#aside from the fact that this song is a banger that makes it also the best

[musicalmoritz]

I saw your post about giving tbhk characters songs and I noticed a bunch of them were musical theater and they fit so fucking well??

Like waving through a window for Sousuke and dead mom for Kou?? Unlikely lovers?? Music of the night??? Your mind omg.

I was wondering if you had more musical theater to tbhk characters stuff because id definitely like to hear them lol. It's totally fine if you don't have more, in case not, you could give more non musical stuff.

I’ve been behind on my asks so I’m trying to get caught up and this seems like the best one to start with, musicals have been rotting my brain since the eighth grade. I’m gonna be honest, I don’t remember every song I listed in the original post so I apologize if some of these are repeats!!

TW: Brief mention of suicide ideation for one of the songs/characters

• Idk how much you’d count this one as a musical song but Once Upon A Dream from Sleeping Beauty makes me think of Mitsukou/Soukou (especially in the context of the new timeline)

• I have to apply Dentist! from Little Shop Of Horrors to every sadist character so it’s going to Teru, maybe he can do that if he ever smartens up and quits exorcism (I would give it to Kou but Teru is like. wayyyy more upfront abt his sadism lol)

• Tango: Maureen from Rent except every character in TBHK besides Mitsuba and Mei is lowkey bisexual so there are so many ways it could go. Hanako and Aoi about Nene. Teru and Aoi about Akane. Mitsuba and Nene about Kou. The possibilities are endless

• Popular from Wicked with Aoi and Nene…because yk we always see Aoi giving Nene popular girl advice. I am aware her character goes deeper than that I’m just being silly

• Love Me For What I Am from In Trousers with Nene but just for the “I met a man in a can” line. She did, in fact, meet her boyfriend in a bathroom

• Helpless from Hamilton with AoiAoi and then Satisfied with Terukane. I think I’ve seen an animatic for this but there are a lot of Hamilton animatics for different fandoms so I could be mistaken

• Alyssa Greene from The Prom with Aoi

• And on that note, The Lady’s Improving with Yako or Sumire (Sumire bcuz you can add in Hakubo for the romantic context). Quite honestly I love The Prom sm, it’s very overhated imo bcuz the songs are all bangers

• Portrait Of A Girl from Bare: A Pop Opera with Aoi and Akane before their development

• More with Bare because I love queer musicals, Role Of A Lifetime with Mitsuba in the context of Mitsukou. They can’t be together forever and Mitsuba knows that so he’s confused on what Kou wants…see the vision

• Seventeen from Heathers with HanaNene but bonus points if it’s Picture Perfect Amanene when they tried to run away together

• There’s A Fine, Fine Line from Avenue Q with Nene…possibly after Nakahara rejected her

• I feel like the concept of She Used To Be Mine from Waitress could be applicable to so many female characters because context aside, it has major theme of going from girlhood to womanhood + overcoming a lot of trauma, so it’s hard for me to nail down just one. Perhaps yorishiro Sumire? Could also apply to Nene

• You Gotta Die Sometime from Falsettos with Mei (my sister and I quote the opening line to each other every time one of us is sick…but also oof this song hurts me)

• This one is a bit nonsensical but I like to imagine The Worst Pies In London with Teru and Akane since yk Teru is terrible at cooking. Or with Ghost Hotel Kou and Nene (not in a ship way tho)

• The Ballad Of Jane Doe from Ride the Cyclone loosely makes me think of Katakuri bcuz of the whole deal with the kannagi losing their memories

• In the Same Boat from the Lightning Thief demo with any of the trios tbh, mainly the Broadcasting Crew because Sakuhiko fit the Percabeth dynamic so well and Tsukasa as Grover is just yes (in the context of this song specifically lol). For the others tho it would be Terukane as Percabeth and Aoi as Grover, then HanaKou as Percabeth and Nene as Grover…or HanaNene as Percabeth and Kou as Grover. Another one with lots of options

• Red And Black from Les Misérables with Teru and Akane bcuz of the whole Enjolras caring abt war and Marius being all head-in-the-clouds about Cosette…very Akane coded in general

• Meet the Plastics from Mean Girls with Teru as Regina, Akane as Gretchen, and Aoi as Karen

• On that same note, WORLD BURN WITH TERU. HEAR ME OUT.

• I want to bring up Spring Awakening just to bring up Spring Awakening tbh so Don’t Do Sadness/Blue Wind with Aoi and Akane (?) or Teru maybe. Tbh I’m struggling on who could do Ilse’s part but Aoi fits Moritz (my boyyyyy) very well with how she wants to “go somewhere far away” aka take her own life due to the pressure she’s under. Could also be with Mitsuba or Amane as Moritz but NOT Kou because we all know Kou isn’t actively suicidal right?? We’re all on the same page abt that?? Good

• I could also picture Those You’ve Known with Kou and his dead ghost friends at the end of the manga. Specifically Hanako as Moritz and Nene as Wendla but you could substitute either of them for Mitsuba if you want

• I feel like Wait For It from Hamilton could fit Tsuchigomori

• No Me Diga from In the Heights makes me think of Aoi and Nene and their rumors. Bonus points if Akane is the one Nene teases Aoi about with the “just wanted to see what you’d say” part

• Mister Cellophane from Chicago with Mitsuba

• Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again from Phantom Of The Opera with Teru mourning his mom…we don’t really get to see him talk abt her in canon so it’s a cool concept

• More with Teru, I’m Not That Girl from Wicked. I’m thinking within the context of TeruAoi but feel free to apply it to Terukane

• When He Sees Me from Waitress with AoiAoi or Mitsukou…Aoi and Mitsuba singing ofc

• I’m Breaking Down with Aoi during the Confession Tree chapter when Akane started dating Lemon

Okay I’m capping myself off there, hope you liked this!! And thank you for the ask :)

[kimberlyeab]

Undertale Yellow - Thoughts

Do you ever touch a piece of media and it hits you so hard that you just decide to drop all your artistic responsibilities for a day and write something to get your thoughts down into a single coherent place.

Well, uh… let’s talk about Undertale Yellow.

Please avoid if you intend to play and do not want spoilers as this delves heavily into topics laid down in the pacifist route. Also please note this contains content warnings for child death, so don’t touch if that ain’t your cup of tea. Like all Youtubers would say, please play the game before you read this, because this experience is best enjoyed in its original form.

The first issue i am struck with before getting too deep into this topic is that this is a fan project. While i, as a fan creator, enjoy feedback on my work; even if it is a little biting at times, i don’t know the pulse of the team in this regard. After all, this had no price tag and was purely a labour of love with seven hard years of development behind it.

i also don’t know how the development of this project was handled and if it was a collaborative effort from start to finish or different teams worked on different sections with an overarching goal. All i have is my own experience of modding for Hearts of Iron IV where my efforts were focused on singular nations and not overarching plots. If different sections were handled by different teams, please don’t take a critique or praise of any singular section as a slight against your work, it was all fantastic just some areas were more fantastic than others.

i enjoyed the mod, immensely, it stuck with me to the point that i had to come here and discuss it for what seems to be close to 2000 words. This project is something truly special, not only in terms of a fan game, but as a piece of media in general. It managed to make me feel that sense of magic I felt two years ago when i first played Undertale. And i can’t think of a higher praise than saying that.

The sprite work was amazing. The battles were fun and just the right amount of challenging… except Axis… fuck Axis. The music was a genuine banger to the point where i even liked some of the songs better than some of Toby’s work (i’m looking at you, the person who composed A Mother’s Love, that Hopes and Dreams drop ruined me emotionally for the rest of the run and i hold you and the writing team responsible for that).

And the story, gosh the story was just a real treat.

The mod in general is a bit slow to start, i’ll be honest, i did enjoy the tease at the beginning with Toriel and i think it was genius to cut us off from her entirely at that point. To me, a Undertale mod doing the ruins is like a Batman movie watching Bruce’s parents get gunned down. So, getting something refreshing here was a great foot forward.  Actually, I think that the fact that this mod does not use the OG cast as a crutch is an all-around strong point that i really appreciate and helps set it aside as its own independent thing, different from Undertale. Even though I did find myself craving at least a cameo at times.

On my first day of playing, i witnessed everything that the ruins and Snowdin had to offer. i enjoyed Dalv and Martlet immensely. As I went into the start of the Wild East, I was having a lot of fun. Yet, something felt off, something wasn’t quite sparking the magic i felt with Undertale. So, I left off my first session in the Oasis, having beaten the third boss. All in all, an enjoyable time but not quite clicking.

i couldn’t describe why the game felt off up to this point. Until i watched a friend stream xeyre own first run of the game.

Xey said something during it which made me realize what the issue with these first three areas was. They felt safe, they felt fangamey. These were fun experiences with great atmosphere and enemies but Dlav and Martlet (up to that point) were not characters who grabbed me and made me feel as invested in them as say Toriel, Sans, Papyrus, and Undyne (all characters we would’ve met at a similar point in OG Undertale). Sure, they were nice, and were immensely fun, but i didn’t feel that drive to get to know them better and care about their greater story. These were not the characters of ask blogs and video essays.

At this point, i went to bed, content to get back to it tomorrow but still very much feeling like “this is a fangame.”

Then i woke up…

And let me telling you about Starlo and the town on the edge of the Wild East.

This is where Undertale Yellow grabbed me, this is where the story became something special. This wonderful cast of six unique characters who left me wanting to consume every piece of dialog they had available. These six characters managed to crackle to life that little fanfiction voice in the back of my brain. It was these characters that planted the seed of this sprawling text i am currently writing.

Starlo, himself, is a wonderful character, very fun, very well written, just a treat to experience and spend time with. His missions were comedic gold to a degree where I was cackling in VC because of how good they were. And the fights, oh jeez, the two fights in that area are where the mod really showed off what it could do when it came to combining fun gameplay, great music, and just top tier sprite work that helped give these characters so much substance and life.

And it was also in this section where i started to get invested in the characters. This is where the fangame vibes withered away and gave birth to that same experience i had playing Undertale for that very first time.

It was hinted at with Starlo, a monster putting on a façade to hide from the cold reality of being a member of a broken species living in an equally broken land. His reasoning is so tragic, yet through the tragedy, he is just trying to distract people and bring them whatever joy he can manage. His methods are faulty but his goal is good.

And Ceroba is just amazing, as well, hinting at something darker in the narrative, weaving her story into OG Undertale by experiencing loss to the same experiments that would haunt Alphys. She is something familiar, a mother in pain like Toriel, but also someone who didn’t let that pain keep her in hiding. She uses that pain to try and help this world. And it plays on me so well, making me genuinely ache as my mind idly wonders which amalgamation in the lab was once this monster’s little girl. I wanted to know her story and experience it.

Then the game was all high points from here.

The adventure in the Steamworks where we see the remains of a shattered legacy and the pain that Ceroba goes through when she realizes that her husband was never respected in life. It resonates as we learn how much he just wanted to help Monsterkind and his legacy was just thrown away and left to rot. It made me hate Asgore.

And then comes the plot twist, the moment the shoe drop, as we approach Hotlands and Starlo confronts us. He knows Ceroba’s secret and is there to keep us safe. I had never been so invested in finding out what any of this meant, craving to know what could possibly bring these two into conflict with one another after being so close just two sections prior.

And that’s when we go to Ceroba’s home. That’s where we experience the empty abode that used to house a family. It’s where we learn how this tormented world of captivity that broke them, one by one, killing father, daughter, and yes, even the mother. It’s where we learn about Chujin, a figure of mythos, this mod’s Asgore in a way. A man who knew that escaping the Underground wasn’t the end goal unless Monsterkind could assert itself and prove that it had a right to exist upon the surface. This moment was so compelling, asking questions that fans have had for years and answering them in a way that felt downright satisfying.

And it put a fire in my breast going forward. i feel bad for the individuals who wrote dialog for optional areas after this reveal because i was a woman on a mission at this point. There was no endearing encounter, no fun moment that would distract me from finally finishing this with Ceroba.

And as we reach New Home and face the enemy, a mother who has lost everything, with our friends by our side, that’s when we play the best boss fight, I’ve had the privilege of enjoying in a very long time. It was the right amount of difficult with perfect music, amazing phases and forms, and a wonderful use of the yellow soul to its full capacity. It was long and slogged out, fought tooth and fucking nail, all while the music perfectly weaves together Ceroba’s struggle with the adventure we’ve been on and also a little nostalgia just to remind you what’s at stake. i have slept and i still remember her piano bits combined with those little western twangs, bringing together two childhood friends before dropping Hopes and Dreams just to show you how epic it is. It is… HOLY SHIT… it is something.

And with every phase we see a little more of what this monster lost. We watch her husband wither away, we see her risk her daughter and fail, and we see every last thing this obsession has cost her. And we know that this is a family broken by a collective scar left upon a whole species. We know that humanity is at fault, subjecting a whole race to torment for something that’s generations old. This family is just one of many who our species has wronged, just one trauma on a whole ledger.

And as we finally dispatch her and feel victorious, the reality of the situation slowly settles in.

This is a prologue… we know how this ends.

Asgore has five souls right now. Yet, by the events of Undertale, he has six.

i knew on a logical level that this would happen but the mod still managed to destroy me with the reality. As our friends try and figure out a way to keep us safe, we, the Spirit of Justice, a child with a pure heart, know that we can’t let this slide. We saw what humanities punishment has done to this species and we know that we can help them.

So, Clover sacrifices their Soul. And its at this moment that i started bawling like a child, watching their friends bargain with them, then plead, then seeing them slowly come to terms with it. And the game slowly ends from there, watching our hero make this sacrifice and then send away their friends so they don’t have to see them die. It’s just us, alone, knowing that we did the right thing and it cost us everything. It’s beautiful and tragic, the perfect ending that still chokes me up thinking about it.

And it pays off as the credits role and we get an epilogue that shows all the monsters we’ve touched and made their lives better.

It was special.

This was the special that i felt after Undertale.

And like Undertale, i will never touch it again (unless i speedrun it). The story was completed and the sacrifice was beautiful. It would be wrong of me to erase the deeds that i’ve done to better these lives. i don’t want to erase their happy ending just to tinker around and extract every ounce of life from this game.

So uh, yeah, sorry to the people who worked on geno-run. i’m sure you did a great job but i can’t bring myself to hurt these characters.

All-in-all, sitting there in a VC, bawling at 3:30 in the morning, i knew this was unique and I knew that i wanted to share my thoughts with the fandom and maybe even the developers if they get around to reading this.

Dear devs, if you read this, you created something out of this world, thank you.

Sincerely, thank you.

Would I recommend this mod?

Let me tell you what I said after the credits rolled.

“Fuck this mod.”

Err… text kind of loses the translation of those words being spoken through the warble of a tear-stricken voice that was fresh from sobbing for ten minutes straight.

So, uh…

Yeah, it was alright!

Hey, y'all should join my Discord! It's multifandom and queer as fuck (Please be 18+ though).

Visit my website to see where else you can find my work, follow my socials, or support me!

[bestgameostcrownduel]

Round 1, Side A: Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers (2019) vs Kingdom Hearts 3 (2019)

FFXIV | Kingdom Hearts

Campaigns under the cut!

Campaign for FFXIV:

oh my god where do I start. Final Fantasy XIV (FFXIV) is an MMORPG that's been going on 2013, or 2010 if you count the trainwreck that the current FFXIV replaced (the 2010 version's music was composed mainly by Uematsu, 2013 onwards is mostly Soken). Thus its OST is FUCKING HUGE and spans a whole lot of genres. If you like any kind of music at all you can probably find at least one track that speaks to you in this game. FFXIV has a category of incredibly difficult fights called Ultimate, comprised of multiple short phases that each have their own music. Because of the nature of how Ultimates are structured, they're the only fights in FFXIV where the music can actually be timed to the mechanics. If you're not afraid of story spoilers, look up any ultimate's BGM and you can see how cool this effect is. (I can't listen to Under the Weight without also hearing the sound of every mechanic and tankbuster.) (My personal favorite ultimate, music-wise, is The Epic of Alexander. Back when I was progging the fight I used to fall asleep listening to the BGM.) To The Edge is so so special to everyone who loves FFXIV. It's the theme of a boss in Shadowbringers; I can't give details without also giving major spoilers, but I will say that the story and this song deal with the themes of death and loss. If you look up the lyrics, which aren't too spoilery without context, you'll get what I mean. What makes this extra emotional is that FFXIV's main composer, Soken, was in the hospital fighting cancer when he composed this song. (To be clear: he kept working because it provided him with a desperately needed sense of normalcy, not because he needed to.) No one on the dev team knew aside from Yoshi P, FFXIV's producer + director as well as Soken's personal friend; the rest of the team found out the same time the fans did, months after the fact when Soken was in full remission, at the 2021 FFXIV Fan Festival (FanFest). To The Edge was already widely beloved prior to this because it's an incredible banger tied to an incredible story moment, but knowing what was going on behind the scenes during its composition, in addition to the story and song's own themes surrounding death, turns it into a piece that no one can listen to without getting wildly emotional about it. At the same FanFest, before Soken announced that he fought cancer and won, he performed this live: https://youtu.be/aBt4zT_PBmw?si=SgzTV9BvINfA0b-U Absolute king shit. With Hearts Aligned is also so so so special to me because it's the song that plays in the 'victory lap' second phase against the final boss that caps off a nine year long story arc. It features a leitmotif from The Maker's Ruin, a song from 2013, that represents the player and is often used when we overcome seemingly insurmountable odds. There are no words that can describe the sheer fucking emotion of fighting the final boss of a nine year long story arc while listening to the leitmotif that represents YOU, a leitmotif that you first heard however many weeks or months or years ago when you first started playing this game. The ultimate triumph, and the ultimate song of hope. Also if you like leitmotifs, FFXIV has /so many leitmotifs/. Have a spreadsheet of them: https://x.com/EENlX/status/1686043012353396736?s=20 Also also, Alex Moukala on youtube does more in-depth analysis of some of the best tracks in FFXIV! Great videos, I highly recommend checking them out.

I would put the entire game's soundtrack if I could but there's a LOT. The album I listed is for the "postgame" of Shadowbringers. Of particular note is the song "To The Edge" which was written while the composer, Masayoshi Soken, was battling with cancer.

Campaign for KH3:

yoko shimomura, the GODDESS, the LEGEND, her composing skills never fail to amaze! kh music is so so goodddddd

I’m not good with propagandizing but the OST for this series is so good. For KH3, I love so much of the soundtrack. The Disney worlds have some great tracks, but the endgame and dlc has almost nothing but bangers.

[the-bitter-ocean]

oceaaaannn hiii! let's go with 3, 5, and 15 for the isat ask game c:

(MAJOR A6SE / 2HATS SPOILERS + FULL GAME SPOILERS AHOY) Thank you for the questions @dekupalace ! Since I’m going to be talking more in depth about the game for one of these questions I’m going to put my responses under a read more:

3- favorite soundtrack?

Oh god that’s such a hard question the whole game has certified bangers. The musicians at Studio Thumpy Puppy were not messing around or pulling any punches. The soundtrack of the game elevates literally every emotional beat. If I was forced to choose only one song out of the soundtrack my favorite track in the whole game has to be “How Can You Help Me, Stardust?” aka the theme that plays when you fight Loop at the Favor tree during act six. Hearing that for the first time while getting the full context of loop’s backstory made me go crazy. It was so fucking emotional and well done. That and it’s just objectively a super intense high energy song that makes me wanna dance around. If anyone deserves the coolest fight theme in the game, it’s Loop.

5- favorite optional event?

Ooh this is also a hard one! I adore a lot of the optional story events because each of them really shed light on Siffrin’s mental state /characterization, as well as gives depth to other aspects like the other character of the world building as a whole which strengthens the themes of the story. Aside from the obvious choice (2Hats Ending/ Act six loop encounter) I think my favorite optional event would have to be the “Who Was Phone” achievement (Change God event). There’s something so fascinating about learning about the Change God. Someone who clearly adores their certified little guy (Mirabelle) and is willing to offer words of kindness and assurance in her identity even if it knows she won’t remember in one instance..and then in the very same breath tell Siffrin that they enjoy watching Siffrin in the timeloop torment nexus because they’re curious to see how they change in a situation where everything is forced to stagnate. It was so genuinely fucked. I will think about it always forever.

15- anything you’d change about the game? be it game mechanics, a new feature, a change in plot, etc

Overall I’m pretty satisfied with the game both in story and gameplay actually. I think Adrienne did a good job writing and expanding on the characters and story that was set up in the prologue. The quality of life in terms of gameplay got improved since the previous game as well ( those who played the prologue can attest to this) . The fact that it was a in universe story reason as to why makes it all the more satisfying (if you want to know what I mean by that please read my mutuals @felikatze analysis about it here.)

I just am happy that Siffrin got to be happy in the end and stay with their family, to be able to talk things out and escape the loops. I know some people didn’t like that or expected a more darker/sadder ending or wanted the gameplay to be more challenging … my response to that is Literally Just Play Start Again: A Prologue. To me it would be extremely reductive to have Siffrin just suffer with no reprieve or escape from the loops (because that’s just a repeat of what happened in its predecessor) or have the group just split off from each other immediately after everything happened. It would have been extremely unsatisfying and ultimately missing the point of the themes of the game as a whole gonna be real lol.

The only things I’d maybe change or add is like it would’ve been cute to see Euphrasie and Claude be together/ reunite on screen in act 6. They should kiss. Lol. (That and just I would’ve personally loved to see Euphrasie in canon expanded on a little more but that’s not necessarily needed she serves her purpose in the narrative. I just like analyzing her and giving her more depth and I like when others do too, but that’s what fanart/ fics and aus are for so I’m not fussed.) 

I don’t mind that the game is sort of open ended and doesn’t answer all the questions. I think that gives artists, fanfic writers, Au makers and people who like to analyze the game more freedom to come up with their own interpretations for things that happened in pre canon and post canon which to me is more interesting. I know Loop disappearing at the end of the game in both endings is sad/ bittersweet but I wouldn’t necessarily change the way that was structured either. I like that their fate was ambiguous because it leads the viewer to come up with their own theories as to where they went. ( personally I love seeing stuff where loop gets to travel on their own and form a new life and identity outside of the loops and learn to heal, as well as post game getting to meet back up with the party and learn to navigate this new life/ change one step at a time. )

[is-this-even-relatable]

I’ve seen this a few times and I wanna address it. In the phandom, as a fan of Danny Phantom, you can be a fan however you want.

You’re not wrong for liking what you like. If you don’t care for AU’s and fanon and all the rewriting and fix-its and shipping… then good on you. If you watched the show as a kid and are a fan because you like canon and the show itself makes you happy, then good on you. If you discovered the show recently or as an adult and are diving into a new passion, then good. on. you.

We all love the show, or at least the concepts and vision behind it, that’s why we are fans. (especially the theme song, THAT I think we can all agree is a hecking banger.)

ASIDE 1: What this post is addressing is the concerns from some people who only like canon, or prefer majority of canon over fanon, about feeling left out of the phandom. I’ve also heard some people, who grew up with the show, who’ve said that Butch Hartman is their childhood hero, and feeling awkward and off to the side in the phandom, while people bash on him and the show.

While yes there are problems, and I truly recommend everyone who reads this looking up “Why don’t people like Butch Hartman?” or “What did Butch Hartman do?” and doing a bit of research on your own, this doesn’t mean you can’t still have that childhood respect.

It’s a bittersweet sort of thing, where someone doesn’t turn out to be as great as you’d envisioned they were. Where you have respect for them from the past, and are learning that they’re not who you thought they’d be, and you feel betrayed because maybe your trust was misplaced. But that’s not on you, and you shouldn’t be shamed for wanting to preserve that memory and keep the innocence of your childhood heroes alive.

I myself, have had a huge part of my childhood and formulaic memories, had to be reevaluated once I got older and realized that hey… that was definitely problematic. I was a kid, and didn’t know any better, but the organizers definitely did. I’m glad to have done it because those experiences really mattered to me, but I feel guilty for thinking that because I also now have the knowledge that it wasn’t right. Cultural appropriation is a huge disrespect to the things I thought I was respecting when I was young. So although I appreciate the memories and the time I spent and who it made me today, I can say for a fact I do not condone the ones who orchestrated it, because I have become an informed individual. Because I know better. So I will continue to love the ideals introduced to me, but I will go about it the correct way.

In that thread, I do think that it’s good for everyone to educate themselves on the media you consume, especially on subtle contexts and perhaps why some things get spread around like “butch hartman sucks” rather than just accepting or rejecting hearsay without confirming it for yourself. If you don’t know something, seek to understand it!

But, and I stand by this, any existing or future issues with the show’s aging or it’s creator does not give anyone the right to make any other person feel unwelcome. And if anyone, phandom or otherwise, yells and kicks and screams and or otherwise has a hissy fit at you for liking canon or anything like that… then fuck em.

Nobody can stop you from loving what you love! We are all on earth together, and you truly only live once. So don’t waste the amazing time you have doubting yourself. Don’t spend time reading and consuming content that you don’t want to. If you wanna read canon fics only, never reading crossovers, then you. go. damn. do it.

If you’ve never created anything in your life, never drawn a doodle or written a blurb, you are still a part of the phandom, and we are happy to have you. Leave comments, likes, and reblogs to show your presence and appreciation! Tell the content creators you like the most that you appreciate what they’ve done!

In the end, we are all just people, who one day found ourselves reading/watching/looking at a silly ghost boy who was just 14, and found that we couldn’t look away.

[gyumibear]

⌞BLUE SPRING⌝ — PROFILES: EXTRAS

SYNOPSIS — In which you, an upcoming idol, are saved from a dangerous encounter by Song Mingi, a jaded, third-year delinquent who falls for you in more ways than one. However, both of your responsibilities constantly tear you apart. Years later, you reunite. Are the sparks still there or was your love only meant for that one spring?

← TO JUICEEZ | TO MASTERLIST →

LEE DONGHYUCK - '00 liner, Lee Donghyuck [Stage Name: Haechan] is a soloist He's been friends with Y/N, Chaeryeong & Keeho since they all met during their training days. Haechan rose to stardom quickly after his debut, winning several rookie awards and getting a nomination overseas! For that, he's very well-known in the industry and well-liked. The absolute definition of booked and busy, sometimes he's missing from friend group interactions, but he's always present for the gossip. He's the closest with Y/N because they're both representative bears! He's also the only person allowed to call her "ynnie" because she says 'it's only okay for Hyuk' to do.

YOON KEEHO - '01 liner, Yoon Keeho [Stage Name: Keeho] is the leader of the boy group P1Harmony. Self-proclaimed 'inventor of music and perfect man' Keeho is very well known in the industry. He's gone viral for his sense of humor, sass, and earth-shattering talent. He's one of the most caring people a person could know. He always has the best advice, which is why he's remained close with the group (history aside.) If he's not with his members making absolute bangers, he's dragging Y/N, Chaeryeong, or Haechan to a new place because he loves a good adventure. Keeho's life motto is "Do it for the plot." He's also familiar with Juiceez founder and barista, Kang Yeosang.

*Private Accounts belong to Suzaki Y/N & Song Mingi*

NOTE — Fun Fact time: Keeho, Chaeryeong, Haechan, and Y/N have been friends for 8+ years! Yeosang and Keeho know each other because Keeho once fell asleep on his shoulder on public transit and forced begged Yeosang to go to coffee to apologize. Also, Mingi's 1 follower is Yunho!

BLUE SPRING TAGLIST: OPEN! send a reply or ask to be added! if bold, you could not be tagged! — @ad0rechuu @run2seob @xynokia @hearttakesworld @scarfac3 @gvnwks

© GYUMIBEAR. do not repost, modify, or translate my work onto other social media sites.

[beanghostprincess]

Favourite One Piece openings and/or just songs in general?

You can't ask this to a music student and guitarist/singer! I can't choose! there are too many good songs in this anime-

Sogeki no Shima deeee. Umareta Ore waaa. Hyaappaaatsu Hyaku Chu. Lulu Lala Luuuuuu. Nezumi no Medama mo (Lock on!!) Omae no Haato mo (LOCK OOOON!!!) SOOOGEKI NO SHIMA KARA KITA OTOKOOOO LULULU LULU LALAAA SOOOOREEEENIIIGEEEEROOO Sogege Soge Soge SOOGEEEKIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING

Okay, no, jokes aside (it isn't a joke. I genuinely ADORE Sogeking's theme) my true rankings (No. I'm not writing essays about them. This post would be too long. If you're curious about my genuine long opinions about a song, send an ask bc otherwise this post will be too long):

Openings:

Crazy Rainbow (this is the song I want all of you to think about when you think about me because it's MY song. I LOVE IT. It's me. It talks about me, actually. I am crazy and I'm a rainbow and a star. Twinkle twinkle rainbow star!!! I heard it once and it became my favorite ever. It's my alarm. I wake up with this banger every day. My friends hate me for this take but honestly, they're the ones who don't appreciate a good set of trumpets and guitars with tropical imagery as background).

Hope (The chorus is WILD. The visuals are so comforting it makes me cry every time. This is the energy I want all of my fanfics to have. It's the representation of my writing turned into music, I think. These are the vibes I want. The lyrics??? Are fucking insane??? Also, Sanji-themed, and it hits close to home).

We go! (I don't need to explain this one, but I wanted to mention that the way he screams BRRREAK OF ROMANCE DAWWWWN rewired my brain completely and that lyric appears on my mind every damn day)

Jungle P (Average opening. Not even that good. It's just cool and happy. HOWEVER! Have you considered that LIFE IS ADVENTUROUS BE AWARE IT'S DANGEROUS WHO'S GONNA BE ONE OF US AND THE TRIP GOES ON BECAUSE WE DA PIRATE OF THE MASS TO THE WEST TO THE EAST GONNA FIND MY WAY SAIL AWAY ALL THE WAY TO ONE PIECE)

Brand New World (The energy this song has makes me literally want to scream in the happiest of ways. The chorus, man, it's insane).

Hikari E (The Catalan Dub makes it better. I'm staying loyal to my native language this time. This is fucking amazing in Catalan. The lyrics are so fucking good they make me want to cry. It's very dear to me, too).

The peak (Really cute! Fun! Such a relief opening to end Wano <3 It's just beautiful visually and stunning. But also it has such peaceful and joyful vibes!! My beloved).

Kokoro No Chizu (This one is awesome. I love everything about it. My fav thing about it is my reaction to watching OP with full screen for the first time. Really fun experience of 'what the fuck is this and also THIS SONG IS A BANGER??')

Bon Voyage (Also my alarm because no other thing besides BON VOYAAAGE being yelled against my ear wakes me up in a better mood. Also, really fun opening. The chorus are basically the best part, ofc, for obvious reasons).

Believe (Once again saying this one hits different in the Catalan Dub. The lyrics are beautiful but also it gives sooo many 2000s opening vibes. I enjoy this song every time)

Endings:

Raise (I am not explaining this one because I think it's obvious why it deserves top 1)

Run! Run! Run! (Who the fuck is focusing on the song when Sanji being silly is right there???!?!??! Fun fact, I had a whole ass moment when I saw this ending for the first time and I had to take a break from watching the show because I went on a full crazy spiral of 'Sanjisanjisannijssnaisanjisanjisansajisanjisanji'. But also, really great song and it makes my brain go brrrrr).

Shouchi no Suke (BROOO THE VIBESSSSS THIS IS SO FUCKING GOOD I COULD LISTEN TO THIS FOR HOURS)

Dear Friends (This one makes me want to k word myself so I think that's a very good way to express how fucking good this ending is and how much it hurts me every time)

Eternal Pose (I am vibing. I like vibing. It's the vibes only).

Free Will (I want to hug Robin so tight. This one makes me so emotional. I am in so much pain, please).

(Not even a top 10, this was supposed to be a top 5 but I couldn't leave Free Will behind).

Character songs (with little to no explanation because I work tomorrow and I have to go to sleep but I want to post this now):

River of Freedom (I want to fuck Sabo nasty after hearing this and I am so not ashamed of posting this publicly. My thoughts aren't in the bible).

Dr. Heart Stealer (I want to fuck this man to oblivion and I am a lesbian and asexual. Imagine how hot you have to be for this to happen).

47 Todoufuken Gen Ima Cruise (Yakko Warner would love this).

Hajimari to Owari no Machi (They put drugs in this one).

Girls ni Kubittake (I like submissive Sanji).

Smile for Freedom (I kin Nami)

Save My Heart (The depression of some is the fav song of others)

Headliners (Kidlaw sex)

Usopp Drop (I am in love with Usopp)

Moulin Rouge (I am in love with Sanji)

[worldheadcanons]

hi! could u do romantic + platonic hcs of india, australia, america & canada with a tropical country! reader? 💞

☆ them with a s/o who’s a tropical country!

starring. . . gender neutral, tropical country!reader and india, australia, america, + canada. 

author notes; matthew’s part might be a bit shorter compared to the rest, sorry! here are some songs that i found myself listening to a lot while writing this!

— dogtooth by tyler the creator, the theme from big wave by kaiyo (a little niche but it’s a banger), alcohol free by twice (shows in alfred’s bit oops!), i want you by savage garden, leão de bronze by quinteto ternura, and premier gaou by magic system.

not really a playlist for this piece but songs that i recommend you all listen to! 

> kabir!

— he goes into tourist traps willingly. he wholeheartedly goes into little shops just to get scammed by buying overpriced silly trinkets. kabir just likes having them. you didn’t know this about him at first though, so it worried you in the beginning when he’d come to your country and waste money in various tourist traps. one day you pulled him aside, telling him bluntly that he was throwing money away on useless items. kabir simply laughed, shaking his head. “i know,” he replied, chuckling a bit, “it’s fun though. and i like the cute toys.” ever since then you’ve just let him do as he pleases. occasionally you’ll scoff or roll your eyes as he insists on going into a trap shop. at this, he simply teases that he’s just “supporting your economy” and that you should be happy he’s spending so much money. 

— even as friends, he dotes on you a lot. it’s not very parental, more like a sarcastic older brother type of caring. is your economy okay? need help with resources? kabir will complain about how you’re less mature than he is while working hard to help you fix whatever issues you’re facing. he also makes sure to check on you, the person. you’re more than your country and sometimes you need a reminder of that fact. if you’re ever trying to get out of a work meeting, just give him a call. he’s got the perfect excuses ready for you to use. its just his way of showing his care and appreciation. 

— kabir really enjoys sharing food with you, like seriously. oftentimes for lunch after meetings you’ll bring a bag full of your favorite foods and he’ll do the same. the two of you will switch bags and try out new things. of course, there’s always lunches where someone doesn’t like something. everyone has different tastes. it’s not the end of the world though. eating and talking together has allowed the two of you to get even closer, so the tradition doesn’t end even once you’re in a relationship with kabir. he’ll even get jealous if you offer food to other countries, especially countries like china or england. 

— he has one of the best beach bodies known to man. okay, maybe that’s a slight exaggeration, but he is extremely attractive. it’s hard not to feel giddy as he comes out of the changing rooms shirtless with some swim trunks and flip flops. being a long-standing country, kabir has been around for a while and it shows in certain ways. still, he’s hot. he doesn’t hesitate in teasing you for looking at his body. it’s okay, because you can tease him for the same thing! he’s not the type to stare  but trust and believe he’s enjoying the sight of your body the same way you’re enjoying his. 

— he pays attention to the little things, especially when you start talking about your country and your history. you’ll be strolling with kabir, musing about how the coastal city you’re walking in used to be a major trading port maybe two or three centuries ago, and he’s just listening. he may not speak much but he nods his head in acknowledgement. in his eyes, understanding a person's history is vital to understanding the person themselves. that’s not the only thing he pays attention to though. he notices other things like body language too. he notices when another country has said something insensitive to you and he won’t hesitate to step in and stand up for you. kabir also notices when you’re eyeing something in a window of a shop— you can consider it yours, by the way.

— he loves holding your hands and hugging on you. kabir loves to pamper you in public but behind closed doors he’s a complete drama king. he’s not above whining or pouting when he’s mildly upset. if you’re cooking then he’s there, wrapping his arms around your waist and kissing your neck while muttering sweet nothings. if you’re reading then he’s in your lap, quietly asking if you’ll read aloud so he can listen. he’s considerably clingy but he’s also considerably charming and cute so he gets a pass.  

> brett kirkland!

— for your first visit to his country he takes you out on a huge aquarium date. the aquarium you go to is of course the sea life sydney aquarium. brett talks a lot during the date, passionately informing you about the marine animals there. when you reach the shark exhibit he decides to take hold of your hand, even if you’re not scared. he sizes up the sharks before turning to you and joking about how he could take them in a fight. or at least, you think he’s joking. you hope kirkland’s joking.. he’s happy to have you in australia, but he’s really happy to be showing you the sea life. it’s something that he figured the both of you could enjoy. your country’s surrounded by water.. his country’s surrounded by water.. it just makes sense. at the end of the date he’ll buy you both souvenirs from the gift shop. for the next date, brett’s thinking whale watching would be fun. 

— when he’s visiting your country, he loves to match outfits with you. he’s used to hotter temperatures so his closet matches your weather for the most part. cheesy matching couple shirts are definitely a thing with him, though if you say no he won’t continue to push it. even if you two have completely different fashion styles, kirkland’ll try to make his outfit coordinate somewhat with yours. it’s just something he finds to be cute.

— brett is the type of boyfriend to call you at one am talking at the speed of light about some sort of incident he’s gotten himself into. he loves calling you when the two of you are apart. hopefully you’re fine with hearing him ramble on the phone about nothing and everything at the same time. he’s also the type of boyfriend to sneak out of work with you, slyly leaving a meeting in london so the two of you can explore around and enjoy each other's company. kirkland takes full responsibility whenever you’re caught in the act, though his mischievous glances at you are a clear sign that you’ll be sneaking out again like rowdy teenagers sometime soon. he’s the type of boyfriend to think of you as the best thing to ever happen to him. he’ll kiss your hand and pretend to be a gentleman, smiling as you laugh at his behavior. 

— he claims that you’re his good luck charm but brett’s just a lucky man in general. occasionally his luck will rub off on you and you’ll call him to talk about it. he likes to say that his love for you is just so strong that even when you’re apart he’s there making things better for you. it’s cheesy but when you walk along your capital city one day and find a large amount of money just barely hiding in the crack of a sidewalk, you really do start to believe it. it’s not logical in the slightest but hey, it’s sweet.

— he is naturally touchy. kirkland has one hand on you at almost all times. especially when it’s the two of you out on a date. what can he say? you’re a catch! he’s sure that if he didn’t hold onto you, someone else would try to steal you away from him. though he’s not easily jealous, he doesn’t enjoy the thought of someone trying to flirt with you. typically he just holds you by the waist. if you’re ever uncomfortable just talk to him about it— brett never wants you to suffer in silence, so trust me when i say he appreciates it when you speak up. he believes firmly in talking about your issues and working through them together. the two of you can find a nice compromise that works for both of you.

— kirkland loves playing on the beach with you! please, please take him out to one of your beaches so he can play volleyball or go surfing or build sandcastles. he’s a pretty outgoing person too, so it’s easy for him to find friends at the beach. if you want to just sit out in the sand and relax, that’s fine with him! he’s not one to sit still for too long but he’ll try to come check on you in between playing on the beach. 

> alfred f. jones!

— he loves going to the beach with you and walking along the beautiful sandy shores that your country is filled with. jones absolutely adores the feeling of the sea breeze hitting his face and running through his hair as he plays beach volleyball or builds sandcastles. the waves are perfect for surfing, an activity he’ll undoubtedly try and partake in. alfred’s no stranger to beaches of course. he has plenty of his own back home. however your beaches are so pretty with such clear water and gorgeous sand almost 100% clear of trash. he’s almost jealous about how well taken care of your beaches are. your citizens seem to care about keeping beaches healthy just as much as you do.

— he gets a ton of tiktoks about food from your country, specifically the fruits. every so often he’ll try to play expert and will grab fruit and eat it raw right off the plant. jones isn’t dumb enough to eat something poisonous, but it’s still a little embarrassing. especially considering no natives of your country actually eat fruit right off the plant. he enjoys eating all sorts of cooked meals that are favorites in your country. he’s not afraid to try new things so if you recommend him something a food, he’ll definitely check it out.

— alfred falls for nearly every single tourist trap he happens to see. though he’s your friend, he’s still technically a tourist to your country. it’s something you failed to notice at first until one day while visiting he left you and came back with an armful of little souvenirs. they were useless and you told him that but he didn’t seem phased. jones told you that he’d treasure them until the day he died. basically, he’d treasure them forever. it was cute so you let it slide that day, but from then on you made a note to keep him away from tourist traps. he’d probably go broke if you didn’t keep an eye on him. the souvenirs alfred did manage to sneak off and buy were used to decorate the personal homes he had around america. they were accompanied by keepsakes from japan, denmark, and a few other places.

— inviting you over to america is a whole different can of worms. really, jones is not sure which state he should show you first— maybe hawaii or cali because they’re somewhat similar to your country.. maybe new york or maybe even florida.. actually no, not florida. never florida. maybe arizona or new mexico (you’ve seen breaking bad, right?) or alaska so that you experience the snow. the decision process isn’t made easier when you comment on going to new york and arizona in the same day. alfred has to explain to you that his country is huge and going to all the states you wanted to see in the same day was simply impossible. there’s a lot of american things he wants to show you as a sort of thank you for showing him your country.

— the two of you make a pretty cute couple as boyfriend and girlfriend. it’s a little jarring at first, since he’s very american and occasionally ignorant on issues concerning your country but jones isn’t above learning to be better. as long as you call him out on his bullshit then he’ll change because really, he does love you. fully and wholly, he loves you. he shows his love when he visits your country and instead of playing on the beach he helps you pick up trash. alfred shows his love when you come to america and he waits at the gate, running and hugging you as soon as he sees you. he shows his love when he takes you to basketball and baseball games and kisses you even when you don’t appear on the kiss cam. 

— jones is obsessed with the drinks from your country. he finds that both the alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinks are delicious. they seem to come in an endless combination of interesting flavors. they always leave him wanting more. when he sees you during breaks in between meetings, he’ll occasionally beg for a sip of what you’re drinking. he’ll ask to ‘waterfall’ from your cup, giving you a strong dose of puppy dog eyes so that you give in. if you manage to stay strong, it’s not the end of the world— alfred will just ask you to bring a drink for him next time. if you give in though, he’ll happily give you a bone crushing hug before tasting some of your drink. ah, so refreshing!

> matthew williams!

— williams really enjoys learning about your local wildlife, especially if you have a species that’s native solely to your country. he’s very invested in wildlife conservation and protection in general, so hearing about the plants and animals that are protected here in your country is pretty cool! he wouldn’t mind visiting a few centers or zoos in general and seeing the animals up close. if you do end up taking him there, be prepared for a lot of picture taking. matthew actually prints out some of the pictures he takes of the two of you together, framing them in his bedroom. it’s nothing big, just a small framed picture or two on his nightstand. in general, he’d bond a lot with you over wildlife conservation.

— you two dress like complete opposites due to the differences in weather. it’s a little jarring when either one of you visits the other’s country because both of you always underestimate the difference in weather. at this point, it would be more productive for you to have two closets— one for home and one for canada. williams doesn’t complain much about the weather even when he’s not properly dressed for it. he just sits and suffers silently until you notice and make him change into something more fitting. 

— he sometimes worries you’d like his brother more than him. i mean.. alfred is the more outgoing one out of the two.. it just feels like you guys are total opposites. you’re a tropical country meanwhile his country is pretty cold.. every so often matthew thinks of the two of you as too different for each other, not really realizing that you two have a decent amount of stuff in common. even if you were complete opposites, opposites attract! you love him just the way he is. you’ll have to remind him of that every so often. give him a good talk and a few kisses to the cheek or a nice hug. he’ll feel just fine after that.

— williams would absolutely love to take you out to go ice skate on a frozen pond or play in the snow. he wants to be the one to introduce you to these things. even if you’ve already been in the snow before.. maybe he could reintroduce this sort of stuff to you. he finds the whole idea of a snow day with you to be romantic.

— stereotypical but please go to a hockey game with him. please please go to a hockey game with him. the first hockey game you go to with matthew is a special event. he makes sure to get you both the best tickets he can. of course, you’re both decked out in merch for the team he roots for (don’t worry about not owning any, he has plenty to share). he even goes as far as to ask for good luck kisses before the match. every time his team scores he cheers his head off before hugging you and thanking you for your luck. even if his team loses, williams is just happy to have gone out with you— though next time he will be asking for two good luck kisses instead of just one. actually, how about a kiss for every member of the team? he’s sure they’ll win then. 

— he definitely enjoys your sunny weather though he’s a bit shy about his body. he doesn’t suffer too badly with his self image, but matthew gets self conscious every now and then. usually this doesn’t hold him back though. once he sees you waiting for him he puts his fears aside. as long as you love him and his body then who cares what someone else thinks? plus it would be improper to keep a lover waiting. especially when you look so good in your swim outfit.. of course he’s joining you in having fun on the beach. 

[petruchio]

LEAVING ASIDE the nonsense that was the marketing for these films, how do you feel about the songs Taylor released on the THG soundtrack?

oh i love them!! i actually think eyes open is the superior hunger games song of the two and i think it's a brilliant interpolation of taylor's own relationship with fame projected onto katniss in a way that i think highlights just how incisive the commentary of THG is -- like "everybody's waiting for you to break down/everybody's watching to see the fall out" could easily be on a track like the lucky one and it clearly reflects a lot of taylor's own anxieties about fame and celebrity -- but the fact that it maps so perfectly onto katniss is just like MWAH! perfection. and it's just proof that suzanne collins tapped into a VERY real set of feelings and ideas about fame and living under intense scrutiny. and the hunger games-y lyrics are SO GOOD bc they feel natural but also are so specific and cool: i love "keep your aim locked the night grows dark" like YES LOVE IT.

to expand on that honestly... i think that line eyes open in particular is proof to me that a lot of great songwriting comes out of using stories that are not your own. i think another great example of this is olivia rodrigo. like don't get me wrong: i LOVE deja vu. i think it's a pretty perfect pop song honestly. but "can't catch me now" is SUCH A GOOD SONG. it has imo a some of her best songwriting on it, because i feel like it gave her new metaphors to explore and made the lyrics and the music feel fresh -- like "there's snow falling over the city, you thought that it would wash away the bitter taste of my fury and all of the messes you made" is a BRILLIANT line! like to me, it's leagues above "i used to think i was smart but you made me look so naive" (i could write an essay on my feelings on vampire honestly but that's just one example) (like i really genuinely enjoyed guts a LOT -- but it did start to get repeptitive, only being about heartbreak and insecurity. yeah those feelings are rich and layered! but i also like the song about falling in love with a future fascist dictator and then disappearing into the woods a la wordsworth and existing in a perpetual state of unreality for the rest of time. like that one was really good too! (another side note is that she has that one unreleased song on her instagram inspired by twilight -- and it's also like, wonderfully written. like yes olivia, free yourself from the need to be a diaristic songwriter and just write insane fandom songs. PLEASE.)) (i felt the same way about "what was i made for?" -- like that song is PERFECTION in the way it maps so perfectly onto the metaphors and images of the barbie movie and yet it stands alone as a great song as well. low key i wished wwimf and ccmn had been released in two dif years because i wanted them both to get the best original song oscar. just incredible work by our gen z pop girlies.)

and to go on and on MORE... all of this is why i think the taylor swift effect in pop music has been like... honestly a net negative for a lot of artists honestly. like music doesn't NEED to be about gossipy personal details to be good! don't get me wrong, i love the way we get to dive into "taylor's diary" and i think it's the reason i still love so many of her personal songs -- bc they feel like various entries into the experience of growing up as a lonely little girl and trying to understand your place in the world. and exploring the evolution of her personal relationships over the years is really cool and makes for a fascinating body of work to dive into and analyze. but also... sometimes songs are still good even when they're NOT intrinsically tied to the personal life of the singer! like nobody cares if "toxic" is about justin timberlake or kevin federline or whatever -- it's just a great fucking song and it doesn't matter that it's britney singing it, except in that her vocal delivery and performance style lends itself to that banger of a track! (AND THIS IS TRUE FOR TAYLOR TOO! i've said often she does her best work when she's fantasizing -- "you belong with me" is inspired by a phone call. "august" is a completely pretend story. "death by a thousand cuts" is about a movie. like those are some of her best songs!! and it's at least in part because they feel expansive and fresh because they're NOT ABOUT HER!)

anyway my point is not to say that diaristic songwriting is bad or that i don't like it -- because i really DO, i love looking at the connections between taylor songs across albums and eras and analyzing how she ties certain images or phrases to certain muses and tracking the evolution of her relationship to life and love over the years. but i also just think she's a good songwriter -- so when she writes songs about other stuff... it's interesting and cool. i wish she'd do more of it haha

[edge-oftheworld]

albums and activism part 3: blood on the drums by ashton irwin

I was debating whether to include this here and so early on, but blood on the drums seemed the best album to use to illustrate an important point: you can't do any activism if you're dead.

and this is a 5sos blog anyway sorry for nothing but white men to this point

I'm going to go through track by track and discuss how each song talks about mental health and why this is important. Figure we probably need less of an introduction to ashton, but the historical activism on his/the band's part is going to be woven into it. This is dark, even for one of my posts. There will be mentions of self harm, suicide, domestic violence, and addiction below the cut, so please stop reading if you need to; I'll post a reblog of this with the rest of the songs on this album once that section is over which you can skip to once it's up.

but if you can stomach it I’m also proud of this analysis please read it lol

Straight to your heart: this is an excellent introduction to the album to me, because it's an upbeat pop song about love, but if you listen carefully you get a glimpse into darker topics running through the whole song. The album is the same: it's fun and an excellent listen, but it also delves into some really important subject matter regarding all things mental health.

Straight to your heart's bridge, barely 2 minutes into the 'thorns' side of blood on the drums, is where we start to hear 'you kill my loneliness' followed by 'if I'm not with you I'm better off dead'. This prompts a new hearing of the chorus, and what is meant by 'you'll be my hero here in the dark, saving my mind from ticking'. What exactly does the protagonist need a hero to save him from? He's talking about death 2 minutes into the album. And we'll touch on this later but first, I want to draw a parallel between this and 5sos in general. A pop/rock band who write generally upbeat songs with excellent instrumentation and vocals and lyrics that are sadder the more you listen to them (it's no surprise that this is the genre of song Ashton has gotten good at writing). I think that we forget that it hasn't always been normal, but they've been pioneers at starting discussions about mental health in the mainstream music sphere for almost a decade now; especially Ashton and Michael in the early days. They've been honest and vulnerable, sharing their own experiences with things not everyone understands or has compassion about, with the world, for the sake of us fans.

I think it's time we talked about how we can make sure we're being compassionate towards them as well, as well as towards ourselves and each other.

Break up: I do this weirdly morbid thing with this groovy banger where yes, it's a song about cheating, an imaginary scenario for a lot of us and something we've been hurt by for a lot of us too. But it can also be listened to as a story illustrating an important (and terrible) intersection of men's and women's mental health (in a heteronormative society, though neither position is unique to men or unique to women, there is just unfortunately one type of scenario that dominates statistically, and that is men's violence against women (but also against trans, genderqueer and other marginalised groups)). 'In my imagination, the heaven I'm building, you two come together but you don't leave here with him' aside from jealousy, what's another reason you might really want someone you care about to break up (right now) with their significant other and be with you instead?

Here, the concept of a lover being a hero and a lifeline is reversed. The love interest is empowered with the autonomy to decide when to break up with their current lover, while the protagonist tells them what they want as well; but also empowers them with the corrective experience that being in love can be fun. They don't have to feel small and worthless. The protagonist finds hope in the fact that 'you say I'm not like him'. Maybe they're just horny but maybe it's that abuse takes many forms, but has a common impact on the self esteem of the party being abused. Here, the cheating can be read as a way to take that back, a way to feel empowered again to make the difficult decision to 'break up... be with [the protagonist] now' where they might otherwise feel trapped.

I definitely don't think this is the intent of the song--but I also love the idea that when deciding who to blame or even demonise, things aren't always what they seem.

Blood on the drums: the whole concept behind this, getting blood on your instrument (drums) because you’re giving it your all, is brutal and evokes a certain kind of dark imagery in of itself. It reminds me of the old ‘play me til your fingers bleed’ (you ruin me, the veronicas, referring to guitar), a self-destructive kind of passion, which calls back to the concept of ‘working your fingers down to the bone’ as an image of striving and often exploitation. Blood on the drums (song) tells of feeling trapped and waking up and realising the worst of it was a dream but living with the memory of your own subconscious torment still. It speaks of the insecurity of uncertainty when there’s a lot on the line because you’ve invested everything in this endeavour (will I stand or will I fall; will I ever learn to fly, will I make it out alive?) surrounded by the disbelief of others who insinuate that success is impossible.

But hard work does pay off, sometimes, and that can be said of creating art, of activism, of recovery. Sometimes the blood on the drums is necessary, the blood, sweat and tears you put into something are worth it in the long run, a sacrifice that’s more of a multiplying investment. And for those of us who have the ‘bad dream’ of a trauma background to recover from and brains we have to work to work with, survival doesn’t come naturally, I hope you do give it your all. I hope you do learn to understand the difference between the blood from a life-saving surgery and the blood from another injury that’s unnecessary suffering. I hope you learn to channel your urges towards the latter towards the former. Both in yourself and in society. Sometimes blood on the drums means triumph. This is also an album of triumph.

I did briefly want to touch on the concept of guardrailing and the dignity of risk as alluded to in the second verse. I’ll let you research these terms on your own, but I hope you know that you have the right to autonomy to decide what risks to take and you have the right to work yourself as hard as you choose to (but no one has the right to force you to. sometimes it’s satisfying and ends up being the road of least harm to push yourself. Learn to identify that. Learn to just not listen to the haters. And to have boundaries and where oppression can’t be escaped, find ways to take autonomy over yourself as much as possible in ways that are, in the long run, healing—even if they don’t look like it in the moment or to the outsider. If you’ve been anywhere in this fandom the last 5 years or so, you’ve heard about the value of trusting your own intuition). Let this tune convince you you can have the thrilling and worthwhile life you dream of.

anyway did I mention I really love this song? and album?

I see the angels: I think this is a song about religion and finding the holy in the mundane, including and especially yourself. it plays off Christian themes such as glory following suffering (ie I’ve learned to fly with both hands tied). do you see an angel in yourself after all you’ve been through?

‘I don’t see the light but I see the angels’ implies that the protagonist hasn’t found the light of enlightenment and salvation that Makes Everything All Better people like to stereotype. It’s not all fixed. Everything isn’t all better. There’s no ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ but there are angels all the way there. And the song nuts out a bunch of the trials along the way. Trials we go through surrounded by angels if we look for them. Angels that might just be within us; we might be the angels that we need for ourselves first and foremost, but also for each other. It’s a beautiful song of resilience through really dark times. It pairs perfectly with blood on the drums (song). It’s worth it do go through hard things. If you love it let it kill you.

(And it means it’s really sweet how ashton called luke ‘a real life angel’ for his birthday last year and then made a post just to tag calum as an angel in his life recently too, I get the impression it’s a really high compliment to him, and we’re really blessed to get to see this song of discovering there’s an angel in yourself and live it alongside him.) Some people don’t know how it feels. They don’t see the angels. But a few more of us do, thanks to this song.

tw suicide and self harm for the following paragraph

there was a tumblr trend from maybe 10 years ago of referring to people with self harm scars as angels. I think it came from a viral post that may or may not be around, popular enough to pop up on my pinterest feed at the time (I could probably find it in a few hours if I tried, I haven’t). the viral post from sometime in the 2010s in the peak of the ‘if you have one of these 3 mental illnesses that are the only mental illnesses that exist you’re too soft and gentle for the world and can never do any wrong’ was an explanation of the really sweet and tragic worldview of a child whose teenage relative had died of suicide (framed as going back to heaven). here’s my message to all the angels reading this. I believe heaven is real. but don’t return (yourself) to heaven before your time. there are angels all around you and we want to make your stay on earth including all the hard and painful things as liveable and enjoyable and satisfying as possible. this is what we do activism for. it’s also what we build friendships for. cherish the angels in your life past, present and future.

There’s a lot more than just 3 mental illnesses and the mental health movement of the 2010s has been criticised for only covering those that are already the least stigmatised and most common. Mental illness also doesn’t absolve you of personal responsibility and doesn’t mean you’re incapable of doing wrong. You’re still just as valuable. And when it comes to activism: some things we go through can mean we have to take more care of ourselves and that may mean being judged by others in the movement. But there’s also a chance that having had dysfunctional and destructive habits of your own, you may have better insight on how to enact change than someone for whom moral behaviour has come easy due to their privilege. Still, cherish yourself like you’re an angel. And balance it out with ‘if it doesn’t hurt it doesn’t thrill you’. Sometimes that can simply refer to trying to figure out how to behave morally.

Lose you: if you’ve heard any 5sos album you know that themes of emotional dependence on a partner and insecurity make regular appearances in their songs and have for at least a decade. Including in the upbeat pop songs such as this one, sometimes it’s not that deep but behind every ‘if I lose you I know that I might not make it back’ is a fear that feels very real at least at some point.

Contrary to the last two songs, we get lines like ‘done chasing’ and ‘why risk it’, ‘pressing on the brakes’ to prevent impulse decisions that turn out to be mistakes. Knowing your heart can break. Asking, ‘am I in my right mind’ rather than simply suffering and calling it normal. Self preservation is actually another part of the picture. Realising we rely on others is too, even among the hard work and prioritising looking out for ourselves. This is the song that highlights the fact that you can’t do activism or be there for anyone if you’re dead. The song that gets you thinking about how to go upstream and choose a bit of self preservation sometimes, long enough to realise that no, you’ve not been in your right mind for a long time now and you’ve been acting as if your heart can’t ever break. You know it can now. And you can sing a happy sounding pop song about it!

Rebel at heart: now we move onto the self acceptance middle section of the album. I feel like this one continues a lot of the themes of I see the angels: how you see yourself, and sustain yourself through times of suffering, recovering your identity almost. Except what's interesting to me is the different connotations of the concept of being an 'angel' vs a 'rebel' and how they're both referring to who you are inside, and in a lot of ways to the exact same thing in this context. Pop angels and punk rebels perhaps? This is a duality that 5sos as a band very much straddles. But who says that these things are actually so different? Angels are associated with sensitivity, but can often be associated with divine justice too. Rebels are shunned by the structure of society but carry with them a certain association with street cred, sympathy for the oppressed, and leadership in standing up against injustice. Surely that hints towards a sensitivity to injustice and to the idea of being stifled? It's a more masculine trope, sure, but Ashton has explored masculinity and sensitivity before in songs like Scar and it's interesting to see the two intersect possibly more than we realise, when we take off the goggles of false dichotomies that really only have to do with the relation to authority.

I've talked before about how I appreciate this band when it comes to accepting myself and this rare and stigmatised neurodivergence I have that centres around easily feeling trapped and needing a lot more freedom to feel like myself than most people. Rebel at heart really captures this for me, and the realities of an unaccommodating world: burnout, escapism, destroying myself trying to play pretend (because I'm not actually capable of sustaining it). And in the end, when you feel the boot upon your chest (any kind of oppression, suffering, even the kind created by our own brains) there's something you should never forget.

Don't you see who you are? Coming out of the dark? You're a rebel at heart. Gonna blow them away. When you're feeling the pain. You're a rebel at heart. It's motivational and it also captures the disability that is the pda profile. That's just one of many applications of this song. It can apply to the mental illnesses we've discussed already. Maybe the 'angel' trope doesn't really work. Maybe the 'rebel at heart' trope works better. Maybe it is empowering in that it gives you the framework on how to live a life that's authentically you and it might not fix everything but it's easier to survive it when you've taken off the weight of other people's expectations on top of everything else. You don't just have the options to go back to heaven or to suffer in a world not made for you, even though yes, the world isn't made for you. Because you're a rebel at heart.

Oh, and it makes it almost expected of you to do some kind of activism when you're a rebel doesn't it? Luckily we've also now got a bit of a blueprint to be able to survive it, sensitivity and all. I can't stress enough the importance of this song.

Last night of my life: we're thinking about death again, but not in a hopeless way. Tomorrow's not guaranteed. We've seen people live and die. So let's acknowledge the fact that these people have hurt me and not pretend to still like them. Am I satisfied with my life; if it were a project I got to rest after, if it was the only thing I did til then, would I be happy? Only if I confess to you all the rain left in my chest. I have a story to tell. It involves not pretending that there isn't rain for one. And when I think like this, for once I don't wanna skip to the end.

It seems self-explanatory, a bit existential, but when you take it in the context of the thorns, of a life filled with suffering, it's actually a beautiful and hopeful piece that says, satisfaction is possible for you. Don't waste your life pretending to be okay, not accepting yourself and how you feel, you've got your whole life, and it's gonna be good if you make it your own. It's the rationale behind all the storytelling. You could extend this to activism too: if the rain left in your chest is filled with compassion for those who need it, yourself included, it's gonna hurt you more to keep it in. And do we need to plan out how we do all this? Absolutely. But don't wait. Don't put it off. Be a rebel and give it your all and cherish yourself for the angel that you are now. If lose you is about not letting impulse decisions become regrets, lnoml is about not letting inaction and waiting to be yourself and live your life become regret either. I love how these songs are spliced together.

Indestructible: The final song of the thorns, with a riff that takes us back to the introduction of straight to your heart? How perfect. It's almost its opposite: a dark song with hope and empowerment, as opposed to a hopeful song with some morbid references. Your mind is in the gutter, there's no heaven above--let's not understate the picture that the verses create just because the chorus is victorious. It paints a picture and says, you can get through this. Heads are gonna roll: when it feels like you're surrounded by enemies you're going to beat them. You're indestructible. While we're talking about mental health and the things we struggle with this song injects validation and empowerment and an amazing beat to get those chemicals popping in our heads. You know you're a rebel at heart now. Don't you run, run, run, run run away, get out of the darkness and into the day. Master the mantra, before it's too late.

I love how universal this encouragement is. The more we hear the song, the more we can read into it. Relate it to our own experiences. I could go on. Onto the interpretations of the tip of the knife giving you life every night and just how much background and legitimacy it gives this song as a motivator and shield in battle. But it's dark and it's hopeful and that's not easy to create.

The Canyon: Now that you've been hyped up and you can take it, onto the main song about men's mental health. It’s really relevant, right now especially. We’ve got so far to go on this one and it breaks my heart. Because of the people we’ve seen suffer. Because of the people we’ve lost. Because of the people who maybe would’ve learned to be better people and not hurt others if they had the help they needed. If they had their (emotional) needs met which apparently is something people still don’t think men have. This song is fairly self explanatory. You can see the fire on the mountain (ambition or whatever, everything we/men are told to want or do want, are chasing etc), many men are victim to the canyon.

just like ashton, I grew up just downstream of the blue mountains. they’re a famous national park just out of Sydney and one of my favourite places to visit. Something the mountain range is famous for is its canyons. To explain it simply on a geographical level, imagine you make a cone (hehe see you in the cone lol) out of wavy paper. Think corrugated cardboard but worse. As you climb the mountain there are ridges where you can travel easily upwards. Between these ridges, the heavy mountain rains have carved out really deep trenches starting at the top of the mountain and descending really steeply. They’re not like the Grand Canyon. They’re dark with rock walls on either side of you that go upwards for days and block out all but a sliver of the sun. They’re cold and they’re filled with water and you don’t ever go in them if it’s raining, because you might actually drown. They often have waterfalls in them that are 30+ metres in height. It’s impossible to climb up inside the canyon, you need to be on the ridges for that (but they’re fun on the way down if you have a wetsuit and good ropes to abseil the waterfalls, but that’s not what this song is about). Many men try to climb the mountain to get to the fire. For whatever reason they end up in the canyon where it’s impossible to climb out unless you go downstream first. Whether because they have no one to teach them how to find a ridge, or they slip, it doesn’t matter. Many men are victims to the canyon. Too many. And I don’t see nobody taking action.

and I know. It’s not just men. Women suffer a lot of mental illness and sexism and the emotional labour we’re meant to do play a big role in that. Trans and genderqueer folk have alarming statistics because of a discriminatory world and being a marginalised experience, along with other factors like high correlation with neurodivergence. These are all conversations we need to have.

but the thing about mens mental health is that more often than not, it’s not a matter of being discriminated against and being vulnerable to exploitation. For some it is. For others it’s expectation that’s too big for reality and no one saying that your worth isn’t in your achievement. Your appearance. Not being allowed to talk about or even feel emotions in a way that’s gender affirming. Especially for Black men, there’s people being scared of you and having to grow up too fast, mask your true self because of it. I also want to tentatively suggest that (and often for good reason too, stay safe people) men having a breakdown are more likely to be seen as dangerous and potentially abusive than someone who’s overwhelmed, hurting, needs help but probably doesn’t know how to let anyone help them. And autistic meltdowns can be terrifying coming from a grown man, so can manic episodes, bpd episodes, psychosis. No one has the obligation to stick around where they could potentially get hurt, but at the same time, there are often no alternative resources given to be able to create a place of safety to be able to unpack the emotions and the neurobiology behind such an event. It’s just having to promise to control yourself even if you’re not sure if you can, until you inevitably snap and someone does get hurt, and then there’s punitive justice, on top of the guilt. Not all the time, but sometimes all of this could be prevented by normalising self awareness, especially if you have a condition that means you’re more likely to express violence or a need for control either towards others or yourself. We’re doing better at normalising getting help. We need to do better at destigmatising getting help and learning to repent and forgive yourself when someone already has been hurt, lest it becomes a vicious cycle of believing who you are is only someone who can hurt others or hurt yourself. You’re never too far gone. Getting better is always possible. Yes, even for men.

It’s just a different set of overlapping factors wherever you are on the gender spectrum and with a bunch of cultural factors thrown in. The canyon talks about men, still the overwhelming majority of suicides despite having a lower diagnosis rate for most mental health conditions (implying that men are far less likely to receive appropriate help). Ashton is a man so that is his experience. He wants to talk about that. The suicidal ideation, how it’s pushed aside until it seems almost inevitable gonna die boy. getting harder to deny boy. Longing for external help from someone with a little more emotional awareness who’s able to lend you some safety to sit in that feeling. How hard it is to face the day and face life when the wave of sadness feels constant, like the torrential stream of water when you sit underneath the waterfall at the base of Empress Canyon (which, over time, erodes the rock to create a pool metres and metres deep. I don’t know if he ever thought of this metaphor but I thought it was cool). How more often than not, your emotionally unavailable dad was emotionally unavailable (and scarred you as a result) because he was experiencing the same thing. struggling. How can you process when the exact thing that made life still so difficult for you was the fact that someone you relied on was in the exact same position you are now? Doesn’t that make you feel helpless?

I don’t see nobody taking action.

California Holds Her Breath: I heard snippets of this one before I heard the whole song, and as a result, I can’t unsee in it the same compassion and pride and admiration which ashton looks at his bandmates with. And hopefully himself a little too. I don’t know who the dancer from Indiana is, but I do know of a four-piece band from Australia who came to California and went through some really amazing things but also some really hard things, who have talked about battling things like addiction and who we’ve seen worry for each other too. Who left the stability and support of a home country which they didn’t quite belong in, that didn’t give them the opportunity to chase after what they wanted at the time, for homesickness and the kind of danger that comes with experiences and substances that are only going to make things worse if you’re already unwell or have some vulnerability to addiction or a trauma background or you just feel alone or one of many other things. From the sounds good feels good era of bathroom-graffiti-like angsty confessions to the makeup and tears of the youngblood era to the surrounded-but-alone vibe of 5sos5.

I didn’t address the alcoholism references in rebel at heart. But I feel like this is the other side of you’re blacking out with alcohol don’t drown yourself again, this world just don’t feel right for you and you don’t play pretend. you’re just another falling star you’re burning out again. It’s deciding to be the rebel you are and to create but it’s hard and you’re bleeding and you’re still blacking out with alcohol after crying underneath your makeup and bathroom graffiti confessions. It’s the same melancholic longing and loneliness we’ve gotten as a vibe from this band forever. that over the years has taken some dark turns and we were holding our breath when it did because stardom is so fucking dangerous especially if you get into it because you felt like you were missing something to begin with. It’s they cursed/gifted you with emotion and creativity and so you came to california. will you make it once you’re there? california holds her breath.

(reblog coming with the rest of the songs)

[idontwanttospoiltheparty]

“but my Hot Take is it totally was worthy of Album of the Year BEFORE John got killed.” Yes! As far as the songs are concerned it does kind of feel like an incomplete play because how do you go from I’m Moving On to Yes I’m Your Angel?? (I started out ironically liking this one now tralalala is the default ringtone in my brain). How would you rate the songs? :)

Just listened to the whole thing again to give a better answer. Fun birthday morning activity before I go brunching B)))))

(Just Like) Starting Over: Gorgeous. Fun. Beautiful. Immediately became one of my top John songs. The chords on this are gorgeous; masterful use of an augmented. Also the "but when I see you, darling" melody is perfect. This song just makes me incredibly happy. Also the bass is good :) 10/10

Kiss Kiss Kiss: I LOOOOOVE how much this messes with the previous vibe. It works so well. The opening guitars are v cool. Yoko's side 1 sound is so varied and does such cool blending of genres. Like there's a ska thing going on here? I am also lowkey um. kind of into her noises. 9/10

Cleanup-Time: this is definitely a silly-goofy song but it is suuuuuuuch a banger. I love the moments of high tension. "Now it begins" and the "well, well, well." bits. It adds a darkness to the song. The horn section went offffff. 9/10

Give Me Something: Absolutely Insane. the best use of Yoko's vocals and style imaginable. The production is immaculate. 10/10

I'm Losing You: Absolutely Insane Pt. II. The bridge bit "Now in the valley of indecision" is sooooo devastating (+ it's an obscure biblical reference! literary beatle At It Again). This song builds so well, I love how genuinely upset he sounds towards the end, breaking down on "Don't wanna hear about it!!!!" and generally how his voice gets nasty at certain moments. The song feels like slowly and extremely painfully discovering irreconcilable differences. The guitars in each verses breakdown moment sound like alarm bells. It's an immaculate breakup-or-almost song. The sound is so good, the harmonies are great. The guitar solo is crazy!!!!!! (it actually reminds me of George's work on How Do You Sleep? but without the cringe!!) THE PRODUCTION IS CRAZY OKAY?????? 10/10

I'm Moving On: the most insane follow-up to the previous song. He laid his deepest fears bear and she said "And What Of It???" The lyric "When you were angry you had love in your voice" keeps me up at night. But BANGER of a bassline and funky fresh nonetheless. Most effective song transition on the album and most of them are good to great! 9.5/10

Beautiful Boy: Absolute devastation aside, I must confess I find this song a little more boring musically. Though I do appreciate the adventurousness of the vocoder and the bridge is gorgeous. The outro is nice and really relaxing. 7/10

Watching The Wheels: I love John Lennon and I want him to be okay :( also the way the song slows down at the end of the chorus is soooooooo much to me. Like it hurts my heart. I like his talk-singing here, it really works for the vibe. The lyrics are kind of depressing despite the fact they're on the surface positive. But I think the question of what constitutes a happy life is interesting and deep at its core. 8/10

Yes, I'm Your Angel: I love that John is sharing an album with a granny song again. Nature is healing. I vibe with this and it suits Yoko surprisingly well. Tralala, as you say. But it's insane of Yoko to call John her fairy. Girl. STOP. 7/10

Woman: It's distinctly more boring than anything else John wrote for this album but I do enjoy it and find it sweet for the most part (aside from the horrors). The production reminds me a lot of Here, There and Everywhere. 6/10

Beautiful Boys: this is the least good one. It is just musically pretty uninteresting and the lyrics are kind of clunky. But the intro and instrumental bits sound cool tbh and I like how the production builds. "You've got all you can carry / And still feel somehow empty." OKAY???? 5/10

Dear Yoko: cute!! The sounds are very fun. "Even when I watch TV / There's a hole where you're supposed to be / There's no body lying next to me" is soooooooo much. I like the silly voice he puts on and I LOOOOVE the spoken bit at the end :((( 7/10

Every Man Has A Woman Who Loves Her: The production is good I just wish the song itself was better and it's too long. I like John providing backing vocals because it makes sense given the content. I feel like if this was just FASTER it would be great. The solo reminds me of ABBA. 6/10

Hard Times Are Over: I like this song!! It's sweet. The melodies are good, very cool playing between minor and major. I also like how the "over" ties back in with Starting Over. It works well as an album closer. Though Of Course, one begins to wonder what these hard times were exactly when the album cut off mid-conflict. Makes You Think. (This album gives me brainrot!!!!) Anyway I like Yoko's vocal here a lot and I like John joining on the refrains in the background :) 7.5/10

In conclusion: Double Fantasy good

[sibyl-of-space]

It's time for me to go to bed. And that means everybody gets a Procrastination Essay No One Asked For About Sonic Adventure 1 for the SEGA Dreamcast!

This game is one of my super mega ultra all-time favorites. Every single time I revisit it, I am so afraid that my love for it is entirely nostalgia goggles and it will lose its charm this time around, and every single time, I just have the time of my life because the game really is great. It is so fun. It does some very cool things. It is kind of stupid but it takes itself seriously, and that is very endearing and a million times more interesting than a game that's too afraid of being perceived as cringe to be sincere.

I love basically everything about it. I painted Big the Cat on my Dreamcast and even that is not enough to communicate my vast love for this game.

MANY WORDS BELOW CUT. Visuals, audio, gameplay, I love all of it.

Visuals

The game came out in 1998. It looks like a game that came out in 1998. But the world and character designs are fantastic and the world is so detailed. I could genuinely spend hours just moving around on the Egg Carrier overworld map appreciating all the gadgets and gizmos moving around that are purely 100% set dressing. It makes up for what it lacks in polygons with cool textures and fun trinkets everywhere. The animated CGs genuinely look amazing, and you can forgive the rest of it considering the game came out in 1998.

I also love the splash screens you get after finishing each route. They're so good.

(It goes without saying that the game looks its best on a CRT. There are some really cool lighting effects CRTs just capture better.)

Audio

It obviously has an insanely good soundtrack of just nonstop banger after banger. It also has a very 1998 dub and the sound mixing and implementation are some of the worst you'll ever hear. Eggman has like 5 voice lines that are re-used in every scene he's in. But who can complain about that when they're listening to the likes of "Bad Taste Aquarium"? Literally nobody. Who cares. Every single song slaps.

"But Leo half the time the songs start and stop mid-cutscene because of how the game handles loading" who cares. I can forgive just about ANYTHING a game does in terms of audio implementation if it has a song as good as "Bad Taste Aquarium" in its soundtrack.

Narrative

Setting aside the fact that the story is kind of stupid, I really think we need to appreciate the way it tells it. The way this game has you play through the same story from everyone's different perspective, and how the scenes that overlap actually play out differently depending on who you play as, is so big brain. You don't get the full picture of what's happening until you've played as everybody, and there is no "big group of heroes collectively take on the bad guy" until the very very end Super Sonic story... until then, it's just different people having wildly different journeys that overlap here and there and are all part of a single, bigger story.

That's just cool ass storytelling. Everyone loves to bitch about my good friend Big the Cat but the entire point is that this extremely chill guy who loves to fish and just wants to save his friend was caught up in this Adventure, and he was a small but vital part of it, and it affected him differently than it affected everybody else because he had a different reason for being involved. But that goes for everybody! Everyone's story has an arc with a start and a finish, and most of them don't come close to being involved in the whole thing. Even SONIC doesn't see everything (he doesn't have a Hot Shelter level at all). Knuckles's story ends on a really cool note, with him going "I may never know the full story of what happened here, but maybe it's better that way." Or something close to that.

I also just love the concept of benevolent protector water god goes apeshit at people, as well as the concept of a ghost from thousands of years ago trying to right ancient wrongs. Chaos and Tikal are great.

Gameplay

The thing I love about Sonic Adventure is that every single character is really fun to play. This comes at the "cost" of what you might call "balance," in that half of the characters are broken as fuck and you can just disregard the very concept of platforming with most of them. I couldn't really care less about that because I just enjoy how fun it is to play as everyone.

Sonic Adventure 2 understandably put Tails in a mech because outside of it he is too damn broken. Sonic Adventure 1 lets you play as him anyway, and it rules.

The ONLY gripe I have about the gameplay is that Big the Cat does not have the means to harm robots (because he is too nice and chill to do that), but as a result he is unable to collect animals to give the chao. I cannot think of a single character in the Sonic the Hedgehog universe who would be better suited to raise chao than Big the Cat, but Big the Cat is unable to give them animals to power up. This is a tragedy.

Overall

Sonic Adventure is a masterpiece. Every time I play it I'm like "this is the greatest game that has ever been made." The parts of it that are clunky, awkward, kind of dumb, or very dated are still endearing because it tries to do so many things that you really just have to respect it. This is the kind of game that is fantastic whether you sit down and play it straight through from plot point to plot point or you spend three hours throwing that statue around Station Square into oncoming traffic.

Of course it's not polished. It tries to do way too many cool ass things all at once to be polished. It is WAY too ambitious to be polished. That's what makes it so good. It's perfect exactly the way it is and the fact that people will play this incredible game and go "lol, 3D Sonic sucks" is a good reminder that gamers will bitch about anything and you should never care about what gamers have to say when making games.

Big the Cat has glow-in-the-dark eyes. Game of all time.

[polycharismas]

my monthly alien stage rewatch findings. or rambles. Yeah rambles. i didnt say anything about Black Sorrow or Cure because those are like the most analyzed videos of all time and im tired Sigh

My Clematis: It still amazes me how much of an effect this one still has on me after all the time that has passed and after all the things that have happened in Alien Stage by now. It truly represents every single thing that makes Alien Stage such a special story. I think watching it again after all that went on in the story just elevates it so much more. This time around what did it for me was the monologue because you can easily apply it to every other character in this and it just Fits so well. Because truly what else do these children have aside from one another? Who else are they supposed to believe in? Where else are they supposed to find a God that can keep them moving forward in a world as cruel as this? All of them have someone, the nature of their admiration and the way they express it varies so much between all of them, but it still follows the same principle after all. The whole mv just put it in such a beautiful way it honestly holds up as its own story but knowing there was way more to these two girls and this whole world makes it so much better. I love yuri

ALIEN STAGE: UUugggGGahsgagahHahwnajwjdj Sorry. Okay. This is like the actual real trailer for this thang and its also so perfect. It foreshadows everyone's role surprisingly well. I think the fact Sua is the one singing also makes it better somehow because it just makes sense. She's the one that indirectly triggered a lot of what happens in Alien Stage in the first place she's the most important for our protagonist she's related with the rest of the cast in many different ways and to this day we still know next to nothing about her and yet she's the one singing the song that can be considered a true introduction to this whole world and that's Fascinating to me. I just feel nostalgic about this one also even if it really hasn't been that long since it was released. General banger and also it looks pretty as hell it makes me ill. Waugh

Unknown (Till the end...): OKAY I REALIZED THIS WAS PROBABLY THE ONE WHERE MY OPINIONS WOULD CHANGE THE MOST i have recently taken quite a liking to thinking about Till since a Twitter thread changed my whole perception about him and Oh Boy Did It All Change. It kind of really fucks me up. Till's relationship with Mizi i mean. It's stated he's one of the most brilliant in Anakt Garden. Not only is he skilled at both singing and playing an instrument he's also a pretty damn good composer. It's really something when you realize Mizi was the one who gave him both the determination and the inspiration to achieve all of this. The song he performed was the fastest selling album and he made it to Top 2 despite the fact the aliens are just not fond of him at all to put lightly. And he only achieved all of this because Mizi decided to show him a kindness she has always been familiar with but also a kindness he never experienced once in his life. Till has suffered a lot. Struggling to find an alien that would actually want to adopt him, being experimented on by the aliens and probably way Wayyyyy more, but it only took a single person to show him kindness for him to be able to keep on living. The nature of his feelings can be easily interpreted as romantic but it honestly resembles more that of a painter and his muse to me. So how do you think he felt when he saw his muse experience for the very first time the unkind world they lived in? He couldn't even glance at her during his performance because seeing his idol in such a state was painful. That still didn't stop him from wanting to speak his heart out through a song specifically made for her to hear. I sure hope nothing bad happens to this determined and energetic little guy!

Ruler of My Heart: Hi. This time around i thought really hard about how naturally Luka could hit all of Mizi's weak points through his performance. It's like a skill he learned throughout the years which is a really disturbing idea for me because we all know the state of his mind but what else could this be than giving the aliens exactly what they want from hosting this competition through all these years? Luka's parallels with Hyuna in the way they went about their roles in this world always fascinated me greatly because on one hand we have a total rebel who didn't hesitate to escape and do what She thinks is correct and on the other we have the Perfect contestant for Alien Stage. A title that sounds prestigious but can be also terrifying if we look at it from a human perspective. Someone so capable of twisting people's minds for the sake of entertainment and someone just detached enough to not hesitate at the truly awful implications of being a part of this competition and still participate with everything he's got. We don't know what exactly is the reason he did all of this and we also don't know much about. Anything that goes through his mind. So what the hell am i even talking about honestly. I want him so badly its painful i can fix him❤️

TOP 3: guys Guys Guys Guys Guys Guys Guys. Here it is. Famously known video i never shut the fuck up about. I think dropping this not before Alien Stage started but in the middle of it was genius because now we know exactly what the nature of this world truly is. I will never shut the fuck up about how absolutely amazing this video specifically is. The shift between the perspective of Alien Stage the aliens have to the perspective the humans themselves have is so fucking well done it makes me insane everytime. What could Alien Stage be to beings incapable of feelings? Just the perfect source of entertainment and money they could ask for. Its nothing more than that. But to the humans themselves its absolutely everything. Where they could win everything or lose it all. In this world humans have no other option than to trust their abilities to have even the slightest chance of being given the right to live freely. Where the cost of losing is your life. But also where the cost of winning is your own humanity. This video represents all of that in such a perfect way and it makes me ill in the head. GHhagzgHagGagagagav im normal

MIZISUA: Having a dedicated video for the most important relationship in the whole series is actually such a brain move. You can always feel the love these two have for each other every time they are together but the way you can feel it here just hits. Not a single word is spoken and yet you can feel everything they felt for each other in just that peaceful moment they shared when they were being sent to Anakt Garden. And the way you can also feel the pain Sua's absence has on Mizi in the span of so little time. You can feel absolutely everything with just that final scene alone. You can also see how opposite they were to each other and yet how well they fit together despite that. Seeing Sua like this makes me feel ill because i know already how much Mizi's everything changed her completely. To be loved is to be changed indeed. This video says everything you need to know about their feelings for each other and im DIGGING IT man. I miss them so much it hurts

All-in: HEH. HEY. HI HYUNA. This is like the perfect way to introduce her. We already know Hyuna somehow managed to break into the competition itself to save Mizi and this video just enhances more the way we see her by showing us how strong she is both as leader of the resistance and as a person. Hyuna is by far the most mature of the cast and this video shows it in such a perfect way. Someone like her is exactly what Mizi needed to finally break away from the pain Alien Stage caused her and to search for a path of her own in the freedom she now has. I love how easy going and fun the whole song feels because its no longer a performance for the aliens its a performance for the humans. Its no longer a song trapped beneath all that surrounds Alien Stage. Its a song made for the people that are free from the aliens that's meant to inspire them to keep moving forward and to not stop fighting for the future where the humans hold freedom. All of this also makes the fact that Luka is such a huge trigger for her elevate both of their characters greatly and also just make the whole conflict between them more interesting. What exactly was it that made Hyuna despise this man to the point thinking about him makes her sick? What exactly goes through Luka's mind when it comes to Hyuna specifically? They make me insane in the head i think the day we get more Hyuluka lore is the day i officially pass away forever. Godbless

[generouskittentidalwave]

Hamster and Gretel, oh boy..

Now we are gonna move past the unforgivable and horrendous act of this series being greenlit and given a second season immediately over giving us more Murphy's Law which, unless this show proves it's worth, I will not be forgiving anytime soon, but anyway let's talk about the actual show itself.

It's honestly not that bad. The more I watch it the more I find myself enjoying Gretel and Kevin's relationship and of course Kevin is the TRUE protag of the story (no one will convince me otherwise, we all know it's true), his character is PEAK. I genuinely like the songs, hamster is amazing and Fred is a MOOD. I like the concept of an alien species giving someone powers and then also creating villains for them to fight as well. It's actually a pretty cool concept and makes you wonder what is more at play here. I also LOVE the songs, as usual Dan's shows produce hella bangers. I also love the relationships and dynamics between all the characters.

HOWEVER

I like that they made Kevin the center focus but I'm gonna be frank, I DO NOT like Gretel as a character (so far, this is obviously subject to change as the series goes on). First of all Gretel's face makes me hella uncomfortable everytime I take a second to look at her. Her smile doesn't have any emotional weight behind it so it loses all meaning (with her character in general being as bland as white bread with no crusts, but I do respect the accurate ADHD they added to her character) and on top of that her smile is so unnaturally wide and her eyes are so big and she sticks out like a sore thumb amongst her friends and family to the point it feels uncomfortable. I get they wanted to make her overly cute but that's less cute and more reaching into uncanny valley.

Milo's wholesome smile and character was optimistic and cute, so was Isabella's, even their pets. But Gretel? I'm sorry but it looks like she is staring into my ever waking soul and plotting my demise as we speak. I'm a younger sister myself and I understand where they were going with her character, believe me, but OH MY GOD can she GRIND MY GEARS sometimes with her character and choices.

They made such a good realistically optimistic and calm yet still remorseful and caring character when it came to Milo, they treated it all with care and gave his gentle smile towards his shitty situation so much weight but with Gretel they made her optimism intentionally over the top with no other parts of her character aside from her having ADHD and nothing else, along with the fact she normally succeeds in nearly everything she does, and rarely ever see her need or try to fix mistakes she'd made on her own, and all this makes it to the point that she just feels- soulless to me and I don't like it. It rubs me the wrong way. I love the ADHD representation but they could've done a hella a lot better with her character as a whole, especially with her being a character meant to represent and inspire others.

I stand by what I said that people need to stop treating optimistic characters in media as a bad thing and projecting their issues onto them, but it's a different story when you have a character who is completely hollow and only has an over the top amount of optimism to the point it becomes boring and diminishing because that's all they are. I'm sorry but her character, to me, is like the embodiment of a children's song that is so repetitive you wanna replace your ears with cotton balls.

This show has so much potential and I love so SO many things about it, but they still have A LOT of work to do, especially with one of the heroines of the story. Here's to hoping season 2 will, hopefully, be better than the first one and they'll patch some things up at bit.

And no, her being a little sister doesn't justfy her character as in both pnf and mml they main characters were younger siblings and they were not like this, at all.

[misskattylashes]

One Man Band Track by Track Review

Right, so I have listened to the album twice. Miles wasn’t lying when he said it was banger after banger. But while the music is upbeat the lyrics are in places dark. Touching on self-doubt, insecurity and loneliness. For me OMB is the yin to CDG's yang. Both confessional (depending on your beliefs – both largely about the same person) but while CDG is an album of heartbreak, OMB is an album of hope. It seems Miles has found himself, and judging by the last track, he has someone who loves and understands him. And well, it all kinds of explains why he is so happy these days.

Troubled Son

This song could essentially be called I am approaching middle age and I am coming to terms with the person I am. Good and bad. Musically this track always reminds me of The Strokes.

Lyrically, despite beating himself up a bit, it is a song of hope. Once you face your own demons you can start to battle them.

This is the song that will get people singing at gigs. The lyrics are relatable to so many of us and it would be quite cathartic sharing the fact you’re a bit fucked up with several thousand people doing the same thing.

The Best is Yet To Come

Miles has admitted this is a song about being on the lash with his mates Big Lou and Romeo. Musically the driving rhythm and backing vocals are reminiscent at times of Queens of the Stone Age. Hard to explain, but this track is the most traditional Miles Kane and could have quite easily come from an earlier album.

One Man Band

Can I just start by saying there are not enough words to describe how much I love this song! Another song of self-reflection. I promise not to make too many comparisons to You Know Who, but as I have said before, the characterisation reminds me a lot of the character in Mr Schwartz. The performer who puts on the front to entertain people and make them happy, whilst hiding a lonely interior. But whilst Mr Schwartz is heart felt ballad. Miles being Miles. One Man Band sounds like sunshine.

Never Taking Me Alive

The most bonkers track on the album. Musically driven by surf guitar, lyrically an excuse for Miles to sing about his Italian American Heroes – De Niro, Pacino and Sinatra. This is a hype song. The sort of song you stick on on your way to a job interview, to pump you up.

Heartbreaks (The New Sensation)

Probably the weakest track, but still a banger. It evokes the image of a former girlfriend back in Miles’ mod day (retro boy trying to chase away time). With its Motown beat, this could have fitted easily into Change The Show. I mean it is a feel good banger, so to say it is the weakest shows how brilliant all the other tracks are.

The Wonder

Okay, anyone who follows me knows who I think The Wonder is about. So I won’t linger on that. In a nutshell, a song about realising a former lover and all the complications they bring is worth it, and this time you are going to put your fears aside and take a chance. The highlight for me are the rich backing vocals at the end, elevating it to almost gospel level.

Baggio

The happiest song in the world. I have analysed this before. In a nutshell, little Miles Kane is enthralled by Roberto Baggio and his flamboyance and realised its fine to be yourself. It is also a tale of hoping to reconnect with a lost love (cough cough)

Ransom

A mellow track about being afraid of falling in love because he is positive he is going to get heartbroken. However the object of his affections has hold of his cynical heart and he can’t afford the ransom, meaning he can’t escape them. A plea for them to be tender with him because he is trying to find a way. The final refrain being ‘cos I’d anything for you’. Whoever they are he loves them big time!

Doubles

I'm sorry but this is a Milex song. A happy upbeat song with Miles telling ‘the person’ that he is scared but he is missing his ‘Two player high’ but he will wait for this person. The middle eight lyrics ‘Never say never, never say never again, never say never I wanna know where it ends, I’m never in doubt when my heart starts to fall, there’s nothing in my life that I have wanted more, anymore’ ahhhh. This is also a sort of dancing in your bedroom alone song. Or maybe that’s just me.

Heal

This is the epic track of the album. With a heavy, rich musical arrangement, it is like the sequel to the Coup de Grace album. Where Miles was heartbroken, disillusioned with life in LA and at his lowest ebb. He acknowledges he needed time to heal to get to the place where he is now. Once again, gospel style backing vocals elevate the track to the next level. It is another song of hope. Facing up to the fact that we all have to endure the shit times in life to become the people we are.

Scared of love

A sweet acoustic ballad, where Miles opens his heart to his lover. Telling them he is sorry for holding back, but they sweetly tell him they understand because they know he is scared of love. Another song of hope. It would seem he has found love and whoever they are, they are there for him to help him fight his demons.

In no way does the last track inspire a fan fic in me.

Total score 5/5

[skeeverboy]

hi i'm skeeverboy and here's my review of every tfb album (not including singles or eps but maybe i will at some point)

I Hate My Friends (2008)

despite being their first and least finished albums, it is one of my fav albums of all time. it's unique and definitely not for everyone, but the garage/basement sound and unique vocals are so charming. it has this whole immature feeling in both instrumentation and lyrics that i'm just obsessed with. i really like the background vocals and the entire shouty kind of singing this one has.

fav track: push-ups

rating: 9.5/10

My Grandma Vs. Pneumonia (2009)

very similar in sound and vibe to IHMF, with the same acoustic recorded-in-someone's-basement feeling (this is because both albums were in fact recorded in random basements and garages). it feels a little more finished than IHMF, and the songs have a bit of a different vibe that i don't know how to explain. ultimately though i put it in the same category as IHMF and frequently forget which songs are in which albums.

fav track: the bass is too loud

rating: 9/10

The Front Bottoms (2011)

absolutely amazing album. it has all the charm of the first 2, with significantly more development and more of a finished feeling. it starts off with an amazing first track and there's really not a dud on this album at all. both versions of the cover art are beautiful. the lyrics in this album are just like some of my favorite of all time and often times soul crushing. i love it. enough said.

fav track: looking like you just woke up

rating: 10/10

Talon of the Hawk (2013)

another absolute banger. it has a lot of the same vibes as self titled, though it started getting a lot higher energy. while still angsty and gut-punching, it's also a lot easier to jam out to than their self-titled, with more electric guitar featured and absolutely banger choruses. maybe a little bit overrated, but a great album nonetheless.

fav track: santa monica

rating: 9/10

Back On Top (2015)

another one of my favorites. it's nearly completely abandoned the more acoustic feeling, aside from chunks of songs like the beginning of West Virginia. pretty much every song can be either cried to or rocked out to in the car. even though there is one song on this album that i kind of hate (summer shandy) the rest of them more than make up for it. fun electric guitar parts, the epic wind section in 2YL, the hard hitting lyrics in songs like Plastic Flowers, it's all just amazing.

fav track: ginger

rating: 10/10

Going Grey (2017)

everyone hates me for my opinion on this album but ultimately it's just kind of meh for me. it's not bad, but it's my least favorite TFB album. the entire sound of the album isn't my favorite, and at times the vocals feel a little dull, which i mean the vocals are like the number one reason why i love the front bottoms. some of the lyrics leave something to be desired, especially considering past songs.

i don't hate the album though. it's high energy, really transitioned TFB into IS&IF and YAWYHOW smoothly. it has a lot of good songs while remaining pretty true to the core TFB sound.

fav track: trampoline

rating: 7.5/10 (don't crucify me please)

In Sickness & In Flames (2020)

ok on my tier list i admit i ranked this one way too low. it pushed the band into a new direction, with the autotune and the way more developed and finished sounding instrumentals. pretty much every song is high energy and catchy. it strays way more into the pop side of tfb's pop punk/emo sound, which is fine but not exactly my thing. i think they do it in a really graceful way though and most songs on here are bangers

fav track: bus beat

rating: 8/10

You Are Who You Hang Out With (2023)

this one is significant for me because it was their first full-length album they released while i was actively a huge fan. it was exciting and i heard a few of the songs before the album's release live, so i'm definitely biased in this one. the autotune is a little weird, but it works for me. the mix between brian's unique voice and the autotune and just the general sound of it are really good.

i'll admit it did take me a minute for it to grow on me, especially as an early tfb girlie, but grow on me it did. outlook and batman both feel like really nice tie-backs to the older sound, almost sounding like they're from TOTH or back on top?? and the newer, weirder songs (i'm looking at you Paris) work really well with the sound of album and such.

fav track: batman

rating: 9.5/10