#god what the hell was i doing with my style in 2018

[knightyoomyoui]

KNIGHT'S ALL-TIME FAVORITE TWICE FANFIC STORIES OF GREATNESS: PART 1

Heyo, Knight here! I mentioned from my previous post days ago that I decided to share some of my favorite TWICE fics that I finished reading since I reactivated my Wattpad account back in 2020. I just feel like my fellow TWICE AU authors who made these deserves much appreciation and recognition, so I made this. If you haven’t checked them out, oh you better do so. There will be more for me to share, so for now, take a look at these five stories that will be included here.

1.) "Adore You" | Mina x Nayeon by Nabongsbunny (Fluff, Smut, Angst) (2020)

I remember when this was my very first TWICE AU that I'd read after months of getting introduced to TWICE back in 2020. A friend of mine requested that I read this one after I asked her about fanfiction that features K-Pop idols, which I learned that other people were also doing it too. And my God, when I gave it a try... Although I was shocked at first at the unexpected lesbian smut that greeted me (and through the rest of the story, which my friend shyly apologizes to me for not making me aware of, lol, but I didn't mind it that much since I'm just in for the story), but all I can say is that the narration is so beautifully written, and all of the characters, especially Nayeon and Mina's, chemistry was carefully built through their backstories, moments, and decisions in life that actually can be put into real-life situations in which, despite being disappointing, you can't help but not blame them for it because... well, it's love. Also, this story was the reason that got me into listening and loving the song "Adore You" by Harry Styles. This one serves as like the official soundtrack if this would be an entire film, but you won't be surprised why the author perfectly chose this song to fit for Minayeon's story. A little glimpse to give about the story, if I remember correctly (it has been more than a year since I read it, but I'm planning to give it a reread because of how perfect it is), Nayeon is the bratty CEO of her company when she met Mina as the team leader who was appointed by her parents to take care of her as they send her to LA to enter a boarding school. There, she realized that this isn't actually their first time meeting each other when Nayeon finds Mina familiar, which brought her to recall where it all began, and the rest is one hell of a rollercoaster ride of emotions. Give it a read for yourself if you are fine with reading TWICE AU that features a ship or pair and doesn't mind a girl-to-girl relationship. I'm probably sure it would end up as one of the best TWICE AU stories you'll ever read. No wonder it became an iconic fanfic in the community. Try to ask a Minayeon fanfic to others; I bet this would be the first or one of them to be mentioned.

2.) "Move On" | Nayeon x Female Reader by @vorrentis (heavy Angst) (2018)

Is it a bit ironic that I'm not really into reading female reader x member if I'm a guy who's gonna read it yet I also read stories that features a ship in TWICE, which members are both female? Well that would be my case of not attempting to give this one a read from Vorrentis' goated TWICE one-shot book on Wattpad. Quick fun fact: Vorrentis is one of my favorite Twice AU authors and my inspiration for starting to write fanfics on my own. Okay, now back to what I was saying, thank goodness my curiosity finally had me check it out by myself a few weeks ago. The summary of this story would be Nayeon and YN, two ex-couples who broke up after Nayeon mysteriously disappeared, and YN didn't know where she went until she found out that she'd be marrying Jeongyeon, whom they both know as a friend of theirs. If you give it a read, you will see how YN would almost curse Nayeon's life to the depths of hell for breaking her heart after what she did. Beware, this story contains LOTS of strong languages because, like I said, it's heavy angst filled with confrontations and arguments. What I love about this is how the author did a great job on making the dialogues felt so real, as if when you were reading it, you can feel the intensity because it's like you're sharing the same room as them as a nosy spectator or let's say you are their child (lol). And oh, since I mentioned about how Nayeon's sinful act devastated YN's vulnerable heart brutally, here comes the mindblowing double twist that would be thrown to you as it reaches the climax. Had me gaping my mouth in shock at the back and forth of revelations.

3.) "Stuck In Fairytales" | TWICE x Male Reader by ZAKY14 (Fluff, Angst) (2020)

I found this one pretty interesting because it reminded me of "Knock Knock"'s storyline in the MV, minus the theorized creepy twist that ONCEs put in there, and when I read it, I was so entertained throughout the chapters. The author, Zaky, is known on Wattpad for writing a bunch of Twice fics, some of which feature other idols too. The story of this one is centered on "Lao Bang,"  the name of the reader here, who accidentally discovered an ancient storybook. He opened it and got sucked in there to be part of every story it contains inside, explaining why this book has arcs that feature some of the popular Disney fairytale characters that TWICE would be portraying as. This one has a sequel by the way, and it will continue to tell Lao Bang's story after he successfully escaped the book.

4.) "The Life I Never Had" | TWICE x Male Reader by Mashimuno (2020)

If you love superheroes and some action/comedy genres like me, this one is definitely for you. “The Life I Never Had” tells the story of YN, a guy who got teleported off Earth since he was 5 years old and grew up to be trained as a bounty hunter in the planet he got thrown at. One day, during a mission he got beaten up badly with his sidekick and forced to retreat onto a nearby habitable planet , and there he ends up at the Earth where he was born which is also where TWICE would be living also in this story (they're still portrayed here as idols, just like in real life, btw). It also has a multiverse concept that we usually see in Marvel and DC films. Read it if you want to see how YN would meet the girls and how his connection with them gets stronger, and it will teach him how to live an unparalleled life that he never experienced in the universe he used to live for his entire life as they get to know themselves more throughout the chapters while facing YN's adversaries from the other planet.

5.) "Sociopath" | Nayeon x Male Reader by @nichuuu (Fluff, Angst, Smut) (2023)

Back in February, I tried to search for some TWICE one-shots on Tumblr because not gonna lie I get tired of seeing bunches of smuts and nothing new in my feed. Then I found this one. Me loves tsundere because of how often I see them in animes, and the way the author made it possible by writing Nayeon's character like that in this story where she is the CEO of her company, famous for being a... well, let's say she is an evil boss who is a huge antisocial until she meets YN, who applied as her 25th secretary (insane, right?). The story is basically about how a devil meets an angel who will slowly change her perception of the reality of life, and through the people around her who will result in her change of heart. The more she also begins to fall in love with our male lead here, they also face some challenges that are related mainly to Nayeon's tragic past that brought her hostile side to emerge and live with it. The prologue was effectively hilarious when I first read it, and I knew right then that I would be reading such an awesome story. I even finished the whole chapter in just a day! It's truly one of the best rom-com TWICE fics I've read, and I highly recommend it.

[lilllithdraagon]

PART 1: Expectations going into the game

MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR DRAGON AGE THE VEILGUARD. READ AT OWN RISK.

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(Lunadys) Let’s start off by being honest about what our expectations were. It’s Bioware. (Adromeda ... Anthem *cough cough*) I just wanted a game that wasn’t going to crash on install and a story that was at least palatable. I play Bethesda games, I’m wasn’t asking for the moon. I hoped beyond hope that they wouldn’t just kill off Solas in a lazy hollywood/disney style ‘redemption’ arc.

(Lillithdraagon) This game has been in development hell for a decade. EA has clearly been fucking with things behind the scenes. Hell, at one point Veilguard was going to be a fucking mmo. Then there were the layoffs and a whole lot of drama I don’t want to get into, but needless to say, I was worried. I don’t know what I really expected out of the game. For all I pretended I was excited I was scared they would completely drop the ball. I had a dwindling hope that stubbornly refused to die that they would do Solas’ story justice. He is a morally gray character and whether you see him as a hero, a villain, or like me; something in between, you cannot deny that this game was always going to be centered around him. That much, I knew for certain.

(Lunadys) Gods to be in the room when their NDA’s expire.

(Lillith) So the gameplay trailer released and I watched it with bated breath. It was more than I could have hoped. The vibes were right. I loved the art style. And Minrathous blew me away. I’ll admit at that point I started vibrating with excitement. And that feeling didn’t go away until I had the game in my hands. I had pre-ordered the game. Downloaded it on my shitty Australian internet at 2am when it dropped and played it on release day for 18hrs. I was awake for 38hrs total that day. Then I finished the whole game in a week. So yeah. It was fucking good.

(Lunadys) Let’s try to break this down in a way you guys can read it without having an aneurysm going forward.

The tutorial and the rest of the game are 2 separate games. You’re funneled through the opening sequence with all this action, with in depth interactions with your companions, there’s a narrative playing out and you’re right there in the thick of it. It FEELS like Dragon Age has had some sort of awakening and you’re about to be in for the ride of your life.

Then... it’s just God of War 2018. You break pots to get health back. Rolling into crates is never even mentioned as weird by a single character in game. Not even in Nevarra or the Merchant districts of Dock Town. NPCs are pretty much static. There is no movement on the city streets. Your companions all but solve the puzzles for you as soon as you find them... gee thanks Bellara. Enemy encounters respawn for maximum grind-ability. You feel railroaded like you do in DA2.

Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but seeing a place in the distance and thinking ‘wow that’s so cool, I can’t wait to go there’ and then leaving that mission area and never returning feels... empty. It feels like you’re playing a video game. Arcade style. There is a level of immersion that is just broken. And yes. It is a video game. I understand that. So for as much as it leaves me with a hollow sense of meh, it’s not the end of the world.

This does bring us to our next point however.

[also-fours]

the hi-fi rush situation really bums me out.

we had this game that looked super unique, everybody loved it, it won tons of awards

and then it barely got any marketing, feels like it only got as popular as it did thanks to word of mouth and the initial shadow drop, was deemed a "failure" despite selling what many companies would consider a success back in the day, (because it didnt sell call of duty numbers, probably.) and then its studio got shut down

the studio was just starting to spread its wings, start making shit that could inspire their peers, other devs, to start making different things and experiment

and they fucking killed them

it's gone

i mean, maybe they'll make their own studio, i've heard something like that's happened a couple times with the yooka-laylee devs and sonic mania's dev team

but i dunno

as much as i love games like spider-man and god of war (and i mean literally just those two, like, anything else sony does aside from ratchet and clank im not into) i wish they didnt worry so much about modelling photorealism

the obsession with stuff like that is what's made game development so expensive and unsustainable at this rate

i know this is tumblr so the first reaction im gonna get to saying something like "i like spider-man and god of war" at least in my circle is "GOOD GLAD THAT IT'S BECOMING UNSUSTAINABLE FUCK THEM" but like. i actually like what these games had to say and what they brought to the table.

"spider-man had nothing to say it's just a stupid marvel game cash grab and god of war is a generic over the shoulder game"

if you're going to tell me something like that, kindly, please don't interact with this post

like, please?

thank you

anyway, i want games like that that...don't have to upgrade their graphics every time and. waste everyone's time.

genuinely with how they both looked in 2018 i'd be happy with them just. not changing the graphics at all

but uh. sadly sony knows their audience, haha

there'd be hell to pay if they did that

(i hate mainstream gamers)

and as for everything else that xbox and playstation are doing right now, i still want them to do something different

and microsoft killed off the developer that could've inspired others to do that

soooooooo fuck. what now. are we just gonna be stuck in this position forever.

probably not, i mean, again, with how expensive games like spider-man 2 have gotten to produce and the amount of people in and out of the industry screaming that you gotta CHILL THE FUCK OUT, we won't stay like this forever

it might get better

maybe when we get a new series of spider-man games they can have a visual style similar to spider-verse, wouldn't that be rad?

...i mean. judging by the leaks, they might already be experimenting with that...

or something like shattered dimensions have y'all seen that game? looks fantastic, go look it up, they made four different dimensions of spidey and all of 'em have their own unique visual style inspired by their books

sorry im getting off topic

im juat rambling at this point

i just hope people learn the right lessons from hi-fi rush.

and that the people who made it find a way through and can still make great things

thats what i hope for at least

...anyway at least we still have fortnite and its really fun art style--

[alex-turners-world]

Oh my god and we continue with this specimen that clearly escaped from some circus. Seriously little Baguette is taking her style with more and more decadence (with her mermaid bag and all) how does she dare to leave her house like that hahahahahaha.

The way I stopped in my tracks when I saw LouLou’s outfit of the day. What… is… that. The bag too? I get that style is subjective but… wow.

Yes, she looked prettier in 2018-2021. Although her hair still needed a good brushing. Her style was better back then too. But then it all fell apart. Her style is hidden, her hair is a mess, she photoshops her face too much. Sorry but I really don't find her pretty anymore. Aging and constant sun certainly aren't doing her any good.

I totally agree with you, it's clear that she's never had any style to dress since she only imitated Alex's ex-girlfriends. But I think now she feels brave enough to do it for herself and what the hell is she doing, she usually looks like a beggar or like a child who inherited his older brother's clothes, why doesn't he hire a damn stylist. Add to that how dirty and unaligned her hair looks. And the worst part is her posture, she's more hunched over every day, she looks like an old woman.

Yeah it was better when she copied Alexa. At least some pieces of clothing looked good. Now it just looks like she ran away from the circus.

No but really who the fuck dresses like that?

Is it just a compilation of mine and anons replies?

[shit-talk-turner]

Oh my god and we continue with this specimen that clearly escaped from some circus. Seriously little Baguette is taking her style with more and more decadence (with her mermaid bag and all) how does she dare to leave her house like that hahahahahaha.

The way I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw LouLou’s outfit of the day. What… is… that? The bag too? I understand that style is subjective but… wow.

Yes, she looked prettier in 2018-2021. Although her hair still needed a good brushing. Her style was better back then too. But then it all fell apart. Her style is hidden, her hair is a mess, she photoshops her face too much. Sorry but I really don’t find her pretty anymore. Aging and constant sun certainly don’t do her any good.

I totally agree with you, it’s clear that she’s never had any style when it comes to dressing as she only imitated Alex’s ex-girlfriends. But I think she feels brave enough to do it herself now and what the hell is she doing, she usually looks like a beggar or like a kid who inherited his older brother's clothes, why doesn't she hire a fucking stylist? Add to that how dirty and disheveled her hair looks. And the worst thing is her posture, she's more hunched every day, she looks like an old lady.

Yeah, she was better when she copied Alexa. At least some clothes looked good. Now she looks like she escaped from the circus. No, but who the fuck dresses like that?

It is unhinged

[user1286]

AUUGH It’s like theres no god of war content rn so here are my headcanons on gow if it was a musical

Kratos would have a singing style similar to Hellfire in Hunchback of Notre Dame

Some moments in the games I think he would have a song in would be the scene where he’s asking Faye what to do abt the baldur situation in gow 2018, and he would maybe have this small conflictive duet with atreus in that “grieve how you will and I will grieve my own way” scene. Think of a duet like On The Open Road from A Goofy Movie, but obvsly, more sad, angry, maybe a lil quiet, and definitely shorter lol.

Uhhh Atreus’ singing style would be smthn similar to Ciao Papa from that Guillermo Del Toro Pinocchio movie. At least in the 2018 game. He DEFINITELY has his own like short but explosive number for when he kills Modi, AND his own actual first number by the time he spreads his moms ashes.

In Ragnarok, that’s where Atreus’ singing ability is RLLY shown, i don’t have any ideas atm for that tho lol

OHOHOHOH FREYA’S SINGING STYLE IS GRIZABELLA THE GLAMOUR CAT FROM THE (1988) CATS MUSICAL YOU CANNOT CHANGE MY MIND UGGHH T THAT ONE PART IN THE SONG “YOU SEEEE THE CORNER OF HER COOOAAAAT IS TORRN” THAT PART THAT PART IS THE SAME EXACT WAY FREYA SINGS WHEN SHE TELLS KRATOS SHES GONNA GET REVENGE A N D WHEN SHE HOLDS ATREUS AT SWORD POINT IN RAGNAROK YOU BITCHES CANNOT CHANGE MY FUCKING MINDDD

MIMIR’S INTRO SONG WOULD HAVE TO BE TITLED “Worlds Smartest Man Alive” AND IT WOULD BE FUCKIN BANGIN AND THE WHOLE SINGING SEQUENCE WOULD BE TRIPPY AS HELL LIKE THAT ONE SOMG FROM DUMBO. LIKE MAYBE HES LIKE PROJECTING BACKGROUND DANCERS AND SINGERS WITH HIS BIFROST EYE, AND THEN THEY SAY OVER AND OVER AGAIN “WORLDS SMARTEST MAN ALIVE” AND THATS ALL HE TALKS ABT IN THE SONG AND ATREUS BEING A KID, IS ENJOYING HIMSELF AND THE SONG, AND KRATOS GETS ANNOYED AS HELL AND THEN THEN MIMIR ASKS KRATOS AND ATREUS TO TELL HIM THEIR QUESTION, AND THEN KRATOS IS LIKE “Why does the son of Odin hunt us?” AND THEN THE SONG AND PROJECTIONS FROM MIMIR’S EYE STOPS AND THEN YOU GET THAT LINE “OK there are a few gaps in my knowledge” OWJDOWHDOHSDIWJDKS. Mimir would just sing some definite bangers i just KNOW it IENDKEHD

AKAHSKD ALSO RANDOM THING I REALIZED, FAYE’S THEME SOMG, or ‘Memories of Mother’ THAT WHOLE SONG IS LITERALLY SUPPOSED TO BE A NORDIC LULLABYE AND IM ABSOLUTELY HAVING THOSE SCENES WHERE FAYE GETS HER FACE REVEAL IN RAGNAROK JUST BE THAT SINGING STYLE, SHE JUST HAS THIS SOOTHING KIND VOICE BC HHRHRJEVDJWGDKE IM GOING ABSOLUTELY FERALL KSJDKSJD

HEIMDALL ABSOLUTELY has his own song that has a tone similar to Mother Knows Best from Tangled KSNDK He would just be SO asshole-ish with his singing idk thats the closest song I can think of where the singer is just an asshole KSJD

UHhhHHhH thats all I’ve got rn i am VERY open to hearing others’ ideas do Tell do Tell pls pls plssss KWJDKSJ HEHEHEHEHHEHEHHEHE

[yononart]

no new art yet, so let me yap a bit about my Tav/D&D rogue Aerin - did the same kind of post on bluesky so I might as well share stuff here!

art improvement journey under the cut! This is gonna be long and I'm also gonna talk about some stuff I went through over the years as an online artist.

Around 2016-2017 I started playing D&D with a group of friends, so of course I chose the rogue class to start. My DM did not allow drow characters for whatever reason, so Aerin at the time was just a random elf lol. I did not care much since I was very new to D&D.

This is what she looked like in 2017, my very first art of her:

big purple anime eyes lmao. what even is that shading...

I grew very attached to her during our campaign, roleplaying a smartass rogue that somehow always landed 19 on Perception checks was definitely fun, so of course I had to draw her again. Her skintone changed to be more tanned, her eyes changed color, but she was pretty much the same.

early 2018 (left) and late 2018 (right) art of her:

definitely looks better with golden-ish eyes

Sadly our campaign ended when the whole group parted ways and the DM kinda disappeared from our lives, yet I still loved my character a lot! I wanted to keep her alive, even without a D&D campaign!

I tried drawing her again in 2020-ish (I think?), but I never finished this:

Looking back, I can really see how much my style changed from anime to whatever it is now. Lmao. The 2020 wip is definitely closer to what I was trying to achieve at the time.

Back in the days I used to be very active on deviantART and Tumblr, but also joined IG for funsies. And oh gods, it was the worst idea I ever had in my entire life. While in 2015-2017 I was extremely productive, I started to slow down a lot, drawing just for the purpose of getting attention. I tried to draw things that were likely to be liked, or DTIYS stuff I didn't even care about. I was extremely uninspired because of how much I tried to please others and not myself.

Unfortunately that is when the big old artblock demon got me - I stopped drawing from 2020 to...2023? Pretty much. Maybe even earlier than that. Just a couple sketches here and there, but many and many months passed with me not even trying to draw anything. The "pressure" of trying to get some likes, being acknowledged etc was what made me stop drawing. I felt extremely unwell about what my art looked like, it was not good enough, I kept trying to change my artstyle to whatever, kept comparing my stuff to other people's works, it really became stressful to even hold a pen. I was pretty sad, cause in my most productive years I drew whatever came to my mind without giving a single f about anything. I completely lost this mentality over the years, so I stopped drawing.

Then Baldur's Gate 3 came out and oh my god. Holy hells.

I kid you not when I say this mf game did wonders to my creativity. Ngl, I already was in the mood for trying to get back to art - I bought a new graphic tablet (smaller, more comfy to use), tried out different brushes, followed some tutorials here and there, sketched a bit whenever I had the time to do it. But Baldur's Gate 3 really dragged me back to that carefree mentality I was yearning for. And after a "trial" run with a random character me and my partner created together, I OF COURSE had to bring back to life my beloved rogue. And finally turned her into a drow, heheh.

In no time I started drawing again, having no idea how to do anything anymore, kinda scared of how the result would look like and boom. Here we go, with Aerin again.

(left) more simple style VS (right) painted kinda style?

I do not think I am especially good at art. I lack many things (I suck at anatomy and proportions, it takes me ages to finish one piece) but...I can still see the improvement, even after years of not doing anything. It really surprised me. I never stopped observing art - I did not draw, but my eyes were still trained - and somehow this reflected in how I draw nowadays.

I am extremely grateful to this game. It fueled me so much with creativity I literally have too many ideas and things I want to draw (but no time lol), and I don't even care too much about what others may think. I am drawing again for myself, not to please others. I draw what I want.

And honestly, all this big post was just to say:

If you feel overwhelmed by socials and art isn't fun anymore, take a break. It doesn't matter if it's long or short - just take a break. Do not ruin things for you because of a couple of likes or whatever. Instead, try to keep the fun alive. It doesn't matter if your artwork doesn't get shared or liked a billion times. Your art is not worth the number of likes it gets. And if you have fun drawing your stuff, just do it! If you don't have fun in the process, the result is gonna suck for sure. At least for you.

And what if the result is not so good? FUCK IT!!! You cannot improve unless you work hard. You cannot improve unless you draw and keep your eyes trained. Consume art, draw, do whatever works best for you. Every artist, even the best you can think about, started from ugly sketches and cringe art. And keep your old art at hand - you may not notice it yet, but after a year or two go back to your old stuff and compare it to the newest you have. You will definitely notice the difference. That, my fellas, is improvement. It's hard to notice if you compare your last week's artwork with the current one you're working on. Go check older stuff. You ARE improving. You just didn't notice.

Take it from me, I'm an old 31 y/o hag and I have experienced things. Never let the fun dry out.

[married-2-the-music]

K-pop Discography Deep Dives: WJSN

A Disclaimer: I was planning, when I first started Tumblr, to be a lurker, but then I began an office job and needed something to listen to to keep myself occupied. And then, I started going through entire K-pop groups’ repertoires, album by album, and jotting down my thoughts. And then, I stumbled into K-pop tumblr and decided, you know what, there’s at least four people on this hell site who would read in depth rants about these discographies and at least five who wouldn’t read it and then get mad because it’s kind of our job as K-pop fans. My lukewarm takes should be taken with an entire silo of salt and the knowledge that this is completely for fun and occupying my very bored, very neurodivergent brain. All this to say, for the love of god, I’m a sleep-deprived student and I don’t have time for internet hate, so don’t kill me. With that being said, enjoy!

Here are my credentials: unusually, for a girl group, I have very few. I’ve listened to WJSN before, and I know a decent amount of title tracks and a couple b-sides. I would say I know them best from my half-watch of Queendom 2 (I’m a fan of Loona and Gfriend, so I was more focused on them), which WJSN did win. I was impressed with them there, and I decided that I wanted to learn more about them.

WJSN was formed in late 2015 as a Korean-Chinese collaborative between Starship Entertainment and Yuehua Entertainment. The members are divided into four units, one for each letter. First is Wonder, with Cheng Xiao, Bona, and Dayoung. Second is Joy, with Xuanyi, Eunseo, and Yeoreum. Third is Sweet, with Seola, Exy, and Soobin. And fourth is Natural, with Meiqi, Luda, and Dawon. After these units were formed, a 13th member, Yeonjung, was added as well. After being on hiatus since 2018, the three Chinese members, Xuanyi, Cheng Xiao, and Meiqi officially left the group in early 2023. Sorry, that was a lot of names, so deep breaths and let’s do this.

They officially debuted in 2016 with MoMoMo, which is one of the most bubblegum-y bubblegum songs I’ve seen in a while. It’s basically a k-pop stereotype at this point: lots of aegyo, completely coordinated school girl clothes, short skirts, childish love, and very poppy beats. I associate WJSN with more ethereal pop, so this was a (somewhat unwelcome) surprise for me. As often happens to me in k-pop, while I did appreciate its comic book style animation and humor, the excessive aegyo made me uncomfortable (see my review of TXT’s Cat and Dog or LOONA’s Hi High). This isn’t the song’s fault; it’s exactly what it’s supposed to be, but it does mean I won’t be listening to it again.

I’m unsure if Catch Me is also a single or just an opportunity for a dance practice, but it embraces the other side of k-pop stereotypes: a sort-of anti-drop, girl-crush, uncomfortably-sexualized…thing? that tries a bit too hard to be cool. WJSN’s talent elevates it, but even they can only do so much with a song that doesn’t have any character.

The 1st EP, Would You Like?, starts with an intro, Space Cowgirl, that I actually liked more than MoMoMo, and I wish more of its self-assured, smooth synths carried into the song. I liked parts of some of the songs, like the twinkling piano and extended bridge in Tick Tock, but most of them sounded very similar to other songs I’ve heard, and so didn’t stick out to me all that much. I could name at least five exactly like Take My Breath.

Secret begins the sound that I know from WJSN, still drawing on the poppiness, cutesiness, and high vocals of MoMoMo, but pairing it with more toned-on synths, more pointed voices, and more poised dancing, a combination that would become their staple in the next few years. It’s quite interesting to see it here feeling a little less polished. I totally get why they gained the nickname “Cosmic Girls” now, with all the space inspiration here, and while the song itself is nothing groundbreaking, I really liked that lead-in to the last chorus.

The Secret, the EP, has a couple songs I liked. BeBe leans a bit too far into aegyo for me personally, but I enjoy its boundless energy and catchiness. Also, that harmonizing in the last chorus? Sign me up. I also enjoyed the frizzy electronic background of Robot, which reminded me a bit of an f(x) song, although it felt more restrained than one of theirs.

I Wish has a slightly more funk-inspired opening than Secret, and while it still has the roots of aegyo, I’d say it follows the pattern of their songs slowly getting more mature. Still got the schoolgirl outfits, though. The chorus and its “tell me why” is pretty catchy, I will say, and I appreciated a lot of the MV’s visuals in the social media posts, floating lanterns, and emojis.

From. WJSN’s Say Yes caught my attention with its finger-snapping background and slightly Latin-pop-esque warm acoustic guitar. I thought it provided a good contrast to their very electronic synth-heavy music, and made me appreciate their vocals a lot more, especially Yeonjung and Dayoung. The “juseyo, juseyo” is stuck in my head now, and I’m not mad about it. It makes a great addition to my sleep playlist.

Kiss Me’s intro had me intrigued right off the bat, with its fun surf guitar background, and its continuing through the song made this one stand out. I also liked the harsher hand-clapping percussion mixed with the pop, and that the chorus felt like a much more natural progression of the verses and pre-chorus. Still not a fan of the rapping, which comes out of nowhere, but overall this was a great summer track and it got stuck in my head.

Happy is a return to the bubbly, kind-of sporty concept of MoMoMo that was so popular in mid-3rd gen (Red Velvet’s Happiness, TWICE’s Cheer Up, or Fromis_9’s FUN, for example), and I’d be lying if I said I was as happy to see it as the song wants me to be. I definitely liked the humor and the ultra-saturation of the music video, and ended up laughing a good few times. But overall, I’m not a fan of this concept or this type of song, and this song does nothing to change my mind. Also, I feel like the chorus, though it’s pretty good, doesn’t fit in with the rest of the song. I think it’s the sudden tempo change.

Happy Moment is a full album, so there’s a lot to talk about. I liked the bubbly distortion in Miracle, (honestly I wonder why it wasn’t a single, because it really feels like one), the vocalizing in Mr. BadBoy’s choruses, the minimalistic background of Babyface’s verses, the roller skating rush of Geeminy, and especially the lovely musical catharsis of Closer To You (damn, Yeonjung, what a note to end on!). Again, though, what I really liked were parts and besides Closer To You, I didn’t like any song enough to consider it a hidden gem. I know that Happy leans very much into aegyo, but the names of a lot of these songs felt a bit too babyish even for that, and I don’t think that the album needed to be so long, because so many of its tracks felt like filler. I would rather have a five or six track, great-all-the-way-through EP like, say Sunmi’s Warning or SEVENTEEN’s Haeng-Geurae, than a half-as-good album twice that long.

Dreams Come True, I’m happy to say, builds on the good that both Kiss Me and I Wish started, working in more interesting percussion and more ethereal synths. Funnily enough, it goes so far into understated that I didn’t realize the chorus had started until it was almost over, and while it’s got a good base, I think that it needs a stronger, more obvious hook to turn into a classic. I did really like that delicate bridge, though.

Dream Your Dream, the EP, starts strong with Love O’Clock, which doesn’t bother with a drawn out build-up, instead rushing forward right from the first moment. I liked the harmonizing, the strong drumbeat, and the catchiness. I also enjoyed Renaissance’s swirling and soaring vocals (another b-side that could’ve been a single) and Thawing, despite its odder sound effects, charmed me with its earnestness.

Save Me, Save You was the first WJSN song I heard, and is probably the one that best sums up their style. It starts soft, almost not there in the first verse, then tiptoes its way through the pre-chorus, and with a couple drum beats, that magical chorus takes over and suddenly you’re floating. As mentioned, their songs are often a bit too bubbly or understated for me, but I can acknowledge when a song does its style well, and this one absolutely does. I didn’t even mind the rap! I like the setting of the magic school and the incredibly fast shifting in the eyes between the bridge and the last chorus, but I wish it drew itself out more, to make the best use of that excellent vocalizing.

From WJ Please?, the EP, I really had a good time nodding my head to You, You, You, especially during its bridge and last chorus and I added it to my roller skating playlist. I also enjoyed the hints of flamenco and layered strings in the background of I-Yah, a surprisingly lovely sound for the title. It really reminded me of I Knew It by Sonamoo, one of my favorite Latin-pop inspired K-pop tracks. Masquerade also has a great use of strings, this time combined with a gentle piano, and Hurry Up uses a brightly jazzy beat to add some contrast. These four together absolutely make this my favorite EP so far, which is pretty funny, as all these songs are better than the title.

La La Love’s Carnival setting is interesting, and is the decision to have a pre-chorus that leans into sing-talk. The choice mostly works and doesn’t interrupt the good flow that the song has, and I like the high vocalizing that twinkles around the chorus. On the whole, the song is pretty enjoyable and gentle, but, like I usually do, I wish it had more of a hook that would make it stick in my head. Completely different from the last EP, I didn’t have a hidden gem for this one, though I thought 12 O’Clock was nice.

With how much I liked their last summer comeback, I was excited for Boogie Up. The song is pretty upbeat and on the whole, reminds me of a much more bubbly version of Red Flavor by Red Velvet. It’s catchy, but it has a bit too empty of a chorus for me, and doesn’t innovate on a pretty tried-and-true pop formula enough to stand out. I do like the fun instrumental and the bridge, though. Their bridges are almost always pretty great.

From the EP For The Summer, I honestly really liked the song For The Summer with its bright and flouncy energy (though as I often do, I thought the rap was unnecessary), and the horns were a nice touch. Let’s Dance follows in the stead of WJ Please’s great, Latin-pop inspired b-sides, though I don’t think it’s quite as unique as those.

As You Wish has a very bouncy beat from the beginning, and its excellent electronic sound draws from disco. Its pre-chorus build is great as well, and the chorus delivers, making it both one of my favorite titles so far and what I’m sure will become a fixture on my roller-skating playlists. Its last chorus is delightfully bright, but my favorite part is absolutely that outro, which brings together the vocals and the instrumentals perfectly and should’ve been so much longer. From the EP, also titled As You Wish, I liked the vocal showcase and twinkling piano in Lights Up, and the drumline beat of Don’t Touch.

Butterfly is another song I already knew by WJSN, and its bubbly energy works surprisingly well for me. I think this is the first of their title tracks that has a deeper meaning than an average love song, and I’m very happy to see it. There’s never enough songs about freedom and being yourself, in my opinion. The last chorus’ vocalizations, as often in WJSN’s singles, elevates the song greatly, and its fizzy instrumental brings everything together. The visuals of flowing white dresses and puffy clouds are a great addition too.

From Neverland, while I enjoyed the back and forth, rushing energy of Hola and the string-led instrumentation of Where You Are, my hidden gem was absolutely Pantomime. I first heard it while watching Queendom, and though I do definitely prefer the more 20’s jazz-inspired, more theatrical version from their stage there, there’s still a lot to love here. I especially enjoy how clipped and off-beat it is, setting it apart from WJSN other’s b-sides.

Unnatural is a bit of a darker counterpart to Butterfly, also about not quite fitting into normalcy (hence the title). I really liked the rap in this one, and how well it fit into the tempo. Also, the way the pre-chorus pulls back and then rushes forward is great. I like the more minimalistic instrumentals and how they let the vocals flow and speak for themselves. Overall, I think it’s one of their strongest outings. From Unnatural, the EP, I really liked the mix between WJSN’s high voices and the self-assured tone and beat in Last Dance, though I wish the instrumental was more distinctive.

Last Sequence is, at time of writing, WJSN’s most recent comeback, from a year ago. It also falls into the more minimalistic electro-pop synth style of their last few singles, which of course I’m in favor of. I do feel like the chorus needed more of a lead-in than it has, but besides that, I do really like this one. As always, its bridge is great and so is the lead-in to the last chorus (the yeongwohni, yeongwohni, yeongwohni is stuck in my head now). I didn’t have a hidden gem for this comeback, as it’s only a 3-song single.

I’m glad I did this! Like I said, I didn’t know much about WJSN before this review. But, I’ve learned that they were an important part in making what I now consider a very classic 3rd generation K-pop sound, and their music became the blueprint for many groups afterward. I’ve watched some interviews and had some good laughs, and even seen a couple compilations of their best performances on Queendom. I definitely liked their later music more than their earlier, though, and after hearing their work, I’m sad that they don’t come back nearly as often as they used to.

My Top 5 songs are Butterfly, Last Sequence, Kiss Me, I-Yah, and Hurry Up, with Pantomime as an honorable mention . WJSN gets an 8.25 out of 10 from me. I think that on the whole, their songs are pretty good and there were very few I actively disliked. The biggest issue I face is that I listen to and analyze So. Much. K-pop. (probably thousands of songs by now) and because of that, only the groups that do something unique or innovative, have incredible voices, self-produce, or consistently discuss important subjects in their work really stick with me. WJSN is very talented, but while they have a niche, they don’t really add anything new to what’s been done time and time again.

Next time, I have a very special soloist review coming up, that’s going to come out on December 18th (a day late). If you know your k-pop and my blog, you can probably guess what it is. It’ll be a bit different from a usual review, but I felt like it was time. Tschüss!

[happypopcornprincess]

The Heartbreak Prince - Chapter Five

Warnings: Major Spoilers for Top Gun (1986) and Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

Word count - 2.1K

A/N - okay.... this takes place in the past, most of it. but get ready because the series is ending soon. only two chapters left for this. and I really hope you like this <3 enjoy and take care <3

Italics are thoughts and/or emphasized words Taglist is open and feels free to request headcanons or drabbles on this series

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Thursday

Erin had not left her side since last night, holding her throughout her breakdown. He fed her dinner and tried to distract her with a game of charades and a story about his crazy pet iguana from when he was a kid. However, it couldn’t lift her spirits. He finally sat on her bed rubbing her back as she exhausted herself to sleep.

Careful not to disturb Erin sleeping next to her, she got up quietly. The soft sunrise light filtered through her room from the open window and her vision cleared, watching as the day started.

Another day without Dhruv.

She walked to the window and gazed at the sky slowly lighting up. She thanked any god who graced her with the strength to finally escape from the hell she was living in.

2018

November was the month of weddings in the bustling city of Kolkata, and her parents dragged her away to every wedding in her family and neighborhood to introduce their daughter, Dr Bagchi, a professor at NYU.

Nisha stood quietly in a corner hiding away from an entire group of middle-aged women staring her down with a scowl on.

The aunties gossiped about her being almost thirty and unmarried.

“They are not talking about you by the way.” She looked at the source and saw a man standing next to her.

Wearing a black kurta, matching his eyes, he sipped a cup of tea as he smiled at her, “I’m thirty-two, and I rejected the fourth girl in a row… who just so happens to be Rina auntie’s niece.” He points at a woman in the crowd wearing an extravagant lehenga, drowning in jewels.

“Wait,” Nisha sniffles a laugh, “she’s the bride’s mother.”

“…and I refused to marry the bride’s cousin.” He grimaced, looking at his chai in defeat.

“Well, you’re out of the radar for now, Rina auntie’s about to trash mouth you to every girl’s mother.”

"Oh, Prabhu Dhanyabad!" Oh, God thank you! He sighed of relief.

Nisha threw her head back in laughter and had to hold back as she attracted the eyes of every elder around her.

“Do you always laugh so loud at the misfortune of others?” he asked.

She raised her eyebrows. “Do you always reject young women and their mothers?”

The man looked at her as he took a long sip of chai, “Only when they are after my money.”

“What are you? Like a landlord or something?” Nisha scoffed.

“Or something.” He smirked, looking at her right in her eyes. The intensity of black in his eyes took her aback. They made her uncomfortable but intimidated her enough to stare back. They were hypnotic, like a whirlpool of secrets.

That should have been the first sign.

“Dhruv Maheshwari.” He extended his hand, flashing a smile.

“Nisha Bagchi.”

--/-/-/-

Dhruv Maheshwari had a pharmaceutical company in Manhattan, and his family came from old money.

Dhruv had a habit of owning anything he wanted. Be it buildings, land, paintings, you name it. Nisha cursed herself later for years for not noticing what he wanted from the start.

Her.

He wanted to own her.

Since their first date, he has tried to show her his money in any shape and form. He took her to the finest restaurants and bought her dresses and shoes a bit too flashy for her style. When she refused to accept the gifts, he would go silent for days, until Nisha agreed to accept them.

She thought after Bradley, after loving someone from one side, she was on the other side, receiving it.

She was blinded by love, enamored by his dark eyes and his addicting touch on her skin. However, he was not the fresh breeze of summer she craved ever since Virginia.

He was a pit of quicksand, slowly engulfing her entire existence to fit his vision of her.

Her mind begged her to see some sense after meeting her parents for the first time. His mother commented on her job and body countless times, and Dhruv laughed.

His parents met hers and fixed a wedding date without her knowledge.

Her birthday that year turned into a surprise engagement party with all her relatives and friends.

Every time she complained, he would hold her face in his hands, wiping tears away from her eyes. He would say, “I do this because I love you, Nisha. I love you so much and you don’t see it.” His dark eyes bore into hers as a storm engulfed the sea, and no matter how many times she tried to accept them back, to get used to them, she never could.

Her last straw was a party thrown by Dhruv’s father in honour of his only son, who then proceeded to demean Nisha’s parents and call her job a ‘fool’s dream’. His mother then threatened her to quit her job and marry Dhruv.

All the while Dhruv sat in his seat and held Nisha’s hand in a death grip, telling her not to overreact.

That night, she told him she would leave him if he told her to quit her job. It was her dream, the result of her blood, sweat and tears. Dhruv opened the main door of his penthouse and stood as Nisha left his doorstep in tears, never to return.

He didn’t call her, called off the wedding, and his parents badmouthed her family any chance they got. This was so much so that Nisha was actually glad her parents no longer lived in New York.

He sent back her things by mail, and two months later a wedding invitation to his wedding with the same girl he rejected two years ago.

Nisha had been gathering up the pieces of her shattered heart ever since that, changing colleges, dating nobody, and as much as she tries to deny it… drinking. As much as she could actually. Nobody knew about this, not even her parents. The reason she never came to The Hard Deck even after being invited so many times by Eric, was because she couldn’t stand the alcohol stench.

-/-/-/-/-/-

Bradley’s alarm startled him. His eyes shifted straight to the open window of Penny’s living room. He watched the early sunrise from the ocean.

Nisha’s face was the only thing he saw the entire night. No matter how hard he tried to sleep, he couldn’t forget how pain resonated from every inch of her face.

He recalled how he would cry harder whenever he saw her cry. He would try his wits not to, and the second he heard her sob, he couldn’t control the tears falling down his eyes.

Involuntarily his mind turned to a conversation he had with Nisha. He took a deep breath as he tried not to remember, but that memory flooded his eyes when he closed them in exhaustion.

/-/-/-/-

2001

It’s been 2 months since Carol passed away peacefully in her sleep. Bradley had cried only twice, once at the hospital after the doctors broke the news, and once when they lowered her casket.

After that, Bradley talked about everything but her. Maverick’s flat became his bed, and Nisha’s house into his Study Room. When she suggested going back to his place to study, he got up abruptly and left without a word.

He could not return to the house. Everywhere he looked, he could see his mother. Her essence was in every house fragment.

Nisha was careful around him. He was silently healing, and there was very little she could do. His good-for-nothing girlfriend left for vacation after the funeral and refused to call him.

“Can you be there?” He told her while stuffing fries in his mouth, sitting in Nisha's room after a study session.

He bought it out of nowhere. He felt Nisha freeze when he said that. After 6 months of training, the air force holds a tap-out ceremony where families congratulate the new recruits.

 “Maverick, Uncle Ice, and Uncle Slider will be with the officials. I don’t have any other person to –”

“Sunny,” Nisha squeezed his hand, “of course I’ll be there” she smiled.

“Really?” He looked at her with hopeful eyes, almost as if he expected her to say no.

“How else will I get a party from you? I know you won’t give it willingly.” She laughed.

“Hey!” He throws a fry at her and she gets up, pulling his cheeks and dodging another fry thrown at her.

He was the last to be tapped out at the ceremony, by Phoenix’s family. He tried his best to keep his emotions at bay the entire evening but broke down remembering Nisha in his dorm room.

Bradley left to become a better person, and he was damn proud of becoming what he is today. However, he left without a goodbye. When he stopped drowning in grief and anger, he realized how wrong he had been all those years ago. He wanted to return to Nisha, the only true friend from his childhood.

But he couldn’t.

Why would she wait for him? He was some boy from her childhood who she trusted wholeheartedly, someone who didn't give her a second thought before leaving.

But he thought of her, after fighting with Mav, after boarding his flight to the Academy, after moving into his dorm room, after flying a jet for the first time.

He wanted to tell her everything, he longed for her while having awkward first conversations with new friends. As he ate in the mess provided by the navy, he craved her homemade food, her company after a long day at work, to tell her what was going on in his head since she understood.

He was too ashamed to return to Nisha.

And now he lost her.

Again.

“Are you done wallowing in grief like an adolescent?" Bradley frowned, following the voice as Amelia stood next to the couch. “I could play my Taylor Swift album to set the mood for you?” she huffed out.

“Amelie, not now please,” Bradley grumbled as he got up.

Amelia looked at him. His usual upbeat demeanor was forgotten. He looked sad and tired. It was so unlike him; he was a literal ray of sunshine.

"Bradshaw?" she asked before he left the room.

He replies, expecting a quick jab at his state.

“I have a friend in high school, Elsie. She has been best friends with Amira forever. They did everything together; nobody has seen them without each other. Anyone could see they were in love with each other, except them. Elsie, to be specific.”

Bradley turned to her, intrigued by the story.

“The day Elsie announced she would move to Canada for further studies, I caught Amira crying in the bathroom stall. She loved her so damn much, it hurt her so much, but she still loved her unconditionally. And before Elsie left, she realized she loved her too, but it was too late.”

“Why are you telling me this?” he asked.

“I’m just saying, sometimes you don’t see things right in front of you until it’s too late.” Amelia pats him on the back and leaves for the kitchen. “I’ll make breakfast, get ready, okay?" she smiles at him and gets to work.

Bradley couldn’t help but smile at this 16-something little girl. She had herself suffered through so much and still saw the light at the end of the tunnel.

He needed to have a talk with Nisha, soon.

-/-/-/-/--/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

A/N - Thank you everyone for sticking with me till the end of this fic! if you liked it please let me know through the asks and the comments. Any and all requests, headcanons, and drabble requests about this AU is mostly welcome. Love y'all, Take Care!

Tag List:

@tuiccim @parkjammys @akinrawsx @asteph22 @ijustwantavacation @perpetuelledaydreaming @iamthebeth @thefandomqueenuno @onlyhereforthefics @yikesdameron @savedfanfics1992 @amigaytho @hoeensficrecs @samwilson-mylove @xbuchananbarnes-deactivated @jenniweaslee @anna-phora @fluffyprettykitty @ladiesluver @weigheddownbyfandoms

[microraptorreactor]

parrying the fandom ask game back at you. 3 and 15 to you too, with a side of 22 for v2

wow we bounce eachothers attacks around just like ultrakill.....

3. Notp?

I have a couple, which are mostly just ships I don't see the dynamic for and think are kinda overrated. Red Velvet x Pastry from Cookie Run: Kingdom is my least favorite for sure. I love the characters separately but there's no way I could see them kissing. Something about Pastry fundamentally hating Red Velvet for being part cake and not really questioning that hatred makes me go bleh.

15. Have you noticed your style change over time?

ohmygod yes. I've been doing digital art since 2018 and uh. I sure have gotten better. Here's the earliest digital art I still have:

My word. Who let me touch an art tablet. I couldn't even color inside the lines T-T The airbrush, the misused gaussian blur, the god-awful cell shading, this is the embodiment of a beginner artist on DeviantArt.

Ironically all the techniques I used with that are ones I still use. cell-shaded characters with 'painted' backgrounds is still how I draw, I'm just considerably better at it. Here's some recent-ish art that uses the same methods! (+layer masks and filters. I didn't know what a clipping layer was in 2018 lmao) I definitely haven't posted before no sir.

and for writing? Gah. I don't even want to open my early fanfics they are SO BAD. I'll find a snippet of one of my early warframe works, but I apologize in advance for spelling/grammar I was a twelve year old with dyslexia. Here's two very similar scenes (an unconscious, dying character who isn't really aware of where they are being comforted), one is from a 2018 warframe fanfiction and the other I wrote recently. It's uh. A little bit of a difference. (other then that Solar lives and V2 doesn't)

22. Give us a headcanon for (V2)

Another? Alright then! Even in the canon events of Ultrakill I don't really think V2 is that aggressive. Look they run away crying with their head in their hands. They bow politely. That robot wants to curl up with a blanket but unfortunately hell says its time to kill 98420934 people.

I also think V2 has better hygiene then V1. Just in general. I think they try to keep themselves mostly clean and smelling nice. It didn't like greed because the sand got stuck in its armor and started getting caught in pistons and such, and there wasn't anywhere to wash it off. Plus a couple layers of blood and the poor thang just feels nasty.

[anosci]

selected albums ive listened to in 2024

this year I'm just posting the highlights so itll be shorter

[1] [2]

January

1/ VHS Head - Phasia (2023) first new album of '24 for me! "Strange Food" that zap pew beat is a delight! title track is p good, floaty. "Phocus" this is very vaguely leaning into…funk? i really like it. possible highlight? wondering why it shares the title of a different album.

---

4/ VA - FM Synth 2 (2017) yeah i love fm "Mach 5 Fusion Force X" is a god damn tour de force. insane! "Work Without Rules" second fav of mine for its smoov smoov swingy wobs

---

7/ Skee Mask - C (2024) first 2024 album in the list! dusty, crispy, chillout. analogue. deep bass when needed, never too thick of a presence. delightful chillout music. at worst, its a bit varied, as if it were an anthology. probably because it is. highlight: "Bassline Dub"

---

12/ (all OCRemix posts from 2017) all over the place ofc some insano selections: "Multi-track Drifting" N R G!!! "Big Room Gobi" funny but in a goes hard way also: Star Salzman's Katamari mix!!! i keep coming back to that in particular

----

15/ VA - Adventure Time, Vol. 1-5 (2019) they have extended versions of some sc cuts!! "Party With the Chief" esp(!) the biggest thing I noticed overall: this soundtrack is so…wack. meandering. ADHD in control of a quirky ensemble. continually amazed that this's from a hit show

---

16/ Diverse System - JAPAN 2 (2023) a mostly rly good grab bag of bangers with a japan flavor! i adore the koto mixed in with tight electric beats. big big standouts with "灯火" !!! and the much more electric "Amatsu"

---

17/ Patricia Taxxon - Bicycle (2024) laid back (mostly) textures n vibes. instant fav in "Frat Claws" and "I Do" specifically! i really like the FEEL within the sounds. i keep coming back to "Chipshop" and "Boys". visceral.

---

23/ Aleksi Perälä - Starlight 1 (2018) surprisingly solid, albeit a bit all over the place much love for the smooth sounds of "UK74R1823040" much love for the stepfiltered "UK74R1823090" not as much a fan of the techno flavors this time but still!

it's hard to recommend this artist in general but ive been listening to a lot of AP music. just give those two highlights a try and see what you think.

---

February

25/ BT - The Secret Language of Trees (2023) THE GOOD STUFF Producer's Cuts especially!!! "k-means clustering"……. the clicks in "Time Moves So Fast"…. if you ever wished ppl made more music from 2007, here it is. a return to the binary universe.

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40/ Tom Bragl - Regainable (2024) a few crunchy niceities, but just a few imo. "Klamra" f.ex. feels very 2007, which IS a delight. for anyone who wishes they made more music from 2007. here it is. funny it's marketed as "80s esque" lol. i hear it tho.

----

43/ µ-ziq - 1977 (2023) mike has a very distinct style that stands out from a lot of his peers imo. i wasnt sure about this but the reverbed minimalist drum machine in tracks like "4am" and "Belt & Carpet" win me over. I think those two and the weirdly hazy house of "Houzz 13" are my favs. "4am" especially, with those ethereal (newage?) chopped vocals

----

44/ Autechre - 2005-4-15 Glasgow (live set) apparently there are some old soundboard recordings laying around!!! this is super good. quaristice stuff. i love love love the multiple variations of chence9! the fast version of IO is rly good too. ez fav but still.

----

March

47/ STAFFcirc vol. 9: MIDI MODULE FANATIX (2024) oh hell yes, midi AND rompler!!! "Thunder and Strawberry Wine" is otherworldly. i get how it was made but also. How? ooooghhh… "30 Domcaster St" delightful ooooghhh… "Cascade rev.2023" authentic zest "Yakumotatsu" god i love this trend of pushing msgs midi to the max "tunnel7_r35b" listen i love chimeratio and he brought his slapping

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57/ Fields Of Mist - Biospore Farmers (2024) try not to compare to boc challenge: impossible. it's lush damnit. but the perc is way way more analogue drummachine. its wall to wall good. that opening track would have blown my mind in 2007. they dont make it like that anymore, except i guess they do!

----

60/ pilotredsun - Achievement (2016) an album misplaced in time. pristine early 00s bedroom musician vibes.

----

[derekscorner]

I finished God of War (2005)

Better than I expected

I mean, I didn’t go in expecting it to suck since the classic series has such a vaulted reputation. The game was the first, it came out in 2005, so I did expect some jank as the first game in the series but it was surprisingly refined.

l played on Mortal/Easy since I had no idea what the fuck I was doing so I’m sure some hardened fan will laugh at me for that but I had fun. I’d probably jump right into higher modes if ‘Tears of the Kingdom’ wasn’t coming out in less than a week.

I will admit that I did use some cheats in a few spots, namely the rotating pillars in Hades. I had heard for years how bad those were so I just noped out from the start and super jumped past them.

To be honest I was shocked by how few truly frustrating puzzle/platforming gimmicks I ran into given the era this originally launched in. Aside from those Hades pillars my only other truly hated segment was the Poseidon chambers. That damn water way with it’s moving walls almost made me quit the game.

Just...why? WHY!? I mean, I probably could’ve cheated there too but I was having enough fun prior that i was trying to avoid it. I was even successful of getting past that spot eventually but hot damn just knowing that little chamber exists makes me not want to replay any time soon.

Those spots withstanding the overall level design of the game is amazing for it’s time. I was having fun and knew most deaths were my own fault for not knowing what I was doing.

I even had moments where I was thinking about how surprised I was that a PS2 didn’t crack in half. Namely those scenes of Ares razing Athens to the ground as a backdrop while you’re roaming around fighting hordes of monsters.

And make no mistake, I was using the actual PS2 version/disc and an emulator, so I got the full glory of those moments as they were meant to be. It was a sight to behold.

Combat

I sucked at it but by hell if it is not fun. Even 18 years later it’s fun to play. It was a similar yet different system to what I expected based solely on my history with DMC.

There is a combo counter, there is incentive to be as creative as possible, to maintain that counter as long as possible, but solely for the multiplier it adds to red orbs and your own satisfaction. There’s no STYLISH rankings or similar which I enjoyed tbh.

I only had two weapons and I used Poseidon's wrath more than I did anything else offered so it had limitations in it’s variety but it’s by no means limited in application. You just have to master it which I was unable to.

If anything, I’ll make a few old fans cringe and say I came to really like the Artemis Blade more than any spell or the Blades of Chaos. I just loved the stun power and buffed guard.

A complete contrast to my style from God of War (2018) or Ragnarök since I heavily favor the Blades in that duology.

I would add more but with only two weapons and my lack of mastery over the Blades of Chaos I’d just make myself too look the fool. I couldn’t get air juggling down. lol

Story

It was told more through backstory (if anything the story was backstory) than I expected but it did reaffirm my stance from the GoW Remake post I made. This titles self contained nature and the sheer fun of it really makes me wish they’d remake it for some anniversary event.

Nothing grand, no story changes, just giving it some love and revamping it with the glorious peak that I am told can be found in GoW 2, 3, or even Ascension depending on who I ask.

You see a bit more of human Kratos in this entry. It’s not too deep due to the limitations of 2005 and the focus on it’s gameplay but I genuinely can see some of the Kratos I first met in the 2018 Norse title.

It convinced me enough to look into getting or playing the rest of the series so I can see how this broken man descends into the stereotyped man he is by the third title.

His lust for power as a general, his descent into despair as the Ghost of Sparda in GoW 1, to his loss of self from madness and rage in 2 and 3, I want to see just how far gone he gets first hand.

Miscellaneous

This entire post is more disjointed than my usual due to my tired brain but I decided to add this section to reflect on a previous statement. I said in a previous post about how I think this title specifically works best with it’s stand alone story when Kratos is just a mortal who toppled a god.

Well upon using a code to take a peak at some unlockables I now see that Kratos being Zeus’ son has been a long standing idea. There’s a few trailers that throw out ideas that would be reused later, one detailing Kratos father.

Between the Gravediggers words, the mural in that shot above, and so on I guess they set up this backstory but put it in the back pocket for later. Understandable decision but I will ultimately feel the impact of slaying Ares is a bit weaker.

Granted, it doesn’t hurt the feat as much as ‘Chains of Olympus’ does with Kratos trapping Atlas and slaying Persephone years prior to fighting Ares but oh well. It’s honestly too fun to care at the end of the day.

The End~

Before I go to bed, wake up, and regret how poorly I wrote this I want to take a moment to show this shot. ^

There’s this really cool unlockable video of a what-if (well now anyway) of Kronos’ fate. I’m not sure what sequel bait they had in mind with this idea but there was just something cool about it.

The idea that the modern world was about to have a crash course with its mythological past. An omen of mystical things of ill intent to come all because modern man found the corpse of a titan.

It’s a very forbidden type of feeling like the humans in this trailer weren’t meant to find this and now that they had shit was gonna unfold for the worst.

I’ll always wonder what the idea was there, oh well, goodnight~

===========

P.S. My only real complaint is that my Blade upgrades nor the Artemis Blade carry over into new files.

[scrunkore]

Scrunkore Media "Thread" 2023: Part 5

I got burnout and never got back into it so I'm hella simplifying it lol shit happens

the scrunko core has burned out, rebooting

50) Wendell & Wild (Movie, 2022)

A lovingly crafted stop-motion animated movie with some good old kid-friendly horror vibes and a punky attitude, even starring a pretty nice transmasc character that I'm super happy to see. It's a nice story with a good visual style and a lot of heart, and I think Key and Peele being involved is pretty funny honestly. [4★]

51) Murder by Numbers (Switch, 2020)

Decent enough Picross game with a basic detective narrative stringing it together that I'm not really a huge fan of, but it does its job and I appreciate the adorable robot as well as some of its representation. And no idea how they got the composer from Ace Attorney and Ghost Trick, lmao [3★]

52) Pokémon Picross (GBC, Unreleased)

Yeah, this was better than the 3DS one, it's just basic Picross that doesn't do much (only real mechanic it adds is being able to change the music) but that's still better than the shitty mobile game model. They really should have just released this, it was straight-up finished and I even got a cart that works on original hardware because I think that's neat. [3.5★]

53) Paper Mario: The Origami King (Switch, 2020)

Going to be killed for playing this as my first Paper Mario but who cares, this game is cool in spite of its awkward battle system (which DOES kinda suck). Just a fun adventure with typical quirky writing and some surprisingly powerful moments, plus an excellent soundtrack, I'm sure some of the earlier games are better but I did play this one and did enjoy it. [4★]

54/55) Knives Out/Glass Onion (Movies, 2019/2022)

Incredible pair of detective movies, both full of really engaging writing and directing work that keeps you invested and never stops being entertaining to watch, surely still really good on a rewatch too. They also really fuckin' hate rich people, especially the second one which is woke as hell and has one of my favourite endings in anything, so that's what some might call "based". I can't wait to see what Rian Johnson does for the third Benoit Blanc movie, which is apparently meant to be a 2024 release. [5★]

56) Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW Comics, 2018-Present)

These are some damn enjoyable comics, telling some fun and generally quite well-written stories set after the events of Sonic Forces with a cast of really cool characters. Honestly kind of ride or die for Tangle and Whisper, but original villains like Dr Starline are great to read too. Early highlight is definitely the Metal Virus arc, but the more recent stuff with Surge was excellent too. Safe to say the team behind these stories know their shit. [4.5★]

57) Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Movie, 2023)

They really did it, they went out of their way to make a bigger and better sequel to one of the greatest animated movies I've seen, and it's very possible that they succeeded... but we won't know until the second part comes out, which looks unfortunately unlikely to be any time soon because production sucked. Still, what we did get is yet another gorgeously animated spectacle with a cool storyline, everyone knows that. [4.5★]

58) Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (Movie, 2023)

One of the only parts of the MCU that I cared about more or less concluded with this movie, and fuck it might be the best one in the trilogy. Rocket's harrowing backstory really hits out with that theme of some jerkass playing god, and the core adventure of the film is pretty engaging too, just as cool as ever. Plus it's now confirmed Vocaloid exists in the MCU lol [4.5★]

59) The Suicide Squad (Movie, 2021)

Another instance of James Gunn making an actual good superhero movie, this time making a good adaptation of something that previously had a bit of a shit one. I appreciate the kinda edgy nature of the titular squad that was handled solidly here, and their antics are honestly pretty funny. Fun action sequences too, and it's honestly really cool how much the movie thinks rats are awesome (they kind of are tbh). Peter Capaldi, the best version of Doctor Who, playing a mad scientist role is also just... really good. [4★]

60) Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio (Movie, 2022)

Man fuck Disney, this is obviously the best version of the Pinocchio story and their attempt to overshadow it was lame as hell. I quite like the darker take on the story with themes of death and war around Italy's rise of fascism (Tom Kenny Mussolini is crazy btw), and of course the stop-motion animation is really quite excellent. Always love to see movies made in such a way. [4★]

61/62) Sonic and the Secret Rings/Black Knight (Games, 2007/2009)

Yeah, I get why the storybook duo of games have a bad reputation, because the motion control gimmicks kinda suck, but Secret Rings suffers from it far more than Black Knight, and that still has the cool ideas and solid writing combined with a great soundtrack (both games have this). Maybe the mission-based level structure isn't great, but there's some fun stuff to be found in these. Wish they were better though. [2.5★/3.5★]

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[therazgar]

Albums I’ve Gone and Done Listened to This 1st Week of Feb-a-rarry

Plug - Drum and Bass for Papa (1996)

Is there any more drum and bass that takes samples from old B-movies and old B-movie scores (or at least sounds like it does)? I feel like this album tapped into a niche that hasn’t had enough tapping into done to it. If you’re reading this, please direct me to more of that if you have it.

On a similar note, jazzstep is a thing that doesn’t seem to be talked about as much either among d’n’b subgenres, and I swear to God, the fact that electro swing was the jazz/electronic-dance crossover that ended up thriving more than jazzstep should be all the evidence you need that there’s no true justice in this world.

The Jesus Lizard - Liar (1992)

It’s tough for me to say if this album is any more or less good than Goat. @kanadiangeese​ and I agree that this band is one consistent bunch, and what a sublime fucking band to have that level of consistency. I do feel way more confident, however, saying that “Gladiator” might be at least in the top 3 standalone songs the Lizard ever made. At least.

God Is My Co-Pilot - Speed Yr Trip (1992)

I must admit, music of this style made into this kind of structure isn’t the easiest thing to make memorable and tell-apart-able, even within a half-hour timespan. But this attempt is still way above average in that regard. Whacked out no wave? With John motherfucking Zorn and horny lesbians? I mean, I don’t consider this album an all-out masterpiece, but the music community should spend every night of their lives flagellating themselves for not having let this band go anywhere further than they have. I probably would never have heard anyone let out even a whisper about their existence if it weren’t for Zorn’s inclusion on this particular album. *sigh*

Kaya - Life•Is•Trivial (2018)

I don’t know if you have a Tumblr, or what it is if you do, but to whoever recommended this on the Discord server I visit every now and again, thank you so much, this is wonderful, wonderful grind! (sorry for not remembering your name rn!)

The only real anecdote I really have to share about this particular album is that when I looked it up on RYM and saw that it had the descriptor “female vocals”, I kind of had the fullest revelation about how, well, dumb the “male/female/androgynous” thing really is over there. I mean, if there’s any genre that has absolutely proven how little of a difference the vocalist’s gender really makes in how they sound, it’s fucking grindcore. And seeing how this is a one-off project from 5 years ago with members that seem to have disclosed no information about themselves that at least I could find, I really struggle to see how whoever added that descriptor can be so sure whether the vocalist is a girl. Fuck outta here with that. I’m not here to identify myself to you, I’m here to grind your sorry ass to Hank Hill levels of flatness, now sit there and take it, motherfucker!

Immortal - Diabolical Fullmoon Mysticism (1992)

The music video for “Call of the Wintermoon” is kind of all that was needed to cement this band’s place in the top 3 of black metal for me. The shit everyone around them was doing was ridiculous enough, I’m so glad there was at least one group of fucking Tolkien ultra-nerds that just embraced that; instead of acting so high and mighty and trying to “prove” your “evilness” with cold-blooded murder and white supremacy, why don’t you just know your place, run around in your backyard with a wizard hat, write some bad-ass riffs and shut the hell up? Now get your butt to bed, Bjørn, you have school tomorrow!

Thomas Leer & Robert Rental - The Bridge (1979) (relisten)

I guess it’s because the darker and more atmospheric moments stuck with me more the first time, but the comparisons I heard to later UK synthpop acts like Depeche Mode and the Human League kind of surprised me. The second time around, though, yeah, I can totally hear it. Maybe it’s a sign that I probably haven’t been respecting those types of acts over the years as much as I should, but I digress. If you want to hear what the genesis of the collective British effort to put more emphasis on the pop in synthpop could be, you could do a lot worse than finding this rather brooding, but still delightful collection of minimal melancholic melodies, of both the song-like and ambient varieties. Through Throbbing Gristle’s label, no less!

Some moments on the B-side are stronger than others, but “Six A. M.” in particular seems to trigger the same part of my brain as Autechre’s “Silverside”, and if I may put it directly, if you come anywhere close to activating those particular neurons in my brain, I want to kiss you with tongue.

Mulatu Astatke - Éthiopiques, Vol. 4: Ethio Jazz & Musique Instrumentale (1969-1974)

I discovered this guy through a vendor at one of the record stores I visit giving me another compilation of his, which was a bit more varied, but also a bit more hit-and-miss. This one’s way stronger on the “hit” side.

There’s cool jazz, as in “relaxing” cool, but this is cool jazz, as in “protagonist of a blaxploitation movie” cool, and that's just one of the many, many kinds of cool that this man's music radiates at once. Seriously, if I'm not compelling you to drop what you're doing and listen to this album right the fuck now, you don’t deserve this post.

Einstürzende Neubauten - Zeichnungen des Patienten O. T. (1983) (relisten)

I would say that the first 3 Neubauten albums all have their own strengths and weaknesses where no single one invalidates the other. Kollaps is there if you want to listen to the most accurate answer to the question “What kind of album would someone make from the ruins of a city post-apocalypse?” Uncompromising experimentation that may leave you somewhat confused, but rarely bored and uninterested. Halber Mensch has the best all-out songs on it, with none of their utterly manic energy compromised, but it’s also the point where they started to leave the rawness of the production behind. Zeichnungen may be seen as a good in-between of the two, but as far as atmosphere is concerned, I’d say it beats the other two out. This album is the best at taking you on a journey, one of paralyzing paranoia and endless fire (seriously, the burning won’t stop). Sound like fun? Well, good, because it does not take much knowledge of German to let most of this come through to you. Believe me, I only know manchmal.

Anyway, yes. Atmosphere. While Kollaps excelled in its more loud and clattering moments, its slower and quieter moments are kind of so-so, whereas in Zeichnungen, they’re some of the better moments in the whole album... Oh, who am I kidding, the whole thing’s exceptional.

Seriously, to anyone going further into industrial that’s been told to listen to Halber Mensch, you’re being lead onto the right track for sure, but you’d be seriously missing out if you didn’t give the two before it a spin as well. The trio, in my opinion, serves to paint the complete picture, that illustrates why the Neubautens are not only one of the greats of industrial music, but maybe one of the most important bands of the last half a century. Long stürz the Neubauten ein!

Skullflower - Form Destroyer (1989)

Whereas a lot of sludge metal feels like adding some of the qualities of early Swans’ industrial dirge rock into classic doomy heavy metal, this is kind of the other way around, where a bunch of underground industrial/power electronics musicians fused elements of classic metal (although, of the more psychedelic variety) into the dirge rock.

And... I mean, this does have its moments, don’t get me wrong, but all around, ugh... With all the praise I’ve seen this band get from people whose tastes seemed to align with mine, I’m really having a hard time truly getting into this as much as I hoped I would have.

On paper, they sound fucking awesome! Slow and heavy rock jams with feedback up the goddamn wazoo? Come to fuckin’ Razzy! Their visual style kicks ass too! Before I looked closer and found out that the cover above was just a negative of someone’s mouth, I thought it was some fucked up parasitic cell under a microscope or something!

But in reality, I feel their stuff may be a bit too monotonous for me. Either that, or the production may be a bit too hazy and lo-fi even for my fucking tastes. I’m not sure, but overall, I came out of this with my memory of most of it being fuzzier than the guitars they play, I’m afraid.

I’m not ready to dismiss Skullflower entirely. Maybe repeat listens might make them open up to me more, and even now, it’s not like I dislike this music. It’s just that as of now, they’ve proven to not quite be all they were hyped up to be.

[brytnoter]

0 6 9 15 16 19 for the ask thingy :D

For a second I was confused 'cause I forgot there was actually a #0 in this

0: Height

ummmmm 5'6 or 169cm or something like that

6: Age you get mistaken for

…..yeah apparently I look way younger than I actually am , and not even in the fakey "pretend they look younger to be nice" way, but like "what do you mean you're 5-8 years older than i thought?!??!" So it might be 25 or 23 now that I'm 31??? Dunno, I haven't asked anyone for a while. Sure, I have a young looking face I guess, but it really doesn't help with my voice being soft and cute and me prancing around like a happy fairy.

9: Got any piercings?

used to have ears pierced at like 11 but I let them jut sort of fade away/close up

15: favourite movie

oh god ummmmmmm maybe arrival? (2016) or anihilation (2018). i like my sci fi tee heee

16: I'll love you if:

Drawings of my characters I guess? Or not even drawings, but like ….. knowing who they are and doing fan theories and asking me questions about them. (looking at you, #1 Toliki fan) Or anyone who does creative stuff 'cause I love to see different styles and how other people do the creative process, or like "this reminds me of you" tags, or bring me snacks, or hell even just praise me. (pls. some1. i am starved for praise)

19: a fact about your personality

An undisputable fact is ..…….. Everyone loves me? By which I mean there must be something about me that's blorbo-like that everyone adores, but to be honest if I'm with strangers then i'm suppressing most of it so they don't even know how awesome I am Also I'm funny as hell. >:¬)

I don't even know if that answered the question but who carez

[me-saw-hoo-dini]

I really gotta thank Mr VanossGaming for introducing me to his style of music/what he listens to/the other artists in Avant Garden (and @beepbananabus for making me actually sit down and listen to it) cuz I’ve been ONLY listening to his Avant Garden playlist since like I wanna say January 12th or 13th before I made my own playlist that has every artist in his Avant Garden playlist’s discography in it on January 26th (minus a few songs but this shits 340 songs still with 17 hours and 31 minutes as compared to Vanoss’s 119 songs 6 hours and 17 minutes)

Of course I knew Vanoss was/is Rynx and OF COURSE I’ve heard the U-RITE remix but I thought that that was all he was doing was remixing songs and not that I didn’t like the remix it’s just that remixes were not my thing but then ya know I was poof gone from 2018 through 2023 so I missed his own album and other remixes and… oh… bro… he’s going to make me cry. OH AND DONT EVEN GET ME STARTED ON EVAN’S WANT YOU AND THEN HIGHLND’S REMIX OF WANT YOU THOSE ARE TWO DIFFERENT VIBES. AND TO PEDDLE OFF THAT I ALSO LOVE THE REMIXES THAT HES DONE AND THAT OTHER PEOPLE HAVE DONE OF HIS SONGS

BRO EMOTIONAL ORANGES, UNUSUAL DEMONT, AND CHIIILD???? I’m not a dancer at most I like nod my head, tap my foot, tap on a desk, etc but when I tell you these songs make me want to fly out of my desk in the middle of class and like run MY GOD I think Emotional Oranges might be my new favorite band

Coming from only listening to bands like Los Campesinos!, The Front Bottoms, Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance, etc along with like Tyler the Creator and Frank Ocean this shit is eye opening very much it was one day I woke up, put on the playlist, and then…

I think maybe my emo phase has finally ended at the age of 23 you guys what the hell

NOT TO MENTION I CAN ACTUALLY MAKE PLAYLISTS NOW sure it’s only like (an additional) 7 artists but THEY HAVE A LOT OF SONGS AND VARIETY. It’s better than only trying to sift through and find like love songs that aren’t also talking about offing thyself and then only ending up with a playlist of like 19 songs with half of them being like Harry Styles or smth YA KNOW