. By composing while considering the balance of all elements such as pictures, dialogue, and sound effects, it has become an ideal theatre partner of "directing drama with music".

Especially in the scene of choosing episodes 12 and 13, it feels like a first book. Despite the lack of big movement, I can't take my eyes off the tremendous tension. This would not have been possible without Mr. Segawa's music.

Every time a new song arrived, I thought, "I want to take more videos and listen to this music carefully," so I'm really happy that you released a soundtrack.

Please feel the rich worldview of Yamauchi created by music.

And from the composer himself, Eishi Segawa:

Is animation directing a technique that moves intermittent fragments of still images in the mind of the viewer? Then, the theatre partner should also be more likely to play a role in assisting the production in all scenes. If you actually write music along the scene, you should be able to participate in the strangeness of careful superposition more than ever before, and then you can decipher the contrast with adjacent scenes, and the composer will also explore the moment when the absence of music complements the dialogue. You can do it. In addition, it was certain that if you abandon the music and stick to sound design, you should be able to express the loneliness, which is very important to this story, more boldly.

These thoughts were the intuitiveness I gained when I read the original work, and in the interaction with the directors in charge of each episode, I realised that it was inevitable to choose.

As expected the tracks “The Golden Raven” and “Yukiya of Taruhi” have notes that are similar. It is like an overlapping theme. Both “Sumio’s theme” and “Rokon’s theme” give you an impression of danger, threatening, grandiose. Although Rokon’s theme lasts 7 minutes. The longest track in the OST. BUT my most favourite of all is “Hope.”

This piece is playing when Yukiya told Wakamiya:

“You leave yourself wide open.”

Reminds me of my favourite Arvo Pärt composition, “Summa.” That kind of thought-provoking, emotionally satisfying piece of music that pierces you. Waxing poetry here I know. Apologies. I got carried away. Anyway, I love the soundtrack. So listen to it if you can in any platform that you can, you won’t regret it.

[misogynisticmediatournament]

I think the warrior cats and warriors in your submission list are the same thing,btw do you have reccomendations of like. anything that writes woman well

Ah, you might be right; I think I skimmed that entry's propaganda, and it was very specific to whatever series it was about without dropping the full series name, and I was like "Maybe this is Warrior Cats? I feel lazy, I'm not going to look heavily into it."

So, as a reminder: use the full but common name for the series! For example, Miraculous Ladybug (this seems to be the most common title despite being a shortened version), Warrior Cats, BBC Sherlock, etc. And check that you don't have a space after the title's entry, as that counts as a different entry than the title without the space when using the UNIQUE function in Google sheets (which is how I count the unique entries).

As for recommendations, this is hard because I watch a lot of trash, especially recently, but:

- You can never go wrong with Revolutionary Girl Utena. Note: this show (and start with the show, not the movie) has a lot of potentially triggering stuff, so check out those warnings before you start if you have any triggers at all. It uses the triggering stuff very well and to tell its story and explore its themes, not just for, like, titillation though. Indeed, it is, I would argue, necessary for the story and themes the show seeks to explore. It is legally free on Youtube in...I want to say 480p, and in better resolution on Crunchyroll and Funimation (yes, Funimation's site is still up; I find it superior to Crunchyroll's since it actually includes closed captions for dubs, although it doesn't include newer anime from after the two companies merged). Also, you want to watch the sub for this. I'm normally not one to say "the dub is bad" and stuff and be a purist about it—in fact I normally go to bat for dubs—but, uh... yeah, the dub is bad this time. Crispin Freeman and Dan Green are delightful in it though, I'll give it that.

- Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood uses its female characters well. Maybe it could be better, I've seen some people in these tournaments have beef with it, but it's a pretty perfectly told story, like solid A+, with a lot of really great female characters who I find very satisfying so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. This is on Crunchyroll, Hulu, and I believe Amazon Prime?

- Don't let the title fool you: Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is a fantastic show with great female characters who are complex and human, have compelling arcs, and are vital to the story. The relationship between Rebecca and Paula is central to the show and SO good, especially as the show goes on. The title is because it explores the trope of the crazy ex-girlfriend in a very humanizing way, and the title/opening song even mentions how the title is a sexist term, but it's a lot more nuanced than that. Also, it's a musical with very good original songs every episode. But check trigger warnings for this show too though. The show is streaming on Netflix last I checked.

- Uhh... maybe the first two seasons of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic? It's a kid's show, but it's good. I haven't seen it in years and years though, so I don't know if I can still fully vouch for it. I believe it is streaming on Netflix?

- Revue Starlight? I haven't thought about it heavily, but I had no beef watching it. This is streaming on HiDive.

- I've heard good things about Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury, but I can't vouch for it personally. It's streaming on Crunchyroll.

UPDATE: Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury is also legally on youtube!

Honestly, I know more imperfect shows that I'm satisfied with, like I give it a B+ to A- at least, but that I haven't thought heavily about than stuff where I'm like, "Oh, yeah, definitely, definitely, nothing I'd pick out there as a problem." For example, Baccano! is probably imperfect (as well as not streaming legally anywhere), but I don't remember being, like, struck by a bunch of problems there. So, I'm not the best for recs that I can give a 100% guarantee for.

[hazbincalifornia]

Hazbin Episode 1 Liveblog

In order to avoid this post getting Way Too Long, I'm going to make one post for episode one, and one for episode two!

I will say, I'm kinda sad we don't have a 'proper' theme song/intro, just the little jingle :( I do get it, but ah well.

Oh my god the commercial is even better in full.

How the fuck did he get Charlie to keep the name if it was still him???

Al's so fucking offended they're making him use a camera he made it one giant middle finger. I love it.

The voices are definitely going to take a bit of adjustment. It's probably because I've rewatched the pilot a zillion times, though.

I like how Alastor didn't even look at Angel. "Never going to happen!"

Awww, Charlie's ringtone for her dad is cute.

I DO really love Keith David as Husk right away, he suits the role perfectly.

"I like being forced!" and I love you, you weird little gremlin. Hoping for some good CNC stuff with her now, tbh. She'd be fun for it.

The flat delivery of 'crack is expensive' made me wheeze out loud.

Aaaa and here we go, full animation for Happy Day!

Why... why is the 'shoving barbed wire in your hole' guy an imp. Is that, like, his job or something. Is he just an asshole?

Ooooo, that was VAGGIE singing the 'bloodthirsty and deranged?' line? More fodder for her being a fallen angel/exterminator.

'Helluva post' for the mail. Ha.

This just made me fully realize how much the cannibal colony probably considers the post-extermination like a feast day.

Awww, the music note background is a fun touch.

Something about the fact that the 'touch my parts!' guy is a completely shapeless slug-creature instead of just keeping the dick offscreen makes it funnier.

Oh, I love Adam. The fun kind of punchable prick.

The animation seems a bit... overacted? I've noticed it all along but with Vaggie in the scene where she talks about making a new commercial especially. It sort of felt like they wanted to match the pilot's very snappy energy but weren't quite sure how, so everybody makes kind of... aimless motioning instead of moving with purpose, if it makes sense? It feels more like 'moving body parts for the sake of moving things' over 'moving with intent'. It's sort of awkward and distracting. The shifting proportions don't really help, but I just know people are going to be Fucking Annoying about that when it's unfortunately part of the package of making a whole season at once by a regular animation studio.

Oh yeah, Blake's perfect for Angel, lmao. It was more of a change than I expected from the few lines we'd gotten since they sounded more like the original, but he's got the energy.

Charlie didn't know Adam ran the angel army? That seems like the kind of thing she should have known. I wonder if she was relatively sheltered growing up.

'Call me dickmaster' why do I get the feeling the Chaz fans will like him, lmfao.

Since I'm on Adam though, another little groan to myself about the lack of fat characters in the hellaverse that aren't either gross stereotypes or background characters. Adam falls into the misogynist type, (like, the 'redditor', you know the one, just sort of mixed with a sleazy rockstar) Mammon's literally Greed and a talentless abuser, the lady at the pound was gross/uncaring and ugly, and I still think the Nurse was the only one that really broke the pattern and I've seen approximately one piece of fanart or mention of her ever (despite her clearly-developed positive relationship with Barbie!) and it was porn. I'm allowed to bitch on this after people were so fucking annoying about how wanting Bee to be fat was wanting her to be a 'gross ugly blob' and then saying other people were being fatphobic for pointing out everybody's skinny. Somehow. Anyway.

Well, at least they got the vagina joke out of the way early.

I love how his deal isn't for anything that would genuinely screw Vaggie over, he's just pissed they want him to deal with TV.

The fact that the pilot's still 'soft canon' makes sense with how Angel just immediately starts admiring his new clothes without any surprise, since it's happened before. Also, Niffty with the Marilyn pose is cute.

Oh, I'm definitely going to like Lute. I still like my idea she used to be close to Vaggie but when Vaggie was cast down, she stuck tighter to the rules.

Adam's song is fun!

So season 1 takes place over the course of six months? Huh. I'm guessing we'll have some time skips if we only have eight episodes.

I wonder what the Heaven Embassy is for? I can't imagine it's only for meetings like that considering there's couches in the lobby and stuff. Can sinners communicate with loved ones in heaven or vice versa, maybe, just using the holograms?

Oh my god the Katie voice IS basically just Brandon's Bryce voice. Amazing.

Ohoooo? VERY curious who managed to pull off killing an exterminator, and 'can't let them catch on'... hmm.