#but the final verse has more dramatic appeal for time

[everyryuujisuguro]

[1mnobodywhoareyou]

Bex and Riley for dealer's choice of birthday prompt!

A prompt request for two OCs 🥺 my brain children feel so loved right now. Thank you! But you made me make SO MANY DECISIONS and I’m mad at you for that 😉. Hope you like it! 

For context, Bex and Riley are both OCs in the Bex Verse. Riley is Bex’s best friend (Bex is Willexie’s kid) and currently playing around with gender and pronouns.

They reach the school and Bex turns to give Willie a tight hug. They return it readily, counting as they squeeze her ten times before finally letting go. 

“Ten’s not too old to hug your old Nomy in front of your friends?” they tease. 

Bex plants a hand on her hip as she rolls her eyes. “I’ll never be too old for hugs.”

Willie chuckles and restrains themself from ruffling her hair, “Yeah okay, we’ll see about that. Love you. Have the most amazing day.”

Bex wraps her arms around Willie’s waist one more time. “You too, Nomy! Love you, bye!” She waves as she runs off. 

She sees Riley in their usual spot at the edge of the playground, just outside of the chaos of the daily school drop off, and runs toward them.

They notice her almost immediately and jump up, wrapping her in a tight hug once she’s close enough. 

“Happy birthday!”

Bex smiles. “Thanks!” she says before holding her skirt out and giving a twirl, “Look what Auntie Carrie got me!”

Riley offers her an exaggerated appreciative whistle. Bex rolls her eyes. He’d finally learned how to do that and Bex is only slightly frustrated that she can’t figure it out for herself. Apparently even in a family of musicians, she’s got a distinct lack of people who can teach her how to do this one thing. 

“Nice!” they offer. Riley doesn’t understand the appeal of dresses, especially not floofy twirly ones, but if there’s one thing that is true for her, it’s that she’s going to amp Bex up any chance she gets. 

And if there’s one thing that Bex and Carrie share, it’s a love for floofy twirly dresses. Carrie had made sure that Bex could have her new dress ready for school today. They’ve made half a tradition over the last few years where part of Carrie’s gift to Bex is her birthday outfit and every year it’s more extravagant than the last. Bex’s dads make sure that Carrie keeps it age, season, and school appropriate though. 

She spreads her skirt out as she sits on the grass like usual. Riley drops down beside her. They know there’s not enough time before the morning bell to actually dig anything out of their bags so they spend their few minutes alone excitedly chatting about Bex’s upcoming party and what they’re expecting her family to do. Luke probably has some cheesy song planned. Reggie will bake like always and do something overbearing and embarrassing. Alex will cry. Granted, he cried this morning. Something about milestone birthdays and being ten and almost all grown up. He’ll absolutely cry again, though. Willie will try way too hard to be cool. They’re all so predictable but at least it’s funny when it’s not annoying. 

The warning bell chimes and Riley jumps up. They offer Bex their hand and she readily accepts the help in being pulled up, brushing off her skirt and legs once she’s standing. 

She laughs as she curtsies in thanks. Riley bows before offering her his arm. “Milady,” Riley teases. 

“Thank you, good sir,” Bex counters with another giggle as she wraps hand around his arm. 

“Anything for the birthday girl.”

They laugh together as they make their way toward the school. Unfortunately they aren’t in the same class this year so they separate dramatically once inside, complete with Riley pressing a gentle kiss to Bex’s hand. 

“Happiest of birthdays to you, Lady Bex.” Riley bows again as she makes her way to her own classroom, leaving Bex to find her way to hers. 

“You guys are so weird,” Bex hears someone mutter just loud enough for her to hear. She brushes it off and rolls her shoulder back, just like Auntie Carrie taught her, walking to her classroom head held high.

She used to fight back. When people talked shit about her. Or her dads. Or Luke. Or Carrie. But after many, many chats with her grown ups and teachers and principals, she started practicing new ways to deal with her ‘haters’ (as Flynn calls them). Right now, the strategy is a Carrie Wilson special and it’s been working out okay so far. Riley has a harder time but they’re all working on it. 

Riley’s waiting outside of her classroom at recess. “Happy birthday!” they exclaim as soon as she gets out the door. 

Bex laughs as she follows him outside, “You already said that.”

“Yeah, but I want to say it again. I’m gonna say it so many times today. Happy birthday happy birthday happy birthday happy birthd-”

Bex cuts him off with a hand to his mouth and another laugh. “Okay, okay I get it! Don’t expect this many happy birthdays from me when it’s your turn though.”

“No, you’ll probably do something way cooler.”

“Pft as if.”

“Yeah, ‘cause you’re the coolest.”

“You’re just saying that ‘cause it’s my birthday.”

“Nope,” Riley retorts, rushing away before Bex can respond. 

“Wait! You can’t run away from me! It’s my birthday!” Bex yells as she follows after her. 

Bex catches up to Riley where they’ve stopped at a broken piece of pavement. There aren’t a lot of great places to bug hunt on the school grounds but every once in a while, if they look really carefully, they can find something new in disrepair that hosts some creatures for them to watch. 

Bex crouches down and flips the corner of cement over. “Awe, just pillbugs,” she says with dismay as she watches the little ecosystem. “They don’t even count.”

She gently replaces the concrete, careful not to disturb them any more than necessary. Riley sits beside her on the cement pad. “We’ll find the coolest bug today,” he assures her. “We have to! Birthday and all.”

“It’s too bad we can’t go to the front where all the flowers are,” Bex says with a pout as she plunks down beside Riley. They’d tried. Many times. But the teacher on supervision duty always caught them and made them stay on or around the playground. Sure, there was some grass and stuff, but nothing like what the front of the school offered for insect-friendly hunting grounds.

They sit in silence, staring at nothing until the bell rings to take them back inside. 

There’s no playful exchange this time around but Riley’s waiting for her again at their lunch break, with another round of happy birthdays, and then again at afternoon recess. 

They don’t have any more luck in their bug hunting, choosing to forego it entirely for their last break and instead opting to flip through the book that Riley had brought from home. 

By the end of the day, they’re both nearly bouncing out of their skin in excitement, the disappointment of their failed insect tracking behind them. Riley gets to come home with Bex. Something that’s not necessarily new. Or rare. But it’s different this time. 

Bex’s classmates (and their parents) and teachers gawk when at the end of the day The Carrie Wilson™ is there in a limo to pick up Bex and Riley. The Carrie Wilson™ who happens to be sporting a dress that almost perfectly matches Bex’s.

Carrie greets Bex and Riley with a wink and smile. They quickly clamber into the car, beaming the entire time. She follows and lets the driver close the door behind them.  

“You should turn ten more often,” Riley enthuses as they take in the interior of the car. Carrie had had it stocked up with Bex and Riley’s favourite treats (and some proper after school snacks at Alex’s insistence. “They need protein, Carrie.” 

“They’d better still be able to eat dinner and cake!” had been Reggie’s input.

“Let the kids have their fun!” was Ray’s contribution. “It’s not every day your kid, niece, grandbaby turns ten!”

To which Alex had fought back tears. Again.)

Bex looks around with wide eyes. She catches sight of the chocolate eggs that she only ever gets when somebody goes on tour and squeals with excitement. She takes one for herself and hands another to Riley. 

“Wait til you see these!” she tells him excitedly as she unwraps her own and cracks the chocolate open. She shoves the candy pieces into her mouth as she grabs the signature yellow canister and pops it open. She teaches Riley about the joys of Kinder Surprise, grateful to see that they both got toys that aren’t pre-built. 

“Best birthday ever,” Bex sighs. 

“And it’s only just began,” Carrie reminds her with a wide smile. “Let’s get you home so you can see what everyone else has in store for you.”

“How many times has Daddy cried?” Bex asks around a mouthful of chocolate.

Carrie laughs, “He made me promise not to tell. Or count.”

Bex rolls her eyes, a perfect imitation of her dad, “Figures.”

Okay i genuinely needed to cut this off cuz it almost turned into #Bex’s first sleepover which I am NOT equipped to write right now. Maybe I’ll extend this for ao3 later…

[sidneyprscott]

Did you see the revival finale with McCoy (and Waterston's real) daughter as the guest star?!! I'm just like 😬😬 How they brought her in and dealt with their relationship was honestly just disappointing.

[l&o revival critical comments ahead]

oh boy DID i see the finale..... [facepalm]

i agree with @valenshawke that it was nice seeing sam waterston act with his real-life daughter, but the writing was sub-par, to say the least. once again, i don't think any of these writers have that much familiarity with the established canon (not that the l&o-verse has ever been much for continuity), but i find it hard to believe that jack and rebecca went from starting to patch things up with that season 17 cameo to jack visiting her semi-regularly when she moved to california (we hear snippets of this in seasons 18-20), to now another ten years and they're back to having this extremely distant, adversarial relationship? not to mention the fact that we've been hearing about rebecca in passing for years and not once does jack ever mention that his only daughter is a lawyer, just like dear old dad. knowing jack, he would have been bragging about it all the time. what greater honor could he have?

rebecca herself is also presented as being ready and willing to abuse her connections to help her client, which on the one had i understand that as a defense attorney, you do what you have to do to help a client. but on the other, do you expect me to believe that the only child of JACK McCOY genuinely thinks that pleading to him because "he's her dad" to cut her client a break is going to fly with him? and if their relationship is on such bad terms, why still would she think that an appeal to nepotism would help her? it's almost insulting that she would even try that with jack, more than once in the episode, and then barge into his office near the end almost in tears because he wouldn't grant her client a special favor because she was his daughter—it's almost like a tantrum. ugh.

the whole thing just doesn't make any sense and feels like the writers didn't even try—it's just like "how can we make this as dramatic and emotional as possible," but in a cheap, melodramatic way, not genuine or earned in the way the original l&o was known for.

and just the whole "oh no!!!! jack's daughter is working for the defense!!!!" is so contrived. like it literally wouldn't matter. she would just do her job. it's not like jack was the one personally prosecuting the case, so who cares? i would have much preferred to see the return of an old character who has left the DA's office for a different kind of law (serena southerlyn would make the most sense to me, considering as she was fired by branch for empathizing too much with defendants, but i'd take paul robinette as well who canonically became a defense attorney)—in other words a character whom the audience already has a history with and is emotionally invested in rather than essentially making up a character and conflict just for the sake of conflict.

i just want a normal, good episode of l&o that doesn't involve any soap-opera nonsense about the main characters' personal lives. is that too much to ask???? (apparently, it is!)

[quidfree]

Speaking of tlaao you mentioned endeavours retirement happening during graduation is it cool if I asked what exactly made retire in that verse and also like how the lov and afo were brought down?

i think i spoke about this in the author's notes or comments or something so forgive redundancy, but my general thinking was that (because i hate the pacing in BNHA it's so stupid and bad agrhghjdf) the big final LOV showdown of choice would take place in their last year of high school, and the whole dabi = touya reveal would unfold then. the way that happened in canon is pretty much exactly what i had in mind (obv), so it would be something similar, only i thought endeavour would actually recognise him sooner (you would think, as a father...). anyways i imagined that after a number of battles won and lost, the league would do one final big attack on 1-A's eventual graduation to wipe out the promising new age of heroes, and endeavour (knowing who touya was) would get seriously injured protecting both of his sons (from each other, even) during some of the more gruelling fighting. post battle the scandal of touya's identity + his injuries and endeavour's general guilt would feed into his decision to retire, and his newfound focus on trying to heal the family's wounds/save touya (eg via speaking up at his trial and such despite the cost to his own reputation).

besides the enji element, i hadn't given much thought to how the league/AFO would be specifically brought down- the plot mechanics don't matter as much as the characters' role in it to me. i wasn't aware of shigaraki and midoriya's million quirks each at the time, but i definitely would have preferred to go in a direction where victory isn't a matter of who can throw the most out-of-nowhere OP shit at each other. i did see a lot of dramatic bakudeku team-up sacrificing, natch. would have liked to see all the extended cast really going hard to secure the big 1v1s, and those being very psychological. i also would have liked some juicy dark finale, where like after all the damage he's done shigaraki has to die but the way they do it is by midoriya getting through to his humanity only to kill him off anyways. i get the appeal of current dark martyr midoriya, but i would have liked it better if it were more understated and personal of a corruption.

[crazy-joes]

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[mystoryboudoir]

Capturing your confidence and beauty with the best boudoir photographer in Melbourne

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A good boudoir session will include everything from professional hair and makeup to wardrobe consultations, possibly even access to a curated selection of outfits. This completely personalized approach sets the stage for striking images that showcase you at your most confident. The studio setting can also be customized; whether you prefer soft and romantic lighting or a bold, dramatic atmosphere, the best boudoir photographer in Melbourne can accommodate your style.

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[emocoherent]

95corolla // LONG TIME LISTENER / FIRST TIME CALLER : A Review

I first listened to LONG TIME LISTENER / FIRST TIME CALLER a few days after it had come out. It was one of those records that took a while to digest. For a debut album from a band in this scene, it has quite a bit of material. (It also released as I was preparing to graduate, so I did have more pressing matters to attend to). LONG TIME LISTENER / FIRST TIME CALLER was my introduction to the Nashville emo band, and, oh boy, was it a strong one. The rave reviews I had seen on twitter were correct – this is a fantastic debut. 

The first thing I noticed were the guitars, which is absolutely not a surprise. The moment they begin on the intro track LONG TIME LISTENER quite literally left me jaw-dropped and immediately enthralled by what else the album might have in store. Then came TO BE CAREFUL. The song as a whole, especially its lyrics, beg you to begin dancing and screaming along. The bridge and everything that comes after are especially phenomenal, and the final chorus is gorgeous. (I wrote a few paragraphs really digging into the lyrics of this one, but figured I'm better off just leaving it at this).

you crashed your car at night / and you called me right away / you told me you were okay / you lied right to my face / i told you, i want you / in the ambulance you cried / and your blood pressure spiked / you whispered right in my ear / i don't want to die. / i told you, i want you

The vocals on the lyric “Your blood dried so quickly, so quickly” are absolutely incredible, and some of my favorite moments on the album are when the vocalist is able to flaunt their incredible tone. 

The momentum continues with PLANTER and NO COAST, and, after a brief intermission with the interlude WORRY, doesn’t hesitate to pick back up. NOTHNXLOL is especially catchy, and the chorus particularly appealed to me as someone finally getting out of their hometown. 

i’ll never come back / can you even handle that? / goodbye flatlands / hello chicago / so let's go grab a beer and celebrate cause i’m getting out of here / i don't want my spot back / you can have it / i don't want it / un-engrave my name from it

This album is full of lyrics written to be screamed and melodies made to be danced to live in a sweaty, cramped venue, and this is where the album shines. THE NIGHT STAND, however, is a departure from the fast and loud energy we’ve at this point come to expect. Suddenly, we’re greeted with acoustic guitars, a slower tempo, and more vulnerable vocals. It took me several listens to really get this one, but I can now definitively say that it has some great lyrics and is placed perfectly in the tracklist. The nonstop energy could very well have gotten stale without a more acoustic song like THE NIGHT STAND, which would be a shame since EXIT and COPPER are both great songs. 

wake up / you built this cage / i’m a canary / i’m in a coal mine / don't you regret? / i need an exit / i need an exit

COPPER might just have the most energy of any song on the album, accompanied by some great verses. After describing what seems to be a planned arson via Molotov cocktail, the song fades in and out and in again with an echoing chorus of three simple yet effective words – “This place sucks”. After this, the closing interlude FIRST TIME CALLER wraps the album up neatly, as if the explosiveness present just a few minutes ago never even happened, ready to begin again. And begin again it does. I’ve had it on repeat since its release in May, and it’s definitely up there as one of my favorite releases of the year thus far. Jaw dropping riffs, dramatic choruses, and extremely strong vocals and lyrics make LONG TIME LISTENER / FIRST TIME CALLER an album to remember.

— a review by emocoherent

[careysmith1]

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[parkplaceconstruction02]

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[servicepropainting]

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[bahrain-lights]

The news that Red Bull is intending to employ a lawyer to advise them on appealing the steward’s decision from last week’s British GP with the intention of getting Lewis Hamilton a race ban or worse had my legal brain itching. Under the ‘read more’ button you’ll find an explanation of what Red Bull’s options are as well as my humble expectations of the whole situation, should Red Bull go all-out on this.

I'll tag @race-week, @babssionate and @weraceasone because they're bound to get questions about this and maybe this'll help :)

FIA appeal procedure

The FIA has its own appeal procedure. If a team, a driver, or any motor sport figure/authority does not agree with a decision, this decision is firstly appealed to the stewards who made the decision. This can also be read in the decision itself (here). The stewards can then re-evaluate their decision. If they decide not to change the sanction they decided on (in this case, the 10-second penalty) or if they change it but any party still doesn’t agree, they can appeal this decision to the FIA International Court of Appeals (ICA), which is an international tribunal with 32 (independent) judges. I won’t bore you with the full procedural course of an ICA case, if you want to you can read it here (in the FIA Judicial and Disciplinary Rules), but if you don’t want to or can’t, just take it from me that this is a lengthy procedure, time-wise. It is also expensive: just the filing of the appeal in and of itself costs (in this case) €3000,- (Article 9.1.1 FIA Sporting Decision), not even beginning to think of the costs of travel (parties are obligated to appear in person to the hearings) and legal representation (you can bet your ass that Red Bull Lawyer is being paid good money).

So, summarizing, a FIA decision can be appealed as follows:

Original decision made by the stewards – appeal with the stewards – appeal at the ICA

Wait - what is a tribunal?

Now seems like a good time to explain what a tribunal is, exactly. A tribunal is a specialised court that focuses on one single event or one single professional group. On the one hand you can think of war tribunals, like the Nuremberg Tribunal after WWII. Tribunals exist in day to day life in professional groups that have their own set of rules and regulations. For example, there are medical tribunals for doctors and surgeons who break medical rules, there are legal tribunals for lawyers who break behavioural codes, and there are military tribunals for soldiers who break the law. Think of it as a small legal system within the larger existing international legal system. The FIA is the same, it’s its own ‘legal system’ with its own legal code (the International Sporting Code and all affiliated codes) and its own court and appeals system.

So – what happens after the ICA?

The reason it is important to understand that the FIA is its own legal system is because it means the ICA is the final body where an FIA decision can be appealed. What the ICA decides, goes, no more appeals possible.

But what about the ‘regular’ court then?

So let’s say the ICA decides not to give a race ban, and decide that the original 10-second penalty was a correct penalty. Can Red Bull take the case to a regular court? Well, yes and no.

They can’t bring any party to court based on the FIA Sporting Code. As explained above, the FIA has exclusive jurisdiction over the application of this Code. If Red Bull wants to bring any party to a national court, they’d have to base it on national law, not the sporting code.

Now this is where it becomes interesting and also legally very improbable that Red Bull is going to achieve something. Red Bull has two options here, either taking Mercedes to court or taking the FIA to court.

Taking Mercedes to court

This would be a private case – and most likely be ruled by British law as both teams are based in GB. Now, I am not well versed in British law at all because the British legal system is fundamentally different from the one I study (Dutch). However, this would come down to some sort of personal damages and liability claim. This would be such a lengthy, complicated, impossible case that I doubt anyone will take this route. They’ll have to hire experts to analyse the actual move on track, wait for reports – it would take years. Meaning it would be wrapped up years after this year’s WDC is decided. Also taking into account that Max hasn’t suffered any permanent physical damage either (thank god), this is such an improbable scenario for Red Bull to win I just don’t think this is a route they’ll take.

Taking the FIA to court

Speaking of complicated cases: this. If it would get this far, Red Bull would be taking the FIA to court based on the FIA breaking certain procedural rules or fundamental legal principles. I won’t explain this too far because (1) it’s very complicated anyway en (2) I just cannot be asked to take all my Dutch legal knowledge and properly translate all the legal terms to English because that would take hours to convert.

Since the FIA is based in France and Red Bull in England, but is an Austrian company, I’m not sure to which national court this would be taken. To find that out I’d need to check several international treaties and, well, I disliked my International Law courses for a reason so I am Not Doing That.

So, what do I think will happen?

I think there’s a high chance Red Bull will appeal the decision at least once. However, I am not deeply familiar with the Sporting Code. Since I couldn’t say which Articles from the Code they’d be using I can’t really predict the success rate of that appeal. I’m guessing Red Bull are currently employing that lawyer to find out just that: how sensible an appeal would be. Assuming an appeal had a high chance of success, I think there’s a solid chance they’ll take it up to the ICA. However, I think the chance of them taking this to a regular national court is slim to none regardless of the final FIA decision.

This news sounds a lot more dramatic than it actually is - don't blow it out of proportion! I just wrote this because I enjoy this topic and I like informing people, lol.

All in all, Red Bull for now has only hired the lawyer for advice - this is incredibly common all across the corporate world and is by no means alarming. Remember: asking a lawyer for advice does not always lead to an actual court case. Advice and mediation is often a far larger part of a lawyer's job than taking things to court!

[opbackgrounds]

Inspired by the fights giving you little to talk about: despite being a battle manga, I’ve always found the fights to be the least interesting aspect of One Piece. Some of them do a great job at tying in other elements while others feel like they’re just sort of there. What do you think makes a fight feel meaningful in One Piece?

When analyzing something like a fight there are two things you have to look at. First, there’s how the information is actually presented on paper. It’s all the technical stuff like the artwork, paneling, the powers themselves and how they’re conveyed. It’s really hard to get invested in a fight if you can’t understand what’s going on, or if that Information is presented in a way that’s boring or unappealing. There are some stories where the entire appeal is the technical. Take, for example, Jojos or Death Note. Yes, there’s all the connective tissue in the background stringing the characters along, but there are a lot of people out there who just want to see some crazy Stand battles or Light dramatically eat potato chips as he outsmarts everyone else in the room.

The second thing is the story behind the fight. Why are these two people punching each other in the face? What ideas are being expressed? What problems are being resolved? Does this conflict tie back to the main themes of the arc or is it purely for spectacle?

Take, for example, the difference between Luffy vs Bellamy and the Luffy vs Yokozuna fight. Don’t remember Yokozuna? He’s the random sumo wrestler Luffy beat the crap out at the start of the Wano arc, an antagonist so inconsequential I’m not sure I spelled his name right just now.

The antagonists are similar in personality. Both fights are one shots. Luffy walks away from each unharmed. So why is the Bellamy fight remembered as one of the more epic moments in the series, when Yokozuna is barely a blip on the radar? The answer is obviously story. Oda crafted the Bellamy conflict as the climax of the Jaya arc—the emphatic final note on some of the most interesting introspection into Luffy’s character in the entire series.

Not all fights have to be so heavy or important. Comedy has always been integral to One Piece, and sometimes you just need to cut back for some Rule of Cool. But good fights—even for secondary or minor characters—should have internal stakes as well as external. Chopper’s fight vs Gedatsu in Skypiea is his first solo win and one of his first steps toward maturity. Usopp vs Perona closes out the Sogeking storyline. Zoro vs Kuma proves how much he’s willing to sacrifice for the sake of the Straw Hat Pirates.  I’m less versed in the technical aspects of drawing out a fight scene, but the general consensus within the fandom is that Oda is good but not great at things like paneling and composition of fights. The action can be muddled or confusing, especially when crowds are involved, which is becoming increasingly common as the cast of important characters grows exponentially over time.

The biggest change I’ve noticed, however, is that Oda is not dedicating as much time to individual fights as he once did. I mentioned it when going over the Alabasta saga, but the Chopper and Usopp vs Miss Merry Christmas and Mr. 4 fight was 3 or 4 uninterrupted fight chapters. Nothing else happened. Those 4 characters were the only ones shown. We got to see a definitive beginning, middle, and end.

A good fight will be its own story in miniature, both from a technical punchy-punchy level and also in terms of character motivation. And in modern One Piece, a lot of that story is being cut for time.  This is not always a bad thing. With as many characters that are running around, the story would quickly descend into Bleach levels of terrible pacing if every fight for every character was shown in meticulous detail. But go too far in the other direction and things can feel choppy and unsatisfying.  I don’t want this to sound like I think there are no good fights in the mangas recent history. I thought the Katakuri vs Luffy fight was fantastic and generally enjoy Oda’s action scenes. They’re just not Oda’s bread and butter, and that’s okay.

[putschki1969]

H-el-ical// LIVE Limited Production Album Song Commentary 〜「Blooming」Edition 〜 ♪ Angraecum

In this regular series all H-el-ical// songs from the limited albums (only available at the live venue and through mail order) will be discussed. Hikaru and the composer Hideyuki Gushimiyagi are talking about the song production and share some insight. There will also be comments from other creators that participated in the making of the individual songs. Please be sure to check out everyone’s thoughts. A new episode will be airing every Friday at 20:00 (JST). Find summaries for all previous videos in the tag #helical-video-series.

This time soundproducer Akihiro Tomita will provide answers for the questionnaire.

H-el-ical// “Blooming” Mini Album Scans & MP3s

STREAM and PURCHASE the digital album HERE!

Summary/Highlights 〈(•ˇ‿ˇ•)-→

The final song of the “Blooming” album series. This one didn’t get a YouTube release just like the previous song but it is NOW AVAILABLE on various streaming platforms. Hikaru says that apparently ”Angraecum” means “staying forever on your side” in flower language. It is a winter flower so Hikaru wanted to combine the wintry image with the meaning of the flower in the lyrics. When she had finished the lyrics they were talking about what kind of song/melody to use and eventually came up with the idea to do something waltz-like, something they hadn’t really done in the past. Gushi thought a waltz would really suit the winter atmosphere Hikaru wanted to convey. The winter imagery is very prevalent in the first verse. Hikaru is a big fan of the melody in the bridge. She says it goes very well together with the lyrics and there is so much warmth being conveyed. Also, it ties everything together nicely. Gushi is happy that Hikaru likes the bridge so much because that’s usually the part that gives him the most headache. Typically, Japanese songs have a A melo (verse) → B melo (bridge) → chorus → sabi (musical synth) → C melo structure and for Gushi it’s usually more or less easy to do the A-melo and chorus/sabi/peak of the song but the rest is a bit more tricky. The first part of the song is a lot of fun for Hikaru, there is a sense of playing with the notes and it has a nice walking rhythm.

This time soundproducer Akihiro Tomita will provide answers for the questionnaire.

What was your impression when you first heard the song? He was very surprised by the waltz rhythm, the gorgeous melody and orchestral arrangement accompanying Hikaru’s lyrics. Typically, the lyrics stand out a lot and make up the charm of all H-el-ical// pieces but in this case he was really taken aback by the music itself. He feels like this was almost like a curveball on Gushimiyagi’s part. Gushi says he had a ton of fun making this.

Any difficulties? Not really since Hikaru and Gushi literally outdid themselves with this song. The way the melody embraces the lyrics, the scenic despriction, the insight into the minds of the characters, the impressive peak of the song, it is such a well-balanced song so he made sure to emphasise that during mixing to make it sound as lovely as possible.

Anything you want the listeners to pay attention to when it comes to this song? The dramatic, poetic and expressive lyrics full of determination and emotions which will easily resonate with the listener. It’s best to sit down and relax while listening the song so you can properly reflect on the worldviews that are presented by Hikaru’s vocals, the melody and the arrangement.

Hikaru is happy that this waltz-like song stood out to Akihiro Tomita. She really tried her best to create a variety of songs for her solo project that included genres from many other cultures. She and Gushi get inspired by music from all over the world and they want the H-el-ical// songs to have a universal appeal.

LIKE the video and SUBSCRIBE to her channel!

[sophiphi]

this is how you fall in love by Jeremy Zucker and Chelsea Cutler but make it ✨Juke✨

The lyrics???? The melody, the order of how its sung, their voices, the harmonization, the entire song in general is amazing! But lets break it down on why it would be a Juke song in the first place.

The entire first half of the song is sung ONLY by Jeremy Zucker, which would translate to Luke being the one to sing this part. But get this- the only melody in the background are piano chords. The minute I recognized this, i was like “Julie!!!” (yes, Juke has consumed my entire mind to the point i relate a lot of the songs i listen to on the their relationship sue me). We’ll get to the part on why the piano instrumental is so significant later, but lets take a look at some of the lyrics first-

You are the reason I can survive

Julie is literally one of the only reasons why Luke is still alive. She saved them with her witchy powers and the power friendship and love for her boys. Its basically understandable why Luke would write this line if ever.

I had a nightmare

But now that I'm not scared

This is how you fall in love

Let go and I'll hold you up

So pull me tight and close your eyes

Oh, my love, side to side

Julie and The Phantoms is a kids show, so they obviously won’t dig in into the darker consequences of what happened to the boys and the aftermath they have to constantly deal with, but I think its normal that they get “nightmares” over what happened to them. Sure they dont need sleep- but i hc that they can sleep if they wanted to. And when they do, sometimes they get plagued with nightmares, so they dont do it that often although the ability to sleep comes in handy when Julie wants to take a nap with them, they don’t usually get nightmares with her.

That being said- for a while the nightmares were a bit of a constant reminder to Luke as to why it wouldn’t be a good idea to act on “their interesting little relationship” (in his mind at least). To him, it would just leave both sides in pain. But then he gets a wakeup call of some sorts, hence “but now that i’m not scared,” he’s ready to take the risk and enjoy whatever time he has left with Julie.

Moving on to the second half of the song, Chelsea Cutler sings the the next verse and chorus alone as well- but with GUITAR chords in the background instead of piano (yall see the parallels im trying to hint at now?). Again, we’ll talk about that more later, but some of the lyrics are:

“What's easy is right," my mother's advice

You are the reason I never think twice

I like to hc a mother-daughter talk between Julie and Rose happening before she died, where she asks about Rose and Ray and their relationship, how she knew it was ‘right,’ and thats what her mom tells her. She tells Julie that everything with her father was easy, it came easy, loving him and all, and that when she finds someone who’s easy too, then that might be a hint that they’re the ‘right’ one for her. And let’s face it- Julie and Luke are like two sides of the same coin, they fit and they’re easy, at least in my opinion and interpretation of their relationship.

Also- i had to add that last bit because, remember ‘Finally Free’?? He literally gave her the idea to sneak out and she was all in without so much of a thought. Remember when she threw herself at him in a hug without thinking twice because she needed to have that contact at least once, so yeah! He makes her impulsive, and she keeps him grounded.

The pre-chorus and chorus comes (that last part i did with Luke) and with Julie’s pov in mind, its a bit similar and different all the same. In Lukes pov, he didn’t want to take the risk knowing that when he left her they’d both be in pain anyway, and Julie didn’t need that. In Julie’s pov, she’s scared of losing him and being hurt all over again- she had to watch them slowly wither away from existence and couldnt do anything about it until she could, but those moments before will always haunt her. Anyway, she gets over it quicker than Luke, deciding that she might as well let herself be in love for as long as the universe would let her.

Now, both Jeremy and Chelsey come together in the bridge and the last chorus, their voices blending beautifully. Both piano and guitar could be heard now, as well as the violin (and yes, the guitar and violin is more prominent, but the piano is also there- especially at the end end), but when each instrument appears is what makes it so appealing to Juke and my interpretation of how it would symbolize with them.

Like I mentioned earlier, piano could only be heard during Jeremy’s (Luke’s) part. Who rocks the piano between the two of them? Julie. The title of the song is literally called “this is how you fall in love,” and who is Luke in love with? You guys see where’s im going with this now? Chelsea’s (Julie’s) part comes only with guitar (and a bit of violin in the bg), and she’s quite obviously in love with Luke. Towards the end, both instruments come together as their voices harmonize as well. Yea, so anyway- if ever Juke came up with this song in the JATP universe i think they would definitely intentionally write the structure of the song to be this way, because they are songwriters and songwriters can be dramatic when it comes to symbolism, even in the tiny little details (take this from someone who songwrites every now and then).

Personally, I also hc that Luke came up with the basis of the song first- meaning the first verse + pre-chorus and parts of the chorus. He wrote the song first for Julie (because Jules, you deserve a song- a million of them actually) and Julie ended up helping him complete it once she found out about its existence.

This post is getting too long and a bit outta hand, so lets end it here lmao 😌✨ But anyway- this is how you fall in love is a Juke song, thanks for listening to my tedtalk

[mystoryboudoir]

Capturing your confidence and beauty with the best boudoir photographer in Melbourne

In a world where self-love and body positivity are taking center stage, boudoir photography has emerged as a powerful means to celebrate and embrace one's unique beauty. For those in Melbourne, finding the right boudoir photographer is essential to ensure that your vision translates into stunning imagery, celebrating your confidence and sensuality. With the Melbourne best boudoir photographer at your side, you'll capture not just images, but a transformative experience that boosts your self-esteem.

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Boudoir photography is an intimate and personal style of art that involves elegant and appealing images, which are sometimes done in a romantic or private situation. The essence is to celebrate the human body's beauty while telling a tale via light, shadow, and composition. Boudoir photography has grown in popularity in Melbourne, with professional photographers committed to making their customers feel at ease and empowered.

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When seeking out the best boudoir photographer in Melbourne, it's about more than just technical skill. It's essential to find someone who understands your vision and can make you feel confident and at ease. The right photographer takes the time to understand your ideas, preferences, and comfort levels. They will work with you to create a personalized experience that reflects your personality.

Professional boudoir photographers in Melbourne are well-versed in creating a supportive atmosphere that promotes confidence. Whether you're a seasoned pro or a first-timer, they know how to draw out your inner strength and beauty through their lens. From posing to lighting, the best boudoir photographers will guide you every step of the way, ensuring your final images are stunning and authentic.

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Boudoir photography isn't just about the final product; it's an entire experience. Most Melbourne boudoir studio strive to provide a nurturing and uplifting environment. The moment you step into the studio, you should feel welcomed and empowered. Many photographers go the extra mile, offering pre-shoot consultations where they discuss your vision, wardrobe, and comfort levels.

A good boudoir session will include everything from professional hair and makeup to wardrobe consultations, possibly even access to a curated selection of outfits. This completely personalized approach sets the stage for striking images that showcase you at your most confident. The studio setting can also be customized; whether you prefer soft and romantic lighting or a bold, dramatic atmosphere, the best boudoir photographer in Melbourne can accommodate your style.

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If you're considering boudoir photography Melbourne, investing time in finding the best boudoir photographer Melbourne has to offer is crucial. With their skill, creativity, and ability to create a comfortable environment, you'll not only capture stunning images but also experience a journey of self-love that leaves you feeling empowered. Step into your unique beauty and confidence with a boudoir session that celebrates you. Embrace this empowering experience, and discover the beauty that lies within you through the art of boudoir photography.

[radramblog]

Pink Lemonade: Not too sweet, not too sour.

(I think I’m brave enough to try some of that.)

Pink Lemonade is a 2014 album by Melbourne prog outfit Closure in Moscow and is one of the most banging’ albums in my collection. It sets out to have a good time and a good time it has, being probably the most consistently fun to sing along to of the albums I’ve tried to do that with. It also tells a pretty bizarre story, which between the salad of the lyrics, the rapid delivery, and sheer esoterica is pretty hard to follow- as such I’ll be explaining it as I go through this review. The clearest explanation of the plot is available in this article written by the band’s vocalist, and so a lot of what I’m saying is going to be coming from that. I’d recommend listening to it yourself, though, maybe even before reading on, if only so you can be as awed and confused as I was the first time around.

1. The Fool

We open on nature noises as a slow meandering line plays before suddenly being interrupted by a record distortion and a burst of energetic guitars and a quick beat, followed by the first lines of the song and what the fuck is he saying? Yeah, get used to that, that’s what this whole thing is like. Strap in.

The playful delivery of the second verse (“It’s a new day for the Fool today…”) had me hooked, with the backup vocals solidifying that position- its just a style that really appeals to me. The song doesn’t last much longer beyond that opening, because that’s just what it is- an introduction, a prologue, introducing the album’s style, energy, and protagonist.

Oh, speaking of. The Fool is our main character, and he’s who this track is about- a pleasure-seeker lost and adrift doing his own horseshit, and we’re going to watch him try(yyyyyyyYYYYYyyyyyyyyyyyy) to find his next fix- a fast track no fuss path to enlightenment.

2. Pink Lemonade

I’d argue this is the first real song of the album, considering how brief The Fool is. While The Fool introduced the off-kilter verses of the album, the album’s title song introduces the punchy choruses, with vocals going in unexpected directions and their impact coinciding with the beginnings of technical and fluid riffs. The first chorus (actually maybe the only one uhhh) breaks off with a hard pause, and we’re back in the slow build of a new, chiller verse. There’s a contrast here- The Alchemist (bloke on the cover!) offering this miracle brew, this psychedelic Pink Lemonade that’s the cheat way to heaven on earth, and the Fool just begging for it and then losing his mind as the drugs take effect and it’s not quite what he was expecting. This build climaxes as the Alchemist speaks again, voice editing simulating the effects the Lemonade is having on the Alchemist’s mind, as he pours this wicked elixir once more and reinforces quite explicitly that he doesn’t fuck around. As the music cuts back, it’s the Fool who’s finding out, as he just says a bunch of words that I don’t really get- but we hear backing vocals teasing, with the album’s first mention of the Brahmatron (we’ll get to it) The song keeps going as this motherfucker just keeps tripping- allegedly he’s grappling with extradimensional shit, you know how it is. This song fucks, by the way. It’s a thrill ride, never going in the same direction twice, and only stopping to start again until its final, bitter end.

The track on the album isn’t over, though, and here’s my first real criticism, though its more of a meta thing on albums in general. You get a lot of albums where there are additional non-song bits strapped to the start and end, typically with concept and story albums, and I just wish these would be delineated as separate tracks on the album if they’re as long as this one is. When Pink Lemonade comes up on shuffle, I don’t reaaaally want to get halfway seduced before moving on to the next song, especially if I’m not the only one listening to it.

Oh yeah, that’s what is happening, by the way. After the Fool is done tripping, he awakens in an alleyway to a voice (officially named the Tacky Ornamental Slut, ok, sure) in his head, leading him to her performance at a jazz club that is extremely forward and direct. This little swaggering, jazzy interlude (featuring guest vocals and “general insidious sauciness” by Kitty Hart who’s doing a lovely job) leads directly into and continues in the next track, as Weird Dimensional Shit happens to the Fool and by the sounds of things, either he or she is glitching through reality.

3. Neoprene Byzantine

The explosion of noise that is the first second of Neoprene Byzantine is the first thing I heard of this album, as it came up on one of Spotify’s Recommended playlists, and I’m glad I went back to figure out what the hell was going on here. Suddenly, our tempting voice has turned accusatory, essentially asking “oh, wait, you were actually into that?”, and offering the songs title character, Verina (a name never actually stated in the lyrics) to satisfy the Fool’s apparent needs. There is so much energy in this opening, essentially being *fancy guitar noodling* *sassy lyrics over a snare roll* *more guitar noodling* until it breaks, and Kitty exists the record hitting a high note that took me way too long to realise was a euphemism for cunnilingus. Exquisite. (I only realised when writing this and looking at the lyrics that this isn’t the first time that subject comes up on the album, since one of the lyrics I never got on The Fool was apparently “cunt-licking”. Earning that explicit label, I see.)

The rest of the plot of the song is basically just about Verina, a time-travelling plastic-surgery-covered literal Byzantine empress whom the Fool enters a torrid relationship with. The chorus is so much fun to belt along to, carried by the smooth guitar lines that don’t really explode like the opening does- that gets saved for part of the second verse, but we’ll get to that. The verses are also a lot of fun, with the first spending a lot of time as this cut back percussion-and-vocals bit, and when the other instruments do return the lyrics spend a lot of time with little asides (like these bits in brackets what I’m doing). The second verse on the other hand is has the vocals build along with psychedelic guitars until we are SUDDENLY YELLING, finishing with a steady fall back to normal for the final verse. The only reason I’d say they’re any less fun than the chorus is because the lyrics are fast so its real hard to keep up sometimes- kudos to the performer for nailing that.

Neoprene Byzantine is probably my favourite song on the album, and a lot of that is for similar reasons as Pink Lemonade- the energy all over the place, the different styles of vocals used, basically it has big ADHD energy, and I can appreciate that. It might literally be that this song resonates with me better only because of the better chorus, and me having a bad habit of saying (or singing) rude things with a straight face.

4. Seeds of Gold

Where Pink Lemonade and Neoprene Byzantine are chaotic and energetic, Seeds of Gold is a groovy, very danceable little tune. I don’t have as much to say as a result- its actually probably my next favourite after Neoprene Byzantine, but there isn’t as much to explain music-wise or plot-wise. The bass is grooving, and the little glitchlike noises keep it from being so smooth it feels out of place, reminding you that, yeah, this is still a track from Pink Lemonade. It’s probably the song most capable of standing on its own without the rest of the album, considering its meaning and non-reliance on themes or interstitials. That’s probably why it got a (very stylish) music video of its own.

Plot wise, Seeds of Gold depicts a more frustrated and melancholic story than its glittering guitars suggest- it’s about the ending of The Fool and Verina’s relationship, with him having no use for her anymore, his callousness turning to resentment in her mind, and he’s unwilling to take the blame for it.

5. That Brahmatron Song

Here’s where shit gets weird again.

That Brahmatron Song is the existential lament of the Fool as he discovers the truth of reality, the nature of the Brahmatron, and falls again through reality.

Like with Pink Lemonade, I’d argue this would have been better split off into two tracks, with the first half sounding completely different to the second- though at least the two are a little better connected sonically this time, in my opinion. After a mishearing of the lyrics, I can never imagine the chorus of That Brahmatron Song as anything but a particularly loud, drunken campfire tune, sung with tears in one’s eyes and a warmth in one’s heart (whether it be from the fire, the alcohol, or the camaraderie). And while that doesn’t actually fit the lyrics as the truly are, it’s a nice sentiment I’ve stuck to and kind of want to do in real life at some point.

The lyrics of this song are something that I just cannot connect to what the plot is supposed to be. Like, I get the realisation the Fool makes, but I don’t get how he’s supposed to have gotten there- the lines are just to esoteric. This is not to say it’s a bad song or anything- not as good as the previous three, but still great on its own measure- but it leaves me a bit puzzled.

The plot dives into its most psychedelic moments, as the Fool, through…some means… discovers the nature of the universe as the Brahmatron- the resonance and vibrations that make up reality as a whole. And as he fucks around with it, he gets sucked into it, leading to the second half of the song. The first half ends like a film projector being abruptly shut off, as the yawning void of the universe makes itself heard through atmospheric noise, slowly rising into a dramatic, unsettling beat. The vocals return with a transcendent BRAAAAAAAAHMATROOOOOON echoing through the noise, soon replaced by the dramatic beat continuing under what is presumably the Fool’s screaming rambles, filtered as though through a shitty radio. Guitar noodling begins, a solo lasting until the loud existential vocals come in again. Alarms blare as the raving gets more desperate, the solo restarts, and the dramatic percussion keeps going through it all. It’s almost akin to a twisted marching beat, eventually falling partially away as actual radio chatter is heard from some military type what the fuck? And then vintage video-gamey gunfire and explosions as the military dude says to fire and then someone’s really sexual moans and then it’s just over.

I don’t think I can put into words the experience that section of the song is, though I guess that’s me trying. It’s nonsensical and a little scary, but it’s a good time.

As the Fool tumbles through reality, he sees the apex, the centre of the Brahmatron, learning that it is neither malevolent nor benevolent, yawning of all possibilities and connecting to different realities. The Fool, frightened by the existential idea that all possibilities existing makes free will an illusion, desperately seeks a way out, finding a tendril leading to the forest he first met the Alchemist and diving right into that reality. It’s clearly a bit fucky, as we can assume from the military noises, but it’s familiar, and he needs that right now.

But there’s always a twist. We’ll get to the twist a later date, as at this point, I’m at almost 2,000 words and around halfway through the album. Stay tuned for Part 2.