#i still believe review

[guidingthulite]

i finished yokai gakuen

[fiveredlights]

helmut marko could tell me 1+1=2 and i still wouldn’t believe him okay he’s as useful to me as a man’s dick… which is to say not useful at all given that i am a lesbian ❤️‍🔥

[pocima]

My seasonal music highlights: summer 2024 🏎️

Welcome back to another installment of my songs of the season list, yes this is WAY long overdue but I was busy pretty much all throughout August and September, but it’s never too late to talk about good music. You can check out this spring’s installment here 🕳️ one fave song per artist, no particular order, the mini review section is for songs I couldn’t find to say as much about but still adore, you know the drill. * = full album/EP to be discussed in the yearly favorite project recap.

💿 Thirsty - Tinashe (Quantum Baby*)

Tinashe is never not an interesting figure in experimental alternative R&B, and she never fails to come through with something fresh right on time. I have a lot of praise for her new album Quantum Baby, which most famously includes her hit single Nasty this spring, followed up by the 2-step influenced Getting No Sleep. I adored the added experimentation of the entire project, and Thirsty was the first new track to really catch me. The essential formula is the trap genre that she’s dabbled in previously in her discography unlike, say, the Jersey drill Cross That Line or the Oklou-coded Red Flags, but the execution makes Thirsty a personal all-time stand-out nevertheless. The crunchy fast-paced claps and hi-hats among the serene synths, and as always Tinashe’s divine voice and harmonies, form this satisfying, scrumptious contrast that I can listen to at any point in time. I adore this specific type of songs that mix the gritty with the sublime. Here, Tinashe alternates between showcasing her pleasing head voice and mid-high range, I especially love the melodies in the pre-chorus and the harmonies towards the mid-end of the song. And as I mentioned, her punctuality comes through when it comes to giving me the music I need, when I need it. It’s one wonderful “end of the summer” song that firmly stayed on rotation in September as well, I’ve mentioned this trait of Thirsty on my page previously, but the song feels like a warm rain with all its textures and bliss. Fresh, timeless and flawless simultaneously.

💿 VIP - Isabella Lovestory

Previously seen in the Amor Hardcore era, Isabella knows how to do a good, intricate, attention-grabbing rollout: From the single choices to the accompanying concepts and visuals, she really lets you know that she’s back and about to show what being a real multi-media artist looks like. After the Helter Skelter inspired, kind of dramatic and theatrical, even, neo-reggaeton IL2 lead single Botoxxx, came the West coast hip-hop influenced BANGER that is VIP. I’ve been on the VIP wagon since May 11, when she teased it on a live-stream, and coincidentally it was the only unreleased song I could properly screen record, and I was hooked right there and then. That didn’t stop me from breaking the YouTube Music loop button on June 7, the actual release date of the song. Firstly, one thing Chicken (VIP’s producer, Isabella’s long-time collaborator) is gonna do is turn a track into a complete earworm with synths alone. Once you hear that trap synth pattern, good luck getting that out of your head for a good couple of months at least, not like that’s something you’re gonna want to do anyway. Secondly, Isabella’s earthiness and showcase of confidence is in a different dimension specifically on this track of hers. The bars and delivery are extra sticky, and I quite gravitate towards her singing/rapping in a deeper voice. Overall, VIP was pretty much THE summer anthem for me as well as instantly topping my personal Isabella Lovestory song ranking, however I am looking forward to her outdoing herself once more on her next project. (Embedding the SoundCloud link because the song sounds differently mixed in the MV, however as mentioned I highly recommend giving Isabella’s MVs a watch.)

💿 Underground - f5ve (+ an incredibly niche girl group redemption arc)

My mutual @nayeonline (whose music reviews I highly recommend checking out btw if you haven’t) made this compass diagram of girl groups and their concepts, and while the compass pertained to girl groups, they asked me about J-pop girl groups that pulled off something cute-futuristic. In a way, if we stretch and reach, this was a manifestation of f5ve’s 2024 comeback(s) and rise to recognition. After the debated (and overhated imo because have we heard the Umru remix?) “pots and pans” trap debut Fire Truck under the name SG5 and a Sailor Moon concept, they rebranded as their current name alongside an “intergalactic agents” direction, and came back with Lettuce. The first comeback was cute but was on the line of losing me due to the… puzzling visuals (literal lettuce involved out of nowhere) and the song not being as interesting as it could be. After garnering more fans through relatable, “chronically online” social media humor, f5ve made their real grand entrance with the rollout of Underground. This is where the girl group concept talk comes in: the girls and their creative team finally got the precise formula to serve the perfect mix of glitzy, sweet, forward-looking and nostalgic — right in the middle of the compass.

Underground, produced by the group’s executive producer BloodPop and Count Baldor, puts down sonic roots in happy hardcore and Eurobeat, two genres I’m drawn to. The track subtly nods to fast-paced 2000s J-pop and Japanese rhythm games while bringing in sounds that the current microtrends haven’t caught up on into the pop game. It tells a story of a getaway from corporate life and workaholicism, into an underground alien club. (I described Cyberia by Meth Math in a similar way and both are happy hardcore… crumbs?) Recent “office siren” aesthetics, Japanese raves, parapara and dekotora are some of the sugar and spice for the flashy, well-defined music video and visuals. What I love about this overall release and f5ve’s current direction is the precision of everything. The vision truly has settled for the music, the sound design, the concepts, the promotion and everything that makes up the group’s artistic and commercial identity. The audio-visual world f5ve are trying to convey is crystal clear, which is a trait I absolutely yearn for and something that desperately needs to be achieved more in pop music. Underground is pointy and straight-forward, it’s a throbbing pop tune that presents itself as very much one, however not only is it done with such excellence that it becomes an advantage rather than “just another girl group pop song”, but also with where f5ve and the team behind them are heading right now, there will be room for versatility while their said identity and uniqueness remains fully in tact. These girls are on a roll and I can gladly say I’ve BEEN standing with them.

💿 Hot Mess - aespa

Get up, it’s K-pop cybergirls aespa serving EDM realness o’clock. After their debut album Armageddon, which contained some of aespa’s absolute peaks but unfortunately was underwhelming as a whole album, the girl group make their Japanese debut with a triple single (or double if we’re excluding Zoom Zoom which was previously released as the Beyblade ending theme). With Hot Mess, aespa drift from the density of Supernova and Armageddon, and return with a more poppy song and a more frisky theme while staying true to their origins. The track possesses the sharp trap foundation of Savage while introducing a sax (don’t let that throw you off like because it’s done in a way that fits really well), and it all forms something possibly 2000s/10s Vocaloid J-pop coded, especially with how textured but bright the production is. (I don’t think I need to mention the vocals because, come on, it’s aespa we’re talking and they’ve sung times more difficult stuff.)

As for the visuals, aespacore is versatile after all: it doesn’t only have to mean the metallics and the digital world, it can also be flipped into more luminant æ-emblems, pastel-colored 2000s editorial aesthetics and posing on a scanner à la the cover art for Electro World by Perfume. The music video plays around with many of the core elements and past scenes that aespa have had to offer, and it’s why I think it deserves a lot more appreciation. The Rocket Puncher, Xenoglossy, Armamenter and ED Hacker equipment take a more techy and down-to-earth form, while their users undergo magical girl transformations straight from beloved fantasy anime. This is a great choice for a Japanese debut especially, as well as the nostalgic sticker filters going on in the scenes for the second verse. Besides, Ningning now has a whole pink gas station to set on fire instead of Giselle’s house, and the girls are giants during the daytime with their heroine main character outfits, and the iconic flying Winter scene in Supernova gets a callback. All these self-callbacks are the most wholesome thing ever to me, it’s a such good nod to aespa themselves and their memorable past moments, while standing firm as a full-fledged music video on its own. It brings me an insane amount of joy, to me it’s literally dopamine in the form of a YouTube link.

Something I want to mention is how surreal it feels that aespa’s garbage fire record label is finally catching up with the value of consistency, giving us seasonal music instead of using the group as either unreciprocated piggy banks or shields during idiotic infighting. However, I am never a company devotee so I must also mention that aespa should’ve slowed down with the tours, and it’s unfortunate how said consistency came at the expense of the members’ health, due to the other side of the mismanagement coin. aespa we love you, SM you won’t get anywhere near the pearly gates.

💿 Blink Twice - Cecile Believe (Tender The Spark*)

One of my favorite things about keeping a closer eye on musical connections between artists, such as checking on artists’ producers, labels and collaboration circles, is frequently discovering new gems, and sometimes quickly getting into the artists I’ve been meaning to tap into. In this case, I’ve been severely missing out on Cecile Believe, who’s known for collaborating with SOPHIE (most of the vocals on Oil of Every Pearl’s Un-Insides are by Cecile), Shygirl, Kero Kero Bonito, A. G. Cook, Namasenda and more. Back in late June, around Blink Twice’s release, Sega Bodega welcomed Cecile into his new record label ambient tweets and posted about Blink Twice, and while I was kind of late to the party, having only listened to the song in July, I was blown away by the vocals, the production, the sound design, the atmosphere and everything this track had to bring to the table. At first glance, the message is simple and effective: blink twice if you wanna escape from a loveless, hollow life, into the oblivion of company and euphoria. The song itself is almost like a hazy labyrinth, with the howling and pluck synths as well as the echoed and looped vocals. One thing about me, though, I adore motifs and details, and in this case, eyes and vision are the centerpiece, both physical and metaphorical. Blink, say it with your eyes, I’ll show you how I believe in you. Such a spot-on choice to accompany the misty, dusk-like worldview of the track: Cecile, indeed, shows us a gateway to her musical and inner world, and leads us into believing, by both expanding our vision, leaving us wanting more, and blurring it, leading us to getting lost in the world of Blink Twice.

💿 Junebug - Raveena feat. JPEGMAFIA (Where The Butterflies Go In The Rain*)

“Free therapy” is a colloquial phrase thrown around for music possibly more often than it should be, but in Raveena’s case, there should be academic studies on the healing powers of her mp3 files. In full seriousness. Her work, her songs, her projects go beyond warm hugs; Raveena gently caresses her listeners with her sugary voice, sincere lyricism, lulling melodies and contagious sweetness. What she does just heals my spirit, and shout-out to @timetravellingkitty for motivating me to experience that more and building up hype (at least on my dashboard) for a new chapter in her book. Junebug, the third single for the new era, currently remains my favorite off of the gorgeous new album. Maybe it’s just me being a sucker for a BEAT, but the drums and jazz organ immediately had my ears perked up. A key change, heartfelt vocals, beautiful storytelling are some strong suits of Raveena songs that reappear here as well. JPEGMAFIA’s verse not only fit the tone (which is, in all honesty, the bare minimum for features despite the mark being missed one too many times), but is also an addition to the story Raveena presents to us both with the lyrics and delivery. And let me mention the lyrics and the main theme again: it’s a romantic-melancholic tale of lovers that can only really last while the daytime is longer, as in the junebugs that will have to close themselves off when the sunset starts coming early. Wow, there really are musicians that will paint you a whole world using notes and lyrics and create it all on what’s most likely a casual Tuesday.

💿 Bubble Bath - AJ Tracey

This year, there were numerous high quality viral tracks with artists getting the recognition that they deserve, some of which include some all-time faves, but my personal nomination for “2024’s summer hit that got away” is undoubtedly Bubble Bath. AJ Tracey is a figure that the UK rap scene should be more thrilled to have, I’ve been a casual listener of his since hearing Wifey Riddim 4 on Shygirl’s Cover Mix for Mixmag (once again thank you Shygirl, because me getting into AJ AND Brutalismus 3000 through one DJ mix?). While I admittedly haven’t checked out his whole catalogue, from the recent stuff I’ve heard, he pulls off smooth laid-back flows (a quality you’ll appreciate if you’re anticipating more from Yuki Chiba) without leaving out the effort in his bars, sound and visuals (with all due disrespect, Central Cee and a good amount of other male rappers can catch it). This single by AJ, currently his most recent one in an ongoing immaculate single run, incorporates a music box synth into a catchy Afroswing base, and the verses and chorus are simply irresistible, replaying in my head to this day. With the intensity of a lot of the music I keep in my usual rotation (no shade whatsoever, I still LOVE my overloading music), the high-quality simplicity and casualness of this track adds to the variety of my tastes. “Bubble bath on the nail, she a Goyard girlie, she could short hair, bob it, or curly” specifically deserved a publicly acknowledged “one of the most fun lyrics of 2024” title.

Mini-reviews

🏁 survival dAnce - 4s4ki: Call it @pocima payola, call it bias, but you can never deny that 4s4ki never misses with her music and deserves her seasonal spot in these lists. Wonderful flip of a 90s J-pop classic by TRF with banging production. The music video is one of her best to date. Encapsulates the energy of the fandom really well, and by that I mean me and my oomfs that I converted into 4s4ki fanship really move like a cult. (She also teased this song in July that I STILL expeditiously need her to release. That honestly deserves a review of its own. In the meantime, stream her new EP Collective Obsession, which I will be reviewing as well 🫶🏻)

🏁 SCARYHOT - Taichu: Owing my Taichu discovery to @a-moth-to-the-light and @lilamala, she’s such a hit-making baddie and I quite dig her aesthetics. Her music has been on replay for my neoperreo-pilled soul, and the thumping house beat and confidence of this track was no exception. Oh, and another sick MV from the season (flash/strobe warning, view with discretion)

🏁 POPPER! - Akriila & Taichu: More neoperreo, more Taichu AND a new fave artist to keep an eye on. Honestly I loved Akriila’s entire epistolares album (another possible future review alert) and still struggle picking a favorite track off of it, but there’s something special about this type of noisy neo-reggaeton.

🏁 RED OUT - Kenshi Yonezu: One of the fathers of J-pop dropping a new album AND the lead single being the gritty electronic perfection I was craving more from him? I’ll take your entire stock, thank you. fogbound got its most worthy opponent yet.

🏁 Check - FLO: R&B princesses coming through as always and adding a Miami bass bop to their flawless discography. And remember how I was pleading for a debut album from them on my last entry? They heard me. So hyped for Access All Areas, out November 15 🙏🏻

🏁 Tartady - Ayau & A.boo: I have a soon-to-be-long post praising ALPHA sitting in my drafts, and if you’ve stuck around on my page this summer, you know I’m a huge enthusiast of their discography and the voices of their vocal line. A.boo on an R&B song was one of my wishes from the group, and I got that with his collab with the Kazakh alt pop delight Ayau. The music video being teased and not released is evil, though.

🏁 Senen Basqa - Madi Rymbaev & i: More exciting ALPHA features, this time with Aqzhol and his sweet higher range. As you can tell I’ve been needing more house in my life during the summer, which ALPHA’s group releases really showed out with, and now we get this piece leaning into garage too. It’s a yes from me.

🏁 GAME - echo: Hypertonic by TAN’s sister, and that’s already a huge compliment considering both are 2000s Japanese electropop inspired magnificence. I still can’t believe I discovered echo and this song on Instagram because the music promoted on there leans closer into being torturous, but this is a deeper cut with actual immense hit potential.

🏁 Bikini - Nick Léon & Erika de Casier: Firstly, can anything involving Nick Léon and/or Erika de Casier go wrong? The two are back at making magic after winter favorite Erika-Shygirl joint track Ex-Girlfriend (you can read the review on that in the winter installment of my music highlights), and now we get this Brazilian funk-dembow-trance sunset soundtrack.

🏁 Goodbye - Sumin & Slom: We’re SO back with the release of Miniseries 2, the entire project is a valley to lay in all day but this song especially does so much with its beautifully arranged minimalism.

🏁 Fugitivo Vol. 25 - Lua de Santana prod. Rico Rosa: Last but absolutely not least, Lua de Santana is a star. Rap, MCing, vocals AND it girl factor, she has and delivers all of these. It’s about time that such a talent will shake up the Brazilian funk scene.

I’m gonna be honest, I’m most likely missing a couple releases I was enjoying lots, but thank you so much for reading about my very late take on a 2024 summer playlist ❤️‍�� your own recommendations and feedback are encouraged

[nextbigaiello]

TLDR: The show is a mess but I love it 👻

[splashink-games]

Getting to the end is not what's important.

Did I not do a good job?

I am absolutely astounded by SANABI by WONDER POTION.

trying to be as spoiler-free as I can.

Good lord.

I was not expecting such an emotional experience.

Even after I spoiled myself a bit because our daughter (I'm okay to call the child that right? collectively, yours, mine, and our main character's (who is also ours to share)) had some very gif-able moments for me to look up and save.

ugh.

Don't even get me started on how incredibly wholesome the intro sequence is! Or mostly any memory for that matter.

Let me move on...

I heard that this game is often compared to Katana ZERO. I haven't played Katana ZERO but I've watched a friend speedrun it, and I get it, though I can't compare the narratives. But that's not what's important.

SANABI is an incredibly well-told story with fast-pace gameplay. The storytelling succeeds because it gives the player information while keeping that same information from the main character, along with hints to a conclusion that we, as the player, can infer.

and that inference builds and builds, cracking the reality that our main character (MC for short) is experiencing in Mago City until it crumbles.

this is a story is about loss and acceptance.

Our journey with these two vastly different characters, Mari and MC is nothing short of exquisite.

it's hard to put into words without spoiling anything.

each character has a very strong goal. MC is out for revenge, while Mari's is pretty vague until the midpoint, but we can surmise it also as revenge. from the onset, Mari tells you that their goals currently align. and every plot point serves an obstacle in their progress (as it should in a game).

but with every obstacle, their determination and sense of reality is affected. the two grind each other's gears. but also get back to a moderate peace. well, until they can't.

mysteries are thrown around. answers can't, or won't, be given. things happen. the situation changes. Mari and the MC change.

and when the pair finally gets to their destination, it's nothing like they expected. Getting to the end is not what's important.

Mari has an amazing arc. you know what she's after part way through the game. and it becomes clearer how desperate she is. like, what a fascinating character Mari is for being able to act in the manner she does. for being faced with the situation at hand until she can no longer bear it.

MC has an equally fantastic arc. for being such a one-track minded character until he isn't. until he thinks for a moment about everything that's happening. but no answer are given.

it's hard to describe how deeply rooted in emotion these characters are. and I think the experience of them is worth it.

with all that being said, the gameplay was rad.

for me, SANABI puts into perspective how much you can do with a few buttons. for reference, I use a Nintendo Switch-style controller. you never use the B button or the bumpers. you start using Y and left trigger halfway through the game. and I never needed to use the right joystick, even though I could.

my biggest gripe, gameplay-wise, was the ground-less boss fight. I don't know if I'm just bad at the game (I am, though) or if I have a problem with having no ground to stand on. I think the biggest issue is the inability to save oneself at the bottom of the screen. it's a very air-centric fight, so I guess it gets a pass, but it's definitely not my favourite.

everything else was smooth as butter. the introduction of new mechanics was never out of the way. the main mechanics themselves (grappling, swinging, and hooking enemies) were great and ties itself well to the narrative.

even as I was speeding through the finally sequence of the game, I still enjoyed swinging along. in between narrative sequences.

SANABI is a wonderfully crafted game, focused on delivering a thoughtful story with smooth mechanics as its vehicle.

This game is definitely a must-play for anyone!

As always,

Enjoy gaming!

[libraryleopard]

Further volumes in the horror comic series about a secret society that hunts monsters who feed on fear, especially children's fear

Flashbacks to the origin story of monster hunter, Erica Slaughter, in volume four

[todayisafridaynight]

dude I just gotta say thank u for all ur amazing art bc I JUST finished y7 last night and I'm missing my emo losers (daigo and masato) ONLY TO FIND THEM EVERYWHERE HERE plus mine!!! ur fics are also on point as well I think I commented on the "quiet" one but everything aside ur style is just so nice on the eyes and very fun! bonus ur nanba is very cute he's so silly to me fr :3

HIIIIIIII ive been watchin you go through all my art in real time ngl LAKRJLRKJ SO THANK YOU SO MUCH !!!!!! masato's my evil awful toxic girlfriend and i miss him every day and i love being delusional about him and daigo so im glad my goofy postings do somethin for others too lol.... thank you so much for all your love and support !!!!!!

[supersecretnerd]

Ok so these designs are cute as hell, the Internet is just mean

I have too many thoughts about a game I still need to watch

[actuallyadhd]

I have the weird situation where i talked once w a psychologist in passing and she told me point blank that I'm too well behaved to have ADHD, but at the same time, 5/10 people i meet on the regular either ask me to my face or claim i feel very ADHD

I guess I'm not diagnosed as much as I'm peer reviewed

( it also isn't mean when they say it and it doesn't change the way we interact, but it's interesting)

Sent April 28, 2023

I used to work for a psychologist (her daughter was autistic, this was what I did back then) and in a meeting we had in her office one time, she told me I was "like a butterfly" because I "flit[ted] from thing to thing" (talking about my career, I believe). Which, well, accurate. I had been diagnosed at the time, but I hadn't told anyone. So she was picking up on it without realizing it.

I was recently told of a family that took their middle daughter to their family doctor because they thought she might have ADHD. The doctor said there was no way because "she's too calm". The parents brought up that they thought ADHD presents differently in girls, and the doctor said "that's a myth." (Parents did not give up, child has diagnosis and is able to access the supports she needs as a result.)

One conversation definitely does not a diagnosis make. I can say that we tend to recognize our own, though, and if you think it may be accurate and that accommodations/treatment might be useful, it could be worth looking into getting assessed.

Either way, you're welcome here. Peer review is valid!

-J

[fanotastic]

Coming to a head with my current job, I'm either spiraling or this is just the common trend where I flip out in my boss and have no backing - as usual

[memberofthejazzclub]

I CAN’T STOP LISTENING TO “SHIVER.”

[taibhsearachd]

Okay, having finished Glass Onion, it is a masterpiece on par with Knives Out...

I will actually lose my shit if I don’t get a romcom fic of Benoit Blanc and what’s-his-name Hugh Grant.

[angelwings-crossbowstrings]

Yesterday/tonight was rough. I wasn’t in the best mindset most of the day and ending up sleeping a lot. But I did get the first day of Whumptober written and then did a little work on my series The Dixon Chronicles. I’ve just read a very positive review of TWD: Daryl Dixon so I’m going to end the night on that, I think. Tomorrow is a busy day and I’m gonna need some energy/strength to make it.

[asgardian--angels]

...prayer circle for izzy hands

[leojurand]

—Elizabeth Wein, The Winter Prince

[aroaessidhe]

2023 reads // twitter thread

The Dragon of Ynys

quiet fairytale adventure novella

a knight in a small village who spends most of his time returning various items a local friendly dragon steals, ends up on a quest with the dragon and a baker to find her wife who went missing after an argument

aroace MC, sapphic and trans major characters